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Chapter 671 - E-3
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 08:48:06 +0000 UTC“I think that crazy girl did it,” the vyssari woman says once again.
Even though she was so quiet most of the time, she now stands tall and points at Tacita nearby, who just lifts her eyebrow with a curious look.
“Io, I also think she did it. You saw what she did to me when I just touched her,” the gray, lanky man joins the vyssari in blaming the mute girl.
Before Io reacts to that, Malika joins as well with a smile that shows she doesn’t give a shit that Barion just died and how much she enjoys the chaos and dangerous situation.
“I also agree it’s likely her, we should kill her,” she says. “Right, Nathaniel? But if you say no, I’ll stay on your side. My offer for us two, maybe three to join and get rid of the others, still stands.”
Demons really are like little kids at times.
Finally, Io gets his words in. “We can’t be sure who did it. Any of you could be the ones to do so, and if you look at it from your point of view, it could also be me. Lastly, there is also an option that the Last Elf did it, or there are some more of his gilded beings around and hidden from us.”
Meanwhile, Tacita doesn’t seem to mind it at all. She is confident as always and looks around in a way a cat would at a bunch of mice grouping up to fight her.
That and Io’s words seem to disappoint the gray, lanky man, and he looks at Tacita with anger.
“I know it was you. I will get you sooner or later,” he says through his teeth.
Tacita meets his eyes and then smiles in an almost innocent-looking way only she can.
She takes a step forward and disappears as her body turns into barely a blur. The next moment, she stands in front of the lanky man, and her dagger moves in a swishing motion to stab through his heart.
Before she completes her movement, she vanishes, teleported away by Io, who starts sweating profusely and staring wide-eyed as he does his best to react to the incredibly fast movement.
For a moment, Tacita stands where he teleported her, her face toward one of the walls, and her back to us.
Slowly, she turns her head around and locks her eyes with Io.
I count one second as she makes her decision. Then her dagger flashes, and she moves.
She reaches the thylarin in a blink, and that dagger stabs its tip into Io’s chest right over his heart. But before it can pierce deeper, Tacita disappears, even though her field was modified to counter Io.
This time, he teleports her to the opposite side of the huge room, but Tacita quickly regains her bearings, reorients herself, and moves again, almost reaching Io before he teleports her again.
After that, she moves again, crossing the massive room even faster than before. She is almost on him before he can reactivate his skill, and her blade draws blood from his neck.
I know it’s only a question of time before she kills him if he doesn't chuck her into outer space or tries something else, but he seems to be avoiding doing that for some reason.
Maybe it is because he needs her, or because he knows I would step in if he did. That would likely pull Malika in too, turning this into an even bigger mess.
Tacita is just too dangerous in this kind of combat, and Io will either run out of mana first or lose focus before she gets tired.
But that’s also when Malika moves into Tacita’s way, while as always having that demonic expression. She probably is not even doing it to protect Io, but simply cannot resist joining the fight nearby.
Tacita moves around the demon with ease and fully avoids her even as Malika tries to slow her down and use the same skill she used on me. Tacita even stabs Malika’s side two times as she passes by.
Thanks to the slowdown, she doesn’t reach Io and gets teleported toward one of the walls.
The gray man, who disappeared when the fight started, reaches out from one of the shadows, and the shadow itself creates dozens of ropes that reach at the mute girl.
I slide deeper into [Focus] and watch as Tacita slows down, steadies her body, and breathes out. Her hand turns into a blur, and all the dozens of shadowy ropes get cut off by the blue glow of mana shining around her dagger.
She dances around and avoids the lightning projectiles the vyssari shoots at her as she also joins the fight.
The lightning projectiles crash into the wall and erupt into dozens of smaller bolts, scattering in every direction. But none of them touch Tacita. She weaves through the chaos with impossible grace, slipping between crackling arcs of energy that tear through the air around her. Each bolt lights up her figure for a split second, casting flickering shadows as she dances just out of reach.
The vyssari lifts her hand, and a ring of crackling lightning coils around her finger. In an instant, she creates dozens more lightning projectiles, each one sparking to life in the air around her.
But even then, it’s nowhere near close.
A second dagger appears in Tacita’s other hand. With it, she deflects incoming projectiles in fluid motion.
Then, without hesitation, she throws the blade forward with blinding speed. It slices through the air, pierces the barrier the vyssari creates, and buries itself in the vyssari’s arm. The strike comes within inches of her neck—just barely avoided at the last moment.
Malika, even though wounded, tries to use the opportunity in a perfect show of timing. Tacita just dealt with shadowy things, is wary of the gray man, and her body is slightly in the air from avoiding the lightning projectiles.
Even then, like an acrobat, Tacita twists in the air, evades Malika’s incoming strike, and her field flickers to counter whatever the hell Malika is doing. Tacita’s dagger heads to stab itself through Malika’s eye and into her brain, but she is teleported again.
Reappearing again, she lands softly on the ground. Her feet touch down with barely a sound as she rises smoothly, already preparing to strike again.
“I mean, shouldn’t we stop for now?” I use the brief pause to say.
When the pause increases and no one moves to attack again, I add, “I mean, it’s fun to watch, but I think someone will die if it continues.”
"Then why won't you help us? Are you with her? Did you kill Barion?" the vyssari growls, her voice strained as she yanks the dagger from her arm, blood running down her fingers.
Even then, I see some poison spreading there, and she uses her lightning to burn the flesh around the wound. Behind her, there is a circle of lightning spinning quickly, ready to fuel and create more high-speed projectiles, and the lightning ring around her finger crackles dangerously.
“Wouldn’t you guys be fucked if I was the one who killed Barion and joined her to deal with you?”
“Likely, but wouldn’t that be a beautiful fight?” Malika says first. She doesn’t seem to mind her two bleeding wounds at all.
“This is the most dysfunctional group I have ever been part of, by far,” Io says, seeing that Tacita doesn’t head his way to cut off his head. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and touches the scratch and blood on his neck. “Not only did I get stuck here with a demon, which is bad by itself, but there’s this girl who only communicates through weird drawings she makes and tries to stab everyone through the neck.”
“At least you have me,” I say.
"You are as bad as any of them. What are you, some kind of half-demon or something?" Io regains his composure. "So far, I've held back because I want this group to stay together. But if anyone tries to kill someone again, I will not just teleport you across the room, I will send you into outer space."
“Can’t you teleport people inside the walls? You know, to squish them there and stuff? Or just teleport half of them? Maybe just a brain?” I can’t help myself but ask.
He just glances my way before heading towards the vyssari and gray man, possibly to scold them. He doesn't even attempt to do it with Malika, and I'm not that surprised.
With the situation solved, I glance towards the boxes where Barion's body is left and head towards one of the panels in the wall. It is open and shows that the man was working on it before he got killed.
I barely knew him, but even then, I feel a bit of something that I identify as regret of being unable to get to know him better. I rarely get that feeling, but he just seemed like someone I could get along with. A man staying in his lane, working on his things, and exploring what he is excited about.
The best I can do is to kill the one who did it.
I form Ley Lines to connect to the panel. Previously, I would do it differently, but after seeing Barion and his wires, I found that creating a direct connection helps a lot, especially in the right places. It is possible to go around even without it, either by direct thought or "wirelessly", but with more delicate or difficult locks, it has its advantages. Also, thanks to [Manifestation], materializing them has become easier.
That skill just keeps on giving. It also worked really well back then when I released my mana to pressure Malika. And that's only the start. It is just unfortunate I cannot use it with [Empyrean Lance] yet because of my limited understanding of that skill. But once I do... maybe I will be able to create multiple projectiles, not just a single lance.
Thinking of that, I also continue to work on the panel, and as I work on that, I notice a movement nearby, and Tacita sits on one of the boxes by my side and faces towards the others.
"Are you guarding me?"
She nods.
"I will cover your back as well."
Another nod.
No more is needed to be said, and the panel and lines it is connected to require more of my attention. One of them is seemingly connected to one of the working tables in the corner and has something that I estimate to be akin to records. They likely belong to the replica of Last Elf, but I became suspicious there.
Why would he keep records? For a being like him, I would expect him to be able to keep them all in his mind. Maybe to share them with the other replicas? But wouldn't he have something like a web for communication? Even our group has something like that. Or maybe they are records from the time when he was much lower level and couldn't do that? Limited by his brain capacity, he kept them either to not forget or to share with other low level replicas?
That part of the evil base system feels fairly old and rough, so I wouldn't be surprised.
But there is also always a chance they are left there on purpose. My paranoid mind just keeps thinking it might be that.
Even so, I sacrifice a bit of my time to pull them out. Because of the decryption, I don't get them fully. As I do so, some of the information gets deleted because of the safety protocols.
[Log 018.1_Core_Response_Log_A]
...held past projection. The gilded subject remained functional beyond the expected threshold. No instability recorded across the first three phases. Local containment adjusted 0.2.
[Log 019.0_Command_Override_Trace]
Command received via encrypted channel. Source authentication: inconclusive. Mission parameters updated. Priority shift from long-term analysis to asset collection. Before leaving, leveling up is in order to unlock more memories and to allow creation of blueprints... Destination classified: E-3.
[Log 019.6_Vector_Adjustment_Calc.v2]
Base trajectory modified. Current orbit decoupling in progress. Slingshot path through [REDACTED] system estimated to reduce travel time to E-3 by 17.03%. Estimated arrival window: 221.6 years at current mana draw efficiency.
[Log 036.7_Reactor_Load_Distribution]
...18% of reserve diverted to long-range vector core. Field distortion detected across Deck 4. No feedback loop triggered. Structural risk…
[Log 090.1_E3_SurfaceScan_001]
Initial survey complete. The planetary surface shows signs of catastrophic ignition. Origin unclear so far. Burnout occurred post [REDACTED] tutorial closure…
[Log 091.2_Mana_Reserve_Audit]
… reserves at 23.4%. Compression rates within acceptable limits. Spike in core temperature during artificial gravity realignment logged but dismissed. Continue monitoring for anomalous fluctuations every 2.4 cycles.
[Log 0105.6_Contact_Trace]
... a conclusion has been reached. [attendee] returned to E-3. The subject carried a Fragment of...
Then there is a huge number of logs missing, and the last sentence I get out of it.
...blueprint for Low Pristine item modified. Containment pathways integrated into the revised design. Preparation sequence initiated. Resource gathering restructured at 94%.
With that, I open up my bag and look at the cage I threw in there.
Just what the hell are you for?
***
Comments
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
Ivan Jelenić
Maybe he can use the little prison cell to trap the fragment in himself and use it?
Al
When savant uses [Dawn] it doesn’t seem to be thermal, per Nat. Seems more like some kind of weaponized mana radiation
13L00D13ANE
Well.. imo those two points contradict each other. If he is lethal enough to force teleport body parts he doesn't need to worry about where he teleports her to. I think his lack of offensive ability is why hes not S rank
13L00D13ANE
Ok, i got a couple thoughts; First, the 019 log says the authentication was inconclusive, so did the order even come from the actual last elf? Second, log 036 mentions a field distortion. Something breaking in, or maybe reporting in? Third, log 091 mentions a core temp spike. Someone messing with the core? Suborning it for their own use? Maybe the thing barion sensed isnt even the last elf, and its something that got onto the ship. Hm.. maybe someone wanted to capture whatever ignited the planet, and is just using the last elf as a convenient cover? I feel like a conspiracy theorist
im Panda
Lynthari are the kitties. I think vyssari are like multi armed blue humanoids
facetiousk
A privilege of the highest honor!
Poutine Au Syrop d'érable
Also I forgor, what do vyssary looks like? Is that the cat species? 2 weeks and I already start to forget stuff.
Nicholas Pankratz
Maybe it’s a containment cube for something on Lissandra’s original planet? Her world WAS scoured by the item “Dawn” as we found from the tutorial, so maybe? Would be an interesting tie-in
Zaim İpek
I think it's likely [Fragment of the First Sun].
Zaim İpek
Sad, but a good lesson on the necessity of being careful with one's abilities. A fragment was mentioned. Perhaps a [Fragment of the First Sun] that got out of hand.
NerdyFellow
MILT - Man I Love Tacita
Val the mysterious Jedi
Lol I can imagine how heated the tournament arcs were or will get
facetiousk
Imagine getting out of the Tutorial and accidentally immolating your whole planet... 💀
facetiousk
Nah, she need the septum ring of dexterity. Needs more chaos girly pop!
caeven
Tacita NEEDS the dexterity crown. make my girl op!
Nemesis
I think E-3 is the designation the last elf has given this planet. I also believe the implication is that whatever fragment a tutorial attendee brought back, they lost control of it and wiped out their entire planet, probably themselves included. But that's just my interpretation.
13L00D13ANE
I think that red planet IS E-3. Maybe a strong attendee got back and accidentally immolated their home planet?
Michel Kommers
Seems like the last elf tried to create a fragment, but it ended up only 94% of it? With made the thing not a fragment but something almost a fragment and that's why is so rare? Fragment of eternal fire?
Mark Bullock
Did I understand that the fire planet is about to ignite and become a star? I think if Nat survives then that answers the question about the nuke Great chapter! Was just me and my son; Now it's our entire street... Very interesting getting their criticism.. two are scientists, and the others are all from different backgrounds. Are we a secret type of person? is every1 a gamer that follows Cerim like a cult? Those that made it past the scene where Nat kills that dewd on floor two, start to get that Cerim fever...
Andrew
Thank you!
blimko
Very good chapter
frankie doerr
We have a 3 v3 situation and Nat is blissfully unaware
Oaktree
“Not only did I get stuck here with a demon, which is bad by itself, but there’s this girl who only communicates through weird drawings.” Not only does he go on a (well deserved) vacation but he also snipes comments. 🤨. Just giving you a hard time cierm I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my description of tacita in the chapter.
WhiteLeeopard
Wonder if he will crash the base into the planet after all
Anthony Duenas
I really don't think it was Tacita, I'm more inclined to think it was Io after he ignored Manna Daddy's question about teleporting part of someone. Also the fact that Tacita is pressuring Io who almost made S rank is telling. What would he do if he didn't have somewhere lethal to teleport her to
Emmanuel Martinez
So an Attendee with a fragment of Eternal Flame returned from their tutorial, and ended up burning their entire planet. The Last Elf is then now investigating it and attempting to capture them. Pretty interesting considering that even Nat thinks he can’t handle the heat long at all.
Nerø
Imagine how wouldl they react when they eventually find out that Nat and Taci are both from the same tutorial round. And dammmn, is E-3 the name of the planet the asteroid is orbiting? So if Nat really goes there, we'll probably be introduced to some first generation returnee with a fragment. Hmmm too much shit going on.
Cazqa
Bro is technically a mana demon jajaja
I Dewa Bagus
Alien in the space ship!
zoarian
Tacita is such a manace in closed quarters. So the station is heading to E3. It got to the current planet which suffered a catastrophic ignition. And there was another attendees involved?
Fdrugc
Tftc
Al
Is nat going to get an eternal fragment of primordial fire? Hmm
Snake With An Aurora Borealis
Tftc!
im_among_you
Yay
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Al
FIRST. Thank you, insomnia
