Chapter 150: A new challenge on the horizon

"This is getting interesting."

That conclusion could easily have ended the discussion.

It didn’t.

For a long while longer, the conversations continued to intertwine.

Vespera and Elaria returned several times to the initial experiments they would have to conduct.

Isadora was already thinking about which villages could host the first prototypes of the emergency network.

Shiora had retrieved a sheet of paper and was gradually covering it with notes whose contents Adam preferred not to know.

Every time he glanced in her direction, he saw words like:

price, subscription, market, distribution, or even Stock Exchange.

Adam simply gave up.

He finished his coffee.

Then he slumped back in his seat.

The conversation had been fascinating.

But they had already talked enough about the Network for one day.

And above all...

Another event was approaching.

Adam put down his cup.

"Okay."

The change in tone gradually drew attention.

Vespera looked up from her book.

Elaria did too.

Shiora finally put down her pencil.

"We’re going to have to talk about something else."

Selene raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Adam replied simply:

"The Black Abyss."

This time, several expressions changed.

Elena sat up straight immediately.

Lyriana stopped playing with her cup.

Selene smiled slightly.

Adam noticed.

"Don’t start."

"I haven’t said anything yet."

"Your face is enough."

Selene didn’t even try to deny it.

Isadora, on the other hand, immediately adopted a more serious expression.

"Departure is indeed approaching." "

Adam nodded.

They had put off the subject during the journey to Sylvaris.

But now that the Technology Fragment had been recovered and the Permanent Gate was functional...

It was time to decide exactly who would participate in the expedition.

Adam looked around.

"So... who’s coming?"

Silence.

Then several voices began almost simultaneously.

Adam immediately raised a hand.

"One at a time."

Selene folded her arms.

"Me."

Adam looked at her.

"Areas?"

"I have several."

"I’m listening."

Selene put down her cup.

"First, I currently have no responsibilities that require my permanent presence in Valoria."

Isadora nodded slightly.

Selene continued:

"The Adventurers’ Guild can function without me for a few weeks."

"Important training can be entrusted to my lieutenants."

Then she looked at Adam.

"And most importantly..."

Her smile returned.

"You’re going into a dungeon that no one here considers ordinary."

Adam sighed.

"I knew it would happen."

"You’ve gained forty-three levels in just a few days."

"Forty-three since I was level three, yes."

"Exactly."

She pointed a finger at him.

"And your first reaction when you see something dangerous is usually to wonder if you can fight it."

Adam opened his mouth.

Then hesitated.

"That’s not always true."

Lyriana replied immediately:

"Often."

Elena nodded.

"Very often." "

Elaria added:

"Statistically, enough to become worrisome."

Adam looked at them one after the other.

"You’ve organized yourselves against me?"

Selene smiled.

"No. We know you."

She concluded:

"So I’m coming."

Adam thought for a few seconds.

He couldn’t really dispute her usefulness.

Selene was probably one of the best fighters in the group.

And unlike Vespera or Elaria...

She wasn’t essential to the initial research on the Network.

"Okay."

Selene nodded, satisfied.

Then Adam looked at the others.

Astraea calmly raised a hand.

Adam blinked.

"You?"

"Yes."

Lyriana immediately looked at her mother.

"Can you leave the World Tree for that long?"

Astraea smiled.

"Now, yes."

She gestured toward the Permanent Gate.

"Before, being away for several weeks would have been extremely complicated."

"If something happened here, returning quickly would have been impossible."

Then her gaze shifted to Elaria.

"Now, the situation is different."

Elaria nodded.

Astraea continued:

"As long as Elaria remains available to Sylvaris, she can handle the obligations that require a Guardian’s presence."

Elaria considered this.

"With the Permanent Gate, I can also travel from Valoria to the World Tree in minutes."

Adam understood.

Even though Elaria primarily worked on the Network...

She remained one gate away from Sylvaris.

Astraea continued:

"And if something absolutely requiring my presence occurs..."

She gestured toward the Gate again.

"I can return almost immediately from Valoria, as long as we haven’t left yet."

Adam corrected him:

"Once we’re in the dungeon, it will be different."

"Obviously."

Astraea nodded.

"But I can prepare my absence properly this time."

Elena asked:

"And why do you want to come?"

Astraea looked first at her daughter.

Then at Elena.

A smile appeared.

"Both of you."

Lyriana blinked.

"Us?"

"Yes."

She indicated Elena.

Then Lyriana.

"If you both enter the Black Abyss, I’d rather be there."

Lyriana sighed.

"Mother..."

"You can protest all you want."

Astraea kept smiling.

"It won’t change anything."

Adam looked at Selene.

Then at Astraea.

"So one of them is coming to keep an eye on me..."

Selene nodded.

"Exactly."

Adam looked at Astraea.

"And the other to keep an eye on Elena and Lyriana."

Astraea smiled.

"You learn quickly."

Elena sighed.

Lyriana lightly rubbed her forehead.

Adam burst out laughing.

"Perfect. Nobody trusts anybody. Excellent start to the expedition."

Isadora interjected:

"It’s still a reasonable composition."

Adam turned to her.

"Aren’t you coming?"

The duchess shook her head.

"Impossible."

She gestured toward the books shelved by the Chamber.

"We have literally just discovered a technology that could profoundly alter the way the kingdom functions."

"I need to organize the permits, the initial test sites, and the necessary resources for the emergency network."

Shiora raised a finger.

"And of course, the supplies."

Isadora nodded.

"Exactly."

She looked at Shiora.

"And she has to stay too."

Shiora looked almost offended.

"I hadn’t even offered to come yet."

Adam smiled.

"Because you’ve already figured out there’s more money here than in the dungeon."

Shiora remained silent.

Then:

"That’s a particularly vulgar way to put it."

"But is it true?"

"...Yes."

A few laughs erupted.

Shiora continued:

"I have to establish the supply chains for the necessary metals and crystals."

"Study the costs of the initial relays."

"Organize contacts with the guilds."

"And begin to determine which parts of this technology can be developed publicly without exposing the rest of the project."

Adam nodded.

"So you’re staying too."

"For now."

He turned to Vespera.

Before he could even speak...

"No."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"You refuse to come?"

"I refuse to waste a week of research when we’ve just discovered twelve unknown runes."

Adam smiled.

"I knew I could count on you."

Vespera patted the book still resting on her lap.

"I need to replicate the simplest structures."

"Identify their function."

"Test their stability."

"Compare the Earth, Wind, and Water systems."

"And start studying their compatibility with the runic calculator."

She paused.

"I have absolutely no reason to go into a dungeon during this time."

Selene smiled.

"You’re becoming reasonable."

Vespera looked at her.

"I just want to do something more interesting."

Selene sighed.

"I spoke too soon."

Well...

Adam looked at Elaria.

"And you, I already know the answer."

"I’ll stay."

She replied without hesitation.

"The unknown alloys alone represent several months of potential research."

She raised a finger.

"And Vespera will need someone capable of translating her runic results into physical devices."

Second finger.

"I also need to remain available for the World Tree while Astraea is away."

Third finger.

"And the laboratory beneath the manor has just been completed."

Adam nodded.

"Argument accepted."

He looked around at the group.

The final lineup was becoming clear.

Adam.

Elena.

Lyriana.

Selene.

Astraea.

The other four would remain primarily focused on the project.

Isadora for territorial organization.

Shiora for resources and logistics.

Vespera for runes.

Elaria for materials, circuits, and liaison with Sylvaris.

Adam smiled.

"Very well. That seems balanced."

Selene replied:

"As long as you don’t go off on your own."

"I don’t do that."

Lyriana looked at him.

Adam sighed.

"Okay. Not anymore."

A question then occurred to him.

A surprisingly simple question.

"By the way..."

Everyone looked at him.

"Where exactly is the Black Abyss?"

Silence.

Adam raised his hands.

"What?"

Elena blinked.

"You want to go into a dungeon without knowing where it is?"

"I knew roughly where it was."

"Roughly?"

"On this continent."

Selene burst out laughing.

Adam looked at her.

"Would you like to answer instead of laughing?"

"Very well."

She put down her cup.

"The Black Abyss is to the south."

Adam listened.

"Between the Sylvaris region and the Kingdom of Aurelis."

She considered the best way to explain.

"More precisely, on a mountain near the coast."

"About a kilometer from the shore."

Adam frowned.

"A mountain... in the sea?"

"Yes."

"And how do we get there?"

Selene replied:

"The usual route is to first go to Aurelia."

The capital.

"Then we take a boat to the mountain."

Adam did the math in his head.

"From Valoria?"

"About a week’s journey in total, if all goes well."

Adam remained silent.

Then something bothered him.

"Wait."

He looked at Elaria.

"You’ve told me several times that the Black Abyss is part of the continent."

"Yes."

Adam pointed vaguely south.

"But you just told me that its mountain is in the sea."

Elaria smiled.

"Both are true." "

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"I sense a strange geographical explanation coming."

"Once every ten years..."

Elaria put down her cup.

"The sea recedes enormously in this area."

Adam remained silent.

"How much?"

"Enough to expose the entire seabed between the coast and the mountain."

Adam blinked.

"The whole kilometer?"

"Yes."

Elaria continued:

"During this period, you can reach the mountain on foot from the mainland."

"The submerged area is geologically part of the same continental landmass."

"It’s simply covered by the sea most of the time."

Adam gradually understood.

"So it’s not actually an island in the geological sense."

"Exactly."

Astraea added:

"Old maps often depict this region as an extension of the coastline."

Adam nodded slowly.

"Okay."

He pictured the situation.

A mountain close to the shore.

A strip of land almost permanently submerged.

And every ten years...

The sea receded enough to reveal the passage.

"And now?"

Selene replied:

"The tide is still high."

"So, a boat."

"Exactly."

Adam nodded.

"Now it makes sense." "

He was still thinking about the route.

A week.

A stopover in Aurélia.

Then sailing.

It would also be his first real visit to the capital.

"It’s likely to be interesting."

Elena smiled slightly.

"You often say that before something complicated happens."

Adam thought for a moment.

"Unfortunately, it’s true."