Chapter 313 - 78: The Price

The gemstone had separated the Celestial Wing Knight Order from the base, but its effect hadn’t vanished. It hung in the sky, shining down on the area like a sun.

Around the gemstone, black holes remained, gathering Light Energy from other regions and funneling it into the gem to sustain its existence.

Before long, the glaciers here would melt a bit, revealing the land underneath and allowing the local natives to live a better life.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Duan Fei found that this was actually quite tiring.

Still, Duan Fei was rather surprised that Light Mage and Mage abilities could be combined in such a way—that two such extreme powers could create a sun.

’Did the game actually account for this scenario? Or does *Abyss* use a special algorithm that can generate a logical solution even for unexpected outcomes like this?’

After thinking for a moment, Duan Fei realized that the questions surrounding *Abyss* were only piling up.

Eight Desolates, on the other hand, gazed at the gemstone overhead, lost in thought.

He strongly suspected Duan Fei had just copied his Profession, but he had never imagined his own Profession could achieve such an effect.

He had always used light as a weapon, but now it seemed his prior understanding of Light Energy had been far too superficial.

Now that the Celestial Wing Knight Order was cut off and unable to attack them for the time being, the next step was to explore the cave.

Duan Fei had thought he would have to persuade the old native, but to his surprise, the man approached him first.

In front of Duan Fei, the old native performed a peculiar dance. After letting out a strange cry, he stared at Duan Fei with a look of expectation.

However, since no one understood what the man was doing, the situation became a little awkward.

Fortunately, a language expert in the livestream chat was online and quickly provided a translation: "He’s saying, ’The Savior of legend has finally arrived. He hopes that you can save this world.’"

Duan Fei glanced at his title, where [Savior] was shining brilliantly.

’You’re a good judge of character, old man.’

He hadn’t expected his act of creating a sun to have this side effect. The resulting chain reaction had caused the old native to acknowledge them and permit them to proceed downward.

Duan Fei nodded, relayed the old native’s message to the others, and they all agreed.

Led by the old native, the group shouldered Qian Wulu’s body and prepared to begin exploring the cave.

But before they set off, Duan Fei went to the Divine Hall again, wanting to see what the god worshiped there looked like.

Contrary to what he had imagined, the deity here was a woman.

She had long, straight black hair. Her eyes were closed, and the smile on her lips was tranquil and elegant.

This statue was exceptionally detailed, a complete mismatch with the natives’ artistic style. It was a mystery why it was enshrined here.

Seeing Duan Fei staring at the statue, Jinghong narrowed her eyes and asked, "You like this type, huh?"

"Yeah. Don’t you think girls with long hair are serene?"

Jinghong silently thought about her own short hair, then calmly nodded.

After searching the last place that might contain any information, Duan Fei returned to the cave entrance and ventured into its depths with the other players.

He gestured outside, and a piece of the gemstone overhead split off. Answering Duan Fei’s summons, it flew over and landed on his shoulder.

Although it was only a tiny shard, the gem’s light was incredibly bright, instantly illuminating the dark cave and allowing everyone to see the path ahead.

Unlike the rough exterior, the inside of the cave was exceptionally smooth. The passage was so wide that eight large trucks could have driven through it abreast. It was hard to imagine who could have built such a massive structure.

The deeper they went, the quieter their surroundings became. Straight ahead, the tunnel stretched into a darkness so deep you couldn’t see its end, filling everyone with a sense of unease about the journey.

Luckily, they were all players. They had the Darts Guest’s pet pull their sled, and the group started browsing the forums, watching shows together, and munching on Black Mashed Potatoes as a snack.

However, while the other players were watching shows, Shadow God could only use the gloves he’d borrowed from Duan Fei to conjure a pair of hands and start catching up on his homework.

The life of a student was just that miserable.

It was especially miserable when he had to catch up on homework while the others were howling with laughter at a movie.

Finally, after Duan Fei and Jinghong had finished two romance movies, they arrived at the end of the path.

At the end of the path was a massive room.

The room was full of culture tanks surrounded by strange, painted symbols. Here, Alchemy and Magic combined, imbuing the area with some kind of special Power.

Moreover, thanks to his Mage and Magic Elixir Profession effects, Duan Fei instantly understood the purpose of the culture tanks.

When outsiders died in the Dungeon, their corpses were rapidly transferred to the culture tanks in this room.

Just as the natives’ legends said, their bodies would be fused with the traits of certain creatures, and then they would slowly shamble out of the Dungeon.

In the process, their memories were restructured. Their recollections of this place would slowly fade, and they would begin to challenge the Dungeon again as Adventurers fused with creatures. Then, they would be defeated by the Demon King and become one of the bosses.

’But... why?’

’Why would the Demon King do something so complicated?’

As Duan Fei was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of slime splatting on the ground.

The whole bio-factory-like place had been quiet and clean, the culture tanks perfectly silent, which only made the sound more jarring.

Looking toward the source of the sound, Duan Fei saw something gathering.

It was masses of different-colored fluids, large quantities of liquid converging and ultimately mixing into a massive creature: a Gargantuan Slime.

This thing looked like an amalgamation of a thousand Slimes. Its massive body was a murky mess from all the mixed colors, and an ominous aura emanated from it, making one feel nauseated.

The group immediately took formation. Shadow God charged forward first, his longsword infused with Magic Power, and instantly pierced the Gargantuan Slime’s body, slicing off a piece.

Afterward, Duan Fei’s gem fragment closed in, and its intense light and heat directly vaporized the severed piece, reducing it to a hide-like patch clinging to the ground.

Seeing that their opponent was actually quite easy to deal with, the group stopped hesitating. They all charged forward and quickly hacked the Slime to pieces.

"This floor’s boss is a bit simple," Eight Desolates said smugly. "Or have we just gotten too strong?"

"Eight Desolates, you sound like a cannon fodder mob with a line like that," Duan Fei said, exasperated. "Can you not jinx us at a time like this?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? When it’s time to flex, you flex."

SPLAT~

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT~

A sound like falling raindrops echoed as countless viscous liquids dropped from the ceiling, transforming into numerous Colossal Slimes the moment they hit the floor.

Looking at Eight Desolates, Duan Fei said with a sigh, "See? This is the price you pay."