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Chapter 293 Confessions [Pt 1]

Eric had always held a fascination for Magic.

Even back on Earth, he was someone who delved deep into things like mysticism and other forms of paranormal activities—all so he could find some proof of any supernatural force.

The reason for this insatiable hunger of his wasn't innate.

It had a cause.

"Both of my parents died in a car crash. I live with my aunt and uncle. They're not bad people, but…"

Eric didn't love them.

He didn't feel any sense of attachment towards those people—not like he felt for his parents.

Plus, they had kids of their own.

Eric felt it would even be a burden off their shoulders if he was no longer their responsibility. That was his own way of repaying them.

"Bottom line is that I don't miss Earth and I don't want to return." Eric furrowed his brow with resolve and calmly stated all of this.

"Oh wow. I didn't know that happened to your folks. My condolences, man." Justin murmured, his face crestfallen.

"There's no need to feel bad about it. I also didn't know about your situation. I find it respectable that you want to see the people you love again."

With Eric and Justin smiling at each other, Clark decided it was his turn to speak up.

"To be honest, I have a friend that is being domestically abused at home. I want to help him so badly, but I'm so powerless. In an attempt to research more on the subject, I entered this rabbit hole of cases and instances… and there's so much of it going on." As he spoke, he clenched his fist and displayed anger.

"Why does there have to be so much injustice in the world? Why do the bad guys get away with their crimes? Why… why can't I do anything to help?"

In the end, there was nothing Clark could do about his friend's situation.

"Somehow, I want to go back to Earth… at least if I get to keep these powers. I want to help my friend and others who need help. To stop the strong from bullying the weak…" Justin and Eric smiled as they nodded at Clark.

His ideal was something they couldn't help but appreciate and agree with.

"Power is meant to be used for good. That's what I believe. Whether it's the Dragons of this world, or those evil scum back on Earth… I want to stop them with the strength I've been given."

"What if you were going to lose your powers if you went back to Earth?" Eric asked, flexing his glasses once more.

"Would you choose to do so?"

Upon hearing the question, Clark had a grimace on. His face contained nothing shock of hesitation.

"I… I don't know. I just want to help, so… I don't know."

Eric and Justin knew better than to pressure him about his ideals any longer.

"You know what I think? I think there has to be a way to use the Summoning Magic that was used to summon us to bring those we love to this side." Eric changed the topic and gave a wide smile.

"We could bring your friend who is being abused, as well as your girl and parents."

Eric looked at Clark and Justin respectively. His eyes showed he was serious despite smiling about it.

"If we were able to arrive here, then others should as well. I'd rather study the Magic of this place and figure out how to do all of that than to simply return to Earth and risk my powers being removed."

Everyone could relate to what Eric was saying, however, that didn't make his own suggestions absolute.

"Well… it's going to be a while before that plan of yours becomes viable." Justin chuckled at Eric, slapping his back.

"Gah!" The boy yelped a little as he stumbled forward, causing Justin to quickly apologize.

"We first have to rid this world of Dragons, right? Let's stick to that first."

Justin and Eric nodded at Clark's words, implying agreement.

For a moment, the three boys practiced silence and smiled at each other. In a strange sense, this entire walk with just three of them had given them the chance to grow a lot closer than they could have imagined.

It was almost like everything had naturally led to this point.

"I hate to interrupt what's going on here right now, but we have company, guys." Justin commented as he swiftly poured his attention forward.

His [Perception] kicked in at just the right moment, alerting him of the danger up ahead.

His friends swiftly took their position and cautiously prepared for the attack they would face.

The Undead Summon behind them already had its blade sheathed, and its hollow sockets began to brim with bright purple sparks.

It was obviously preparing for combat.

"Guess we'll talk more later." Justin chuckled. "For now… we gotta kill some bugs."

********

[Meanwhile]

~SQUISH!~

"This is the last one." Trisha said as she violently pierced the Centipede Monster that stood before her.

The thing wiggled a little, but once she added a layer of her [Greater Lightning Magic] to the mix, it became deeply cooked and stopped moving altogether.

"Whew!" She rubbed her forehead, feeling sweat slightly gathering there.

As the smell of roasted Centipede entered her nose, Trisha looked at the trail of corpses that she had caused, smiling softly to herself.

"I'm done on my end."

"Me too."

She turned to her fellow females, only to see the Centipede corpses that lay at their feet.

Compared to theirs—especially Alicia's—hers was but a small pile.

'Both of them have at least three times more…' Her thoughts trailed as she left her own heap and reunited with her group.

Of course, Trisha understood that Belle had a more superior ranged set of abilities, and Alicia had her Familiar to assist her.

Plus, her skill-set couldn't properly shine given the kind of enemies that they were fighting.

With all of those in mind, Trisha shrugged off her earlier thoughts and rendezvoused with the girls.

'It is what it is…'

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Chapter 294 Confessions [Pt 2]

As the girls gathered together, they looked at their other team member—the Undead Summon.

This one was an Archer, and while it was lightly equipped, most likely for speed, its abilities had managed to surprise every girl who watched it.

The Undead covered all their blind spots and ensured they never got attacked while dealing their damage.

Its role as a Support was perfect.

"Kwii… Kwii!" Snow hopped closer to Alicia, brushing past the other girls.

Of course, everyone had to recognize how cute her actions were, despite the fact that she shunned the rest of them.

"Am I the only one who feels like Snow doesn't like me?" Belle broke the silence with a somewhat innocent grin.

"Haha! You're not." Trisha responded, sheathing her blade.

Upon hearing this, Alicia instantly responded with a panicky tone.

"No, that's not it at all! She's just frustrated since she isn't able to properly hunt in this place." Her protests were greeted by surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's why Snow contributes very minimally to the Raid."

When she first got Snow, the goal was to Level her Up as fast as possible so that she could become an indispensable asset to the team.

However, after not being able to properly Level Up even once since they started the entire Raid, it was clear that the standards for a grand Beast to advance to the next Level was different from theirs. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Snow needed more powerful prey. Right now, however, she wasn't getting that.

As such, her role was reduced to playing the supporter or Alicia's defender.

'I'm sure she'll play a more active role once we go further down the Floors.'

For now, though, Snow was pretty much on standby.

"She did help me stun enemies so I can kill them, though. I guess that counts as helping." Alicia laughed.

"That's totally helping!" Trisha interjected.

"Yup! Totally agree!"

The three girls laughed at each other and one another, causing the previously awkward atmosphere to soften up between them.

"We should start advancing." Alicia said, pointing at the Archer, who was already in front and patiently waiting for them.

"Ah, yes… let's go!" Trisha smiled, running behind Alicia as they made their way forward.

The only one not moving was Belle.

Her narrowed eyes showed something akin to rage—perhaps frustration.

'Anytime I try to use [Grand Charm] on those two, that Undead looks at me with an intense aura. Is it aware… of my abilities?'

Belle gulped a little and clenched her teeth in even more annoyance.

When the group division happened, and she ended up with these two, she had her plans to enact.

'I was going to use [Grand Charm] to make them weaken the Monsters while I finish them off.'

As a result, she would gain a much higher Level than the two of them.

Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan.

Not only that, but Alicia even managed to rake in more kills than her thanks to the aid of her Grand Summon.

It all ended up being a mess.

'And it's not only because of the Undead…' Belle stole a glance at the rabbit who hopped right beside Alicia.

'She says the thing is only in a bad mood due to not being able to fight, but I don't believe that.'

The rabbit was clearly wary of her, and Belle could tell due to how she treated her.

'Maybe I should—'

As soon as she had the thought, Snow turned back and gave Belle a dangerous look.

It was almost like a warning—telling Belle not to even try anything she would regret.

'Eeep!' It caused Belle's heart to skip a little.

The rabbit then gave a smug smile and returned her gaze forward. Her actions couldn't have annoyed Belle any more than they did.

'That stupid thing! Is it threatening me?!' She pressed her fingers on her palms so much that they whitened.

As she gritted her teeth and glared at the rabbit, she suddenly heard two voices.

"Belle, come on!"

"We have a lot of ground to cover!"

Alicia and Trisha called out to her, and almost as if her previous expression was merely an illusion, Belle flashed her innocent smile.

"A-ah, sorry! I guess I spaced out!"

She chuckled nervously and jogged to her female allies.

"Jeez… you have to be careful next time."

"You can't be so vulnerable in a Dungeon."

The two girl seemed genuinely concerned about her, but Belle wasn't buying it.

She simply kept up her facade and walked with everyone—

knowing fully well that the gaze of the Undead Archer and the Grand Summon would never leave her.

It was too stifling.

********

"Mind if I tell you guys a little secret of mine?"

After battling another round of Monsters, Trisha spoke up and looked at the two others who neared her.

"Yeah, sure."

"Spill."

Trisha smiled, almost blushing as she looked very mortified by what she was about to say.

"I've always sort of been jealous of the both of you."

As soon as she said this, both Alicia and Belle expressed surprise—no, downright bewilderment.

Her confession came out of the blue.

"What? Really? Why?"

Trisha chuckled at the question, looking at the two as if they were being silly by asking her that.

"Seriously? I mean looking at things from my perspective, there's a lot to be jealous of." Trisha shrugged.

"The both of you are so pretty and social. Plus, you are pretty popular with the guys. For me… it's a bit different."

Compared to the prim and proper girls before her, Trisha was a rough outlier.

She was a tomboy who had well-trained muscles.

It was already obvious who the guys would prefer among the three of them.

"The worst part is… when we arrived in this new world, I thought to myself, 'This is it! My moment to shine had come!'"

All those times she spent training, instead of taking care of her skin or socializing like the rest of her peers… she would be rewarded for them in this place.

"But… I was wrong." Trisha leaked out a sad smile as she looked at the two ladies before her.

"Even when it came to power, the both of you still came out superior."

Trisha highly doubted that either of the girls had trained for even a day before their arrival at H'Trae.

Yet… YET…!

"I couldn't beat you in strength either."

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*Chapter 295 Confessions [Pt 3]

"Be strong. Stay strong."

That was Trisha's family motto, and for all her life, she abided by those principles.

Her father was a well-respected Martial Artist in the community, and he even used to have a dojo before retiring.

Despite her being the only child of the family, her parents treated her with love and didn't try to turn her into a boy.

However, she could see it in her father's eyes—the desire he had for an heir.

Someone to carry on their family's legacy.

"Father, I want to learn Martial Arts!"

In the end, she was the one who thrust herself in the world she became immersed in for most of her life.

Everything she did after that revolved around training, learning, trying her hardest to be strong.

It was difficult, but she comforted herself with the happiness of her father.

… With the success of her family.

Even now, Trisha had no real regrets. She still desired to be strong and every day, she strives to reach even more of the unattainable height that was the Martial Peak.

She couldn't blame her father for this path.

Everything she was, and all she had become… Trisha chose it of her own accord.

Which was why she began to crumble when she looked around her and found out a truth she couldn't see before.

In this world, where her father and the entire community she grew up with, weren't present… what was the purpose of everything?

Sure, she was strong… but did that really matter here?

Her Martial Arts were rendered obsolete by Skills and Magic, and she wasn't even the best at that.

She was outshined by the pretty girls and handsome guys of the class.

It grew into heavy frustration for her.

There was only one person whom she could truly look at without hints of envy, yet had some strange kind of respect for.

That was Rey Skylar.

Somehow, she knew he was strong… yet he didn't seem like it.

He was an average boy who had some mediocre Skills, yet she knew his application of Martiao Arts and his insight into abilities were beyond normal.

He was a truly special case.

Unfortunately, with Alicia already being much closer to him than she was, Trisha already realized she was fighting a losing battle.

As such, she backed off.

But… there was only so much a girl could take. frёeωebɳovel.com

After stomaching everything for so long, Trisha felt like she would break.

Why couldn't she be as strong as everyone else?

Why wasn't she as attractive as other people?

It… just wasn't fair.

*********

"Wow. I didn't know you saw things that way." Alicia was the first to speak after a long moment of silence.

She had a genuinely compassionate expression on her face; one that felt completely different from pity.

"To be honest, I don't think of myself as special in any way. My beauty is all due to genetics, and I had to study very very hard to be able to pass all those exams that got me top grades…"

Of course, none of those compared to Trisha's hard work and experiences, but… Alicia hoped her own story could show her another side of things.

"My popularity wasn't always for the good. You might choose to believe this or not, but… I actually had a Karma Point of 57."

Gasps filled the air, and the two who heard looked completely flabbergasted,

"I don't believe it."

"That's not possible, right? Your Skills…"

Alicia smiled a little and shook her head.

"It's all about compatibility and luck in selection. By choosing a Skill or Class, you get a chain reaction in the mix." She sighed.

The girls still looked upon her in disbelief. There was no way they could believe such incredible news.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. My point is that while I was popular, I wasn't well-liked by a lot of people."

Alicia went on to give examples of their life on Earth—the rumors that spread about her on multiple occasions, and how she nearly got into trouble that one time.

These were mind-shattering revelations to the girls who listened.

"In the end, I believe all those superficial things don't matter. I won't deny that I was lucky to have gotten these powers here, and that my appeal played a big role in making me popular back on Earth, but in the end…" Alicia looked at Trisha and smiled.

"… What matters most is what we choose to do with what we have, right?"

Alicia didn't know if she was passing the message across the way she wanted to, but she knew there was something else she had to say.

"Also, I really think you're pretty, Trisha." As soon as Alicia said this, Trisha blushed and stopped back in shock.

"W-what? Stop kidding!"

"I'm serious. You look really pretty. I like your whole tomboy aesthetic, and I'm sure I am not alone in that sentiment."

Trisha shook her head as if she didn't want to believe it, but Belle giggled at the whole thing, causing both girls to look at her.

"I completely agree with Alicia. You're a very fine girl, Trisha. Especially those thighs of yours. Your butt is also pretty plump."

"BELLE! That's a bit too much, don't you think?" Alicia yelled, noticing how flustered Trisha looked as a result of her assessment.

"What? I was just saying the truth." The blonde answered innocently. "Besides, we're all girls here, right? I doubt the Undead guy is listening in on our conversation."

Trisha's face appeared very very conflicted. She fidgeted a little too.

It wasn't like she hadn't heard those words from people before, but she always thought they were making snide comments or didn't mean what they said.

Seeing her fellow ladies give her those compliments really encouraged her and gave her confidence in her body.

"Thank you… the both of you." Trisha's moist eyes glistened as she looked at Belle and Alicia.

This conversation was more liberating than she imagined.

"You girls are the best!"

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[A/N]