One With The Abyss

After pushing my magic as far as I could within the confines of the system I continued my descent into the dungeon, choosing to only use my magic to attack. Or, if I did use my shapeshifting sword-hand it was always imbued with some kind of magic attack.

Like a flaming sword, or extended thanks to water.

I even found I could slow the healing of an enemy's wound by filling it with small chunks of dirt. Where fire stopped regeneration, earth allowed it to occur, but left significant impurities within the body that did far more harm than a cauterised wound.

"These monsters have regeneration, how come I don't have a talent for it yet." I said, cutting through another Garden Troll on the 17th floor.

These monsters did not meet my expectations when I heard they were trolls. Sure they were ugly, but they were not as fat as I thought they would be; instead they were 8 ft tall and incredibly skinny with fast and powerful attacks. As Garden Trolls they had moss growing along their backs and it would have been incredibly difficult to tell where they were before they stood up as they looked just like rocks, if not for my [Soul Sense] talent that, thanks to the trolls, reached level 2. 

The talent I got from the trolls was [Hide (0/3)]

[Hide (0/3)]

[More easily blend into your environment. Become harder to detect under detection abilities]

It was my first stealth talent, so I took it happily, but was still annoyed that I lacked a proper regeneration talent to heal my injuries for me. My body was covered in scars from wounds that had to be healed around an hour after I received them.

"The first regeneration ability you will get will probably be from a Cave Troll." Abby told me, "Garden trolls have good combat ability but are usually a passive race, they have no need for a passive regeneration talent."

I sighed and continued killing my way through the 17th floor, the garden trolls were quite weak to fire, due to their nature affinity so killing them was as easy as launching a large amount of fire at them, but I took the time to practise my swordsmanship since I wished to awaken my aura and Abby told me this would be easier to achieve through physical combat.

Nothing past the 15 floor posed a challenge for a while and most of the talents were absorbed by already existing ones, 16 went into body (as usual), the 18th was quite fun, but all the enemies on that floor were focused on stealth and ambushes so they worked to improve my [Hide] talent which soon became [Stealth (3/6)], thanks to my [Soul Sense] it was a breeze to make my way to the 19th floor and it even went up to level 4. The boss of the 18th floor was quite interesting as well, in that it could hardly be called a fight.

The boss was a monster Chameleon, it could quite literally turn invisible and attack at speeds that I could barely comprehend. The stealth even managed to get past [Soul Sense], it was only after it reached level 4 that I could even see traces of it and launch a counterattack; resulting in the monster dying in 5 hits due to its pitiful physical defence, though it still lasted a while thanks to the monster's speed.

While the 18th floor was enjoyable, the 19th was just a drag. The primary monsters on the floor were Hobgoblins, I was already strong enough to kill these little freaks so I just cut them down one after another and I didn't even get a decent talent from any of them, not even the boss who granted: [Fertile Seed], which I couldn't even use as it only functioned to increase the fertility of , well you know.

I felt disgusted making my way through the 19th floor, and was happy to get onto the 20th, where again I met one of the floor bosses, as Abby called them.

"I'll use this to practise my magic, push it to the next level." I said, mostly to myself but Abby decided to weigh in.

"The best way to evolve magic talents its to push one of the elements to its deviated state." She told me, it was useful information so I took it in stride and walked into the room, prepared to defeat my enemy with only magic, not my physical ability which I had been cultivating with [One With The Abyss]. It had risen to such a level that I could kill the first floor's boss, Gris Wolf, with a single punch. I had gone to check for the blood ogres...

I walked into the room, seeing a man sitting in the middle of the room, I didn't even get to use my ring before he stood up and revealed what he was:

The man's shirt ripped to pieces as he began screaming in pain, screams that soon became howls. Jet black fur grew from his body and claws extended from his hands and feet; his face elongated, becoming full of sharp teeth. His eyes lost all semblance of the human he once was as a deep howl echoed through the large chamber. The werewolf's transformation was complete and it glared at me.

"That was sick..." I muttered, still deciding to use appraisal on the beast.

[Alpha Werewolf]

[A poor soul inflicted with the curse of Lycanthropy, now he commands this accursed power at will. Wolf-Variant]

"This is getting better and better." I said, a smile spreading across my face.

What was more exciting than facing a classic monster, present in so many myths and folklores that it was universally recognisable by almost any resident of Earth. My blood boiled as abyssal energy began to swirl around me. 

We stayed staring at each other until I striked first: 3 bolts of fire launched themselves at the beast and its charge began.

It dropped onto all fours like a beast, it easily avoided my attack and jumped up with its claw ready to cut into me. The claw was rejected as I jumped back with wind magic, a stone fist rising from the ground and crashing into the monster.

The wolf's attack easily crushed my feeble attempt but could do nothing as the shattered stone did not fall to the floor; instead it suffered under a barrage as the stones crashed into the monster. It fell backwards under the force of my attack and howled aggressively.

"HAHAHA!" My adrenaline ran high, I didn't even care that I was under the effects of Abyssal overdose, it only served to make my fight better.

My eyes flooded with abyssal energy as I watched the werewolf increase its speed, dodging each of the fire arrows I had used to take advantage of it being knocked to the ground. Nothing could hit it in this state, as it approached it seemed to be my loss before my body became clad in stone and the wolf howled in annoyance as its claws clashed with stone.

It raised yet another hand to continue an attack against my immobile body, but all the rocks that had previously guarded me now blasted outward, right into the werewolf's stomach and knocked it away again. With the distance I needed now granted I could make use of my magic more efficiently, blades of almost imperceptible wind struck the wolf as blood fell from its body. I could hear Abby's voice, muffled as it was, through the attacks.

All my senses were focused on the fight, I felt better than I had ever felt before. My body burned with power and attack after attack flew towards the monster, bombarding it with magical fire and earth as it attempted and failed to rush at me.

I was like a one-man army, blasting through a tiny village of rebels and destroying everything in my path, right up until my head was hit with agonising pain.

The room began to spin and I couldn't defend against the werewolf's attack as down my chest a large claw-shaped wound opened up. That was going to leave yet another scar.

What the hell was happening to me, I was fine just a moment ago and now I can barely think from the pain.

I was thrown across the room by an attack, feeling my ribs crack against the stone despite my strengthened body. Gripped the pillar behind me and activated my earth magic, transforming the terrain to launch a barrage against the enemy I could barely even see anymore. As I did, that rush hit me again, the joy I felt when fighting.

"Ha... HA... AHAHAH!" Nothing could stop me as the pillar I rested again slowly dwindled into nothing. My heart was beating so fast it felt as though it would blast out from my chest at any moment.

Then, from the corner of my eye I saw something extend from my arm. I had not done this, nor could I really focus on it, but a tentacle extended up above me and cast a shadow over me with some kind of carapace of a bug I had fought, I don't even remember.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed more as I felt stones crash onto the carapace, as these rocks touched I turned them into attacks too. I couldn't even tell what was happening anymore. One side of my vision was gone, I could feel blood running down my face like crazy and the other side of my vision was beginning to dim as well.

"*Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough*" My laughing was interrupted as I wheezed and black gunk flew from my mouth, covering the floor in front of me. I could barely see anything as I lifted off the floor and began moving at incredible speeds.

I felt something running down my throat, liquid of some kind and my eyesight began to clear up and the wounds on my chest became less painful. I don't remember anything after that, I think I may have fallen asleep because I soon found myself shooting up, laying along the floor in the waiting room before the 20th floor.

I was breathing heavily and could feel that my heart was beating far too fast. I immediately fell to the floor again.

I woke up again later, racked in pain. My body was suffering intense aches and pains all over it, especially my chest and face.

"Aargh. What the hell happened." My memories after seeing the werewolf were a bit hazy.

"You used too much abyssal energy idiot." Abby yelled at me, "You almost died."

"If I hadn't taken control you would have bled out. What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

Her voice quivered as she yelled at me, my ears rang. I got up and began meditating, fixing my body and allowing the pains to subside slightly. The entire time listening to Abby yell at me for being reckless and not controlling my powers properly.

"You already know what happens when you use too much energy!" Her lecture continued as I just sat and listened, realising that I had messed up, "Why did you let your emotions get the better of you?"

"I... Was excited..." I muttered. Fighting a werewolf with magic was apparently too much for me.

"That isn't a good enough reason to almost kill yourself idiot."

Sentiments like that considered for about 3 hours as Abby yelled at me for being so reckless. The way I was fighting wouldn't have even helped me improve my magic, all I was doing after a certain point was launching a lot of weak attacks of the earth and fire elements.

I felt my body recovering and Abby's lecture came to an end. I decided to challenge the werewolf again. Abby told me I should wait a little longer, worried I wouldn't be able to control myself again, ending up with my death. But I was fine, I knew what I had done wrong and wouldn't resort to the same things, I would actually fight using magic, not just use it as a tool.

I walked into the floor once again, as if it had reset the wolf was sitting in the exact same position, once again a man. I stepped into the 20th floor and his head raised, the transformations began and soon, so did the fight.

"Remember." I muttered to myself, preparing to face the wolf, "Innovate."

A smile broke across my face, I was excited but not in the same self destructive way as before. I had goals, reasons for existing; and all of these things drove me. But I began finding reasons for existing beyond revenge: This world was fun, and I planned on taking advantage of that.

It charged at me, a straightforward approach as it intended to close the distance. My hand was outstretched as wind began swirling around it, a tornado forming at my palm. 

The wolf struggled to press forward, its claws digging into the ground below it; pulling itself toward me. 

I smiled, the wolf was simple. I was going to take advantage of that:

Right at my palm, the eye of the storm. 3 sparks of fire were lit. Even the foolish wolf knew what was about to happen, it tried to escape but fire was much quicker than it was; the tornado of harmless air soon became unbearably hot, the wolf screeching in pain as it bathed in flames. The human intelligence tried to push it through the flames to safety but the bestial instinct could not overcome its natural fears. What was left was a much more torturous experience for the boss, it forced itself into a limbo of suffering, always in the direct path of fire, but unable to pass through. Man and wolf, fighting for control.

I felt my adrenaline building, the fire condensed. The tortuous indecisiveness ended as all the fire swirled into a ball, trapping the boss inside. Now its agony was the cause of another. 

"More air." I said, controlling myself the best I could. As I willed it, wind energy gathered around the fire-prison and the heat intensified. I felt something within my soul cracking as the heat continued to grow and grow beyond  what normal fire could ever be.

Then in a burst of energy, the fire changed: From orange the fire became blue and the barrier within me blasted open, pushing my ability so much higher.

"AWOOOOO!" As the blue fire raged on, the wolf managed to overcome itself, blasting the cage away. It glared at me with eyes full of hate, growing even larger.

I displayed a crooked smile, my body glistening in sweat from exerting myself. The burnt fur of the wolf was clear as day, its flesh was in a horrid state and even in its second phase I could recognise the suffering it was in.

My [Quad Mage] talent had increased: (3/4), I smiled and beckoned the wolf to attack cockily.

Enraged at having suffered and at my attitude it obliged. I ran forward to meet it, my speed increased with wind magic, my fist coated in rocks.

We met each other and the wolf fell backwards. My strength was no longer something it could face, stone coated troll arms were clearly too much for the werewolf. Punch after punch fell onto the beast until it was nothing more than a whimpering dog, desperately nipping at me as stone crashed into its face, one attack after the other, pushing it closer to death.

"You can't die yet." I said, crouching down while standing on its enlarged body. My heart was racing but my head was clear, I knew how to control myself while taking advantage of this battle crazed state.  I gained the boosted ability from the pumping blood full of adrenaline but my mind was clear and stable. I could see everything and it grounded me, the movements of magic were beautiful and with it I could remain myself.

The rocks dispersed, turning back into energy, brown lights of power danced around me. I moved my hand and gripped the beast's maw, absorbing its power.

[Alpha Lycanthropy (0/5)]

[Transform into a half-man half <Wolf> Creature, without the need for a full moon. In beast form strength, speed, senses and regeneration gain an extreme increase. You must command the will of the <Wolf> or it shall control you]

"I suppose the wolf controls you then." I said, looking down at the monster disdainfully. My mind was becoming slightly foggy. I suppose this state had its time limit, though it was amazing while it lasted.

From the ground behind me a monstrous construct began to form, even the defeated wolf felt greater fear than it had up until now as a magnificent fist of pure stone took shape.

In its final moments the wolf tried to fight back, but it was meaningless; the life of my foe was squashed as the fist fell and crushed the beast. It died and I lived, gaining even more power as my magic talent once again raised to its maximum limit.

I had won and I hadn't even taken a single hit.

THIS... This is what it means to fight with magic. 

I could see why so many dedicated themselves to the arcane arts, it was truly magnificent. The way energy collided, vibrated and danced around me was like a beautiful lightshow, nothing in either of the worlds I had lived on until now could match its beauty, not even the starry sky above the abyss could match the movement of energy.

It was transcendental, the only thing I could properly remember from when my body was collapsing in my overdose. A transcendental oscillation of power; greater than the sights of celestial bodies beginning and ending, I doubted anything could ever depose it from the seat of wonder within my mind.

I began to wonder what would happen after my revenge, for the first time I considered living my life. Magic had opened my eyes, its graceful movement was beyond me and I loved it. 

"I suppose I'll figure my life out after that." I finally spoke, sitting upon the corpse of the werewolf, taking deep breaths to stabilise and clear my mind.

"The power of the abyss is vast and wide, nothing will be out of your grasp when it is yours." Abby said, "Your rate of growth has amazed me, I'm sure once you have achieved your desires your life will continue to be full of joy."

I smiled and began looking over what I had gotten from the battle. The wolf drops amounted to 3 things: its mana stone, a key and a black book with the image of a man and wolf back-to-back.

[21st Floor Key]

[Opens the door to the 21st floor waiting room. Necessary to open both the 21st and 100th floor]

"Another key, wonder if there'll be one every 10 floors." I said, looking it over. It was different from the 10th floor’s key.

The knight dropped a red key, while this was black. On both, the floor number I had gotten them on was etched into the metal, if that was what it was, I couldn't be sure. It was interesting.

[WereBeastiary]

[An encyclopaedia detailing the known species of werebeasts. From armadillo to zebras, this book documents it all]

I made a weird face at the description. I probably wasn't going to read this but it was interesting to see all the types of werebeasts.

As I walked towards the treasure chest my new talent was fused into shapeshifting, now I gained a significant boost in physical ability when I shapeshifted into any of my beast type forms; which was most of them.

I took the 3 items from my chest and made my way towards the exit, leaving the floor quickly with:

[MoonStone Ring]

[Increases the power of any dark aligned ability of the user]

[Wolf Gauntlets]

[Powerful CQC weapons with deadly claws to rip your enemies to shreds]

And the most interesting of the loot:

[Parasitic Goo]

[A creature in the form of black goo. Latches onto host and drains them of energy, host never knows its threat as it offers great power]

"This dungeon is getting more and more exciting."