Mage of the Abyss: Siola Mithra

Chapter 36 - Depth of an Abyss

Slapping me to the sandy ground, "Nuhuh?!" I landed flat with my butt in the air.

*K-Kaawww*

The bird left with a fuming scalp.

There's no reason for me to tame it in my current condition, not that I have a tamed beast in my previous life as it poses quite an inconvenience for me to manage and raise.

Lifting my sight, I found an incredible view of a cracked landscape that shines a light on the place beneath it, "Huh, it blends in quite nicely. No wonder it's so hard to find."

Thanks to [Mana Vision], I managed to find this earlier than expected.

"I think I found the place, Ma'am," talking to the orb, but no response was given from the other side, "Should I just go in?"

"..."

'No,' taking a seat on the heated desert, "Just be a good girl and wait. Maybe she's occupied with something right now. Hell, is this book really that important to her?"

'For all I know, she might just be looking for a reason to kill me.'

While waiting, I thought it's a good idea for me to take out some of the food and enjoy the scenery under the scorching light of the sun here in the middle of the desert. It's a bit terrible of an idea but I require snacks to enjoy this scene.

"Ruins, huh."

'The scenery reminds me of a dungeon. Back when I first started, I don't bother looking for one until those two introduced me to it.'

When I touch a game, I tend to dominate it. But Ekolia is different. Doing alchemy, being a team player, and doing charities to the NPC in need. I can't help but smile at how blissful it was.

A game is all about having fun, and that is what I hope I can cherish in this lifetime.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

My skin crawls as soon as the explosive sound rang behind me. I turned to look in shock to abruptly see an enormously large creature emerging from the sand. Hundreds of feet tall if it can even be measured as "tall", the creature that has emerged is an enormous worm full of sharp scales with its carapace hardening in black color.

"What. The. F—"

! {Hidden World Boss Encounter}

~ {Ignimulnir, Desert Slave | Lv. ???}

! {Appraisal}

~ {Ignimulnir / Level: 875 / Rock Eater / Health: 400.000 / Mana: 25.600 /Stamina: 100.000 / Attack: 2.500 / Defense: 5.500 / Innate Ability: [Grand Fire Resist] [Impenetrable] [Bolstered Drill] [Tempered Shell] [Puncturing Carapace]}

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

Crashing straight at me, my legs instinctively stretched out more than a V as the worm went inside the ground. It was long, so long that it felt like an eternity for it completely submerges.

*Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh*

"Awawawawawawawawawawawawawawwawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawa."

Quickly stood, I ran away as I yell, "MADAM REPLICA! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

I kept running as the creature emerged from the sand and spiraling at me, "PLEASE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Smashing right near me, "Nyuhuh?"

"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I thought the situation was pretty funny. How when I finally found the place I'm looking for only to be ambushed by a creature I cannot imagine defeating. At that moment, I thought for sure that Replica will come and get me or assist me in any way she can. I even hold on to the orb she entrusted to me like it's my fifth limb, but why she never came?

An hour or so has passed by and I'm too tired to go on any further. The worm's persistence to drill me into pieces, I don't find it funny. I'm conflicted. Should I go into the ruin or should I wait for another minute? I wasn't given much instruction so I don't know what to do. What is it that I should do? Should I just stop running?

Right, I have [Immortality], I thought. And it was then that I stopped moving.

*BWOOSH*

That gory sound of flesh decapitated in a quick flash. Half of my body was cut roughly. Half of my chest, half of my waist, half of my head. Yet, I feel no pain. This experience, it's different from the time when my health reaches 0.

This extreme discomfort.

My blood leaked out of my belly. My kidney missing, and my gut is sagging. I can even touch it, and there I see the deepest color of blood on my hand. How it dripped from the edge of my palm, it's the same scene as when I took a life for the first time.

***

Flashes of unsavory memories swept every attention away from her mind, it's at the time when she returns from a vending machine bringing a bag of food and drinks for her friends. The city streets are dark and lonely. Before taking a turn to an alley, she heard the voices of her friends.

"... Oughta ye..."

*Murmur*

"... Meh... Not Bad..."

Several cuts to their speech due to how far she is away from them. But then Siola heard something that made her eyes peel to the edge.

"... Cily... Uhuh..."

"... Recruit... and, to... We..."

Siola appeared from the shadows to bring that food to her friends with a smile on her face. But something doesn't feel right and the others notice it.

"Dola? You good?" asked Kurira.

"..." smiling still, "I think I'm gonna poop."

"Nuhuh?!" Rakuri was shocked to the very core, "Why did you hold it in till now?! Let's go, quick!"

"Bathroom's right there!"

"Awawawawa!"

Not long after that night. When the moon is at its highest, Siola came to her senses. She sees a young woman, with her eyes wide open. Scared and shocked, her neck showering blood. In Siola's hand is a kitchen knife, and on the young woman's body are thirteen stab wounds to her chest and fifteen slashes to her stomach. There is not a single wound inflicted on Siola.

All the nerves in her left hand suddenly disappear, letting her drop the knife she holds. But dripping from the edge of her palm is the deepest color of blood.

It's as though that scene is swallowed hole in the darkness when Siola stood in the middle of the desert with half of her upper body roughly torn, leading her to bleed to an extreme degree and even though her mind is nulled from the pain, her body experience it all.

The rock eater emerged once more to finish its job. Rotating as it swirls in a straight line toward Siola while she's standing still. But then, the rock eater phases through her. The parts of Siola that it pierced through turned to smoke just gushing out of her.

*BRMMMMMM*

The rock eater submerged into the sand, preparing for the next attack. The parts of Siola that have turned to smoke return to her. Slowly but surely, her torn body is healing. Restoring both her and her clothes. Her neck tilted as her heart formed anew, but its color is not that of blood, but a pitch-black goo. The hand she's staring at is raised to the heat of the sun. She let out a light gasp as she breathes.

{Luosa, Mage of the Abyss | Lv. 1}