After the conversation ended, Exitus lay down beside the campfire and quickly fell asleep. He connected with the book within his body. The black vortex on its pages began to turn, forming a black hole that swallowed his consciousness completely. Exitus connected to the Abyss, hoping to gain even a little more strength for the journey to the Valley of Death tomorrow. Although Nashor had assured him that everything would be safe, holding control in his own hands was still better.

  Exitus opened his eyes once more. This time, he appeared at the edge of the Abyss. Before him was the familiar pitch black spiral corridor, surrounded by mysterious dark energy, and far in the distance stood something resembling a shattered throne.

  “You have been gone quite a while this time, boy,” Jester suddenly appeared, his mocking voice echoing.

  “This time I have combat Ability. At the very least, I will not be as pathetic as before,” Exitus replied.

  “I can see that you are far stronger than last time. Hmm. You have reached the Fighter rank. But do not be too confident. Arrogance can bring death at any moment. A Fighter is nothing more than a grain of sand in the desert of the Abyss.”

  “I know. I have never been arrogant.”

  Exitus stepped through the dark corridor and appeared on Floor 1. He could only save progress when clearing special floors such as Floor 10 or Floor 20, each guarded by a Guardian. These should not be confused with Matta. Matta was only comparable to a hidden elite monster. Though powerful, it could not be compared to a Guardian. Exitus’s target this time was Floor 10. Before reaching it, he would likely need to find a blank scroll. He doubted he could defeat a Guardian on the first attempt without information.

  “If I can find one more scroll, I might be able to deal with the first Guardian. I will call it an Information Scroll.”

  Floor 1 looked different from his memories. It seemed the terrain changed every time Exitus returned. Suddenly, a Ratta entered his field of vision and charged at him ferociously. Exitus now possessed a solid combat foundation. He calmly sidestepped and delivered a precise kick to its throat.

  Crack.

  The rat’s neck shattered under the blow. It staggered before collapsing to the ground. Exitus stepped down hard on its neck once more.

  Crop.

  The rat lay completely motionless, truly dead.

  “These things are far too weak. They are not worth my personal attention. It seems it is time to use it.”

  Exitus connected to the book. A page surfaced in his mind, the page of the Skeleton Guard. A distorted stream of dark energy gathered in his hand. His voice turned eerie.

  “Rise, my guard.”

  The shadows dispersed, revealing a Skeleton Guard nearly two meters tall. Black flames burned within its eye sockets. It wielded a sharp iron sword and a shield, clad in black armor etched with twisted patterns. The skeleton knelt on one knee and slowly spoke.

  “Mas… ter…”

  An intelligent skeleton. Exitus found this intriguing. A low level skeleton that could speak. Perhaps this was a mutation, or a special trait of the book Ability.

  “From now on, I will call you Vorshade.”

  “Vorshade, eliminate all enemies and protect me,” Exitus commanded.

  The black flames in its eyes flickered slightly. The creature stood still for a moment. It had been given a name, something that distinguished it from countless other skeletons.

  “Yes… my… master.”

  Vorshade possessed strength only comparable to a Fighter, yet it displayed astonishing combat instinct. It easily cleaved the rats in half with a single strike. The sharp blade cut through their bodies cleanly, precisely, and lethally. It was like a cold machine devoid of emotion, pain, fear, or fatigue. Every strike was fast, efficient, and exact.

  “No souls. This is not the real world. Creatures here do not count as truly dead. It seems I can only collect souls outside,” Exitus sighed.

  He had hoped to strengthen Vorshade by letting it kill creatures within the Abyss. They were endless, born from nightmares, and destroying them carried almost no consequences.

  Suddenly, a massive skeleton wielding a heavy mace appeared before him. Behind it stood a wooden chest. Exitus did not believe size determined victory, but to some extent, he wanted to see whether Vorshade could defeat an opponent of equal rank. He ordered it to attack. Vorshade obeyed immediately. With its smaller and more agile frame, it evaded the heavy swings of the mace and slashed hard at the enemy’s knee. The skeleton collapsed, and in that instant, Vorshade drove its sword straight through the eye socket and twisted the blade slightly.

  Crop.

  The skull split apart. The flames in its eyes extinguished. A victory that was clean, fast, and dangerously efficient. Exitus silently praised it. This was indeed an intelligent skeleton. Its instinct and combat technique were highly refined. Even among the same rank, its combat Ability was overwhelmingly superior.

  “This technique is far from ordinary. I wonder who you were when you were alive, Vorshade.”

  The skeleton stood motionless, awaiting the next command. Exitus shook his head. Perhaps Vorshade would communicate better once it evolved.

  The chest contained little besides an iron sword. It was rusty, but sturdy enough for Exitus to use as a weapon. The book did not react, which meant it was just an ordinary sword. Special items always displayed information in the book, just like Draco’s potion in the past.

  Exitus avoided the dark corridors and limited loud noises. He did not want to attract Batta at this stage, since their blood could summon Matta. Matta was undoubtedly an extremely powerful elite monster. According to Nashor, when it was alive, it once faced an entire army, slaughtered more than half of them, and severely wounded the commanding warlord.

  “It is not just strong. It very likely possesses an Ultimate Skill. Facing it now would be far too risky. I will eliminate it later, at least after I create my own Ultimate Skill.”

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  Exitus searched for the entrance to Floor 2. Fortunately, it was an open passage. Exitus referred to such entrances as paths without monster guardians. The scenery was similar to before, a gloomy stone dungeon with glowing rocks on the ceiling, deadly traps, and monsters. Drawing on his experience from Floor 1, Exitus spent more time observing the monsters’ traits. After analysis, he realized this floor also contained three different types of monsters. Just like Floor 1, where monsters were interconnected. Rats gnawed on bones, bats fed on rats, and certain skeletons would transform into Skeleton Guards. Matta was the hidden boss. Monsters did not appear randomly. They were bound by some shared relationship or characteristic.

  Exitus identified several rules of each floor. First, there were only three types of monsters, and they were connected. Second, there was always a condition to trigger the hidden boss.

  This floor contained a type of red spider with a giant eye on its back, crawling along the walls. Wherever they passed, the surface turned black as if burned. The second type was green snakes. The third was a strange type of stone that secreted black liquid. If not for the fact that the stone appeared to be breathing, Exitus would not have realized it was a monster. These stones blocked the paths. They did not attack, yet there was no way for Exitus to pass through them.

  “One eyed spiders, green snakes, and stones.”

  Exitus had yet to discover the connection between the three. But first, he needed to collect the pages related to them. He targeted the most ordinary looking one, the green snake. Although far larger than normal snakes, he still ordered Vorshade to attack one. As expected, the snake’s weapon was venom. He would not risk a direct confrontation. Vorshade silently approached. The snake seemed to sense danger. It reared up, bared its sharp fangs, and lunged forward. It bit into the armor with astonishing speed. The snake quickly coiled tightly around the skeleton, secreting a corrosive liquid from its fangs so potent that white smoke rose from the black iron armor.

  “Lethal venom. How fortunate. Its strength and constriction force are terrifying as well. If this were an ordinary person, even a Fighter would certainly die.”

  Exitus silently thanked his caution. He drew the iron sword. While the snake was distracted, he swung forcefully at its head, and to be certain, he also used Mana Concentration.

  Slash.

  A clean strike.

  The snake’s head fell to the ground. Its body twitched briefly before going still. Exitus did not move, staring at the wide open mouth of the severed head. What would happen if he approached it. The book had not reacted yet. As expected, when Vorshade checked, the head suddenly sprang up and bit into the armor. This time, the snake’s eyes truly disintegrated.

  The characters appeared on the surface of the page.

  “Emerald Venom.”

  “Species: Venomous Serpent.”

  “Description: Giant venomous snakes that live deep within the Emerald Forest. Their scales shimmer like emeralds. Their eyes can see clearly in darkness. They rarely attack humans unless starving. Veteran hunters seek them for their exquisite hides. Their vitality is extremely strong. Be careful. Even a snake that appears dead can still drag you into hell.”

  “Weakness: When deprived of food, they will devour their own flesh.”

  “Strength: Extremely agile with terrifying speed. Though weak in defense and raw strength, their venom can kill a careless warlord.”

  “They are like beautiful women. The more beautiful they are, the more poisonous, and especially vindictive. Madenes.”

  “Page Ability: Venom Resistance.”

  “Venom Resistance: Greatly increases resistance to poison.”

  “Not bad,” Exitus thought silently.

  Although this Ability was not powerful, in certain situations it could save his life. Combined with “Rat’s Stomach,” Exitus believed no one could poison him through food.

  His next target was the red spider. With long legs and a large eye on its back, it clung tightly to the wall. Eliminating a new type of monster always carried risk, because no one knew how it attacked. Fortunately, he had Vorshade. If something happened to it, they would meet again after one day.

  Exitus did not rush. He carefully observed the spider. It barely moved, only the eye on its back shifted. But it seemed that the eye moved only when the spider changed position, and it always stared fixedly at a single point.

  “What are they looking at?”

  Exitus began to imagine the intersection of the spiders’ lines of sight. They converged on one spot, something on the opposite wall. A strange stone brick, different in color from the rest of the wall. If he had not observed carefully, Exitus would not have noticed it.

  “That stone looks like a switch for something. But first, I need to deal with these spiders.”

  There were three spiders gathered there. Their sharp legs carried a fire element, making their attacks both piercing and burning. Vorshade was shattered in the first clash. However, the good news was that before disappearing, it had managed to stab one to death. The eye on its back was the vital point.

  “Looke.”

  “Species: Watcher Spider.”

  “Description: Strange spiders bred to guard doors for eccentric wizards. Their legs adhere well to surfaces and can unleash slashing attacks with burning effects. The eye on their back stares at a fixed location. The images it captures can be transmitted back to its master.”

  “Weakness: They rarely move. The eye on their back is extremely vulnerable.”

  “Strength: Creatures created more for surveillance and alarms than for combat. However, if careless, their sharp flaming legs can kill you.”

  “The ones who created these creatures are idiots. What meaning does a secret have when there is always an eye watching. Madenes.”

  “Ability Page: True Sight.”

  “True Sight: Sees the true nature of things and pierces through illusions.”

  “A very powerful survival skill,” Exitus thought.

  Since childhood, in the books he read, there were always stories of monsters capable of hypnosis, creating powerful illusions to lure prey willingly into their mouths. This Ability could help him avoid such dangers. Exitus waited. He waited for one day to pass so that Vorshade could revive. Then the two of them would act together to eliminate the remaining spiders. He was very curious about what lay behind that strange stone.

  At the same time, in Golden, inside a palace built entirely of pure gold, magnificent and resplendent. A handsome young man with slicked back blond hair stood there. His eyes were also golden, like two precious gemstones. He wore garments made from the finest silk of the Elf race, with the medal of “Sorcerer King” of the Mage Association pinned to his chest. He was Golden Richer, the king of Golden, a young and immensely powerful Sorcerer King.

  At this moment, he was calmly staring at a document. Kneeling before him was a middle aged red haired man, draped in a splendid golden robe, silent and afraid to move.

  “You say that attacking Hesmor was irrational and brought no benefit. That we acted foolishly and wasted the lives of many soldiers. Is that what you mean?” Richer asked evenly. The question was like a current of magic drilling straight into the man’s heart.

  “Yes… yes, Your Majesty. This is the unanimous opinion of the Council. They believe you made a mistake. We gained nothing and now must also sustain a large number of child slaves.” The man swallowed hard, fear overflowing.

  Richer fell silent, then suddenly burst into laughter, a hearty and carefree sound.

  “A mistake? Allowing Hesmor to continue developing would be the real mistake. Do you know Astor? He is a cunning old fox. He cooperates with Greaton, even with Break Island, yet he cannot even send a single letter to Golden, a neighboring nation separated only by the Emerald River. Why? Noval? Tell me why.”

  “Your Majesty. Perhaps because there are no conditions for cooperation between the two sides.”

  Richer looked at Noval meaningfully. He stood up, stepped closer, and whispered.

  “You are very foolish, Noval. What need is there for conditions when they could swallow Golden whole. Hesmor was only a test. Greaton is the true hawk hiding behind them. And we must show them that Golden is not something to be provoked at will. We are madmen who sow fear. I can guarantee that Rumi will never dare think of revenge.”

  “But Your Majesty. What if all of this is only your imagination? What if nothing happens at all?”

  “It will certainly happen. When you have sufficient power and the ability to expand, it is inevitable. That is the law of development. If Golden possessed a mighty army, the first thing I would do is seize Hesmor.”

  Richer laughed angrily, then gently patted Noval on the shoulder.

  “I will personally explain everything to the Council at the upcoming meeting.”

  Noval let out a breath of relief. Facing a true Sorcerer King was far too terrifying. He was glad to leave alive.

  “Your Majesty. I will convey your words to the Council,” Noval said as he departed the palace. Richer watched him go with a gentle smile on his lips.

  “You are right, Noval. I was wrong. I truly should not have allowed the Council to exist within Golden’s system.”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously. A dark intention slowly took shape within his mind.