Abyssal Awakening

Nestled between towering spires of brass, iron, rails and countless towers decorated with gears and pipes was the city of Eldoria. A city of innovation and discovery in the blood arts of Abyssal Engineering.

Every inch of the cityscape was covered by numerous contraptions and vehicles. It was simply night and day in comparison to the other cities that Alice and Ria had visited.

Even from afar, they could see the skyline of Eldoria, a masterpiece of metallic towers and flying ships.

"What in the hell is that???" Alice blinked in sheer confusion upon seeing an airship powered by Abyssal Engineering.

A vessel of pulsating energy through the clear pipes and an array of ethereal power keeping the ship afloat in the abyssal skies. Wings, ribs and even the scales of a beast were used as reinforcement of the ship. A man-made construct in awe or perhaps mockery of the very beast that was slain to craft it.

"A flying ship. It's not even the most impressive feat of engineering that people have come up with you know?" Ria smiled after seeing Alice's childlike curiosity regarding the technical marvels of Eldoria.

She too was the same at the start and Luke was the one who educated her on much of the information on this topic. The notable inventors, the pioneers of such magic without Sigils.

"A flying ship… Do people use them to travel often? Like to hunts?" Alice asked curiously but Ria shook her head.

"There's no point. Stronger beasts can take it down in a heartbeat while the weaker beasts don't require such a contraption. It's more… A proof of wealth for the rich. In terms of actual practicality there's basically none. If anything, the rails are more interesting. They're already making tracks leading to some of the larger cities." Ria explained while pointing at the rails in the distance.

Small carriages with people inside could be seen being transported upon the rails leading to the different levels of the city.

Just as she was about to say something, Alice noticed a small figure running across the carriages while holding a bag in her hand.

Squinting her eyes to try get a closer look, she saw that the figure was being chased by a mechanical serpentine beast along with several cat like contraptions. Their bodies, a union of metal, bones and scales.

Snapping open its jaw, the serpentine beast shot forth a glowing green dart towards the figure who tried to dodge but was not fast enough. The dart made a cut across her leg as her body instantly tensed up and stumbled over the edge while the cat like contraptions transformed into a bird and caught her.

Seeing this, Alice was shocked that they were able to create man-made beasts of the Abyss using this Abyssal Engineering.

"Unlike actual beasts that come from the Abyss, these ones follow instructions without failure and you don't have to risk your life training them either." Ria shrugged.

'Well that's what Luke told me anyway. He did mention that he could hijack the controls of these beasts if he tampers with the inner workings should he wish. They work off blood so changing the blood within should change its master.'

"Heh~ Is that so… I wonder what's the strongest beast you can make. Having them guard the people without Sigils would make any place safer for living." Alice mused while her eyes scanned the city.

Each scan would offer her new contraptions to wonder about and theorise the uses of such items.

"Seems like we can buy some pretty interesting items here. They're probably going to be expensive though…" She sighed thinking about the cost of such contraptions.

"They're actually more affordable than you expect since they're mainly made for those without Sigils. The rich can afford to gain 'real' power from the Abyss while people usually just cope with these… imitations of the real deal. I think you can buy a mechanical beast with the same power of one Sigil for a months worth of wages." Ria shrugged.

Beasts on the low end of difficulty could be dealt with easily by slaves and mechanical beasts as they're essentially normal beast with some extra power. The higher difficulty beasts on the other hand couldn't be imitated so easily as they have an advantage in physical power.

These mechanical contraptions can only replicate the power of beast but was held back by the durability of the metal they were made from.

Hence some of the higher end products were fused with beast scales and bones to reinforce its durability.

As they approached the city, they showed their identification before going their separate ways. Cedric needed to report regarding the issue in the forest along with the deaths on this journey. Not only that, he needed to report the merchants that remained behind as missing. He couldn't confirm if they had died or not even though the answer was likely dead.

Meanwhile, the Raven's Watch party made their way to the Church of the Moon to see if there were any ways to help Kaida.

As Alice and Ria stepped upon the cobblestone streets of the city, their ears were assaulted by the clatter of mechanized carriages, the hissing of steam and the sounds of trains that passed above.

Covering her ears, Alice furrowed her brows as this city was far louder than what she had excepted.

Meanwhile, Ria seemed used to the noise as she had visited many cities in the past with Gin.

"Let's see… The workshop district is down the main road and into the heart of the city. It's roughly a 30 minute walk but we can get there faster using the trains. The Hunters Guild is next to the workshop district and it seems like the Underground is pretty open with its ties.

There's a mark next to the Guild symbol showing that they're there too." Ria remarked while checking the map of the city that had been placed on a large board next to the main entrance.

"What do you want to do first?"

"I want to visit the Underground. I think it's about time to go for my third Sigil." Alice admitted while taking a sip from her flask. She was basking in the view while enjoying her favourite mead, a luxury.

"Oh? So soon." Ria paused in surprise as she didn't expect Alice to go for her third Sigil already. However, when she thought about what Alice would need to deal with in the future, it was no surprise that she was in need of extra strength.

"I want to look for some rumours first. If we just go for news on beasts that are discovered, there's a good chance that others are already on their way to kill it. Plus, I'm pretty sure they keep the good beast for those that pay a high price." Alice shrugged.

"Mnm… You're not wrong about that. Alright. But maybe we should replenish on some healing blood first. We pretty much emptied our supply after trip."

Looking into her pouch, Alice could see that she only had one vial of her own blood left and one vial of blood belonging to the five star Hunter. She wasn't sure if she could still use his blood as it has been quite a long time now without use.

She wasn't sure if it could expire or not but there could be dire consequences in relying on unknown factors. Hence she avoided using it even when her life was threatened since there were other options. It was only when all options ran out that would she even consider using the blood.

"Sure. We can also do a little experiment since Isabella mentioned that I could decrease the side effects if I use the compression method. Might make it safer for use since overdosing on healing blood wouldn't be great."

"True. I'm still feeling the side effects from Black Blaze Blood. Just a small increase in sensitivity to fire." Ria sighed. If it wasn't for how much danger they keep running into, she wouldn't need to keep consuming so much healing blood.

She was thankful that they've been drinking a variety of blood so the side effects could never stack up and leave a mark on her body, forever changing it.

Some weren't so fortunate as they would keep drinking the same type of blood. Maybe it was due to price or perhaps addiction but doing so meant the side effects would keep pilling up until you were taken by the Abyss.

Hearing this, Alice couldn't help but feel a sadness creep into her heart. She understood that the longer a Hunter's life goes on, the easier it is for them to fall to Abyss Blood rather than the beasts that reside within the Abyss.

Ria was no exception.

Sooner or later, she too would show the symptoms of consuming Abyss Blood.

Thinking of this, Alice couldn't help but wonder if there was a way for her to share her resistance. But that was greedy of her.

'If the Zenia scholars couldn't figure out a way maybe I can't either…'

"What are you thinking about?" Ria asked curiously, noticing that Alice's mood had dropped after her mention of Abyss Blood.

"Sorry. Just thinking we should reduce how much Abyss Blood we drink or else the side effects could get dangerous. Especially for you since you drank a lot last time." Alice shook her head.

"Ahaha don't worry, I know. It's why I keep buying different types of healing blood. But there are only so many variants we can go for before we get duplicates or we fork out more money for the expensive ones." Ria reassured as the two made their way to the Apothecaries that is located in the same district of the Hunters Guild.

It was only to be expected as Hunters were the main customers of these Apothecaries.

They decided to avoid the trains for now as they required the funds for the healing blood and soon, they arrived at the store called Veridian Blossom Apothecaries.