Pioneer of the Abyss - Book 2 - Intermission 1 (Patreon)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Don't mind this. It's so that free readers can't see half the chapter when the chapter eventually becomes patron only.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are reading this on a website that is not Patreon, please stop. You're reading a pirated version. Instead, if you would be so kind, please click on the table of contents link below and go to my Patreon instead. Or even read it off of Royal Road, which is free.

Discord Invite

Table of Contents

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shorter chapter since it's an intermission.

Click the following link for the Intermission 1:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Mi3WVejW1dN7mDlN0WWqXE-D7psyhPCfrsYYeRi1Qw/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monster Research Lab

“Hurry up and record everything you see!” Aulta Vestro shouts as she sweeps her arm to her side, ordering all the researchers in the massive laboratory to record all the data they can about the monster on their screens. Every last screen in the large lab. Each of which shows Aqua looking down at a massive creature in the sea below. “There has never been record of a dungeon monster this large before! Never! Don’t miss anything about it!”

The hundreds of researchers in the lab stare at the screen as they write down everything they can figure out about the creature.

Meanwhile the creature itself emerges from the water first through its massive teeth. With its teeth emerging from the water in a massive ring around the corpses. One with a diameter of at least a kilometer.

Aulta herself also makes sure to write down everything she can about the monster.

Like how its teeth are razor sharp despite its incredible size. How they all have a thin layer of mana coating them, no doubt making them as sharp as they are. And how more rings of teeth continue to emerge from the water as the first ring rises higher and higher.

Eventually the rings of teeth stop emerging for a while before another set of teeth rings start emerging. With what looks like some sort of inner mouth gums being between them.

Then the second set of teeth rings come to an end. Following which more gums emerge, and another set of teeth after that.

This pattern continues over and over again, with the stretch of gums growing smaller and smaller between the teeth.

All the way until the mouth forms nothing but a pit of razor sharp teeth, with the teeth themselves turning into spikes at the very bottom that are moving in to crush any of the corpses that flow through the whirlpool-like water down into the creature’s throat.

Aulta tries to look at the sides of the massive mouth, but the monster itself never actually fully surfaces. Making it impossible for them to see the creature’s size.

She doubts that even Aqua herself, who can easily see under the water, can see the monster’s entire form because of its size.

Aulta writes down everything she can see. Whether it’s details about the monster’s size, its teeth, its gums, how it eats, and how it goes back down into the water after gobbling down all of the corpses dropped down from the cavern.

But after the creature disappears again, Aulta notices Aqua’s eyes narrowing. Making her realize that the Pioneer can most likely still see the monster even if the viewers can’t.

And since the monster is moving underwater, there’s a good chance she may be able to see the creature’s entire body now instead of just its mouth.

What does it look like? I have to know!

With that thought in mind, she immediately begins drafting messages to send to the Pioneer. Asking about any details she can regarding the monster.

Aulta and the rest of the researchers in the Monster Research Lab are all incredibly thankful and supportive of all Pioneers. But if there’s one Pioneer who is currently the most well-liked by them, it’s Aqua Azuranth.

All because she’s the one showing them so many new monsters back to back. Whether they’re dungeon-born monsters or natural monsters formed from mana.

Aquatic monsters are rare after all.

And aquatic monsters in dungeons are unheard of.

Aulta can only imaging what sort of chaos would occur on this planet known as Oceana if this boss monster from the dungeon were to ever break out of the dungeon. Since it’s large enough to gobble up entire underwater cities with ease.

And that’s not even considering the undead monsters that have been shown in the dungeon so far.

Undead are rare outside of dungeons. And necromancer type magic users are just as rare.

There also aren’t any necromancer Bloodlines until Aqua’s.

The two undead Bloodlines have nothing to do with necromancy even if they’re undead.

Undead and necromancy is also a largely researched topic in the lab. Making the only undead Bloodliners extremely important to the lab.

It’s to the point that theories have sprung throughout the universe that the undead Ancient Monsters may have been the source of all undead in the universe. Since undead are born from miasma, which is produced and emitted naturally by powerful undead creatures.

But there is no way to confirm the theory since the Ancient Monsters are all gone. And most undead aren’t capable of purposefully creating more undead.

Most undead have no control over their miasma after all.

It’s just a byproduct of their existence.

So the existence of Aqua’s Bloodline being capable of creating a form of undead without any miasma has been bewildering the researchers ever since they first saw her abyssal servants.

Aulta has been trying to figure out what Ancient Monster her Bloodline could have come from as well, just like the Bloodline Research Center. But that’s only been a secondary priority thanks to the constant emergence of new monsters on her broadcast.

All she’s managed to figure out about the Pioneer’s Bloodline isn’t even from their own research. It was given to them by one of their connections.

Intel from the Abyss. That abyssal servants were found there. Implying that the monster whose Bloodline Aqua has is possibly still alive in the Abyss.

Which is incredible news for the lab.

It implies that the Ancient Monsters may still exist.

Deep down in the Abyss.

It’s also one of the first things they’ve learned about the middle layer of the Abyss.

But their current priority is still the enormous monster they just found on her broadcast. So even after Aqua turns her attention away from the sea outside of the caverns and begins hunting monsters again, Aulta and the other researchers in the lab continue taking as many notes as they can about the enormous monster.