[Servant Pacts:
Jill: Level: 157 | Hp: 1,978| Intelligence: 119 | Mp: 987 | Atk: 234 | Speed: 171 | Endurance: 456
Umar: Level: 179/??? | Hp: 4,567 | Int: 123 | Mp: 245 | Atk: 1,900 | Speed: 221 | Endurance: 567
Casey: Level: 83/??? | Hp: 2,345 | Int: 105 | Mp: 109 | Atk: 457 | Speed: 197 | Endurance: 294
Amir: Level: 97/??? | Hp: 6,789 | Int: 114 | Mp: 1,234 | Atk: 2,100 |
Speed: 234| Endurance: 892
Hector: Level: 155/??? | Hp: 3,456 | Int: 111 | Mp: 670 | Atk: 1,234 | Speed: 234 | Endurance: 871 ]
I guess clearing that dungeon really boosted their stats. I wonder if they noticed the change yet. Katsuya thought to himself.
Over on the table, his cellphone began ringing.
Ring, Ring. Ring.
As he picked it up, he saw who the caller was.
{Caller: Jill}
{Answer/ Decline}
His thumb gently tapped the 'Answer' button right before holding the phone to his ear.
"Hell-" He didn't even get a chance to speak as he was interrupted by yelling.
"Katsuya! What is going on?!"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Why are my stats so high?! Does this have to do with the servant thing?"
So, I guess she noticed. The others most likely realized too. It's probably time for me to give them all a proper explanation of the servant pact.
Katsuya thought to himself. He let out a sigh, before replying.
"The others are already out of the hospital, right?"
"Yes but, what does that have to do with my question?"
"Is it alright if we all meet-up at your place. I want to explain the servant pact while everyone present. Though, only if it's okay with you."
Because of the sudden request, Jill was briefly surprised and only silence came from her.
She thought to herself He wants to come over? I mean, he's nice but, we're only friends. Just friends. But, I guess he is just a little cute.
Roughly shaking her head, she continued her thought.
No, what am I thinking. He doesn't mean it like that. Why does my mind wander off like this?
"Hello? Are you still there?" Katsuya asked.
"F-Fine! Go ahead and come over! I'll text you my address!" Jill replied before hanging up.
Beep.
Her loud response thoroughly surprised Katsuya, which made him think
What was that about? Did I say something wrong? Well, anyway, I should get going.
Picking up his coat then throwing it on, he walked over to the door.
"Wouldn't want to keep them waiting."
___________________
(Jill's House)
"W-What?!" Jill asked.
"It's just what it sounds like." Katsuya replied as he took a nice long sip of tea.
Amir leaned forward in his chair while trying to comprehend the situation.
"Hmmm. So, we're all Limit Breakers now, huh?"
"Woah! This is cool? We can actually get stronger? Like S-rank strong?" Casey asked.
Katsuya closed his eyes and shook his head side to side.
"No.."
And once he opened them back up, he finished.
"...You can get Legendary-rank strong."
Then with an even more excited tone, Casey yelled "That's even cooler!"
Katsuya thought to himself "Now that they know, how should I go about getting them used to fighting in harder dungeons? S-rank would probably be too hard for them as they are now. I also agreed to go on a dungeon raid with George so, I'll just have them tag along since it's only A-rank. This will be a good opportunity for them to realize their strength. But...I won't step in when they fight the boss unless I need to.
Do they have what it takes?"
While Jill sat and thought, she realized something. Due to her [Sixth Sense] she could feel the intensity from Katsuya's mere presence. This caused her to wonder more about him.
"Katsuya…"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"What's your overall?" she asked.
The question brought slight unease to Katsuya as he didn't want to lie but, at the same time, he didn't really feel all that comfortable with telling the truth. So, he thought more on the matter "I don't really have much of a reason to lie but, if I tell them the truth, they might rely on me too much. They won't learn how to fight monsters properly if that happens. I should keep it a secret, for now, at least."
"Are you going to answer?" Jill asked.
Katsuya smiled and finally spoke "I'm only on the level of an A-ranker. It's really nothing special."
"If you say so."
Luckly, she seemed to believe his words, for the most part at least. But, she did have somewhat of a feeling that there was more to Katsuya than what meets the eye.
___________________
(Location: Howling Ocean Prison)
The sirens all around the prison rang loudly as the guards rushed to apprehend the escaped convict.
"We better hurry fast, he already made it to the surface!" yelled one of the guards.
"The surface?! How'd he manage to get that far already?!"
"There's no time to answer that question! He's already facing off with Harley Val. We have to get going."
"Right away, sir!"
The floors above them violently quaked. All the guards ducked as a spot in the roof collapsed.
"The fight must be getting intense. Let's hurry."
They all sprinted with haste.
Even though they ran non-stop, it took them a total of 6 minutes just to reach the surface but, when they did, it was too late. Walls were destroyed and smoke and dust filled the area. They noticed the top guard, Harley Val who was kneeling down in exhaustion.
Quickly, one of the other guards made their way over to her.
"Are you okay? Where's the escapee?"
The injured guard got back on her feet, answering.
"I'm fine and to answer your question, he got away. Hades managed to stun me and got away."
"He escaped?! Ma'm, you do know what this means."
When a prisoner escapes, a team of highly-capable individuals would be assembled to go track down the escapee. This most likely meant Harley Val would be sent along as well.
"Yeah, I know. It's a good thing I managed to stick a tracking device to his back. It'll make finding him a lot easier. Even if he changes his appearance, we'll know it's him."
___________________
Hades swam through the ocean water, pedaling faster than any boat in existence. Even in the darkness of the night, his yellow eye greatly shined.
"....It's sure going to take me a while until I reach land. And that guard, she's not slick. I know about the tracker she put on me."
There were many ways to get rid of it. For one, he could just toss in the ocean but he had another thing in mind.
"I need someone to put it on. That way, the wrong person will lead them farther away."
His reasoning was, that if a team goes after him, they'll end up taking in the person with the tracker, thinking it was him with a changed appearance.
"I do have a disguise skill, so they'll most likely think it's me. And once they get him, they'll stop the search, until they realize their mistake, at least."
His arms continued to paddle through the water as he swimmed further out.
___________________
(City: Pyoras)
After saying his goodbyes to everyone for the night, Katsuya left Jill's house and began his walk home. The silence in all the darkness of the night was enough that he could hear his own footsteps and breathing. The street lights flickered as they were old and needed to be replaced.
Tmp...Tmp..Tmp..
He enjoyed the fresh cold air as a slight breeze touched his skin.
For a moment, he stopped and looked up at the moon and sky, enjoying its charm.
"I'm strong now but I feel bad. I didn't really even work that hard to get here, it was something that kinda happened over night. Sure, I almost died a couple of times but, that was nothing."
Sometimes, he felt as if he didin't deserve the kind of power that he held within him.
"It's like life is a game and my skills are cheat-codes."
(Home)
Immediately after arriving back home, he took off his coat and sat onto his comforting warm couch.
"My life doesn't have much to it. I just kill monsters and clear dungeons. The days that I'm not doing that, I'm just here at home, being lazy."
The emotion he felt was hard to explain. A part of him looks back on his past and the mistakes he made, constantly regretting his decisions. The other part of him was just his instinct, a voice constantly speaking the same turn of phrases over and over again. "The abyss...Kill...Kill...Kill all creatures of the abyss."
Though, he didn't completely know what it meant by "the void"
He did know that it meant monsters.
"The abyss, huh? It didn't think much of that contestant phrase until now. But, what could it mean?"
Katsuya's eyes greatly widened as he quickly sat up. An idea, one that could lead him to answers. Though he had no reason to investigate what the phrase meant, he just had a strong gut feeling that it was something he just had to know.
"That dark demigod. He says he's been around for a while, so I'm sure he could give me some answers."
He quickly left his home, locking the door behind.
"W-Where are you going now?" Sora's voice asked.
"There's just something I'm curious about, so I just want to know something."
"Don't do that. You already know the saying about what curiosity did to that cat."
"Yeah, I know that curiosity killed the cat but, satisfaction brought it back."
His valid point left Sora silent, not having anything to say back. So, instead, she just sighed.
"Fine, have it your way."
(Progressive Dungeon, Floor #100
No less than an hour later, Katsuya was back to the floor he left off. He placed his hand on the giant door then, gently shoved them open.
In the same spot, was the throne. On that throne, was a being, one known as a dark demigod. It looked like a human, one that wore blood-red armor all over its body with a long white cap on the back.
Katsuya walked his way inside as the being greeted him.
"Oh? You're back already? Of course, I knew you'd be coming back. So, what is it you wish to speak about, Katsuya."
"The abyss."
The phrase instantly struck a reaction of surprise on the demigods face.
It was just as Katsuya thought, the being did know what it was.
"It has been awhile since I've heard that phrase. Tell me, young one, how do you know what that is?"
Walking closer, Katsuya spoke as he calmly slipped his hand into his pockets.
"For the longest time already, I've been hearing a voice whenever I think about monsters. It tells me to kill all creatures of the abyss. You've been around for hundreds of years, so, I figured you knew something about it."
Gently tapping his chin, the being replied.
"Perhaps, it would be too much to take in if I told you."
"It's fine. Just tell me, I'm not going to make a big deal."
The demigod stood up from his chair and made a suggestion.
"If you want to know that bad then, I guess I could tell you. But first, let us get to a more relaxing setting."
Both of his hands clapped together and in a blink of an eye, the surrounding room changed.
Clap!
They were not in the boss room anymore. Instead, they were back at the cabin from last time. Katsuya took a seat on the soft warm couch and the demigod took a seat on the rocking chair.
"So, what is the abyss?"
"Oh? Getting straight to the point, are we? First, let me create a warm cup of tea for you to enjoy while I explain.
Clap!
At the clap of his hands, a steaming cup of tea spread onto the table in front of them.
"Oh...thanks." Katsuya replied as he leaned forward and grabbed the cup.
"Well then, let me begin."
The void, a separate world from earth and the alternate world, a realm of pure chaos. In that realm was 10 separate levels.
Level 1 of the void was wasteland, dead plants, hard gravel and a smooth cloud of mist that covered its entirety. Monsters of all ranks lived on this level. Some even had unheard of abilities. If one should find themselves there, it would be wise to avoid confrontation with the creatures at all cost as they only got stronger the more levels you traveled. Each level had a place where a portal stood that would lead you to the next and each level had a boss.
Floor 2, a place where the monsters there would be above Legendary-rank. The setting would be a land with millions of rock formations all around.
Floor 4, a forest where it is always night. This floor was somewhat peaceful, assuming that you didn't come across the 1 creatures who reamed this level. It was a tall hunch-back creature. It's skin was hard dark and harder than rock. It's face resembled a skull and it's claws could grow as long as it wanted. Everywhere this creature went, it was followed by a mist that weakened anything it touched.
Then, there was floor 5, a land that stretched out for miles. Here, there were many creatures everywhere. If you traveled far enough, you would eventually reach a giant castle where demons lived. This castle contained the portal to the next level.
No intelligent life-form has made it past that point and returned so it was all up to speculation what was on the higher levels.
But, one thing was certain, up on the highest level at one final destination was a creature. The last and final boss. Even the monsters who never met this boss knew about its existence by instinct. It was so fearsome that no living thing would even think about facing it. Even the dark demigod could sense it's existence even though it was in another realm. The last and final boss of the void was it's existence. Without it, all monsters would perish.
"But, it would be impossible to kill it. It is greater than anything in existence."
If the demigod had to make a guess about it's Hp alone, he was certain it was greater than "100,000,000,000,000"
Katsuya was rather shocked by everything he had heard.
"Something like that actually exists?!"
He was completely in disbelief.
"Yes, it does exist. I can say without a doubt, if that creature found itself in any world, it would cause the end. So that's why, I do not recommend exploring the abyss. Just from looking at your stats now, you most likely wouldn't even survive to first level."
Katsuya was no weak adventurer, his overall was that of a Legendary-rankers, so to think that he wouldn't even survive level 1 was bizarre.
Still not being able to believe his ears, Katsuya murmured.
"No...way." Just thinking about the life-from that lived in the abyss brought fear to Katsuya but, his curiosity was greater than his fear.
Katsuya roughly shook his head, snapping out of it.
The demigod let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Just as I guessed, it was a little too much for you to take in. But, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. You know, for normal people, just knowing about the abyss would cause them to go insane."
"Insane? What kind of insane?" Katsuya asked.
"Long ago, I once told a human about the existence of the abyss. Next thing I knew, he was in a state of fear. After that, it took him six month to go back to normal."
6 month was a long time to recover from fear. If it's existence was that powerful, it must've meant the creatures inside were beyond comprehension. But, that didn't stop Katsuya's curiosity.
"What's a way to get to the abyss? Just curious."
The demigod slowly shook his head, side to side.
"Katsuya, I am kind but, I do believe I have said all that I should. Too much knowledge is deadly. So, if that's all, I can teleport you back to the surface."
Even though Katsuya had received quite a lot of information, he still couldn't help but feel disappointed by the rejection of his question. All of his main questions had been answered, so he didn't have much of a reason to stick around. Katsuya stood up and bowed out of respect to the being.
"Thank you for taking the time to hear and answer my questions. That's all for today, I'm ready to leave."
��I do apologize for not answering your question but, It wouldn't be wise of me to do so. Feel free to come back for a conversation anytime. Okay, now, begone."
With the snap of the demigod's fingers, Katsuya instantly vanished, being teleported back to the entrance of the dungeon.
The created reality of the cabin disappeared and went back to being a plain and giant room.
The being continued to sit in his throne, in total silence as he thought.
" Maybe one day he'll be ready to know more. But, until then, I won't speak any more on the abyss. His curiosity has sure sent him down a rabbit hole."
___________________
(Progressive dungeon entrance)
Katsuya stood there, staring into the darkness of the cave.
"I found out most of what I wanted to know but, now I have more questions."
Though, asking more would be pointless as the conversation with the demigod had reached its conclusions.
Letting out a sigh, Katsuya turned around and began walking into the forest, stepping through fallen leaves and branches.
"I really wish he answered my last question. Guess I'll have to wait until he wants to say more."