Five days had passed since Jasper and Joshens had started his training, and Aton had gone out to search for new allies. Expedition time rapidly approached, as Aton finally returned, one of the guards still guarding his section as instructed. He had no one with him but looked slightly more confident than before. The guard let him into the room and inside Joshens hovered in a corner meditating, a guard doing the same thing, and Jasper with his skill activated used his probes to launch piercing stabs towards the cave wall, doing a decent amount of damage.
In a mere five days, Jasper had developed his skill to be used offensively, by sharpening the ends of the probes and allowing them to instead of merely rotating, lunge with enough force to pierce a rock wall. Aton stared at him with awe. Aton could be considered a genius, he’s young at twenty-eight, and still very accomplished and powerful, but Jasper had done something beyond what even Aton could do.
“I am impressed Jasper I didn’t expect you to make so much progress in such a little amount of time, don’t cut yourself short you might very well be a genius.” Aton announced to the still-training Jasper, who finally stopped once he heard Aton for the first time in five days.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice that you came in, thank you but I doubt it’s that impressive.” Jasper responded still not happy with his progress. While he did give his skill a form of attack, his probes were still too stiff to utilize the attack properly; at best he could only attack those right in front of him with a slower attack if a target dodged to the side or behind him he doubts the offensive part of his skill would work but developing a skill that much in that short amount of time could only be considered a grand feat especially to give a support type skill and offensive addon, as it still held its original function as well. Aton couldn’t help but scoff at those words.
“Look, not many people could improve a skill that much in that short of a time, and you're still inexperienced and should be dealing with some Ash shock. I am thoroughly impressed so take the compliment and run with it.” Aton said with mild frustration at Jasper's inability to recognize his own abilities. Jasper took the hint and responded accordingly.
“Alright boss, I will acknowledge my improvements,” he had said as he looked down at his eight-fingered hands he still didn’t quite believe it. Even if what he did had been something to be acknowledged for, Aton also had said he should be dealing with the Ash shock which as he told Joshens he really wasn’t. Aton started talking again so he looked back up.
“Well either way it will help having you be able to use some sort of offensive skill, now we only have a day left, get a lot of rest. I have recruited a few more mercenaries, but don’t trust them enough to bring them here while we rest so I had them wait in the main section.” Aton told Jasper, Joshens had already begun his resting, to be honest Jasper should have joined him. ”The mercenaries will have first watch then me, then Joshens, then you if needed.”
Jasper obliged and went to rest. He wanted to continue to train but he also didn’t want to disobey Aton, plus he knew he probably needed the rest. So everyone except for the mercenary outside began to rest. Well, that's what should’ve happened, Aton had only waited for Jasper to fall asleep to get up himself.
He got up and walked out of the room.
“Make sure they don’t wake up, knock them out if you really have too,” he told the guard and threw him a pure black crystal, and continued onward. The guard didn’t fuss, even without the payment Aton was his employer so he didn’t have any reason to not listen to such a simple command. Aton made his way to the main room of the cave, hundreds of people were there, some were asleep but most couldn’t fall asleep in such an open space even if they should be safe.
Aton had a different destination in mind, he swam down the cave wall until he reached a certain room's entrance, it looked to be about the same size as Aton’s, two guards were at the door, but they recognized Aton and let him in without any trouble.
Aton made his way into the room, the inside a bit larger than Aton's room, six people were in the room Aton knew everyone there, but one, in particular, stood out Kell, who watched Aton from the back of the room come in.
“Welcome back.”
Meanwhile, Jasper, having trouble sleeping, started to slowly wake up, right about to open his eyes he could hear the sound of something rapidly cutting through the water, as he slowly opened his eyes, his vision turned black. Jasper had been knocked out before he could even wake up.
When Jasper woke again, he could see Aton in front of him, Aton had shaken him awake.
“Wake up its time, Welsh is about to make his grandiose speech then we’re off.” Jasper slowly made his way up, still extremely tired from all of the past training, he didn’t get enough rest. As he got up he could see Joshens already up along with the two mercenaries. Aton grabbed his arm and helped him up.
“You look like hell, you pushed yourself too hard, now you have to face the consequences I sure hope you can.” Aton told him, “Though I am proud of the progress you made still so don’t be too disheartened,” he continued to give Jasper some kind words. Jasper nodded, he knew he pushed himself too much, but he couldn’t help it he still felt so weak he wanted to start training again to get even stronger, but of course, he couldn’t and he knew that.
After some brief small talk, the group beside the mercenaries made their way into the center room, that's where Welsh would make his speech. It was tradition for Welsh to hold a motivational speech every expedition before they departed and this time would be no different. It's not a requirement to hear it, but Aton wanted Jasper to hear it, at least for his first time and he wanted to keep the group together so he tagged along and dragged Joshens with them. Jasper asked what the mercenaries were doing.
Aton explained the mercenaries were getting all of their stuff ready, rations, special artifacts, equipment, and any other supplies they brought. They would put it all together into boxes and latch them to mulefishes, known as Dukes the most common sort of sea mulefish used to pack luggage around, they were common in expeditions too, as a lot of supplies were brought in expeditions that would be very burdensome to carry. Dukes were so common because they were intelligent but not too intelligent docile fish, with great endurance and strength allowing them to carry large loads for long distances. Plus they were rather fierce if attacked and could be used as extra strength in a fight. Aton would’ve explained more but Welsh could now be seen making his way to a makeshift podium near the center of the room.
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Jasper studied Welsh, he had a calm but overwhelmingly strong presence. His torso a beautiful dark blue and gray mix, while his lower half was a large tail called a fluke, signifying him as a sea-only person, his tail could be described as beautiful as it had an assortment of beautiful dark blues, purples, and greens that looked like a professional abstract painting. He has a slender, sharp-looking face. He had sharp purple fins on his eyebrows, head, forearm, and hips. Lastly, he had a single arm, not that he lost on but that's all his race had, with a strong slender build his hand had five fingers, but without any webbing. Welsh got up to the podium and began his speech.
“When I first declared for this expedition I thought I would lack support. I thought Challengers Deep would scare you. But you have proven me wrong! Not only have you proven me wrong, but you have gone above and beyond. There are more people on the expedition than any other expedition I have ever led in the past. I counted an estimated three thousand people joining this expedition, an Abyssal number. We also have some of the best with us Kell, Aton, Harper… Clide,” he said with a slight smirk “All-powerful leaders who basically all but guarantee our success but that's not all we also have a surprise guest joining us on this expedition that I didn’t even know about until a few days ago welcome Van Dresel faction elders Krey and Orson.”
Many shouted in celebration, this would be a massive boost to their chances of success, but many others stayed silent they didn’t like the Van Dresels as they were loyal to the Abyss faction and the Van Dresels were a major rival that have not joined an expedition since the Abyss faction took over, but they also didn’t want to seem rude to Welsh so they decided best to stay silent. Krey took the front stage.
“I understand how many of you might feel, Van Dresels interfering with Abyss' business, absurd. Well, I don’t really care what you think, after great lengths of discussions with your figurehead Welsh we the Van Dresels decided to join this expedition for better or for worse, but considering your crazy fools want to go to Challengers Deep and make it back you’ll need us to have a chance in hell.”
Krey then took out a large pouch and opened it up, dark black crystals filled the bag, perhaps thousands of them. She grabbed a handful and threw it out to the crowd, Orson did the same, taking out a bag of dark crystals and doing the same, grab a handful throw, grab another handful throw. The crowd went wild with cheer as they tried their best to grab the thrown money, just like that Krey and Orson won the favor of most of the crowd. Aton and his group didn’t even bother that kind of money wouldn’t even affect Aton. Welsh once again took center stage.
“Now then, I have made you all wait long enough, enough talk. Let's start this expedition!” He shouted and the crowd shouted in excitement. All they needed to do now was get squad group numbers, and then the expedition would begin. They needed numbers so it would be easier to identify and command different groups. The leaders of the groups would determine the number, the people with the most Abyss territory would start working down to the person with the least, and then any important guests would go based on seniority, then any hired squads based on the position of who hired them on the previous criteria. Squad number also determined other things, loot distribution, leadership, who gets prioritized to save, and last who got to enter the Abyss first.
Welsh got number one, Oscar got number two, Harper got number three, Kell barely squeezed number four due to Fareers death, and Aton got number five. Clide got number twenty-two. The last Abyssal member got number twenty-eight, the rest were either a part of other groups or the two Abyssal members who got assassinated.
Two Law leaders got rank thirty-one and thirty-two, while Krey and Orson got thirty-three, a Restoration faction leader got thirty-four, and one more Law member got rank thirty-four. Then hired squads and branch squads started to get their numbers, one of Welsh’s branch squads started getting rank thirty-five, and so on. By the end, there were a total of 304 squads.
Molloy Drop could support about five squads dropping at one time, so squads one through five got to go first. A man called the five squads, Squalis the Regulator, a position given only to someone who can be completely impartial to the factions, he was a turtle man who had lived longer than anyone here at the age of over five hundred.
The five groups made their way to Squalis, including Aton’s group; his mercenaries had gotten their equipment and where also there, along with a few other mercenaries Aton hired. A total of seven people now in his group. Welsh had almost twenty, and Oscar had nearly fifteen, Harper had about the same, and Kell had more than thirty. Harper noticed Aton’s squad.
“Where's Lewis?” She asked without even turning to face him.
“Dead,” he responded.
“That's a damn shame, sorry for your loss, guess I'll see you down there bud.” She swam onward without drawing too much attention. Squalis led the groups to the Drop and instructed them to go down, everyone here would be veterans so they didn’t even need this much guidance.
They went into the thin tube-like drop and swam downwards into the Abyss, the pressure immediately spiked as if the weight of the world suddenly placed its weight onto them. Of course, the leaders of the groups handled it with ease, in fact, Welsh looked completely unaffected, while Aton barely looked affected. Aton looked at Jasper, he looked fine too, a miracle he had been worried about Jasper the entire and not only did he make it he seems as fine as any veteran.
They reached the exit of Molloy Drop, they were officially in the Abyss. The water looked as black as a dark black crystal, and the pressure grew even more immense everyone but Welsh and Aton had to take a moment to adjust to the new pressure on their bodies. Open water surrounded them, this area is known as Inferna Porta or Hells Gate. The area they currently reside in was right above the territories the Abyss members own, they weren’t going to mess with those though, there’s an unclaimed path that goes further down into the Abyss. Aton gathered his team.
“This is it, I know you’re all familiar with the Abyss, besides Jasper, but this is an expedition and we don’t only have to deal with the Abyss we have to deal with the people around us. So stay sharp and Jasper take it slow, it's your first time, and your tired, conserve yourself for the more dangerous sections.”
The Abyss had been separated into sections known as Deeps, at different depths, normally separated by the difficulty level, but a couple for unique reasons however even then the deeper into the Abyss the more dangerous it gets on a basic level as well. More dangerous monsters, increase in pressure, fewer supplies and people, and easier to get lost, among other things. The sound of people overhead could be heard.
The next group of squads were coming down the process needed to be fast, the longer they sat around the worse it would get for them. Expeditions of any sort were mainly battles of endurance, Ash wore down the members constantly, and monsters did the same. So they got everyone through including the one-hundred Dukes and supplies in right around an hour and a half the initial squads were already starting to feel the pressure of time.
Part of the reason why the squad system had been set up that way was that if the weaker members went in first and had to wait that amount of time it would have affected them a lot more. Squalis came down as well, he wouldn’t join the full expedition but he would come down to give them the go-ahead, and would follow them to Factorian Deep the first Deep layer. The territory owned by Abyss members didn’t qualify for any Deep name hence the Inferna Porta one.
“Everyone has made it down, you may begin your journey may the six act as your guide, and may Septem watch over you and keep you safe.” Squalis gave a quick prayer. The end marked the signal for the expedition team to start making their way down. Welsh took the lead and began his descent into the Abyss with everyone following him mostly maintaining the order they came down in.