The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 434 - Chapter 434: Chapter 432: The Dead Under the Abyss

Chapter 434: Chapter 432: The Dead Under the Abyss

Yi Chen’s physical condition had long reached its peak under Teacher Zede’s training. Coupled with the fixed effect of his fingertip spikes, climbing the cliff with its obvious protrusions was no trouble at all–it was only slightly more troublesome than walking on the ground.

The depth of the abyss could not be measured, and even as Yi Chen gradually increased his climbing speed, he was unable to perceive the existence of the bottom. He wondered how long he would have to climb,

and so he took the opportunity during his spare time to chat with Thirteen on his back.

“By the way, Thirteen, do you know how the abysses in the Extremely Dark Land are formed? And how do they compare to the Original Tomb Abyss we are currently climbing?”

“I know a little about that, mostly from what I learned from my previous master, my creator… The Abyss is a special area formed under extreme dark conditions, and it is also a ‘hole’ from the Old World.

The corresponding abyss of the Original Tomb was formed due to the lack of sunlight in the realm of the dead over an extended period. The Abyss is not completely unknown; it is mostly controlled by the First Dead Man, and it is safe and stable.

After the fall of the Evil Eye, the abysses that formed in corners of the Old World were mostly out of control.

Although a very few abysses have been explored by the Patients, and even the unchecked energy contained within has been harnessed, most abysses remain unexplored. Inside of them lie a vast array of war relics–out of control and chaotic, yet filled with opportunities.

Many areas of the Source Plague and special organizations in the Old World have invested vast amounts of effort into exploring and developing the Extremely Dark Land.

Lamp City Ignasi has become one of the greatest beneficiaries.

It is rumored that in the depths of the Extremely Dark Land lie unexplored paths that have never been developed. Perhaps, teacher, you might find the ‘path’ most suited to you there.

However, since you have connections with the Duke, it would be better to ask Him first.”

“Hmm, even without considering the matter of the path, I myself would like to explore the Extremely Dark Land, attempting to find relics left over from ancient wars to gain knowledge beyond that of the Old World.

Once you, Thirteen, have fully learned the Puppet Making Skill and can carry out repairs, replacements, and comprehensive upgrades and modifications to yourself, we’ll find an opportunity to go and explore it too.”

“Great! But… going to such a dangerous place with just the two of us would be very risky.”

“When the time comes, I will bring along a bunch of friends.”

After discussing the abyss, they talked about Thirteen’s progress with her Candle Puppet making lessons during this period, and they also chatted about some of her past experiences.

Eventually, running out of things to talk about, they became quiet,

and Yi Chen continued to climb downward at an accelerated pace. His clothing, stitched with ‘Black Death Skin,’ could continuously absorb the energy of the Death Plague from the air, acting like an exoskeleton armor and greatly reducing his physical exertion.

Thirteen slowly got used to the feeling of being carried by the teacher and even took out a book to continue her studies in Puppet Making.

Time passed, and the climb continued.

“How deep is this place? My sense of time shouldn’t be off. It feels like I’ve been climbing for more than two days… It must be tens of thousands of meters by now, so why haven’t we reached the bottom yet?”

After two days and nights of intense climbing, even Yi Chen was getting tired. Each finger had been worn raw at least fifty times, yet there was still no sign of reaching the bottom.

Yi Chen even began to doubt whether his method of entering the Original Tomb was wrong. Perhaps this physical climb would never reach the end, and the climb through the Abyss would go on forever.

However, such negative thoughts were immediately squelched.

“Keep going! We’ll reach the bottom eventually.”

Yi Chen controlled his leather clothing to concentrate a portion of the Gentleman’s Skin on the soles of his shoes to increase friction, while spikes grew out from the soles, and his calves began to accumulate power.

“This should be faster!”

Yi Chen let go of his hands from the climb, stood vertically against the wall, and began to try running.

After a while of vertical running, his speed increased more and more, almost reaching 80% of the speed of running on solid ground… Yet, after running like this for three days and nights, even the Epidemic value within Yi Chen’s Frame was nearly depleted.

On the sixth day,

the light emitted from the White Candle suddenly stopped extending downwards and was blocked by something… A thick fog, an indescribable Dead Gangrene Mist Bacteria, was gathering below.

“Teacher! Teacher! We’re almost there!”

“Ah~ damn! We’re finally getting there.”

Yi Chen snapped out of his completely numb mechanical run and focused his gaze downward.

Even with his Vision, he had trouble penetrating the dense fog gathered at the bottom. He could only make out the vague shapes of numerous deceased figures moving down below, approximately a thousand meters away.

Below seemed to correspond with an extremely wide underground cavern, describing it as a miniature underground world wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Thirteen, hold on tight to me!”

“Okay.”

Having run the last stretch of the abyss’ cliff, Yi Chen leaped directly into the dense fog of the Death Plague.

Inhaling the cloud-like, highly concentrated Death Plague, his entire brain seemed activated, as if the fatigue from five days and nights without sleep was swept away by a large margin.

As he passed through the cloud layer, the zombie world hidden at the bottom of the abyss lay fully in view, a scene that completely surpassed Yi Chen’s expectations.

A large number of the dead were gathered below, their forms bizarre and numerous–there were zombies resembling normal humans, very explicit skeletons, some oddly shaped bone-assembly bodies, and even some horror figures common in horror films.

They weren’t training, nor were they in formation or engaged in some uniform planned activity; instead, they were ‘doing their own thing.’ For example,

in an open-air plaza similar to a dance hall,

a skeleton band was playing their living instruments (by strumming different parts of intestines attached to the top of the spine, the modified human heads would produce corresponding musical instrument sounds)

The skeleton lead singer screamed with a heavy metal voice, and the dead below were completely immersed in the madness of their dance, overwhelmed with excitement.

There was also an open-air basketball court where two teams vied for victory using the referee’s head as the [ball], demonstrating basketball skills of incredible height, even more exaggerated than some idol basketball dramas with special effects.

The referee being used as a basketball enjoyed it too, and was also able to offer the most direct and fair judgment.

Moreover, there were plenty of card tables–some playing mahjong, poker, chess, and some never-before-seen card and board games, and even some gambling games that required monetary support.

There was even a water park where many scantily clad dead were frolicking about.

Every dead in sight had a happy and clearly joyful smile beaming from their bony faces.

“This…”

For a moment, Yi Chen seemed a bit stunned. This was starkly different from what he had envisioned of the Original Tomb, to the extent that he forgot to slow his fall and plummeted straight down.

Boom!

The ground was blasted into a circular crater, with Yi Chen kneeling on one knee within it.

The crowd of the dead, who had been playing mahjong nearby, immediately surrounded him, putting their game on hold and casting incredulous glances,

Meanwhile, these dead could manipulate the Death Plague to form a black membrane over the surface of their eyeballs, much like sunglasses, to protect themselves from the damage caused by white flames.

Soon, the spectators started to exclaim, “A visitor has fallen from the sky!”

“Impossible, living visitors can’t possibly climb the Abyss and arrive here the most difficult way… let me have a look!”

More and more onlookers gathered, seemingly incredulous about Yi Chen’s arrival.

Just then,

a howl resounded as the Black Wolf Bernard from the Death Plague Knights arrived first, the arrival of his mount wolf causing the crowd to part and open a spacious path.

Beneath Bernard’s wolf-head mask, the eyes also showed disbelief,

“You actually chose the most difficult way in… The Original Tomb hasn’t had a ‘Descender’ like you in a long time. Climbing the Abyss requires extreme patience, willpower, a sense of time, and an affinity for death; otherwise, one will be devoured by the Abyss en route.”

“The most difficult way? Are there other ways to get down here?”

“Hmm, didn’t you notice? There are many elevators set up within the tombstone jungle, often hidden among the massive tombstone trees, they should be easy to find, right?”

“Huh?”

Then, Thirteen’s voice came from behind him: “Yes, my candlelight also discovered them while permeating the tombstones. It’s just that teacher, you had followed the scent straight to the cliff of the Abyss; I thought you disdained to take such elevators and deliberately chose this difficult mode to gain the recognition of the dead.”

“Wow~”

Just like that, Yi Chen’s mindset underwent a change.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.