Chapter 82: The Third Stage can be Brutal

Sachiko, her husband Hioshi, and their sixteen-year-old son Hanako were running from three giant onyxscorpions, each at level 48. They teleported to the third stage of the tutorial after reaching F grade and spending their credits in the system shop. After arriving in a jungle similar to the second stage, they were immediately spotted by the creatures. At only level 25, they had no chance of fighting the massive, schoolbus-sized scorpions, whose deadly stingers were as tall as Sachiko herself. Each scorpion’s stone-like shell was fortified with spikes, and their enormous pincers could easily crush her.

Hioshi, a pyromancer, attempted to attack with a fireball, but the scorpions didn’t even flinch. Hanako’s arrows were also ineffective against their tough exoskeleton. Outmatched in speed and strength, Sachiko felt their deaths were inevitable as the monsters drew closer.

“To the right!” Hioshi shouted, pointing to a narrow passage between two towering trees.

They changed direction, running toward the gap, hoping the scorpions wouldn’t fit through. Sachiko threw herself into the passage, barely able to continue as her stamina was nearly depleted and her mana reserves were down to ten percent. Her class, bloombringer, was more supportive than offensive, but she used her last energy reserves to summon vines that sprouted from the ground, blocking the passage just after Hioshi and Hanako leaped through. Together, they ran toward a clearing, only to encounter two giant spiders feasting on human victims. One spider was savoring a half-dissolved man, while the other wrapped another person in webbing beside four human-sized cocoons.

Tarantula Level 58

Tarantula Level 63

Sachiko gasped in terror, resisting the urge to flee. The spiders began approaching, but before they could escape, a scorpion burst through the foliage, swiftly slicing Hioshi in half with its claw and discarding his upper body to the side.

Sachiko froze in horror as Hioshi’s body landed thirty meters away, his screams filling the air.

“No, Dad!” Hanako screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Their only hope was that the spiders and scorpions might begin fighting each other. Desperate, Sachiko thought of the healing potions, clinging to a slim hope that they could save Hioshi.

“Quick, go!” She shouted, racing toward Hioshi to avoid being caught between the two monstrous groups.

Just then, the other two scorpions entered the clearing, and one snatched Hioshi’s chest with its pincer, beginning to feast on his arm while he screamed. Hanako, overwhelmed with rage, shot an arrow at the scorpion, which barely noticed it.

To Sachiko’s relief, the spiders closed in on the scorpions, outnumbered but unwilling to back down. The scorpion dropped Hioshi and turned toward the approaching spiders.

Sachiko and Hanako sprinted toward Hioshi, desperate to heal him as best they could. Hioshi had stopped screaming, his body almost entirely consumed, leaving only his head, chest, and right arm intact.

“Pour health potions on him! He’s still alive!” Sachiko urged, tears streaming down her face as she and Hanako poured healing potions over Hioshi’s remaining body parts. His wounds began to close, but it was far from enough. Behind them, the spiders and scorpions were engaged in a vicious battle. The spiders, using their superior speed, attempted to entangle the scorpions in webs while dodging the lethal stingers.

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“We need to run,” Sachiko sobbed. “He won’t make it, and whoever wins that fight will come after us.”

“I won’t leave Dad as long as he’s breathing!” Hanako cried, pouring another healing potion over Hioshi.

A loud crash sounded as the lower-leveled spider launched itself at a scorpion, dodging a pincer and sinking its fangs into the scorpion’s tail. The other spider joined in, jumping on the distracted scorpion’s back. With a burst of mana, the scorpions retaliated, flinging the spiders off, but one had lost two legs. The initial clash seemed in the spiders' favor, leaving the scorpions badly injured. The larger spider then turned its gaze toward Sachiko, its eyes gleaming with predatory intent.

Then, a man in a black robe covered with red runes and a dark mask dropped from above, landing between the spiders and scorpions. Sachiko identified him in disbelief, shocked that he would step into such a deadly confrontation.

Human Level 42

The beasts were still surprised as a giant crimson red vine covered with almost black thorns erupted from its hand, shooting at the nearest spider with incredible speed. The barbed thorns on the top of the vine pierced the spider's defenses, and with a twist, the spider's body got crushed and ripped apart. The injured scorpion rushed at the ominous man, trying to grab the guy with its pincers, his broken tail hanging to the side.

The man pulled out a red sword that hummed with power and unleashed a powerful red slash at the scorpion, breaking the armor and cutting deep into the flesh. Than all hell broke loose, the remaining spider sprinted at the man while the vine was retracting and the scorpions were also out for revenge, charging the man. It looked like the man changed gravity as he was pulled back from an invisible hand, dogging the spider attack, and a thorn shot out of his hand and pierced the remaining spider's eyes, ripping through the hole body and destroying the abdomen.

A stinger from the healthy scorpion came at him, but he just stepped to the side and, with a swing of his blade, cut the tail with the stinger cleanly off. The scorpion screeched in pain while stumbling to the side. The man didn't waste any time another thorn was shot at the spider, ripping through the body finally ending its life while jumping on the back of the stumbling scorpion. His sword swung through the back of the scorpion while he swung.

He must have activated the red slash again as the scorpion got cut in two. It didn't take long until the last scorpion lay dead on the ground and the man walked over to them.

“Please, help us! My husband is still alive!” Sachiko pleaded, collapsing to her knees, her face wet with tears.

"Yeah don't worry, the guy is almost stable according to his heart, the man said while raising his hand, which glowed in crimson red.

Bloody rivers rushed at Hioshi, covering his open wounds, and after only ten seconds, the wounds were closed and the legs slowly started to regrow.

“That’s all I can do for now,” the man said, the blood retracting as his hand stopped glowing. “The rest will grow back with time.”

“Thank you,” Sachiko sobbed, cradling her husband with relief.

The masked man just turned around and started to go in the direction of the dead beast.

“Wait! You can’t just leave us!” Hanako called, regaining his composure.

“Why not? You’re fine now and should manage until you reach the next base,” he replied, continuing toward the corpses. “You were unlucky to run into such powerful beasts.”

“What base?” Hanako asked, confused.

“Oh, right—just head in that direction,” he said, pointing to where the spiders had been feasting. “You’ll find a base within a day’s journey.”

“Who are you?” Hanako asked, exhausted and overwhelmed.

“I’m Thalion. Good luck to you three,” he replied before returning to his task. Sachiko and Hanako watched as he collected the monster corpses in his spatial ring, then transformed into a green eagle, its feathers crackling with power, and disappeared into the sky.