HBWnovel Chapter 159 Trial of the Forgotten Abyss
Chapter 159 Trial of the Forgotten Abyss
The night was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
Liria should have known better than to trust the silence.
[You ready for something fun?]
She groaned the moment she saw the familiar glowing text flash across her vision.
"Define fun because every time you say it, my life expectancy drops."
[Oh, come on. You're going to love this.]
"Unlikely."
[Too bad. Because you're already in.]
Before she could argue, the world lurched.
The castle walls dissolved into black mist, the soft glow of moonlight swallowed by a void so deep it felt like falling. Liria gasped, instinctively reaching for her sword, but there was nothing to grab.
The abyss pulled her under.
And then, just as suddenly she landed.
Hard.
Her knees hit cold stone, the impact rattling through her bones. The air smelled damp, laced with the metallic scent of something ancient, something wrong.
Liria gritted her teeth, steadying herself.
"Freaking hell."
[Welcome to the Forgotten Abyss.]
She blinked, scanning the dimly lit chamber.
Tall obsidian pillars stretched high into the darkness, their surfaces slick with something pulsing faintly almost like veins. Jagged stone formations jutted from the walls, casting eerie shadows in the flickering violet torches that lined the corridor ahead.
A familiar hum settled in the air, a low, droning vibration that made her skin crawl.
She knew that sound.
It meant something was watching.
[Same rules as before,] the system chimed, its voice too cheerful for her liking. [You die, you're out for 24 hours. No progress saved. Enemies range from level 15 to 30. Good luck!]
"Fantastic," Liria muttered.
She checked her status and immediately froze.
Her stats had changed.
A lot.
[Status Update:]
Name: Liria Silverthorn
Race: Half-Human, Half-Demon
Level: 30
Experience: 0/15,000
Health: 5,500/5,500
Magic: 4,200/4,200
Attributes:
• Strength: 70
• Agility: 68
• Endurance: 65
• Intelligence: 40
• Magic: 75
Abilities:
• Swordsmanship (Level 6)
• Endurance Training (Level 6)
• Fireball (Level 5)
• Ember Swipe (Level 4)
• Blade Mastery (Level 5)
• Inferno Burst (Level 3)
• Hellstorm (Level 2)
• Water Ribbon (Level 2)
• Earth Sense (Level 2)
• Stone Shot (Level 2)
• Earth Wall (Level 2)
• Spectral Binding (Level 2)
• Nightflame Shield (Level 2)
• Shadowflare Blade (Level 3)
Liria's breath hitched.
No one can see this. No one can ever see this.
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus.
Higher level or not, if she wasn't careful, she was still dead meat.
She adjusted her grip on her sword, exhaling slowly.
"Alright," she murmured. "Let's get this over with."
The sound came first.
A whispering scrape against stone, like claws dragging along the walls.
Liria turned fast, sword raised—
And something moved.
A shifting blur, barely visible in the darkness.
Then, a second shape.
A third.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her weapon.
[Enemy Identified.]
Name: Abyssal Wraith
Level: 25
Health: 4,500/4,500
Abilities:
• Shadowmeld – Merges with darkness, making it nearly invisible.
A whole damn pack.
Her grip on her sword tightened as the monsters fanned out, their slick, muscular bodies moving with predatory precision.
Each was twice the size of a wolf, covered in shadowed fur that seemed to shift like liquid, their elongated limbs tipped with razor-sharp claws dripping in a black ichor.
One snarled, baring rows of jagged fangs before launching toward her.
The others followed.
Liria didn't have time to think.
She moved.
Her body reacted instinctively, dodging left as a Stalker's claws sliced the air where her throat had been a second ago.
She countered bringing her sword down in a brutal arc.
The blade bit deep, slashing through one of the creature's legs.
It let out a piercing shriek, stumbling as dark blood splattered onto the cavern floor.
Before she could finish it off, another lunged from her blind spot.
Liria barely had time to raise her arm before black claws raked across her forearm.
A sharp burning pain seared through her veins as the Void Claws took effect.
[Warning: Abyssal Wound Inflicted. Health Draining -5 HP per second.]
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me—"
She didn't get a chance to curse properly before two more Stalkers lunged.
Liria flipped backward, barely avoiding the snapping jaws that aimed to tear into her stomach.
[You need to clear them out FAST. The longer they stay together, the stronger they get.]
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out!"
The pack was closing in.
Liria's mind raced.
Her normal attacks wouldn't be enough.
She needed something bigger.
Something explosive.
Her black flames roared to life.
"Burn, you bastards."
She thrust her hand forward, summoning a surge of Inferno Burst.
The dark fire blasted outward, engulfing the nearest Stalkers in a roaring vortex of black and crimson flames.
Their screeches tore through the cavern as their shadowed bodies writhed and twisted, consumed by the cursed fire.
Two fell, their charred corpses crumbling into ash.
But the rest?
Still standing.
And now they were pissed.
"Great," Liria muttered, heart pounding."Really wish I had a flamethrower."
[Your sword is literally on fire.]
"Not the same thing!"
The remaining Stalkers began moving smarter, their movements coordinated.
They weren't just animals.
They were hunting her.
One vanished into the darkness Liria spun, eyes searching , but she was too slow.
The phantom claws appeared out of nowhere, slashing into her ribs.
Pain exploded through her side as she stumbled backward, coughing.
[-500 HP]
[Health: 4,500/5,500]
She gasped.
They're learning.
A Stalker lunged again and Liria, through sheer survival instinct, activated her new ability.
[Nightflame Shield: Active.]
A barrier of black fire erupted around her, repelling the incoming attack.
The Stalker shrieked as it was flung backward, its body scorched.
Liria smirked.
"Oh. That's useful."
[Try combining it with your Shadowflare Blade. You might actually not die today.]
"No promises."
She deactivated the shield, letting the fire condense into her sword instead.
The flames pulsed, coating the blade in an unholy, flickering glow.
She lunged.
Her first strike tore through another Stalker's throat.
Her second bisected another in half.
Her third she didn't even need a third.
The last two Stalkers realized they were outmatched.
They fled, their bodies melting into the shadows.
Liria panted, standing amidst the burning corpses.
A slow grin spread across her face.
"That's what I thought."
[+7,500 EXP Earned]
[+ Shadowfang (Item)]
[+ Abyssal Hide (Item)]
[+ Nightshade Crystal (Item)]
Liria exhaled heavily, rolling her aching shoulders.
The cavern was quiet again.
But she knew better than to let her guard down.
She wasn't done yet.
Far from it.
She took a step forward, deeper into the Abyss.
And the shadows welcomed her.