'Level 0? Seriously?' Varian thought as he ran. They were a long distance from the exit and it would be an arduous journey.
"I-I told you we were venturing too deep." Kyle panted and ran by his side. Maya was better off than him due to her star treasure boots. They gave her the boost to keep up with Varian despite her being a Mind Awakener.
"Crow's mouth." Maya hissed and huffed.
Varian glanced behind and saw Arthur's team engaging all the Abyssals in a fight. There wouldn't be any Abyssals that would chase them, but… Varian felt a sense of unease.
'I hope we can reach the exit before anything can happen.' He took a breath and saw Kyle was about to talk about something again.
"Kyle, shut up and run." Varian picked up the pace to combat the increasing unease.
They pulled a sizable distance from the location of combat, and now Arthur's team was barely visible.
Maya and Kyle both halted to pat their chests. Varian had to stop for them.
"Why Abyssals?" Maya groaned.
"W-What if one escapes?" Kyle muttered.
"Will they be alright?" she looked in the direction of the battlefield.
"We can't be of help. And we're not safe. Just keep running until we reach the exit." Varian chided, and was about to resume running.
"You surely don't think they can catch up, right?" Kyle clutched his chest and took short breaths.
"Behind!" Varian yelled at Kyle.
'Boom!'
Kyle teleported at the last moment. Maya was petrified watching the Abyssal emerge out of nowhere.
Varian, however, observed the Abyssal.
Its humanoid physical features gave it away as a male. He was in a scarlet combat dress and had his left arm torn with heavy bleeding. Most importantly, he had a single tattoo on its chin — a level 1 Abyssal.
'He is from a new group.' He concluded.
"We can't outrun him. If we try, we'll be killed." Varian gritted his teeth and smashed his gauntlets.
He didn't expect things to turn out like this. Fighting an Abyssal was way different from fighting any other enemy.
Even though the Abyssal was one-armed and bleeding, it won't give them any edge in the short run. They had to finish the fight quickly, or they'd risk facing multiple Abyssals.
"You'll all die." the Abyssal talked in human tongue and it only increased the trio's apprehension.
Abyssals were not Magic Beasts. They were the race on par with Humans in intelligence and stronger than Awakeners. They appeared out of nowhere and attacked Humans in 400 YAB and almost defeated Humans. If not for the Ruins and Heaven's Will, humanity would have perished.
Abyssals were the single biggest threat ever to humanity. The most dreaded thing was that every single Abyssal, be it male or female, was a warrior.
"Leave it to me." Maya clicked her space ring and the next moment, an orange gun appeared in her hands and shot at the Abyssal.
A Fireball was shot at the Abyssal, which he dodged with ease.
The gun was a treasure weapon with a full power of a Level 1 Fire Magic Beast. However, Maya herself wasn't able to use it properly because of her inexperience.
"Haha. Pitifu—." the Abyssal laughed and the next moment, he jumped suddenly, barely dodging the kick to its crotch.
Varian rolled on the ground after missing the kick and dodged the retaliating kick.
'Boom!'
The red soil blasted into the air from the sheer force of the kick.
"Die!" Kyle rushed behind the Abyssal and managed to thrust his ice sword into the Abyssal's back.
However, before it could go deeper, the Abyssal punched at Kyle who could only dodge by teleporting once again. The ice, however, froze the Abyssal for a brief moment.
'Whoosh!' Maya's fireball almost hit the Abyssal on its face before he turned around and blocked it with his back.
The fireball collided with his shoulders and the Abyssal's uniform was burnt. The fire scorched his grey skin, and he hissed in pain.
"Damn you little." He pulled out the ice sword and tried to swing it on Maya.
It didn't work. A stat treasure had to be bound to a person, and it'd only work for them. For others, it was just a piece of metal.
"Newbie mistake." Varian appeared under the Abyssal's legs and this time, succeeded in kicking his groin.
"Ugh….." the Abyssal collapsed and Varian used Kyle's sword's sharpness to slash off the Abyssal's head.
"We're lucky it's injured." Varian sighed in relief and looked at his friends. Maya was alright since she was fighting long range and Kyle… where was Kyle?
"I'm here!"
Varian turned and saw Kyle teleported into a burrow of demon rabbits.
"Pull me out." Varian and Maya rushed to him and pulled him out.
"I won't be surprised if you manage to get yourself killed by teleportation." Varian said in a serious tone and handed him his sword.
"I-Why can't I do it like everyone else?" Kyle sighed and picked the sword. It flashed a blue hue recognizing its owner.
Whether everyone liked it or not, the Trade Union made binding of treasures mandatory. Since they had a monopoly over Star Treasures, they dictated the terms.
This meant a person cannot borrow a treasure nor can he steal one unless the Original owner dies or gives up the binding.
It was, in their words, "A step towards achieving a society with no theft and respect of individual property. We erased the incentive for stealing."
The Trade Union achieved their goal. They stopped all theft. There was only murder. Never mind the fact that murders increased by a whopping 50%. Thank you, Trade Union.
"Let's go. This thing is from a new group. He won't be the last one." Varian urged them and they all picked up the pace, running toward the exit.
They were now only a few kilometers from the entrance. In fact, a dungeon can be left once you reach its edge. They would always appear through the gate at the entrance.
"I'll apologize to you guys after we exit. But now, keep moving." Varian urged and picked pace. He blamed himself for putting their life at risk.
Maya was right behind him, and Kyle followed them with difficulty. They didn't blame Varian, but knew they couldn't stop him from blaming himself.
"Humans!" A shrill voice startled them, and Varian didn't need to look back to know what it was.
"Almost there." Varian could see the edge of the Dungeon in sight. It was still far away, but they could cover it in 10 minutes. All the landscape ended at edge and a white barrier served as a giant membrane covering the Dungeon.
Touching the barrier, they can return to earth. Abyssals wouldn't enter Earth and even if it did, the guards would take care of it. They also needed to request reinforcements to help Arthur.
Varian felt a gust of wind and looked behind. His eyes widened. The Abyssal was catching up to them faster than he thought.
They wouldn't be able to reach the exit and would have to fight. But this Abyssal wasn't injured like the previous one. Kyle and Maya were both amateur fighters. Varian was unawakened. There's no way they could take it down.
'There's only one thing I can do.' Varian halted and was about to shout.
"Guys, go!" Kyle stopped first and turned his back to them. "Call the reinforcements. I can hold it for a few minutes."
Varian saw Kyle's hands were still trembling from fear but he didn't budge and yelled, "Now!"
Kyle was a Level 1 Space Apprentice, while Maya was a Level 1 Mind Awakener. Out of everyone here, he had the best chance to survive.
But by the time they got support and entered, chances were he'd likely die. It wasn't that he didn't know, it's just that he didn't care.
'Alright. I'll count you as less annoying next time.'
Varian rushed to Kyle and threw him at Maya.
"I have a treasure shield and it can protect me for 10 minutes. Get going." He yelled as he tapped his space ring.
A small shield appeared in his hand and a barrier formed around him.
Maya bit her lip and nodded at him, tears welling in her eyes "Don't die."
Kyle and Maya rushed to the exit at their greatest speed.
The Abyssal was in front of Varian in the next second. He glanced at Varian's shield barrier and chuckled.
"You were fooling them. I know every product of the Trade Union," and punched at him.
The barrier did nothing to stop the punch. Varian ducked and dodged the punch while he cursed the smart Abyssal.
The barrier was fake. It was only a light projection. He was only able to fool his friends, not his enemy.
Varian prepared for the fight that would decide his life and death.
