Sora stared at One Hundred-One, stunned by his words.
"Let go of your fear. If we die, so be it."
Sora was taken aback by these words.
'Is fear really holding back?'
'But why do I feel that it is sothing else? Sothing I can't quite put into words.' He thought.
He glanced at the faces of his Alter Egos, these people who were more than just reflections of himself. Each one had grown into their own person. To him, they weren't expendable tools.
He clenched his fists.
'I had never intended to treat them as sacrifices. But here they are, willing to throw themselves into the fire without hesitation.'
Because they didn't fear death.
One Hundred-One, sensing Sora's hesitation, didn't wait for an answer. He turned toward Seven instead. "Where are the others?"
Seven understood who he was referring to. "Six, Eight, Nine, and Ten revived in Spain alongside ," he explained. "We all agreed to wait for a month before reviving, to make sure we could reset. But after coming back, we each scattered across the world—to gather information, infiltrate enemy territory, and get a feel for the situation."
His tone changed. "However… One, Two, Three, Four, and Five didn't take the sa approach."
Silence fell over the group.
"Before we left, those five had agreed on resetting directly. Instead of waiting, they had decided to revive simultaneously, hoping they could find a way to escape from Abbott Nel and Norj. The last ti we've seen or heard of them was more than a month ago." Seven explained.
Nineteen clenched his fists so hard blood was dripping from them.
He tried his best restraining his anger and spoke, "They killed our brothers…"
Twelve imdiately shook his head, trying to rein in the growing tension. "Calm down," he said, his voice firm. "You know how resourceful everyone is. Maybe they reached Level 50 before dying. If they did, they'll reset and co back stronger."
His gaze flickered with emotion. "And if they don't…"
One Hundred-One interrupted him, his tone sharp.
"Then we'll avenge them."
"One reason so many of us are barely making progress is because we spent too much ti hiding in Kara's [Ti Space], having more than enough ti to slowly refine our skills."
His eyes swept across the group.
"We hesitate too much. We're scared. Scared of dying. Scared of failure. Scared of making the wrong move. We've wasted too much ti trying to make everything perfect. We're always training and aiming for perfect victories."
"But that is over. We have no more ti. We need to find solutions. And we have to act. It's ti to fight back."
Sora observed the changes in everyone's expressions. So nodded. Others seed lost in thoughts, reflecting over his alter ego's words.
He wasn't blind. He could see how deeply One Hundred-One's words had struck them.
He felt it, too.
'Was he right?'
With all his power, all his training, had he unknowingly let himself be shackled by the sa fears?
'I've always pushed myself to the limit, but maybe he's right in the sense that I've rarely ever been in real danger since Rachel's betrayal. I've always prepared myself for the worst, but I have been avoiding it...'
One Hundred-One stepped forward, his sword resting against his shoulder. His eyes locked onto Sora's.
"My company is ready," he said, his voice brimming with anticipation. "Let us out. We'll make them pay."
Sora t his gaze, then shook his head. "I get it. I do."
His expression didn't change, but his next words sent a ripple through the gathered Alter Egos.
"But I'm not just sending the hundred swordsn. Everyone will leave at once. included."
For a mont, there was silence.
Then so voices were heard saying the sa thing : "What?"
They turned to one another, as if waiting for soone to confirm they'd heard wrong.
Twelve was the first to break the silence. "Holy shit. We're going all out?"
That cracked the dam.
Seventy snorted. "Works for ."
One Hundred-Seven smirked. "If I knew all it took was so peer pressure, I would've tried it sooner. Never expected the boss to listen to our opinions."
"Next thing you know, he'll let us choose our own tasks."
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Sora scanned the crowd and smiled.
"Maybe it's ti we let loose," he admitted. "But we have one last thing to prepare."
A few still looked surprised.
Sora snorted. "You didn't think we'd walk out of here without a plan, did you?"
And so, the final preparations began.
-----------------------------------------------
The next day, the air was thick with anticipation.
A crowd of goblins stood at the edges of their village, watching the outsiders who had lived among them for weeks.
So looked on with confusion, standing uncomfortably as they observed the intruders' reunion. Others gripped their weapons, instinct screaming at them to stay alert.
And yet… there were so who watched with sothing close to warmth.
Despite the enmity between their kinds, so goblins had grown used to the strange, powerful humans in their midst. Perhaps even fond of them. They were the goblins who 'played' with Seven Hundred-Seventy-Seven for a few weeks .
Then, they saw it.
One by one, the outsiders vanished, devoured by the human the one standing at the center of them all.
The goblins' expressions twisted from confusion to horror.
The others were gone. The presence of a thousand warriors had been devoured into nothingness, leaving only one figure standing in their place.
And he was smiling.
Then, as if he was done digesting his al, he stretched his arms before disappearing.
-----------------------------------------------
Sora stepped out into the fresh air, stretching his fingers as he adjusted to the feeling of being whole again.
He flexed his hands, rolling his shoulders as he felt the waves of Soul Power surging through him. The strength of a thousand warriors compressed into a single body. The overwhelming amount of knowledge and mories integrated into his brain.
This ti, it felt… easier.
'Ti to get started. I need to move fast.'
Without hesitation, he raised his hand, focused his mana and summoned a small portal.
After entering through the portal, Sora appeared in front of the entrance of another dungeon.
His gaze flickered over the towering wooden door.
[Sky Dragon Prince Dungeon – Level 200]
'I'm at the right place.' He thought upon reading the na of the dungeon.
He extended a hand, and a golden chest floated toward him. With a flick of his fingers, the lock clicked open, revealing a single key.
Sora inserted mana in the key, and the dungeon's entrance shone. The massive door groaned as it swung open, revealing the abyss beyond.
He stepped inside and observed his surroundings.
A massive structure lood over him like an ancient ruin, its stone walls carved with engravings he vaguely recognized.
'I rember so symbols... These are the ones I've seen surrounding the flower on the 20th floor of the Tower.'
Sothing however imdiately forced him out of his thoughts.
The mont his foot touched the dungeon floor, an overwhelming presence crashed down on him.
'ntal Power mixed with mana. And it's quite strong.' He noticed.
His eyes adjusted to the dark place, revealing a colossal tunnel stretching endlessly into the depths. And standing in his way stood hundreds of Sky Dragons. These dragons were massive, scaled titans with blue wings.
Even the weakest among them was a dozen tis taller than him.
'The weakest Sky Dragons have white wings. The elites have shades of blue, and that guy's wings are almost fully blue... Looks quite strong for a level 200 beast. And it's only a mini-boss.'
A dungeon full of monsters, each one more terrifying than the last.
And yet, Sora sighed.
"No need to waste ti."
He activated his [Lava] form and moved. His body tore through the dragons like a bullet, killing everything in his wake. He passed through the first section of the dungeon in an instant, appearing back-to-back with the first Mini-Boss.
The dragon didn't even get the chance to turn around. Before it could understand what was happening, it turned into particles of light.
A cascade of notifications flooded Sora's vision.
[Level Up!]
Sora scanned his new level.
[Level 195]
"Not bad."
'To , levels don't matter as much as before."
He didn't need this much experience. However, thinking of his Alter Egos, he thought 'Their Soul Levels aren't high enough to remove all shackles for now... So this will help them.'
Furthermore, his [Alter Egos] had no Supre Skills, and could make good use of a high level body.
Without wasting another second, he moved on. Every section of the dungeon fell in monts. There was no challenge. Even the strongest dragons, the ones whose very presence could bend mana and distort the air around them couldn't resist.
Sora entered the final room. The Boss Room.
A Dragon Prince stood before him.
He was massive—far larger than any of the others. His scales were entirely blue, and even part of his chest was blue.
Sora imdiately noticed sothing in its eyes.
Fear.
It was trembling.
All high-level creatures possessed high intelligence and awareness.
And yet, there was sothing different about dungeon beasts.
"I've heard you revive without your past mories... But it doesn't seem you can speak." He said out loud.
Locking eyes with the Dragon, he asked, "Is it the sa for you?"
For a mont, he waited for an answer.
But, after a period of silence and without any reaction from his opponent, he sighed.
"I guess I have no choice, then."
Summoning his sword, he lifted it with a hand. There was no need for theatrics, no reason to drag this out. The blade moved, cutting through space.
A perfect stroke. Simple, yet elegant.
The dragon didn't have the chance to react. Its massive body was split in pieces before it turned to light particles, erasing the traces of its existence.
Notifications appeared before Sora.
[Level Up!][Level 200]
Sora barely glanced at it. His eyes were already on the chest that had replaced the fallen prince.
Inside, his reward awaited.
[Soul Stamp (Set Item)][Description: A mystical stamp capable of binding any item to the soul. Once bound, the item cannot be lost, stolen, or destroyed by conventional ans.]
Lifting it carefully, Sora allowed himself a small smile.
'Found you.' He thought.
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