Death’s Abyss

[Beep… Beep…]

[We have detected that your total deaths on Day One of the game have exceeded 99!]

[Poor player! You have once again earned the mercy of the gods!]

[You have obtained "Sanctuary Ring" and "Sanctuary Bracelet"!]

[Note: Since you have died 99 consecutive times, you will now be forcibly returned to a safe area for revival. Please take better care of your life.]

[Warning: Your existence has attracted the attention of a certain god; you have gained the debuff – Gaze of the Abyss!]

A rapid sequence of system prompts echoed through Rylan's mind. At the same time, his field of vision changed.

Whoosh!

Amid a brief flash of white light—

[You have been revived! Welcome back to the Starter Village!]

Rylan found himself forcibly teleported to the Starter Village's respawn point.

"Damn it, I died again! The monsters outside this village are brutal!"

"Yeah, I just got killed by a level 2 maggot. Are you kidding me?!"

He could hear complaints from several recently resurrected players around him. Ignoring them, he opened his backpack to check out the system rewards he had just received.

––––––––

[Sanctuary Ring]

Grade: A

Defense: 1

Special Feature: Gale

Gale: Increases attack speed by 10%

Description: Face the wind and fight on!

[Sanctuary Bracelet]

Grade: A

Defense: 1

Special Feature: Healing

Healing: Increases HP regeneration rate by 10%

Description: If you still end up dead wearing this, then we're at a loss!

––––––––

So, Rylan had received two more pieces of Sanctuary gear, completing the entire Sanctuary collection. In the next instant, he equipped all five pieces at once.

[Ding!]

[We have detected that you have gathered the full Sanctuary Set.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the title "Chosen One."]

[Chosen One – Title]

Effect: You have assembled the legendary Sanctuary Set. You gain a permanent buff: Divine Blessing and Phoenix Flame.

Divine Blessing: Doubles the special effects of the Sanctuary Set and grants +5 Luck.

Phoenix Flame: Grants +1 immunity to a lethal attack. Once triggered, this buff vanishes. (A lethal attack refers to damage that makes resurrection impossible.)

Rylan stared at the notifications, momentarily stunned.

Sanctuary gear was notoriously difficult to acquire, and it was unique in Myth. In his previous life, each of the five pieces had been kept by five different players from different countries, and none of them ever shared the gear.

All five pieces remained nothing more than personal souvenirs. Two years after the game's launch, someone attempted to buy and assemble the set but failed.

Rylan had guessed there might be a powerful set bonus for collecting all five pieces, but he never imagined such a strong hidden effect. Doubling every special ability on the gear itself might not be astronomical, but having +5 Luck was staggeringly rare.

In Myth, drop rates for equipment and materials were notoriously low. The most obvious effect of higher Luck was improved drop rates—an incredibly valuable attribute.

He recalled how one of his friends in his past life awakened an A-tier talent called "Lucky Star," which provided 3 points of extra Luck from the start.

Even those 3 points gave that friend a massive early edge, eventually allowing him to become the leader of a top-tier guild.

Now Rylan, with a full 5 points of Luck, surpassed even that.

He also gained the Phoenix Flame buff, which grants one free pass against a lethal attack—a precious bonus.

In Myth, many extremely powerful beings can override normal protection rules to kill a player's in-game life outright, preventing resurrection.

Moreover, once Earth is attacked, the planet's core will be destroyed, leaving players without the game's protective mechanics—death in-game would mean true death in the real world.

However, the buff effectively grants Rylan one extra chance at life.

Rylan took a deep breath, calming himself before opening his character panel.

––––––––

[ShadowLord]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 0/100]

[HP: 50]

[MP: 0]

[Talent: Wound Tear]

[Attack: 5]

[Defense: 10]

[Accuracy: 100%]

[Attack Speed: +20%]

[HP Regeneration: +20% (dynamic boost, 100 HP = 2 HP/second)]

[Physical Damage Reflection: 20%]

[Movement Speed: +40%]

[Luck: 5]

––––––––

His base stats were still that of a level 1 character, but now he had gained percentages in attack speed, accuracy, HP regen, damage reflection, and movement speed.

At this early stage, those bonuses might not look mind-blowing, yet Rylan knew perfectly well: once leveled up, those stats would yield a colossal advantage.

"Put on the full Sanctuary set, and you awaken the title and these buffs!"

"So does that mean I could hand these items over to someone else…?"

When his excitement subsided, another thought flashed through Rylan's mind. He opened his inventory to see if he could trade the Sanctuary gear.

Unfortunately, each item was already bound to him, making them untradable and undroppable—even in death, he wouldn't lose them.

The system had anticipated such a loophole, so he couldn't exploit repeated trades to farm the powerful buffs. Still, he had no complaints. Gathering the entire Sanctuary set already gave him a massive boost.

Yet while he had finished collecting the full Sanctuary series, he hadn't yet succeeded in advancing his talent. His gaze darkened as he looked to his character panel.

At the very bottom, a pair of crimson-black eyes flickered. This is the debuff the system had just mentioned.

––––––––

[Gaze of the Abyss]

On the first day of the game, you became the first being to die 99 times in rapid succession. Your soul has been marked by an unknown presence. If you die again within one hour, your soul will be dragged into the Death's Abyss.

Warning: The Abyss seals away an extremely terrifying ancient being. If you perish there, your soul will be destroyed and you will never resurrect. You will truly die in the real world.

Severe Warning: Not advised for players below Level 100.

––––––––

Those eyes hovered at the bottom of his character sheet, scanning their surroundings as though they were a grim reaper, patiently awaiting a "lucky winner."

Rylan read the debuff's description, then tightened his grip around the Sanctuary Blade and drove it straight toward his own heart.

[You have dealt damage to yourself.]

[-15]

A crimson damage value appeared above Rylan's head.

"Whoa… what's this guy doing? Suicide at the respawn point?"

"Is he losing his mind? Maybe he needs a psychiatrist."

"Wait, that weapon in his hand… that looks pretty special."

The players nearby froze in shock. For a moment, many curious eyes turned toward Rylan. Paying them no attention, he continued stabbing himself with the Sanctuary Blade.

[You have dealt damage to yourself.]

-15, -15...

One red number after another flickered above his head. Four jabs later, Rylan's HP was completely drained.

[You have died!]

An unnervingly cold system prompt emerged. And yet, the usual "resurrection" message did not follow.

From Rylan's perspective, the entire world suddenly froze. The expressions and movements of every player around him hung suspended in time. Even the leaves of the village trees stopped swaying.

High above, the sky took on a blood-red hue.

Crack… Crack…

A strange sound echoed as the entire sky splintered like shattered glass, revealing a gigantic scarlet eye looming overhead.

A beam of red light shot downward, locking onto Rylan.

Immediately, a sheer, pitch-black pit opened beneath his feet. The next moment, a strong wave of vertigo crashed over him, and he plunged into darkness. All the while, a raspy voice whispered in his ear:

[Welcome to the Death's Abyss!]