The Tutorial Is Too Hard

Huge thanks to Asekhan and Donate You Wankers for sponsoring 9 chapters of TTITH! (3/9)

“This is the source.”

[Yes.] The God of the Sky answered my murmur.

The power of the archmage’s core and the God of Remorse’s core converged to form an overwhelming power.

I was flooded with more power than my previous self. It was as if a new force had covered me once again. It was a sensation similar to when I had first accepted the power of the God of the Sky.

The intense pleasure made me dazed, my mind filled with a mixture of gratification, superiority over the past, and enthusiasm created by excitement.

[Warrior!] exclaimed Ahbooboo.

I didn’t answer.

I could feel the desperation through connection with those who were sharing their power. In the whirlwind of emotions, my consciousness was almost swept away. I was able to hold onto myself in the midst of this mess, still feeling as though I were in a washing machine. This was the third experience following the 18th and 57th-floor stages, so I had some experience knowing how to protect myself.

The problem was not the people’s feelings, but mine. I couldn’t control my own feelings.

[Warrior! Can you hear my voice?] Ahbooboo’s voice rang in my head, but I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t afford to.

[Warrior!]

The man with supernatural powers from the 57th floor came to mind, and I could understand his feelings. With this much power, anyone could have succumbed to greed.

I, who held Ahbooboo in my hand, was swayed by his mighty power. I became arrogant and aggressive. It was the same when I got my powers. The same was true even now when the source was obtained. The problem was that, in the case of the source, power would go beyond the control of its master, and take away their sanity.

When I thought about it, my heart ached, and it suddenly got hot. I could feel something breaking through my bones and ripping through my muscles and flesh. When I looked down, a thin blade pierced my chest, but someone hadn’t stabbed me from behind. This blade erupted through my chest from within my body. The power that flowed into my body turned into a blade.

The supernatural being from back then came to mind. My whole body had been covered with tentacles. I was not a tentacle but a blade. I thought it was far better compared to the tentacles.

The next moment, dozens of blades rose, covering my arms, legs, and torso. My veins, as well as tendons, broke open, and blood flowed like a waterfall. But even at this moment, I felt more excited than afraid or anxious about the blade that was piercing through my body.

Even in the process of literally becoming a sword and not being a human, I could feel that I was becoming more powerful and complete.

The blades, sticking out like hedgehogs, began to expand. Blades rose over one another, again and again, making a pattern of sorts. In that instant, the blades were not like a hedgehog’s back, but a bird’s nest or a fence of barbed wire.

I was unable to move because of pain caused by nerve and muscle damage caused by the blades.

[...!]

I could hear Ahbooboo’s voice in the distance. Now I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Before, I couldn’t comprehend since it felt as if he were shouting from afar. Maybe my connection with Ahbooboo had weakened, or my consciousness had just faded.

What Ahbooboo was saying could be predicted. He was trying to stop this for me, who was being eaten by the source. He’d tell me to either disconnect from the source or force the stage to be cleared somehow.

He shouldn’t say so.

[If that’s what you want.] said the God of the Sky, and Ahbooboo’s presence disappeared. My connection with him had disappeared entirely.

“God of the Sky.”

[What’s wrong?]

Ahbooboo disappeared. The source was tearing my body to shreds and trying to run towards the world, but I couldn’t care more about it. Before that, I had to question the God of the Sky about Ahbooboo.

“What happened to Ahbooboo?”

[Why do you ask that? It looks like you’re about to be eaten, so focus on that.]

“Explain.”

[He’s my apostle. It’s none of your business what I do to him.] was what the God of the Sky said.

And I couldn’t agree with that.

Ahbooboo was my property. He was my sword and my power. Ahbooboo’s disappearance meant that my strength had been lost.

[Aubutz is still by your side. I just held him back for a while.]

It was a relief. I was worried that the God of the Sky might have sent Ahbooboo back to where he was.

[By the way, you’re extraordinarily rude. You’re like the man who would say that ‘Your daughter is mine from now on’ in front of your father-in-law.]

Ahbooboo was not my lover, but my sword and he belonged to me. Moreover, a woman like Ahbooboo would be a no-go.

The God of the Sky smiled slowly and said, [You’re even playing games with me, so I guess you’re rational. I thought so, but honestly, I’m a little surprised.

[Shouldn’t we focus on controlling power now? Your power is trying to free itself from your body.]

That was a reasonable remark. I had no intention of letting the power of the source deviate from me. Of course, I didn’t mean to let it eat my body and my mind.

* * * * * *

The strength of the source was similar to that of the gods in connecting with people. My sanity and reason were in danger of being eaten by that overwhelming power.

There was also a difference. The source was not the kind of power that twisted the law to create miracles and exercise it on others. Instead, it literally ate and destroyed a being. It was that kind of power.

“Move.”

The blade shook, and I felt it. It was just a dull move, but I felt it. It was amazing. I could feel the blade just like any other part of my body. I could even sense the fluctuating feelings of the blade.

[More power is needed.]

[You have to eat more.]

[You must protect me from my enemies.]

[All enemies must be killed and destroyed.]

[I am imperfect.]

[I need more to be complete.]

Shut up, you little b*tch.

I agreed that higher power was needed, but it could not beat the native gods with the form of a huge wire fence. So, be under my control quietly.

Sometimes you want to do the opposite of what your mind says. I wanted to take a run outside, but I had to sit at my desk for hours to study. I wanted to fall asleep, but I had to practice an extra hour for tomorrow. I wanted to faint right away, but it was time to endure the pain and continue the battle.

This was a similar situation. The desire for expansion of power rises, but I only had to control it well to defeat the enemy. The blade, the source, was only part of my power.

The blades stretched all over the place were gathered together. The blade soon clumped together to form a huge mass that made a giant blade.

I shot off at one of the native gods who was watching me stupidly. The gods had watched me quietly, and since their purpose was the core of the source in the first place, the birth of a new source was something to be pleased with.

And I didn’t want to leave such a gap alone. I’d do a little more flexing of strength, a bit of practice after getting used to it, but I’d definitely not miss a surprise attack.

Go to hell, you pathetic b*stards!

The native god, who was my target, hastily formed a shield over his body to try to defend himself. However, due to the lack of preparation at all, the defense was too weak.

The sound of a huge glass breaking was heard as I broke through the shield, and the blade pierced through the shield and into the body of that god.

“Argh!” A native god, reminiscent of an Asian dragon, howled. It was a chilling scream, but I felt good hearing it.

Finally, I had dealt damage to the native god. It was a bit of a cowardly attack, but it meant a lot to have caused damage. If the damage was accumulated like this, he could be killed.

As soon as I judged so, I moved without delay. I wondered if I could use the Zit Pop technique in a situation where I became a huge blade, and not a human body, but I tried it once.

Bam! Bam!

Quaaaaang!

Contrary to my concerns, it exploded so smoothly. Rather, the explosion was faster and smoother than it was before. If I knew this would happen, I would have made the explosion stronger.

The native god screamed loudly. Since the deeply embedded blade had suddenly exploded, no matter what god he was, the damage was bound to be great.

[Time suspended]

I stopped attacking for a moment. There was something to think about.

The blade that became my body was intact with the fire of Zit Pop. It was obvious that the blade wouldn’t melt. Not because the melting point of the blade was high, but the power of the blade and the fire were essentially the same. Both were made up of the power of the source, and at the same time, they were my power.

I had to loosen my body, and make the metal take the same shape as my body.

Soon, I could form a metal body that looked exactly the same as my previous body. There was no need to fine-tune the joints, blood vessels, mana circuit or organs. I could perfectly shape my body just by thinking.

I raised my hand. My face was reflected on the metal palm. This was definitely a silver surface...

Then the other native god’s attack flew in. Instead of retorting all kinds of attacks one by one, I just flew again toward the native god, who was struck by a Zit Pop and was unable to come to his senses. The native god didn’t even think of stopping me.

I held down the body of the other native god. Instead of attacking, I stopped his movements. If this was the case, he wouldn’t be able to attack.

Blood spewed out continuously, and the native god shook himself, making it difficult to keep his body down. I managed to hold on to something. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I had probably grabbed one of the ribs of the native god and hung on.

I had sorted out what I was thinking. Obviously, I was poor at controlling the source. But more than anything, if it was something I could get used to, I knew I could do it. The question that remained was whether it was possible to get used to this.

[Of course, it’s possible. It’s another matter whether you can do it or not.] replied the God of the Sky.

Since he had guaranteed, now it had to be tried.

A metal hand came forward, with a flame hovering above it. This hand was not a human body’s. It was unlike the human body, which was made of blood and flesh, and an average temperature of 36.5 degrees. But it couldn’t be termed metal either. It was an entity made from the source’s power.

The source could be in the form of metal. If it could take the form of metal, wouldn’t it be possible for it to take the form of fire? As soon as I thought so, my hands, which were in the form of cold metal, started burning. To be exact, it became a burning flame itself. Soon, not just my hands, but also my entire body got covered with fire.

I recited quietly, feeling a sense of accomplishment. “Burn.”

My body was set on fire, and the brilliant flames held on to every part of my body.