Chapter 55
Chapter 55 - Surprising Surprise Event
The recap footage continued with Adam and Mei's capture before showing them being handed over to Bakari. Several viewers who had previously completed Impossible Tutorials were immediately caught off guard.
MyGrandmaLovesMe: Holup. Since when was there a boss above Bakari? I never entered the desert during my playthrough, but I've never heard anyone mention a higher-tier boss out there.
Ablurt: x2
WhyOrangePigsFly: Hatshepsut, the next boss, is a special encounter that only spawns under certain circumstances. Your party has to include a virgin female, a healer, and fewer than four people. They just happened to meet all the requirements. :Shruge:
HolyPaladin: I still have nightmares about Hatshepsut. I was with my world's MC, a Legendary-class Holy Maiden, an Ultra Rare-class Holy Mage, and myself, an Ultra Rare-class Holy Paladin. We annihilated the undead with holy magic. They never stood a chance, not even Bakari. But when we reached the top of the pyramid to fight the final boss, we were completely helpless. Hatshepsut's golden eye flashed, and the undead kept spawning endlessly until we collapsed from exhaustion. Then she bled our Holy Maiden and forced her to heal herself for days on end. She still suffers mental breakdowns because of that bloodletting. Fortunately, once her curse is broken, Anubis appears and sends you out of the tutorial. You fail, but at least you survive. That's probably what happens here too. Don't know why they're getting a special broadcast, though...
WillGallis: TFTC
Trogdor: TFTC
IsaiahBro: TFTC
BlueDye: TFTC
Gojira: TFTC
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: TFTC
HottieHunter: I ain't reading allat. I'm happy for you. Or sorry that happened.
The chat spent the next several minutes mercilessly clowning on HolyPaladin for writing an entire essay. That continued right up until Hatshepsut finally appeared.
Then they clowned on him even harder.
Ablurt: A child... It's a child?
Gojira: You were scared of an itty-bitty human child?
HolyPaladin: You don't know anything! She isn't some innocent child! She's a terrifying undead who's immune to holy spells because she possesses a divine artifact of Ra, the Sun God!
The moment Hatshepsut stepped into the pool of blood and emerged in her true form, the chat froze for a split second before exploding all at once.
BlueDye: Holy f**! That is not a child!
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: Mommy? Sorry. Mommy?
GoblinButtKicker: How do I return to the tutorial? Asking for a friend.
Vytr26: When I get chosen for the tutorial, I'm picking Impossible and immediately heading into the desert.
xYzXyZ (mod): @Vytr26 If you enter the tutorial on Impossible, you'll be matched with Adam and Mei unless they clear it before you're selected. Either way, Hatshepsut probably won't be there anymore.
Vytr26: :PepeHands:
The recap continued until Adam blinded Bakari, earning him a rare compliment from BlueDye, who had spent most of the broadcast criticizing his spell usage.
BlueDye: Oh, [Divine Light]. That's a rarely used holy spell because it has almost no practical applications beyond being ridiculously bright. Pretty genius using it to blind an undead. Its brightness is amplified further by an undead's weakness to holy magic.
Moments later, the footage showed Adam driving a dagger into his own heart.
The chat collectively assumed he had completely lost his mind.
BlueDye: Welp, he killed himself...
Luni_2000: Suicide is a bold strategy. Rest in peace, I guess...
111Angel3: Looks like heaven's about to get a new resident.
Avarice: Did you all forget what his gloves do? They give 500% increased health regeneration. With his Constitution, bleeding to death is literally impossible unless somebody chops him into pieces.
OffBrandWiki: That's... not how you're supposed to beat this boss... I think. You're meant to cast [Silence] on Bakari, which releases everyone's bindings, then kill Hatshepsut before her curse is broken. She has incredibly low HP while she's still in her child form... I think.
HolyPaladin: No. I've researched the strategy for defeating Hatshepsut. My party was entirely female, so Adam's method wasn't even an option for us. The real solution is hidden in her eye. The first strike against the Eye of Ra immobilizes her. The second deals massive damage. The third kills her. Well... technically it seals her inside the Eye of Ra, making it usable by classes other than the Pharaoh class, but that still counts as defeating the boss.
"I thought that eye looked suspicious," Mei muttered as she scrolled through the chat.
She reached into her inventory, pulled out the Eye of Ra, and casually rolled the golden artifact between her fingers while continuing to read the flood of comments.
When Anubis descended in the recap footage, a surprising name suddenly appeared in the chat.
Anput: @Anubis, Husband, why didn't you tell me you descended into a woman's body? :CatKnife:
GodGamerKyle: :PauseChamp:
BlueDye: :PepeLaugh: 
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :Caught:
Anubis: Wait, honey, I can explain! So what happened was... Ah! Stop stabbing me! Wait, I'm using speech-to-text! They can all see this! Ow! Ow! Ow! Please sto—!
BlueDye: :MonkaS:
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :MonkaS:
Vytr26: :MonkaS:
GodGamerKyle: :MonkaS:
HottieHunter: So... he dead, or...?
Gojira: Getting stabbed a few times isn't enough to kill a being at his level. It'll just hurt really, really badly.
The exchange only lasted a few seconds before the chat collectively moved on, turning their attention back to Anubis's descent and the battle's conclusion.
Avarice: lol a human scaring a god. That's hilarious.
BlueDye: A soul-bound companion? Those make incredible teammates since they can be revived after dying.
Frogman: Adam's about to die for real... :MonkaS:
GodGamerKyle: So she really did have a tragic backstory. :Classic: 
SweetSarah (mod): Nuh-uh. Didn't you all see the murals earlier? She's no tragic heroine.
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: Damn! Blew her shi smoove off!
Vytr26: :Nooo: 
Hatshepsut, my future wife!!
HolyPaladin: Ha! Well deserved! :clap: 
OffBrandWiki: Acshually ☝️ Hatshepsut is still alive. That was only a recreation of her soul... I think.
HolyPaladin: Yeah, the real Hatshepsut is still alive. She's @Anput's maid.
Anput: @Mei & @Adam If you'd like, I can gift her to you two.
Mei (streamer): Nah, we're good. Right, @Adam?
Adam (streamer): Uh... yeah.
Vytr26: I'll take her! I've always wanted a maid.
BlueDye immediately shot that idea down.
BlueDye: Shut up, you idiot. She isn't actually giving Hatshepsut away. Besides breaking multiple universal laws, you can't just give a person away. That isn't even her real intention. She's trying to drive a wedge between Adam and Mei's relationship to get back at Mei for "bullying" her husband.
Anput: Sometimes it isn't a good thing to be too smart, @BlueDye. :)
BlueDye: Don't threaten me, Anput. You may not recognize this account, but perhaps you'll recognize my title. Blue Wizard.
Gojira: The Blue Wizard?! The same one who stormed the Breach alone and came back unharmed after killing thousands?
BlueDye: Yes.
Gojira: ...Oh.
The recap finally came to an end, and 3Y3's camera transitioned to the live broadcast inside the beach cabana.
Hovering a few feet off the ground, the little recording drone turned its camera toward Desmond as he stepped forward with a practiced smile.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the very first episode of A Peek into the Impossible! Today, we'll be introducing our two stars, Adam and Mei, along with their companion, Granessa."
Mei gave the camera an energetic wave.
Adam simply nodded.
Granessa, meanwhile, stared curiously at the floating drone. She could see herself displayed on the hovering screen beneath it, yet seemed completely unaware that the tiny eyeball-like robot was the one recording her.
The chat, however, had far more important priorities.
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :BOOBA: 
Bikini?!
SweetSarah (mod): omg those swimsuits... :PeepoFlush:
HottieHunter: Adam... it's so big... your... muscles. I think I'm going to die from dehydration. :SWEAT: 
BlueDye: Bruh... I can see everything. I didn't know they made men's swimwear that small...
Adam let out an exasperated sigh before immediately defending himself.
"This speedo wasn't my idea. Blame the admin."
He had barely finished speaking when an odd, sticky sensation began creeping up his leg.
His brow furrowed.
When he glanced down, his eyes widened.
"What the f—?!"
Before anyone could react, Adam was yanked straight out of his chair. He shot several feet into the air, suspended upside down by a bright red tentacle wrapped tightly around his ankle.
Twisting around, he followed the rubbery appendage to its owner.
Floating on the waves just outside the cabana was a massive crimson octopus.
Despite its enormous size, the creature wore an oddly adorable smiley face, making the absurd sight somehow even more unsettling.
Floating above the creature's head was a bold name tag.
Smiley the Kraken (Legendary Pet) - Lv. 200
"Aw! It's cute!" Mei exclaimed.
As if offended by the compliment, the smiling kraken slowly parted its lips, revealing hundreds of razor-sharp fangs dripping with thick strands of slime. Its tentacle tightened around Adam's ankle before steadily pulling him toward its gaping maw.
Below the unfolding chaos, Desmond remained perfectly composed.
"A wild kraken has appeared!" he announced dramatically into 3Y3's camera. "Is Adam about to be eaten? Or can his companions save him in time? Let's watch and find out."
Obediently following its host's narration, 3Y3 panned away from Desmond and zoomed in on Adam. He hung only inches from the kraken's open mouth, close enough to smell its rancid, fishy breath.
"Little help here!" Adam shouted as he dangled precariously over rows of glistening teeth.
Mei reacted instantly. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled her customized purple Desert Eagle, complete with a miniature red-dot sight and laser, from her inventory.
"[Dual Wielding]!"
A translucent phantom materialized in her empty hand before rapidly solidifying into a perfect copy of the pistol.
[Dual Wielding]
Effect: Summons a copy of your main-hand weapon into your off-hand. The copy deals 25% reduced damage but retains all effects of the copied weapon.
At the same time, Granessa hefted her enormous battle axe, spinning it through the air with the practiced ease of a banner bearer twirling a flag.
Ancient words flowed from her lips as she completed a chant.
"Raging flames, enchant my weapon with your fury! Grant me the power to overcome the elements!"
Blue fire burst to life along the haft of her axe. Instead of crackling upward like ordinary flames, it flowed across the weapon like liquid, coating the blade in a shimmering azure blaze.
[Blue Flame]
A fire hot enough to overcome the elemental restriction of water.
Effect:
Flow Like Water: Blue Flame possesses the liquidity of water and can cling to any surface.
The two women stood shoulder to shoulder, weapons at the ready, striking an undeniably cool pose for the camera.
"Any day now!" Adam yelled while continuing to dangle upside down.
Unfortunately for him, while they had been casting spells and looking cool for the audience, the kraken had not been idle.
A second tentacle wrapped itself around his other leg and slowly began creeping higher up his thigh.
Adam tensed his core, curling upward just enough to grab both slimy tentacles. He strained with all his strength, trying to pry them loose.
They didn't budge.