For a short moment, I bask in the gazes of the people, but when Brainiac comes rushing, screaming about where the hell I could have gotten so many shards, I teleport away.

I appreciate [Tether] more and more, the way it allows me to avoid people is amazing.

Through the [Connection] the twins set up I receive a call from Channeler, (Boss! Good job with the shards! I don't know how you tricked the system, but that’s going to help a lot!)

(Tricked the system?)

(The amount of shards. Did you bug it out somehow? We could use it maybe or…)

(I didn’t have to. I have the shards.)

The silence that ensues is quite long, but it warms my cold heart.

Actually, can I even say that? My heart can generate a lot of heat, so maybe it's not all that cold.

(Are you serious?) Channeler's voice is quiet.

(Yup.)

(Are you maybe dumb?)

Okay, someone's asking for a beating.

Before I can send a message, Channeler adds, (Do you realize what you have done?! With such a high reward, I wouldn't be surprised if over a thousand people challenge you at once!)

(That would mean thousands of shards for one challenge, after the system's cut. That's not bad.)

(Noname, please… you set a 3rd Floor restriction! I know you’re strong, but your restricted Avatar can't defeat hundreds of people from Hard difficulty!)

(It’ll be fine.)

(It won't be fine! You’re going to lose all those shards. So many!)

(Channeler, my dude. Don't worry, just keep to the plan and let me know when people challenge someone interesting so I can come and watch.)

(Will do,) Channeler says, sounding deflated as he does, and I end the conversation.

It's a bit after midnight, and yet the common area is lively enough for me to take notice even from afar. A giant screen dominates the center. Well, not one. Four of them, arranged in a cube for people to watch from every direction. So far, there’s not much to be seen, and it seems like only one Avatar can be challenged at once.

That's interesting and it adds a degree of complexity, given the 24 hour limit. Still, with 31 Avatars that leaves room for 93 challenges. Joining all of them would cost a massive amount of shards, so I don't think anyone is going to be joining all of them. Especially if they’re from Easy difficulty, they usually have 50-100 shards at most. The fact that Channeler has 150 is a feat in and of itself.

Now that I think about it, I should probably feel bad for trying to get shards out of these people.

Nah, screw them. Anyone fighting my Avatar is after my shards, so I have no need to pity them. Plus, I can always think of it as a form of patronage, after all these shards will go a good way towards making myself stronger, which will, in the end, help the people of Earth.

Probably.

I still haven't decided what to do once we get out, but I don’t think I’ll like whoever winds up attacking us in the pairing, so I’ll probably join the fight. Even if it’s only to level up and acquire some nice loot.

Pushing these thoughts away, I place a few more anchors, and teleport until I reach our house. Once there I sit on the roof and wait for Lily. We’re meeting to collaborate on a few experiments. We’ve decided not to sleep for the next 24 hours, and we shouldn’t have any problem staying up for that long. Plus, I don't want to miss any interesting Avatar fights, so I maintain an open connection with Channeler and the others so they can continue to feed me information.

It takes a few more minutes but Lily appears on the roof with a big smile on her face, “Thanks for the warning! You were right, Savant and others were extremely fun to watch when they learned about your additional rewards.” She laughs, a memory flashing behind her eyes. “Brainiac even started calling you sugar daddy Noname and insulted us for keeping you to ourselves.”

Lily plops down on the roof next to me, a smile still on her face. Her eyes seem to glow. “Dennis said Savant looked like someone told him they pissed into his drinking water for days.”

Oh boy, maybe I should have stuck around longer.

“Tess said Gareth and Adam think you managed to bug out the system.” She stretches and lays on her back, “I haven't laughed so much in so long! Seeing the expression on Savant’s face was priceless.”

“Screw that guy,” I note.

“Yeah, screw that guy!”

I give myself time to enjoy the image of the pissed-off Savant, and silence ensues.

Quietly after a minute, Lily breaks the silence first, her words careful, “Nat, I can fix your arm. Make it so it isn't pale anymore.”

As she says so, I glance at my left arm which is pale no matter how many times I restore it or how much sun it gets. Lily´s left arm shares its pallor. She probably could have fixed it at any time, at least I think so. It’s obvious why she hasn’t. But her decision to make the offer has left me curious.

“Why?” I ask, turning to her and our eyes meet as she lays there.

“I…” she starts and falters, “I’ve been speaking to Tess, Sophie, and Maya a lot and I think I was wrong to push that on you.” She looks at me as if waiting for a response, but I stay quiet.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

So Lily continues, still somewhat awkwardly, “It was unfair of me and I shouldn't have tried to force myself on you that way. The girls told me they were surprised you hadn’t been more upset.”

At this point, her emotions may as well be an open book. The more time I spend with group 4, the easier it is to understand them. The same way they’ve learned to understand me. The experience is interesting.

"So I'm sorry," Lily finally gets out, sulking over my silence and finding it increasingly difficult to speak.

But I think it's important for her to say this in her own words. Sometimes it can help one understand their emotions better.

While she waits for my answer, I notice that even as she said so, she seems worried. This black-haired healer of ours is still scared of being abandoned. It doesn't matter that she understands that it won't happen or that making my arm pale hasn’t changed anything.

For her, it's a connection she bears to me, and like the rest of us, she can’t help but be scarred inside by her past traumas.

"I see," I say simply.

Lily nods and reaches, "Then I will fix it."

"I see, but I refuse," I say, pulling my left arm back, much to her surprise.

While she stares at me with her big eyes, I say simply, "I like my arm the way it is. I think it looks cool."

That silly healer of ours looks like she is about to cry.

"You’re going to like my minion, she’s a crybaby too," I note.

"I'm not a crybaby," Lily says, quickly wiping her eyes.

"Something in your eyes?"

"Yes, the dust. This tournament floor is terrible."

"It really is."

A slightly longer silence ensues and I add, "Don't misunderstand."

At that, Lily only nods, "I know."

Looking at her and remembering the way she was a year ago, I can see that she’s really changed and grown up. But who among us hasn’t? And going through all of it together has somehow brought us closer together.

Thinking about it, it was the start of the 4th Floor where I decided to give this group a chance and I still remember the conversation I had with Lily. Even then she almost cried. Crybaby indeed.

As I thought it over, I don't think it was a bad decision, it’s not bad at all, being surrounded by this far from normal group of people. At times and with limitations, of course.

Weirdos, all of them. And poor old me having to deal with them.

Anyway, I turn to Lily, "Let's try cutting my chest open and see what we can learn about my heart before the system heals the wound."

We have to give up after an hour of testing and a few lame jokes about Lily being close to my heart or holding my heart in her hand.

Not because of jokes but because of the healing of this floor. No matter how hard we try to slow it or keep the wound open by stopping it from closing, it always heals after a few seconds.

According to the severity of the damage, it can be nearly instant or slower when the wound isn't severe. Me or Lily causing it doesn't change anything, the healing is the same in both cases.

Well, it's not like I didn't expect that. This healing aura is also the reason why Active Tempering won't work here. For it to work, my body needs to be infused with a special frequency of mana and get damaged. Any sort of healing prevents Active Tempering from doing its work.

It's almost like working out. You need to lift enough weight, enough times to damage your muscles. Then, while you sleep or rest, the damaged parts heal and become stronger provided they have the nutrients to do so. Well, it's not exactly that, but it's similar to Active Tempering.

So, cutting my chest open, I was able to see my heart for the first time. A beating Mana Heart, slightly modified to serve as a medium to generate thermal and kinetic energy in exchange for mana.

The heart was surprisingly normal. It didn't glow. There was no change in appearance.

Sure, there was some mana radiation as if the chest cavity were acting like shielding, and each beat of the heart creates mana, but that's probably all that’s different. Other than the inscriptions surrounding it from my constructs, it was almost normal if you can call it that.

At least it allowed me to gain a bit of knowledge I can use in the future when I try to upgrade it again.

(Noname, they’re challenging your Avatar!) says a message from Channeler.

How interesting. Was it the additional rewards and severe restriction? Or do I have the rumors to thank?

“Somebody’s challenging my Avatar, wanna watch?” I ask Lily, who’s returned to studying the Champion’s bone.

Hearing me, she quickly puts it away, “Yes!”

I offer her my hand, and after a bit of hesitation, she takes it in hers, and I teleport us away. Like most of the people from Hell difficulty, Lily is more than capable of enduring the process with her enhanced body and mind well adapted to powerful skills.

Appearing to the side, we move even a bit closer.

(Your Avatar is the first to be challenged,) Sophie sends through the web with the aid of the twins’ connection.

She has chosen to sit with some of the other members of group 4 and Hell difficulty taking up benches around the central plaza of the common area. Some of them have occupied the terraces with drinks and food close at hand. It's all being treated like an event to be enjoyed.

(I would expect them to test it out on someone else, no matter how much we tried to make me look weaker,) I reply.

(Eighty thousand shards is a lot, Nat,) Lily says, joining the conversation. (A lot,) she repeats.

(Lily’s right. Plus, it's not that expensive for Hard difficulty, so even if they die, it's worth trying once.)

(So how many of them are going in?) I ask.

(They’ve gotten greedy, so only twenty members from Hard difficulty. The group is being led by Samuel of all people, would you believe that.) I can hear Sophie smile through the link. (He threw his weight around and tried to limit the number of people who could enter.)

(How does it work exactly?)

(One person challenges the Avatar and a countdown starts. The countdown is 15 minutes, and within that time, anyone can join the challenge, and then they enter together. At first, there was only Samuel and his handpicked group, but the more time passed, the more people joined. You should have something in your notifications. It's as much our event as it is theirs.)

(You’re right,) I reply while checking the window.

Challenge 1/3 - 9 minutes remaining until the start

Number of challengers:

Easy - 10

Normal - 26

Hard - 33

Collected challenge fees: 1300

We’re going to need to pump these numbers up.