Led by Mr. Jin, the ten selected students stepped through the portal and entered the second level of the Abyss.
As they emerged, their eyes swept across the unfamiliar surroundings, and took in the eerie atmosphere that stretched endlessly before them.
At first glance, the environment of the second level wasn’t all that different from the first level. The same unsettling atmosphere hung in the air, and the dense forest covering the land gave off an equally ominous feeling. However, there was one noticeable difference.
The trees were much larger.
Their enormous trunks towered into the sky, while their thick branches stretched overhead, blocking out much of the light.
Their twisted roots spread across the ground like giant serpents, making the already unsettling forest appear even more sinister.
Yet, what truly caught their attention wasn’t the forest itself.
It was the noise.
Somewhere, far in the distance came a constant rumbling of activity.
Although they couldn’t see it yet, the students could tell that a settlement lay somewhere ahead, approximately twenty kilometers away.
The moment Michael stepped into the second level of the Abyss, a strange sensation washed over him.
He turned around instantly, staring into the distance. It felt as though something was calling out to him from somewhere, or rather, as if an invisible force was drawing him towards something.
[You have arrived at the second level of the Abyss.]
[What is insignificant alone becomes invincible when united as one. To achieve ascension, locate and gather all scattered fragments of the Soul Stone across the second level.]
"Huh?" The students stared at the system panel with narrowed eyes as the notification appeared before them.
"I believe you all have received the details of the second level?" Mr Jin turned to face them. "You have but one objective, recollect the scattered fragments of the Soul Stone, put them together, and you have successfully passed the second level."
The princes and princesses among the ten students turned to look at Mr. Jin with blank expressions, while Silva and Michael raised a brow.
Surely, it couldn’t be that simple.
What they had experienced in the first level was more than enough to tell them that nothing in the Abyss was ever as straightforward as it seemed.
Mr Jin clapped his hands. "There are 12 fragments of the Soul Stone scattered virtually throughout the second level of the abyss, you are to split into teams of two and retrieve the fragments."
Just as Mr. Jin spoke, the princes and princesses wasted no time forming teams of two. Within moments, nearly everyone had found a partner, leaving only Michael and Silva standing alone.
"Uh-Huh?" Silva tilted his head with a brow raised, they really weren’t eager to team up with any of them.
"I guess that’s leaves me and you."
"Yeah..."
"Alright, There is no need to tell you to be cautious, go."
The princes and princesses wasted no time leaping into action, dashing into the depths of the forest in search of the scattered Soul Stone fragments.
Princess Rias, however, came to a stop beside Michael. Without even turning her head to look at him, she said. "It’s a shame. I really hoped to see you in action, well, there’s always next time right?" She turned to him with a gleaming smile, then dashed after her teammate.
"Come on Michael, we can’t fall behind." The two boys nodded in agreement, then disappeared into the forest as well.
Mr. Jin watched silently as the students disappeared into the depths of the forest.
After a brief moment of silence, he let out a sigh, placed both hands on his knees, and stretched his right leg sideways in a long stride before repeating the movement with his left leg.
Then, he straightened up and said. "How long do you intend to hide back there forever?"
Almost immediately, three figures materialized in a cloud of black dust above the tree standing in Mr. Jin’s path.
Two of them stood on separate branches, while the third sat with his right knee raised toward his chest, and a long, massive scythe rested on his shoulder, supported by one hand.
"Impressive... To think you’d actually notice us."
All three figures wore flowing black cloaks that danced gracefully in the unknown wind that blew past them.
On the right shoulder of the one in the middle was a tattoo of a horned skull, while the other two had similar tattoos in different places. One had his tattoo on the side of his neck, while the other had it just above his chest.
Mr Jin looked up, although his blindfolds prevented him from seeing then. "You made it too easy, after all, those who try to hide their presence are the easiest to spot."
"Perhaps, how long have you known we were here?"
"Hm?" Mr Jin tilted his neck. "What do you mean? We only j-"
Almost immediately, one of the men standing on one the side branches vanished from where he stood and reappeared directly behind Mr. Jin, with a huge sword in his hand.
Without hesitation, he swung the blade straight down at Mr. Jin’s back.
As the dust settled, the cloaked man lay flat on the ground, with Mr. Jin sitting casually on his head as though nothing had happened. "Just got here."
"What?" The man at the other side raised a brow in confusion.
The cloaked man quickly sprang back to his feet and swung his massive blade at Mr. Jin. However, Mr. Jin simply backflipped, landing a few meters away with both hands tucked into his pockets.
"The tattoo of a horned skull..." Mr Jin said, he managed to get a glimpse of the man’s neck just before he pinned him down. "As shocked as I am, I need to know, what business does the Dark Convenant have with mere children?"
All three men widened their eyes in disbelief after Mr. Jin spoke. The man holding the scythe then pulled down the neck collar of his cloak, revealing his face and a long scar running down from his left eye.
"You’re an interesting man, how do you about the Dark Convenant? Answer me, and I might just spare one of those mere children?"
"How do I know?" Mr Jin placed the tip of his finger on his chin. "It’s a funny story actually, I -"
The second cloaked man vanished from the tree branch and reappeared directly above Mr. Jin, with a long spear in his hand. He thrust it toward Mr. Jin’s face, but Mr. Jin simply tilted his head, allowing the spear to pass by.
Before the man could react, Mr. Jin grabbed his hand, pulled him forward, and drove his right palm into his stomach, sending him flying into the tree in front of him.
Almost immediately, the man wielding the massive sword dashed towards him and slashed at his midsection. Mr. Jin simply jumped, landing on the very tip of the blade.
As the swordsman’s momentum carried him forward, Mr. Jin launched a roundhouse kick from atop the sword, striking the man squarely in the face and sending him crashing hard into another tree.
As Mr Jin landed softly, a grin appeared on the face of the man wielding the scythe, then he jumped down to the ground and approached Mr Jin with slow steps.
"I see, you really are interesting. You are different from the Evolvers we have killed over the years."
"Since you so graciously offered me a chance to save at least one of my students, I’ll offer you two options to choose from."
"Hm?" The man with the scar stopped, with his brows raised.
"Do you want to fight me with my blindfolds off or on?"
"Huh?"
Mr. Jin leaned forward slightly, with a sickly smile spreading across his face.
Almost immediately, the atmosphere around them changed, growing heavier and heavier by the second as he said. "Choose wisely."