“If you hadn’t interfered with its escape, it would’ve been captured as it’s not native to the Abyss,” Voidslayer promptly replied.
“Captured by whom?” Val asked, “And how does it getting captured endanger me?”
“I was getting to that point,” Voidslayer said, “Before I give you the answers, there is something you should know.”
“What is it?” Val asked.
Voidslayer replied, “I told you that the expedition to Abyss was banned because of the danger it posed, but I forgot to mention that although the Abyss was barely explored and its entrances were sealed just a few months after the first expedition, the Wizards of Old made an entire textbook about it by correlating stories about the time they spend in the Abyss.
“It’s said that Abyss is infinitely large and unlike our world, it’s not round but flat with five regions. Different wells led to different regions, yet no matter what region they ended up in, they all experienced being hunted by Mindflayers.”
In his previous life, Val wasn’t ignorant of sci-fi comics, so he could guess why creatures from the Abyss would be named Mindflayer. It was most likely that they feasted on brain matter!
“Why is that the case?” Val asked.
Voidslayer answered, “They concluded it is a huge tribe tasked with guarding the five regions of the Abyss against foreign invasion. As for who tasked them, there are only theories about “It”. Some say it’s the will of the Abyss, others say that Abyss is ruled by a terrifying force that decides what role a tribe gets to play, but there’s no concrete evidence, so you can’t depend on them.”
“The Wizards of Old named the guardians of the Abyss Mindflayers because they feast on the brain matter of other intelligent creatures, whether they be humans or their tamed beasts. Moreover, they can get the memories and knowledge of their victims by devouring their brains. Do you get where I am going with that?”
“Sort of,” Val replied.
“Then let me elaborate further,” Voidslayer continued. “If the Uglyface Devil was captured by a Mindflayer, it would’ve been consumed. The probability of it happening is 100% as this is the way Mindflayers interrogate their enemies. In the process, the Mindflayer would’ve gained all the knowledge and memories of the Uglyface Devil.”
“Which includes the knowledge of the well under our feet that connects our world with the Abyss, and my ability to gain a sudden and massive surge in power,” Val concluded, his expression growing grim as he realized the implications behind Voidslayer’s words. He added, “So essentially, I would have become a target of interest of an entire tribe of horrifying beings.”
“Correct,” Voidslayer confirmed the conclusion Val had come to before saying, “Such exposure has happened in the past and it led to undesirable consequences such as the Mindflayer invading our world in search of the being whi had piqued their interest and killing everyone they met along the way.
“When the Mindflayer invaded the world, it became the final straw for the old wizard community to stop all exhibitions to the Abyss and seal its entrances forever.”
Voidslayer continued, “You see, Mindflayers are curious by nature. I knew they would have come to eat your brain if they were exposed to memories that were about how special you are, thus I urged you to strike the Uglyface down before it could use the well to get to the Abyss. While it led to a totally different problem, it’s not as bad.”
If Val was prideful… If he wasn’t the type to believe in facts… he wouldn’t have followed Voidslayer’s advice, thinking himself to be more wise than an ancient relic. But because he wasn’t any of those things, he believed in Voidslater and executed the Uglyface before it could get away despite the risks to his life.
Val thought, ‘I entered a coma, but I avoided a catastrophe. Becoming the target of interest of an entire tribe of Mindflayers is so much more terrifying than losing consciousness for a few days. There’s no comparison.’
Val felt a sense of gratitude towards Voidslayer. Without its timely warning, he would have inadvertently attracted unwanted attention.
“Thank you, Voidslayer. If not for you, I could have brought a lot of trouble upon myself.” Val expressed his gratitude
“Just doing what I am supposed to do,” Voidslayer said humbly. “You’re my master. Who would I support and guide if not you?”
“That’s true,” Val said.
After a moment of silence, Val asked, “How dangerous is the Abyss? I’m curious about it and would like to explore it, but I want to know if I’m capable enough,” Val said. 𝑶𝓋𝓵xt.𝑐𝑜𝚖
“With your current power level, don’t even think about it. And remember, physical and spiritual power alone isn’t enough to survive in the Abyss. Cursed artifacts that provide resistance against curses are just as crucial. If you wish to venture there, various such artifacts are a must,” Voidslayer answered.
“Or else what would happen?” Val asked out of curiosity.
“With a 100% chance, You’ll die without knowing what killed you,” Voidslayer laid the terrifying truth bare to him.
“Seems like they were spirited away. Only Assam survived because he had a cursed artifact that made him immune to all curses,” Val stated.
“Spirited away, huh?” Voidslayer echoed, pondering over Val’s choice of words. “That does seem like a fitting way to describe the scenario. And yes, my previous master survived because he had the “Redirector” that redirects all attacks away from him.”
“That sounds a really powerful artifact,” Val said.
“Well, it was a rank-1 cursed artifact,” Voidslayer said.
“I guess he was an extremely lucky dude,” Val said.
“I can’t deny that. When he was smacked away by the Uglyface, he fell into a raging river that dragged him into a save where he found the Inheritance of a Wizard King. The Redirector was also obtained from there. While he was certainly talented, without the inheritance, he wouldn’t have succeded in avenging his family so early in his life,” Voidslayer said.
“Can you tell me more about a wizard King?” Val asked.
“The Wizard king is the strongest wizard of his era. They are unmatched when it comes to wizardry,” Voidslayer replied.
Suddenly, Val’s face took on a more serious expression.
“I don’t think Mindflayers were the only ones who invaded our world in the past. An acquaintance once told me about strange footsteps that could be heard in the forest bordering the frontier at night. They said if you hear those footsteps drawing closer, you’re in immense danger, and if they catches up to you, you’re done for. There’s no way to fight against it. Your only chance of survival is to flee,” he said.
“Perhaps these footsteps belong to the same being we encountered in the Abyss,” Voidslayer conceded. “If that’s really the case, I advise you to avoid staying in the forest at night. Until we discover a means to confront these entities, the risk of entering the forest at night is too great,” Voidslayer said.
“I know,” Val said.
From this conversation, Val arrived at two conclusions:
A) There was a 50% chance of there being an Abyssal well somewhere within the forest!
B) Abyssal entities were, like devils, weak to sunlight. They couldn’t move freely during the day!
“How is the Abyss like? Is it dark or sunny?” Val asked in order to confirm his second conclusion.