Chapter 58

Seth took a sigh of relief as he sprawled on the ground. Rebecca was next to him as they both breathed and savoured their victories over the lesser abyssal horrors. 


It was his second contact with such creatures from the abyss and he had to say that both the encounters had left a weird taste in his mouth.


He didn't know if it was something to do with the miasma surrounding their body, but he felt like he had eaten something bad and needed to let it out. 


Last time, at least he had been too happy with getting out of the dungeon to give it much heed. 


At least I ranked up.


He thought, smiling and seeing Noah walk up to him. 


“That was troublesome,” he said, looking at Seth and Rebecca. “You did well holding them back.”


“Thanks,” Rebecca said, getting up from the ground and dusting her robes. She looked a lot less pale after drinking a mana potion. “Why were you not responding in the middle? I thought something happened. You were out of it for quite a while.”


“Ah, it was The Abyssal One,” he said, his face scrunching up with disgust. “It showed me a vision and offered me power for my support. You know, the usual.”


Seth looked up at him with questions. He had gotten a vision of The Abyssal One? Then, why was he talking so casually about it?


Even Rebecca nodded as if it was normal. It seemed like only he didn't felt like it was normal. 


Maybe noticing Seth's confusion, Noah looked at him, “Oh, I don't think you know it, but it's not out of the ordinary to get visions of powerful beings.”


“It's not?” he asked. 


“Gods, dragons, even ancient spirits… They are pretty free and often give visions to their followers or people who they see potential in. You are not the church going type or Luxfuria would have already tried to make you her servant. She's scary and always trying to get people,” he said, shaking his head. “Though, I won't say it's a good thing. Contracts like these are bindings. Don't say that out in a public space. You might get taken in for blasphemy.”


Seth nodded, taking all that in. He knew that in this world, there was more proof to god and deities than on earth. Magic does legitimise a lot of claims. 


It also seems like the level of faith and devotion could reach crazy territory. Humans were similar even if from different worlds. 


Seth wasn't the church going type. Sarah was and she had often dragged him to the church. Thinking of her, he felt a weight on his chest, but shook his head. 


“So, what now?” He asked, looking at the place where the portal had opened up. “Are we going to go home or still try to dump the abyssal energy in my body?”


It was a hard choice to make. Lesser abyssal horrors weren't easy to deal with and if the same thing happened again, then, it might even attract a larger abyssal horror. 


That wouldn't be good. 


Even with Noah present, that wasn't a creature Seth wished to see again. 


Still, the decision was with Noah who thought for over a minute. “We need to dump it. I talked about the vision, right?”


“Yes.”


“It wouldn't have been possible if The Abyssal One didn't have you as a connection so close to me. Even gods take help of their clerics to show visions because they naturally have a connection with them. It was also how it was able to influence the portal. If we don't dump the abyssal energy, the connection will keep getting stronger.”


“What if it influences the portal again?” Rebecca asked. “I don't think I will be able to fight again for a while. My mana is still recovering.”


“I don't think it will be able to influence it again. It takes a lot out of it to do that,” he replied. “I’ll make sure there's no loose ends this time. Give me some time.”


They nodded their heads and Noah carved the runes on the ground with a stone again. As he was busy in it, Seth noticed a few Cave Rats in the vicinity. 


They were probably here due to sensing the disturbance in mana after the opening of the portal. He ignored them since they never got too close. Their levels were below 10, so there wasn't any threat in the first place. 


He observed Noah drawing up the patterns and noticed that they looked a bit different than before. Noah seemed to be adding safety precautions in them for it to not get hijacked again. 


Once it was done, he drew blood and dropped it on the ground before taking two steps back. 


“Okay, if I'm not wrong, it should work as expected this time.”


“What if it don't?” Rebecca asked. 


“Then, I will look for the guy who taught me the art of rituals and ask him for a refund.”


Seth chuckled at that and the ritual circle lit up with a crimson glow. It was the same as before and despite knowing that precautions were at place, he gripped his dagger, aiming to destroy the whole ritual if he saw any fluctuations. 


Fortunately, there was nothing of that sort. 


The ritual simmered and the mana in the chamber gathered around it before a pillar of light shot out of it. The mana around it seemed much more in control this time as Noah kneeled down to take one last look at it. 


“Okay, this looks good. It's not big enough for any monsters to come in and it's small enough for me to dump a good amount of abyssal mana from your body.”


“How are you going to do that anyway? Should I try to release mana into the portal?” 


Seth asked, walking next to Noah. 


The Archmage Knight shook his head, “No, with your level of control, you are just going to harm everyone here and yourself. I'm going to draw onto the abyssal essence in your body and dump it in. If I dump all your mana, it would simply regenerate, so I need to dump the part of it that had taken a permanent place in your body and is working as a connection to The Abyssal One,” he said and smiled. “I know it sounds complicated, but it's far less simple than some of the things I have come across.”


Seth wanted to ask what those things here, but focused more on the abyssal essence part. 


It wasn't as easy to understand for him, but then again, most things about magic weren't. The only reason he was even able to use mana was because of the World System making it easier for him. 


Without it, he would be lost since he didn't have the theoretical knowledge necessary.


The system was like a game cheat, helping him skip steps.  


“Let's start.”


Noah said, taking him out of his thoughts. 


Nodding, he wondered what he had to do before Noah put a hand in front of him. He blinked his eyes as Noah muttered an incarnation. 


Threads of mana emerged out of his hand. They were shining with a golden glow and looked ethereal. Making their way towards his heart, they entered his body like his flesh wasn't present in the middle. 


It felt strange, but Seth didn't move. 


He suddenly felt a force tugging at his mana before pulling it in. He resisted instinctively, trying to hold it all in, but Noah shook his head. 


“Try not to focus on the threads. Let it go.”


“I'm not doing anything,” he said, looking down at the threads in the chest. 


“I know, but try not to resist the pull. Instead, move with it.” 


Seth closed his eyes and did as told. He didn't try to resist it this time. Instead, he pushed the mana that the threads were tugging at. They seem to be jammed at one place, but he used more force and the threads did the rest of the work. 


He felt another pull and felt weak. He nearly lost his balance. It was almost like someone was cutting on his arm, trying to remove it. It wasn't painful, but uncomfortable. 


The sensation continued for a while until his whole body jerked and he felt dizzy. 


The threads slowly removed themselves from his body and he noticed that the part of them that had entered his chest was now carrying a mass of ethereal black energy that was shining. 


He felt a connection to it.


“Seth, are you okay?” Rebecca asked as he almost lost his footing. He felt exhausted and panted for breath. 


“I'm fine,” he said, trying to keep standing and looked at the threads “Is that—”


“Yes, it's the buildup of abyssal essence that had been corrupting your body to make it a perfect vessel for The Abyssal One. You might feel dizzy right now, but you will be fine.”


He said and moved the threads to the portal. Seth noticed how careful Noah was being with it as the threads entered the portal. 


It suddenly shook, but Noah poured out all the mana into the portal.


The threads turned into red mana particles once their job  was done and disappeared. 


Noah kneeled down and put his hand towards the ritual circle powering up the portal. It again lit up as the cave shook. 


Seth almost prepared for a battle as Rebecca held his arm, but the portal slowly closed and the red glow disappeared. The patterns in the ritual returned to being normal and Noah smiled. 


“It's done!” He said, stretching his arms. Unlike Seth and Rebecca, he didn't seem to be tired. 


“That was easier than what I expected,” Seth said, looking down on his chest. He still felt strange, but the uncomfortable feeling was lessening. 


“It is easier if you don't have an abyssal god ruling over a part of the abyss trying to hijack the portal as a part of his sinister plan. Portals are much easier to use without outside interference.”


“So, I won't have to worry about suddenly losing control of myself now?” 


Seth asked with hopeful eyes, but Noah shook his head. 


“Nah, you still have the mark.” Noah looked at his left arm. “We would have to do this every few months. The more you use your abyssal powers, the more residue would be built up. If you use them a lot, we might have to come back in a month even.”


“Should I simply stop using skills related to the abyss?” he asked. 


It was certainly an option since it would curb The Abyssal One's plan. Though, he would have to look for some other job since he might not be able to continue being an adventurer then. 


“No, it's okay. It won't solve the problem from its root. Right now, we have a solution to help you temporarily. I’ll try to find something to break off the connection permanently in the meantime.”


When Noah said that, Seth recalled Rebecca's master. The talk about wanting to go see him had been delayed due to that portal. 


Looking up at him, he decided to ask about it, “Why don't we go see Rebecca's master then? He might be able to help.”


“Oh.” Noah looked at him. 


Rebecca chipped in too. “Yes, I think he would be able to help us. My master has good knowledge about a lot of things.”


Both of their attention hung on Noah who looked confused for a bit before sighing. 


“Okay, let's go meet your master,” he said. “I don't know how much of a help it would be, but there won't be any harm to it. If nothing, I can check out the books at the academy.”


With that, their next move was decided.