"Uh? Where am I?" Ayo slowly rose from the cold concrete floor. The room was shrouded in darkness, but as he stood up, dim firelight began to flicker from the lamps that lined the circular walls. Eight ominous entrances loomed before him, leading to unknown destinations.
[New Alert]
[Survive on the first floor of the abyss for 4 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds]
"What is this?" Ayo questioned aloud, but there was no response, just an eerie silence.
A faint creaking sound reached his ears, followed by approaching footsteps.
~creak~
Ayo flinched at the low sound, and soon, several creatures emerged from one of the dark entrances. They were like something he had seen before, with greenish skin, pointed ears, and noses. These creatures were small but carried a variety of weapons, all too familiar to him.
"Goblins?" Ayo muttered in disbelief.
"How are goblins here? I thought–"
He cut himself off abruptly.
"The first floor of the abyss...?" His thoughts raced as he moved into a defensive stance, mimicking wielding a sword.
"Eccentric Lily..."
[All former skills have been deleted]
"What? Are you kidding?" Ayo protested.
[You can obtain new skills from the Multidimensional Online Store]
~woosh~
He retreated, narrowly dodging a goblin's sword slash.
"Where am I supposed to find the time to run a shop?" Ayo grumbled.
[Processing Question]
[Answer not available]
"This system..." He gritted his teeth, and the system responded with a smiling emoji.
[Good luck]
~swoosh~
~swosh~
The goblins relentlessly attacked, and Ayo evaded their strikes, his body moving on instinct. He was determined not to rely on the system to learn these skills, as his body seemed to remember them from another life.
~pow~
Ayo took advantage of a momentary opening when one goblin finished its swing. He delivered a swift kick to its chest and seized its sword as it tumbled backward.
"You think I can't remember the skills without you, huh? My body retains the movements from before," he said with a grin as he lunged at the goblins.
However, reality didn't match his expectations. The goblins dodged his attacks, and one even countered with a spinning kick that sent him sprawling. Ayo struggled to regain his balance as the goblins closed in, landing multiple hits and cuts on his body.
~stomp~
~stomp~
Just as he crawled away from the goblins, battered and bloodied, he heard the ominous thudding of heavy footsteps.
"Hobgoblin," he muttered to himself, his voice trembling with fear.
"This is the end... this is where I die."
***
***
***
The Outer Plane.
(Helfheim)
"...hm, so Phanes had his power stolen," a pale-skinned woman commented from her enormous golden throne.
She had a single horn protruding from her right temple, black damp hair, and milky eyes. Her complexion was as white as her surroundings, and she looked down at the man standing before her, dwarfed by her immense stature.
"The entire Mount Olympus is in chaos," he reported.
"Ah, fools. They've lost something precious."
"But they cannot rush to Midgard, can they?" the messenger asked.
"They may be gullible, but they understand the consequences of their actions. However, the one holding Phanes's authority cannot be left unchecked. We must locate him, and if he hasn't already claimed the authority, we can imprison him until a solution is found."
"Your highness, I've heard of Phanes's authority, but I thought it was merely used to redirect human souls. When it was stolen, the borderline vanished, and chaos ensued. Souls are scattered, unaccounted for, and even the underworld, as well as our realm, Helfheim, is in disarray due to the lost souls."
"Silly... Phanes's authority encompasses everything—the power of creation, the power of the first primordial."
The messenger's jaw dropped. "Primordials, who are greater than the titans who birthed the gods?"
"Yes, I cannot fathom the potential catastrophes a human could unleash with such power. World destruction, recreation—anything is possible," she said, crossing one leg over the other. "You have a new task now, Ganglati."
"Yes, your highness."
"Go to Midgard and find the human who stole Phanes's authority. I know you'll lose your powers in the process, but persevere and locate that human before anyone else does." She extended her hand, and a white portal opened.
Ganglati, her servant, bowed and entered the portal, ready for his mission.