Ruler's Awakening: Inheritor of the SSS-Rank Dimensional Talent

"Is that so? I understand. You were afraid I'd betray you, right?"

"Thank you for being understanding."

"It's alright. I understand. After all, we just met. It's not easy to gain trust."

The two returned to enjoying the late night with a bottle of wine in Aaron's hand. Annie loved it, never refusing when Aaron offered it.

Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and the bottle of wine in Aaron's hand was completely empty. Annie looked at the clock; it was two after midnight.

She said she was happy to have friends in her house, the situation became lively even though Annie didn't know Aaron and his group members well.

Aaron cleared his throat. He also felt grateful to have a temporary shelter until the raid reopened. Annie said if Aaron wanted to sleep, she had prepared a blanket in the wardrobe in Isabella's bedroom.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay here for a while," Aaron said.

Annie smiled faintly as she shook her head. She didn't mind after learning how Aaron and the others behaved. It helped because she hadn't eaten home-made food in a long time, which made her feel nostalgic.

"I'll be off now."

The woman stepped away from the house's living room to reach her bedroom. Aaron nodded as he let her go. He also said he would be sleeping soon due to the sleepiness given from the bottle of wine served earlier.

That night, Aaron and the others could rest comfortably without worrying about the threat of wild monsters.

***

The next day.

Annie's residence.

BANG!

A booming sound was heard all the way to Annie's residence. Annie stopped cutting firewood and looked to the side above. The origin of the explosion-like sound was from a firework.

Aaron was curious. He stepped outside and saw many strings of fireworks exploding and adorning the sky of this place with beautiful colors. The young man asked Annie about it.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"Probably a celebration of their success in defeating the floor boss," replied Annie, returning to chopping wood with the iron axe.

'Is it possible the origin of the fireworks came from one of the major groups?" asked Aaron.

'I'd better avoid them if I don't want to get into trouble. My murderous red title will be suspicious enough for them.'

"Besides collecting firewood, what else do you normally do?" asked Aaron.

Annie explained her routine to them. Today, she focused on chopping firewood. The next day, she would go to the river to catch fish, and then the next day, she would practice sword skills.

The woman explained many activities could be done to kill time before the raid opened. Still, Annie warned Aaron and the others not to go hunting for wild monsters on the fifth floor.

"This place is a red zone area; many wild monsters with high levels roaming around. If you want to survive, never challenge them," Annie said.

"I understand."

Now, the higher the floor he went to, the higher the level and ability of the wild monsters. Unlike the wild monsters on the first floor that could be killed with one sub-talent attack, the wild monsters in this place needed at least two to three of Aaron's sub-talents to be killed.

Just as they watched the fireworks explode in the sky, a distinctive panel appeared before Annie. It was a message panel that someone had sent to her. Yet, the response Annie showed seemed displeased, constantly sighing.

Aaron squinted, seeing exactly the response on Annie's face. He couldn't read the message, but the young man could tell it was something Annie didn't like.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.

"Someone from Sky Sword challenged me to a battle. The bet was placed without my knowledge, I can't avoid it," Annie replied, deleting the message from her messaging system panel.

"A battle?"

"That's right. Haven't you heard of it? The fifth floor has a unique tradition, battling between adventurers," Annie replied.

"Although it's not officially hosted by the guild, we fight until one of us gives up. That means we won't get the red title like you."

"Then what do you get from this?" asked Aaron, curious.

"Money, items, even slave seals."

'This is far from what I had expected.'

"If you want to see my victory, then come along. But remember, you can't be arrogant, or they'll gang up on you and steal all your items. Do you understand?"

Aaron looked behind him. Isabella said that she would stay here while preparing the lunch menu. Sokia was the same; she needed to keep the place safe from the wild monsters.

With these two people, Aaron felt confident that he could leave the safety of Annie's residence to her. Aaron responded to Annie's question with a nod; he asked Annie to lead the way.

Annie stuck the iron axe on the wooden stump, then stepped out of the magic protection dome, with Aaron continuing to follow behind. Your adventure continues at empire

They walked the route in the other direction, aiming for a neutral place reserved for street battles.

Aaron continued to watch the woman before him. She seemed so confident in what she had, even though her skills were in swords and did not rely entirely on ranged magic power.

'What makes her look so confident?'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

In the distance, people seemed to be crowding around with their own flags. Annie didn't carry any flag since she didn't join any group.

"It's Annie!"

"Woah. Is she going to continue her winning streak?"

"I've bet a lot on her. She can definitely win."

Seeing their response made Aaron believe Annie had been famous for a long time, and even people bet a lot just for her to win. Their attitude suddenly aroused high curiosity in Aaron's heart.

How strong was Annie? What could she do with a weapon talent? Has no one managed to defeat her yet? Was she invincible on the entire fifth floor?

There was only one way to discover all the answers: seeing Annie's firsthand battle with that person.

Not only were they watching Annie, but those people were also paying attention to Aaron. Not because of good looks or strength, but why did Aaron have a red title that read murderer?

"Why did he come with her? Did he kill someone?"

"We can't allow a murderer here!"

Annie felt an intimidating aura from them. She looked back and asked Aaron to do exactly what she asked earlier. Aaron nodded in understanding of what he had to do.

The woman met a man in charge of controlling the battle schedule. He was happy to see Annie come to the venue to defend her six-month undefeated title.

"Who's the fool who dared to challenge me?" Annie asked.

"Jasper. A member of Sky Sword. He paid 10000 RL just to be able to challenge you."

"The news about your battle with Jasper spread; even the Sky Sword group leader came here to see it," replied Nicole, the person in charge of the place.

Nicole glanced to the side, seeing Aaron coming to accompany Annie. Annie saw the gesture in Nicole's eyes, so she explained who Aaron was and the guarantees for him if he misbehaved. Nicole fully believed that the person Annie trusted could be trusted.

"Alright. You should get ready because Jasper is in the arena waiting for you."

Aaron stepped into the second-floor area as Nicole instructed. There, he stood up and was reluctant to take a seat because he felt that the arena was limited when seated.

"Alright, Annie. Show me what you're really made of."