The brothers present were those who had lived and died alongside Eber. They watched Joseph’s internal injuries heal, and no matter how turbulent their hearts were, they understood the importance of this matter and focused their minds.
“That gentleman possesses extremely powerful and mysterious powers. If you trust me, come with me to the Monster Forest.”
“Joining the Lord of Demons is definitely not a bad thing. I have a premonition that the entire continent will submit to the Lord of Demons in the future!”
He couldn’t hide his excitement: “These are all gifts from the Lord of Demons, absolutely capable of raising the team’s strength in a short period. Ivan will not back down; he has a high-level magician uncle.”
“By the way, there’s no need to conceal this information. You should be no strangers to spreading news in secret; try to let more people know about the secrets in the Abyss.”
While there was no opposition to his previous words, this one left them puzzled. They questioned, “Captain, why? Wouldn’t it be better if fewer people knew about this news?”
Eber shook his head. That gentleman had saved his life, and since he swore allegiance to him, he would not go back on his word. To those lofty nobles, perhaps being loyal to a demon was a shameful act, but he believed that in times of life and death, there would definitely be commoners willing to gamble on a journey to the Abyss.
As long as the message spread, with the gentleman’s strength, he had nothing to worry about regarding the power of belief. Moreover, he turned to a slender man with brown hair and spoke solemnly, “If the Lord of Demons becomes even more powerful, perhaps your arm can be restored.”
The brown-haired man was taken aback upon hearing this and silently looked at his incomplete arm, biting his lip. He stammered, “R-Really… can it be restored?”
Everyone else was also startled. Once they understood his words, their eyes brightened with hope.
Eber stepped forward and patted the man’s shoulder: “Work hard; the Lord of Demons is mysterious and powerful, he will surely help you recover.”
The brown-haired man, known as Ellen Anchiro, had tears welling in his eyes: “Thank you… thank you, Captain.”
Eber winked at him, smiling as he said, “But you’d better work hard to save money; the Lord of Demons’ items are not cheap.”
Immediately, the melancholic atmosphere was dispelled, and everyone burst into laughter. As long as there was a glimmer of hope ahead, they would not choose to give up.
*
The Abyss had almost no light sources, only the persistent crimson hue. Rusnian could not judge the time based on the sun. After finishing his work today, he checked the system and saw that it was already eight in the evening.
The shop also had opening and closing hours. He estimated that at this hour, no one would come, so he prepared to return to his room for rest.
The first floor was for selling goods, and the second floor was his living quarters. He walked to the corner and went up the stairs to his room’s door.
He had to say that the treatment from the system was quite good; it was a standard one-bedroom apartment with a living room and a bathroom. Though small, it was complete in function, and the modern decoration was entirely different from the style on the first floor.
This day had been too full of ups and downs. Once he settled down, he realized he was hungry and stumbled into the kitchen, where various utensils and ingredients were fully stocked.
Opening the fridge, he found plenty of potatoes and tomatoes and some frozen meat in the second tier. Rusnian couldn’t help but think that the system had really prepared well.
With the available ingredients, he simply stir-fried a few dishes, and after eating, he lay down on the bed.
He rested his head on the soft pillow and let his thoughts wander aimlessly, chuckling softly before turning over to sleep.
A gentle breeze swept through the curtains, shrouding the last bit of light, and the room fell completely into darkness.
A cold mechanical sound rang out, a slight “ding,” but no one heard it.
*
The next day, when Rusnian woke up, he opened the door as usual. Clearly, today was not as lucky as yesterday; no fools had fallen into the Abyss.
He didn’t mind too much. Opening the fridge again, he looked at the new vegetables, all fresh and juicy, even spotting a plate of fruit, raising an eyebrow.
“How thoughtful; the ingredients change every day.”
【…Well, of course.】
Rusnian paused, sensing a hint of shyness in the system’s response, and couldn’t help but laugh.
Leisurely, he took out the plate of fruit and placed it on the counter. He sat in a chair, leaning back slightly, and popped a strawberry into his mouth.
It was cool and refreshing, the sweet juice of the strawberry was delicious, and the taste was exceptionally good.
“By the way, I almost forgot: how does the Abyss passage device actually work? That person fell from the sky yesterday.”
If there were more customers in the future, it wouldn’t do for everyone to be lying dead outside; it would be hard to explain if they piled up and caused injuries.
【Master, you can customize the landing location. Currently, the device is at level one, and can only set a one-meter radius for the landing site. Upgrading requires ten thousand energy coins.】
Wow, that’s pricey. I’ll hold off on that for now; I’ll talk about upgrading later. For now, I’ll set a landing spot.
The transmission point was on the left side of the shop, so I’ll choose the right side for the landing spot.
Just as Rusnian made the decision, a circular, transparent structure identical to the transmission point suddenly completed its construction.
The style was reminiscent of an elevator in an old residential building.
【When the Abyss passage device detects a person stepping into the Cliff of Ruins and has a strong desire to enter the shop, the transmission function will be triggered.】
Rusnian realized this was a dimension with magic and monsters. If someone maliciously entered the Abyss through the transmission device, threatening his and the shop’s safety…
【Rest assured, Master, as long as someone steps into the shop, you are the master, and any illegal activities will be prohibited.】
The system beeped coldly, devoid of warmth.
Chapter 4
Just when Rusnian thought he might not be able to open the shop today and pondered discussing with the system about any possible promotions, he faintly heard a noisy sound outside.
“Um, Lord of Demons?”
A man dressed in simple robes stood awkwardly outside the door. He seemed a bit nervous and didn’t dare to raise his head to look around.