Chapter 18 : Will To Live (be ready cause next chapter is the fight of the century)

  Somewhere in the world at the same time:

  The current king of Iveralmn, along with the kings of several nations, were gathered in a circular room around a central table. This was a meeting of paramount importance.

  "A group of adventurers so recent, yet reaching S-rank, it’s unbelievable! They’re frauds, I tell you!" exclaimed one of the members, slamming the table, red with anger. It was the king of Virtalia, a kingdom in Voltruite.

  "And so? What do you plan to do? That’s the very reason we are gathered here, isn’t it? The use of S-rank adventurers in war, as well as the conditions for acquiring such a rank. I also find it strange that this group, Novus Obris, has risen so quickly. Either they are extremely powerful, which I doubt, or they are lying about their abilities and exploiting the current system," said an old man with a cold and icy voice, his arms crossed. He was the king of Malvea, one of the kingdoms of Verdesable.

  "You’re simply disgusted that these talents didn’t appear in your kingdoms," added the king of Iveralmn with an unhealthy smile. Indeed, the fact that Aley and Elvaria had officially made their identity cards in Iveralmn made them citizens of the country, and consequently, the honors belonged to the king of this nation.

  Each year, a festival is held to demonstrate the power of a kingdom. It involves several stages: the demonstration of the army, new magic spells, but the most important is the tournament. In a massive arena with a Roman appearance, several fighters sent from various countries face off. Their objective? To determine who is the strongest. Among them are several S-rank adventurers, sometimes A-rank, and others who are not registered with the guild and act independently. The next tournament was going to take place very soon. Its political importance was such that the kings were obliged to gather to discuss it. Today, the main topic was the rapid rise of Novus Obris, and the question was: "Should we allow them to participate in the tournament?"

  Suddenly, a man spoke, one of the kings from the continent of Verdesable.

  "I intend to send Valentin. You’ve probably heard of him. This will be his first tournament. Since his summoning a few months ago, he has only grown stronger. He himself strongly suggested that I accept Novus Obris. In his own words: 'If you doubt their strength, add them to the tournament. If they are as weak as you think, they will be humiliated in front of millions of spectators.'"

  The room fell silent before the atmosphere turned sinister once more.

  "Tough luck for you, Lord Iveralmn. It seems your fraudulent team will be exposed for its weakness in broad daylight," said one of the kings.

  "The group I’ve chosen this year will crush them without any trouble," added another.

  They were already envisioning the defeat of Aley and Elvaria, unaware of their true strength. Then, the king of Iveralmn spoke up.

  "Very well. I choose them for the tournament. Upon their return to the kingdom, a messenger will immediately inform them that they have been accepted. No objections, right?" he said, a wicked smile on his lips.

  The tournament is broadcasted worldwide by magic, and the arena is so large that it can accommodate over 100,000 spectators per fight. In other words, for the king of Iveralmn, it was a sure way to showcase his power to the world through the Novus Obris group.

  Somewhere on the 51st floor of the Aqualida dungeon:

  Hello, I’m Aley Vrodwil. A lot has happened to me since I arrived in this world. First, I discovered that apparently the life I was leading before wasn’t my real life, and that I might be someone named Aleystria. Then, I’ve been missing my family a lot. And thirdly, I just received a confession of love from Elvaria.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  We’ve just passed the boss room to enter the 51st floor, an immense forest with a lake in its center. The place looks like the outside world, but it’s impossible to go beyond the forest’s edge; the dungeon prevents us from doing so. As for Elvaria...

  To understand, we need to go back a little.

  "I love you. Please go out with me," Elvaria said to me in a trembling voice but with eyes full of determination.

  "I... I also find you very precious, Elvie," I responded. Her eyes suddenly began to shine with excitement, a smile forming on her lips.

  "But... but we can talk about this after we leave the dungeon. If we make promises now, we might die. It’s bad luck, you know?" No sooner had I said those words than Elvaria lowered her head, visibly sad, before suddenly lifting it again.

  "So, that means you’re not rejecting me, correct?" she said, her voice once again filled with excitement.

  I nodded to let her know she was right. She struggled to contain her smile, visibly too happy and excited by the news. She rushed toward the 51st floor, shouting:

  "I’ll take care of this quickly!!"

  And so here I am, all alone in the middle of the forest on the 51st floor, without knowing where Elvaria is.

  The forest itself is of incredible beauty, the fir trees that populate it are all of rare splendor, each one ancient. Knowing that this place was once an important site for the ancient civilization of the Holy War, I can only be in awe. The past it holds seems strangely nostalgic to me—

  An orc suddenly attacks me with a huge club; I narrowly dodge it. It was a massive humanoid creature with green skin, a mountain of muscles with piercing eyes, an A-rank monster.

  I draw my sword, push off the ground, and dash toward him. Unsurprisingly, I slice him into several pieces. He’s no match, but the noise of the attack has attracted others, many others...

  I suddenly find myself surrounded by an army of monsters. Among them are major dragons, S-rank monsters. There’s no escape. It’s foolish on my part, I should have prepared to block the attack instead of dodging it. Making noise in S-rank dungeons is a death sentence. Never mind, I’ll fight.

  Access granted: Will To Live (unique).

  Somewhere on the 51st floor...

  "Eheheh..." A girl with red hair and green eyes had a wide smile on her lips. She couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the same time. She was happy, very happy.

  "Aley... Aley didn’t reject me," she said, letting out a few more giggles of joy.

  She had located a goliath with a symbol on its body, a sign that it was the keyholder of the 51st floor. She was currently tracking it when suddenly—

  BOOM.

  An enormous explosion caused by a cataclysmic concentration of power echoed through the dungeon, tearing through walls and floors, literally destroying space and time. A massive crater was left where the explosion occurred.

  "What just happened!?" exclaimed Elvaria.

  "Aley!" she added, worried for her comrade’s well-being, before rushing toward the explosion.

  Meanwhile, on Aley’s side...

  "What did I just do...?" I stood over an immense crater, seemingly endless. After receiving a new skill, I activated it. At first, I didn’t feel anything, so I decided to fight as usual. A major dragon was diving toward me, so I swung my sword into the sky, except, well, that strike caused a massive explosion.

  "Aley! Are you okay?" Elvaria approached me.

  "I’m fine, don’t worry," I said, smiling to reassure her.

  "What is that? A monster?!" she asked, realizing the damage from the explosion.

  "No, actually, it’s my fault..." I said, slightly embarrassed. At my words, her face shifted from disbelief to shock, then to fear, before settling into admiration.

  "Incredible..." she said, her face full of awe.

  "I’d love to do the same with my spell—"

  "Absolutely not," I interrupted her suddenly.

  "Shall we jump into the hole, then?" I added. Indeed, if the explosion had broken space and time, we could potentially reach the final floor directly, making our lives much easier.

  "Elvaria?" I looked around, but I couldn’t find her—

  "Aaaaaaah!!" Suddenly, I heard her voice. Ah... She had just slipped into the hole, falling. Well...

  "Quick Step." I activated Quick Step and jumped into the hole, running along the walls to catch her mid-fall and reach the bottom safely.

  The inside of this place is strange. Since my attack pierced through the different spaces of the dungeon, the walls have a strange purple texture, sometimes reflecting several stars within them. I don’t really understand what it is, but no matter, I’m nearing the bottom.

  The boss we’ll face at the bottom will be on a completely different level. My blood is boiling. The fight is going to push me to my limits, and I can’t wait. A smile once again forms on my lips as I run along the walls of the hole at full speed to descend faster, Elvaria in my arms, also looking down. The excitement of the upcoming battle must be reaching her too.

  Author note : I might rewrite the first chapters later on, i don't know how this website work, but if there's a way to contact me, let me know what you of me rewriting them