CHAPTER 29: ALICE’S ABYSS V

(A/N Big thanks to

Talvin

Talvin_Shiji

For the power stones, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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-DETECTED HOST’S RESOLVE

-QUEST GENERATED

ENDURANCE:

Survive without food or water.

DURATION:

7/24 Hrs

REWARD:

+10 Endurance

+10 Vitality

ACCEPT/DENY?

Orion looked at the familiar panel, the prompt making his eyebrow twitch like it had a life of its own.

"You know, I really can’t help but feel you are doing this to somehow spite me. I literally had my hopes up for nothing," Orion said with a groan.

THAT IS A BASELESS ACCUSATION. YOU CAN SIMPLY DENY THE QUEST IF YOU FIND IT BENEATH YOU.

"Oh, please. You are saying that, knowing full well that I’ll accept," Orion said while rolling his eyes.

’Accept,’ He thought.

"The stat increase is nice and all, but it doesn’t really solve my problems. What’s next after the quest? I’m still going to die of hunger. It’d help if there was something at least remotely entertaining in this place, but no, it’s just dirt and more dirt," He said with a sigh, getting frustrated.

He raised his hand, pointing it at the moon as if trying to grab it.

’I wonder if that plotting old man is looking for me. Who am I kidding? This is probably all part of his plan,’ He chuckled.

’Well, let’s get some sleep, till next time on our journey in the abyss,’ He thought, amused.

{Next morning}

"Michael, Michael," Alice called out while tapping Michael’s sleeping figure beside her.

"Alice.." Michael called out with a groan.

"Get up, the sun’s up already, we should start early to cover more ground," She said, pulling the blankets off of him.

"Haaaa... It wasn’t a dream after all," Michael said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them.

"More like a nightmare," Alice said, helping him get up.

"Let’s eat and get moving before the sun’s at its highest. We’ll walk as far as possible before taking a two-hour break at noon." She reasoned.

They both carried out their activities before setting off, their conversation flowing as they tried to cope with their current situation and predicament.

At noon, they had their break before continuing, their determination unwavering.

"How’d you get to know the duke’s son?" Michael asked suddenly.

"Hmm, firstly, he’s not just the duke’s son; he has a name," She replied, pointedly.

"Right, how’d you get to know Orion?" He corrected.

"Well, he and the duke came for the wedding, we went on tour, and we sort of hit it off," She replied.

"Wait, so you never knew him before this. I thought you guys had known each other for a while; you acted really close." He said.

"Well, he’s nice to be around, I’m sure you and he would get along if we had more time," She said with a smile.

"Yeah, probably. We could become good friends like your dad and the duke," He said with a small smile.

"Huh, my dad and the duke aren’t exactly good friends," She replied with a wry grin.

"What, I thought for sure...that’s the reason he attended the wedding. I heard he was never a fan of outings like this." He said, perplexed.

"I’m not sure, my brother and father were also..." She trailed off, her mind settling on something disturbing.

"Hmmm, what’s that?" Michael asked, squinting and pointing at the horizon.

Alice turned towards where he pointed, keeping her unsettling conjecture at the back of her mind.

"I think it’s coming closer," Michael said, a nervous expression forming on his face.

"Seriously?" She asked, excited.

"Let’s get closer," She said, dragging him along.

"Aren’t you worried? Who knows who might be wandering around here in the middle of nowhere?" He asked with a frown.

"We are literally in the same situation, besides, I believe we planned to find other people," She replied, still dragging him forward.

"But still..." He said, uncertain.

"It’s shining," Alice said, squinting.

"Shining?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, it’s glittering," She replied.

"Is he bald?" He asked.

"Stop asking me, let’s get closer," She replied, quickening her pace.

The outline of the person started becoming clearer, and soon they could see signs of the person running towards them, much to Michael’s chagrin.

"Silver hair, I can see silver hair," Alice said, her pace increasing.

"Silver hair, a Chronos. It can’t be right," Michael said.

"Alice!!!"

They heard a shout from the person, and their doubts were cleared.

"Orion!!!" Alice shouted, her excitement bubbling over.

Then they saw him, his movements swift, far faster than they expected of someone their age.

Alice burst into a full sprint before jumping on him and embracing him like she had finally found her long-lost brother.

Orion hugged her back, both of them happy to be reunited after their less-than-nice experience the past few hours.

Orion turned to her back, where he saw Michael running towards them while panting.

They soon let go of each other, with Alice blushing and trying to regain her composure.

Orion looked at both of them, their faces worn from exertion. He had so many questions yet whenever any surfaced, his mind already formed the perfect response based on what had happened, except one, Food.

He knew how hungry he currently was, and that was with his current endurance and vitality, for both of them it’d be far worse, yet they didn’t seem hungry in the slightest, just tired.

"It’s nice to see you again, Alice, and you too, Michael, regardless of the circumstance," Orion said with a smile.

"Yeah, I thought we were the only ones who got transported here," Alice said with a sad smile bordering on relief.

"Considering you both weren’t the only ones at the wedding, I doubt that’d be possible," He replied, contemplative.

"Are you saying everyone else, too, was transported?" Michael asked.

’I doubt that too, I have a feeling I’m the reason they are here,’ He thought.

"Probably," He said aloud.

"So what do we do now?" Alice asked, turning to Orion.

Michael raised an eyebrow, ’I thought we already had a plan.’

"What we’ve all been doing: walk. I don’t think we have any choice for now." Orion replied with a sigh.

"Our original plan was to see if we could find any civilization around, but now that we know we might not be the only ones transported, we can try to find the adults," Alice reasoned.

"Yeah, the Marquis and the duke might be close by," Michael said, his optimism shining through.

’I highly doubt that, that attack was definitely against the Ivory family, Father probably knew something like this was going to happen, that’s why he brought me, but I can’t tell that to Alice now,’ He thought, looking at her.

"Right, our only issue now is food and water," Orion said, curious to know how they’d managed till now.

"I have a storage ring full of that," Michael said.

"Seriously?" Orion asked, excited.

"Yes, though now that we’re three, it won’t last as long as we planned," Michael said with a frown.

"How much?" Orion asked.

"Enough to last us three, about a month and a half," He replied.

Orion looked at him, perplexed.

"You carry that much food with you all the time?" Orion asked, amazed.

He’d never seen a storage ring before; it reminded him of how little he knew about this world still.

"Well, we have my mom to thank for that," Michael replied with a sheepish grin.

"Wait, you haven’t had anything to eat since the incident," Alice asked.

"Kinda," Orion replied, scratching his cheek.

"Here," Michael handed him a pack of food and water with a concerned look.

He quickly started eating, eager to satisfy his hunger. Food had never tasted so sweet and satisfying; hunger really was a bastard.

’System, did you see this coming?’ Orion thought.

"----"

’Wait, can you see the future, or did you seriously not care if I died of hunger?’ Orion asked again.

He didn’t expect any answer, but surprisingly,

I BELIEVE WE’VE ESTABLISHED, POWER PROVIDES ANSWERS, ORION. YOU ARE STILL TOO WEAK.

The system was as blunt as ever, but he was used to it.

’I know that better than anybody, STATUS’

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STATUS

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NAME: Orion Chronos

AGE: 6

GENDER: MALE

RACE: HUMAN

ATTRIBUTES:

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STRENGTH:35

AGILITY: 40

ENDURANCE: 50--40

VITALITY: 110--100

INTELLIGENCE: 100

MANA: 100

CHARM: 30

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RANK: (PEAK) ACOLYTE RANK [Just transitioned]ß(HIGH) ACOLYTE RANK

TALENT: MYTHICAL

BLOODLINE: ???

AFFINITY: SPACE, TIME

ABILITIES:

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Innate Skills:

*Temporal Distortion (Mid proficiency)

-The ability to alter the space around you. You can break, mend, and control the fabric of space. Depends on your proficiency.

*The Seer (Mid proficiency)

-The ability to view glimpses of the present, past, and future with varying locations. It can be through visions or dreams. Depends on your proficiency.

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Acquired skills:

*Eye of truth and façade (Low proficiency)

The ability to access the information of another party with a single glance in the form of a status screen and alter your perceived strength from others. Heavily depends on proficiency.

*Reflection

The ability to dive into one’s memories, recalling every single detail with unnatural clarity. (Requires no mana)

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