The tower group had given Aurora enough fodder to chew. But it did make sense in the general timeline of things.

This could be the tower’s initial step in retaliation against the outlanders. It was a little early in the time frame but not unacceptable development.

“We need to head back and warn Damian’s clan. They will become targeted because of us.” Rita sounded shocked.

Treachery like this was nothing new in their world. Getting caught up in the middle of a revenge plot was a common occurrence in their world.

Even so, the tower’s audacity left a bitter taste in Aurora’s mouth. Especially since she knew she could not leave the tower for some time.

“I agree. The outlanders need to know about this potential danger in case we do not make it out in time. I will send them a message as soon as I get my hands on the appropriate supplies.” Aurora assured Rita.

The communication supplied did exist in the starter pack Aurora had bought but they were only good enough to work inside the abyss.

Besides, these supplies had the tower’s mark placed all over them. Their messenger will be shot down before it would reach the outlanders.

“Huh? Make it out in time? Why won’t we make it out in time if we leave now? The abyss tower is capable of subduing strong creatures but it’s not that strong. At least, that group did not look that strong.” Rita asked.

“We’re not leaving the abyss. We’ll secure the person we came here for and then leave this place.” Aurora’s tone was final.

The disbelief oozing out of Rita was dense. It had anger mixed in it as well.

And Aurora knew the outburst would come any second now.

“Huh? We’re not leaving the abyss? But why?” Rita questioned.

“Currently, we offer no advantage to the outlanders. Even if we leave the abyss now, you are no match for the beast and I will not risk the academy before it is set up. The best we can do is to find our teacher and complete our required staff of three.” Aurora explained.

Three qualified teachers were the minimum criterion for the academy. Among that, a medic was necessary.

Aurora had the medic role fulfilled with Free. The Succubus would be able to get her hand on a fake identification paper for herself.historical

The second person would be Rex. Despite his reluctance and his ‘questionable’ habits, his background was nothing to be laughed at. He did not even need to be an active teacher to be counted by the instructors.

And the third was this person Aurora was tracking. Magic was an onboard ability while alchemy was a learned one.

And Aurora knew there was no one better to teach it than the ‘grandmaster’ herself. To the tower, she was a miracle. She was a hermit with a curse to live forever.

Or, that was the lie the abyss tower had fed the people.

In reality, the grandmaster had been an experiment of theirs. She had been created to further the Tower’s research about the abyss. They had used the monster’s genes along with the god’s magic.

Things had not meshed up well. The resulting person had a half-human appearance but none of their limitations. The creature was as close to god but not accepted by either side.

“Must be someone really epic for you to go out of your way like this,” Rita replied.

“She is. Astoria is someone you can ask anything and expect to get an answer. Her long life has given her much wisdom.” Aurora explained.

She might have exaggerated a few things in her praise, but she did mean it overall. Astoria was someone they needed on their side.

“That’s great and all. But would someone like that even join us? Won’t the abyss offer her a better deal? And what is she doing in the abyss anyway?” Rita asked.

“Most people have their reasons. Don’t ask this question to her right away. Not everyone likes when others butt in their business.” Aurora’s tone had just a hint of scolding.

Rita raised her hands in ‘mock surrender,’ but the message had gone through to her.

Aurora led them further into the depth. It was a path she vaguely remembered but she did not know the right direction.

It was not till she was the first sign of floral life that she allowed herself to relax. The tree might not look anything like she had seen before but it certainly was a tree.

The tree trail led to a small clearing in the abyss. A huge hole opened up to the sky and facilitated the clearing with clear sunlight.

“Wow. I never thought such a place could exist in the abyss. It looks just like the upper surface. How is this even possible?” Rita questioned.

The answer was the female looking after her fields. Soft white hair trailed after the average heightened adult female.

The hunched back might even give one an impression of her being ab old lady, but Aurora knew better.

She had heard about the lady in white but this was her first time seeing Astoria in person. And Aurora had to say, the aura was certainly incredible enough to be felt from this far away.

“Look. Is that lady down there Astoria? But you said she was old. She looks like she’s in her twenties.” Rita pointed out. Again, she was not wrong since Astoria did look like a young adult.

“Looks can be deceiving. Let’s introduce ourselves.” Aurora suggested. The gentle lady down below tended to her plants.

Aurora picked herself to scale down the clearing but then she saw it.

The shadow was moving swiftly in the forest nearby her. Rita seemed not to have noticed it yet but they had company.

Aurora had a bad feeling about this and she quickly looked down. Astoria was nowhere to be seen.

The shadow was also quickly gaining ground on them. Aurora could feel the life force of the massive beast heading toward them.

But the creature was not aiming for her. It was aiming for Rita.

“Rita, block,” Aurora called out as the shadow attacked Rita’s unprotected back.