The group ran into four more wolves shortly after they set out. This time the battle went much better. Now that they had the numbers and weren’t panicked Maximilian noticed the wolves were rather stupid. They targeted whatever had hurt them which meant it was possible to constantly distract them. Further if Maximilian focused on ranged attacks the wolves would rush him which left them open to spear strikes. Unfortunately they also learned that danger and opportunity went together. If they worked together to take out a wolf the energy they received was barely notable. It wasn’t enough to compensate for one Static Bolt. Which brought him further from his next level. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He didn’t want to endanger himself anymore than anyone else but it was nice to have tangible progress to the future.

  “Alright.” Gerald began. “I am pretty sure we’ve seen every inch of this place except this chamber. Which means the thing we need is inside. I think we should all take a break and try to regain as much energy as possible.” He glanced at Maximilian. “We can assume it will either be a lot of wolves or one big one. If its the latter than we approach it the same way. If not then we keep our formation and whittle the enemy down. Now isn’t the time to be the hero.”

  “It shall be a grand hunt. We will feast on their bodies and bring honor to our ancestors.” Saleki exclaimed.

  Maximilian nodded to the lizardfolk. The last few battles had led to a new appreciation for the lizardfolk. There hunger for flesh was weird and uncomfortable but they didn’t hold back when it came to violence. Although he wouldn’t say they were loyal to each other. Saleki felt the group would be better off if they had abandoned Samantha but they had made some agreements. Agreements that still held. If anything Maximilian was more worried about Jackie and Samantha. The first battle had caused a wound that hadn’t begun to heal.

  “You know I meant for you to start gathering that spiritual energy.” Gerald asked.

  His words brought Maximilian from his thoughts and to the task at hand. “Right I was just thinking. Give me ten and we should be ready to go.” Gerald nodded and Maximilian focused on his technique. He let the energy spread through his body and the beginnings of his channels. The area going from his dantian to his right hand was filled with detail now. He would say it was closer to his skeletal system than his nervous but that was more than enough. Gerald was the one to discover that energy could be used by warriors as well as mages. You could push the energy into different areas of your body to augment your strength. It was enough to make a person stronger than the wolf even without a proper weapon.

  Maximilian calmed his thoughts and focused on the flow of energy until he was tapped on the shoulder. He opened his eyes and nodded to Gerald. Anxiety and excitement warred in the pit of his stomach as he stood up. The six of them stood in front of the cave mouth. Maximilian activated Static Bolt and let it float just above his right shoulder. He didn’t want to run the risk that the enemy would attack before he was ready. Saleki and Muteki led the way mostly out of excitement than any official agreement. As soon as the group entered the cave a translucent barrier of energy formed behind them. Maximilian slammed his enhanced fist into it but no matter how hard he hit he couldn’t leave a mark.

  “I guess once you decide to take on this room you either succeed or don’t.” Shook his head ruefully to the group

  “It doesn’t change anything. We all knew that this was a dangerous trip we just have to win.” Gerald offered though it was clear the loss of retreat as an option had dampened everyone’s mood. Well everyone except the lizardfolk who looked indifferent.

  “Fleeing would bring disgrace and danger back to the tribe.” Saleki offered.

  The group gathered again and walked further into the cavern. It was more than twice as large as the one they had been teleported into. Unlike that first room this one was made out of smoother stone. As if someone had constructed like it was meant to be an arena. Once again he was curious about the Network. Before he could start down that train of thought a massive wolf stepped out of the shadows. It had to be more than two or three times as big as the other wolves. Maximilian swallowed his fear and scanned their surroundings. From what he could see it was just the one wolf. Which meant things were going as well as they could have hoped. His gaze landed on a ruby the size of a manhole cover on the far end of the cave. He considered trying to reach it but could abandoned that idea. There was little chance they would make it across the distance before the wolf got them. If they were intercepted their formation would break and then they would die.

  He nodded to Gerald and launched his attack. The blue white spark shot across the cave like a bullet. Instead of the expected sight of the wolf recoiling or even roaring in anger it seemed almost unaffected by the attack. Maximilian widened his eyes as the wolf glared back at him and charged. The ground shook as if it was a stampede of elephants that bore down on them. He glanced around as the other raised their spears. Spears that looked like toothpicks in comparison to the wolf. Still no one backed of and no one ran. Even Samantha had her weapon in hand. Maximilian formed and fired another bolt just before the wolf crashed into their front line. The group scattered like bowling pins. Gerald managed to pin the butt of his spear against the ground which was the only reason he held his ground. The others were tossed away like rag dolls. Saleki and Muteki were the first to get to their feet. They reclaimed their spears a moment before they launched at the wolf.

  Maximilian worked to come up with a new strategy as fast as he could. Gerald had ripped his spear free while the lizardfolk aimed for the wolf’s right forelimb. Their attacks enough to draw blood but either it didn’t bother the wolf or wasn’t as bad as it looked. He launched another Static Bolt this time he caught wolf just as it opened its mouth. The electricity dug into the flesh and forced it back a step. Maximilian’s grinned and prepared to launch another. Before he could gather the energy the boss wolf turned and charged him. The wolf moved like a freight train. He pushed spiritual energy into his legs and leaped to the side. He felt its breath as he narrowly avoided its jaws. He slid across the stone and was saved from a follow up when of the lizardfolk leaped on to its face. Their claws ripped out fur and flesh for a moment before the wolf tossed its head back and snapped it fangs around the warriors leg.

  He couldn’t tell if it was Saleki or Muteki as they continued their attack. The new leg wound oozed emerald blood while the lizardfolk warrior made a horrible sound. It was something like a whimper and hiss. Regardless of the pain it continued to attack. Gerald and the second warrior rejoined the battle. Their spears found the wolf’s flesh and it began to slow. Red and green blood mixed as the battle continued. Maximilian looked around until he found Jackie and Samantha. They shook like leaves in the back of the cave. He gritted his teeth but decided to ignore them. He unleashed another Static Bolt before he sprinted into the battle. He ducked just as Gerald was launched overhead. He bent down and grabbed several loose stones. Each one was the size of his palm. He took aim and launched them as hard as he could.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The stones shot forward with a speed that would make a major league pitcher jealous. The first one narrowly missed the wolf’s face while the second caught it in the jaw. The wolf recoiled but Maximilian didn’t back down. He unleashed his last Static Bolt. The bolt of electricity slammed into the wolf’s left eye just before the second lizardfolk slashed at its throat. This time it managed to rip out a chunk of flesh. Blood poured down the beasts throat as it swayed on its feet. He held his breath and waited to see what would happen. He activated his cultivation technique while he stood still but it was harder. The energy entered at less than half the normal rate. It wasn’t until a burst of spiritual energy surged into his dantian that he relaxed. The wolf collapsed and the voice returned. This time it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

  Quest 1 Complete. Quest Grade: A. Reward Distribution has begun. Tutorial Title has been improved.

  Maximilian collapsed to the ground. It was as if those words alone managed to drain all the strength he had. His muscles ached like had just run a marathon but he had survived. Not only that everyone had survived. The lizardfolk had the worst injuries and if hospitals still existed he was sure they could recover. Now though? He banished the thought. The Network had to be able to heal them. It wouldn’t make sense to put everyone into life or death battles if injuries were permanent. He held onto that thought, that hope for all it was worth. He fought the nagging thoughts at the edge of his mind. The ones that suggested the deaths were the point. That this was a death game. Before he could check on the others, a familiar pillar of light engulfed him. For a brief moment, all that existed was white. He was still aware of his body, but it felt like he was separate from it. A gentle warmth spread through his body as he sat there. He tried to check his dantian and use his cultivation technique, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move. Despite that, he wasn’t worried. By the time the white light faded, he wasn’t sure if his inner calm was the result of himself or something the Network had done to him.

  He looked around and found that he was back in his home. All of his aches and pains were gone. Better yet, he felt better than he had when they left for the mission. A box the size of a suitcase made him forget all of that when it appeared on the table. The box was metallic gray and looked like a Christmas present without the bow. The scene was so video game like that he thought it was a trick. Another test or even a trap, but he let that bit of paranoia go. The voice had said the mission was over. Which should mean this was the reward. He took a seat across from the box and opened it up. Inside were clothes, rather, they were the kind of robes you would see on the set East Asia historical drama. He pulled them out and placed them on the table next to the box. The robes were two different garments. The outer garment was a dark reddish purple color ankle-length robe with a round collar that was slit at the waist. The outer robe had simple circle embroidery going along the front. Which were the arrays sat. Finally, a cord tied the whole thing. The inner layer was a long sleeve shirt and pants combo. The top relied on a string to tie the two sides together instead of having buttons. Lastly there was an inner belt to keep everything in place.

  He glanced down at his clothes and grimaced. They had seen better days, between the dirt and the wolves. He would’ve preferred a suit of armor or something, but this would be better than nothing. He decided to go to the bathroom to clean up before he got dressed. It wasn’t until he put on the outfit that he noticed two things. First, there was an additional tie in his hair. It followed the same color scheme as the rest of the robes and was pretty nice. Also, smaller and much more delicate symbols covered it. The second thing was an information slip. One that changed everything he had assumed about the robes. He reviewed the information twice to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  He sent a small amount of his spiritual energy into the robe and grinned as the robe resized itself. It adjusted to his body better than what a professional tailor could’ve done. Further it didn’t obey the laws of physics at all. There was still the same amount of robe even though it had to stretch and tighten in some places. He wanted to test it further, but the slip hadn’t told him how. The robe wasn’t just for fashion either. It had several magical effect including damage redistribution, self maintenance and a shield. He couldn’t know how strong any of the features would be because the robes were listed as middle quality, but it was better than nothing. He ran his fingers across some of the strange symbols. The symbols likely represented a language of some kind. That the symbols on his robes were similar to the ones for his skills. They were all made with the same font, a basic computer font that seemed boring.

  Even with the help of his new skill he couldn’t understand what they meant. Either the skill wasn’t good enough or the language was too advanced. Either way there was nothing he could do about it. Since there hadn’t been another announcement, he assumed he had the rest of the day to himself — that thought died as a new prompt appeared. At first he assumed it was another mission, but that wasn’t it. Instead, it was a new reward or rather a new title.

  Tutorial-1st Quest: Limited: Complete the First Quest of the Tutorial. Reward: +5 to Intelligence, Agility and Wisdom.

  As soon as he had read the prompt, energy surged into his body. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths as he regained control. It wasn’t as strong as the other title, but it felt was still amazing. He never liked drugs even after legalization, but he imagined that drugs would feel like that. He flexed his fingers and sent the prompt away. He activated Static Bolt, but from what he could tell there was no difference. It was still a small electrical bolt the size of his fingernail. He unleashed it on the wall. As expected, it left no mark. He wished for a way to track how much power one new point would provide, but it was impossible to tell. He figured his attack was stronger than most handguns now, but that was about it. “The only way to know for sure would be to leave the tutorial and find Old Earth weapons.” He mused to himself. “Of course, by then the enemy should have provided enough information points.”

  He also wanted to know why he got those three attributes. Intelligence was obvious it boosted his offensive. Agility made some sense. He had run around attacking, but that felt like a weak explanation. Everyone in the cave had to run around, so did everyone there get Agility? Or were the attributes packaged together? If you took a spell, did you auto get the other two? Nothing he did explained the Wisdom boost unless you stretched it to argue his decision making ability. Even then, it was Gerald who made up most of the plans. It could also be the Network. He shook his head and sighed. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it now. He stepped into his cultivation room and sat on the mat. He wanted to restore his energy as fast as possible.