Abyss of Dual Cultivation: Goddess's Lust system

251 251: The abyss begins again [pt2]

“Before we reach the only settlement on this floor, I feel like there are a few things we should make clear among ourselves. Since I expect that it is both of your first times here, I will tell you what you need to be careful about.”

Both Rita and Ava stopped walking as soon as they heard Aurora’s words. They both had complicated expressions on their faces but Aurora had a feeling it was for different reasons.

Still, it had nothing to do with her so Aurora was going to look past it for now.

Right now, she needed to make sure these two understood the hidden rules of this floor. Aurora had learned them the hard way so she did not want to make the same mistake.

“Ah, I think I heard about it once. From here on out, every floor has a game-like setting that needs to be passed to progress. The setting of the game is based outside the main city and can occur anywhere.”

So Ava did know about this floor and its peculiar behavior. It did not surprise Aurora to know this since Ava was a part of the onlookers.

They tend to know about each other’s territories even when they were not interested in each other. This was more akin to a curse than a blessing in most cases.

“It’s nice to see that you know the basics since you will need to help Rita out in case I am not able to. The only this that you need to know here is to not trust anything you see. The only right information from here on out is the one given out by the city terminal. As soon as you get there, connect your systems to it.”

This was the biggest reason Aurora had decided to make her power into a system. It made the information easy to gather and transfer between each other.

And it also helped to clear floors from 10 and below.

“Understood. I think I can see the city from here and, huh? Why is it upside down?”

Aurora looked toward the city in the sky as well. It was a familiar scene in front of Aurora and she had a dreadful feeling being back here.

Her first experience with such a setting had been the worst so this second time scared Aurora a little.

“Everything will be alright. You just need to believe in me.”

Aurora felt reassured by Ava’s words for a matter of only a minute before she felt a shudder pass through her body.

“Y-Yeah, I think I will pass on that offer. I am sure I do not need any more difficulties in my life.”

“Heh, suit yourself.”

Ava did not take that rejection to heart and Aurora did not let it bother her either. Meanwhile, Ur kept on flying right over their head, its shadow acting as a shield from the harsh sun for the group.

Aurora was sure that no one would bate an eyelash toward Ur’s presence. From here on, it was a lawless land not controlled by anyone, and power spoke volumes.

No matter how high of a control tower had inside there, they were still a minority when it came to greater powers.

The city was situated in the dry parts of the desert but anyone who had ever studied infrastructure could recognize the tall skyscrapers that were almost touching the ground by being upside down.

“Be careful. As soon as we enter the city field our bodies will get inverted as well. Close your eyes if you do not want to feel sick.”

Aurora warned before closing her eyes as well. She felt Rita’s harsh grip on her arm before there was a shift in the gravitational force.

When Aurora opened her eyes next, she could see that the sky was beneath her feet and the ground was above her head.

“H-How are we not down into the sky? Is the abyss even capable of something like this?”

Rita asked, her voice betraying the awe she was feeling. It was a given that she was impressed to see this happening. Most people were fascinated when they saw this phenomenon for the first time.

But Aurora knew that things were not as decent as they looked. It might look safe to move around but it was a lot trickier than it looked.

So that was why she caught Rita’s arm as soon as she took one step ahead.

Had Aurora not done that, Rita would have slipped off the platform and fallen into the sky. And had that happened, no one would have been able to save her.

“Be careful. It might look like every place is safe to step on but that is not the case.”

Aurora warned as she looked around for her other two companions. Ava seemed to have adjusted to the place already.

She was currently skipping around, her feet landing from one platform to another. But Ur was nowhere to be seen.

It was not until there was a shadow beneath Aurora’s feet that she realized that something was flying beneath them in the sky.

“Looks like Ur was not affected by this magic as well. How lucky.”

Aurora called out as she steadied Rita who somehow had managed to fall into another hole. It must be difficult for Rita to sense the holes in the ground since she could not see them.

“Follow me for now. We are lucky that we have someone to fetch us back up in case we fall.”

Rita looked part annoyed and partly relieved at the news. But she settled at a blank expression and kept on walking.

“Hey miss, come here and join us. I can tell that you are an expert in this area but I cannot recall seeing you here before?”

The one who called out to Aurora was a human shopkeeper. Any other person would not have ignored that man but Aurora did.

After all, she did not want to fall prey to their schemes another time.

“H-Hey, they seemed to be calling for us. Is it alright to ignore them?”

Rita asked as she was still a little overwhelmed by everything that was happening. However, she was doing her best to follow Aurora’s lead.

Meanwhile, Ava seemed to have adjusted fully to this new environment and she had even mastered the art of climbing buildings.

It seemed as if her talent as the overlooker and connecting with the abyss even worked here.

“You can find these people if you ever want to be scammed. But they are not worth your time otherwise. Anything they can tell you will not help you out. After all, an equal exchange is a game in the abyss.”

From here on, any exchange would be made in magic and energy. Money was useless and the only thing one can rely on was their strength.

And since Aurora knew all that, she also knew that there was no need for her to pay attention to these small fries.

Not when she had the power to attract the biggest of prey in front of her. She needed to find the guild that would come to dominate this place in a few years.

Just because floor 11 was a lawless land, for now, does not mean they would never get a master to lead them around.

And the one who would make them all connect were familiar faces Aurora had met a long time ago.

Yes, she was talking about those missionaries that she had met in the abyss long ago. They had finally unionized and started to establish their influence.

“So, where are we going now?”

Rita asked. Even Ava looked interested in hearing the answer and Aurora gave nostalgic smile as she stood in front of the shrine in front of her.

It might have seemed weird for most people to see this old-fashioned shrine in the middle of this bustling city but not for Elysia.

She knew the real nature of this shrine so she was careful not to arouse the hidden power inside it.

All she did was place a normal coin in front of the shrine and watched as a spiritual entity took the form of a dog and took the coin away.

After that, it was only a matter of time before the gate opened and admitted them inside.

Elysia tried to hold back her excitement but it was difficult to do. It had been ages since she had last been in there and she wanted to see more of this place.

The shrine parted to show them the way up. This had not existed before this and it took Ava and Rita by surprise.

But Aurora did not feel anything like that. She had been in such hidden bases enough times to no longer be surprised by them.

She kept on walking deeper and deeper inside until she hit a dead wall. And she could also feel the presence of humans behind her. The other members of this guild had arrived as well and it seemed they did not want to welcome Aurora here.