The final boss of each tutorial is meant to challenge the group that faces them. In the easy tutorial, they are testing how many of the thirty are combat-proficient; in the medium tutorial, they are testing the group’s teamwork; in the hard tutorial, they are testing how far you can go past your limit.

I have not included the extreme tutorial in the above list as, having listened to its survivors, I believe their final boss goes beyond the bounds of a challenge. You see, you are simply not meant to pass the extreme tutorial. Even if you had a perfect team of classers, all at the top of their health, you would still lose against the final boss. Rather, it is my belief that you need an unreasonable amount of luck on top the mentioned qualities to pass the extreme tutorial.

Giada Marino - Scholar - Intricacies of the System

____

The mink’s fur was so smooth Silas thought it was made of white, glossy marble. In fact, given how perfectly still it was, it could well have passed off as a stone sculpture.

Unlike him, Aengus didn’t freeze up but instead jumped in front of Mia and pushed her into his shadow. “Get back and prepare yerself,” he commanded in a harsh voice, breaking past the bounds of his usual character. “Did ye not hear me? GET BACK!” he roared as she stood there stunned.

She was quick to follow this time, and she ran to Silas and began raising water spheres from the ground.

“Stand there, Silas,” the man-giant said, pointing his spear ahead of Mia but behind himself. “Make sure nothing gets to her, laddie, but don’t take risks. Focus on yer defence.” His voice sounded strangely shaky, worrying Silas further. Hadn’t Aengus said his class allowed him to approximate how dangerous enemies were?

Giving no care to their reactions, the alabaster mink opened its sculpted mouth and made a loud gurgling sound. That was when Silas noticed several minks with dark coats stepping out from behind their boss. From the way their mouths twisted and their eyes glinted, it appeared the monsters were laughing at them.

Finally, the alabaster mink broke its stasis and hopped down from the cliff into a hundred-metre drop. It plunged through the air in a heartbeat and landed as gracefully as a cat, casually catching its falling spear with an open hand. The ordinary minks showed no interest in following their leader, instead appearing content to watch from their vantage point. Rising, the alabaster mink strutted towards the trio, raising its spear provocatively at Aengus, giving him a pointed look.

If the man-giant noticed the taunt, he made no show of it as he kept his position, glaring down the monster to its clear amusement.

All of a sudden, one of Mia’s water jets shot forward and crashed into the mink. The monster barely budged from the attack, giving her a lazy shrug in response: the hit area was smooth and unblemished. Its nonchalance must have frustrated her as she then sent all her water jets forward, barraging the boss but to little effect.

Exploding into action, Aengus bellowed as he charged forward, absorbing himself into drunken speed until he seemed a raging bull tearing through the lands. He bashed his heater shield into the mink, but it easily sidestepped the attack and tilted its body away from the follow-up. Taking advantage of his neglected guard, it leisurely scored his thigh.

He didn’t flinch and instead struck harder and faster, growling as he let anger guide his blows. It didn’t do a good job as the first attack was off target, as was the next one, and the one after. The mink seemed to predict his stabs and swipes as it moved to dodge before he even attacked. Finally, lips curling at their ends, the mink took the offensive as it saw an incoming thrust. It chopped down, deflecting his thrust into the ground.

Or it should have: what the alabaster mink hadn’t expected was Aengus’s inordinate strength. Despite having its chop aided by gravity, it failed to shift his spear away. It realised its mistake too late as the spearhead pierced through its fur, impaling its soft flesh.

Shrieking, its retribution was swift and brutal. Before Aengus could pull back his spear, the monster attacked his thigh once more, slicing deep across the muscle, before swinging its spear up and stabbing his gut. Aengus rebutted the next attack by pulling his shield in between them, but it was clear his defence wouldn’t last long as the monster attacked with fury, splinters exploding off with every hit.

Noticing their leader had been harmed, the other minks woke from their jeering and laughter and immediately set off to reach the battle site. Regardless, it would be a while as they had to take the long route down, lacking the skill to jump down from the cliff as their leader had.

Watching all this happen, Silas knew he had to do something, but he found his legs frozen to the ground, cold sweat dripping down his burning back. Perhaps it was his sixth sense, or maybe it was his inner cowardice which he thought he had buried, but upon seeing the mink’s snarling face, its frenzied eyes, and its bared teeth, he found his strength dwindling.

If he ran now, he could make it out alive; he was fast enough to put considerable distance between them in that time. A significant part of him unashamedly thought this, while the other part dug its feet into the ground, refusing to escape while Aengus fiercely fought for their lives. This was the same man-giant who had trained him, fed him, laughed with him, and saved him on several occasions. This was one of the few people he could call a friend, and his friend was being carved to death in front of him.

It was Mia’s scream that broke his internal standstill. He didn’t know if she had screamed a word or just screamed in fear, but the sheer volume of it threw him out of his mind and into reality. He stepped forward, then another step and another until he was sprinting, circling the mink until he was mere metres away from its back. Mana swirled inside his body and circulated up, covering his eyes, activating Weakness Vision. Several areas of the monster’s body lit up in red-tinted light, notably its left shoulder and its lower back.

Before Silas even lunged forward, he somehow knew the mink would expect his attack and turn around just in time. It didn’t matter as he still did it, gritting his teeth through the impact as the monster spun around and smashed his spear. Just as Aengus was strong, Silas was fast and he kept up his offence, thrusting rapidly, his blade slicing and sweeping.

Meanwhile, the man-giant staggered back, blood pouring down his body. Dropping to one knee, his eyes lost focus even as his chest kept heaving.

One down, the mink now focused its attention onto Silas, although to lesser success as it struggled to parry and dodge his blows. Amassing injuries, its attacks weren’t as sharp or fluid as before as Silas whittled it down, focusing on the areas highlighted by his Weakness Vision.

While the red light could be overwhelming from how often it flashed and how many parts of the body it appeared on, it told him where he could attack and expect a hit. The issue with the ability was that it lit up large portions of the body, such as the chest or forearm, but only certain spots in the lit region would translate an attack into a hit. Despite this caveat, it was still effective enough to litter the monster’s once smooth and glossy fur with grisly wounds.

In a sudden bout of rage, the mink snarled and took the offence again, furiously striking Silas’s chest and hip, forcing him to backpedal. Seizing the opening, it stabbed towards his chest and almost ruptured his heart when it suddenly screeched in pain. It buckled over, and its hairs stood on their ends from the enormous lightning bolt it had just taken.

Caught off-guard by the change of events and in intense pain, Silas didn’t take advantage of his foe’s immobility in time but Mia did. She followed up her electric bolt by telekinetically grasping the mink in a massive, translucent hand. It squeezed around its lithe figure and soared into the air, going higher and higher.

Recovering from the electricity, the mink violently struggled in her grasp, testing her control. She screamed in defiance and held on even as her eyes grew wet and strained, even as blood dripped down her nose, even as she rocked on her feet, only letting go as her eyes rolled back.

She dropped down, and the mink dropped down.

Unfortunately for her efforts, the mink could safely drop from heights as it had previously demonstrated. Unfortunately for the mink, Aengus was back on his feet, fuelled by fury. Landing on its four limbs, it couldn’t react in time to dodge his vicious uppercut, sending the monster back into the air. Aengus dashed after it and jabbed, positioning its head to receive his burning haymaker. Even as its body bounced off the ground, he jumped over and gripped its neck, clamping down, ignoring its resistance as it clawed at his arms, blade-like nails flailing out strips of flesh with each frantic attempt at freedom.

His arms were jerking, his body juddering, and his eyes trembling. His consciousness fleeted, but he held on until he couldn’t anymore, his vice grip loosening.

Still, he had held on for long enough. Silas stood over the alabaster mink, arms raised high, fingers locked around his spear’s shaft, blade pointing down. His Weakness Vision flashed over the monster’s head, painting its terror red. He struck, spearhead puncturing through its brain. Its body squirmed, convulsed, then stilled.

Congratulations, you have slain the Alabaster Mink. You will promptly be teleported.

The other minks, finally having reached the battle site, could only helplessly watch as the three humans disappeared, leaving behind their boss’s mutilated body with a spear lodged in its skull.