The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage
chapter-14

Today was Day 6 of the [Tutorial].

In other words, the day of the monster siege for Bront City, and the final evening of the incoming meteor showers.

Otto could only thank his luck for last night's peaceful rest.

The meteors hadn't impacted the north side of the city at all.

They would probably hit the military camp tonight.

If this was the Wolf King's scheme, like Otto vaguely suspected, it would need the military to be in a state of disarray and panic the most.

Then, the monsters could truly begin their siege.

Otto sat up from his bed. He felt like he had done enough for the city.

Actually, he still wasn't completely convinced that these worlds held real people.

Since the timeline would be reset as soon as one batch of challengers completes the [Tutorial].

It was just, when interacting with them, they were too real!

And it wasn't wrong to do the occasional good deed, as long as it didn't impact Otto's own interests.

Jeremy also woke up early in the morning after falling unconscious. He proceeded to sleep for sixteen straight hours.

He first read the note placed on the small desk in the room, then went and banged on Otto's door.

His voice was loud and jubilant for the equivalent of 4 in the morning.

"Otto! Otto! I finished the task!! Hehehehe I can leave the tutorial now!"

Otto was thankfully already awake. He couldn't be bothered to dress properly, so he grumpily opened the door.

"Shut up, brat. People are sleeping."

"Okay."

Jeremy answered in a hushed tone, but his exuberance was hard to hide.

He started chattering quietly but relentlessly to Otto.

"Do you remember when I got out of that pack of twenty monsters? You should have seen my skills then, I was hacking and slashing so much that those monsters didn't even have a chance…"

He kept talking as Otto's face steadily darkened.

Idly, Otto wondered if there was a powerful healing potion that could cure Jeremy of his constant chatting and subtle narcissism.

But Jeremy soon grew quiet.

"Hey Otto, where do I go now?"

In that moment, he looked especially vulnerable, even a little scared.

What would the future hold? If this was merely the tutorial, what fresh hells do the floors above have in store?

Would there be a break in between floors? Where would he go? Could he live as if they were on Earth again, or did the entire tower exist in this medieval style world?

All those questions and many more were at the tip of Jeremy's lips, but he anxiously awaited Otto's answer first.

Otto waited semi-patiently for Jeremy to finish speaking.

"Finally done talking?"

Jeremy nodded shyly.

"I'm about to give you a lot of information. Are you ready to listen? You'll have to memorize everything I say or else you might accidentally find yourself in dire straits."

Jeremy nodded with some apprehension. What was the world of the [Tower] like? It seemed he was about to find out.

For a second, he wondered how he knew all of this stuff.

Wasn't Otto a 'new summoned' just like him? But he seemed so knowledgeable.

Jeremy wouldn't ask him about it.

Everyone was entitled to some secrets, even if those secrets happened to be more mysterious or interesting to others.

Otto began,

"I don't have time to brief you on very much, but I will tell you exactly what you need to do. I can't accompany you right now. I haven't finished my own mission."

He raised his hand in objection to Jeremy's impending retort. His tone was blunt.

"You are too weak to be of any help right now. On the contrary, you might die without knowing why."

Jeremy was disgruntled but was forced to accept his words, as Otto's tone was unusually firm.

Otto continued,

"First, you will agree to complete your mission. You will be transported to a 'neutral zone.' It's kind of a holding space where a series of things will happen.

The first thing the [Tower] will do is to give you an option to select a class. It will present you with 3 to 5 options of official classes that suit you best.

This will affect your future, so you need to be more careful than ever with this selection. You will only be able to choose one, and you aren't able to take it back.

Think of it like a game. The best classes are Gold Grade, then Silver Grade, then Bronze Grade, then White Grade, and finally Common Grade." He tapped his chin.

"Although if you see the word 'Digit' no matter what class it is, pick it immediately.

Based on your performance, you should at least be able to get a White Grade class, with a chance to get a Bronze Grade, and a small chance to get a Silver Grade. Don't hope for Gold.

You want to select a rogue-type class that works well with your innate trait AND has a strong ability to battle."

"Follow me so far?"

Jeremy nodded and took a minute to think and commit Otto's words to memory.

"After that, the [Tower] will grade you on your mission completion. You will get a score between 1 and 5 depending on your performance. The higher the score, the more rewards you receive.

Then, the [Tower] will show you a list of rewards. You will get some AP and perhaps a skill book or two, maybe a weapon or piece of equipment, or a special item.

You'll also receive some money. The [Tower] will ask you if you'd like to convert your money into local currency. Select Yes. Otherwise, you won't be able to use it when you arrive.

Afterwards, I don't remember the process exactly. But you'll be teleported into the world inside the tower.

You will initially be inside a safe zone where you can't be attacked. Listen to me very carefully, and heed my words:

Under NO circumstances are you to leave the safe zone. Make sure you know exactly where it ends.

Important things should be said thrice: Do NOT leave the safe zone, no matter what. Do NOT leave the safe zone, no matter what. Do NOT leave the safe zone, no matter what."

Otto's tone was unusually grave. Jeremy wanted to ask a few questions, but seeing Otto's solemnity, he was forced to treat this matter with importance as well.

Otto saw that Jeremy understood the gravity of the warning, and returned to his calm demeanor.

"New summoned are generally given a guide. They should help you with mundane stuff you need to know."

Otto waved his hand before rubbing his chin,

"If the guide doesn't tell you, make sure you register yourself with the Area 1 Federation. Otherwise, I won't be able to find you when I arrive.

Also, don't trust anyone at all once you get there. If you get a lot of money, hide it. Go to a bank when you get a chance."

Then Otto reiterated the most important instruction,

"Above all, do not leave the safe zone, even for an instant. Also do not spend any of your AP or otherwise make important choices that will affect you in the future. I will come and find you after a while, so stay there.

It may take me a few weeks to get there, depending on how far away I am. There's a lot more information, but the guide should cover most of the basics.

As long as you don't leave the safe zone, you should be fine.

Can you remember all of that?"

Jeremy nodded, but Otto still relentlessly quizzed him to make sure he didn't forget anything.

When he was sure Jeremy would be fine, Otto let out a small sigh.

He watched as Jeremy waved goodbye and his body disappeared into a white light.

There were so many things Otto didn't tell him, but Jeremy would learn when he arrived.

Otto wasn't too worried about him- as long as he didn't leave the safe zone, the worst that could happen would be for someone to steal his money.

Then, Otto smiled.

The [Tower] had given him a lot of money for his 'Tower First' achievement.

As in, enough money that he would never need to worry about money for the rest of his life if he lived in Area 1, where Jeremy was headed.

Honestly, he could support a few billion people with the wealth in his account.

Otto rubbed his hands.

He was never this wealthy in his past life. Part of him couldn't wait to live the luxurious life of a loaded capitalist.

Hehe.

His thoughts soon turned to the seal on those boots.

Since he had a few spare hours, might as well give it a shot!

He spread tendrils of mana into [Ofrand's Boots] to check the seal again.

The more he saw, the greater his shock.

'If Ofrand really sealed these, he was a much greater mage than I previously thought.'

The seal on these boots resembled a chess board. Only, one had to make a series of moves in the correct order at the correct time to win the game.

Not literally of course. If he looked at it literally, it was like a knot that couldn't be untied.

'This'll require a few hours, for sure, maybe longer.'

Time flew by.

The sun rose, painting the wooden room in a brilliant yellow tint.

The room was silent. Otto's mind was locked in intense concentration, studying the first seal on Ofrand's Boots.

His stomach growled. As if an instinctual response, he rang a bell to ask for lunch in his room.

Meanwhile, he continued analyzing the seal.

Otto hadn't actually made a move yet. Even attempting it was a dangerous task.

Not dangerous in that he might lose his life.

Instead, the seal was set up in such a way that one wrong move would not only fail to break the seal, but would also destroy the boots completely in the process.

Ofrand clearly only wanted talented mages to have a sliver of a chance to use them.

Otto ate his breakfast mechanically, never once breaking eye contact with the boots laid in front of him.

Another few hours passed by before Otto's eyes lit up.

He had found the correct method!

Otto took a deep breath and calmed himself. He went down to the inn's kitchen and ate a hearty meal of stew. He kept his head empty to maximally restore his mental power.

Luckily, his mental power had always regenerated quickly, and it was almost full by the time he finished his lunch.

Otto then walked back upstairs, and meditated for half an hour in his room before finally deciding to begin his attempt.

Otto needed to be fully concentrated for this. Even the slightest interruption might mean failure if his mana veered off course.

His control over his mana was already incredibly precise, but in the face of such a finicky seal, even he didn't have too much confidence in attaining a good outcome.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Begin.

Time flicked by once more.

Thankfully, the inn remained very quiet throughout the early afternoon while Otto worked. This was also the best room available.

The walls and doors were thick and well sound-proofed.

Otto's eyes glowed blue as he poked precise points in the 'knot' of mana with differing pressures in a certain order.

Sweat beaded on his brow.

His face scrunched up in intense concentration as he continued to manipulate his mana.

The mental power that Otto so prized was beginning to dry up. Yet the seal remained locked.

Just as Otto was about to faint from overtaxing himself, a wellspring of power appeared in his body, drawing on his body's potential to forcibly allow him to continue.

Otto never broke his concentration.

TLK

A tiny click seemed to echo through his room.

Otto wiped his sweat and checked the boots.

He wanted to cheer.

YES!! He broke the seal!

His face broke into a wide grin.

And, he pulled a Jeremy.

As in, he passed out.

Otto didn't wake up until four hours later.

It was because the inn suddenly got noisy. Otto looked at the sky, and his stomach dropped.

'It's evening.'

Did he miss the time?

'If I spent all that effort to unlock the seal, only to miss out on the main goal…'

Anger wouldn't even begin to describe it.

Then, he heard an ear-splitting BOOM. It reverberated through the whole district.

Panic ensued. People escaped from their homes, their businesses. They didn't know if the building they were in would be next.

But Otto revealed a relieved smile.

'The meteors arrived. I'm just in time.'

Otto scarfed down half the dinner outside of his room, and, heart trembling, checked the details of the boots he'd just unsealed.

Thankfully, his mental power recovery was much faster than his mana recovery, and he could now start his plan fully recharged!

[Great Mage Ofrand's Boots]

Four-Digit #9443

Sealed (1/3)

[Attributes (Tutorial)]

Speed +10

Mana Pool +5

Intuition +5

Magic Power +5

Regeneration +5

[Spells (Tutorial)]

Blink

Double Jump

[Blink]

Space Element

Instantly teleport to a place you can see.

Uses: 5

Cooldown: 24 hours

[Double Jump]

Wind Element

Jump once on the air.

Uses: 2

Cooldown: 30 seconds

"!!!"

"!!!"

"…"

Otto had to GO if he wanted to pull off his plan.

But he had a hard time pulling his eyes away from the stupendous attributes of the boots he had just unsealed.

He had only hoped they'd be silver grade after a single unsealing, but to have them directly become a four digit equipment.

It was far beyond Otto's expectation!

Not to mention that Digit Equipment were always growth type! These were only the attributes for the [Tutorial] and they were already overpowered.

What really got Otto's drool going, though were the two spells.

He could now use 'Blink,' a spell he couldn't dream about even in his past life, five times with no cast time and no mana cost every day.

Even 'Double Jump' was amazing- this particular spell model had always commanded a high price on the market for its supreme versatility in battle.

'What a phenomenal equipment.'

Otto directly put the boots on and felt his speed grow by a large margin. His senses and reaction times also experienced an improvement.

Moreover, his magical attributes increased slightly.

Otto felt he was filled with power!

But this was no time to test it out.

Otto had to leave the district!

He joined the panicking crowd of people on their way through the streets. Stall owners had dumped their goods and run for their lives.

Wealthy merchants and nobles mixed in with the crowd and tried to tempt people with money to let them through first.

Some folks abandoned their families, while others desperately picked up their kids and tried to push through.

It was pandemonium.

Otto was also stuck in the crowd. He quickly grew frustrated with the sloth-like pace of the escape.

Annoyed, he ended up using his new spell, 'Double Jump' a few times to get around people.

Combined with strong-arming others out of the way, Otto took only ten minutes to get out of the district.

His face was red as he rapidly expended his stamina and sprinted full speed to the Brenner's base, cursing himself for his lack of foresight in selecting an inn that was so far away.

Fortunately, he arrived in the end, and it didn't look like the base had been broken into quite yet.

Since Otto told Commander Zeller to prepare to be attacked right after the meteors this evening, the Commander should also have instructed the Brenner family to come out in full force.

Which meant there should be few left to guard the base…