Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 324 Third Floor

Lu Chen blurred from his iron scaffold. He appeared three meters away in what appeared to be the prelude to a duel of sorts. Around them, awakeners, new and old, lowered their blades to crane their heads in their direction. It wasn't every day that an awakener, much less one that had only been on the second floor for about a month, saw to ascend.

Most saw the need to capitalize on the mind essence that was given to them to aid in their overall battle prowess.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Altair didn't need such things. While it was useful, there wasn't an overall gain, in his opinion, that the Realm of Spirits didn't offer outright. He'd only just gain control of his Omniscience. And how he wanted to train it on higher layers in the heat of battle.

"This will be your first attempt," Lu Chen said. "Show me what you can do."

The emperor gave a half-smile, lifting a finger that began to arc with profound evil, which seemed to take the light of the world away. It had only been for an instant, a motion that seemed to transcend the limit of mortal ascension, but in a single motion of his finger downwards, Lu Chen was once more before an infernal world tree so blatant in its evil it felt stifling.

Arcs of Infernal Lightning besieged the world, like the ancient roots of Yggdrasil, endless and eternal. It crackled like a whip across the air, shrouding the realm in a dystopian nightmare.

'Indignation,' The Emperor intoned, igniting the world ablaze. Flames turned to fire, fire to light, and light to substance, so blinding it they missed the motion of a hundred sword strokes that came along with each arc traveling towards Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was horrified. Whatever Altair was using wasn't the Sword of the Heavenly Raijin he knew. The motions were the same. The fundamentals were the same, but the heart was twisted beyond measure in a profane matrix that came lashing across his entire being.

"Amazing!" were the only words he could conceive, uninjured by the Sword Art that could kill anyone beneath the realm of the Fifth Circle. It was perfect in almost every conceivable metric of the word.

"You pass."

Altair grinned, "I'm awesome, aren't I? It's ok to admit. I'm sure all the gods will agree."

Lu Chen caught himself. Fixing his expression, he said, "They'll admit you need humility."

"A lord needs his faults. Perhaps I can learn from an angel or two." He said, amusing himself as hundreds of system messages came his way. He laughed, putting them on silent. "Any pointers?"

"You've touched upon the Dao of the Profane. I'd only ask if that is it. Your sword was unbelievable but was a tad bit incomplete if you catch my meaning."

Altair did, and a strange aura he'd always kept to himself began to leak. It felt abyssal, rejecting the laws around him. He looked up, remembering, 'Broken is the King, who stands before the Abyssal Night. Through Despair, the Sword of the Abyss shall appear."

"Desolation... that was what was missing," he told himself, and he said, as the aura receded. "Allow this King some secrets."

Lu Chen allowed himself a smile. "Well said. Altair Blackwood. You are free to ascend to the second floor!

[DIng]

[Congratulations on passing the second floor]

[You Have Been Rewarded]

[All Attributes Will Increase by 25]

"I wonder if I'll ever get something that isn't stat increases?"

Lu Chen laughed. "Don't let anyone hear you. They'll throw a fit."

[Welcome To The Third Floor Of Babel's Tower]

[Mission Parameters: Kill The Lich King or Survive the Apocalypse for One Year]

Restrictions: Must Consume Food Each Day Or Face One Level of Exhaustion]

[Reward:???]

Presently, Altair stood alone atop a building that had come crashing down to form a stone mount. The horizon was clouded by tendrils of darkness that seemed to lick the skies with shadow flames.

"What in the world?" Altair wondered, hopping down the mount onto the desolate streets, where vegetation had begun devouring. Stone and amber gold-colored grass crested his feet as he mindlessly wondered.

[The Dungeon Master is observing you]

The mana was purer on this layer, nearly twice as pure as it was on the second floor. Something Altair thought was without equal. He was wrong, for not only was the mana stronger but far more violent, adding to the radiation that seemed to eat away at his body. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to affect his Almighty Resistance.

After a while, Altair began making his way to where he sensed Raven about a seven-day journey away. He didn't need to worry about food, having stuffed his ring with various meals to be consumed in the off chance he got hungry or bored. But he was curious by what the laws of this world meant by a level of exhaustion.

It wasn't until seven hours had passed that Altair finally wondered on a humanoid tearing the naked flesh from off a dog, pitifully exuding whimpers. The dog's blood came in pulses from its neck that was being consumed. It wasn't long until its poor cries turned to silence.

Alair froze in his tracks, the Eye of Sacrilege glinting insight.

Name: Superior Zombie

Age: 19 Years

Str: 300

Dex: 200

Con: 400

Wis: 600

Chr: N/A

Mana: 100

Skills: [Run], [Leap], [Bite], [Sense], [Pestilence], [Infect], [Blood Tendrils]

Altair's eyes practically glowed. "A Zombie? One close to the peak of a fourth Circle," he determined, masking his movements with Shadowheart. He drew in on the creature but was surprised to find that it snapped a savage eye burdened by pestilence aimed at him.

It was snapping his gnarled jaw at him. Its cannibalistic teeth were long and yellow, stained with bile that made Altair gut twist.

"What an ugly sight..."