Abel rushed to Vista City overnight and headed towards the mercenary group’s hall.
Born a commoner, he broke free from the constraints of nobility by becoming a warrior and established the Star Mercenary Group.
He recruited many companions of similar humble origins, working together to kill magical beasts and improve their lives.
However, the Silver Feather Mercenary Group, relying on their noble status, constantly made things difficult for them with Baron Ivan Rodney being the worst offender.
Yesterday, he and his brothers accepted a C-rank mission to kill ten Ice Rabbits, a seemingly easy task, but an unexpected turn of events occurred.
The Ice Rabbits were low-level magical beasts roaming the outskirts of the Magical Beast Forest, and not particularly dangerous. Who would have thought that a high-level magical beast, the Yuan Yang Leopard, would suddenly appear?
He gritted his teeth and lured the beast away. Fortunately, the Demon Lord saved his life. It was a stroke of good fortune in disguise. He wondered how his brothers were doing now.
Before even reaching the inner hall, he heard a commotion.
A wildly arrogant voice rang out: “That ungrateful barbarian is never coming back. If you have any self-awareness, you’d better join Silver Feather.”
“Commoners are commoners. Even if they got lucky and successfully condensed a magic core, so what? They still died in the mouths of magical beasts.”
“Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you should go looking in the Magical Beast Forest. Maybe… you can find some bones, hahahahaha.”
The man in the elaborate robe laughed loudly. His eyes were sinister, like those of an eagle, cold and malicious.
Three or four people stood opposite him. One of them, a muscular man, couldn’t help but step forward. He grabbed his collar, his face flushed, and fiercely questioned him.
“Was it you? Was it you who did this?! How could there be high-level magical beasts outside the forest? You must have attracted them! I’ll make you pay for the captain’s life!”
The hawk-eyed man didn’t move, and merely snorted. A man in black behind him suddenly attacked. A flash of red light appeared. The magical energy gathered in his palm, which he unleashed with tremendous force, sending the man flying.
“Ugh…” The burly man flew three zhang away, clutching his chest, and his face contorted in pain.
“Joseph!” The others were about to help him up when the man in black blocked their way.
The hawk-eyed man slowly stepped forward, raising his foot to stomp on Joseph’s chest, his gesture filled with insult.
But before he could land, a sudden burst of magical energy sliced through the air, tearing through his trouser leg with a whoosh.
He stumbled back several steps, nearly falling to the ground, and quickly hid behind the man in black, his voice short and sharp.
“Who!! Do you know the consequences of delaying the Silver Feather Mercenary Group’s business?!”
“Heh, you’ve got a bad memory. Baron Ivan, you’ve already forgotten me?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ivan’s pupils contracted, and the words slipped out without thinking.
“Abel, you, how are you still alive?!”
Abel gritted his teeth, helped Joseph up from the ground, handed him to the other brothers, and stood up, mocking, “What, regretting not killing the Yuan Yang Leopard?”
He released the extremely oppressive magical energy of a high-level warrior, making Ivan uneasy. He didn’t have time to think about why Ivan had suddenly advanced, he only felt that he was probably finished.
He only dared to be so arrogant because he was a mid-level warrior, but now that he had offended a high-level warrior, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Abel drew his sword. He leaped over the man in black, his blade aimed directly at Baron Ivan. Magical energy surged around him, clearly indicating his intention to kill him.
“I…I’m a mage! If you kill me, the Magic Association will investigate thoroughly,” Ivan stammered, his lips trembling. He hadn’t expected Abel to be so ruthless.
The sword was incredibly close, and Ivan only needed to swallow a mouthful of saliva to slice through his throat.
Abel thought to himself, “If it weren’t for the fact that keeping you alive could help the Demon Lord attract followers, I would have killed you right now.”
He sheathed his sword, saying casually, “I should be grateful to you, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to break through to the higher level.”
Leading Joseph and the others, they turned and left the mercenary group’s hall, leaving Ivan like a defeated dog.
Ivan glared fiercely at the whispering crowd in the hall. He stared until they looked away before he finally grabbed the man in black, uttering a single sentence.
“Investigate! How could that lowly commoner have broken through to high-level?”
“Find out everything about his experiences in the Monster Forest!”
Ivan, panting, straightened up with his legs still trembling. He hurriedly turned and left, heading towards the Magic Association.
*
Back in the rest area, Abel recounted his ordeal in the Monster Forest, successfully garnering sympathetic glances from the crowd.
“Captain, you…did a monster hit your head?”
“Yeah…how could there be someone in the Abyss running a shop there? Impossible!”
But gradually, their voices faded, and the crowd exchanged incredulous glances.
The amount of information was terrifying but if this was the captain’s delusion, then how did he advance to the high-level? The captain’s strength was the most irrefutable evidence.
To further convince them, Abel took out a band-aid from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and applied it to the injured Joseph’s arm.
Joseph waved his hand dismissively, chuckling, “Captain, it’s not an external injury. Besides, how could such a small bandage possibly help? My arm’s fine.”
But he couldn’t refuse Abel’s offer, so he obediently put on the bandage.
Before he could speak again, he suddenly froze, his face filled with disbelief, touching his chest: “No way, it doesn’t hurt anymore?”
Abel nodded, “This is the power of a demon. It’s amazing. My injury was quite serious but it healed in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.”
The burly man’s muscles tensed. He grabbed the captain’s collar, wailing in anguish, “No, Captain! My injury isn’t serious. This kind of miraculous medicine should be saved for a critical moment!”
His previous disdain vanished. Thinking about how such a miraculous potion had been wasted on such a minor injury, his heart suddenly ached.
Those present were all brothers who had shared life and death with Abel. Seeing Joseph’s internal injuries heal before their very eyes, no matter how turbulent their emotions were, they understood the gravity of the situation and all became solemn.
“That lord possesses extremely powerful and mysterious strength. If you trust me, come with me to the Demon Beast Forest.”
“Joining the Demon Lord’s camp is definitely not a bad thing. I have a feeling that the entire continent will submit to the Demon Lord in the future!”
He couldn’t hide his excitement: “These are all gifts from the Demon Lord, and they will definitely improve the team’s strength in a short time. Ivan won’t let this go easily, he also has an uncle who is a high-ranking magician.”
“By the way, there’s no need to hide this news. It shouldn’t be the first time spreading information secretly like this. Try to let as many people as possible know the secrets of the Abyss.”
No one objected to the previous words, but this sentence puzzled them. They asked doubtfully, “Captain, why? Shouldn’t the fewer people who know this news, the better?”
Abel shook his head. That lord had saved his life, and since he had sworn allegiance to him, he wouldn’t break his promise.
For those high-ranking nobles, pledging allegiance to a demon might be a despicable thing but he believed that in a life-or-death situation, there would definitely be commoners willing to take the risk and go to the Abyss.
Once the news spread, and with the Demon Lord’s power, there would be no shortage of faith.
Moreover, he turned to a thin, brown-haired man and said in a deep voice, “If the Demon Lord is even stronger, perhaps your arm can be restored.”
The brown-haired man was stunned. He silently looked at his missing arm, pursed his lips, and stammered, “R-really, it can be restored?”
The others were also stunned. After understanding his words, their eyes lit up with hope.
Abel stepped forward and patted the man on the shoulder: “Keep it up! The Demon Lord is mysterious and powerful, and he will definitely restore you.”
The brown-haired man, Alan Angelo, had tears in his eyes: “Thank you… thank you, Captain.”
Abel winked at him and said with a smile, “But you’ll have to work hard to save money, the Demon Lord’s things aren’t cheap.”
The somber atmosphere vanished instantly, and everyone burst into laughter.
As long as there was a glimmer of hope, they would not give up.
*
The abyss was almost devoid of light with only a persistent crimson glow.
Lu Sinian couldn’t judge the time by the sun. After finishing his work for the day, he checked the system and saw it was already 8 PM.
Shops also have opening and closing times. He figured no one would be coming at this hour, so he decided to go back to his room to rest.
The first floor of the shop was for selling goods, and the second floor was his room. He walked to the corner, went up the stairs, and arrived at his room.
He had to admit the system’s treatment was quite good. It was a standard one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom apartment—small but perfectly formed, with modern decor that was completely different in style from the first floor.
The day had been too bumpy and tumultuous. When he finally had some free time, he felt hungry. He groped his way into the kitchen, where all sorts of knives and ingredients were readily available.
Opening the refrigerator, he found quite a few potatoes and tomatoes, and frozen chunks of meat on the second shelf. Lu Sinian couldn’t help but think that the system had been quite thorough in its preparations.
Using the available ingredients, Lu Sinian quickly stir-fried a few dishes, ate, and then lay down on the bed.
He nestled on the soft pillow, his thoughts wandering aimlessly until he chuckled softly, turned over, and fell asleep.
A gentle breeze blew through the curtains, blocking out the last vestiges of light, plunging the room into complete darkness.
A cold, mechanical voice sounded, a soft “ding,” inaudible to anyone.
*
The next day, upon waking, Lu Sinian opened the door as usual. Clearly, his luck wasn’t as good as yesterday as no one had fallen into the abyss.
He wasn’t too bothered. He opened the refrigerator again, looking at the fresh vegetables inside, each one looking incredibly fresh, and even a plate of fruit. He raised an eyebrow.
“Very thoughtful, aren’t you? The ingredients are different every day.”
[…Well, of course.]
Lu Sinian, sensing a hint of embarrassment in the voice, paused, then couldn’t help but laugh.
He leisurely placed the plate of fruit on the counter, sat down, leaned back slightly, and forked a strawberry into his mouth.
It was cool and refreshing. The strawberry juice was sweet and delicious, fresh and flavorful.
“Oh right, I almost forgot, how exactly does the Abyss Transport Device work? That person fell from the sky yesterday.”
If there are many customers in the future, it won’t do for everyone to be lying around outside like corpses. It would be difficult to explain if they were stacked up and injured.
[Master, you can customize the landing location. Currently, the device is at level one, and you can only set a one-meter range as the landing location. Upgrading will cost 10,000 energy coins.]
Hmm, that’s expensive. He’ll think about it for now and upgrade later. For now, he’ll set the landing point.
The teleportation point is conveniently on the left side of the shop, so he’ll choose the right side as the landing point.
Just as Lu Sinian made his decision, a circular, transparent building identical to the teleportation point instantly appeared.
The design can be compared to an elevator in an old-fashioned residential building.
[When the Abyss passage device detects that someone has entered the area of the Broken Cliff and has a strong desire to enter the shop, the teleportation function will be triggered.]
Lu Sinian realized that this was a plane with magic and monsters. If someone maliciously used the teleportation device to enter the Abyss, threatening his and the shop’s safety…
[Rest assured, Master, the moment you step into the shop, you are the master. Any illegal activities will be prohibited.]
The system’s ding sounded cold and inorganic.