Chapter 67 – Stepping into the Abyss

The preparations required to enter the Abyss were actually not complicated, mainly consisting of some sleep-inducing and hallucinogenic potions. These low-level potions were quite effective against minor demons. Since Punk was a neutral being and most of the spells he cast carried a neutral “concept,” he planned to use as few spells as possible in the Abyss to avoid attracting the attention of magic-sensitive demons.

Punk prepared five or six bottles of sleep potions. These highly volatile hypnotic agents could cause most creatures who accidentally inhaled them to collapse into a deep slumber—the kind of sleep where even a stab wound might not wake them. In addition, he packed about a dozen bottles of paralysis potions and five or six containers of suffocation powder. Truth be told, none of these potions were as lethal to demons as pure positive energy. However, on one hand, Punk intended to capture some demons alive, and on the other, using positive energy in the Abyss was far too risky.

Finally, he inspected his Mage Robe. At this point, the robe’s assistance to Punk was negligible. After returning from this trip to the Abyss, he planned to acquire a new Formal-Level Mage Robe—at the very least, to avoid looking too shabby.

He cast a layer of “Protection from Evil” on himself. In truth, for added safety, he should have also layered on “Protection from Chaos.” These conceptual defensive spells sometimes yielded unexpected effects, and most of them even possessed a degree of offensive capability, making them excellent tools against enemies of different alignments!

But “Protection from Chaos” was unlikely to appear on Punk. Just ten minutes earlier, while practicing the spell on himself, he discovered that he seemed to belong to the chaotic alignment. The moment “Protection from Chaos” was cast, it began to retaliate against Punk himself. If not for the Mage Armor he always maintained on his person, he would have been injured by his own spell!

Punk was stunned for a moment back then. He had always believed that, although he was a bit lawless (a bit?), and although he pursued profit in his actions (a bit?), deep down, he still belonged to the Lawful alignment. Now it appeared that true unrestrained freedom existed within the depths of his heart!

However, Punk didn’t pay much mind to the alignment issue. Chaos had its advantages, fully demonstrating that those tedious rules and regulations couldn’t shackle his spirit.

The only downside was that this trip to the Abyss would lack some defenses… Ah, well! A little less defense wouldn’t make much of a difference.

A minor setback wasn’t enough to shake Punk’s resolve. He proceeded as planned, filling the pockets of his Mage Robe with potions. Then, he took out a small Tainted Gem, brimming with resentment and malice, and walked to the center of the hall. There, an intricate magic circle infused with vast amounts of negative energy had already been drawn.

Punk stood at the edge of the circle, controlling the Tainted Gem to hover above his palm. He began to chant in a low, fragmented voice, the tones eerie and sharp. As the incantation progressed, strands of negative emotions—grudges, hatred, and the like—sealed within the gem drifted out one by one, converging at the center of the magic circle, which flickered with dark red light.After waiting a full fifteen seconds, the gem in Punk’s hand turned into grayish-brown powder that scattered with the wind. A small point of light appeared at the center of the magic circle, and as it slowly expanded, a foul, decaying smell of blood filled the entire White Tower. Large patches of crimson stains dyed the hall’s floor red, while chaotic, frenzied energy transformed the air into a raging storm that left corrosive, scorching marks on the surrounding ground. The Abyssal portal had opened!

The difficulty of opening the portal was actually not high for Punk. Moreover, due to the absolute chaotic nature of the Abyss, any portal leading to it required no planar review—one could open it freely. In fact, if you had the intention to open a portal, the Abyss would deliberately weaken the planar barrier at that location to give you a green light. The Abyss welcomed visitors with any purpose to reside there permanently.

According to the rules, mages were not allowed to open portals near cities. Although, due to the dimensional restrictions of the Faerûn Plane, mages without special means couldn’t keep a portal open for long, and the portal could only allow beings with strength similar to the opener to pass through, with strict limits on numbers and size, opening a portal recklessly was still highly dangerous. For ordinary people, evil and chaotic demons were nothing but senseless killing maniacs; even one escaping could cause a massive disaster. But Punk clearly didn’t care about these “insignificant” “trivial matters.”

Punk took one last glance at the time, reminding the System to alert him when the time was up. With his current strength, even after consuming half his mana to open the portal, it could last at most three hours. If he didn’t return in time…

The absurdly tight planar barrier of Faerûn would give even a Legendary Mage a headache…

Annoyed, he waved his hand, trying to dispel the putrid, bloody stench in the air as much as possible. Punk patted the potions in his Mage Robe pocket, confirming he hadn’t forgotten anything, before finally stepping into the portal.

Generally, mages would send servants or summoned creatures through first to test if there were any ambushes on the other side. But with a portal to the Abyss, such precautions were unnecessary. If there were demons nearby, those “hot-tempered” beings would have charged over to attack already. Since no demons appeared immediately through the portal, it proved the area he was heading to was free of demons in the vicinity.

Deep down, Punk actually hoped some demons would come out on their own. On one hand, it would be much easier if monsters delivered themselves without him having to venture into the Abyss to capture them. On the other hand, if a group of Formal-Level demons emerged, he could just turn and run, leaving the mess behind and saving himself the trouble.

“But it seems I’ll have to rely on myself for a well-fed life.”

Feeling the weightlessness of the teleportation process, Punk muttered calmly to himself.

The first layer of the Abyss is known as the Abyssal Wastelands!The Abyssal Wastelands (Plain of Infinite Portals) form the uppermost layer of the countless realms within the Abyss. This desolate land is barren and uninhabited, devoid of vegetation, blanketed in thick dust. The entire expanse is perpetually scorched beneath a blood-crimson sun. The dusty plains are interspersed with three types of terrain: massive fissures in the ground, corpse mounds left behind by deceased greater demons that perpetually seep bloody dust, and the foul, putrid River Styx.

These enormous fissures on the top layer serve as gateways to deeper realms. Descending through specific rifts, travelers can quickly reach connected planes—though leaping recklessly into a fissure leading to an unknown layer of the Abyss is extremely perilous.

Most fissures are bidirectional portals, but some are one-way passages. These “paths of no return” strand unfortunate travelers trapped in newfound layers.

One final note: the Abyss is infinite. While 666 layers are known to exist, far more terrifying depths remain undiscovered.

Now, upon this ancient, blood-soaked land, beneath the blazing crimson sun, a young mage has silently set foot!

(End of Chapter)