The Abyss Stares Back

“Nothing remarkable. They walked around the city yesterday taking in the sights.”

August Niles was standing in front of a desk and behind two plush chairs. There was another man sitting behind the desk with his hands clasped together, resting his chin on them while listening to August’s report. He was well dressed, though his suit jacket hung haphazardly over the back of his chair and the top two buttons of his shirt were loose.

“And they didn’t cause any scenes?” The man asked, in a gruff but disciplined voice.

“Nothing more than a few gawking common folk. A couple adventurers may have caught a glimpse of them, but nothing remarkable, like I said. They were talking about leaving the city today, to see outside the walls. I’ll follow them if they do.”

“Good. We can’t lose them too early. I doubt they could take out an iron rank monster on their own, let alone the few sneaky bronzes that can get close to the walls from time to time. Remember that Succubus that walked right up to the southern gates? Lucky I wasn’t closer to that aura.” The man scoffed as he waggled his eyebrows at August.

August stared blankly at the man.

“The adventure society may not yet see their value, but I do.” The man finished, pulling on the collar of his shirt to help himself regain his composure.

“I’m sure that Senadin kid is going to be pushing my one-week deadline to its limits, I’ll follow them for that long, but afterward you’ll have to set up another contract with the Adventure Society. I am not a mercenary, and I’ll be reporting everything to them that I’ve told to you.”

The man smirked.

“Of course, August. I am thankful you were the one to take the contract in the first place. We still share the same values; I hope you recognize that.”

***

Early in the morning, while on his way back to his office, Vance veered by the cafeteria, finding both Zulli and Sen characteristically sitting at a table eating breakfast.

“I know the shawarma is delicious, but I don’t know if anything else is, so I have to keep trying new things. We’ll get one later, when we get back into town.” Sen said to Zulli. “Oh, hey Vance.”

“Good Morning, you two.” Vance said, pulling up a chair and sitting on the side of the table between them. “How was your escapade into the city yesterday?”

“We’ll be picking up my set of clothes in the late morning, and then we’re planning on heading out of the city to see some nature.” Sen said.

Vance looked at Sen with a raised chin and lowered brow.

“Remember what I said about getting ahead of yourself, Sen. There are dangers out there.”

“Yes, Vance, I know. With everything else I’ve become privy to, I’m sure dragons, goblins, and orcs are on the list as well. We’ll be careful. I have a power I need to test out.” Sen said.

“Well, in the next couple of days, we were hoping you could come sit down with me and we could list out your racial gifts? We will figure out a compensation package before we question you this time.” Vance asked.

Sen paused and thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure if allowing a worldwide society to know his strengths and weaknesses would behoove him. He had already been witness and near-victim to shady dealings, and could only imagine the moral ebb and flow of a globally unchecked society.

“I need essences and awakening stones.” Sen told Vance flatly.

“Well, you’ve been busy. You’re taking the adventuring route then? You know, you would make an excellent magic society official with that aura power you have. The way you change that tablet to display data is unheard of. It’s like insight from the universe is pulled straight from thin air.”

“Zulli and I have been talking, and yes, we’re going to be adventurers. Sorry Vance. I’m not the sitting-behind-the-desk type.” Sen said.

“I’m not so blind as to ignore ambition when I see it.” Vance said, nonchalantly waving his hands in the air. “You’re aware of how hard it can be to start adventuring in Vitesse then? Many people, like the Gellers move away to start in lower-magic areas, while others spend years in training at the Remore academy just to get their foot in the door on an adventuring team.”

“We’re hoping the novelty of being outworlders will help us get in the door.” Zulli chimed in. “Somebody ought to see the potential in having our powers, that apparently no one else has.”

“Oh?” Vance asked. “You haven’t given us much information on your confluence essence, Zulli. Are you willing to share some things with us now?”

“Ask him.” Zulli said, pointing at Sen. “He’s the one that can scan people.”

Zulli

Race: Outworlder (Novabound)

Current Rank: Iron

Progression to Bronze Rank: 0%

Racial Abilities:

Universal Knowledge

Celestial Body

Astral Affinity

Twilight Visitor

Dynamic Aptitude

Touch of the Stars

Essences (4 of 4):

Essence of the Stars (Power)

Essence of Renewal (Recovery)

Essence of Magic (Spirit)

Essence of the Supernova (Speed)

Sen closed the window blocking his vision without giving any sign of divulging the information it showed.

“Essences and Awakening Stones, Vance. Apparently I need two more essences, and that will spawn my confluence essence, and I'll be at iron rank. Then Zulli and I can start shopping for our awakening stones on our way to bronze.” Sen told Vance, clearly headstrong in his decision to be an adventurer.

Vance looked at Sen just as an adult would look at a child who asked if they could swim across the ocean.

“Essences are very expensive, Sen. You must have been going through the records on your tablet. The usual prices are in there aren’t they?”

“That’s why we need help Vance. It’s not like I have a power that just creates spirit coins out of thin air.” Sen said. He postulated that his looting power, Bounty From Nothingness, would give him spirit coins, but hadn’t tested it out yet, so he technically wasn’t lying to Vance.

Vance raised an eyebrow at Sen.

“Right.” Vance said flatly. “I don’t think essences are even on the table, but some awakening stones might be possible.” He told Sen, emphasizing the might. “The power you’re going to test out is a looting power, I assume.”

Sen’s eyes opened wide after being caught in his near-lie, as a child would when asked if they raided the cookie jar.

“I shouldn’t try to get anything past you, huh, Vance?”

Vance let a playful smile rest on his face. “I am on your side, Sen. You don’t have to do that. I’m not looking for you to work for me, I just want to be your friend, and we can’t be friends if we’re lying to each other.”

Sen looked down at his tray, nodding. “Sorry.” He said with a begrudged smirk.

“Come by the investigation branch later, when you get back from your adventure. I’ll see what we can do, and you can tell me all about your looting power. And please, be careful out there.” He told them both as he stood up to get to work.

***

The morning went swiftly as Sen and Zulli went around town picking up what they needed for the day. They had stopped by a smithy to pick up a couple weapons. The smithy, often frequented by many adventurers, was a busy place, with many orders being made and fulfilled daily. It wasn’t the only smithy in Vitesse, and far from the busiest, but its reputation was renowned for reliable, cheap weaponry.

After paying Jerry for two sets of clothes, Sen’s reserve of spirit coins was nearly wiped out. The clothes didn’t seem special, but were enchanted to clean and repair themselves, as well as being marked by one of Jerry’s own runes to provide some protection to the wearer.

Sen had left a few iron rank coins in his reserve in case of emergency, along with a slew of lesser spirit coins given to him as change. He also met a street alchemist after picking up his new sword, whom he paid a handful of lesser coins for a couple weak healing potions.

“We’re going outside the walls, you think we’ll be able to see anything, maybe find a couple monsters?” Sen asked the alchemist.

The alchemist was a skinny man about Sen’s age, lanky, with a bit of scruff on his chin. Just looking at him, Sen was able to perceive his general shadiness, and he knew he had to read between the lines when speaking to him. The way that he stood and peered around in different directions gave him the impression that this alchemist was generally up to no good and trying to get away with it. Combined with the long red coat filled with potions, he seemed like a drug dealer you’d find in any comic strip. With the blatant sale of street potions in broad daylight, this man was no crime lord, and most likely a rabble rouser at best.

“You two? No escort?”

“That takes all the fun out of it.” Zulli responded before Sen could manage an answer.

“I’m iron rank, I’ve gone outside the walls a few times, you should be fine as long as you don’t go too far. The adventure society patrols take out anything that has a powerful aura. If they miss anything, its usually a bronze rank monster or two that have naturally weak or hidden auras. They also tend to skip over some iron rank monsters when they're busy, and its the busy season. Sometimes iron rank renegades such as myself go out there to have a little fun. Be safe or be deadly, I always say.” The alchemist replied.

“Sounds good. I like that: Be safe or be deadly.” Sen replied. “I’m Sen, by the way, thanks.”

“Arty.” The alchemist replied before nonchalantly walking off at a brisk pace, as flakily as he looked.

***

“I can’t get over how perfect these jeans are.” Sen said, feeling the denim between two fingers.

The two stood in a short queue to leave the city. The walls of Vitesse loomed over them, too tall for Sen to guess their actual size, with erratic towers serving as watchpoints.

Zulli was in her previously warn subtle blue pants with flowing blouse. She now wore a new leather belt that held a knife on each side of her hips. She allowed her blouse to drape over her belt, concealing the weapons rather well. Sen was dressed in his new outfit of dark jeans, dark brown boots, and a dark gray long-sleeve shirt, which he rolled the sleeves on to reveal his forearms and tucked the bottom of his shirt into his jeans. Over his shirt a leather strap crossed his chest from shoulder to hip, connected to a large belt that has several small pouches of its own. Attached to the strap, on Sen’s back, was a budget-made leather scabbard holding a cheap sword bought off-the-rack at the smithy.

“And this shirt, it’s so thin but I don’t think I could tear it if I tried.”

“And if you do, it’ll mend itself back together.” Zulli said.

“The sword… It looks cool, but I did not think of how hard it was going to be to put back in the scabbard.” Sen said, moving his hand up to feel the awkwardness of having the sword on his back.

“Business outside the city? No escort?” One of the guards at the gate addressed them as they fronted the queue.

“We’ll just be right outside for a stroll. Do you guys have a stamp or something for us to get back in?” Sen asked.

“For your safety we highly recommend at least a bronze rank escort for any business outside the walls. Silver is preferred, if you have the coin.” The guard said, ignoring Sen’s question.

“Like I said, we’ll be right outside the walls. Just a short stroll. We’ll be back before dinner.”

The two guards shared a look.

“You two seem new here.” The other guard chimed in. “Silver rank monsters are normal occurrences for the area surrounding Vitesse. We would be doing you a disservice in not informing you of the dangers outside the walls. There is plenty of room for a stroll in the park district.”

“Gents, we’re going to stay within running distance of the wall. We’ll be fine.” Sen explained.

“Maybe we should listen to them. Could be dangerous.” Zulli mentioned, playing devil's advocate.

“Your iron rank friend has the mind of a survivor.” The original guard said.

“Don’t bow out now, Zulli. We have to see what’s out there.” Sen argued.

Zulli sighed. “You heard him, guys. It seems he’s already made up his mind.”

Leaving the city was when it finally all hit Sen. Being in this new world was overwhelming, especially after his time spent in the void. He was hit with multitudes of revelations and met so many people that he hadn’t had the time to process it all. To top it off, he had been cooped up inside the magic society campus or the bustling streets of different commerce areas. He hardly had any space to let his mind wander.

As the two stepped out of the gates and onto the road, Sen’s vision rested on the horizon. Vitesse sat in a mountain range surrounded by rolling hills, and leaving the walls of the city allowed him to see far into the distance. The open sight of unoccupied sprawling nature gave his mind the mental space it needed to finally come to the realization that an enormous adventure lies before him, opportunities abound. The vista seemed familiar to him, much of the natural formations mirrored those on his own world, but scattered across his vision were impossible manifestations. From one high mountain, he could make out a giant deluge of water spouting from it, despite having no water source in the vicinity. Across from that, a perfectly circular ring made of white stone jutted from the rolling hills around it. He could see winged creatures flying around it, but they were too far away to make out what they were.

Sen’s mind raced with all the fantasy novels, movies, and games he had played back on Earth. Most of these forms of content had similar motifs, usually a new take on ancient myths. He wondered if the legends of gods and mythical creatures originated from this world, or if they were simply multiversal truths that breached all universes. He then wondered if magic was real in his world, and the powers at be had hidden them from the public eye.

“Um, Sen? You okay?” Zulli asked, her attention shifting from the horizon to Sen.

Sen didn’t even notice he had a huge smile on his face and his hands on his hips, standing tall as he looked at the vast landscape before him. He nodded, the smile not leaving his face.

“This is insane.” He said. “It’s kind of just hitting me now, the fact that I’m in a completely different world.”

“I wonder what that’s like.” Zulli said, looking out at the horizon again. Her Universal Knowledge racial ability gave her a general sense of basic knowledge of this universe, but since Sen was from an alternate universe, she couldn’t imagine the change he experienced.

“If you stick with me, Zulli, I bet you’ll find out eventually.” Sen said, not sure if what he was saying was true, but saying it with confidence that it was.

The two strode off the road, walking a safe distance along the wall of Vitesse, but deliberately off the road to come across any magical creatures that Sen could scan, and if they were lucky enough, a monster or two.

“So, just to go over this again-“ Sen said.

“I’ll be your back-up, but you want to be the frontliner.” Zulli reiterated to him after hearing the plan a couple times already.

“You’re iron rank.” Sen deliberated to Zulli. “So you’re my safety net. I’m trusting you to have my back.”

“I have your back, Sen.” Zulli told him, patiently and genuinely. Her cadence reminded Sen of a song from his world that he realized he wouldn’t be able to listen to anymore, it was a song he would listen to with his girlfriend, before her inevitable death to brain cancer.

“We’re going to be adventurers, Zulli. Having each other’s backs is going to be core to our very being.”

Zulli didn’t even nod, but her assent was apparent in her body language. Her shoulders stiffened and her chin raised as the dignity of duty to her team, and her friend, empowered her resolve.

After a short time of wandering, Sen’s eyes locked onto movement between a few trees. “Oh look!” Sen whisper-shouted, pointing to a spot between the trees. There were mostly open areas of grassland outside the walls of Vitesse, but there were patches of trees that created groves large enough to house their own wildlife. Sen was hoping these groves would be the home to magical mammals or birds, or perhaps animals he couldn’t even imagine.

Zulli’s eyes followed Sen’s finger to a short-haired creature with a pointed nose, pinhead eyes, six stubby legs, and skin that hung over itself like a Shar Pei.

“It’s some kind of mole, it looks like.” Sen said.

“Are you going to scan it?” Zulli asked.

Magical Creature: Grove MoleSloth (Iron Rank)

Known Attributes: Earth Affinity, Digging, Enhanced Smell Sense

Known Weaknesses: Fire, Poor Vision

A uncommon magical creature in grove and forest biomes around mountainous regions. Usually friendly but skittish, they can climb trees and burrow into the ground to escape prey. When cornered, their claws normally used for digging and climbing can be used as weapons, though their poor eyesight leaves them no choice but to flail their four arms in defense.

“What a chunky little guy.” Sen said. “Not a monster. Must be native.”

“For some reason I want to hug him.” Zulli said, not understanding her own feelings toward the creature.

“That’s normal.” Sen said. “He might mess you up with those claws though.”

The two watched the mole for a moment, before they saw its nose turn upward. It sniffed the air before using its front four legs to burrow into the ground, comedically kicking its back legs in the air before disappearing into the earth.

“I think it smelled something.” Sen said, perking up to look around the area. He nudged Zulli forward so they could hide themselves behind the thick trunk of a tree. They quietly hid behind it, Zulli crouching low while Sen stood above her, looking around. Not too long afterward, they heard the rustling of leaves.

They could hear something hopping around the area where the molesloth was sitting, and when they saw it, they both locked onto it without a word. It looked like a mouse, but much larger, with a hefty pelt of reddish-brown fur.

Monster: Rabid Mousekrat (Iron-Rank)

Known Attributes: Enhanced Hearing, Darkvision, Rabid Fever

Known Weaknesses: Fire

Attacks: Bite, Tail Skewer

Weak but nimble, Mousekrats can hear very well and usually lurk in dark areas such as caves and sewers. When left without food for long periods of time, they develop an affliction making them rabid enough to wander into open areas to hunt for food. This affliction can be transferred to their prey via bite, afflicting the prey with a frenzy debuff. Their main attack is using their sharp tails to skewer prey.

Sen slowly moved his arm to tap Zulli on the shoulder. When she looked up to him from her crouching position, his finger was already over his mouth, signaling her to stay quiet. She nodded.

From his voidspace, Sen pulled out one of the lesser spirit coins he had left. His hand holding the coin flung it in the direction of the mouse, making no noise as it passed by it, and making a barely audible tink as it hit the ground. The mouse, hearing the coin but not Sen, quickly pounced on it, biting ineffectively into the dirt.

Sen rounded the tree, pulling his sword from the scabbard, expecting the mouse to be frightened by the sound of the coin, which in turn would force it to run towards him and into his trap. This was not the case, as it was now facing away from him, lashing furiously at the ground. Sen thought quickly, now committed to act as his hefty boots stomped the ground. He was in the open and if the mousekrat saw him, his initiative would be wasted. He charged forward, sword in hand. Upon reaching the small monster, it jumped away, landing itself on the trunk of a nearby tree before pouncing again, this time directly at Sen.

Sen could barely react to the mousekrat’s speed as it dodged his sword and already made for a counterattack, but he was lucky enough to place his sword in between himself and the monster. It’s feeble, rabid mind bit down on the sword, cutting open its cheeks, slightly pushing Sen backward. Its mouth held onto the sword as its tail whipped in the air, making an audible whoosh before impaling Sen just above his right hipbone, right through his magically enchanted shirt.

When Sen grunted in pain Zulli charged forward from her crouching position behind the tree, pulling one of the two knives from her belt.

“Wait!” Sen yelled at Zulli as he heard her moving toward him. She stopped, keeping her knife at the ready.

Sen’s free hand grabbed one of the giant mouse ears, and then his other hand let go of the sword to grab the tail impaled in his hip. The mousekrat relinquished its bite on the sword to bite at Sen’s arm. Sen rotated his whole body, spinning on one foot to build momentum, holding onto the ear and the tail, before using the momentum to bring the monster over his head to slam it down onto the ground.

The monster let out a violent squeal and then a pained squeak that Sen would have found hilarious if not for the pain he felt in his hip. Sen’s eyes darted back to his dropped sword, hoping to use it to finish the fight quickly while the monster recoiled. It was too far behind him to make a move for it. He held onto the monster’s tail, keeping positive control of its main weapon. It tugged at Sen’s grip, but it was clearly meant for quick stabbing rather than overpowering an opponent. It struggled to get to its feet after the impact with ground knocked the wind out of it.

Sen frowned at it. His eyes turned cold as he realized he was about to take its life. He hadn’t put much thought to killing monsters, but in this moment wondered if they felt any real emotions. He wondered if somehow monsters weren’t actually monsters, or that they could be friendly under the right circumstances. He didn’t know, but what he did know was that this monster in front of him most likely wasn’t thinking about the same empathic concepts.

The mousekrat’s black eyes locked onto Sen and it bared its teeth, letting out a chilling hiss before Sen’s boot came crashing into its face. Sen lifted his boot from it, but the monster still clung to life, and it started to ineffectually crawl away as Sen still held onto its tail. Sen let out a frustrated grunt as his boot crushed the head of the mousekrat once more. This time, the monster stopped moving. Sen let go of the tail, and it fell limply to the ground.

You have defeated: Rabid Mousekrat

Racial Gift Activated: Bounty From Nothingness

All spoils will be transferred to your Voidspace

Sen stood over the monster, breathing heavily as the adrenaline still coursed through his veins.

Zulli stared at him. “Sen, you’re bleeding.” She told him, pointing at his hip. The blood had already run down his pant leg and began to pool in his boot.

The monster began to make a sizzling sound as rainbow colored smoke drifted from it.

Before it fully dissolved, Sen was brought to his knees by the rancid smell.

“Holy-” Sen yelled out before covering his mouth, barely stopping himself from puking out his breakfast. He crawled away from the monster, holding onto his hip before falling onto his back. Zulli crouched over him to inspect his injury.

You have gained:

(10) Iron-Rank Spirit Coins

Healing Unguent (Iron) x1

Mousekrat Teeth x4

“That went just about as well as I thought.” Sen told Zulli, his face scrunching in pain as Zulli lifted his shirt to inspect the wound.

“Do you want me to try and heal this?” Zulli asked him, placing a hand at the ready over his hip. Her renewal essence was a classic and generic essence used for most healers on an adventuring team, though her confluence essence of the supernova was very far from a generic healer’s confluence. Her essence ability Cauterize, was also not a favorite for most healers as the pain it caused was generally not as practical as a Lifebolt or Cure spell.

Essence of Renewal (Recovery)

Abilities (1 of 5)

Essence Ability: Cauterize (Fire, Healing)

Effect (Iron): Sear the flesh of a friendly or enemy target you can touch, removing all bleeding effects.

“No, my power worked, I think I just got something for it.” Sen let out, placing a hand on top of hers. In his other hand, a tin container appeared. “Can you try putting this on it?”

Healing Unguent (Iron)

A topical ointment used to heal superficial wounds. Uses: 5/5

Zulli grabbed the tin, inspecting the black shiny metal that had an artistic caricature of Sen’s face smirking on the lid. She would have made a confused face at the tin if she had one, but she opened it without saying anything, revealing a jelly-like pomade. She scooped out a couple fingers worth of the jelly and applied it to the hole in his hip.

“Wow, it’s working really fast.” Sen said as they both watched the shallow hole in his hip close, leaving nothing but a red welt in its place.

“That is probably better than me burning your skin.” Zulli confessed. “Is it my turn to kill something now?”