Chapter 43 : The Strongest Guild

— Authorized access: skills reactivated.

The Will of the World resonates in our minds again as soon as Llyrnoth departs, and our powers are returned to us as if by a divine breath. I release my arm from Elvie's neck and suddenly feel the strength return to me. I can walk on my own now. I'm ready.

"Elvie, now that magic is back, let's use it to find Alfira and Valentin," I say, turning to Elvaria, who nods without a word. We are still on the outskirts of the dungeon, Valentin fled towards the city, so we follow his trail.

"Quick Step!"

At these words, I launch myself into the air, but this time, something is different. The speed, it is unimaginably greater. The world around me freezes in a supernatural slow motion, as if Varilis himself had infused me with the power of a thousand souls. Every movement of my body creates a shockwave, resonating like a heartbeat in the frozen space.

In the blink of an eye, I find myself in front of Pienat. But I can't control this new speed, and I'm heading straight for the city. I might cause damage! Civilians, perhaps, will be caught in my reckless dash... Damn!

Suddenly, a red flash, even faster than me, tears through the air. It's Elvaria. She just flew past me, weaving at an incomprehensible speed, arms outstretched, smiling like an idiot. What is she doing?! If I collide with her at this speed, I might reduce her to dust!

And yet, too late. The impact is titanic. A shockwave of immeasurable scale spreads throughout Pienat, shaking every stone, every soul, and catching the attention of all the inhabitants. The villagers, frightened, look up and discover an improbable scene...

I am there, suspended vertically, my head deeply embedded in Elvaria's chest, while she, hands on her hips, wears a triumphant expression. She managed to stop me with her body... How is that possible? She, too, became much more powerful in an instant.

I stand up, embarrassed, but the noise caused by this absurd scene has attracted far too many gazes. Among them, Valentin, who emerges from an alley between two houses, Alfira by his side. They appear in the center of the square, near the fountain, their eyes fixed on us.

The heavy silence is broken by Valentin's voice, resonating with palpable incredulity:

"...Ahah... You two became incredibly fast all of a sudden..." His tone is almost ironic, though his shock is evident. He adds in a colder voice: "Stop floating up there and come down. You're attracting far too much attention, and Alfira and I are waiting for explanations on what just happened."

How do I tell him the truth? How do I reveal that Elvaria and I... no, Aleystria and Elvaristria, were once beings of divine power, reincarnated for reasons that escape us, and that we carry within us a power capable of defying even the gods, called Stria? He would never believe us.

And yet, Elvie gently descends to the ground, and I follow closely behind. She turns to Valentin and Alfira, inviting them to approach before whispering, without the slightest hesitation:

"Actually, Aley and I... we were beings of divine power, called Elvaristria and Aleystria. Those are our old names, in a past life, but we've forgotten everything. We were reincarnated without knowing why."

Valentin is left speechless. Literally. He tries to say something, but no words come out. He simply can't believe it. Alfira, on the other hand, is in a completely different state. Her eyes shine with pure joy, a radiant smile lights up her face, and I almost forget that she was trembling with fear just moments ago.

"It sounds like a fairy tale... Let me help you in your quest!" she exclaims, overflowing with enthusiasm.

Valentin, meanwhile, is still frozen, his thoughts trapped by this flood of information. He trembles, unable to move or react. I wonder then what it would do to him if I...

"Valentin, by the way, we come from the same world. I was reincarnated on Earth before ending up here." I say, with feigned nonchalance, though my smirk betrays my amusement.

At these words, Valentin's head, still with his mouth wide open, slowly, very slowly, turns toward me.

"W-Wha-..." He tries to speak but suddenly collapses to the ground, unconscious, overwhelmed by the shock of all these revelations.

"Valentin?! Valentin!" I cry out, slightly embarrassed by my own blunder. Oops.

Alfira, her eyes still shining with wonder, then turns to me with an even bigger smile. She kneels down, as if preparing to make the most unreasonable request.

"Elvaria, after the tournament, I fully intend to keep my promise and marry Aley," she declares with a mock seriousness that she absolutely fails to maintain.

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Elvie, in response, draws her spear with a look as dark as the abyss, which promptly halts Alfira's ambitions.

Valentin, meanwhile... is still unconscious.

Thus, our adventure in Pienat comes to an end. I carry Valentin on my back, walking through the streets of the town until we reach the exit where a certain young man in a carriage awaits us — the same one who brought us here. His eyes are fixed on Alfira.

"Madam, a pleasure to do business with you again," he says respectfully.

"No problem, young man," replies Alfira, though at sixteen, she is much younger than him. She pulls out another bag of gold from her white robe and tosses it in front of the carriage. The young man steps down to pick it up before letting us climb into the back.

The journey back is peaceful. We enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Iveralmn, though nothing will ever compare to the divine beauty of the Holy Land, the jewel among nations, located on the edge of Verdesable.

The carriage drops us off in front of the massive white walls of Iveralmn's capital. At the entrance, the guards let us pass without the slightest hesitation. Our faces are now known almost everywhere.

We head toward the guild to validate the dungeon quest, finally completed. The money we're going to pocket will be enormous... Well, I can't wait to see that.

"Alfira, do you know if your father has already prepared the tournament? If not, we're leaving for good this time," I say, addressing her. She walks just ahead of me, alongside Elvaria, while Valentin, true to himself, keeps a certain distance, quietly observing the situation.

"How would I know? We just got back," Alfira replies with a sigh, slightly annoyed. Then she adds, more relaxed: "I can go see my father if you want."

"Very well, Alfie, go do that. We'll inform the guild of your entry into Novus Obris for you," says Elvaria, giving her a thumbs up with a confident smile.

It's then that Valentin, with a certain emphasis, claps his hands in the air to get our attention. "Ahem, Novus Obris has several missions. Sure, I passed out earlier... But I now fully understand the situation," he declares firmly, before continuing: "Our main goal is to conquer a dungeon of impossible difficulty, the God's Prism, according to what you told me after I woke up in the carriage..."

I interrupt to complete his sentence: "Yes, that's correct, but conquering the Prism with our current strength is unthinkable. So, after the Verdesable dungeon, we need to become much stronger."

Elvaria then falls into silent reflection, while Alfira speaks with confidence: "In that case, we can train in the Holy Land after getting better gear in Voltruite."

"Excellent idea," I reply, smiling. At these words, Elvaria, seeing that smile directed at Alfira, suddenly throws herself at me with a jealous look.

"I'm not abandoning you," I murmur, holding her in my arms, soothing her jealousy with tenderness.

Alfira then heads silently toward Iveralmn's castle, which proudly dominates the entire capital, while Valentin, Elvaria, and I continue on our way to the guild. After a few minutes of peaceful walking through the city streets, we finally arrive in front of the guild's door.

Elvaria steps forward... but can't open the door. Why? Well, because Alfira broke it, and apparently, no one has bothered to repair it since last time. So, we pass through the gaping hole in the wall, naturally drawing all the attention.

As always, the adventurers present immediately turn toward us, an almost daily ritual at this point.

"Novus Obris is back! They really managed to conquer that dungeon!" an adventurer tries to shout, abruptly standing up from his oak chair. But before he can say more, he is violently shoved to the ground by a towering figure.

In front of us stands an absurdly tall man, almost a giant. He wears heavy armor, revealing only his face, lined with strained veins.

"A bunch of kids, is that what Novus Obris is? I leave for a while to go to Voltruite, and when I come back, kids have become celebrities? Don't make me laugh," he says in a chilling tone.

At his words, Valentin's gaze becomes as cold as ice. Elvaria, on the other hand, burns with palpable fury, slowly grasping her spear, both of them ready to leap at his throat.

I try to defuse the situation. "What do you want? It's true that we're powerful, quite handsome, rather sexy, and frankly stylish, while you… you're wearing an oversized armor. But how dare you stand against us—" Oh… Wait, did I really say that out loud?

The giant, consumed by black anger, grabs the massive axe strapped to his back. He raises it above his head, his crazed eyes locked onto me.

"Keep that in mind before I rearrange your face. I am Garm—" he starts to say, but he doesn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before I vanish before his eyes.

Using the new speed from the Quick Step enhancement, I propel myself directly towards his chest, leaving a trail of dark aura behind me. My fist slams into his armor with crushing force, shattering it instantly. The shockwave sends him flying backwards, making him spit blood, without giving him a chance to react.

While he's still in the air, Elvaria steps in. She appears in a flash of red behind him and delivers a powerful kick straight to his head, sinking his skull into his shoulders and sending him flying across the room, towards the exit… and towards Valentin.

Still in the air, Valentin gracefully dodges the giant's massive body as it hurtles towards him, then draws his sword with surgical precision. In a flash of light, he slices through the giant’s clothing cleanly.

Finally, the rude adventurer crashes outside the guild, completely naked.

"Wh… Wh…" he tries to say, before losing consciousness due to his injuries.

The other adventurers, who had remained silent throughout the scene, suddenly burst into laughter and excited shouts.

"Ahahaha! Only Novus Obris could pull off something like that! They took down the Iron Giant, an S-rank adventurer, so easily!" one of them shouts, standing on his table with a pint of beer in hand.

We then walk up to the counter, where we proceed with the usual routine. We show the receptionist the dungeon treasure, proof of our conquest: Elvaria’s spear. She examines it briefly before validating our quest.

"Everything seems in order. Please wait a moment while I fetch your reward," she says in a nonchalant, almost bored tone.

She gets up from the counter and disappears into the back. A few moments later, she returns with a massive sack of gold.

"Here’s the reward for the Blue Flower Dungeon—" she starts to say, but Valentin immediately lunges for the sack, lifting it with one hand.

"There must be at least… 568 gold coins… We could buy an entire kingdom with this..." he murmurs, his eyes fixed on the inside of the sack.

Well, it’s official, we’re done with the Blue Flower Dungeon. Now, we can focus on the Primordial Dungeons. But for that, we have to wait for Alfira’s return from the royal palace.