I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 40: Where it started

Still shocked by the revelation, Vale lingered for a moment, questioning how Ayla could possibly be from the Fourth Barrier.

But before he could pursue the train of his questions, the girl spoke once more.

"...We were having dinner. My father had just hunted a dormant monster when the roof of our home collapsed... that thing must’ve smelled the food. First, my father... then my mother. Both died before my eyes. Then, me—that’s how I ended up in the first trial."

Ayla’s words were heavy, and the usual light-hearted conversation turned still. Dark expressions painted their faces as they listened to her story.

The group remained in complete silence for a while, the weight of her words hanging in the air. Time seemed to stretch as they all lingered, deep in thought.

It wasn’t until a sudden noise outside the shelter that the silence was broken.

Vale decided to go and deal with whatever monsters lurked outside. To his surprise, Ayla wanted to join him. The two of them ventured out to confront the source of the noise.

The fight didn’t take more than a minute. With just two Fire Hounds as their enemies, the pair dealt with them in a matter of seconds.

Just as Vale was about to cut deep into one of the monster’s stomachs to retrieve the mana crystal, Ayla’s soft voice spoke from behind him.

"I’ll make them pay," she said.

Vale turned to face her, just as she continued.

"I will get stronger and make the government pay for abandoning their own people." Her words carried a heavy weight, but her face showed nothing but resolve.

"She wants to take on the government by herself? Is she crazy? Wait—why is she telling me this?"

She took a step toward him, now only a meter away. She stared deeply into his eyes.

Then, without saying another word, she turned around and walked away toward the shelter, without even retrieving the mana crystal from her kill.

Vale watched with a perplexed expression, unable to understand why she would tell him specifically—he barely knew her any better than the rest of the group.

He lingered for a moment, his eyes shifting toward the Fire Hound she had slain.

"A Mana Crystal is a Mana Crystal," he muttered, unwilling to let it go to waste.

Vale quickly retrieved both mana crystals and caught up to the girl. She was walking oddly slowly, as if waiting for him to catch up. The pair returned to the shelter in complete silence, only speaking when their companions asked about the source of the noise.

Soon enough, the day ended, and a new morning rose.

The group spent the early hours preparing to leave. The ten days were up, and today was the day they would venture toward the Dark Tower.

The atmosphere was tense, heavy with resolve. Though Dain and Ayla hadn’t seen the Dark Tower or the Tower Keeper in person, the stories of it sent shivers down their spines. Vale and Klein left no details out, describing the enormous tower and the menacing knight guarding its entrance.

Hearing that it might be stronger than the four-armed devil was enough to scare the group, although Vale had no particular reason to think the knight was stronger, his instincts insisted.

The journey out of the Ruined City was quite chaotic. Overrun by the monsters, it wasn’t easy to remain hidden.

The group was forced to deal with multiple hordes of monsters.

Although Vale wasn’t keen on wasting his strength without a way to replenish his core, he found the opportunity to test his new core rank beneficial.

Before, he could cast Vine Bind maybe four times before his core was emptied. Now, however, using the ability only consumed about a tenth of his essence. The improvement in mana efficiency was significant.

Essence recovery was also much faster.

After testing Vine Bind, it took only about twenty minutes to replenish that mana essence, while before it would take over an hour. Surprised by the sudden change, Vale couldn’t help but smile like a fool, making his allies wonder if he was so happy to return to the tower.

Once out of the Ruined City, the rest of the journey was mostly uneventful.

With spare time to think, Vale found his mind wandering to his growth, which inevitably led to a question. What would happen if he didn’t rank up his core and the trial ended?

For humans, once they awakened, their cores automatically evolved, creating the second layer. But Vale was different. He already had a second layer after ranking up his core. Would he receive a third one? What would happen if he failed to rank up—would he still receive the second layer after finishing the trial?

Countless questions arose, so many possibilities, yet not a single answer. Deep in thought, Vale lingered on each one as he traversed the now familiar terrain of the Demon Realm.

Maybe that’s why he failed to notice the towering figure in the far distance.

The Dark Tower stood, looming over everything else. Its dark bricks pierced through the heavy fog, as if they longed to be seen.

Vale came to a halt, his eyes locking onto the tower. Though still some distance away, it was nearer than he had anticipated.

Lost in thought, hours seemed to blur, and time felt as though it had skipped ahead.

Before he knew it, Vale found himself standing before the towering doorway.

His eyes ventured inside.

This time, he didn’t look around—his focus was locked on a singular spot.

In the middle of the large hall, a statue made of dark armour stood, resting against a long double-edged sword.

But Vale knew very well that this wasn’t a statue.

The Tower Keeper remained motionless, yet Vale felt it.

Perhaps it was because of his new rank, but the flow of mana in the hall felt disturbed—as if all of it was being drawn toward the center.

Everyone had their weapons ready.

Vale glanced around at his companions, then took a step inside.