I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 37: Awake

At first, there was only sound.

A distant, muffled chatter, voices blurred and indistinct.

Vale lingered between the state of nothingness and a confusion as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening.

Then, his senses stirred. His eyelids fluttered open—his vision was hazy, and shapes shifted in and out of focus.

A dull ache throbbed in his skull. His limbs felt like lead.

Slowly, Vale pushed himself upright, confusion gnawing at his mind as he took in his surroundings.

They were inside some kind of ruin—walls cracked and broken, large chunks missing as if time or something far worse had torn through them. A dim fire flickered at the center, casting wavering shadows against the cold stone. His group sat around it, their faces worn with exhaustion.

Then, one figure moved.

Ayla’s sharp eyes caught his.

"Vale?" She was already on her feet, stepping toward him. "You’re awake."

His throat felt dry, his thoughts sluggish.

"What... happened?"

She knelt beside him, studying his face before answering.

"You drained your core." Her voice was steady, but something in her eyes flickered—whether it was concern or relief, he couldn’t quite tell. "You’ve been out for two days."

"Two days..." Vale echoed, the weight of the words settling in.

The memory flashed through his mind—the sensation of his blade plunging deep into the fiend’s skull, the dark blood spilling over his hands.

"We won," he murmured, his voice wavering between certainty and disbelief.

Ayla nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Yes, we won."

His gaze shifted around the ruined chamber. Dain sat by the fire, wearing his usual grin, while Klein—ever the cautious one—watched him with a look of quiet concern.

Then his eyes drifted back to Ayla.

She was close. Too close.

Her violet hair was longer than he remembered, cascading past her shoulders in waves untouched by the brutal nature of the Demon Realm. Her smooth skin remained unscathed, her deep purple eyes locked onto his with an unreadable expression.

The air between them grew still, the firelight flickering against their faces.

Then Vale coughed, awkwardly shifting back. He pushed himself up from the floor, the weight of his body still unfamiliar.

Ayla followed suit, her voice soft yet steady. "Come, you should eat. We grilled some meat over the fire."

As if on cue, his stomach let out a long, drawn-out growl, betraying any pretense of composure.

Dain let out a booming laugh as Vale took the offered food, wasting no time tearing into it.

"You fought well, my friend," Dain grinned, his tone as hearty as ever.

Vale swallowed the chunk of food, his gaze settling on the massive student. His relentlessly positive nature had always been something of a nuisance at the Academy—but here, in the depths of the Demon Realm, that unshaken optimism was something they needed.

A thought crossed his mind, gnawing at the edges of his curiosity. He leaned forward slightly.

"Is there a limit to your ability?"

It was an unspoken rule—one did not pry into another’s Unique Ability. But after what they had just endured, Vale found himself beyond caring about some unspoken rules.

Dain met his gaze, then let out a low chuckle. "As long as I keep hitting heads—no."

The massive student’s unique ability was truly astonishing, if it wasn’t for a single, devastating flaw. If it lands on tails, he dies. Gambling his life was not something Vale was fond of, but knowing the nature of Dain, it might just be the perfect ability for the student.

Vale exhaled, shaking the thought away. His eyes flickered toward Ayla, who sat beside him, her violet gaze fixed on the fire.

His mind drifted back to the battle, to the way she moved—how her daggers struck with unnatural force, how the fiend had been crushed beneath an invisible weight.

"Telekinesis?" He thought.

But before he could continue piecing together theories, Ayla spoke, her voice as smooth as silk.

"It’s Mass Manipulation."

Vale turned toward her.

"My Unique Ability allows me to manipulate mass," she continued, as if reading his mind.

It made sense now—the devastating force behind her strikes, the weight behind every dagger thrown, the sheer power of her final attack that sent the fiend crashing into the ground like a ragdoll.

A chill crawled up his spine. How strong would she become if she fully awakened her core?

Vale felt glad she was on their side.

A silence settled between them before Vale spoke again. "Wait... How long have you been in the Ruined City?"

Ayla glanced at him. "When I entered, I almost immediately heard the sounds of battle and headed toward it. I didn’t expect to find you all there."

She paused, her eyes reflecting the flickering flames.

"Dain and Klein already told me how you met. I spawned in some cave. It took me a long time to fight my way out of it. When I did—I saw the ruins in the distance and strolled toward it."

"A cave..." Vale lingered on the word, remembering his First Trial of Death and the massive Anarchnid.

He shook his head, unwilling to imagine being in that cave once again.

"What about your quest?" Vale asked.

"It’s done." She answered swiftly.

Vale’s eyes widened slightly.

"You finished your quest?"

"Yes. I had to defeat 100 opponents."

"I see"

If it were someone else, defeating 100 opponents would not be an easy task, but for someone like Ayla, with her devastating Unique Ability, facing creatures like Fire Hounds would be child’s play.

Vale’s eyes shifted toward Klein as a sudden realisation dawned on him.

Klein lifted an ampule containing a dark liquid.

"We did it," he said, already knowing what Vale was about to ask.

The student, too, finished his quest, creating the Potion of Vitality.

Now, it was Vale and Dain left.

Wait—what was Dain’s quest?

His eyes shifted toward the massive student, a questioning look in them. Vale had just realised that he had never asked him what his quest was.

"I don’t have one," Dain shrugged.