Chapter 135: Are Blessings Only Worth Being Power Boosts!?

'What the hell is Arthur doing here? I thought him and his classmates stayed on the first floor. There should be no way for them to find the entrance to the second or third floor.'

They shouldn't have known that the void was a space pocket that could allow them to warp to the next floor. Space pockets aren't available in the game so there shouldn't be anyone who knew what they can do besides players. They were added to the game as a mod that players could exploit to easily travel between floors without looking for entrances. The mod held up well even after the game became Arnold's reality.

Finding the entrance to the outside wasn't an easy task so waiting for rescue to arrive was their best chance at surviving the dungeon.

'Yet this idiot decided to continue climbing?'

Arnold was under the impression that they'll wait for a rescue team on the first floor. That was common sense whenever you're in danger in a dungeon, after all. The first floor was the closest to the outside(obviously).

'Is he looking for something? Maybe a weapon to kill a boss they encountered?'

That was probably it. Players also did this whenever they encounter a monster that's far stronger than themselves. If they couldn't get strong in a short period of time then the best thing to do is to find powerful items or weapons to help them.

Maybe there was another reason that Arthur came here. Maybe he was just fascinated by this dungeon and its plethora of worlds.

Arnold wouldn't blame him since humans were just a bunch of curious beings. The dungeon was the greatest  discovery since the Dragon's Lair was cleared. Anyone would want to explore the place.

Still, they shouldn't stay in this dungeon any longer than they have to.

◇◇◇

Arthur closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Arthur had been in this world for about a month alongside Fecius and Hofir. The concept of time in this world didn't work as it did outside. A month here was probably a day in their world.   

Regardless of how long Arthur had been here, he got to know a lot of people and things during his time in Naridian Kingdom. It resembled their world a lot despite the differing cultures and beliefs.

This kingdom he fought for was apparently the only standing kingdom with a monarch. The others that lost their rulers were now under Naridian's rule. It was now similar to an empire than a kingdom.

The people of this kingdom saw how strong Arthur and the other two were so they treated them as important guests. Arthur was even given the choice to pick any woman he wanted in this kingdom. Of course, he politely declined any marriage proposals. Well, he didn't reject the women in general, just that he wouldn't marry them.

The people were shocked to learn that their world was inside a dungeon. No, it made more sense to say that a dungeon was connected to this world. Arthur advised them to be on alert against entities that may come into their world. Of course, that was the least of their worries.

Their priority right now was to annihilate the mountain tribes and capture the witch who was aiding the barbarians.

Arthur opened up his eyes. He was done clearing his mind of any doubts. They may have been human like him but that didn't mean that they deserved his kindness or anyone's kindness for that matter. They butchered the innocent and plundered whatever they wanted.

They deserved no mercy.

Arthur had been training all this time that they had been here. He wanted to get used to his newfound power. Controlling the power in large amounts was a difficult task. However, he was strong enough to fight these barbarians despite his limited power.

White Aura was known to be the second rarest aura in the world. It was apparently also the second strongest.

Arthur had slayed a lot of monsters with this power. He even sparred with Hofir and Fecius—both at full power. Unexpectedly, he outmatched them in both speed and physical strength. This power was really amazing.

He vowed to himself to use this power to save this kingdom. The king couldn't be more elated when he heard this. He threw a big feast in his castle and made it accessible for every citizen of his kingdom. 

With their morale at an all-time high, the soldiers marched proudly to this battlefield.

"I, Arthur Tivurgian shall be your opponent!"

Arthur unsheathed his sword. It was a sword that was crafted by the hands of a blacksmith who helped the three of them find their way in this world.

He was known to be the greatest blacksmith in this kingdom. The old man had passed on shortly after so Arthur vowed to carry on his will through the sword he made.

The silver of the sword gleamed in the sun. Its hilt was made from the finest gold and metal on the market. The sword's total length was half Arthur's body length.

"Gyahaha! Kill him, my boy!"

"Yes, Father!" the prince grabbed his two sickles and jumped forward immediately after.

Arthur met the prince's attack with his own.

"!?" Arthur's blow sent both of the prince's arms back with incredible force. Surprise was on the prince's faces. He managed to avoid falling back by stepping forward with one leg.

Arthur wasted no time to deliver a second attack. He swung his sword diagonally which the prince managed to dodge at the last second.

Arthur then ran towards the prince with his right shoulder facing forward in an attempt to ram him down. However, the prince avoided that too.

'He sure is agile!'

Maybe it was just Arthur's armor slowing him down. Regardless, he had to find a way to end this guy quickly.

Their army grows stronger each day with the witch's dark magic. If they aren't stopped soon then the kingdom will fall the next time they meet on the battlefield.

The prince suddenly shouted, "Throw me a longsword!" which was immediately thrown to him by one of the barbarians.

"?" Arthur looked questioningly at the prince who was holding the sword by its blade.

His body suddenly exuded a dark sinister power that Arthur recognized.

Cursed mana.

It was a power that grants the user incredible strength and agility. This comes with a cost, though. The user's lifespan was reduced each time they used this power. Maybe these barbarians didn't know that and were only being used by this mysterious witch.

In any case, it didn't matter.

Arthur quickly got into his stance when the prince moved with his longsword's blade in hand. The blade didn't seem that sharp, in fact it looked dull and didn't seem capable of stabbing your opponent. 

Arthur swung his sword diagonally again but the prince sprang to the side and swung the sword in his hands.  

Arthur thought that the prince was going to knock his weapon away so he hurriedly tried to guard with his gauntlet.

However…

"What!? Ugh!?" Arthur felt a dull impact hit his left rib.

There was no dent in the armor. The force of the weapon alone was the reason for the impact.

Arthur staggered backwards as he groaned.

Although the pain was bearable thanks to his power, he could still feel the impact hit his rib.

'Nothing seems to be broken…'

Arthur couldn't understand at first why the prince would use his weapon that way but now he understands: it was used against armored opponents.

The impact of the shockwaves could be used to win against opponents wearing full armor.

Arthur got off easy from the first attack thanks to his White Aura strengthening his body. Despite that, his power won't last long enough to drag this fight out.

'I have to be careful against this guy.' Arthur thought to himself as he watched the prince walk around him in an attempt to catch him off-guard.

He couldn't just take off his armor in the middle of a duel so he had to finish this.

Arthur pointed the tip of his sword at the prince.

"?" the prince looked in confusion at what he was doing.

All the white aura from Arthur's body gathered at the tip of his sword. A small ball formed at the tip once all the power gathered there.

'This is my first time using it in real combat so I should make it count!'  

This technique was called an Aura Blast.

"What are you doing? Is that some kind of party trick?"

The prince was still standing unmoving as he waited for Arthur to make a move.

The men behind the prince laughed.

"What's that idiot knight doing?"

"I don't know. Maybe he finally realized that he can't win against His Highness?"

"Maybe that thing at the tip of his sword is a secret technique?"

"Should we be worried?"

"No, no. There's no way something as small as that can harm our almighty prince!"

Arthur noticed that there was a big grin on the prince's face.

"Come at me, knight. Even arrows cannot pierce my flesh." The dark power surrounded the prince's entire body.

'It seems like they've never seen an aura blast before…'

A warrior can use aura blasts to focus any amount of their aura at the tip of a sword to be blasted as a projectile. This was something an unnamed martial artist came up with to help warriors fight against mages.

Arthur couldn't do this before since his own aura was very weak so much so that he could barely condense it into a ball of energy.

Arthur fired the aura blast.

An ear-shattering sound resounded when his aura blast flew at the prince at incredible speeds. A boom erupted and the ground was completely destroyed not even a second later.

Arthur had poured nearly every ounce of his power into that aura blast. He hoped that it would be enough to defeat the prince.

The smoke cleared, revealing… two legs standing upwards. There was no body for it to support.

"T-THE PRINCE!"

The barbarians fell into a frenzy when they saw that their precious prince had been blown away(literally). There wasn't even any signs of his head or upper body. It was just gone.

Arthur looked at his hands in surprise. He didn't expect his power to be that lethal as an Aura Blast. He even managed to blast away a large chunk of ground.

Though the barbarians were in a frenzy, none of them approached. All of them were looking at Arthur in fear of his next attack.

He couldn't use the same thing even if he wanted to. This was because he used all his power. But that didn't mean he couldn't continue fighting. In fact, Arthur had become quite strong even without this aura in his life as a student at the Academy.

The giant who the people called their chief slowly walked towards the prince's remains(his two legs). The man knelt and picked up the remains.

One of the barbarians ran up to the chief and took the remains.

The chief turned back to Arthur.

His face had a sinister shadow. Not just that but the energy surrounding his body was spiraling out of control. It was dozens of times more powerful than the prince's power.

Arthur knew right then:

'I can't beat him alone.'

Arthur was about to call for backup but he saw a fist approaching his face the second he blinked.

'How can a body like that move so fast!?'

Arthur crossed his arms in an attempt to block. But he knew that his arms will only break even with the armor on.  

'…I shouldn't have used all my power just for one attack…'

Who could blame him for having regrets? He knew nothing about balancing his aura. One month of training wasn't enough to find balance for his power.

The punch he was expecting never came. Instead, a vibration rang along with a light breeze.

Arthur opened up his eyes slowly.

"Huh….?" He saw a familiar back.

It was a young man with dark-blue hair.

He was just as tall as Arthur but a little bulkier given how much he trained his body during his childhood.

It was Arnold von Berkley, the former heir of the Berkley lineage.

"Al…?"

"Don't call me that, bastard." Arnold glanced back.

He was holding the chief's fist with… one hand. He wasn't even using his aura at all. It was pure physical strength.

"Anyway…." Arnold glanced back at the bewildered chief, "It seems like you're struggling."

"Ah…"

"What are you whispering about!? You have the nerve to ignore this great me!" the chief swung down his other arm with the same amount of force.

Arnold caught his arm with his other hand. His feet dug into the ground from the weight of the power behind the swing. However, his body didn't budge an inch. It was similar to an unmoving statue.

"I usually don't care if someone throws the first punch since I can catch it pretty easily," Arnold let the chief's hands go with a light push, "But if you swing at me a second time then I have no choice but to respond with equal force."

"Huh…?" Arnold slapped the chief's cheek softly with a cheeky grin on his face. The chief was looking at Arnold dumbfounded. 

Pure rage flashed in his eyes before a bellow erupted from his mouth.

"!!!!"

"So damn noisy."

Arnold slapped him again. However, this slap was so powerful that he flew back towards his tribesmen with zero resistance. He was like a sack of potatoes being thrown away.

His ragdoll physics was comedic but no one laughed. 

"What the hell!?"

"He defeated the chief with a slap!?"

"That was amazing!"

"Who is that man!? He's so strong!"

The soldiers behind Arthur cheered for Arnold who knocked the chief unconscious with one slap.

The chief was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were white.

-"Ahem!" the king stepped forward and spoke, "Leave this land or you shall face the wrath of five kingdoms knocking on your door! The time for negotiations are over. You slaughtered my people unjustly. You raided my villages until nothing was left standing. You raped my women. I cannot forgive barbarians who know no humanity, but only violence. I shall show you mercy. LEAVE AT ONCE!"

"Uwaaah!"

"The chief has been defeated! We're no match for them!"

"We can't win!"

The barbarians retreated almost immediately after the king's speech.

The only army left was the army of the Naridian Kingdom.

The king sighed in relief. He glanced at Arthur and Arnold and grinned widely.

"Everyone! To our nation's heroes!"

OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!

◇◇◇

◇ A castle in Naridian Kingdom ● Located on the same estate as King Flued IIV's palace ◇

"….."

"….."

Arthur and Arnold were alone in the lounge of the castle. The castle was given to Arthur as a gift for his aide to the kingdom. Fecius and Hofir also stayed here but they weren't back from their errands yet.

"So… uhm…" Arthur was finding it hard to find the right words to say to Arnold.

The two of them hadn't spoken in years. Arthur called him "Al" by accident earlier because the two of them were pretty close in the past. Well, they were more like brothers by sword since they spent more time sparring than hanging out. But that wasn't the case anymore. 

Arnold was looking at Arthur with a poker face.

His posture exuded nobility and elegance despite his adventurer attire that wasn't formal clothing.

Arnold moved his mouth.

"You've grown up. Well, I guess that's a stupid thing to say since everyone grows at a certain age."

Arthur knew he wasn't talking about physical age but rather Arthur's maturity. How did the things he experienced up till this point change his life?

Arthur was always a scared little boy who ran from whatever he deemed dangerous or scary. He never had the courage nor power to stand up for himself. He allowed others to walk all over him. Anais was always the one to be there to save him from any trouble.

Arthur felt shame remembering that boy from the past.

"I haven't grown up at all. I don't think so, at least."

Instead of running away from trouble, he always seems to find himself facing off against trouble. Like this kingdom's current dilemma.

"You're right. You always find yourself involved with someone else's problems. Are you unable to keep your nose out of other people's business? If you took that guy's punch head-on then your arms would've broken."

Arthur could only chuckle dryly.

"I know that, Al—Arnold…" Arthur leaned forward and asked the question that had been on his mind ever since Arnold showed himself, "…Why are you here?"

"What you should be worried about is yourself. Do you realize the dangers that lurk in this dungeon?"

Arthur nodded wordlessly.

"But you're still climbing?"

"There's something I'm looking for. No, there are two things actually. I have a feeling one of those things is on this world."

It was only a feeling so Arthur couldn't exactly tell where this "something" was located.

"What are you looking for?"

"The Holy Sword."

Arnold made a troubled frown.

"What did you… say?"

"I was given the power to become a hero from the Sky God. I need to find the Holy Sword of [Song and Light] to become strong enough to protect the people." Arthur laughed awkwardly seeing Arnold's unchanging frown, "It sounds unbelievable, right? I thought so too at first. That was until the Sky God enlightened me with his wisdom… and power." He clenched his fist with a smile.

"…Are you allowed to tell people this?"

"Well… I might draw unnecessary attention to myself but I don't mind telling my family. I'll tell the people of our empire later."

"…" Arnold's face was getting more bitter for some reason, "…I thought only Melis could place a blessing on someone before allowing other gods to do the same? She's the creator of us humans so her power should be the first blessing a hero should receive before the other gods can give their blessings. Is this not the case with you?"

"Hmm…" Arthur put his finger on his chin as he tried to remember what the Sky God's soul told him, "The god told me that the sword is the one to decide who becomes the hero. It has to do with what person is the most suited to become the hero. The gods can bless that person even if Melis doesn't bless them."

"What!?" Arnold exclaimed, "A hero is supposed to be someone chosen to inherit a blessing from birth! Not chosen by a damn weapon! What kind of stupid requirement is that!? If that kind of thing was true then blessings are only worth being power boosts!"

"I-I don't know what's really going on. He said that anyone can become a hero if the sword deems you worthy. Blessings or not. The gods listen to the sword and give the hero their blessings to help them control it. He also said that the sword will unlock my full capabilities. Once I have that in my hands then I'll be able to advance through the dungeon."

"You fucking idiot! Are you crazy!?"

"W-What?"

"You should go back to the others and leave immediately!" Arnold grabbed Arthur by his collar and lifted him up, "Do you realize the amount of shit I had to go through!? My hands… they're stained… with… They're…"

Arnold was about to say something but just silently glared at Arthur.

"C-Calm down, Arnold. What, what are you talking about…?"

"You're leaving this dungeon! Do you hear me!?"

"What!? But I lost so many of my friends! If I leave the dungeon now then everything will be in vain! We need to clear this dungeon or else we'll all fail! The entire point of coming here is to graduate the academy with good grades! We were willing to sacrifice our lives for that! Our parents knew that and so did everyone else at the academy!"

Every year the seventh year students had to raid a dungeon up to the last floor. It didn't matter if any of them died, that wasn't a valid reason to quit since this was how the real world was.

In place of money from clearing a dungeon, they receive a perfect score.

If they leave then they'll fail. They won't get a moderate mark for their final exam or anything. Just fail. That was how important the dungeon exam was to the seventh year students. They already finished their written exams in the middle of the year so there was nothing holding them back from finishing the dungeon exam.

The only way for them to pass is to redo the following year.

"We can't even if we wanted to…" Arthur squeezed out his next words since it was a painful thing to remember, "Because the… first floor's entrance is gone."

"WHAT!?"