34 - Abyss
“Thank you so much for saving Repi!”
While Laura and I were locked in a fierce skirmish with the pursuers, a man named Daniel burst onto the scene and came to our aid. He introduced himself as Repi’s protector and bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Daniel oppa!”
“I’ve been searching everywhere for you, Repi! What the hell happened?”
“I... I was so scared, waaah!”
“Where’d you leave the laurel!”
Repi’s finger jabbed straight at us. More precisely, at Laura’s head.
“The laurel?... Are you perhaps the elves from Arseria Forest?”
Daniel’s eyes went wide as saucers.
• Yes, that's right.
• Stealing our stuff? You've got some real guts.
Suddenly, the world froze, presenting me with options. Laura glanced my way, flustered.
What should I pick?
“Doesn’t matter which one, right?”
Laura nodded at my whisper.
“Yeah, right.”
“Those ears... So you must’ve come here to retrieve the laurel.”
Ears? Now that he mentioned it, Laura’s ears had grown pointier and longer than before. I touched mine—same deal. Story-wise, it looked like we were cast as elves.
“The medium that channels interdimensional magic, the Laurel of Arseria. But the only laurel in our possession is this one.”
• Where are the other laurels?
• Hand it over right now—no more hiding.
“Where are the other laurels?”
“The remaining four are definitely with the Bahamut Empire! They claim a delegation was attacked and they lost the laurel they were supposed to return, but they’re no doubt scheming to secretly ship them to the imperial palace via the lords.”
“How do you know that?”
Here’s the rundown: A year ago, the Bahamut Empire borrowed five laurels from the elves of Arseria. They needed magic for a massive forest purification effort and asked for help. The elves didn’t fully trust humans, but based on a decade of exchanges with delegations like Daniel’s, they proposed a conditional loan: the delegation and elven elders would accompany the laurels’ use, per the agreement.
The empire accepted, and for a few months, things seemed fine. They reported steady progress on the purification, and the elves were satisfied. But on the way back home with the laurels, the group suffered an attack by unknown assailants, and the five laurels scattered.
“I was part of the Arseria delegation back then! I barely survived thanks to skilled allies... but the empire’s still hunting down survivors.”
Yet the survivors had nowhere to go. Bahamut wanted them silenced, and with Cold War borders sealed, no other nations would grant asylum.
“We’ve taken refuge with a group called Abyss. I know they’re seen as traitors rebelling against the empire... but we had no choice to stop their conspiracy.”
“So what’s Repi got to do with this that she’s tagging along?”
“What do you mean? Of course she’s involved.”
Daniel stared at me like I’d asked the stupidest question.
“She was the delegation’s representative. Repi’s destined to become a saintess, after all.”
“So the empire’s up to no good with the laurels, and we’ve gotta stop ’em?”
“Hmm...”
“What? That’s not it?”
Daniel and Repi led us to one of Abyss’s branches in Capital District 15. We’d scheduled a meeting with the branch chief to track the other laurels’ locations and were now descending underground.
“Daniel’s weaving in some sly lies. But our goal’s finding the laurel, so let’s play along for now.”
More than anything, the name Abyss screamed suspicious. Still, rebelling against a rotten empire? That sat right with me. I’d give ’em the benefit of the doubt.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
A cold voice echoed down the hall. Beyond the dimly lit room—lit only by a small lantern—came a phlegmy rattle.
“Forgive me. I’ve always lived in the dark, you see. Even this light stings my eyes.”
“You’re no human.”
“Heh heh, figured me out already? But that stings a bit. Human blood does flow in these veins. No chairs, I’m afraid—mind standing?”
Ssh! Did our private chat affect the NPC?
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Fortunately, no—it didn’t derail the story. The branch chief proceeded as scripted.
“We’ve traced one other laurel to Remnant Academy. Exact location’s unknown. How do you plan to infiltrate?”
• We’ll enroll through official channels.
• We don’t have much time.
“We don’t have much time. Looks like Abyss has a plan ready, huh?”
“Haha, you’ve got us! So you’ll join our ‘academy invasion op’?”
“Inva—what?”
“Invasion. Storming the academy.”
It was the fastest way to snag the laurel, no doubt. I’d always thought the empire’s academies needed a good shake-up anyway, so I nodded firmly to the chief.
“Very well. We’ll brief you on the invasion later. Scout the city and get your bearings in the meantime.”
He dismissed us curtly. But he had one more thing, holding us back before snuffing the lantern.
“You two aren’t official forest keepers from Arseria, are you? Runaways? Not my business, but at least learn how to use the laurel. Daniel’ll tell you kindly.”
World of Arceria’s system was unique. Physical stats like strength, agility, mana affinity—all governed by the game. Players raised them via NPC quests, hunting, duels, missions.
But the real kicker? Equip a laurel, and you could cast any real-world magic—limited, sure, but revolutionary. That’s why it blew up: one sliver of freedom in a tightly controlled game world opened infinite possibilities.
With one laurel, free rein on 1st Circle and below. It shone in duos: one fights, the other supports with perfect spells.
Inertia Tensor Adjustment
“Whoa, it’s not heavy at all!”
Low-strength Laura swung the two-hander effortlessly, thanks to this spell. Treat the blade as a rigid body with integrable tensors—not just lighten it, but tweak the inertia tensor to preserve power.
Kronecker delta kept equations simple; a second transmutation circle handled the blade’s path in non-inertial coords. Paired with solid swordplay, Laura was a reborn hero—utterly dominant.
“Defeating hydras this easily...!”
Daniel gaped in shock.
Defeated 10 hydras within time limit.
Magic Difficulty: 10
When firepower lagged, amp it with higher casts—like plasma on the blade.
1st Circle Advanced: Plasma Vibration Control
“Hiyaaah!”
Laura’s sword arced down, sparking rainbows—earning her the title Aurora Warrior.
Breached the Inexplicable Labyrinth.
Exploration Difficulty: 10
Pre-invasion, Laura and I cleared subquests: hydras from a mad scientist’s lab, treasure-filled underground dungeons. The hyper-real senses amazed at first, but they dulled with play.
Defeated the Knight Commander.
Infamy Difficulty: 10
Weird mystery windows kept popping—set ’em to Laura only.
“Quest cleared?”
I asked post-knight-commander duel.
Laura stared into space, eyes darting.
Magic 10 / Exploration 10 / Infamy 10 · Duo
Special Perk Granted
“Yeah! Got some kinda gift!”
“Call it here? Professor Cheon said he’d bring tasty chicken.”
“Chicken? Hell yeah!”