As I fell, my foes began to shrink rapidly until I could no longer see them. The wind screamed in my ears, and I could not feel the floor. My body was beginning to feel sluggish, and my eyes were beginning to close. I didn’t know if this was because of my injuries or the paralysis status that was beginning to take effect after I was stabbed by the scout, but I felt like I could no longer care. A quick glance at my status with appraisal showed my dire status.
HP: 23/400
Active Status Effect:
[Paralyzed]
“It seems I am coming to see you soon, Mama…” soon enough, my vision darkened, and I fainted.
***
Immediately after my eyes closed, I woke up to a powerful crash and an even stronger pain on the right side of my body! I did not even have the strength to whimper even though I wanted to scream. With a maddening agony taking over my body, I mercifully fainted once more.
***
Time passed, and slowly, I began to wake from my sleep. Immediately afterwards, feeling the taste of blood, teeth, flesh, and bones in my mouth, I began to throw up. A shocking amount of my insides fell, looking like a pack of Abyssal Hyenas tried their best to mangle their prey into an unrecognizable mess. And yet, I was fine. Physically at least - the trauma of my experience was still haunting me.
“Why am I still alive…?” I shivered uncontrollably, terrified at how helpless I was during the fall.
My memory was foggy, and so many things happened quickly. I need to look into it, and piece together how I survived and how I ended up here. Fortunately for me, there was a pile of prompts before my eyes that were just waiting to be opened.
[Domination] was cast on you.
You have resisted [Domination]!
Skill Obtained: [Mental Resistance Lv. 1]
Title Unlocked: [Indomitable Will]
Soon, I remembered. My mind was invaded by the beast tamer, causing me agony, and trying to make me submit to him. Domination seems to be the skill that did it. But what do the skill and title I got afterwards do?
[Domination]
Make a creature submit to you. Your intelligence and wisdom stats will be used against those of your opponent. Significantly reduced chances of success against sapient beings.
[Mental Resistance Lv. 1]
You have experienced an attack on your mind and managed to live to tell the tale. This insidious form of attack will be a little easier to resist in the future.
[Indomitable Will]
An enemy has attempted to enslave you with mind magic in a contest of wills, and you have managed to repel their assault.
When you successfully resist a mental attack, apply the status effect [Fear] on the assailant.
“I see. That’s why the beast tamer ran away. If they all fought me together, I might have died.” I concluded, feeling like there were bugs thrashing about in my chest.
There was still more to go.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[Anchor Howl] was cast on you successfully.
[Anchor Howl]
Chance to affect target depends on caster’s vitality and target’s wisdom. If successful, target may only attack you for 30 seconds or until you die, whichever comes first. Significantly less effective against sapient beings.
I see. That explains why I couldn’t attack anyone else and just had to attack the legionnaire. He was a lot harder to kill than the other two. But what happened afterwards?
[Paralysis Resistance Lv. 1] upgraded to [Paralysis Resistance Lv. 2]!
“That explains why the paralysis I got from the scout was less effective and took longer to take effect.”
[Poisoned] status effect resisted.
“The poison did not even affect me… All hail Poison Resistance!” I smiled smugly, happy that my efforts were finally paying off when I needed it most.
You have killed a [Shield Legionnaire Lv. 23]!
75,692 EXP awarded!
You have killed an [Imperial Scout Lv. 19]!
58,724 EXP awarded!
You have killed a [Priest of Atrorus Lv. 21]!
67,159 EXP awarded!
My eyes widened in surprise, my jaw falling in shock!
“Those creatures gave me so much experience! This might be enough to level up!” I said excitedly, impatient to call on appraisal once more to display my level!
However, just as about to do so, the next message paralyzed me.
Your HP has dropped to 0.
[Survivor] activated.
Chance to survive failed.
The Goddess of Fortune cast [The Final Gamble] on you.
[Survivor] cooldown canceled.
[Survivor] activated.
Chance to survive succeeded.
Your HP has been set to 1.
[The Final Gamble]
Unique Skill belonging to the Goddess of Fortune. Any failed chance to trigger an effect will be reattempted with a guaranteed success rate. This effect can be applied to the Goddess of Fortune, a lower-ranked target, or a consenting target of the same rank as the caster.
“…”
I could not move my eyes away from the prompt. Who was this Goddess of Fortune? And more importantly, why did she save me?
“I died, and only another’s intervention saved me.”
This fact immediately extinguished any excitement at my survival or the experience I earned. I am weak, and I am still at the mercy of stronger beings out there. Nothing has changed.
“To think that I was arrogantly moving through the great cavern and its sub-tunnels, thinking that I can fight off any threat…”
I shook my head. I can figure this out later, but I still have more prompts to check.
You have received a message from the Goddess of Fortune.
The chill that had barely started to fade immediately returned. My thoughts immediately went to the Infernal Lizard evolution and the Evil God of Revenge. Was I going to pay dearly for the Goddess’s intervention?
I hesitantly opened the message, and a voice began to play in my ears.
“My greetings to you, young Abyssal Darkeling. I have been observing you for quite some time. You may be wondering why I chose to save your life, where you ended up falling to, or what to do next. For the second question, I am happy to answer that for you. You have fallen from the first layer of the Unfathomable Abyss to its third layer, which is far more dangerous. You are surrounded by creatures far more powerful than you are, which makes your odds of survival nearly non-existent. Your only hope is to make it back to the first layer.
As for the first question, you may find the answer to that when you talk to me in person. That also serves the answer to your third question! I suggest you make your way back to the location you fell from. With my aid, you will be able to tell where that is at any time, until you arrive there. When you are close to your destination, I will send one of my followers to meet you and lead you to my temple.
P.S. I hope you choose your next evolution wisely!”
The Goddess of Fortune has offered you a temporary skill, [Beacon To Rendezvous]. Do you accept?
[Beacon To Rendezvous]
Allows user to instinctively feel the direction and distance of a specific location. This skill will be removed once the owner arrives to the location.
Speechless, I accepted. I cannot afford to offend a powerful being like a god, much less one I owe my life to.
Mission Issued: [Escape the Third Layer!]
Rank: A
You fell into the third layer of the abyss. You are a bug amongst giants! Escape from this deadly environment with your life intact!
Rewards: 200,000 EXP, Upgrade to talent [Survivor].
Mission Issued: [Meet the Goddess of Fortune]
Rank: B
The fickle Goddess of Fortune has asked for you to visit her temple to meet her in person. An honor seldom granted; you would be wise to do as she asks. You don’t wish to offend her after all, do you?
Rewards: 50,000 EXP, Favor of the Goddess of Fortune, [Unknown Reward]
(Warning: Failure or unnecessary delays to the completion of this mission may have dire consequences.)
“What have I gotten myself into…” I wondered, feeling like the world was conspiring to make my life miserable.