The Strongest in the World Doesn't Have Any Abilities

After walking down the path they chose for about three hours straight, Rin and her classmates started to wonder if they chose the right way at all.

"Guys...I think I can't endure it any more. My legs can't keep up with your speed," Iza said as she slumped on the floor due to exhaustion.

"Well, whose fault was it to wear high heels while in a place like this?" James replied, acting as if indifferent to her qualms.

"How would I know that we were going to be sucked inside this, this, dark abyss?!" Iza furiously raised her eyebrows. "If I knew this will happen, I would've worn my boots instead!"

Regardless of what she wore, walking for such period of time is too much for a sheltered girl like her. The only thing that kept her from not stopping, however, is her desire to get out of the dark place as soon as possible.

"You two, leave your lovers' quarrel for later," Rin spoke to them, trying to maintain her calm after listening to their bickering for a few times already.

""W-We're not lovers!!!""

"You're not? A-Anyway, for now let's stop here for a few minutes. My instincts tell me there are no enemies lurking nearby, so I think this is a good place for us to rest."

Rin placed their sleeping class president gently on the ground, and carefully examined her face. The sleeping Mari, with her signature glasses off, revealed a tranquil air different from her usual look which made even a girl like Rin hold her breath--a beauty that is overlooked by everyone. Since there is no indication that she'll wake up anytime soon, she decided to leave her be for the meantime.

"Ah, I'm starving already. Iza, do you have some snacks in your bag?"

Right away, Iza said--

"Don't worry, Rin! I got you covered!"

As she said that, she gladly took a bunch of food items from her bag: rice cakes, stir-fried vegetables, meat jerky, cookies, and a container filled with fresh fruit juice. James and Rin, who were watching her prepare a feast enough for several people as if it's nothing out of ordinary, had their mouths gaped wide in bewilderment.

"How did...you manage to stuff all of this in your bag?"

With an air of arrogance, Iza answered Rin: "Fufu. You might not know it, but I invested for this special gear that can store things up to 300 times its size! Awesome, isn't it?"

What made the two even more surprised was that, she had more than a month's worth of foodstuff available in her stash ready for emergency consumption without them even noticing. The food stored inside her special bag retains its freshness and flavor even after years of storage, that's why the dishes that came out of her bag were still piping hot.

"Man, that's incredible. Maybe I should get one too for myself on my next payday," James said, feeling envious.

"Hah, in your dreams! This thing is limited edition, you wouldn't find it elsewhere!"

"Then I'll get a custom-made one instead!"

"You idiot! Do you know how much is it to have a personalized magic item?! Even a year's salary won't get you anywhere if you want to get one!"

Meanwhile, Rin...

"Guys, let's eat already. Guys? Aren't you hungry yet? Okay, don't blame me if I get to eat all of these on my own."

Still, she waited for the two to settle down so that they could share the meal together. Annoying their antics might be, she nevertheless find their interaction amusing, as it adds more 'flavor' and life to the food she's eating.

"You know what, I just realized...we're enjoying ourselves here right now, but we don't know what's going on the other side," Iza told her friends while chewing a piece of meat jerky. "I'm worried that Kai and Karen might've encountered someone on their way, and we're not there to help them."

Even if they didn't encounter enemies, the fact that Iza only managed to give a small share of her food to Kai made her terribly upset. Had she knew they will be splitting ways in the first place, she would've had gave them even more supplies.

"Yeah. I'm starting to regret making the decision at all."

The atmosphere around them turned gloomy all of a sudden. James, in a way to cheer everyone up, replied: "Don't worry guys, I'm sure those two can handle things on their own! Who knows? They might be the ones who can find the exit first. I think we should be more worried about our own safety instead."

However, his words wasn't able to abate their worries even for a bit. They thought, no matter how strong those two are, there are still several factors they have to take account for them to determine their chances of survival--the things that are way out of their control.

"Perhaps what you said is right," taking a few deep breaths to cool herself down, Rin spoke, "the only thing we can do at this point, is to strive on and hope for the best..."

BUUUUUGGGGGSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

"--??!!"

Just as when she's about to continue with her meal a strong beam of light came bursting forth from the walls beside them at an oblique angle and created a hole so large, it only missed Mari by less than a meter. Sensing danger, the three instantly leaped into their defensive positions, with James on the front protecting their sleeping friend.

"W-W-What was that?!!" Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #'t-have-any-abilities-!_12421071605419605/the-way-out_52447691497588867 for visiting.

"I-I'm not sure. For me it looks like a giant wave of energy, released somewhere."

"Giant wave of energy?" James asked Rin. "You mean just like in Dragon Warrior Z?"

Rin nodded. "Based from the direction where it came from, it's possible that...--"

""Kai and Karen are in danger!!!""

They thought that for an energy burst of such magnitude to occur, there must be someone who is capable of storing huge amounts of energy, concentrating them into a fine point, and releasing the stored energy in a straight line--all in a very short period of time. Not even Kai has that large of a reserve to succeed in making the first step, that's why they concluded that the two possibly encountered a very powerful opponent on the way.

"Guys, relax. I don't think that beam came from the enemy," Rin said to them.

"H-How can you be so sure, Rin?!" Iza yelled at her.

With a grin, she spoke.

"Because..."

When she said that, they started hearing faint footsteps coming from inside the tunnel created by the strong energy beam. At first Iza and James were cautious, but their faces quickly brightened upon seeing the figures of Kai and Karen as they come out of the hole.

James said, "I knew you can make it back alive."

"Yeah. We made it," Kai replied.

"KAAARRREEEEENNNNNNNN!!!" Iza, bursting into tears, leaped towards Karen's bosom. "I'm very, very, very, very sorry! I promise, we won't be separated ever again!!!"

"It's alright, Iza. What's important is that all of us here are safe."

At a quick glance it's obvious to them that the two were looking very exhausted, possibly after fighting a very formidable foe, and all the running they had to do after that. Karen's clothes were also partially torn apart, but it doesn't look like she's concerned with her belly in full view for her friends to see. In fact, they were surprised to see how radiant her expression was, as if she's purged of all negativity in her system while she's away.

"I'm glad that you two are finally back," Rin also welcomed them. "I thought for a moment there were enemies coming at us, so I readied myself to cut you down anytime, but luckily my ears can't go wrong with the sound of your footsteps."

Iza asked if the two have already eaten and they said yes, in which they thanked her for the rice cakes. Blushing deeply, she promised to treat them into a better meal once they get out of the abyss.

"Guys, look!" James, glancing to where the beam headed straight into, saw something far ahead. "I think...I'm seeing something bright over there..."

"Something bright? For real?!" Rin, dubious with his statement, squinted as she also looked at the tunnel in front of them. "You're right! There really is light ahead of us!"

Then, everyone's faces--except for Mari--turned even more cheerful.

"Is that true? Does that mean, we finally found the exit?"

"I can't say for sure, but it seems like it."

"Alright! We can finally get out of this rotten place for good!"

While her friends are celebrating, Karen--

"Not only it saved all of us, it also showed us the way..."

With no time to waste, the group started packing up their things, made a crude stretcher from the blanket inside Iza's bag to carry Mari, and headed straight towards the 'exit'.

-----

"At last, after all that struggle...we're back!" James exclaimed, immediately once he confirmed that they were finally out of the abyss.

"Man, I'm beat," Rin said, as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with her hand. "If possible, I want to take another week off after this."

On the other hand, Iza collapsed right after she took step back into the surface. Karen rushed in to check her condition, but after a few seconds she told everyone not to worry, as her small body just gave out from all the strenuous physical activity she had done while inside the abyss.

"When we got sucked into the void, it was only morning. Look at the sun now, it's already late afternoon."

"We've been inside the abyss for that long? Wow, I thought there was a time difference between the two realms, and it'll still be morning when we come back...it seems that wasn't the case all along."

While they were in awe at how much time they spent in the abyss, a familiar figure came running towards them.

"Yooooooo!!!"

"Oh, Ivan!" James called their classmate, who was left behind inside their camp while they were in the abyss.

Panting, Ivan said to them: "For real, guys...what in the world was going on?! I've been looking for you all day, that I wasn't able to eat anything since this morning!"

When he found the void on the surface of the lake a few hours ago he thought at first to report it to the palace, but he was afraid that they wouldn't believe what he'll say. Thus, he decided not to continue and instead search for his classmates all by himself.

"You wouldn't believe what we saw inside the abyss, dude," James said. "In that place...we fought thousands of demons!"

"Weeehhh??? Tell me, tell me more about it!"

"We'll tell you the whole story later. For now, we need to recover first," Rin said as she's not inclined to speak at the moment.

"I see. I'll look forward to your stories then."

"What about Barchen? Did something strange happened here while we're away?" Kai asked Ivan.

"Aside from that void this morning? Nothing much happened," he replied. "Though for some reason, His Majesty the King was acting a bit frantic when he made his routine appearance in front of the soldiers."

"Frantic? Was it because of the humidity?"

Ivan shook his head. "No. While he's delivering his speech he couldn't focus on his script and frequently darted his gaze around the open hall, as if he's looking for monsters who are hiding behind the trees. It was quite a weird experience for everyone who were present, but no one dared to ask him why he's acting like that."

Quite weird indeed, they thought. What is it that bothered the King, who is known to be a stoic and straight-faced leader?

"Ugh, I don't want to think about it for now! James, Kai--help me bring these two girls to their sleeping bags! I don't want to be the third one to collapse on the ground!" Rin said.

""O-Okay...""

The three of them--while carrying both Iza and Mari--immediately went back to their camp, leaving only Karen and Ivan on the side of the lake. He cautiously glanced at her face, and noticed that for some reason Karen looked strangely calm, her cheeks revealing a youthful blush--no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

"Uh...Karen? Are you alright? You also need to rest now, don't you think...?"

Shaking her head slightly, Karen said: "I'm fine, thanks. I believe I can go on for a little more before going to sleep."

'Go on? What do you mean by that? You're not going to run around Barchen while chasing the sunset, do you?' Ivan thought.

"Nn. Now that I found hope, I won't ever hold myself back again. See you later, Ivan," she said as she walked past him for a few seconds, then her walking turned into a jog, and finally into running at full speed. She did want to run around Barchen, something which Ivan thought at first as a joke.

"E-Eh? Eeehhhh..."

Seeing the girls either collapsed, irritated, or suddenly running off to somewhere, Ivan has already had his share of WTH for the day. With a sigh, he looked at the lake and said with a defeated tone:

"Haaah. What happened inside that void...that turned my cute classmates like that?"