Chapter 353 Clearing the Deep Wall Stratum
It was only natural that the process of clearing the Deep Wall Stratum was not as easy as the forum post title suggested.
While it was just a descent overall speaking, Edward encountered something unexpected as he attempted to fly through the entire tunnel on his Blackfire Dragon.
First and foremost, the Nine-headed Birds and other monsters living in this stratum would attack himâalthough it was not too fierce and manageable for Edward, guarding against the attack still drains his strength.
But there was a bigger problem after dealing with the creaturesâ attack.
Edward had tried to descend past the entire Deep Wall Stratum tunnel since his Blackfire Dragon wasnât a real creature. Rapidly descending on it was equal to having a near-physical shield of flames beneath him, blocking the brunt of the damage of anything it crashed into halfway through the descent, even dealing critical hits on monsters like the Nine-headed Birds with physical collision and fire damage!
And yet, in the rapid descent quicker than free falling, Edward noticed that something wasnât right.
He clearly wasnât being attacked, but his HP bar was dropping quickly!
Upon a closer look, he noticed that there was a status called (Abyssal Curse, Grade 3] on his status bar.
After several tests, Edward ascertained the cause of the curse even though he didnât know where it came from.
In a nutshell, the curse would come into effect when his descent exceeded a certain speed limit, and the curse could be categorized into several different grades.
Grade 1 causes fainting and nausea, but wouldnât inflict any actual negative effects aside from that.
By Grade 2, the person would lose their sense of balance, their bodies being struck with a status similar to being âstunnedâ, although mage-grade Players like Edward who has stronger spirit stats was immune to a certain extent.
Grade 3 was the level at which Edward first sensed the Abyssal Curse itself. This grade was where physical damage started to be inflicted, presenting itself in the form of sweating bloodâbut thanks to the Playersâ physicality, the blood sweat would directly vanish as it leaves the body and wouldnât cause major blood loss.
Nonetheless, Edward attempted accelerating afterward, and discovered that there were two more grades of Abyssal Curse beyond grade three.
At Grade 4, the person would feel as if a fire was burning inside their body (doubtful since Edward feel that it could be a status exclusive to the class of Skyfire Heralds), with the personâs HP decreasing at a rate far quicker than at Grade 3, just as the spirit stats would decrease as well.
Grade 5 was the strongest level of the Abyssal Curse that Edwardâor indeed the Blackfire Dragon-could make out through acceleration. Now, the Playerâs spirit stat would drop wildly, their physical stats becoming erratic, increasing from to time instead of dropping straightaway.
Furthermore, the Grade 5 Abyssal Curse would inflict an additional unusual status called Melt. It was coupled with a percentage, although Edwardâs HP was completely drained before he could reach 100% on two occasions, which was why he wouldnât know what it actually does.
Still, Edward had a hunch that it meant instant death as the person melts into a puddle of blood.
***
âSo, in a nutshell, the Abyssal Curse prevents us from quickly crossing this tunnel to reach the Third Stratum,â Edward concluded after his experiments.
He was now resting with the other frontlines in one of the caves over the walls, having a hardtack and some cola.
The others were fine, but Edward, who died twice to test the depths of the Abyssal Curse looked exhausted.
âWell, you did pass through the Deep Wall to reach the Dark Sky, right?â Mufasa asked interestedly. âWhatâs it like down there?â
âComplete darkness, although the air has some buoyancy, and it feels like youâre in a pitch-black ocean with only a faint ray of light,â Edward said, feeling a little troubled when he remembered what he saw. âItâs not easy to describe, so we should get down there first.â
âIs there nothing resembling a Boss in the second stratum?â Joe asked, a little unhappy. âClearing the second stratum feels so easy⊠too easy, actually, to the point that itâs disappointingâŠâ
âThis tunnel itself is probably the toughest trial of the second stratum. We find it simple is only because we as Players never die, and Edward has already checked out the rules!â Doug Ag couldnât help preaching to Joe. âThink about itâwhat would have happened if we arenât Players and didnât know a thing about this tunnel?ââArenât we going to just climb down like before?â Joe scratched his head, unsure what that meant.
âHuman patience is limited. There wouldnât be problems at first, but after hours of climbing but when you look downwards to find that the bottom of tunnel still out of sight, you would start feeling anxious. And when that happens, you would try to descend quicker over worries about resources and whatnot, such as using a rope.â
On the other hand, Mufasa did understand Doug Agâs reasoning and explaining things for Joe and the other confused Players. âAnd once the Grade 2 Abyssal Curse kicks in and youâre left stunned and out of controlâŠâ
âYou would fall off the rope!â Joe only understood what they meant then. âThatâs right. The speed of your drop would also trigger the curses of subsequent grades which kills you even quicker.â Edward added with a nod. âWith such difficulty, do you really think clearing the Deep Wall Stratum is that easy?â
âUrgh, so sinister! Anyone other than us exploring this place would be dead with such a thing!â Joe swore, frowning. âThe people who designed such a thing must be nothing good!â
âBut thatâs not entirely the case.â Edward shook his head. âAlthough this is definitely a trap that kills you on your first encounter, the high elves that built this ruin had left a hint.â
âThe Grade 1 curse?â Gou Dan palmed his fist in understanding.
âThatâs right. The Grade 1 Curse doesnât inflict actual damage, and all it does is leave the target nauseated. Thatâs the biggest hint that forces any explorers to do nothing other than to climb downward.â Edward nodded again, wolfing down his rations in several quick bites. âThe curses are invoked only if you ignore that and continued a quickened descent, but thatâs not important to us. Clerics, prepare your HP recovery skills, everyone else, prepare your colas. Weâre going straight down, just be careful about your HP levels!â
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