Chapter 81: The Abyssal Farm

The A-Rank Chokepoint Grid looked like a sci-fi military checkpoint slammed into the middle of a fantasy dungeon.

At the bottom of the two-mile Hollow Drop, massive steel barricades blocked off the tunnels leading deeper into the Abyssal realm. Heavy mana-turrets hummed with blue energy, tracking anything that moved in the dark. A thick, glowing energy shield separated the safe zone from the hostile deep floors.

Donald stood behind the translucent blue shield, holding a mug of black coffee. He wore his usual dark tactical jacket and the gold mask. Nyx was asleep on his shoulder.

He tapped the holographic interface hovering in front of him.

[Automated Golem Miners: Yield +12,000 Credits (Last Hour)]

The passive income from the upper floors was steady. But Donald wasn’t here to watch the golems mine iron ore. He was here to watch his investments grow.

He looked through the blue energy shield. Fifty yards out into the dark cavern, the farming rotation was in full swing.

A squad of six Level 60 Abyssal Knights—hulking demons with four arms and thick bone armor—were currently having a very bad morning.

“Group them up, Evie!” Sylvia’s voice rang out.

“Coming right up!” Evelyn shouted back cheerfully.

The S-Rank Valkyrie didn’t even draw her silver sword. She just rushed forward, her black hair whipping behind her. The lead Abyssal Knight roared, swinging two heavy bone-axes at her head.

Evelyn casually ducked under the swing. She planted her boot into the demon’s knee, snapping the joint with a sickening crunch. As the giant fell forward, Evelyn grabbed it by its thick horns and threw it backward into three of its squadmates. The demons crashed together in a heavy pile of limbs and bone armor.

“Flashbang!” Evelyn yelled.

She flared her massive sapphire-and-gold wings. A blinding burst of holy light lit up the dark cavern like a second sun.

The Abyssal Knights shrieked, dropping their weapons to cover their burning eyes. But the intense burst of light also did exactly what Sylvia needed—it cast deep, sharp shadows directly behind the blinded demons.

Sylvia didn’t run across the floor. She simply stepped into her own shadow.

A split-second later, she rose flawlessly from the dark shadow cast right behind the pile of demons. The A-Rank assassin moved like water. Her new B-Rank tungsten daggers flashed in the fading holy light.

Slash. Stab. Pivot.

She didn’t waste energy trying to chop through their thick bone armor. She targeted the exact spots Garrick’s anatomy charts had highlighted: the back of the knees, the exposed neck joints, the armpits.

In less than three seconds, four Level 60 demons hit the floor, their spinal cords perfectly severed.

[Party Member ‘Sylvia’ has slain Abyssal Knight (Level 60).]

[Party Member ‘Sylvia’ has slain Abyssal Knight (Level 60).]

[Experience Share Active.]

The two remaining demons snapped out of their blindness. One of them charged at Sylvia from the side, a heavy mace raised high.

Before Sylvia could even turn, a blur of shadowy wings shot past her head.

Nyx didn’t attack to kill. The black cat flew straight into the charging demon’s chest and phased out its back, letting out a sharp purr.

The demon stumbled, its massive muscles suddenly seizing up as if it had hit an invisible wall.

[Familiar (Nyx) engaged target: Abyssal Knight (Level 60).]

[Skill Triggered: Phantasmal Siphon.]

[Nyx has stolen: +15 Strength, +12 Speed.]

[Transferring stats to Investor…]

Behind the energy shield, Donald suddenly gasped. He nearly crushed his coffee mug as a violent surge of physical power hijacked his Level 22 baseline. His muscles bulged under his jacket, humming with stolen Level 60 density.

“Nyx,” Donald grunted, carefully setting the coffee mug down so he didn’t accidentally turn it to dust. “I’m on the bench today. Give the buffs to the field team.”

The cat fluttered back over the energy shield, landing on Donald’s temporarily massive shoulder, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Out in the cavern, Sylvia didn’t waste the opening Nyx had created. She spun around, driving both tungsten daggers directly into the paralyzed demon’s eyes. It dropped dead instantly.

Evelyn walked up to the final demon. She finally drew the Bloodhound’s Fang, letting a tiny spark of holy fire run down the blade, and cleanly took its head off in one smooth swing.

The cavern fell quiet, save for the hum of the Chokepoint turrets.

“Clear!” Evelyn called out.

Donald pressed a button on a small remote, dropping a section of the energy shield so they could walk back into the safe zone.

Sylvia walked in first. She was breathing hard, wiping dark demon blood off her daggers with a cloth. Despite the sweat on her forehead, her violet eyes were bright and focused. She looked healthier than she had in months.

“Good clear time,” Donald noted, looking at his timer. “One minute and twelve seconds for a Level 60 squad. Your synergy is getting better.”

“It’s easy when Evelyn just tanks everything and hands me the kill shots,” Sylvia smiled slightly, sheathing her blades. “I’m getting the lion’s share of the experience points.”

“That’s the point,” Evelyn laughed, stepping through the shield and stretching her arms over her head. “I’m Level 60. I need to kill a boss to see the needle move on my XP bar. You’re Level 48. If we feed you the final blows, you’ll hit Level 50 by the end of the week. Then you unlock your A-Rank Awakening skill.”

Donald nodded in agreement. The System naturally slowed down level progression as people got stronger. By having an S-Rank powerhouse like Evelyn weaken the high-level mobs, Sylvia could execute them and soak up massive amounts of raw experience.

“How is Leo doing?” Donald asked, crossing his arms as the stolen stats slowly faded from his system.

“He’s asleep,” Sylvia said, a soft, genuine warmth entering her voice. “He actually ate a full breakfast this morning without throwing up. The ambient mana in the Guild is helping his body recover from the suppression field.”

She looked directly at Donald. “Thank you. Again.”

“Keep killing demons like that, and we’re even,” Donald replied simply.

He looked past them, his golden [Valuation Eye] scanning the deep, dark tunnels stretching beyond the Chokepoint Grid. The farming was going well, but the Abyssal army wouldn’t just sit back forever while TIG slaughtered their front-line squads.

Suddenly, the A-Rank mana-turrets above them whined loudly, swiveling on their mounts. The blue targeting lasers cut through the dark, locking onto a massive, shadowy tunnel half a mile out.

Donald’s interface flashed red.

[WARNING: High-Density Mana Signature Approaching.]

[Target: Abyssal Sub-Commander (Level 70)]

“Looks like management finally noticed the missing inventory,” Donald said. He tapped the remote, bringing the energy shield back up to full strength.

Evelyn grinned, her blue eyes flashing with excitement. She cracked her knuckles, and a wave of heat rolled off her shoulders. “Finally. Something that can actually take a punch.”

“Sylvia,” Donald ordered, stepping back to the control console. “Take the flanks. Evie, hold the center. Let’s see how this grid handles a heavy assault.”