Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win-Chapter 123: [Core Dungeon] [10]

The water was colder than it looked, glowing in a gentle hue.

Akamir hit the surface hard, dragging Zaina close to him as they plunged beneath.

For a moment, everything went still and then the pressure of the fall knocked the air from his lungs, but something else caught his attention.

The water shimmered faintly, not with light, but with a low hum of energy that crawled along his skin.

It only took him a second to notice it was Liquid mana.

His body reacted instantly, warmth pushing into his limbs, flooding his veins.

He tightened his grip on Zaina and kicked upward, dragging her along with him.

"Get to the shore!" he shouted once they surfaced.

Viros came up next, gasping, followed by Luca who sputtered and wiped his eyes.

Lyselle surfaced moments later, arms flailing, her eyes wide.

"The water!" she gasped. "It’s—"

"Mana," Akamir cut in, already swimming fast toward the shore. "Don’t let it seep in too much. you will die from mana poisoning."

Too much of anything is never good and the same could be said about mana.

If someone took in too much mana there was a high chance of his core collapsing due to it.

They didn’t need more warning.

All of them swam harder, muscles burning as the mana-filled lake pulsed against them, pulling at their cores.

It was as if it wanted to stay inside them.

"Cough! Cough!"

Zaina coughed once they reached land, collapsing to her knees while Viros groaned and lay flat on his back.

"That was awful," Luca muttered, shaking off water from his arm. "My heart’s still racing."

Lyselle didn’t say anything.

She sat near the edge, eyes fixed on her soaked hands, glowing faintly with traces of mana.

Akamir stood slowly and looked around.

The place was quiet, eerily so.

Thick moss covered the ground like a blanket, stretching out into the distance.

The sky above wasn’t the sky, it was a ceiling with just a small hole, curved and etched with old symbols that pulsed with light.

Strange trees with hollow trunks swayed without wind, and faint blue insects flitted around, leaving glowing trails behind.

Nayomi floated up beside him, her eyes moving around the place.

"We’re on the forty-fourth floor of the Core Dungeon," she said. "It’s the same place where Zaina was thrown in the novel."

Akamir didn’t respond.

He was too busy scanning the distance.

No sign of the crimson-robed attackers and no sign of Barkel.

He relaxed slightly, turning to check the others.

Zaina was wringing water from her hair, still shaking a little, but okay.

Viros sat up and looked over.

"Hey, man," he called out. "Back there... how did you know the professor was coming? You didn’t even look surprised."

Akamir glanced at him, then at Luca who had joined in.

"Yeah," Luca added. "And what was that about your core? Barkel said something about it being dark green, are you a dragon by any chance?"

Akamir walked past them without slowing.

Viros frowned. "Oi, come on. That’s not a normal reaction."

"You’ll get your answers when I feel like giving them," Akamir said flatly, not looking back.

Viros and Luca shared a look, but neither pushed further.

Lyselle finally stood up, her voice was quieter than usual. "What about the others?"

She didn’t name them but the others understood quickly.

Akamir stopped for a moment.

His fingers curled slightly around the hilt of his sword, then released.

"I don’t know." He finally said. "I have no idea."

Zaina looked at him, her mouth opening like she wanted to say something, then closing again.

He kept walking towards the one path that was made there.

It was like a bridge that led them somewhere.

The others followed behind, some limping, some silent, some wary.

The deeper they went, the more unnatural the place felt.

Streams of mana slithered through the moss like snakes, changing shape when touched.

The air was damp and heavy, like it had been sealed for centuries.

They were far from the surface now.

Far from safety.

’I need to make sure we don’t die here.’

He let out a sigh as he glanced back at Zaina who stayed quiet.

"Which floor are we in?" Lyselle asked softly. "We were falling for quite some time."

"Pretty sure we are in really deep." Luca said, grimly. "Maybe fortieth floor?"

"Forty-fourth," Akamir corrected, his voice clear as he walked ahead. "We’re on the forty-fourth floor."

Viros groaned behind them. "That’s way too deep. The rescue teams won’t even think to search this far down."

"No one’s coming for us," Akamir muttered. "So don’t count on it."

Luca scratched the back of his neck. "I wasn’t."

The group moved along the narrow moss-covered path.

The "bridge" felt oddly stable, but the mana in the air made it hard to relax.

Zaina kept close to Akamir, her steps light and quiet.

She hadn’t said anything since they left the lake.

"So..." Viros started, keeping his voice low. "Who were those who attacked us?"

Akamir didn’t know how to inform him about it.

He glanced at Zaina who had her head lowered.

"I don’t know—"

"They were here for me." Zaina cut in his words. "...They are after me."

"...Yeah, but why?" Lyselle asked, her voice low. "Aren’t you just a normal girl from a baron?"

"..."

Zaina hesitated for a while before she let out a sigh.

"Because I am the apostle of goddess Morana." She informed them. "Maybe that’s why."

The other three who listened to her stopped in their tracks.

Their shock was to the point that they couldn’t move.

Viros and Luca turned to look at Akamir who stopped because of them.

"Did you know?" Luca asked, looking at him. "You did, right?"

Akamir just gave a faint nod.

"My fucking god." Viros said, placing both his hands on his head. "This fucker is going to marry a princess and an apostle."

Akamir sighed, not even bothering to correct Viros.

The words echoed around the mossy corridor, but no one laughed.

Zaina lowered her gaze again, a small frown forming on her face.

"I didn’t choose this," she muttered.

"Don’t think too much about it." Akamir said. "It’s not your fault."

The girl looked at him then nodded softly. freēwēbnovel.com

"Still," Lyselle said, trying to process it. "An apostle? Of Morana?"

"Can we stop thinking about that." Luca said, looking at her. "We have a bigger problem."

"Yeah." Viros nodded in agreement. "How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Uh, I have an idea." Lyselle said, raising her hand. "It might be helpful."

Akamir looked at her. "Tell us."

"What if we tried to find my father?" She asked, looking at him. "He should be somewhere close."

"..."

Akamir looked at her with pity as he didn’t speak any words.

Lyselle frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, I think it’s a great plan." Viros said, looking at her. "But we got no fucking idea where your daddy is."

"...If we go down there we die." Luca said, shaking his head. "If we go up then we die, anything here can kill all of us."

The bridge began to lead them to a platform as Akamir remained quiet.

Zaina slowly grabbed his sleeve once again.

"What should we do?" She asked, her voice soft.

Akamir looked at her then at others.

"I have a plan." He said. "Just follow me."

They let out a sigh of relief as Akamir turned his head towards Nayomi.

The woman smiled softly. "Step on the platform."

Akamir tilted his head. "Why?"

"If everything goes as in the novel, then you will see it."

Nayomi said, staring dead into his eyes.

Akamir tilted his head before he looked at the platform.

He let out a sigh as he stepped on it.

The platform began to move in an instant.

The rest of the group quickly jumped on it and the platform levitated over the mana lake.

"The hell is this place?" Viros mumbled, looking around the area. "Why is there so much mana here?"

"Wait, that’s not the problem." Luca mumbled, looking at everyone. "Why did we not see any monsters?"

"..."

The group turned silent.

The platform finally stopped on the other side as it brought them to a different place.

Akamir silently looked at it.

An entire abandoned place.....

...With hundreds of dead bodies of both humans and monster lying all over the place.

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