Varian rushed to the tattered castle. The twenty Abyss Knights guarding the castle were crushed into piles of flesh and bones.
Holding himself from retching, he entered the castle with fear and hope.
The once bright white floor was cracked like a broken mirror. The majestic statues of Abyss King and Abyss Lord were now in rubble.
The corpses of Abyssal Knights and the female maids were scattered everywhere in sight. They were all crushed to death.
'Blue Flash!' Varian knew the culprit. He had second thoughts about trusting her but since he was already in, he decided to go all the way.
Varian kept his vigilance high in case an Abyssal was still alive, but he soon realized his worries were futile.
There was not a single living soul in the castle. It was littered with corpses and the smell of rotting flesh only made it even more unbearable to venture.
Varian was a person who was unfazed by even the toughest challenges but the seeing hundreds and hundreds of mutilated corpses still shook his mind.
But there was not a single shred of mercy in him.
The price his own race paid in blood and tears was far greater.
In the first war of 400 YAB, Abyssals suddenly appeared and broke all but one line of human's defense.
All moons were occupied, and space was controlled by Abyssals. The only safe place for humans was their own planet. Even the planet was under constant attacks.
The disruption of interplanetary movement disrupted the solar system trade and had major repercussions.
Humanity at that time had Sovereigns, but they weren't enough to protect all 9 planets.
The bitter war for survival continued for 40 years until humanity found the "artifacts" and pushed back Abyssals along with the help of Heaven's Will.
These 40 years were the darkest period in 500 years of modern humanity. A whole generation spent their life unsure about their survival.
Historians described life in that age:
"70% children were orphans by the age of 10. Every boy and girl past 16 had to fight. There were several instances were Abyssals almost conquered the planets. The only thing delaying their victory was absolutely sickening sacrifice of brave humans who blocked stronger enemies with at the price of life.
At least 40% human population perished. Most of it was under 20.
Anyone and everyone only had one wish. Survive today."
'Just how much did people in that era suffer.' Varian lamented and passed through the ruined majestic waiting halls, dining rooms, and reached the room with the most luxurious door which still looked intact.
'This is it! Abyss Lord's private room.' Varian touched the door to open it.
"Boom!"
It fell apart and collapsed on the ground.
Varian took a breath to calm his mind. The fight literally ruined the castle. He cautiously entered and surveyed the room.
The room was larger than his house by several times. The floor was covered with the carpets made of the smoothest silks. There was a huge bed made of magic beast bones and quilts from the softest furs.
In a corner was a huge office style table and chair. On the table were three human skulls. Presumably, the "prize" hunted by Abyss Lord.
Naturally, the dimensions of every object were in accordance with Abyssal standards.
Varian searched the room to find anything of "strategic use" to make an "outstanding contribution".
But there were too many show pieces and nothing of practical value.
'There must be something. With the facility inside the hill having loads of aura crystals, there must be something here. Anything.' He refused to give up and continued to search. There was no progress.
Varian knew his time was running out. Even though the disturbance here must have scared the Abyss Knights in the city, they'd come to check the situation, eventually.
The only reason they didn't arrive yet was because they didn't know the fighting here already ended and didn't want to be caught up in the fight. The Awakener who sliced the hill into two could also kill all Abyssals in the city with no effort.
Despite having some time, Varian's situation wasn't optimistic, to put it mildly. Even though he had full aura now, his injuries would take at least a dozen hours to completely heal.
His best choice would be to give up searching here and escape the city.
Varian kicked the table in frustration and slumped in the chair.
"Whoosh"
The table shifted to the side, and a mystic platform rose with a few items on it.
Varian got up from the chair, and the platform descended, with the table reverting to its position.
'There must be a way to get those items without leaving the chair.'
He sat down, the table slid to the side and platform rose again. This time, he "willed" the items to approach him, and they did.
There were only three pieces of special leather paper. It was written in Abysse, Abyssal's official language.
Varian didn't know the language, but he had something that did.
"Hey, do you know Abysse?" He asked the AI of his cadet comm.
"Of course." the cadet comm on his wrist flashed and answered.
With his command, it scanned the material and translated into federation's lingua franca.
'Virgin Dungeon Cross Tunneling Targets:
1. Send 5 Abyssal Knights at 20:00 to Outer Zone on 40th, Septe.
2. Ambush the son of Level 7 Awakener, Reilai. (Torture him if possible and spread the video.)
4. Destroy the newly emerging adventure team "Fire Dancers". (The captain is reported to be a Level 3. It is advised to finish the task in person or at least send Abyss commander.)
5. Enter the facility and continue spying for newly emerging talents.
6. The intel must be sent on 10th of every month.
...
…..
10. Enigma is the number one hidden threat. Her level is suspected to be at least 7. Report any moments if found, and focus on gathering intel.
"Hiss!" Varian recalled his fight with Abyssal when he almost died.
'They are really planning to destroy the next generation of Human Awakeners.' Varian checked the material of other papers.
They were of similar content but for different Dungeons.
Varian took the materials into space ring and rushed out. Even though his injuries impacted his speed, he descended the hill in a minute before he was forced to stop.
"Uh-oh!"
"Human…"
As he feared, the Abyssal knights judged the fight was over and approached the hill to check the status quo.
Varian could tell at a glance that were at least 200 Abyssal Knights in sight. They surrounded the mountain and were in a stable formation.
'Only 200…?'
There were at least 500 Abyss knights in the city itself, but he was grateful he missed the honor to face them all.
The current situation wasn't optimistic either. He wouldn't be able to outrun them, not in his injured state, at least.
'I don't have to run.' Varian thought and channeled his space power.
"Di—!" The Abyssal Knights were still in the middle of yelling and he disappeared.
"Chua" He appeared in the middle of them and —
"Shua" They quickly thrust their spears at him and he disappeared once again.
Again. Again and again.
He couldn't control the destination of teleportation, so sometimes he teleported away from them, sometimes toward them and sometimes into the formation.
But slowly, he gained a little control over the general direction of teleportation.
[Xp+ 10
Space Path Level 1: 10/100]
With enough tries, he finally teleported out of their encirclement.
He bolted to the city walls, disregarding his injuries. The Abyssal Knights chased him in frenzy.
"Die!"
"What the —" The city was on fire and Varian saw Narcis burning houses and killing Abyssals in the street.
Along with him, a few more elite candidates also took part in destroying the city. The Abyssals were slaughtered and their supplies were burned.
The Abyssals chasing him slowed down, and Varian took the chance to approach the city walls.
He teleported out and kept going till he was a few kilometers from the city. After reaching a quiet place, he took out a few aura crystals and replenished his aura reserves.
His injuries slowly healed, and he entered into a state of small epiphany. The space power in him connected him to space all around and he could "feel" space. It wasn't a complete "sense" like vision, but it was slowly growing. Now, he was confident in controlling his teleportation direction.
[Xp+20
Space Path Level 1: 30/100]
As he was about to continue experimenting, his cadet comm rang:
{Emergency! Abyss Duke is heading towards the city. The space shuttle only has 10 minutes.
I repeat! 10 minutes. Be ready.}
'I got 10 merit points and can possibly become an honorary student. Despite the danger, it ended well.'
Varian sighed in relief before he remembered something.
"Kyle!"