Pioneer of the Abyss - Book 3 - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

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Table of Contents

Click the following link for the 1361 word chapter 24:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XTmGfFymzgFZTuhASp2WIr1yMpT5EMyW9JZBpAm05wA/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

Aqua

I spend the weeks before the Pioneer Game both figuring out how best to protect the orcas, and leveling up by killing more monsters across the planet of Kanall. And through this, I manage to find a pretty simple method to protect the orcas.

All I have to do is summon a large abyssal servant – probably the Special Boss, Churro – swallow the orcas. After which the other Official Pioneers will have to dig through its body to find them. And the abyssal servant is way too big for them to actually be able to find the orcas very easily.

Especially since Churro is a higher level than the level range of the game.

The only issue about summoning Churro is its size. Since it is a kilometer in length. Meanwhile the area of water I summon through Call of the Abyss is only five hundred meters in diameter.

Fortunately, I’ve tested it, and it does still manage to stay in the water. All because its height is only about three hundred meters. Which is still two hundred meters shorter than the height of the water area. And its main body is still entirely in the water.

It’s just Churro’s limbs that are longer than the water area. Not its main body. So Churro can fit by bending all of its limbs inwards, towards the water area.

Although, to be honest, it kind of has to do that to be able to attack anyway.

Anyway, doing that setup works pretty well. I even tried it out in a mock battle with my own abyssal servants.

A rather convenient way to experiment and practice. Just summoning abyssal servants and having them fight either me or other abyssal servants.

Summoning Churro in the large sphere of water and having it raise its limbs upwards forms what’s almost a cage around my personal battlefield with its limbs. And no one has ever seen me use this move before since I haven’t livestreamed myself summoning Churro yet.

At most I’ve livestreamed some of my hunts during my leveling. Nothing more than that.

And I’m far enough away from any cities that no one can find me. Or, at least, no one has found me yet.

After leveling up against monsters during this time, I manage to bring my level all the way up to level 920. Which is only seventy-nine levels away from the highest level Official Pioneers who will be competing in this Pioneer Game.

That sort of level gap should be fine for me. Especially since they won’t have more skills or traits than me.

Most of them won’t have as many Hidden Stats as me either.

I also have some powerful skills that I can use even outside of the water. Like Light of the Abyss.

Light of the Abyss is a mental attack. Which is rare in the Alliance, largely because the majority of the mental attacks are used by monsters deep underwater. And most people don’t fight those, nor do they have Bloodlines, or adapt to gain skills related to them.

Of course, there is the fact that Light of the Abyss is a skill that is stronger when I’m underwater than when I’m outside of the water. But that’s still fine. The skill still works when I’m outside of the water, and it being a mental attack is enough.

I tested it and it still does a good amount of damage outside of the water.

As for my other skills that can be used outside of the water?

There’s Orca’s Wrath, Abyssal Purge, Aquatic Tide, Abyssal Transformation, Abyss, surprisingly Ink of the Abyssal Kraken, Claw of the Abyssal Kraken, Converging Maelstrom, Devourer of the Abyss, Abyssal Reversal, Abyssal Kraken’s Partial Shift, and Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace. All of these skills work outside of the water, but not a lot of them are my most frequently used skills like Abyssal Ruler and Pressure of the Abyss.

Some of them are also weaker when used outside of the water.

Ink of the Abyssal Kraken is weaker outside of the water, where it pretty much just sprays it out in whatever direction I use the skill in. Abyssal Purge takes twice as long to fill their bodies with water. Abyss isn’t really usable outside of the water at my current level, since my Magical Strength stat isn’t high enough for me to make my own Domain with it. At most I can manipulate water around me after pressurizing it with Pressure of the Abyss.

Converging Maelstrom has a much weaker suction force outside of the water, and the Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace is slower outside of the water.

As for what the skills consider ‘outside of the water’? The skills have to be completely encased in water in the area of their activation.

So just me being in water or covered in a layer of water doesn’t count. Although it is also a requirement.

After all of this experimenting, I feel a lot better about fighting outside of the water. But I still need actual experience fighting outside of the water. I can’t train against the abyssal servants for that, since they can’t go outside of the water. Except for Vir.

They also don’t exactly have much intelligence to speak of, seeing as they’re pretty much copies. The only one with real intelligence is Vir.

Fighting against Official Pioneers in Pioneer Games will make for a good real test. Much better than against abyssal servants.

I probably won’t play too many Pioneer Games since I can’t level up from them. But they will make for good tests to see how I fare against other humans from time to time.

With that thought, I finish up the last of my training before heading up to my ship. Where I proceed to wait for the Official Pioneer Game to begin right next to the VR technology.

While I wait, I open up the news out of curiosity. Only to find some interesting news reports.

All of them are talking about the various changes across all of the planets under my parents’ control over the time since they returned. Not to mention the time since I started sending money to that cranky grandmother, which she used on the planet we lived on before I became a Pioneer.

The news articles are describing how the average living condition for citizens on the planets has increased by a massive amount. To the point that Equeter now has a higher average living condition than a lot of the higher end, more expensive planets in the Alliance.

On top of that, the orphans and other homeless people on the planet are all finding homes and families.

The orphans are being adopted, and the homeless are finding jobs and becoming able to support themselves.

I can’t help but smile at the news. Since it’s really great to hear.

After all, while the people I knew back on Equeter have already all been hired for the department store on Equeter or on Oceana itself, it’s nice to see the place improving so much. Especially after my own experience on the planet.

On a side note, I’m apparently very popular on Equeter. Meanwhile the corrupt officials who were responsible for the planet going to such terrible conditions in the first place are absolutely despised.

Not that most of them are alive to experience it.

My parents were pretty conclusive in their cleaning of the planets under their control.

I continue watching the various news reports for a little while before seeing them changing their focus to the Pioneer Game that is about to start. At which point I switch my own focus, turning it towards the small bracelet that serves as the VR connection device.

All I have to do to enter the half magical, half technological virtual reality is put the bracelet on my wrist and push a button on it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

It’s rather convenient.

So, without any hesitation, I go ahead and put the bracelet on my wrist and push the button. Thereby sending me into virtual reality.

Time for these Pioneer Games to begin at last.