Chapter 7 : God Prism
In a place where light reigned supreme stood a woman, or at least, she resembled a woman. She moved forward towards an orb floating in the absolute void of light before saying:
"The horrible thing I sent into this world, the one that caused a universal collision, what is it doing right now?" the woman said while biting her fingers, visibly stressed and terrified. Indeed, Aley had really made an impression on her, and one of the most harmful.
Suddenly, the orb displayed a screen:
-Here are the current images showing Aley's actions.
"Let's see, what is he doing right now..." she said, squinting her eyes to focus on every detail.
-...
Currently, I'm in a tavern, sitting at a table. In front of me sits a man of average height, with a round belly and a grey beard—a dwarf, one of the magical races in this world. Elvaria was seated next to me, and our table was a rustic round wooden one.
"What did you just say?!" I suddenly exclaim, standing up abruptly from my chair.
"Aley, please calm down," Elvaria said while discreetly gripping the bottom of my shirt.
"Forgive me, I was just surprised..." I sit back down.
This dwarf is an emissary from the guild. We are now C-rank adventurers, and thanks to our repeated exploits, our guild has reached B-rank. The dwarf in front of us had come to deliver a message to all the adventurers present in the capital. As we were having lunch at the tavern, he entered to share some important information.
"Sir Aley, Miss Elvaria, I will repeat once more. The hardest dungeon in the world, The Prism of God, a jet-black diamond floating in the sky and moving across the world, has appeared near Verdesable, passed by Iveralmn, and is now heading towards Voltruite. The inscriptions at its entrance do not lie. This dungeon contains a portal at its highest floor, allowing travel between worlds. However, it's an S-rank dungeon, the hardest of them all. It requires the divine treasures obtained by completing the sky-reaching pyramid of Verdesable, as well as the underwater S-rank dungeon in Aqualida. Neither of them has ever been conquered. However, the guild is issuing a call to all adventurers with the goal of finally gathering the divine resources."
"That's too much information!" exclaimed Elvaria, clearly annoyed.
"And it's exactly what I wanted!" I shouted in return, filled with boundless joy.
"You want to go there, Aley?!"
"And don't you want to go, Elvaria?! It would be the ULTIMATE adventure!"
The dwarf, seeing us quarrel, chuckled softly. With every little laugh, his beard would lift. He was the perfect image of an old, wise man.
"You youngsters, I can understand your excitement about seeking glory in conquering these dungeons, but it's not something for mere beginners..." he said, chuckling, then coughing. He was old, very old.
"Beginners? Us?!" Oh, Elvaria is upset. This sounds good for me.
"Well, you'll see. Novus Orbis is determined to conquer the hardest dungeons in the world, and we'll take your portal and sell it!"
...Oops, that would actually be a problem for me.
And so, we now had a new main quest: to become strong enough to conquer dungeons no one had ever managed to complete. And then, challenge the Prism of God, all to find a way back home.
Somewhere in this world:
"Master Macrinis, what are you doing?" asked the servant, looking at his master with a confused expression.
"The guild asked me for help to conquer the Prism of God. And besides, I have a score to settle with that worthless guild, Novus Obris," he replied, gritting his teeth, his blood-red eyes shining brighter than ever.
Let the veil fall, let the lies end, let the war begin, let the blood flow, let strength prevail. This is the story of Novus Obris and the mysteries that surround it.
Two figures enter the guild, one of a young man and the other of a woman. Both are still quite young to be adventurers, yet it didn't take long for everyone to recognize them and start talking about them, even the new members.
'That's Novus Obris!'
'The strongest B-rank group in the capital, I wish I could be like them,' exclaimed the beginners, while the veteran adventurers talked among themselves:
'... I heard their popularity extends beyond the kingdom's borders...'
'... I've been told that Valentin is looking for them right now...' Valentin? What could he want from us?
Elvaria approaches the counter.
'Ma'am! We're here to take the dungeon quest you told us about more than two weeks ago. I've heard the area has been secured!'
'Ah yes, of course, but the dungeon has now been upgraded to A-rank, due to a recent surge in mana concentration. The monsters inside have become much stronger. However, since your guild is B-rank, you can still go together, even though you're only C-rank.'
Elvaria turns to me, her bright green eyes gleaming, a smile of excitement visible on her face.
'We're going, right Aley? We're going, aren't we? We have to go…'
'Elvaria, remind me why we came here in the first place.'
'To accept the quest?' Elvaria replies, still oblivious to her blunder.
'Correct,' I say, crossing my arms. 'We'll go to the dungeon.'
I then approach the receptionist, place my hand on the counter in front of her, and give her a sly smile.
'Ma'am, will we be promoted to A-rank if Novus Obris completes this dungeon entirely?'
Surprised, the receptionist adjusts her glasses before responding:
'Of course, but that would be a first...' She didn't doubt we were capable.
'Where is it located?' I add, looking at her with a serious expression.
'South of Iveralmn, near Voltruite... Are you planning to go today?'
'Yes, why?' Elvaria interrupts me before I can respond.
'Well, it would take you half a day by carriage to get there. Please leave tomorrow,' says the receptionist, concerned, but...
'Oh, don't worry, with Aley's ability, we'll get there in no time.' In order to enter an S-Rank dungeon, you need to be at least A rank, and we'll aim exactly for that.