The Master of the Tutorial is Overpowered in a New World

Captain Lyle had kept the pace of the militia's march strong, and as such they reached the city of Ippo two days faster than expected. Tess was relieved that the journey here was over, for the journey to the capital was going to be far easier.

Ippo was a grand city that served as an intersection of trade due to the close proximity of the two deep rivers that ran through it. Legends said a long time ago they had been one river, but had split due to the goddess’s intervention. Tess doubted Oena's hand in the matter, but still appreciated the story the locals had built around the rivers. They were each deep and wide enough that trade ships could sail up from the east or west, then transfer to the other river and sail out the opposite way. The transfers were possible due to a number of man-made canals that had reconnected the rivers. Ippo's nickname had become the City of Canals because of this.

“Additional supplies will be sent downriver, but we'll be taking the fast way,” Lyle remarked when Tess had asked.

As the militia was headed to join up with the expedition, they were joined by other small militias gathering in Ippo for the journey. The military complex in Ippo served as their staging ground, which left Tess in a bit of adoration for the sophisticated nature of it compared to the dingy fields of Langison.

Proper ranged targets were arranged neatly for those skilled in archery or spells to practice on. A number of rings were established for soldiers to duel each other inside. There was even a field for cavalry to practice maneuvers. Tess was stunned, alongside many of the militia and the adventurers she had been traveling with. Only Lyle seemed unfazed.

“It is nice to be back,” he commented.

Tess snapped out of her daze, and went to question Lyle about something far more important.

“Captain! Might I ask where the Adventurer's Guild is here?”

“Going to get that Purple?”

“I intend to.”

Lyle pointed her in the right direction and off she went. Ippo showed its prominence and power in its very construction. The buildings were not mere wooden structures cobbled together by amateurs, but rather fine constructs of stone, brick, and wood that told artistic stories in their own manner. The streets were cobbled and kept clean as opposed to dirt swaths with ruts in them. There were even magical lamps to illuminate the streets at night.

The Adventurer’s Guild in Ippo was a grand two story structure. White stonework formed the outer, lower floor while the woods utilized gave the structure an aura like that of a noble's mansion. Proper glass filled the windows, throwing off the reflected light to make it gleam. Truly if not for the location and slightly dirtied walk, the place could absolutely have been mistaken for a place of higher import.

“How many will challenge me here?” Tess wondered aloud.

After all, to those here Tess was a backwater adventurer with no exploits to her name worth noting. Clearing a Yellow dungeon solo was interesting, but her Blue ranking would diminish that achievement. That somebody from so far out was deemed to be Blue was sure to cause controversy, but that was about it.

The door was wrenched open by someone else as she reached forward to push. Tess found herself staring upwards to the face of a giant of a man, who was returning her gaze.

“Oh! Excuse me little lady!” the man said, stepping back to allow her entry.

She stepped in, pausing to take in the sight. The interior was far more intact than she had expected. Perhaps there was enough money here to maintain the building. The adventurers within, limited in number as they were at this time, seemed to be relaxed and cool-headed.

“First time at the Guild, little lady?” asked the man.

“This one, yes. It is much nicer than the one I signed up at.”

“You must be here to head out with the expedition then!” he jovially proclaimed.

His boisterousness caused several heads to turn in their direction.

“Yes. But I wanted to see about getting this promotion test done first. I have a letter that Hepha gave me.”

“Hey Milly! She needs a test done!” the man called out towards the receptionists, pointing at Tess.

One looked exasperated at the man and motioned for Tess to join her. Tess hurried over, as she really had wanted a quieter entrance. There was no plan for an announcement about everything she was doing. The giant man followed behind.

“Trev, weren’t you leaving on a quest?” said the receptionist.

“But we can’t have this little lady be bullied by some ruffians! She’s getting a promotion test!” Trev said in reply.

“Ruffians? The only person to give anyone trouble right now is you.”

Tess watched the two banter, feeling slightly awkward.

“I’m Milly. You need a promotion test? Orange, yes?” the receptionist asked, pulling out a set of forms.

“Uh,” Tess paused, glancing around, “Purple.”

Milly froze mid-movement. Trev’s eyes went wide.

“P-p-purple?” Milly stammered out.

“Yeah. I have a letter from someone who said I was ready for it.”

Tess placed down the letter Hepha had given her before she had left Langison. Milly picked it up and broke the wax seal, reading the letter.

“The Bladestorm!” Milly shouted, covering her mouth afterwards in embarrassment at her outburst.

“The Bladestorm recommended you!” Trev shouted with no embarrassment.

Tess looked around. Everybody’s attention was on her again, and it was not leaving now.

“I guess so. Never knew her by that name,” Tess said.

“Then only I am available to test you right now,” said a voice from above.

Everyone’s attention turned upwards to the man staring down whose entire appearance screamed black. His hair, eyes, skin, and clothing was entirely black, as if the void itself was given a form. If not for being in the light, he might easily blend into the shadows and be completely unseen. The man turned and left his position.

“This way please, Miss,” Milly said to finally break the silence.

Tess allowed herself to be guided by Milly through the guild to a training arena. It was not as large as those over at the military encampment, but was still sizable. Alone in the center stood the man in black, waiting for her arrival.

“So what do I need to do here?” Tess asked.

“Defeat me, if you can,” said the man in black.

“Again? Figures.”

Tess took up position inside the ring. She took a few breaths to center herself, blocking out that the entire guild had once again followed to witness her dueling another seasoned adventurer.

“You are ready?” the man in black asked.

“I suppose.”

“Then begin.”

Tess had no idea what this guy was capable of, but the constant dueling with Hepha had drilled in the usage of skills. Tess silent cast an opening attack of Binding Chains to restrain the man. The chains of light sprung into existence and instantly caught the man in black. He pulled as if to try and break them, yet found he could not. Tess let out a small smile.

She was not finished, triggering her Speed skill, she darted forward in a blur of motion and made her appear to teleport. Appearing behind him, she swung her blade now wreathed in green fire at his immobilized form. The blade passed through the space, but not him.

“Good. She has taught you well.”

The man in black materialized from wisps of black smoke. Where he had disappeared to just before she struck was unclear, and she needed to figure out what he had done. She held back from closing in again.

“You will not attack? Then I shall.”

The man closed in slowly, not hiding his approach in any way. She had no idea when the blade appeared in his hand, or whether it smoking was normal, but she moved through the motions to block his oncoming attacks once he was in striking distance. Yet he seemed slow to Tess as the duel continued.

“Are you going to actually try?” Tess finally asked.

“What?”

Tess struck and sent him flying as the question seemed to catch him off guard.

“I mean, your bladework is not as good as Hepha’s. You haven’t really used magic except to dodge my own attacks when I get through your guard. So are you going to try soon?”

Tess saw him smile.

“Very well.”

The man suddenly appeared to be five, which all promptly dove in towards Tess. Surrounded, Tess tried to counter each attack thrown her way. She quickly found herself sparring against two of the man’s copies at a time. Whichever two it was to keep her attention, the other three would launch attacks from a distance or from her blind spots. The coordination between him and his copies astounded her, and were it not for Analyze, she would have lost him in the shuffle game he played with the copies.

“I figured it out,” Tess said.

She silently cast another spell, bathing the entire arena in bright, blinding light. Once the light faded, the onlookers saw Tess standing over the crumpled form of the man in black.

“What happened?” someone shouted.

“I knocked him out?”

“SHADOW IS OUT! THE LITTLE LADY WON!!!!” Trev shouted, charging forward.

Tess tried to back away, but Trev scooped her up and lifted her high. A chorus of cheers went up as everybody shouted in raucous joy.

The celebration of a new Purple ranked adventurer quickly spread through the city. Purple was a hard rank to obtain and many failed the test to get there. Yet when one passed it was worthy of making news. It would even reach those mages in charge of the communications between the major cities, and so reached the capital that same day.

When the prince received the news of a new Purple rank adventurer, he was delighted. It would mean another valiant member of the team to work with the champion. Yet, as he thought about the champion, he grew concerned. It had not escaped his notice that the champion… left much to be desired. He could only hope that the Purple ranks would make up where it counted.

The addition of a new Purple adventurer meant another invitation had to be made, so the prince got to work.

Tess had celebrated hard, and her head felt it. In retrospect, she had been so caught up with everything that she had not taken the time to really enjoy herself. The Purple rank celebration had let her unwind. She was thankful to finally be out of the Tutorial, to have survived her initial dungeon dive, to get such a storied trainer, and now to rise above. She had risen to the top, which according to her stories meant that things were about to come crashing down.

“You have a letter, Ms. Tess,” Lyle said.

“A letter? From who?”

Lyle did not answer that question, however his stern expression spoke volumes. He held it out to her and she took it, examining the seal. It was nothing that she recognized, and she was about to ask again when the flag behind Lyle answered the question for her. It was the same symbol as on the flag, the flag of the empire. The royal family was looking for her. She split it open and read the contents.

Lady Tess,

Your presence is requested in the royal capital to attend a banquet for all those within the Empire who have achieved a rank of Purple within the Adventurer’s Guild. There is an important guest we would like to introduce you to and a request that the Empire wishes to make of you.

While attendance is optional, we sincerely hope that you will attend as the matter at hand concerns the ongoing struggle against the demons. Please arrive on the forthcoming Fifth day of the month of Cardea. Formal attire is required. Present this letter at the castle gates and you shall receive entry on the day in question.

Signed,

Crown Prince of the Ramze Empire

Prince Layton Tilo Walcott Ramze

Long Live the Empire

“Hey Lyle? When is the fifth of Cardea?”

“A week away.”

“Oh. Looks like I need to get to the capital now,” Tess said.

It turned out that having a royal invite was a great way to expedite one’s travel through magical means to the capital. Especially when the traveling person was a Purple ranked adventurer and had to be there in less than a week.

Tess had been getting lots of special treatment since her promotion. It made things convenient, but was starting to grate on her as she already wanted to go places and not be recognized. Why these people in the capital knew what she looked like was confusing at first, but apparently there were vivid descriptions that were floating around in the stories.

“I just need something simple. Skirt and blouse,” Tess said to the tailor.

“Of course!” the tailor said, pinning some fabric with a myriad of needles.

“When will it be done?”

“In a few hours dear. Gotta work fast for you Purples! You earn it.”

Tess wanted to tell her not to rush, but the woman was already slicing through fabrics and stitching them together so quickly that she realized it would be pointless. Instead she stepped outside and did some window shopping. Occasionally the interesting trinket caught her eye, and she picked it up to utilize later. Her cycle brought her back to the tailor’s, where she collected her new simple clothes. She felt a little bad about what she was going to do to them, but it was the quick solution to her formal attire issue. She quickly traveled to the inn where she was staying for the night, but diverted to sit with her traveling companion instead of going straight to her room.

“You acquired your clothing? It does not appear formal,” Shadow commented.

Being a Purple ranker himself, ‘Shadow’ had come along as he too had received an invitation to the prince’s banquet. He had not given her a proper name to call him by, so she had been resorting to the adventurer name he seemed to carry. Since he never corrected her, she could only guess that he was fine with it.

“I can do something with this. It’ll be fine,” Tess replied.

Shadow did not give acknowledgement one way or the other.

“What is the prince like?”

“He is a noble, yet seems to care for the people too.”

“That’s not much.”

“It is what I know. I do not come here often, and interact with the nobility, much less the royal family, even less.”

“I see. Did you find out anything about the special guest?”

Shadow continued his meal in silence.

“Yes,” he finally admitted.

“Is it the Champion of the Goddess?”

“I believe so.”

“And does she match the description I gave you?”

Shadow did not reply.

“How do you know the Champion? You act as though you have met her before. Describe her in vivid detail. Yet you have never set foot in the capital and she appeared only a few months ago.”

Tess calmly picked at her own meal, debating how much to tell Shadow. She had not been quiet about her journey before, yet being so close to Olivia again made Tess ponder her reasons. Sure, it sucked that Olivia had screwed her over. She supposed that the biggest reason was to find out why things had gone this way. Taking over in place of Olivia, acting as the hero, was something that she would probably need to do. Even that mattered little to Tess, since it was just another fun element of the narrative she had built up in her head. On top of all that, did she need to have others assist her, dragging them into her personal conflicts?

“She is, or was rather, my apprentice before we arrived here.”

“I see.”

Tess waited for the next question, yet Shadow did not press the matter further.

“No follow up?” Tess asked.

“Did you intend to provide any?”

“I wasn’t. But I suppose I would have if you pressed.”

“Do you wish for me to ask further?”

“No… and yes.”

“You told me what you wished to. Perhaps in the future you will tell me more, but that is a matter for that time.”

“You are strange.”

Shadow flashed a grin.

“You have no idea.”

On the evening of the fifth of Cardea, Tess approached the castle gate. It was an elaborate part of the inner walls, focusing more on form rather than function. She was not the only person in the line to enter, yet it seemed even amongst the Purple ranked guests she was drawing attention. It was probably the dress.

Tess had taken Appearance to the simple blouse and skirt she had gotten the day before. Now the two garments were one midnight blue dress. The front was slightly shorter than the back, allowing her to move easily, but neither side dragged against the ground. She kept the sleeves, yet did go a little daring with the amount of cleavage she opted to show. She had also let her hair down, which being released from its typical braid left her hair long and wavy.

“You stand out,” Shadow commented.

“Not as much as you.”

Shadow had ditched his all black attire for a white colored suit. The contrast to his body was stark, and it did make him more noticeable than usual.

Fortunately there was no trouble with a flash of their invitations. Entering into the palace grounds, they found dozens of Purple ranked adventurers milling about and gorging on the provided food. There was also a significant number of military looking noblemen, though these seemed to avoid the adventurers. However, everyone stopped at the clatter of noise as something hit the floor.

“YOU BITCH! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?!”