Ti passed as minutes turned into hours and hours into days.
Everyone in Aestian's realm gradually blended into the new world to do tasks and other various things as they learned new things.
Erix also joined the basic Magsmith classes as he spent 5 hours daily to learn about magic smithing.
Everyone's life beca extra busy with so many new things to learn and handling tasks as eight days quickly flew by.
Many people reached the limit of their power after reaching level 100, hitting 300 points in all stats.
…
Aceiron Region, Aceiron Mountain.
In a huge valley behind the biggest mountain in the region, there lay a landscape of darkness and black ink. Everything down to the smallest of pebbles was corrupted in this place with a huge glowing black ink crystal floating and spinning while releasing faint wisps that shortly disappeared after traveling into four dark-bloody pools that surrounded the crystal.
The ground was littered with around two hundred slumbering Abyss Servants of various kinds, most of them refined yet grotesque with strange physical appearances, a mix of a few animals with an alien touch, a touch of a pure corruption belonging to Abyss.
Isabella, Serina, and two hundred others stood on a faraway mountain. The majority of people were Maghas, while around fifty of them were humans.
Out of the fifty humans, around twenty of them had Abyss Devourer Mark as they had reached level 100.
The leader of the Star-Frost Magha Tribe was at the forefront as he floated with his magnificent Star-Frost Wings.
"Everyone! Our land and people are in peril because of Abyss! We do not yet know about its origin, but what we know is that if we don't stop its spread and destroy it, we will be devoured by it!"
"Stay in the formation that we have decided on and do your best! We have to destroy the Abyss Nexus and those Abyss Servants today, once and for all!"
All Maghas shouted loudly as a burst of frost spark spread in the sky.
"ATTACK!"
'I am afraid this is only the start,' Isabella thought upon hearing the Star-Frost Magha tribe's words.
Isabella watched everyone go and nodded at Serina and the other team. "Be careful and do not lose focus even though we have Abyss Devourer Mark."
'It's going to be a long fight,' Isabella looked at her Abyss Devourer Mark on the back of her palm.
[Abyss Devourer Mark]
_Level: 1 [ 12/100 Abyss Servants ]
_Type: Active skill / Unique.
_Perks: 50% extra damage against Abyss-attributed structures and monsters.
_Effect(s):
—> Abyss Killer: consu 10 mana to activate Abyss Devourer Mark and instantly absorb Abyss Servants below 10% of Vitality.
—> Abyss Purification: consu 5 mana to cleanse everything and everyone within ten ters of Abyss debuffs. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Abyss Devourer Mark was a huge help, and only after reading its effect did she co to understand why people of Earth were essential to save this world.
And it was still a level 1 Mark, so it would get even stronger, but that also made Isabella think that the next twenty days were only going to get harsher.
…
All over the Aestian Realm was fully alerted and aware of Abyss encroachnt by now since every single region and area was getting corrupted by the Abyss.
The biggest boon for Earthlings turned out to be the 1-hour and 2-hour leave cards they regularly got if they ventured and completed tasks because whenever they were in peril, they could actually use the card to imdiately disappear from Aestian's realm and return to Labyrinth Tower's first floor.
Yorik Kingdom capital, Blue Rose Courtyard.
Kenshin and Saira sat across from Duke Khroll and two other people as they discussed sothing.
"Where is Erix?" Duke Khroll asked. "We will need his potent long-range attacks as an opening to destroy this Abyss Nexus. There are five hundred Abyss Servants there with a few other strange things."
"I've been trying to contact him using a comm card, but that brat is not picking it up," Kenshin wryly smiles. "Don't worry. We'll relay the plan to him when he returns."
"Alright, then we'll depart tomorrow morning."
"Thank you for regular assistance," said a young man in his late twenties with a dignified air around him. "Many adventurers and so of the top powerhouses are still not taking this threat seriously, so it helps that masters like you are willing."
He was the crown prince of Yorik Kingdom, Savken Yorik.
'Well, that's what we are here for,' Saira thought.
"They will soon understand when this Abyss Encroachnt fully erupts," Kenshin snorted.
"So this is going to get even more troubleso?" Duke Lanril frowned.
"I hope not, but as far as we know, this is just the start," Kenshin answered with a wry smile.
After all, there were still twenty more days according to the main quest's deadline.
…
On the other hand, Erix couldn't pick up their calls because he was in Limitless Plane, training to improve his combat abilities against exotic monsters that closely resembled Abyss Servants!
He even created an Abyss-corrupted area around him because whatever he imagined would appear in the Limitless Plane.
'Alright, this is good. Now I just need to enter my combat concentrated focus,' Erix thought as his eyes glead with excitent.
He knew his focus reached unknown levels while he was here in Limitless Plane, so he wanted to see how he would fare against Abyss Servants of his imagination when he went all out and beyond, entering a state only possible in the Limitless Plane.
'The Way of Unfettered... Alright.'
Erix closed his eyes as the scenery around him started changing, and Abyss Servants materialized.
And when he opened his eyes again, they shone with faint glaze and distant light, his focus deep and seeped into his body.
His eyes scanned the horde of Abyss Servants closing in on him from all sides. Each creature was a twisted amalgamation of animals and monsters, their grotesque forms illuminated by otherworldly darkness. Every single one of them was stronger than Erix in stats and left their exotic abilities to the plane's whims, as per his wish.
Erix clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through his veins.
He had unlimited mana, so he decided to fight with his everything without holding back and giving into his wildest combat instincts.
The first Abyss Servant lunged, its talon-like claws aid at Erix's throat. With a swift sidestep, Erix avoided the attack, his movents fluid and precise. He retaliated with a quick jab to the creature's midsection, sending it staggering back.
As the creature regained its footing, Erix unleashed a rapid series of punches, each impact accompanied by the satisfying sound of bone eting bone. The creature crumpled to the ground, defeated.
Two more Servants charged at him simultaneously, one swinging a massive spiked tail and the other launching tendrils of dark energy. Erix's instincts kicked in, his body moving as an extension of his will. He deflected the tail with a tal shield he conjured from the ground, then twirled and redirected the tendrils back toward their source.
The tendrils dissipated upon contact, leaving the second Servant vulnerable.
With a powerful leap, Erix closed the distance and delivered a spinning kick to the Servant's head. The creature let out an otherworldly howl as it crumbled into nothingness.
Erix landed gracefully, his senses alert to the approaching threats.
More Abyss Servants advanced, a grotesque horde with eyes aglow and fangs bared. Erix shifted his focus, his fingers twitching as he tapped into his tal manipulation as mana raged in his body. Chains of molten tal erupted from the ground, snaking around the Servants' limbs, and then solidified, ensnaring them.
Erix's eyes flared as he manipulated the chains, causing them to tighten with a vice-like grip.
One by one, the Servants writhed in agony, their snarls of defiance devolving into anguished cries as Erix rained his attacks.
But they started to free from the tal grasp and lunged, their maws dripping with darkness. Erix t one of the fast one's charges with a perfectly tid sorsault, avoiding the creature's jaws by re inches. As he landed, he thrust a hand forward, summoning a punch of devastation at the monster and shattering it into pieces.
'More!'
With his maddening yet focused gleams dancing in his eyes, Erix produced powerful tal objects of various types with maximum possible enhancent according to his magic power while using his martial prowess, especially punches, to hone his combat to the next level.
He wanted to get better than Kenshin and Saira, and everyone else!
He wanted to dominate above all!
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