"Hmmm.... Well this sucks." I mused thoughtfully as I placed a hand on my chin.

I had walked all the way towards the most important looking building within this portion of the city, just lookin for anything that screamed adventure, but now I was sorta stuck.

Why?

"I can’t understand shit." I couldn’t understand anything the building signboard was talking about.

The letters and everything looked flashy. Well, as flashy and important as one could get in a dreary place like the abyss. But I couldn’t understand jack shit.

"Hey.. you scam of a system. How does one acquire a translation talent that doesn’t come with the reading part?"

[..]

"I’m calling foul play. I need my refund. Boooo..." seeing no other option out of this dilemma, I did the only thing I could.

Complain to my sham system..

"So much for a system that predates creation. Can’t even give a proper translation ability. First the appraisal ability now this budget translation one. Sigh... I wonder if I can file for a system change with whatever system bureau existed our there." I ignored the weird looks I was receiving all around as I kept complaining.

[..]

[Ding!]

[You talent has been upgraded.]

Looking at the notification being displayed. A sharp grin tugged at the corner of my lips.

"Heh. You couldn’t have just given me the full thing from the beginning? Had to stress myself unnecessarily." I scoffed before focusing on the building once more.

[WANDERER GUILD]

"Eyy? Wanderer guild? Wtf is that?"

Curious, I did what anyone else in my position would do.

Grab!

I grabbed a random person off the street by the scruff of his neck.

"You. What the fuck is that building about?"

"Outsider!!! You dare???"

SLAP!

I slapped the taste out of the abyss walker’s mouth, a few teeth following along.

"Feel like talking now?"

"Pleaash... forgib my aubacity.."

"Good. Now, what the fuck is that building on about?" I pointed towards the building behind me once more.

"Thabs the wanberer guilb. They obershee all wanberer aclibidy." The words came out jumbled and mixed due the the obvious lack of some essential elements in his mouth.

But. It seemed my translator talent came with a natural jargon translator.

"Sweet." I cheered.

"So. Whats so special about a wandere? What do they do?"

"A wanberer...."

....

....

"Hmm... I see. Well, that was very nice of you to share that information."

"No. No. My bleasure." The abyss Walker looked absolutely frightened for reasons I had no idea about.

So.

Slap!

I slapped it one last time. Just for fun, before finally releasing it.

The speed with which it escaped looked like someone trying to escape the devil himself.

"I’m not that scary right?" I blinked.

"Meh..." tossing the issue to far reaches of the void in my mind. My attention returned to the building before me.

So. Basically. The wanderer guild acted like some sort of freaky abyss adventurer guild.

Apparently, even the Abyss wasn’t safe for its own natives. Leaving the protection of cities meant gambling with death, no matter who you were.

And those who take on the challenge of braving the outside were called Wanderers. It was an occupation with an insane level of prestige as apparently even most Kings and Emperors within the abyss. Individuals whose names alone could shake entire regions.

I’m talking people on the same level or even more powerful than the person that set up the protective dome of this massive city.

Yes. The city’s protective dome was done by a single person.

The wanderers as one would guess, were divided according to ranks.

They were ranked according to achievement rather than birth.

From lowest to highest, they were respectively..

Riftstrider.

Deepwalker.

Abyss Warden.

High Marshal.

Rift Lord .

Abyss Sovereign.

Abyss Monarch.

Seven ranks. Each separated by a steep wall of accomplishment one needed to achieve before progression.

These ranks were independent of your title, status, or social standing in the abyss.

You could be a king and not be the lowest riftstrider.

While a commoner powerful enough could rise as high as High Marshal.

But. The general consensus was always. The privileged are more often than not, the powerful.

Oh. And as a cherry on top, there were only 3 beings that had achieved the rank of Abyss Monarch within what he called the outer fringes.

Yea. It was that difficult to become one

So, it was an extremely rare occurrence to see anyone of a notable status that wasn’t a fairly ranked wanderer.

But! All these things were none of my concern at the moment because..

I had finally found what I was looking for.

I came here searching for adventure, and what better place to find it than a place that encouraged literally wandering the abyss.

My lips slowly curled up in excitement as my eyes shone brightly.

"Finally.. time for some fun." I took a step, pushing the doors of the building open, before stepping inside.

The inside of the building was a lot more spacious than the outside would suggest.

I could feel the subtle fluctuations of space in the air.

"Hmm... seems the people here are adept at space too, huh?"

I had already encountered the workings of two supreme laws. Laws that were supposedly extremely difficult to encounter the users of on terra. At least, those proficient enough to use them to such a degree.

Naturally, I didn’t count. I was the main character. If I wasn’t as stupid broken as I am, it would be a crime against existence, but nevertheless...

"Seems the overall quality of powerhouses within the abyss is many times higher than Terra’s."

Understandable.

After all, for a realm connecting an unknown number of worlds, it is to be expected.

My anticipation climbed even higher as I stepped in fully.

Ring!

The sound of a bell ringing echoed through the building as the people within turned towards the entrance.

"An outsider?"

"Hmmm? Ain’t seen a new one dare come here in quite some while, ahahahahaha!!"

"Well, he seems quite confident in himself. That should be worth something."

The abyss walkers inside didn’t seem all that surprised to see me walking in.

"Hmm?" I raised a curious brow at their reactions.

They weren’t yelling "OUTSIDER! YOU DARE!!" Right of the bat.

Instead they just seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing here.

Step. Step. Step.

The sounds of footsteps snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked to the left.

There, approaching with deft and elegant footsteps.

Was an abyss walker different from the ash-grey skinned ones I’d been encountering till now.

"Welcome. Outsider, to the wanderer guild branch of sand city." The man bowed in courtesy.

"Hmm..." I gave a subtle nod.

"Might I ask what brings you to our establishment? Information? Items? Anything. The guild has whatever is needed to guide your stay within sand city."

Hearing the man’s questions. My grin slowly sharpened.

"Why else would I be here?"

The excitement I had been trying to withhold slowly bubbled forth.

"It is of course to become a wanderer. So, my good man.

.... Lead the way. It’s time to put the abyss on notice. Dante motherfucking Draven has arrived."

***************

A/N: bro.... Your exams... what the fuck. I guess it’s a good thing there wasn’t any time limits placed on the tests. Anyways...

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Thanks for reading...