This possibility sent a terrifying, tingling wave down my spine, even though the person in front of me continued his barrage of questions without waiting for any answers. It felt strange to witness their relentless interrogation.
What struck me was how, with each question, his suspicion of me seemed to wane. It was as if he could somehow sense or guess my intentions. similar to Ailith
Locking his gaze with mine, he stood up from his seat and began to walk away, murmuring as he took each step.
"For now, I understand you can't say anything."
" Perhaps you are afraid, under a curse, or simply lost your voice due to the dangers you encountered on the island."
Unaffected by my silence, he continued walking towards the wall, seemingly unfazed. Step by step, his words echoed.
"I cannot leave you alone. You will stay here in the camp. Be prepared in three days. You are now part of the raid."
As soon as he reached the wall, the wall moved toward the ground and effortlessly merged and became one with the Earth itself.
A sense of restriction that had been placed on me suddenly lifted, and I instinctively snapped my fingers, conjuring a thin, protective barrier around my hand.
Watching his figure retreat left a bitter taste in my mouth, making me question his audacity.
"HOW DARE HE TREAT ME LIKE A PRISONER!!??? "
"ME THE GLORIOUS..."
But I stopped my thoughts
What does glorious even mean? At this point, I realized that I amounted to nothing more than a mob in this place.
Will I remain a mob or not?
That's in my hands to unfold!
But, that doesn't mean I should abandon the idea of seeking revenge against people in this place.
How dare they arrest me and force me to be a prisoner? The feeling of helplessness in front of this man was unbearable. At this moment, I made up my mind that I would climb the rankings, no matter what they had in store for me. I condensed the core within my body, making myself more powerful.
Through this interrogation, I gained some information, mostly concerning the power system. It appeared to work simply: they rank individuals from lowest to highest as E to L.
E < D < C ≤ B < A < S < SS < SSS As I stood on the precipice of the room, my thoughts took a dark turn. I imagined gouging their eyes out, adorning them as trophies of my power and placing their rightful place in my museum in the empty eyes of animals for glory. With newfound determination, I took a step forward, into the unknown, to discover what awaited me on this treacherous island. Gathering information from the people here and asking them questions about this world were essential tasks that lay ahead. The first step was to approach them and begin modestly. "Damn!!!! How will I ask questions when I can't even produce sound." —---------------------------- [Authors pov ] "The party led by Alen stood outside the cave, their encounter inside leaving them no time to rest. Ignoring the lurking dangers, they proceeded to make their way towards the black castle, with Alen confidently leading the way. Among them was Naro, a teenage girl who found herself caught in an inner struggle. She possessed only theoretical knowledge of alchemy and its practical applications. However, her weak mana score prevented her from sustaining advanced upgrades. Additionally, she required a pure form of mana for upgrading her core, which was both time-consuming to refine and limited her usefulness to the party. Initially, Naro had aspirations of becoming a skilled magician and had put her faith in Alen. But after witnessing setback after setback during this raid, she began to doubt Alen and his motives. "Do you have something on your mind?" Rossa, noticing the expression on Naro's face, questioned her after observing her for a while. "N-nothing," Naro stuttered, avoiding eye contact and continued walking, her gaze fixed on Joseph and Alen marching ahead. Rossa placed a comforting hand on Naro's back and gently petted her head. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Alen is human, too. Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes are often the stepping stones toward success." Naro nodded in understanding, appreciating Rossa's encouragement. "Good girl," Rossa praised her softly. She then continued, "Do you notice something peculiar as we move closer to the castle? The number of black plants and bushes seems to increase." Naro found Rossa's question somewhat childish and chuckled slightly. "It's simple. These plants move towards areas rich in nutrients and the components they seek. These particular plants crave dark mana. As we approach the centre of the island, the concentration of dark mana intensifies." Rossa opened her mouth in surprise, indicating her interest. "We have arrived," Alen announced, his r tone filled with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. "This is the hideout, but it looks completely different from what we expected." The chapter describes a surreal and eerie landscape with ruined buildings, red mist, and black dust particles. The scene before them was one of utter devastation. Ruined buildings stretched out as far as the eye could see, their walls crumbling and roofs caved in. A thick, crimson mist hung in the air, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. The purple glow emanating from the mist cast an eerie light on everything around me. As they looked closer, they noticed that the buildings seemed to be perpetually collapsing in on themselves, as if caught in some strange time loop. And amidst it all, tiny black particles of dust flickered in and out of existence, adding to the surreal atmosphere. All the party members knew what that collapsed building and red mist represented. It symbolizes that the legacy battlefield has been already conquered!