Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

After the emergence various types of dungeons have appeared in Arcadia.

And after a long time they have been classified into various types, depending on what kind of threat they possess, what kind of opportunities and qualities they hold, or changes they'll bring to the surrounding area once they're cleared. Will they remain open and hidden, like a separate secret realm, or will they completely merge and become a part of Arcadia etc etc and etc.

There are literally so many things and so much to explain and experience when it comes to dungeons, towers, and outer worlds. That it could take up entire arcs.

So we'll delve on that some other time. For now let me tell you about one of the most important things Arcadians have found in the last few centuries. -Meru Dungeons.

Simply explained, dungeons are parts of different worlds pulled into Arcadia through the hole in planes of existence, created by the sealing of Ditail. So depending on the world and the parts pulled inside, the dungeons all get different too.

Meru Dungeons are special since they hold the core of their previous planet which got pulled into Arcadia.

This world core, like an orb of infinite energy, is the source of life on that planet. One can even call it the planetary soul, without it no life would ever exist in that world .

This core is what gave birth to the will of the world and later began the process of evolution and existence, bringing the cycle of life into play.

So one can assume how much power this seemingly simple thing holds. The more advanced, dangerous, or upper level the world, the more its core would be prosperous and powerful.

Even the weakest of planets like earth which hold no trace of any evolving energy, has a core that can salivate some of the strongest people in Arcadia.

This core of a planet has infinite uses and various purposes. It can be absorbed to fuel your energy and act as a power bank, it can be used to deepen one's knowledge about rules, laws, daos, dharmas (whatever u call it). It can also be used to directly trade with gods themselves. In return, getting favors, blessings or skills.

Or if it's a unique dungeon, it can also be sold to world will of Arcadia directly, getting blessing of luck and protection in return.

All these reasons are why Meru dungeons are extremely sought after by the whole world.

And now Zenith had found one such dungeon.

"You all want to use me to get more benefits, even after everything that you've done." Rio thought and hissed in anger as he clenched his fists. "Dream on."

Ignoring the anger from the academy's dirty politics, he started thinking about the dungeon shining ahead. Meru dungeons are always the trickiest to conquer, as they have various limitations for everything.

And since the Meru dungeon only stays on Arcadia for a limited time before the original planet pulls it's core back and the whole dungeon collapses, there's always that race against time too.

The one in front, probably had the limitations where only people around or below 18 can enter, and that's why the principal who always had the idea of training first years in the dungeon, used this chance and got the approval from every old foggy sitting in the council.

There could also be some other requirements as well, like power levels or race restrictions or number of people participating in raids.

There was even a Meru dungeon which held a requirement that only virgins older than age 100 can enter, or only those whose beauty level can be 9/10 can enter. (It all depends on the preference of the core sitting inside the dungeon.)

Rio looked at everyone around him getting ready, changing their clothes or equipping themselves with armor and weapons the academy had prepared for them.

Since in the message they got, it was explained they had to leave their magical artifacts behind, everyone just came here empty handed.

So after they all got an empty storage ring which they were allowed to take inside, they all started stocking up on things they thought they needed to survive and secure victory.

The elders have given them free reign to choose from stuff, but even after looking at everything it was hard to find any clue about what kind of environment this dungeon had.

His eyes stopped at Amaya, who for the first time ever looked serious. He could already tell her brain had caught onto some hints.

'Fuck, I hate her.' Rio complained.

[Cuz she's smarter than you.]

'No, cause her top floor isn't occupied by some stupid ghost.'

[I'm system, not a ghost.]

'Same thing'

Shaking his head, Rio glanced at elder Xander, who was walking around randomly giving a few students some insights on survival, just so when he stops at leon and teaches him something no suspicion arises, and shook his head.

'Apollo and his minions, always so shady.' Rio said and ignored them.

Calming his emotions and changing his expression, he walked towards his group of friends with a smile. Amelia, who was stocking up on food supplies like crazy, filling her whole ring with them, and Rebecca who was scolding her foodie roommate.

"Can you take this seriously, we're going inside a dungeon, not some theme park. What are you going to do if some monster comes after you, throw him some cupcakes and hope it goes away?" Rebecca said as she snatched the packets Amy was stuffing into her ring, and pushed a pair of armor and sword into her arms.

"I already have a sword, and not like a C rank green grade dungeon is any difficult to conquer. Brother can solve it all by himself." Amy said and dropped the heavy armor from her hands to the ground.

"You_" Rebecca wanted to pursue her lecture, when she saw Rio coming towards their direction with a smile and stopped talking. 'This guy will probably take his sister's side again.' She thought.

"She's right, Amy."

'Humph just as I thoug_ wait did he say Amy.' Rebecca, who started shaking her head hearing his words, stopped in surprise when he uttered the name.

"It's a dungeon, just cause it looks harmless from the danger level, doesn't mean you should take it easy and let down your guard. Stop being silly and start being serious." Rio said in a stern tone, causing Amy to frown and then nod her head.

'Is something wrong, brother?' she asked instantly via telepathy.

'Just be careful. And don't use chaos magic inside.' Rio gave a reply without explaining much and walked away.

Leaving Amy and Rebecca, lost in thoughts over his behavior.

Ignoring the two, Rio walked across the whole rack of supplies, and started picking everything.

After another fifteen minutes, the elders gave a signal that time was over, and they could all enter the dungeon now.

All the students gathered in front of the portal connecting two worlds and clenched the hilt of their weapons. Their faces filled with excitement and nervousness, some wanting to show off their prowess, some feeling a little scared at the precipice.

Rio, who was standing at front closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing the memories and horror shaking his soul with the feelings of pain he went through in his last dungeon trip.

'It's not the same, it's not a dream…I'm outside, I'm safe, it was over. it's not the same.' He whispered in his heart, as the familiar feeling of spatial displacement came to his mind.

He couldn't help but clench his fist and close his eyes even harder as his body started shaking nonetheless remembering the scenes of suffering from the last dungeon collapse.

He felt someone pressing his shoulder, before tightly holding his hand, as if to tell him he was fine, that he wasn't alone.

Rio slowly opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of Katherine, who looked at him with that same expressionless expression. He didn't know why but seeing her there, like that, suddenly made him forget everything and smile.

He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, before giving her a nod and slight smile. Their fingers interlocked and held together, before their bodies got pulled away and disappeared into the light.

[She's perfect.] System, who was watching everything, couldn't help but mutter in its heart, wondering how this host ignored all the messages it sent to calm him down, yet woke up all fine, the moment she held his hand.

It remembered the bits of pieces and scenes from Shiva's mind about their past life relationship, and then shook its head.

(She is perfect, but I still don't know why this guy chose to forget her.) It thought in silence...