Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 235: Venturing into Dangerous Territory
After explaining the basic team formations, (Player Name) (M) took the lead, sword in hand, and entered the area affected by the abyssal miasma.
Observing from outside the miasma’s influence, it seemed fine, but as soon as they entered, the air was distorted by the miasma, making it difficult to discern directions and drastically reducing visibility.
But it wasn’t a big issue.
They, as players, had a map, and following the cardinal directions on it would absolutely prevent them from getting lost!
The search was aimless. In the vicinity of this vast Abyss Eye, finding the materials the King of Winter needed would rely entirely on luck, a slow, carpet-like search with no hints given by the mission system.
The King of Winter had also given him no hints, only a bestiary and a map.
Following the typical gameplay of an ARPG, when searching for a rare item, there would usually be a series of prerequisite quests or guiding NPCs strategically placed along the way. This NPC would then provide many hints to help them find the material smoothly.
However, along the way, there was nothing.
He couldn’t just catch a demon from near the Abyss Eye and ask, could he?
A flash of inspiration struck him.
(Player Name) (M) suddenly thought that catching a demon to ask actually seemed quite feasible.
His ingrained stereotype of demons led him to believe that no demon was a match for him. But in reality, demons varied in strength; cannon fodder-level demons could be easily killed by an ordinary adult male.
With an idea in mind, (Player Name) (M) began to pay attention to the movements around him, temporarily shifting the mission objective from searching for materials to finding a weak, easily bullied, but mentally sound demon.
Time ticked by, but there was no movement around them, not even a single bug.
Yet, (Player Name) (M) realized that the team he was leading had been walking for so long without getting any closer to a fang-shaped obsidian cliff he had designated as a temporary coordinate.
“What’s going on? Are we going in circles while following the map?”
(Player Name) (M) was a bit stunned. He used his player marker skill to place a red marker on the ground.
He then continued to lead the team forward. After walking for a long time, they moved further and further away from the marker, yet still didn’t get any closer to the cliff that seemed so near.
It turned out he wasn’t going in circles. He deduced that his perception of distance was being inexplicably distorted, to the point that even the regional map provided by the game system couldn’t correct this feeling.
The strangeness of the Abyssal Eye region amazed (Player Name) (M). This kind of thing couldn’t be done in other games; only Cain Continent could be so incredible.
However, as he continued to walk, the moment his foot landed, the surrounding environment abruptly changed.
The crimson ground was gone, the miasma-shrouded sky was gone, and the fang-shaped cliff was also gone. In their place was gray rocky terrain and scorching, flowing lava. In the pitch-black sky, a blood moon hung high. Everything around was clearly visible. The abyssal miasma simply attached itself faintly to the surface, not floating.
“Huh?”
(Player Name) (M) quickly turned his head and found that the warriors under his command were still following him, which brought him a slight sense of relief.
“What’s going on? It feels like we suddenly switched places,” Claudia asked, puzzled. She squatted down, picked up a pinch of grayish-black dust, observed it carefully, and then brought it to her nose to sniff. A strong smell of sulfur hit her. Her pupils instantly contracted, and her body couldn’t stop shivering.
“What’s wrong, Yaya?” (Player Name) (M) noticed Claudia’s unusual reaction and quickly turned to embrace her.
“Mo Yu, something’s wrong…” Claudia buried her face in (Player Name) (M)’s chest, her eyes fearfully scanning the surroundings as her voice trembled with despair. “This is no longer the Material Plane we know. This… this is the Abyss!”
“The Abyss!?” (Player Name) (M)’s hair stood on end, and a chill shot straight to his head, making him involuntarily shiver. “How could we have entered the Abyss just like that? Is the Abyss a place that’s so easy to enter?”
“It is indeed not easy to enter. Humans… *cough cough*…” A faint, weak voice attracted the attention of (Player Name) (M), Claudia, and the others. They looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old orc with gray and dry skin leaning against a gray rock. Its weapon was scattered around, and there were some bloodstains nearby, clearly indicating it was injured. The old orc wore a brightly colored turban on its head, inscribed with tribal totems, and a dark red robe. A bone necklace hung on its chest, and it was thin, looking mysterious.
(Player Name) (M) immediately cast an appraisal technique.
[Orc Shaman – Level 32 – Cursed – Life Force Depleted – Critically Wounded (Cannot be healed)]
[Name: Gulbarak Thunderhorn]
“Human, are you using some special ability to spy on me? *Cough cough*… You don’t need to do this because I’m already dying…” As if to confirm Gulbarak’s prophecy about his own life, his cheeks puffed up, and his dry, large hand grasped his chest, spitting out a mouthful of black blood.
*What keen perception,* (Player Name) (M) inwardly warned himself. He gestured to the warriors around him, and everyone immediately followed orders to surround the old orc.
“Who are you? And where is this place?”
“Heh heh…” The old orc weakly raised its cloudy eyes to glance at (Player Name) (M), then murmured, “I am Gulbarak Thunderhorn, belonging to the army of the Second Prince of the Orcs. I am… an Orc Shaman… this is the first layer of the Abyss…”
“Don’t look so skeptical, human. As an old orc on the verge of death, I have no reason to deceive you, and I also need your help.”
“Orcs and humans are mortal enemies. I cannot trust you, and I don’t know what kind of help I can offer you,” (Player Name) (M) said coldly, not letting his guard down.
“Orcs and humans are indeed mortal enemies… because… because a long, long time ago, the ruler of the human allied forces, after defeating those long-eared monkeys, betrayed his orc friends. In order to possess the most fertile lands, he drove the orcs, who had suffered heavy losses in the war, into the desert…”
“*Cough cough*. But now, I am not speaking to you as an orc. I am merely a creature that is about to pass away, nothing more.”
In (Player Name) (M)’s vision, the yellow halo representing neutrality around the old Orc Shaman gradually turned green, representing friendliness, as it finished its last sentence. (Player Name) (M) remained skeptical of the old orc’s words, but he completely trusted the system’s faction judgment of the old orc. At least for now, the old orc harbored no malice. As the saying goes, the words of a dying person are good. Now, it was just a pitiful creature hoping someone would fulfill its dying wish after its death.
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Loli, kekeke, my Loli, kekeke.
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