There's a skeleton dungeon connected to my basement.

Chapter 388, Abyss Dungeon on Easy Difficulty
The deeper one ventures into the bottomless abyss, the greater the gaps between levels become, and the longer it takes to traverse them.

The expedition begins.

At this time, Star City often operates at full capacity, and can cross two to three abyss levels in a single day.

And now, as we delve deeper into the bottomless abyss...

One can barely complete one level jump in a day.

"We're very close to our destination."

Crimson light shimmered on the towering mage tower in the center of Star City.

[A shuttle is about to take place. All personnel, please return to the safe location.]

Having crossed this crucial juncture of different levels, only the core area of ​​the entire floating structure is safe.

Players disengaged from the battle against the horde of demons and began retreating towards the core area.

"The bottomless abyss is a good place."

While it is known throughout the heavens for its treacherous nature, it also drives the various empires of the heavens mad with its abundant resources and irreplaceable specialties.

Rare materials, unique environments, buried relics, and lost knowledge.

These are all things that are being frantically pursued.

But among all the treasures, the most precious and the most sought after are those.

"Undoubtedly, it is the crystallization of the soul manifested within the rules of the abyss."

"Who do you think invented this Soul Crystal?"

"Strengthening the soul, concocting potions, required for the ritual."

These are all effects of the crystallization of the soul.

Of course, the most important and most maddening thing is creating souls.

“Soul crystals can be used to create general-purpose minds.”

"An artificial soul."

Such a soul has different names in different systems.

Tower spirits, artifact spirits, artificial intelligence

Every day, countless beings from all the heavens gather here, fighting for wealth, power, and fortune.

Today, the Star City that forcefully broke in and the Justice Squad aboard it.

They were just another group of visitors arriving in a long period of time.

This is no big deal.

Such an invasion did not elicit a stress response from the Abyss.

"It's just a very ordinary thing."

A short break.

Strange sounds appeared and echoed in the floating city.

The sound was somewhat like a soap bubble bursting, but even more ethereal.

The City of Stars has once again completed a boundary crossing.

The labyrinth is about to expand once again.

The players are about to begin their work.

They had been prepared for this for a long time.

The moment the maze expanded, countless figures surged out from the core area.

The targets of the battle are those strangely shaped little demons.

Various spell-like abilities echoed across the massive floating city, accompanied by the excited shouts of the players.

It has to be said that with each resurrection, which means an increase in soul strength, these guys' courage grows day by day.

It really does feel a bit like the Fourth Calamity.

However, it's only a little bit.

We're currently in a dungeon, so bullying these low-level demons is fine, but if we were back in the Rotten Lands, we'd have to obediently lower our heads.

"Limited-time dungeon! Purely reward-based!"

This statement is being recognized by an increasing number of aging gamers.

Indeed.

Compared to the various enemies in the Rotten Lands with their instant-kill mechanics and bizarre abilities, these low-level demons were practically handsome.

Take, for example, one of the most common instant-kill monsters found in the wilderness outside Hope City.

"Those little mushrooms!"

Once you start making eye contact with these little mushroom figures, your appetite will involuntarily rise.

This isn't the end. If it only went this far, these little mushroom figures wouldn't be so outrageous.

The next important milestone has arrived.

Every three seconds of eye contact with the little mushroom triggers a burst of appetite.

Even up to this point, these little mushroom figures aren't that outrageous.

As players' souls grow stronger, they are not powerless to resist such rising strange emotions; they can simply turn around and run away in time.

But things are not that simple.

An appetite surge has no cooling-off period and can be stacked.

These little mushroom figures often appear in large numbers at once.

One moment I see a little mushroom, the next I see two little mushrooms, and then I'm seen by three little mushrooms.

Overwhelmed by an insatiable appetite, he devoured the mushrooms. Soon after, a madman began running wildly across the wilderness until he lost all his strength and collapsed to the ground. New little mushrooms began to crawl out of his corpse.

This birth is even a conceptual gestation; even the players' dream of gods cannot stop the birth of these little mushroom people with arms and legs.

The most tragic incident occurred when a large group of players on a hunting expedition encountered a massive swarm of tiny mushrooms. On that day, people running wildly and laughing maniacally filled the wilderness outside the City of Hope.

At the site of the tragedy, a man-made restricted area was created and named.

[Mushroom Overgrowth Zone]

"With the help of the players, the little mushrooms have shown signs of overpopulation outside Hope City."

Just a quick aside.

Perhaps because players have been chasing and killing wild dogs in the wilderness lately, some new wild dogs have recently been created.

A type of wild dog with blood-stained teeth and red eyes.

These wild dogs are accompanied by a horrifying pattern of regular bleeding.

Players with low bleeding resistance are likely to die instantly if bitten by these stray dogs.

These two types of creatures are already quite heavyweight, but placed in the wilderness outside Hope City, they can only be described as...

"generally."

In contrast.

Compared to the heavyweights on the open field.

The lowly demons of this bottomless abyss are nothing compared to this.

"They're just some red-skinned, scaled demons that charge in like hordes, yelling and throwing fireballs."

"generally."

Two players, traveling together, are in the outer area of ​​Star City.

Their situation was dire; they were separated from the main force and surrounded by a large number of lesser demons.

A chaotic demonic eye, suspended in the sky, launched an attack.

A hazy, dim beam of light shot out.

The player who kept trying to maneuver among the little devils got hit.

My body trembled.

He rolled over and hid behind a piece of a fallen floating city fragment.

Breathing heavily.

This game features an incredibly high level of pain synchronization, and being eaten alive by wild dogs in the wilderness outside the City of Hope is a part that every new player has to experience.

Perhaps it's because I've had too many experiences like this.

Even with a fist-sized hole in his stomach, the player could still laugh.

He waved the thing in his hand.

"A black dagger."

"This drop rate is right! These monsters are normal!"

"What are those things in the Rotten Land?!"

"I have it here too!"

The players around him also started waving their items.

A dark reddish-black metal block.

"Has the safe been upgraded?"

“Upgraded.”

"Then there's nothing else."

"Go back to your death."

(End of this chapter)