Evil Abyss Mage

He did not know how much longer he could suffer such indignity. Constantly hearing of that evil bastard's praise near 24/7, with everyone saying how kind and humble he was. Not only did it piss him off, but it also made him realize he needed to hurry. To find the treasure hidden deep in The Forest before he was left behind forever.

Zendrix walked into The Market, taking a deep breath as he thought of his current course of action. He had been planning for a few days now and he could easily make it through the Outer Layer without difficulty. The Inner Layer would be a bit more treacherous, but he could handle it. The only reason he could get through them with such confidence is thanks to his past life's memories. Although he doesn't remember everything perfectly, it was enough.

The real problem, was the Core Layer. There was a reason it was nicknamed as the Death Layer. Few students were able to walk in and out alive. The mortality rate was mainly due to the amount of higher tier monsters within. The absolute weakest were High Class and the majority there were Ultimate Class. There was even a rumor floating around that a Demi-God Class existence was in there. Though, it had never been proven before.

Despite knowing how dangerous it was, Zendrix knew he had to take the chance. Kaido was getting further and further away from him every hour. Even with the treasure, the gap between them would still exist. However, at least he'd have a fighting chance when combined with the other geniuses. He already had a plan surrounding them and was currently building a friendly relationship with one who would later be known as a Supreme Rank Jumper for her high combat power.

Before heading head first into The Forest, Zendrix decided to use all his points on equipping himself. Unfortunately, the best sword and armor he was able to obtain were only Low-Grade. But there was nothing that could be done. Using his remaining points, he bought any potion he believed would be useful and headed off into the Outer Layer.

Following his predetermined path wasn't very difficult and took only twenty minutes. Along the way he had killed any beast or monster who came too close. However, he tried his best to ignore the others and conserve his energy for the trials ahead.

"Here we go." He muttered to himself as he stood on the edge to the Inner Layer. How to differentiate between the Layers was obvious. Trees.

The Outer Layer's trees were all normal and green. One which would be seen everywhere. The Inner Layer had orange leaves on the tree's branches and were generally overall much larger, making it very noticeable. As for the Core Layer, the leaves were blood red and the trees towered above the heavens. Some say they soaked up the blood from the countless bodies, human or otherwise.

Zendrix took a deep breath and took out a bottle full of strange liquid out of his Storage Bag. Opening the cap, he poured it over top his head and drenched himself in it. This was the Smell Removal Potion, which is perfect against monsters and beasts who use their nose for tracking. Unfortunately, it would only last for an hour.

Done with his preparations, he had finally stepped into the Inner Layer for the first time in this life. Unlike the Outer Layer, he became much more cautious as he slowly moved through the trees and bushes. Whenever he even thought he heard or sensed something, he would hide himself as best he could.

Although he was here for a single item, that didn't mean he wouldn't take any if the useful herbs he came across. Thanks to his achievements in Alchemy, he could identify any plant or fruit without any difficulty.

"A Drake Root? Perfect for improving my body's strength!" With gentleness, he softly dug out a strange looking plant. It was shaped almost like wingless Dragon.

"What a rare find. The best way to use this is to bathe in a pool and let it reshape my body. I'll need some other herbs as well to supplement it. But... it'll hurt like a son of a bitch." He sighed and put it away in a special container before sending it inside his Bag.

Just as he was about to stand up from his kneeling position, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It was faint, but he could sense something behind him. Staring right at his back with malicious intent. Zendrix stayed calm and focused on the strange creature behind him hidden in the bushes. At the same time, he slowly put his right hand on the hilt of the sword on his waist.

Based on the amount of danger he sensed, the mysterious enemy was only a Medium-Mid Class Monster and not a strong one at that. But for the current 2rd Star him, it would be a tough fight in a head on collision. What he needed was a plan to reduce any injuries he might receive. 

Within the bushes twelve meters away from Zendrix, a seven foot deer was crouched and staying hidden. Unlike normal deer, this one had fresh blood on it's mouth. Sharp and deadly looking teeth could be seen, flesh still in them. The horns on top of it's head were pointy and designed for charging. Instead of hooves, the deer had dangerous claws on each foot. Even the tail was weaponized.

The Man-Eating Deer looked at it's new prey with caution. It had just finished hunting a small rabbit when it noticed some movement. Coming over here, it was just in time to see the Drake Root being dug out. When it laid eyes on the draconic looking plant, it's beastly instincts screamed to consume it. Doing so would make it far stronger than ever before.

When it was about to think of a plan, the Deer noticed it's prey drop their guard. He seemed completely relaxed and unaware of his surroundings as he dug through the ground. Immediately, the Man-Eating Deer thought another treasure was hidden there!

Licking it's lips, the Deer strengthened it's legs to the maximum and aimed it's head at the prey. Suddenly, it blitz forward like a spring! Within just a few seconds, it had already reached the prey and was about to pierce their back! But then, something strange happened.

The prey, which was right in front of it, simply vanished into thin air. Before the Deer could think about it or even begin stopping it's momentum, it felt a flash of pain. The world seemed to spin as the Deer flew high in the sky. It had no idea what was happening and witnessed as the entire world darkened. But just before everything disappeared, it managed to see it's own body slumped on the ground, blood pouring out of it's neck.

Zendrix let out a breath and took out a rag from his Storage Bag to wipe his sword. Everything had gone smoothly because of a few reasons. One was the Man-Eating Deer underestimating him and charging in recklessly. The second was because of his Mastery of both Space and Aura.

Although he isn't able to perform long range teleportation because he was a Knight, he can use what he calls a Blink. A form of short range teleportation in a two meter radius around his body. As for the Aura, his current Rank at 2nd Star only allowed him to use the Yellow version, which was the weakest. It felt odd since he was used to Red Aura, but there was nothing that could be done for now.

However, it was still strong enough to slice through the defense of the Man-Eating Deer. He had also wrapped some Space around his blade to increase the lethality even further. At his current power, he should be around the level of Kaido. Perhaps a little weaker or stronger, but it was hard to tell unless they fought. He didn't let this get to his head though. The further time goes on, the more overpowered that devilish bastard becomes.

Even if he gets a full team of every genius he wanted, it would still be a coin flip if they could actually win. In the future he knows of, Kaido was basically invincible to the younger and even sometimes older generation. His unending Mana Pool, countless Elements, and high combat talent made him unstoppable in battle. 

Ignoring those depressing thoughts, Zendrix quickly dug out the Core and stored it before moving on. He had to hurry and move to the Core Layer or at the very least find some shelter. Night in The Forest was a very dangerous period of time and fraught with danger. Though, the rewards were a bit better which was why some went camping here. As for the curfew, the Academy turned a blind eye to it and allowed the students more freedom than they said on the surface.

The rest of his adventure wasn't exactly as smooth as he wanted. He had been attacked another five times, two of them even forcing him to flee. One was countless times stronger and faster than him, almost slicing him in half. Luckily, he had lured them to a powerful High Class Monster's cave, leaving them to fight one another.

"I thought you said I was lucky Master Jaizir?" Zendrix said with heavy breaths as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. Wounds were all over his body as he drank a Low-Grade Healing Potion. Wiping his mouth, he got off the tree with a grunt and moved on.

At the rate he was going, it would take over an hour to reach the Core Layer. But it was better to be safe than to be dead. With an unyielding willpower, Zendrix moved through the Inner Layer as fast as he could while keeping himself hidden. It was a tough ride, full of dangers which tried killing him. Like the Vine Death Eater, which almost swallowed him whole into it's horrific plant mouth. The only reason he survived was because he had watched someone die to it in his previous life and barely saw the signs of it being there.

Through numerous twists and turns, with death looming always looming over his head, Zendrix had finally reached the bloody trees.

"At last, the Core Layer. By the Gods this is exhausting…" His breath was labored as he cautiously looked around for any sign of trouble. However, it seemed he was in the clear for a breather.

Lying against a rock, he took a look around as he waited for his stamina to come back. Everything was a new experience from this point forwards as he was expelled before he could reach the Core Layer. Unlike the previous two areas, this one was eerily quiet. No birds chirping, no howls from creatures or insects chattering. Simply, silent. It was certainly a little unnerving.

After a few minutes of taking a rest and downing the last of his Healing Potions, Zendrix stood up and moved through the dead woods. He found no sign of any life besides the overgrown plants. The trees here were far larger and thicker than the two other Layers, making one feel tiny when standing next to them. Dark clouds were always present, and in conjuction with the leaves from the branches, somewhat blocked the sun from shining down light. It caused the entire place to become dim and hard to see.

Eventually, after walking for a bit, he saw something as he crouched down in a bush. A palm sized fruit hanging from an unusally small tree up ahead in a clearing. His eyes widened upon seeing it, recognizing it in a glance.

"Thousand Soul Splitting Fruit!" Even in his past life, he had only seen them in the hands of other Alchemists. They were incredibly rare, always snatched up before he could get one. Not that he could even afford them.

Consuming one would allow the user to split their soul into a thousand separate parts. Instead of decreasing, the strength of the soul would soar dramatically. It would also allow them to focus on various subjects all at the same time without difficulty, which especially helped with Element Fusion. The last thing was the great defense against soul attacks through the use of sacrificing one of the many pieces without damaging the person. If given enough time, that piece would even regenate back to full health.

Although there was an extremely rare treasure in front of him, Zendrix didn't go grab it. The reason?

'Manticore…' His face was solemn as he gazed upon the muscular form of a 70 meter tall sleeping Manticore. Even if he had his former strength, killing it would be nearly impossible without using some kind of specialized trap. Even then, the most likely scenario was a near death state.

With a sigh of regret, he turned around and started looking for the cave holding his prize. Meanwhile, the Manticore opened her eyes for a moment, looking in the direction of Zendrix. Snorting lightly, she closed them and pretended to sleep once more. She would not care about a weak suicidal human like that. The Soul Splitting Fruit was almost ready for consumption, so she had to stay and protect it from any thieves who came snooping around. 

"Only I deserve it. With it, I will finally become a Mythical-High Class Manticore. An Emperor..." Her voice was deep as she whispered to herself. After she consumes this Soul Splitting Fruit, she would be one step closer to becoming a Demi-God. 

Not knowing how close he was to death, Zendrix blindly traveled through the Core Layer. The general lack of life besides plants made the overgrown forest seem almost barren. Yet this didn't decrease his cautiousness in the slightest as he sneaked through the place. Even a single creature he'd come across would spell his death.

Over the course of an hour, Zendrix had searched over a dozen caves. Most were empty expect for a few where luckily, the owner wasn't home. After searching the 15th one, he stood at the edge of an open and empty clearing.

"How am I suppose to find some random cave? It's not like I can leave. Who knows when I'd get an opportunity like this again?" He placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose and massaged it lightly, letting out a tired sigh.

His body was beginning to beg for a rest and his movements were becoming slower. Heavy bags were under his eyes and he was still covered in wounds. Though most of them were healed from the potions, it all added up. He didn't know how much he had left in him.

Suddenly, the hairs all over his body stood up in fear. Heavy breathing could be heard barely twenty feet behind him. In front, he could see a large shadow taking up a big portion of the clearing. Based on the size, he estimated it to be almost 40 to 60 meters tall.

'It... made no noise when it approached me?'

Zendrix could hear the light growl behind him as countless thoughts flashed through his mind, trying to find a way out of this. But it was impossible. The pressure coming off the thing behind him was so immense, it took all his strength not to kneel down. It was a Mythical Class being, almost on the same level as the Manticore from previously. He wanted to Blink away, however the beast behind him was restricting the space around him. Clearly, it had experience against space users.

As he heard the mystery creature's breath grow closer, something miraculous happened. From up ahead, he could see a massive figure move through the gigantic trees and out into the clearing. A supremely muscular gorilla with grey fur and rocky skin. It must have easily been 85 meters tall as it glared at the creature behind him.

'A King Earth Gorilla. Another Mythical Class Beast…' Zendrix sighed in relief, finding his way out of an impossible situation. The reason he thought this, was because he could see how angry the gorilla was.

"Filthy lizard!"

The King Earth Gorilla huffed and puffed, moving from side to side. He brought his hands up to his chest and beat them, producing massive booms with each hit. Zendrix could feel his bones vibrate and ears bleed despite their distance. Then, he saw as the Gorilla roared angrily, sending saliva everywhere as he challenged the one behind him.

Suddenly, the ground shook as the pressure on him started to ease up. The shadow above him was moving forward as the creature growled loudly. Soon enough, Zendrix found it walking over him as he looked up, seeing the creature's scaled stomach. When it was further and he got a real look at it, he understood why the Gorilla was angry.

'River Kokari, natural enemy of the Earth Gorillas. And yet another Mythical Class Monster. No wonder the Core is so dangerous. Maybe those rumors have some merit...' The blue scaled Kokari moved on all fours and looked similar to a reptile. It had four horns on top of it's head and a long meaty tail attached to the backside.

Opening it's mouth with razor sharp teeth, it roared viciously at the King Earth Gorilla who did the same. Without saying a word to one another, the two rushed head first into each other. Zendrix, who was able to finally move, quickly Blinked away as fast as possible. Unfortunately, he was unable to escape the blast wave from the two Mythical Class creatures colliding.

He was knocked off his feet and flung far away as the trees were uprooted despite their strength. Zendrix spit a mouthful of chunky blood as he flew through the air, his entire body in pain as his ears rung. After a few moments, he finally landed heavily on the ground and rolled for several meters, his breath labored as he laid there.

He could feel the ground underneath his back tremble and rumble, even splitting open. Powerful wind from the shockwaves sliced his skin open superficially, causing him to hiss in pain. With a burst of willpower, Zendrix turned over and began to crawl away from the battle slowly. He didn't even bother trying to get up as his legs were shattered, along with a couple other bones.

His eyes were blurry and his mind foggy as he mindlessly kept crawling further. There was no plan or direction he had. All that was on his mind, was to keep going and gamble it all in his luck. After a few minutes and leaving a bloody trail behind him, Zendrix finally found something. A small cave opening, barely large enough for his own body.

Gaining clarity, he hurriedly crawled inside the dark hole. He reached down to pull out a Light Rune from his Storage Bag, but found himself grabbing empty air. It must have been thrown off when he was blasted away. Speaking of which, even now he could still hear and feel the battle between the two creatures as rocks fell down from the cave ceiling. He doubted it would end any time soon.

Zendrix had no choice but to blindly crawl his way through the dark cave. His stomach and legs got torn up by the sharp stalagmites on the floor, but he simply ignored the overwhelming pain and kept going. Eventually, he soon found himself reaching the end of the cave.

A small hole was at the top, letting a dim light shine down through it. There was a pool surrounding a mound of dirt, only being a foot deep. On top of the mound was a little flower, barely the size of a human fist. It glowed with a white, bright light as the sun shone down on it's form. Seeing this, Zendrix smiled as he pushed himself to his limits and crawled towards it.

"I wonder if this is fate hard at work? The previous bullied boy was on the cusp of death when he arrived here. Now, am I not the same?" He found it funny how life worked out. He was stealing someone else's destiny, but also experiencing it just as they had.

However, such thoughts were thrown to the back of his mind as he climbed onto the dirt mound. With gentle movements, he picked up the flower and looked at it deeply. Six leaves, each with a single star on it.

"Here's to changing the future. To preventing the end of the world and countless tragedies. And to... saving her." In one go, he shoved the entire flower into his mouth and chewed it. The taste was delicious as it melted in his mouth, soon becoming a stream of energy which rushed down his throat.

Zendrix felt immensely relaxed as his body begun healing visible to the naked eye. The wounds which were slowly killing him had finally closed up and his pale sweaty face regained it's normality. His entire body soon glowed in the same white color as the flower. In the middle of his forehead, a small star birthmark appeared and made him look dashingly handsome.

Over the course of a few minutes, Zendrix could feel himself becoming more and more powerful. Stars were naturally forming themselves within his body, going from a measly 840 to almost 1700 in a single go. After a while, the process seemed to be losing strength and eventually stopped altogether.

The new and improved Zendrix opened his eyes, marveling at his increase in both power and stars he could generate. Previously, he could only gather 40 stars every four hours. But now, it went all the way up to an even 100, making him one of the most talented geniuses in the world.

However, it didn't go to his head. He knew this was still far below that of Kaido. Eight hours were required at the minimum to over take him. But that's not something he could do every single day of his life. Still, this was a great step in the right direction and gave hope towards the future.

"Now, I just have to get out of here." Zendrix got to his feet and whispered that out loud. The words echoed and bounced off the cave walls as he back tracked to the entrance. It was easy. All he had to do was follow the blood trail.

Once he left, Zendrix noticed the battle was still going on. Even from such a distance away from them, he could see and feel the shockwaves from their clashes. Luckily, they had moved far away during this time, hopefully allowing him to escape.

"All students within The Forest, please make your way to the Academy at once. This is not a drill." A solemn voice suddenly came from his uniform, startling him slightly before realizing what had happened. There was a even a blue arrow which appeared in his vision, showing him the correct path.

It seemed the Academy was aware of the Mythical Class creatures fighting. The reason why they called everyone back was because such a fight would chase all other beasts and monsters to the lower Layers in fright.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He quickly ran off in the direction of the Inner Layer as fast as possible.

Suddenly, after a couple minutes of running, he came upon a very familiar place. The Soul Splitting Fruit, missing one Manticore. By the looks of the trashed place, Zendrix theorized the Earth Gorilla and River Kokari had disturbed it and caused a three way fight instead of two way.

However, he didn't take the fruit. Risking the wrath of a Manticore was one of the dumbest things he could do. He had no idea if it could truly track him down, but he wouldn't take such a risk. He had already got what he came for and being any more greedy was asking for trouble.

With his mind set in stone, he Blinked away from the area and left towards the Academy.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

While Zendrix changed his fate and that of countless others, a meeting was taking place in a secret underground chamber. In the middle of the dim room was a single round table. Each of the members sitting in their chairs had their faces hidden in a veil of shadow. All of them were wearing the exact same clothing, a black robe with a tentacle in the middle.

"I say we kill him. Before he can grow and interfere with our work." One voice said as it echoed in the silent chamber. The speaker's voice was garbled and near impossible to tell if they were a woman or a man.

At their suggestion though, no one spoke up. Instead, all eyes turned towards the man wearing a white mask on his face. He was the only one not wearing veil of shadow and his robe was different. There were red streaks all across it, similar to blood. They constantly wiggled around as if alive.

His stunning blood red eyes turned towards the one who spoke.

"Let me get this straight. You want to murder the most talented descendant of the Vairathuls since their first ancestor? Are you forgetting they are one of the most powerful families in the entire world? With branches spread to every Continent, including the Undeath Continent? Brilliant. Truly."

"But-" The speaker stopped when seeing the Cult Leader raise his hand.

"Enough. Even if we could accomplish such a thing, the Demi-Gods within their family would hunt us down without rest. And since they are in every Continent, it would impede our great work far more than anything he could do alone. They might even wipe us all out." He suddenly shook his head.

"Do you think none of the other powers have considered this? Yet they have not made a move, so why should we? Besides, our operative within the Grand Varix Academy needs to stay hidden and can't take such a risk. Do not bring this up again, unless you have a legitimate reason."

"Of course, Cult Leader. My apologies." Satisfied, the Cult Leader moved on to another topic.

"We need to plan for an attack on New Hope City. Our newest Acolyte within The Great Empire has told me of an item crucial to our Summoning Ritual is within the City Lord's mansion." Suddenly, one of the shadowy figures spoke up.

"New Acolyte?" Beneath his mask, the Cult Leader smiled.

"A Prince from The Empire has joined our cause. He requests our help in winning the throne, so he can further aid us." Another shadow raised a concern many had.

"Could he be lying? Using us for his own gains?"

"Trust me, he is devout. He took the Madness Mark without hesitation, proving himself." All doubt was immediately extinguished upon hearing that.

The Madness Mark was a gift from their God. It was a brand on their soul which bound them to Him, giving them incredible powers far above anything they had previously. When dying, it would also lead them towards the promised Afterlife. The only problem was that one had to willingly accept the Mark.

"In fact, our God gave me something else. A little 'insurance' just in case the Royal Family can somehow remove the Mark." The Cult Leader said, a hidden meaning within his words as he waved his hand.

A small black portal appeared out of thin air in the middle of the table. Around the edges, wild tentacles could be seen slowly coming forth and moving around. However, before they could go any further, they suddenly screamed horribly. The other members knew it was the Will of the World interfering, preventing an extraterrestrial lifeform from entering. Luckily, their God had a way around it.

A black and red light shined brightly within the portal, allowing a small creature to move through the passage. After it did, both the portal and tentacles disappeared. In it's place, the cult members saw a tiny worm the size of a human hand. It had no eyes or nose on it's face, only a single toothless mouth. It slowly crawled towards the Cult Leader who had his hand out. 

"This is the Maddening Brain Worm, a special creature which invades the brain of it's victim. From there, it influences their thoughts and feelings, turning them into loyal members for our cause. Unfortunately, they become more and more insane as time wears on, soon resembling a raving lunatic than an actual person. Luckily, it will take a decent amount of time for such a thing to happen." His red eyes looked at each member, as if able to see past the veil.

"But I'm sure I don't have to use this on you. You're loyal to the cause. Isn't that right?" Without hesitation, they all yelled out at the same time.

"Yes Cult Leader!" A solemn silence fell over the room, the only noise being the worm who was crawling along the Cult Leader's arm. Suddenly, he chuckled and the atmosphere disappeared as he moved on.

"Good. Now, onto other business. Our branch in the Beast-God Continent has encountered some difficulty-"