The abyss is a treacherous and dark realm where adventurers seek glory, wealth, and strength.
Inside the abyss, monsters, traps, and even other people are the primary reasons why the abyss is a dangerous place.
It is a cruel and unforgiving place, where the people entering it are expected to see their companions die or experience this themselves. Despite it, they enter willingly, knowing the consequences.
[Abyss 1053: Beginner's Underground Dwelling]
"MATTHEW!!!"
Surrounded by centipedes. The lives of the party of four were at stake.
The leader of the group had watched one of his party members get maimed on his leg, rendering him barely able to stand.
In a situation like this, it was only a matter of time before he died in a gruesome way. And that's possibly the best outcome in a situation like this.
"DENNIS!!!"
However, before the man who got his leg maimed got finished off, his other companion got overwhelmed with fear and got incapacitated and jumped by multiple centipedes.
The worst part was that these monsters' attacks weren't lethal. Their pincer didn't deal much, but the constant damage done over time was torture, an undeniably cruel way to die.
With one down and one immensely injured, death was inevitable. The three adventurers who were still alive had their minds collapsed, broken into glass pieces, and were unable to recover.
~
"So this is the abyss..."
Stepping into the abyss for the first time, it was everything one might expect from such a place. It felt like the kind of dungeon I used to explore in games I'd played since childhood.
The abyss I entered was an underground cave. It had one path straight forward, with the width big enough to fit at least a dozen people. It was sizable for a fight between beginners.
It makes one wonder if this place could collapse. Crushing those who are unfortunate.
"..."
"Strange..." I muttered to myself as I continued deeper into the cave.
Even though this was a dungeon for beginners, I found no monsters in the pass for at least ten minutes.
A group of people could've just cleared the monsters, but as someone who was queued for this abyss, the monsters should've respawned by now.
If I meet that group, they better have an explanation that satisfies me. Even an Earthling like me is dangerous.
Since there weren't any monsters nearby, I started to speed up further and deeper into the abyss. Eventually, I will find the reason why this had happened.
"!!!"
As I went further in, I saw something irregular. The boring walk inside the cave had now ended, replaced with something more disgusting.
"Fuck..."
It wasn't a party that had cleared the monsters. Instead, it was monsters that had grouped up together, causing a blockade.
A monster pit, if that's what you would like for it to be called. With a few dozen centipedes gathered together, they had noticed my presence and began to attack.
Their disgusting appearance made me want to puke. I have always had a problem with creepy, crawly creatures, and sometimes I wonder how some people can tolerate them.
This was especially terrible since these centipedes were significantly larger than the ones I was familiar with.
Still, disgusted by their appearance, I was confident that none of these monsters posed a threat.
That's why I came to the abyss alone, knowing how dangerous these places could be. It may seem like arrogance to others, but I genuinely believed that no one in this world could surpass me in terms of talent.
~
"..."
So this was what it's like to kill a monster inside the abyss.
Clearing the wave of monsters, I felt my body strengthening, as if it were becoming more energized without a price. Even if no loot could be gained from an abyss, I could still see it becoming a popular place for those who want to become stronger.
As the monsters fell, their corpses vanished, absorbed back into the abyss itself.
What remained was dried blood, likely left behind by the party that came before me.
With their corpse gone, the equipment they had was now mine. This was the rule of traveling in the abyss and one of the many reasons why combats between groups were a common occurrence.
Since it had been a week since I arrived in this world, money was something I lacked, and I appreciated the opportunity to earn more with minimal effort.
While it may seem heartless to do such a thing, I wasn't too emotional to start shedding tears in front of strangers that I had never seen before or would ever meet.
Pocketing their weapons, armor, and monster loot in my backpack, I continued forward. With how far I've come, I wouldn't be surprised if the end of this abyss was near.
"Why am I not surprised..."
Reaching the end of the cave, the boss of this abyss was a centipede, just on a larger scale.
"Goodbye."
I wanted to end things quickly, so I let it attack me without putting up any guard. The boss charged forward and rammed into me, trying to pierce me with its pincers.
But the moment it touched me, the part of its body that made contact vanished. With the boss's head gone, I had won the fight.
Watching the body being absorbed by the abyss, it was strange how loot came out from it, and the loot it had dropped was the pincers that I had erased.
Sadly, the boss I had killed didn't let me level up. So it's quantity over quality when growing in strength.
Finished with the abyss, what was left was the core. The core in the abyss was what stabilized the mini-dimensional space and summoned the monsters for this place.
Normally, an adventurer would destroy it, but since this abyss was considered a training exercise, it was illegal to break it, as it is a property of this country. Anyone who did so would be arrested and subjected to the worst punishment.
Done with this dungeon, it was time to leave.
~
"Already out so soon? Did you get scared? I told you, you should've brought a party." Exiting the abyss, the gatekeeper started talking.
"Nah, I cleared it. Not gonna lie, it was pretty easy since the monsters I faced clumped up." I said, sharing my experience in the abyss.
"Clumped up?" Hearing what I had to say, the gatekeeper's brows rose, curious about what went down in the abyss.
"Yeah, all the monsters inside were together in one place. The previous party had been wiped out by it." I provided this information to the gatekeeper, and it is up to him to decide what to do with it.
I didn't bother staying since there was no reason to. What I cared about more was the money I'm going to earn.
Today, I'm going to treat myself to something good. After days of stale bread and tasteless soup, my modern palate has suffered enough.
Leaving the entrance to the abyss, I returned to the city known as Mirio. Part of an empire known as the Randel Empire. One of the two large territories that humanity has.
This world, called Nova, seems to be out to get humanity. Not only are humans the weakest of the five main races, but we're also the least naturally gifted, making it difficult to compete.
At the top were beastmen. It's strange for this race to be on top, since in all fiction, this race would be suppressed, making them the perfect example of "slaves."
However, in this world, not only do they have the most population, at least three times that of others, but also possess innate physical strength, making it easier for them to clear the abyss.
From what I've heard, beastmen have incredibly high sex drives, which explains how quickly their numbers grow. And if they mate with other races, their bloodline becomes more dominant, making the child's chances of becoming a beastman a lot higher.
Next are the demonkins and elves. These two races are quite similar. They both have the smallest population, yet their talent in magic is the best. Not to mention that their lifespan is the highest by a long shot compared to the other races. The only difference between them is their appearance and their affinity with magic.
Finally, dwarves. These midgets are no joke. While they may not be innately strong, the weapons they forge are deadly, and no other races dare make any advancement towards them. Anyone could imagine the price if they did so.
Like damn...
So much for the potential for humans.
I couldn't help but sneer at the thought.
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if humanity were wiped out sooner or later. At the same time, none of the races are extremely hostile at the moment. Who knows when a war could erupt?
For some reason, the thought of war kind of intrigued me.
Maybe it's because of thoughts like these that I've been able to adapt so easily to this world.