Chapter 44 - Preparations and Descent

Chapter 44 – Preparations and Descent

**Extra Information:

The abyss is a colossal pit discovered 1900 years ago around the islands of the southern ocean of Beolusk. The vertical hole has a diameter of around 1000 meters and is at a depth of at least 20000 meters, with it's exact depth unknown. It possesses a unique ecosystem, wherein lie the remnants of an ancient and advanced civilisation. Many challenge the Abyss pursuing countless hidden treasures and relics of immense value. To explore, valiant cave raiders called Delvers emerged, and the town of Orth was established at the edge of the Abyss.

...

"So you are railgun?"

"Yeah, my true name's Misaka, nice to meet you!"

After a not so cool landing in trees, both patted their clothes and shoulders, before introducing themselves.

Misaka extended her hand out and looked at Medea, seeing her in person for the first time.

(She's taller than me.)

"My true name is Medea, as they said on the group chat, likewise it is very nice to meet you in person as well." She gripped her hand and they shook.

"Mm."

"Don't mind me asking, but you better now?"

"Of course! I'm way better, and I'm actually very excited for this mission, but..."

"But?"

"The extra information, it worries me?"

"The extra information? Now that you mention it, it is way more than my previous ones."

"To my understanding and others, the more extra information you get, the more complicated the world is."

"Oh, to be fair I didn't pay attention to it too much. Now that I think about it, my last mission was quite simple, and the world was also quite simple. Because of this, the extra information wasn't too long, but now..."

She reread the entire paragraph.

"This just means that the world probably has multiple different layers to it, and the mission of saving someone called Irumyuui won't be as easy as it seems. Are you down for it?"

"Am I down? Of course I'm down! First step it to gather information about the so called Abyss. There has to be more to it than what the system gave us."

"Of course, information is key."

Whilst walking to the nearby settlements, they began to chat about themselves and various other things.

"So, what's your powers then. Those weapons listed are insane. No one's bought them so far."

"Well, that's to be expected to be honest. As for my abilities, I am a mage. I can cast different types of magics, and I also have access to this space called the Gate of Babylon where all the weapons of humanity is stored."

"Woah! That's so cool, so that's where the weapons are from."

"Yes, what about you?"

"You see, I can control electrons freely and can think very fast."

"Electrons?"

"You don't know about electrons?"

"No I do, it's just that that's quite the complex ability."

"Yeah it is."

"I'm just thinking, if you manipulate ones in the outer shell to detach from the atom, then huge amounts of energy will be released. In theory, you possess infinite energy since with your mind you can remove electrons at will. They release energy without putting anything in. And also, you can probably use the electrons to change the entire atom itself, and the protons and neutrons are exempted either. You could make a nuclear blast if you tried, and al-"

"YEAH! Okay, I get it. I don't need any more lectures on what I can do."

(Still, she figured all that out just from electrons. It took me actually using the ability to figure that out. She is very smart.)

"I apologise. Anyway, we are approaching the houses soon, so here's what we'll do. I will cast invisibility over us, and we will split up to find information and gather key things. Meet back here when the sun sets and we will share. I estimate around 5 hours."

"Okay then, but about the invisibility..."

"Oh yes, make sure to not leave any tracks. It completely hides you, including your clothes and stuff, but you still exist. You can interact with objects and leave footprints and stuff, so don't get caught."

"Oh, okay."

...

The sun finally began to set, and night was upon them.

At the exact same spot as before, two figures slowly started to fade into reality.

"This is quite more complicated than it seems, just like we thought."

"Yes indeed. So let's consolidate."

"As the information given says, the massive pit in the middle is called the Abyss. Hence the title of the world 'Made in Abyss'

The hole has a diameter of around 1000 meters and the depth is unknown.

There are many mysteries surrounding it, and many have descended into the put. Some pursue treasures, whilst others are explorers determined to unveil the secrets of the Abyss. The people who go in are called Delvers.

The Abyss still contains many sections that have never been seen, and carries many dangers. Hazardous habitats that defy common sense and otherworldly creatures adapted to the unique environment are major obstacles to explorers.

The more mystical part arrives.

All over the Abyss, there is a mysterious force field which acts like a source of energy, sustaining life by carrying sunlight and nutrients into the depths where it could otherwise be impossible for light to reach. It is more concentrated as one gets closer to the vertical shaft.

It is also said that there are bits of time distortion. So that's why the time limit said relative one year.

But the interesting part it, there is this so called curse of the Abyss.

The term refers to a series of symptoms that manifest upon ascending while inside the Abyss, and everyone has a more scientific term called the Strains of Ascension. The effects of the curse manifest after ascending around 10 meters and it affects all living things.

Apparently, the deeper one delves, the more severe the symptoms are, starting at mild dizziness and nausea, and gradually rising to intense pain throughout the body, loss of senses and even death. This makes the return trip from the Abyss extremely difficult, and it is not uncommon for Delvers to perish on the way up.

There are these things called whistles which indicate the delver rank of its owner.

Red whistles are objects that indicate the delver of its owner as an apprentice Delver.

Blue whistles are objects that indicate the delver of its owner as a more experienced Delver.

Moon whistles indicate the owner is highly proficient.

Black whistles indicate that they are an expert Delver.

And then there are white whistles, who are regarded as legends. They are considered to be the greatest Delvers of all time. Their achievements have changed the world, and their discoveries astonished all. They all have a title, beginning with 'Sovereign of'.

Because of the delvers, there are currently 6th known layers of the Abyss,

1st layer the Edge of the Abyss, from 0 – 1350 meters.

2nd layer the Forest of temptation, from 1350 – 2600

3rd layer the Great Fault, from 2600 – 7000

4th layer the Goblet of Giants, from 7000 – 12000

5th layer the Sea of Corpses, from 12000 – 13000

6th layer the Capital of the Unreturned, from 13000 – 15500

And that's about everything relevant."

"Did you find anything about someone called Irumyuui?"

"Unfortunately not, did you?"

"No, but I feel like the only clue is in the 6th layer."

"Make's sense. It must be called the 'Capital' for a reason, so maybe it would have more clues? I mean... all clues point towards that direction after all"

"I say that's where we go for now, but we still have to be careful. According to the sources, the curse is no joke."

"Hmm, the curse of the abyss. If one ascends more than 10 meters it would have adverse effects, and it would get worse as you descend further down. Maybe we need to test it on ourselves before making any rash decisions."

"Yeah, I'm very curious about this loss of humanity or whatever it's called."

"We'll conduct some experiments tomorrow, for now let's just get some rest."

"What about food?"

"...Oh, I forgot you still need to eat."

"You don't?"

"I don't have to, it's more a delicacy to me at my level."

"Oh."

They soon *cough legally acquired some food, and found a place to rest.

Medea put up around a hundred different protections around the area, then doze off.

...

The next, both woke up really early, and without anyone noticing Medea descended into the first layer casually. She opted for Misaka to not go because they still did not know the effects it would have, and Medea being the stronger one and can fly, she can probably escape unharmed should something happen.

As soon as she entered the vicinity, her mage senses immediately picked up on irregularities in the flow of mana.

(What's this? It's like mana but very disrupted...

Is this the so called curse of the Abyss? It turns out to be this...)

Landing on the floor, she then slowly stepped up into the air and ascended.

As she passed the ten meter mark, a very slight wave of dizziness hit her before disappearing. She didn't concentrate on this however, since all her protective barriers are down, so this reaction was only expected. In fact, normally people would throw up, so this just shows how strong she was mentally, not to mention adding the protective layers up.

What she was thinking about was how she felt some resistance pulling at her. It was more of a mental burden rather than a physical one, and her dizziness was a mere side-effect of it, but she noticed this immediately.

(Dizziness, mental strain... is this ancient magic? Interesting... seems like I was a bit worried for nothing.)

Having accomplished her goal, she teleported back to their temporary camp.

"So what did you find out?"

"It isn't much of a deal than I thought. It feels like it is the work of some ancient magic, and the mana is quite disturbed down there, but it's nothing to worry about too much, although I can't say much deeper down. By my estimations, you could probably ascend from layer 3 without too many bad effects."

"But how does it work though, maybe my ability could work?"

"I don't think so. There are two sides, science and magic, and both are powerful in their own regards. The science that you possess is very strong but can be explained and countered, but magic leans more towards the mystical and unexplainable. It may be weaker but countering is quite hard."

"Oh."

"But I will also explain the curse in terms of science so you know what to expect. Think of it as gravity. The stronger the gravitational pull, the harder it is to jump, right?"

"Right."

"Then think of the Abyss as a planet, which has it's own gravity. The closer you get to the core, in other words the more dense something is, the stronger the gravity, so the harder to jump. Jumping in this sense means ascending. Descending is not a problem since you are working along the gravity, but as soon as you try to go up, you will be affected."

"Ohhhh, I see now. Then maybe, if I turn myself to something like a feather which is less affected, then maybe I can reduce the pull?"

"Perhaps..."

"What will you do?"

"As I said, I explained it in terms of science, when in reality it is magic, so I am more than well versed in it. Countering such force is child's play to me. Do you want any help?"

"Help? You must be joking. I'll deal with it myself."

"As you wish." She smiled and didn't continue. "Now, back to business. If we are going to descend, then we also need some equipment, and preferably a whistle so if we bump into someone, it will make us seem less suspicious."

"Oh, we don't need equipment, what I mean is I already have all the equipment."

"You? Have the equipment?" Medea looked at her up and down, scanning every inch of her clothes, "I don't believe it."

"Well, I actually trained myself for such situations. I can use my electrons to change elements and compounds and stuff, so if I know the correct formula and chemical arrangement then I can in theory create stuff like chairs and other survival necessities."

"And do you know the arrangements?"

"Yes. Although currently I am by myself and can only store around 100000 petabytes worth of data in my brain, back in my home world there are these clones of myself created by a mad scientist. I freed them and they are now called the Misaka network. I can connect my brain to them and process information really quickly. It's like a massive information storage system."

"Yes how interesting, anyway back to the main focus, you can make the equipment?"

"Yes."

"How fast?"

"Normally between 20 to 30 seconds for one."

"That's too long."

"What? Can you do it quicker?"

"Yes." In her hand manifested a shovel.

"Oh I forgot, magic huh." She then looked very grumpy.

"Then that only leaves the whistles, and maybe a map if we can."

"I'll get the map. I'll remember all the directions."

"Okay, then I'll go get us... let's say a... moon whistle. That would make us seem believable."

"Mm."

3 hours later and they were stood above the entrance to the abyss.

Misaka had read every book to do with the abyss and remembered all the information, and Medea had *cough legally acquired two moon whistles.

She definitely did not just steal two who happened to be in the city, and left them two fakes.

"Ready?"

"Sure."

And they both jumped in.