The Abyss's First Dawn
The first day I saw her, Mea wasn't exactly talkative, but today, meeting her again, she was even quieter than usual.
The words that came from her today were exactly five.
"I've come? Follow me. Here. One. Let's go."
It was hard to tell if what she said could even be called a conversation.
But I couldn't simply start talking to her either.
Mea's expression was so blank it felt like a barrier itself, pushing people away with a "don't get close" warning.
On top of that, the deep dark circles under her eyes and the half-lidded, drowsy gaze.
Looking at Mea's face, which was soaked with exhaustion, I started feeling guilty about trying to make conversation.
'Still, I couldn't just leave it like this.'
From the eastern district where the Thelema School was located, heading to the commercial district in the southern area took no time at all.
The Thelema School had always been on the southern outskirts of the eastern district.
As soon as we stepped into the south district, the noise made by the bustling crowd filled my ears.
The south district was built around the river that ran through Res Limen, giving it a harbor.
The market had sprung up around the harbor, turning the area into the commercial district it was today.
While weaving through the crowd toward the shops, I spoke to Mea once more.
"Um, Mea... Sensei?"
"...Just call me Mea."
"Yes, Mea. So, what should I buy first?"
"Potion."
Yeah, without potions, exploring the Abyss would be rough.
Even if they were just potions, not elixirs, they raised recovery speed, which from a modern medical viewpoint was astonishing.
One pour of potion, drink it, wrap with a bandage, and by the next day the bleeding would stop and the flesh would start healing.
I hadn't used one before, but top-tier potions were said to heal you instantly once applied.
"Here. Good."
"Oh, really?"
I checked out the inside of the shop Mea had recommended.
It wasn't a huge store, but it was packed with space.
The shelves were crammed with all kinds of potions, but without labels it was hard to tell what was what.
Based purely on color, the red ones were for stamina and the blue for mana.
'And that one?'
There were even a few bottles with tiny snakes inside.
They looked like wine displays.
After wandering around for a bit, I turned my head to see what Mea was buying, only to find her standing behind me, staring.
"Not buying?"
"...Is that for me?"
Mea's head tilted at my oddly worded question.
"No?"
She seemed a little embarrassed to say it herself and glanced away from my eyes.
"...I don't have any money."
"Eh, well..."
I knew that from the moment she poured water into a bottle that looked empty.
"Since you'll be the only one using them anyway, just buy what you need. Think of it as a day's worth. Two small stamina potions and two mana potions should be plenty."
She must not have gotten her guide license for nothing.
Surprisingly helpful, Mea pointed out exactly what potions I'd need for the Abyss.
I gathered the potions as she had chosen and placed them on the counter.
The owner, who had been silently guarding the shelves until then, suddenly asked Mea.
"Your student?"
"No, just a trainee."
"Apprentice, then."
"Yep."
The owner looked like he was pushing fifty, wearing a half apron, while Mea, who seemed barely in her mid-teens, spoke in casual speech. It was a strange exchange.
"Hey, apprentice."
"Yes."
"Just 1000 lupe. Originally 300 each, 1200 for four, but since you're an apprentice, I'll give you a discount."
A single meal at the outskirts inn cost 30 lupe, so at 100 lupe equaling 100 won, it wasn't cheap.
But potions were essential.
I handed over ten gold coins worth 100 lupe.
On the way out of the shop, I asked Mea.
"Was that person someone you know?"
"Yeah."
"Do you... know what your relationship is?"
"We went to the Abyss together a few times."
That's all she said, and her voice cut off abruptly.
'...That owner doesn't seem to think that way.'
While we were talking, I had been observing them from the side.
Mea remained completely emotionless when dealing with me.
But the owner was different.
'He looked at her with such pity.'
Even a stranger could feel the depth of that compassion.
It was too much to dismiss as an old man pitying a still-active professional.
Mea was a demonologist.
And from what I had experienced, the reputation of demonologists was at its absolute lowest.
Still, to show pity for someone like that, they must have been quite close.
'She was too detached.'
Was it just that Mea didn't care about human relationships?
Or... the price?
If the latter was correct, the price for demonologists would be even more cruel than I had imagined.
The guy who charged with a finger of Malef... he hadn't seemed special.
"Roman."
Was it already our turn?
Identity verification for entering the inner city.
The line moved at an astonishing speed.
Probably using magic.
Showing my temporary license, Mea and I passed through in seconds.
"I plan to go straight to the Abyss. Is there any place I need to visit in the inner city first?"
"No. None."
My mind was already deep in the Abyss.
Only my body needed to follow.
After walking silently and busily all the way to the innermost part of the inner city, we stepped onto the plaza called the central area.
It wasn't enclosed by walls, but it was the heart of the city.
The very center of the circular city, Res Limen.
There, in the heart of the city, stood the massive gate that connected to the world beyond.
"That must be the gate."
I had seen it for the first time.
Why was the name of this city "Res Limen" when the gate was just a threshold?
It was because this city existed only to support that gate.
"Don't get too caught up in it."
"Ah, right?"
"It's just a gate. It's the place we have to step on, kick, and destroy. Don't forget it's not something to worship."
"Ah..."
I see.
The overwhelming awe-inspiring presence of that gate.
And the people who would dive into the infinite mysteries of the Abyss beyond it.
Abyss Worshippers.
Mea was warning me not to become one.
"Of course."
"Yeah. That's good."
Then Mea, with her short legs, started moving briskly forward.
I immediately followed behind her.
Because the gate stayed open 24 hours, the line for descending into the Abyss was shorter than the waiting area in the inner city.
"Senior explorer Mea. Affiliated with the Thelema School. Purpose: training. Confirmed."
After finishing the final procedure, I stood before the gate leading into the Abyss.
Finally, I was entering.
At last, I crossed the threshold.
§
I had just learned yet another world.
"This is... the Abyss...?"
Blue sky.
Floating islands drifting above it.
Grass covering the ground and trees sprouting from every corner.
In the distance, mountain ranges with elegant ridges faintly visible.
Except for the absence of sun or moon in the sky and the presence of rocky islands instead of clouds, this world was almost identical to the outside.
But most of all.
"It's bright."
Compared to the name Abyss, which implied an endless darkness, this world was surprisingly filled with light.
"Because it's the surface layer."
Mea had called the surface layer the nickname for the first floor of the Abyss.
The official name for the first floor was Garden.
As the name suggested.
This place felt like a garden created at the boundary between the real world and the otherworld.
"How strange. Can those islands there be climbed?"
"Fly, and then. Didn't they teach you at the training school?"
"I learned it, but seeing it with my own eyes makes it hard to believe."
Everything was new.
Not just landscapes I'd never seen in the real world or even in other worlds.
Even if it wasn't extreme, there was an unexpectedly heavy pressure.
The concentration of mana flowing through the air was far thicker than outside.
All of it.
"I'll admire it on the way. First, let's move."
"I know. The first place to go when entering the Abyss is the Main Base. I learned that at the training school."
"We'll arrive before the day is over."
Unlike the outside, where the flow of mana was somewhat regular, the mana in the Abyss flowed irregularly.
Depending on that flow, the transfer points of the gates also changed dynamically.
But within a certain spectrum, even irregular flows meant the Main Base was always reachable within a day.
While walking, Mea asked me serious training questions.
"You know all five basic magic spells?"
"The five basic ones... Glow, Fire, Water Collection, Alarm, and Far Sight?"
"Well learned."
"I know all except Fire."
"That's enough."
After all, our position as demonologists wasn't that far from support roles.
"So, how to act in the Abyss... just a moment."
It was the moment I had just started the real training.
A group of people was approaching from ahead.
'Numbers... four.'
One at the front with sword and shield on their back.
One holding a bow.
And two mages holding staffs.
A classic formation.
With two mages, it was a pretty solid team.
They soon noticed us too.
Approaching cautiously, they began walking toward us.
Once we were close enough to confirm each other's faces without Far Sight, they spoke first.
"I don't recognize your side. Did you just enter today?"
I glanced at Mea.
But Mea stayed silent.
Instead, she stood with arms crossed, watching to see how I would handle it.
"Yes. We did. What about you?"
"Ah, we're just leaving the base. If you're heading to the Main Base, you can go straight ahead. There should be a sign."
"Thank you."
"But... are the two of you the whole team?"
Since I didn't answer immediately, the other side grew more flustered and waved their hands.
"Haha, don't misunderstand. I was just curious. Usually we team up in groups of four like this. If it's just two, you must be quite skilled."
"We're trainees."
"Oh, trainees? Nice. I just received my own trainee certification the other day. Do you know Gravesdiggers? It's a pretty famous guild."
"I've heard the name."
There had been one who was supposed to receive training there for the last night with our colleagues.
"This is fate too. How about we move together for once? Since we're going to the Main Base anyway, there won't be much to do. Rather than that, it'd be better to experience more of the Abyss."
"I'm grateful for the offer, but since I'll follow the rules, I'll accept the thought."
"Well, then, I guess we can't. Well, train well and see you next time."
The person gave a signal of wishing luck like a greeting, and I replied in kind.
After the short exchange, we passed the group.
After walking a while, I turned back when the distance grew enough.
I settled the mana I had accumulated in my bones for physical reinforcement.
But even then, Mea's mouth remained tightly shut.
'Not yet.'
Was it still not over?
At that thought, I turned around.
The first thing I saw when I turned my head wasn't the backs of the group I expected to see...
"Ah?"
The faces of those approaching while silencing their footsteps, with swords drawn.
Blades reflecting light.
Hidden hostility beneath blank expressions.
And clear killing intent in their eyes.
"The first rule of conduct in the Abyss."
Mea's voice, flat and unchanged, cut through my ears like an emotionless tomb.
"Don't trust anyone."
The moment Mea's words ended.
A shadow plunged into the line of sight as it covered the running sword.
The thing that looked like a giant wolf, pitch black as if wrapped in shadow.
A black wolf with no color variations opened its mouth wide and bit into the sword's arm.
Krurrr!! Kweeng!!
From that moment, the world, which had been slow, regained its original speed.
"If that's the case, already."
At the same time the time of the slow world was restored.
A magic stone was driven into the head of the sword-wielding man bitten by the wolf.
Crack!
The sound of shattering armor and pulverizing skulls.
The ones had thought my settled reinforcement mana was the end.
Unfortunately, my demon mana now had two tracks.
The magic stone was not Seir's power but Leraje's.
Unlike the openly displayed Seir's power, the cold arrow, hidden like a hunter in the bushes, waited for its chance and mercilessly pierced the sword man's head.
"I don't trust anyone anyway."
Absolute distrust of others.
That was the first thing I learned after falling into this world.