A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 429 Diving into the Abyss

All around were countless distorted colors and countless distorted orbs of light.

By calming his mind and focusing his attention, Jiang Shuzhou could sense a slight chaotic pattern.

Compared to the ground, this place feels more like a dream.

"Boss, don't wander off or touch anything. There are some things here that could cause problems if you touch them."

Compared to Jiang Shuzhou, who was unaffected, Grace, Norton, and the others did not look well at this moment, and some were even dry heaving.

It seems they are not very comfortable with this shift in hierarchy.

Jiang Shuzhou nodded, then looked at Grace.

"What's wrong? You look terrible."

Grace's face turned pale, as if she had seen something terrible.

"It's nothing, I just feel a little unwell."

Jiang Shuzhou frowned upon hearing this. In his opinion, Grace shouldn't be in such a bad mood.

"Can it hold on?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked.

"It's nothing. As long as Master is by my side, nothing else matters."

"You're pretty stubborn, aren't you?"

Since Grace's condition wasn't serious, Jiang Shuzhou didn't say anything more.

He turned and went to find Norton.

"How do we get down to the second level?"

Jiang Shuzhou's only thought right now is to find the World Tree as soon as possible; he has no interest in getting lost in these levels.

"Just a little help will do, it'll be quick."

After Norton finished speaking, he took out a small, transparent jar from his backpack.

Inside was a creature resembling a hairless rat, submerged in a gray solution.

"Boss, this is an Abyss Rat. It has a natural tendency to burrow into the lower levels of the abyss. If we release this thing, we can follow it to find the way to the next level."

After saying that, Norton unscrewed the jar and released the Abyssal Rat.

As soon as the abyss rat was released, it kept bowing and kowtowing, looking quite pitiful.

"Go, find the way to the next level!"

Norton poked the Abyss Rat with his finger, forcing it to lead the way.

"interesting."

Jiang Shuzhou observed that as the abyssal rat moved, its body began to dissolve slightly.

It is expected to die completely in about twenty minutes.

Sure enough, with a squeak, the Abyss Rat collapsed to the ground and quickly dissolved.

Norton then released another Abyssal Rat, following the same procedure.

This time, however, he explained it to Jiang Shuzhou.

"The Abyss Rat can only survive normally in the fifth level of the abyss, and it has the innate ability to find the lower abyss. In order to survive, it can only try its best to go to the lower abyss."

Jiang Shuzhou nodded; he had figured it out.

The Abyssal Rats are actually looking for places with a high concentration of chaotic power. Like demons, these creatures are easily killed by the power of order.

The demons are somewhat better off, since they have the support of the Abyss and only turn into pus after death. The Abyss Rat, however, is not so lucky.

Walking in the abyss, surrounded by countless dancing points of light, it appears magical and enchanting.

The ground beneath my feet was covered in rusty metal, and the sky above was a dark, oppressive expanse.

Fortunately, the points of light were all glowing, illuminating the surrounding path.

And so, Jiang Shuzhou and his group followed the Abyss Rat to find the path to the next level.

It was a hollow space surrounded by countless discarded, rusted metals. Upon closer inspection, one could even see the ruined robots.

It seems as if a war has taken place here.

"This is it. Jump down, and you'll reach the second level."

Jiang Shuzhou stared at the empty hole for a moment, then jumped down without hesitation.

Soon, a familiar feeling washed over me—the feeling of diving.

Immediately, Jiang Shuzhou's eyes lit up; they had arrived at the second floor.

This place is completely different from the previous one; it is a lush green forest.

However, unlike other places, the light here is completely green, thanks to the green clouds in the sky.

This time, Grace's face was even more pale. She bit her lip tightly, letting the blood drip down as if she didn't notice at all.

Jiang Shuzhou quickly used magic to check Grace's physical condition, and found that there was nothing wrong with her except for a cracked lip.

"Grace?"

"Grace!"

Jiang Shuzhou called out twice before Grace came to her senses.

"What's wrong with you? What happened to you?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked, expressing some concern about Grace's condition.

"It's nothing, Master. I just saw some illusions. It will be over soon."

Grace took a breath and then said.

Immediately afterwards, she clung tightly to Jiang Shuzhou's arm, clearly not intending to let go.

"you……"

Jiang Shuzhou was about to say something, but Grace immediately interrupted him.

"I feel a little dizzy, Master. Can you carry me for a bit? Otherwise, I won't be able to walk properly."

Seeing this, Jiang Shuzhou called out to Norton.

"Let's find a safe place to set up camp. My apprentice is dizzy and needs to rest."

Having paid money, Jiang Shuzhou naturally couldn't ignore Grace's feelings and continue diving, as that might cause problems.

"Master, I'm really fine, you can continue."

Grace saw that Jiang Shuzhou was not going to move forward, so she quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Really? If you're not feeling well, don't force yourself. We're not in a rush."

"It's really nothing."

Grace smiled at Jiang Shuzhou to indicate that she was alright.

Jiang Shuzhou nodded in agreement.

"Then let's continue."

Soon, Norton and his group's mission changed from finding a place to set up camp to finding the next level.

"Goodness, this boss is really fickle."

"There's nothing you can do. They paid for it, so what can you do? You just have to accept it."

"Sigh, whatever, it's not easy for anyone."

The team members chatted idly.

Just then, the vines moved.

"Be careful!"

With a sharp whistling sound, the vine lashed out at Norton.

However, Norton, having been a Nascent Soul user for so long, was no pushover. He twisted his body and narrowly dodged the attack.

boom!

The vines crashed to the ground, sending countless wood chips flying.

"It's a tree spirit!"

Norton shouted, and then he and his companions formed a battle formation.

Warriors lead the way, followed by mages and healers.

Jiang Shuzhou looked at the battle ahead, indifferent to it. He was the boss, and these were things they had to handle themselves.

If Jiang Shuzhou handles everything, then what's the point of having them?

"Release Fireball!"

At Norton's command, a fireball slammed into the tree spirit, exploding into countless sparks.

The group had a clear division of labor and handled the enormous tree demon in a methodical manner.

"Humans, why do you kill my fellow human beings!"

It was a tree spirit, resembling an old tree with countless cracked bark and vines wrapped around it.

Similar to a normal tree spirit, its face is located on the tree trunk, making it look extremely ferocious.