Mark looked at the earring with fondness. for some reason, the pearl was bright and emitting a faint glow.
he wanted to try it but he need a pair, or he would make a fool out of himself.
<< Holy Frozen Tear,
A relic of Unknown Origins.
it appeared trillions of years ago, in the Humankind. the Ruler used its power to fend up against the Entity. >>
Mark delighted looking at the information.
'Yesss! I always hit the jackpot'
he secretly put it in his inventory and acted as if nothing happened.
Kelli and Martha discussed something, then they turned to him. "Mark! if what you said is true, then this is a threat to the human race. and I think we should let his majesty know about this." Martha said with a concerned look.
"The time is changing, we might be stronger than how our ancestors used to be. but they couldn't manage to kill it. they only sealed it." Kelli muttered, then she looked at them with shining eyes. "I know... we have to get the 'power of Faith'."
Martha and Mark looked at her with a cringe expressions.
"W-Why you guys..." Kelli pouted and turned around.
"You have to depart tomorrow, so let's head back to the Academy," Martha said calmly.
Kelli frowned. "what? leaving already? no way!"
"Kelli we have to. tomorrow Mark and some of our instructors are going to the abyss for an expedition. they have to leave early in the morning." Martha replied.
Kelli pouted and approached her.
"you managed to escape today, but next time..." Kelli whispered in a seductive voice.
"Kelli!"
after that, they returned to the academy. when he was in his room, lying on the bed he looked determined.
then the next morning came. Mark woke up early at 5 AM and went for a walk.
he was told by Martha to come to her office by 9 AM, so he decided to take a stroll.
looking around a bit he met a lot of people. some were friendly, some feared him, while some admired him from afar but didn't approach.
after the walk, he went to the cafeteria by 8 Am. he grabbed his usual bread and stew and found a bench to sit on.
after the Breakfast, he went to the Principal's office by 9 AM.
when he reached he found a few familiar figures.
"Miss Lor?, Miss Christie? and... Velma?"
he exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh! you're here? you should greet the instructors." Martha said as she took out a communication band.
Mark looked around and greeted the four Instructors, including Miss Lor and Christie.
Mark stared at Velma for a second then spoke, "What are you doing here Velma?"
she smiled and jumped over him.
"Well, change in plans? I will be coming with you," she said excitedly.
"what? but why? it's very dangerous..." Mark said with displeasure.
"Come on Mark, let her come with you. she is an earth elemental. she can be very brilliant and add to your expedition," said Martha, and shrugged it off.
"but..." he was going to complain but was shut down by Martha.
then Martha showed and few scrolls. these are the maps of the first 7 floors of the abyss.
then she started explaining to Mark about the abyss.
"look, the abyssal floors are completely independent realms. you have to go through the entrance and come out from the exit. and you must stick with your Instructors. and one more thing, bring her back."
after saying that she got up and walked out of the door.
they followed her to the auditorium. Mark was confused but didn't ask anything.
after looking for a bit she stopped at the corner of the room. Mark could see a huge staircase leading underground.
"This..." he slowly muttered, as his excitement rose.
Martha took the lead and led them deep down.
after a few minutes, Mark noticed a door. a man standing at the door with a mask on.
"lead them to the entrance!" Martha said with a stern voice.
the masked man didn't say anything and opened the door.
Martha stood at the back.
"now go! I will be heading back," she said turning around and walking away.
the masked man led them to the room. where Mark saw a dark portal-like structure.
there was a black portal fluctuating now and then.
"prepare yourself and enter slowly," said Miss Lor and went ahead.
Mark looked in confusion but didn't ask anything. he decided to ask about this after they enter the abyss.
one by one the four Instructors and the two students entered.
Mark felt wrapped up and distorted as he entered the portal. before he could understand anything he fell on his but.
"ouch! what?" he wasn't really hurt.
he opened his eyes and stared at the mind-blowing vista.
he found himself in a vast grass field.
he looked up, he could see a clear blue sky. but something was off.
there wasn't a sun!
the scenery looked so bright but there wasn't a sun! how is that possible?
"Mark!" he heard a few voices from behind. he turned around to see Velma and the others.
"where are we?" he asked in confusion.
one of the male Instructors fixed his glasses and spoke, "this is the first floor of the abyss!"
Mark looked around and nodded in amusement. it wasn't exactly what he expected.
"by that way, my name is Collin Roach, you can just call me Collin or Mr. Collin."
the instructor said with a slight smile.
the other male instructor looked at Mark coldly then spoke, "my name is Floyd Herbert."
he didn't say anymore.
Mark greeted them with a friendly smile.
"oh let's move, we are on the first floor it's so boring."
said, Miss Christie.
Mark turned to her with amusement.
"sure let's go!" said Miss Lor exclaimed raising her hand.
"yess!" all of them shouted in unison and started to move.
after a while, they noticed a few people around there.
they didn't bother looking at them and moved forward.
"Umm... Velma? where is the entrance to the second floor?"
Mark asked.
"oh, look, you see that? that is the entrance."
she pointed at a pool of black water near the ridge.
they rushed there and stood around it.
"Before we go I want to warn you! be careful, the second floor is floor isn't as peaceful as this, even though at your current level, it's not worth mentioning, but no one can guarantee anything," said Floyd looking at Mark.
"I understand!"
"so let's go!"
saying that Floyd jumped straight in the Pool. but the water didn't splatter at all.
following him, Velma and the others jumped as well.
Mark looked around once and then jumped as well.
*Swoosh!
with a sound, he got sucked in. this time he didn't feel anything, and in a second he landed on the ground.
he opened his eyes and looked around.
*grrrr*
*kch*
weird noises from the second floor made Mark nervous.
'System! how can I access the items in inventory?'
<< host can use slot no. or the item name to summon it. >>
'I see... that's pretty convenient.'
he nodded and started to look around.
the second floor was very dark, unlike the first floor, the second floor seemed like a desert.
"here!"
Velma shouted from his back.
Mark walked over to them. miss Christie raised her hand and condensed a glowing mana ball.
with that, they could see a few hundred meters of the area clearly.
<< A new type of energy is detected... warning bloodthirst detected, preparing for battle... >>
Mark looked at the system screen with a frown.
he summoned the Star God's Slaughterer and immediately prepared to fight.
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