Pioneer of the Abyss - Book 3 - Chapter 26 (Patreon)

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Table of Contents

Click the following link for the 1385 word chapter 26:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aacbuCGh52sJfCzaeBrDbs0ITDzy2f3mybnvf_7WIfU/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

Aqua

After looking around for a bit, I find quite a few familiar ish faces. Ones I saw while doing research on other Official Pioneers to find out who the strongest amongst those in my level range are.

Amongst them, there is Ray Felder, Jacob Scottsfield, Rictar Velbrase Deleterema, Darius Vex, Lyra Vixalis, Elysia Starfall, and the Black Knight.

All of them are at the level cap of the level range. Clearly having leveled themselves up directly to level nine hundred ninety nine to prepare for this game.

I myself am still several dozen levels beneath them. But my advantage as a Bloodliner should be more than enough to make up for it.

In fact, I should be stronger than them. Even with my largest advantage – the water – being gone.

All thanks to Call of the Abyss and the item Mom and Dad gave me.

Those two give me more than enough ability to fight even outside of the water.

Anyway, even with my greater brute force strength, I still have to worry about the opponents. After all, some skills might be difficult to deal with, and others might make things uncomfortable or inconvenient for me. And it’s even worse if they team up against me all at once.

So I make sure to review everything about these level nine hundred ninety nines while I wait for the game to begin.

Ray Felder, Jacob Scottsfield, and the Black Knight are probably the most dangerous of the bunch.

Ray Felder is an Official Pioneer who tends to use solar magic. Most of her skills are fire or sun related, with her strongest skill even making a tiny mini sun.

Of course, it’s nowhere near the size of the mini sun a Phoenix Bloodliner can make, but it’s still a potential threat to me.

For all I know, she could evaporate my entire Call of the Abyss orb of water.

Which would be a major problem.

Then there’s Jacob Scottsfield. He uses both lightning and fire magic in a hybrid form.

Most of his skills are either fire magic or lightning magic, but he has several that are both at the same time. And he is just as much of a threat as Ray. He can evaporate my water with skills that cause effects similar to volcanic eruptions, and he can send lightning into my water as well. Which is a problem on its own.

Water doesn’t exactly mix well with lightning, after all.

Both of these Official Pioneers are also known to be extremely talented. So they might be difficult to deal with. Especially if they work with others at their level to fight me.

They’re also different from monsters, who are generally either unintelligent or just barely intelligent.

These are actual humans, so they’ll be able to strategize and work together.

It’s exactly what I need to experience. Facing powerful humans who can be actual threats to me.

Then there’s the Black Knight.

He is currently known to be the greatest rising star amongst the Official Pioneers in my level range, and yet, at the same time, also the Official Pioneer in my level range who livestreams the least. To the point that he barely livestreams anymore. At all.

At most, he only livestreams when Rhett tells him to, since he is also signed under Rhett’s agency. The Star Pioneer Agency.

And Rhett doesn’t make him livestream all that often. Mostly because the Black Knight is relatively active in the entertainment industry despite not livestreaming much.

He’s the type that doesn’t want to directly interact with his fans, from what Rhett told me.

Anyway, the Black Knight uses darkness magic. And he is considered the strongest Official Pioneer out of our level range in the games as he has never once lost a game.

On top of that, he has defeated at least ten Official Pioneers teaming up on him at once. Which is impressive even if they were all a little beneath his level at the time.

The Black Knight’s power comes largely from one specific skill he got from both being incredibly lucky and incredibly talented at the same time.

A Domain skill.

What’s more is that he has a mage trait just like me, so his mana pool is capable of handling it.

The biggest difference between our Domain skills, though, is that his is weaker but also doesn’t have as high a stat requirement as mine to use as a Domain. And the black Knight also focused his stats on the Magical Strength stat to meet the requirement.

Thanks to all of that, he fights using the Domain skill. Creating a Domain of pure darkness.

Inside of the Domain, he can constantly degrade the defenses of all of his opponents, and his skills are stronger. With his opponents also being blinded by the darkness in the Domain.

The skill is quite dangerous. Although it is still weaker than my own Domain skill from what I’ve researched.

The higher the base minimum requirement to use the Domain, the stronger the Domain. And his requirement is said to be a mere four hundred stat points in Magical Strength for him to use. Unlike my Domain that requires a thousand points in the stat.

Then again, it’s pretty obvious just from the skill description alone that mine is stronger.

His Domain degrades the defenses of those inside of it, while mine creates immense pressure and can straight up crush a target inside of it in seconds if the target is weak enough and my stats are high enough.

Still. A Domain is a Domain, and I can’t use my own Domain as a Domain yet.

So facing off against the Black Knight will be difficult.

I can’t help but narrow my eyes at the sight of the Black Knight down in the public area looking around, seemingly trying to find me. His appearance fits his title as the Black Knight, since he is wearing a pitch black suit of metal armor made out of a special metal infused with darkness mana. With nothing visible underneath his armor.

The armor itself is emitting a sinister dark mist and shadows, and the few openings on the armor like his visor are filled with shadows to block any sight of his appearance.

Apparently his real appearance is public online, but he never shows it anymore. Not since getting his Domain.

Even before he got his armor, he would constantly use his Domain just over his skin to cover his appearance. Ever since he became able to use the Domain in the first place.

The man seems to be very shy from what I’ve heard. Which is pretty unusual for someone so high profile and talented.

Not really what I expected when I first heard his public title was the Black Knight.

Usually someone with a cool and intimidating title like that would be cold, composed, and calm. Not extremely shy.

Then again, I think I prefer it this way. It’s much better than Ray and Jacob who are extreme extroverts.

Jacob is a battle maniac going around searching for strong opponents, and Ray is just very intense.

I go ahead and review the other Official Pioneers who I recognize until the game finally begins. At which point I hear an announcement echoing through the lobby.

“Attention all Official Pioneers! Pre-game interviews will begin in one minute! Please make sure you are all ready to be teleported!”

Right. Interviews.

I briefly glance down at my current outfit. Which is actually just shorts and a hoodie, since my armor isn’t all that comfortable outside of the water. So I went ahead and had the armor altered but also not altered.

It’s a virtual thing, which is interesting that it exists.

The virtual reality allows users to change the texture of their armor and its appearance and form while keeping its defensive prowess.

Meanwhile, outside of the virtual reality, it’s perfectly normal. Just the same armor I usually have.

I thought this would be a lot better since I’ll be in the sky and not in an ocean.

Anyway, a countdown soon begins before I finally find myself getting teleported to a vast stage filled with the roaring cheers of who knows how many people.

Time to begin.