Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

Chapter 380: Elvaria

Yes. Even if Noan died, Yuna would not disappear. She would continue to exist and become a Free Hero. At that point, she would have two choices: either become the Hero of another lord, or be sent back to her old world.

Of course, almost all Free Heroes chose the first option. If their old world were peaceful and abundant in resources, they would not need to answer the call of a lord and come to this world in the first place.

Besides, she was a Rank SS Hero. The World Government and the Empire would definitely not let her go easily.

That was also why whether Noan lived or not did not matter much. As long as Yuna was still alive, it was enough.

Aldric clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with fury as he glared at Frank, and he growled, "Frank, do you know what you’re doing?"

He no longer called him "Grand General Frank," but called his name directly.

Frank smiled. "Of course. Even though this time is too risky, as long as I possess a Rank SS Hero, then every risk has meaning. At that point, even if the Empress learns of this, so what? In the end, I’ll still be the one holding a Rank SS Hero."

"Bastard! You are the shame of this Empire," Aldric said through gritted teeth.

Frank laughed loudly. "Hahahahaha... General Aldric, you’re still too young. You don’t understand how this world operates."

"Even if you get out of here, so what? Even if you report this news to others, so what? If I’m caught, there will still be someone else who sets their sights on his Hero."

"General Aldric, the best thing you can do is stay silent and watch. If I succeed, I can share a bit of the benefits with you. If not, whether I fail or die, I won’t hesitate to drag a few people down to hell with me."

"Bastard!" Aldric ground his teeth, his face flushed red with rage. But in the end, he took a deep breath, then walked to a nearby chair and sat down.

Seeing that, Frank wore a satisfied smile. "That’s right. This is what a smart person should do. Don’t worry, if I succeed, I definitely won’t forget you."

Hearing that, Aldric’s hands clenched until they turned white. But remembering what Noan had said before leaving, he quickly calmed down.

Frank smiled, his gaze turning toward the information panel showing the disconnected status with Noan.

...

"Where is this...?" Noan frowned as he looked around. This space was truly strange.

Beneath his feet was a surface of water, but it was not like water, because it clung tightly to the ground. Even if he stepped down, his feet would not get wet.

The water layer was only about two centimeters thick, like a mirror stuck to the ground.

Noan scanned the surroundings, feeling something was off. He knew Frank had done something to send him to this strange space. However... this place seemed to give him a sensation that was rather... familiar.

Yes, familiar.

As if he had been here before.

"Really strange..." Noan murmured.

He looked around. Aside from the blackness and a small planetoid like a moon floating not far away, emitting a pale golden light that kept this space from being too dark, there was nothing else.

Even so, Noan did not dare to be careless. He flicked his hand, and the Abyss Cube immediately flew out, transforming into a sword that he gripped tightly.

Noan advanced slowly toward the planetoid, but the more he walked, the heavier his steps felt. Some images, like memories covered in dust from countless years ago, suddenly surfaced within him.

"What the hell?" Noan frowned. He could not see those images clearly. They were very faint, yet he felt there was something very strange about them.

Noan could be sure he had never seen anything like them before, whether on Earth or in this world.

"Could my soul be affected by something here? Or... am I being affected by Carlotta’s blood?"

Yes. After all, there were many different sources of energy within his body, coming from the Abyss, from Carlotta, and from other sources. So seeing different kinds of memories was normal.

It was just... those memories felt unbelievably real, as if he had lived them himself rather than borrowed them from someone else.

Uck! Uck! Uck!

Suddenly, a sound like boiling water rang out. The water surface shook violently, concentric circular ripples spreading outward again and again.

At the center of that disturbance, a creature slowly rose from the water.

At that moment, a strange sensation crashed down on him, making him flinch.

Familiar, yet heavy, despairing, agonizing, and insane.

But those negative emotions did not drive him insane. Instead, they made him feel as if a distant voice were echoing from far away. It even sounded like it was warning him to do something.

A few seconds later, Noan could see the creature clearly.

It looked like a black shadow wearing ancient armor that had been severely ravaged. However, the pressure radiating from it was terrifying, making Noan’s heart pound wildly.

He frowned and silently checked his "summoning space," but unfortunately, that space was not functioning, meaning he could not summon Napolia and Valkerik.

Noan frowned, forcing himself to look at the creature, yet he still could not see its face. But that sense of familiarity was overwhelming, making him feel even stranger.

The creature seemed to be formed from pure blackness. It looked toward him, stretched out a hand, and along with that, a distorted, grating voice rang out, "The mission... is not... complete..."

"Mission?" Noan frowned, baffled.

BOOM!

At that moment, the space shook violently. The water on the ground suddenly reversed direction, like an inverted rainstorm, turning into countless droplets that flew upward.

Noan lifted his head, eyes widening, and saw a spatial rift that he did not know when it had appeared.

From within that rift, a familiar figure emerged.

"Elvaria? Why is she here?"

Yes, Elvaria’s body was still bound tightly by black chains, but the indifferent expression and that sorrowful smile of hers were gone. In their place was an anger and coldness so intense it made him afraid.

"Noan, don’t listen to him! He is only... &^$%&$&^%..."

"Heh?!" Noan frowned and asked in confusion, "What is he?"

He could hear the latter part of Elvaria’s sentence only as a string of sounds, distorted to the point that he could not make them out.

Elvaria frowned, looked at him, then gave him a gentle smile. "Go. I’ll hold him here."

"Wait!" Noan shouted urgently. "What are you trying to say? Who is he? What are you going to do?"

"Ack!"

Noan received no answer. Instead, an invisible hand seized him by the throat and dragged him into another spatial rift.

That rift vanished. This space was left with only Elvaria and the mysterious creature.

"Why?" the creature spoke. "I... was only... helping him..."

"What you’re doing is not helping him." Elvaria said, her voice filled with boundless hatred, enough to make the space itself tremble. "You’re pushing him into an endless loop."

The creature spoke again, its voice mechanical and indifferent, without the slightest emotion. Yet if one listened closely, one could sense countless negative emotions within it, so many that only cold indifference and machinery could describe it.

"E-03... you don’t want... to return?"

"That trash world... the only thing that makes me want to go back is... to destroy it!"

At that moment, countless cracks appeared in space, then it began collapsing at a terrifying speed.

The mysterious creature did not fear the sight at all. "The loop... will become perfect..."

...

"Agh!" Noan jolted, realizing he was in another space. This place looked somewhat like an abandoned city. Collapsed structures were everywhere, and vegetation had swallowed almost everything.

"This place is..." Noan frowned and murmured. He suddenly remembered what had just happened, and the confusion in his heart only deepened.

"What the hell was that creature? And also... why did Elvaria appear there?" Noan felt truly baffled.

And the familiar feeling when he faced that creature made him even more confused. Could there be some connection between him and that creature?

He shook his head, not wanting to think about it anymore. Thinking too much would not yield any results, so there was no point.

When he met Elvaria again, he would ask her.

[Ding! The System has successfully connected to the server.]

[Ding! The System has returned to normal operation.]

At that moment, an information panel appeared and floated before him.

[Ding! Trial mission: Survive for one hour.]

"One hour?! That simple?"

KRIT!!!

At that moment, a shriek rang out. The sky suddenly turned gloomy.

Noan frowned, looked up, and when he saw the creature in the sky, his expression darkened. "So... that’s why surviving for one hour has a reason."

In the sky, a colossal creature appeared, its wingspan stretching over a hundred meters. Its eyes, like blood moons, stared down upon the world.

Beside it, an information panel was displayed.

[Solar Eclipse Ironbird | Rank: A | Level: 6]