Using the dungeon key possessed only by the dungeon master, Hella had opened a door leading to some floor of the dungeon. As she passed through, she found herself in a place completely different from what she had imagined. Before her lay a vast, arid, scorched wasteland, made up of rocks, a few hills, ashes and smoke that rose from the ground to the sky, giving the sky a grey, depressing appearance.
She was standing on top of a large rock, so she could see the surrounding area in the distance. She spun around to inspect and observe her surroundings.
The floor looked like this: an ash-covered sky, an immense space as far as the eye could see with no buildings on it, but above all, everything looked completely burnt out. It was as if a huge inferno had reduced everything in its path to ashes, and given the state of the ground, the inferno looked very recent.
Hella was already fascinated by this sight, but while she was completely absorbed in her visual explorations, without warning and without anyone suspecting, a huge blaze rose up behind Hella and just a few metres from her position.
The flames rose from the earth to the sky and beyond. They formed a gigantic column of flames like a whirlwind rising up to the sky to perforate it as it continued its journey beyond.
At first, Hella was enormously surprised by the phenomenon, before her surprise gave way to worry and fear, as she wondered whether this was an enemy attack or something dangerous for her, but the flames were far enough away from her position that they did not seem to threaten her. The column of blazing fire was just rising high into the sky and there was no sign of any enemy.
Drawn by her endless curiosity, she moved as close as possible to the blaze to observe it more closely. Without a word, without a gesture or anything, she remained calm and stunned as she observed the strange phenomenon before her eyes.
For almost ten minutes, the flames continued to burn brightly and clearly. But after a while, they suddenly went out as if nothing had happened. The gigantic, fiery flame had simply disappeared as it had appeared, right before hella's eyes, who hadn't taken her eyes off it for a moment.
Shocked and surprised by the sudden and too rapid disappearance of the flame, hella began to look for it everywhere on the floor. From left to right, backwards and forwards, she looked everywhere without success until she raised her head to the sky and was once again stunned to discover a huge hole in the sky that served as the ceiling for this floor.
The young lady's face broke into a wide smile of fascination as she said
- Incredible! Fantastic! It's just fantastic! Where did he go? What just happened? Why is there a hole in the sky? And where did that flame come from? And by the way, am I still in the dungeon? Because this place doesn't look anything like a building, but at the same time, I've never seen a hole in the sky like that. Too good. I want to know, I need to know the reason for this phenomenon, which is as bizarre as it is fascinating.
To satisfy her curiosity, she climbed up onto a nearby rock to get a better view of the phenomenon if it ever happened again. She sat down with both hands under her cheek, quietly waiting for the phenomenon to happen again.
- I could feel it clearly, even though strangely it didn't affect me all that much. But one thing's for sure, it's probably responsible for the state of this place. If that's true, then she'll reappear again and then I'll see how she lights up. Come on, turn it back on quickly.
It only took about thirty seconds before Hella noticed a large flame floating in the air in the exact spot where the previous flame had appeared. She stood up and stared at the flame, which burned intensely before giving off incredible heat, followed by an immense blast of fire, suddenly increasing in volume to the size of the floor and becoming the huge, gigantic inferno hella had seen earlier. It had no earthly support and had clearly come to life in the air and was probably rising to the next floor above.
Hella had witnessed the whole scene and couldn't hide her fascination at such a spectacle.
- This is a very strange combustion phenomenon. I mean, is there anything here that isn't bizarre? It's still very beautiful and strange. In my world, you could make a hell of a lot of money with something like this. What a shame! Haa come on, one more time.
After spending more than half an hour observing this strange magical phenomenon, Hella set off again to continue her tour of the floor and the many wonders to be found there. She walked for a long time in these arid and polluted lands. Unfortunately, she didn't meet a soul and was totally desperate to make another one from the rising flame.
- Phew, I should have chosen another floor, there's nothing here. I'm getting bored. And I thought dungeons were fun. It's just...
Before she'd even finished her sentence, she noticed a huge creature in the distance. It was walking on two legs and moving slowly forward, swinging its hands. It was so huge that it looked as if its head was reaching the sky above. Hella was terrified by this creature, which was so far away from her but whose size was remarkable anywhere on the floor. But it was the fact that the creature appeared out of nowhere that really surprised and freaked her out.
She tried to hide behind a rock while observing the creature, but before her stunned and curious eyes, the creature suddenly disappeared without a trace. Another impressive and terrifying thing was happening before her eyes, which opened wide in astonishment.
- What? Where did it go? You can't hide a body like that. Crap! I'm beginning to think it wasn't such a good idea to come wandering round here.
She held her breath and remained well hidden behind the rock. No sooner had she caught her breath, however, than she saw a creature in the distance that she identified as a "bastard".
- A dinosaur!
This creature had the appearance of a dinosaur with red crystals running from its head to its tails, as it had two. It was chasing another green creature that seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Hella, in her role as spectator, forgot her fright at the other monster and concentrated on the dinosaur and the prey it was stalking, while remaining well hidden.
The dinosaur slowly approached his target, who still hadn't noticed anything. It moved slowly forward until the creature was within its field of vision, before moving into position to attack. He concentrated and with a swift, savage leap, grabbed the creature between his sharp, powerful fangs. Then he tried to devour it. But against all odds, the creature managed to escape using magic.
It had disappeared between the dinosaur's fangs and reappeared just a few metres away. Immediately, the dinosaur began to chase him, running after him and using his magical skills to get where he was going. The crystals on the dinosaur's back seemed to be lightning bolts, and he charged a large quantity of them at the creature.
The creature managed to dodge the attack, powerful as it was, while fleeing as quickly as possible. But unfortunately for him, the dinosaur was quicker and grabbed the creature again between his fangs. And this time, he sank them deep into the creature so that it could no longer escape his grasp. But as soon as it was caught, the creature began to disappear again, but this time it was its body that disappeared little by little until it vanished completely, like an illusion.
The dinosaur also seemed to be in a state of incomprehension when vines appeared all around him, surrounding him before suspending him in the air. A flower then appeared below the dinosaur before opening up. The vines then began to tear the dinosaur apart. The dinosaur's blood then came to drink the flower, which swallowed it before swallowing the flesh that had already been torn apart for the occasion. The flower swallowed the dinosaur whole to fill its belly. Immediately afterwards, the dinosaur let out a loud burp to show how satisfied he was after his meal.
After that, it disappeared into the ground as if nothing had happened and the green creature that the dinosaur had been chasing reappeared in full form. It returned to the same spot to fall asleep again. Everything was calm again.
Hella, who had witnessed the whole scene, felt a great and clearly justified fear. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel admiration for this demonstration of hunting in its rawest form.
- Wow, that's some hunting! He stood there patiently in front of his trap, waiting for the prey to jump into his jaws. A patience worthy of great hunters. I imagine this cute little beast is just an illusion to lure prey. That's a good point. The other one didn't realise anything and was too sure of his strength. Just goes to show, the strongest is not always what you think it is.
But what Hella didn't know at the time was that she too was the prey of another creature. When she turned to continue her journey away from this danger, she noticed a gigantic grey snake behind her, looking very hungry.
In the snake's eyes, hella could clearly see its next victim. In other words, herself. The snake was watching her as if waiting for the perfect moment to catch her and finish her off.
Faced with such an imposing creature exuding such monstrous strength, anyone would be petrified with fear, especially if the creature in question made no secret of its desire to devour you alive. But hella felt no fear or concern. Despite the fact that the animal could swallow her whole thanks to its size, she just wasn't afraid of it and even held its gaze as if nothing could happen to her at that very moment. From that moment on, it was no longer one but two predators judging each other.
Both eyes were filled with determination and envy. The giant snake gave off a terrible, chilling mana, but hella didn't seem at all terrified by its presence and exuded a confidence that was disconcerting for the predator opposite.
After a brief moment of attempted intimidation, the snake resumed its journey and moved away from hella, leaving on its own side.
Even if she wasn't afraid of it, Hella knew that she couldn't beat this snake if it fought, because up until now, she hadn't experienced combat or even magic. That's why she seemed reassured by this outcome.
But the snake, which seemed to be running away from the confrontation, suddenly stopped, coiling up and contracting its whole body to the extreme. Hella, who was already going her own way with a serene look on her face, stopped just as quickly before turning her head to look at him. But she didn't have time to say anything before the giant snake leapt at her with a lightning-fast attack. Such was its speed that, just after it had reached hella and wrapped itself around her body, a great gust of dust rose up in its wake.
He grabbed hella and wrapped his body around her in an attempt to crush her and eliminate her in one fell swoop. Faced with the snake's stinking open mouth, just waiting to eat her and be crushed by it, hella's first instinct was to scream as loud as she could as she tried to get out of the beast's embrace. Despite her cry of fear and anger, she resisted with all her might the beast's contraction, which was using all its strength not to let her meal slip away.
The two creatures were giving everything they had, one devouring its prey and the other doing everything it could to survive. It was a confrontation for survival on both sides. As such, neither wanted to give in to the other, because defeat meant death. The giant snake raised its head and let out a sort of scream before closing its mouth for a moment and then hurling a cloud of poison at hella's head. Having quickly realised the nature of the attack, hella screamed even louder, but this time it was more a cry of rage than fear.
It was at this point that her mana began to flow from her body. It completely enveloped his body and that of the giant snake, which spat out another cloud of poison, covering them both. What's more, the snake tightened its grip even more, stretching Hella to the limit. Seeing that her defeat was getting closer and closer, she said
- Seriously, this isn't a game. It can't end here, right now, like this. I...I can't die here without having achieved anything either in this world or in my own. No, I refuse. As for you, I...I... Disappear!!!!!!
she shouted as the embrace tightened ever tighter. But as if in response to her request and her cry, hella's mana began to stir even faster. And without anyone noticing, it made the snake disappear as if by teleportation. Moreover, it was not just the snake but also its cloud of smoke that disappeared with it without a trace, as if it had never been there at that moment, in that place.
Hella, freed from the grip of the giant snake, fell to the ground on her knees. She coughed a lot as she caught her breath. She clutched her chest and her whole body was shaking as tears almost welled up in her eyes. She sat on the ground for a good while before getting up quickly, saying to herself
- That's enough, this place is clearly not a zoo. I'd better get out of here and quick if I don't want to end up in the belly of one of those monsters. Come on, the key to the dungeon...
Hella made the key appear again, but just as she was about to open the door to move elsewhere, she realised that she didn't know where to go.
- Oh, but... what floor is my room on again? Besides, I opened the door at random, so I don't even know what floor I'm on. Worse still, I've got no way of contacting Amon or Sins. Am I...lost in a dungeon?! Oops, that's ridiculous and really stupid of me haha hahaha hahaha hahaha I'm lost in a dungeon full of terrifying monsters ready to devour me at every corner hahaha hahaha hahaha This is a great story that I may never get the chance to tell Anne when I get back to my world.
After that, she dropped to the floor on her back and stared up at the sky, admiring the huge pillar of fire from afar. Her face seemed strangely peaceful and serene, like that of someone who had accepted the fatal fate that awaited her.
- Hmm, I wonder if it's really a sky or if it's just decoration. In any case, it's well done. The dungeon is very strange. There's no logic to this floor. We're supposed to be in a dungeon, a big building full of monsters and treasures, so where did the sky come from and, above all, how big is this floor? It's like being outside or even in another world. Anyway, I've got other worries, but seeing as I've got no solution, I might as well stay here and rest for a while. If I had to choose, I'd have preferred to be on the beach than in this burnt-out place.
- It looks like you've had a lot of fun, Mistress Hella.
When Hella heard this voice, she quickly got up and turned around to see Victus, Sins' right-hand man, behind her. The feeling of anxiety immediately disappeared from her face, to be replaced by her usual serenity.
- You mustn't hang around here too much. We're on the third floor. This level has no master and therefore the creatures here are not subject to you. So they can attack you, even...try to take your life.
- Victus?! I see! I was also thinking that it was weird to be attacked when I'm supposed to be the master of all these monsters. So when a floor doesn't have a master, it can't be subject to me. I'm going to try and remember this and put things right as soon as possible. Victus, you're just in time, I was looking for a taxi. Would you like to give me a lift home?
- Of course! Your wish is my command. Besides, I came looking for you. It's May... Amon sent me to find you.
- Amon? Has he noticed I'm missing? Yes, he has! Then take me to him.
- Yes, my mistress. But to teleport with you, physical contact is necessary. So I ask permission to touch you.
Without further ado, Hella approached victus so that he could at least touch her on the shoulder and activate his teleportation spell. After putting his hand on her shoulder, victus teleported with hella, saying
- Teleport!
They both disappeared and reappeared in another room of the dungeon. As soon as they arrived, hella noticed an almost suffocating heat radiating from the place. It was to the point where steam could even be seen emanating from the floor and walls of the room. No doubt a normal person would be instantly scorched by the scarlet heat of the floor beneath their feet. But there was no normal person in the room.
- Lord Amon, I have done as you asked.
- It's all right, Victus, you can retire now.
Following Amon's order, Victus withdrew by teleportation, leaving Amon and Hella face to face.
The second thing Hella noticed in the room was a huge black snake-shaped mark on one of the walls. This attracted her attention and she ended up asking Amon about it, who replied
- That stain! Well, I was sitting there quietly when suddenly a giant snake appeared above my head. So I reduced it to ashes.
- Oh, right. That explains the state of the room. Tell me, Amon, is it because of the spells you gave me that I'm resistant to this heat, poison and this strange force inside me?
- I've passed on certain powers to you, and although you don't know how to use them at will, some of them are already active. In particular, immunities that make you insensitive to the heat in this room or even to low-level poisons.
- I see! I can see it!
- And what were you doing outside your flat?
- Ah me...hummmm...let's say I went to say hello to the dungeon!
- Really?! If you say so. Anyway, there's no point in dragging this out too long. We can finally start on the last part of the programme. That is, training.
- Ah, I've been looking forward to this.
At the same time, Sins entered the room with a crystal in his hand, which he placed on a table.
- Well, the first part of this training will be to reveal the properties of your mana and your unique skills, if you have any. There are several methods of doing this, but the most effective and widely used is the clairvoyant crystal. So I invite you to come and infuse some mana into this crystal, which I created myself for the occasion. After all, you are the guardian of the heart.
- Go on, then! It's the start of your training.
Hella moved closer to the crystal, cupped both hands around it and said
- Beautiful crystal, show me my formidable powers.
She then began to pour her mana into the crystal, which gradually began to glow yellow and black until it was almost blindingly bright and then extinguished. Hella, who hadn't quite understood the situation, turned to sins and asked
- What just happened?
- Observe!
Sins replied as several symbols floated in disorder in the crystal. Sins then continued
- Can you decipher these symbols?
- No, I can't understand them. So did it work or not? What's the result?
- Beyond my expectations! First of all, you need to know what a unique skill is. In this world, magic is a power that requires the manipulation of magical energy. Here, magical energy can be found in the air all over the world and circulates in nature like air. So you have to be awakened to it before you can use magic. In short, it's the amount of energy our bodies are able to withstand and possess that determines the power of our magical spells. What's more, magical powers are generally learned. Whether it's through books or training in one way or another.
- In short, it gets boring.
- But even if magical spells are learned, the fact remains that some beings manage to develop skills from the moment they are awakened. These beings are very rare and the spells obtained in this way, without training or anything, are very powerful and dangerous in combat.
- And in what way?
- Quite simply, any magical spell that is used requires mana and therefore weakens the fighter. But these spells require no mana and can therefore be used at will. They're the perfect trump card in combat, and those who have them always come out on top. You could even say it's a bit of a cheat. It's the power obtained during this awakening that we call a unique skill. Only a handful of people manage to awaken it. But even more so, in general, they possess no more than one. A single unique skill. Although there are also the super-rare cases of individuals who have managed to awaken up to two. But these people are extremely rare, even one in a billion. These chosen ones are sure to possess a strength worthy of a god. Master Amon is also one of these chosen ones and his strength was just that... Let's get back to our subject.
- Sins, you don't have to cut your sentences. Just finish it!
- Well, it's not necessary.
- Hella has to understand the explanation, so...just say it.
Amon insisted.
- All right then! Master Amon was one of these chosen ones and his strength was simply immeasurable.
At his words, hella could clearly hear Amon's proud, self-satisfied little laugh. She then thought
"He just wanted to hear praise for his strength in the end. I swear."
- OK, sins, what's that got to do with me? I understand that not everyone can possess a unique skill and that hardly anyone possesses more than two at a time, so what's that got to do with me? Do I have two unique skills too?
- No, you don't!
- In that case, can you explain to me why you're telling me this?
- You...you have three, three unique skills. It's unheard of. I'm telling you, it gives me the shivers!