Chapter 14: Chapter Twelve: The Oath

The safe area was stocked with supplies, a bonfire to light, weapons, and a waterfall surrounded by plants so green they lit up the entire room. The dark-colored plants around a water source indicated that it was not drinkable, so the one where they were standing contained clean water.

Engraved on the inner archway of the entrance was a number indicating the floor.

Mark sat Vanessa down near the spring to let her rest, then looked up and read aloud:

“15.”

“That's not good,” Vanessa said in a serious tone.

“Come on, maybe she's referring to the protectors who came through here,” Mark tried to say, trying to see the glass half full.

“No, Mark. That number definitely indicates the floor we're on. What do we do now?”

There was a moment of silence.

“We have to get ready to fight,” Mark replied.

“No, that's impossible!” cried Vanessa.

“...”

“Every creature on this floor is at least level 50, and the two of us together won't even get to level 30!” she added, visibly worried.

Neither of them spoke. Then Mark looked up, staring straight into her oak-colored eyes.

“If we stay here, we'll die of hardship. There's no guarantee that Leo, Aaron, and Nayra will be alive or come to rescue us,” he said in a firm voice. His words hurt, but they were the truth.

“If we don't come out on our own, then we will die here.”

Vanessa was reluctant, the terror in her eyes evident. But Mark was right. One had to fight to survive.

Meanwhile.

“Professor Draker, how are the students doing?” asked the dean, approaching the entrance to the dungeon.

“Badly,” replied the professor, disappointed. “Fifteen groups have already retreated to the third floor, five to the fourth, and so far no one has reached the fifth.”

“I see,” the rector concluded.

A purple magic circle activated right in front of them.

“It's the third group,” whispered Draker.

Something was wrong. The group did not have a single scratch, not a hair out of place.

“How come you're back? I see you still fit,” the rector asked with a smile.

“The boss on the fifth floor is not accessible,” replied one of the students, calmly.

“What do you mean? Explain yourself better,” the professor pressed.

“The room is completely sealed. It looks like the walls have caved in,” replied the boy.

The rector and the professor looked at each other, then immediately ran into the dungeon. They arrived in a moment in front of what must have been the boss room.

“It is completely sealed,” Draker confirmed.

'Yes ... they were right,' nodded the dean.

'Could it be their doing? They were too calm ... or too naive,' thought the rector, stroking his beard.

“It can't be!” cried Draker, as he surveyed the area.

The rector approached.

“That-that's a fire dragon scale!” he exclaimed.

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“Now that you mention it...” he muttered, closing his eyes and activating magical perception.

An immense wave of magical essence swept over him, causing him to stagger. Among the streams he clearly recognized the presence of a boy.

“Rector!” exclaimed Draker, supporting him.

“The--Mark's group fought a dragon!” declared the rector, still shaken.

“I don't smell any blood, so they might still be alive,” Draker concluded, looking toward the boss's room.

-Break-

“Mark, do you really think we can do it?” asked Vanessa, her voice trembling, on the verge of a panic attack.

“I have no idea,” Mark replied, looking her straight in the eye. “But I can promise you that I will do everything I can to get us out of this place alive.”

The two gathered as many supplies as they could from the safe zone. Mark took one of the ten swords resting next to the bonfire, examined its edge, and slipped it onto his belt.

“Are you ready?” he asked, lifting it back to his shoulders.

Vanessa nodded slowly. “Let's do it.”

Just around the corner, a shapeless mass of D-grade Red Orcs emerged from the shadows: feverish eyes, blood-soaked fangs, and axes carved from black bones.

“Vanessa!” shouted Mark.

She nodded, “Air shot!”

An explosion of compressed air enveloped Mark, making him almost evanescent. His footsteps no longer touched the ground: he glided like a sharp shadow through the enemy ranks, while Vanessa on Mark's back used as many skills as she could.

A glowing ball of fire exploded on a group of orcs, enveloping them in flames and scattering their formation. Inhuman screams mingled with the clangour of metal.

Mark launched himself, sinking his blade into the joints: surgical, silent, swift blows. Every movement was calibrated with maniacal precision. An orc struck him with an axe, but he slipped under the blow, severing the tendons in his leg and causing him to collapse like a dead tree.

[Warning: “Ultra Focus” skill activated.]

Behind him, Vanessa alternated between swirling spears of fire and discharges of air that whipped away incoming orcs. Her face was covered with sweat, her breathing broken.

“They're changing strategy. They've figured out our rotation!” Mark said.

“We need to change tactics!.”

Vanessa channeled all her remaining mana. The ground shook. A fiery tornado rose up, sweeping over a dozen orcs, disintegrating them in seconds. But the price was tremendous blood came out of his nose and eyes.

Vanessa was shattered, barely able to breathe.

With Vanessa on his back, Mark could do nothing but kill the last remaining Orcs.

[Warning: “Longevity”-temporary regeneration activated]

His body changed slightly: red eyes, pulsing veins, muscles tight as ropes. Each blow was an execution. The wounds healed slowly, but the accumulated fatigue was killing him.

[Warning: level increased]

[Notice: increased level]

[Notice: increased level]

[...]

Finally, the last orcs fell-but Mark was wobbling. The vision blurred.

“Vanessa...stay with me...”

“...We...still have to get to the Boss...” she whispered,

That's when he saw her.

A pulsing blue light filtered through a crack in the wall. It was subtle, almost invisible, but it seemed to draw him strongly. It looked...alive. A trap? Perhaps. But the only alternative was to keep fighting and dying.

With Vanessa still on his back, Mark slipped into the crack. After a few meters, the crack widened, revealing a huge cave filled with blue crystals. In the center of the cave stood a black doorway, decorated with symbols forgotten by time.

“Mark ... where are we?” murmured Vanessa, in a feeble voice.

“Maybe ... it's a place to rest,” he lied, holding her tighter.

But Mark knew. That was most likely the boss's room. Their only way out. And he also knew that Vanessa would not survive that confrontation.

He laid Vanessa gently against a wall, covering her with what was left of her T-shirt.

“I'll be right back.”

She glared at him, too tired to understand. “Okay.” she whispered, slowly closing her eyes.

-Break-

“Leo, I hear explosions! It could be Vanessa and Mark!” shouted Aaron as he ran through the rubble.

“Yes, I heard them too!” confirmed Nayra.

“They're coming from the north!” continued Aaron without slowing down.

They ran for another five minutes, breath breaking and hearts pounding. Eventually they stopped in front of a safe area wedged between two walls of broken rock. A stone archway towered above the entrance.

“Fifteen...” murmured Aaron, reading the number engraved on the archway.

Leo bent down, touching the dislodged ground. He closed his eyes for a moment.

“The ground is stirred...and I feel a faint, but clear, trace of magical essence. It is Vanessa's mana.”

“They have been here. And not long ago.” added Aaron, clenching his fists.

Another distant explosion rattled the air. The roar echoed through the stone corridors.

“We have to move! They may be in danger!” shouted Nayra, as she launched herself out of the safe zone, followed by the others.

[System:

Name Mark lv 14 Apprentice

life: 32/425 hp

mana: none

Fatigue: none

Uniqueness:

- Aberration of Perseverance (Usage unknown)

- Ardor

Skill

- Agile Sword Technique lv 3

- Conscience Base lv 6

- Thick Skin base lv 9

- Perfect balance base lv 7

- Ultra focus Intermediate lv 1

- Berserker Base lv 1

- Longevity Base lv 4

- Somatic mutation Base lv 4

Character points: 50

- Strength: 19

- Dexterity: 16

- Sense: 12

- Stamina: 20

- Intelligence: 8