Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest

"Creak-" With a sound, the wooden door opened. An old man with sparse hair poked his head out from behind the door.

"It's so late..." The old man looked impatient, "Who is he?"

The old man is none other than "Master Craftsman" Bahrain.

He asked casually, then squinted at the guest who knocked on the door just now.

They were two men in dark cloaks.

The wide hoods covered their faces, making it difficult for Balin to see what they looked like.

But for Bahrain, his "Bahrain Blacksmith Shop" actually often entertains such guests - they are often members of various hidden organizations. Because they have no official identity, they found Bahrain and found him in his "Blacksmith Shop". "There are various gray transactions going on.

In Bahrain's view, the two mysterious men wearing cloaks in front of him were exactly the same as the many people who had approached him for gray transactions before...

However, Bahrain smelled an unusual smell from them.

Suddenly, a low, cold voice came from under the cloak on the left——

"Are you the 'Ghost Craftsman' Bahrain?"

"The 'Ghostcrafter' Balin Huttel?"

"..."

Balin was stunned, and his slightly narrowed cloudy eyes gradually became deeper.

Most of the guests who come here for gray transactions only know his name "Bahrain" but do not know his complete name.

And few people know about his extraordinary profession of "Ghost Craftsman" in the fourth level of [Ku Tu].

That was Bahrain's secret, but this secret was exposed by the mysterious cloak whose appearance was unclear in front of him!

"...Who are you?" Bahrain asked meaningfully, then turned aside to make way for them.

"Let's talk after you come in, guests."

…

The broken wooden door closed gently without making a sound.

The light in the room was dim. Balin walked to the wall cabinet at the back and took down a half-burned candle.

He took out the firebrand, lit the lamp, and with the swaying, warm bean light, Balin sat down in front of a wooden back chair that was almost falling apart.

Then, the wrinkles on his face tightened subconsciously, and his facial muscles twitched as he asked:

"Let's be honest, you two. Why are you here?"

"Since you know my name and profession, you must also know more things."

"Let's talk openly. Are you here to conduct underground transactions, or do you have any trouble that needs to be solved by the 'mercenary group'?"

"..."

The two apostles, Undertaker and Servais, did not answer him quickly.

Servais made no other moves and just stood there quietly. The mourner lifted up his cloak, revealing his snake-like eyes that shone with a deep light.

A tense atmosphere suddenly filled the entire room.

At a certain moment, the mourner finally spoke:

"I'm not here to trade, Bahrain."

"The task I got is to take you back. You will be of some use to the Lord."

"..."

The moment the mourner finished speaking, Balin jumped up from his chair, and at some point, he held a curved dagger in his hand.

The short knife slashed hard at the mourner's neck, and the air suddenly erupted with sharp sounds, and dark shadows flashed frequently in the air!

--clang! !

A crisp, ear-splitting sound of metal clashing sounded in an instant, and another hunting blade flashing with mithril patterns appeared in the mourner's hand!

The short knife and the hunting blade clashed together hard, and several strings of tiny sparks burst out, reflecting the increasingly ferocious look on Balin's face.

"Hmph... Damn it, are you dogs sent by Harris? Just to hunt down me, an old man who has been hiding for ten years, all the way?"

"And you...you are also [Ku Tu]! It has been ten years since I quit the 'Steel Burner'! Ten years!"

"You want to take me back? Humph... I will never go with you, and I will never let myself be thrown into that boiling furnace!"

Bang! The mourner suddenly felt that the terrifying spiritual surge in the old man in front of him had surged again.

Although he is a 'blacksmith', as a transcendent of the [Ku Tu] destiny, he also has an extremely strong body, and the powerful force he unleashed actually pushed the Undertaker back a little bit.

The Undertaker didn't quite understand what Bahrain was talking about, but the situation in front of him was obviously a sign of a breakdown in negotiations.

"...Uh." Serves, who had been watching the battle on the sidelines, spoke with a magnetic voice:

"'Ghostsmith' Balin Hertel, we do not represent the 'Steel Burner'."

Servais said, then took a step forward and stretched out his skinny arms covered with white cuffs.

Bang! The sound of a ball of golden flame exploding suddenly came, and in the hands of Seves, a holy fire filled with annihilating spirituality was condensed.

"...[Glory]?"

Balin caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink a little again.

The believers of [Ku Tu] and [Glory] are actually acting at the same time? This is beyond Bahrain's knowledge.

As far as he knew, there were only two branches of [Glory] believers in the Nolan Empire - the "Holy Court" and the "Pure Order".

But no matter which branch among them, there is absolutely no possibility of acting together with the extraordinary beings of [Ku Tu]...

"There should be no such senseless fighting between us, Bahrain."

Just opposite Bahrain, the assassin with a mysterious aura said coldly:

"We don't know what the 'Steel Burner' is, but the 'Lord' can protect you."

"We are the 'Holy Abyss' - remember this name."

After saying that, the figure of the undertaker disappeared from Balin's sight, and then appeared like a ghost three positions away.

"You can put down the knife, Balin Huttel."

After the undertaker stepped back, the "Head of Fire Worship" Sevis said in a magnetic voice: "My companion may have frightened you, but please believe that we have no ill intentions."

"My name is Sevis, and he is the 'Exorcist'. We are all servants of the 'Holy Abyss', and we are here to invite you, invite you to join the 'Holy Abyss', and pursue the noble and great cause with us."

"..."

The tense muscles on Balin's face gradually relaxed, but he did not put down the knife in his hand.

He just tilted his head slightly, and asked in a puzzled and distant tone:

"Holy Abyss? What is that? I have never heard of it."

"..."

"——That is the place of God we serve."

"——That is the final destination of the soul."

"——That is the paradise of the same fate."

Sevice extinguished the flame in his palm, and made a triangle gesture with both hands in front of his chest, with a pious look on his face:

"We invite you to join that place."

"..."

"... Humph, I always don't like to hear people make such promises."

Ballin snorted, but also put down the dagger in his hand.

He sat back on the wooden chair, picked up a pipe on the table, took a puff, and said:

"However, since you are not the "Steel Burner" and not sent by Harris, let's go, leave here."

"I can pretend that I have never seen you, nothing happened here."

"..."

After learning that the other party was not sent by the "Steel Burner", Balin felt relieved and his hostility towards the uninvited guest in front of him was greatly reduced.

And the reason why he finally put down the blade was not only that - in the previous brief fight, he had already understood that the two opponents were both "fourfold destiny", and if they really fought, he, who was not a combat officer, would have little chance of winning.

However, Balin sneered at their proposal - the proposal to invite him to join the "Holy Abyss".

That priest - the priest belonging to the "Holy Abyss"? What he said was simply a standard charlatan. That's something that even the "Holy Court" wouldn't say. Only the fanatics of the "Pure Order" would fool people like this...

Just thinking about this, he saw the Undertaker walking towards him silently, and slowly raised his left hand.

"'Ghost Craftsman' Balin... You don't have to think too much."

The Undertaker's cold voice was getting closer and closer, and he said:

"According to the Lord's instructions, I didn't want to do this."

"But our mission is just to bring you back, Balin Hertel. Since you don't agree... Then, you can go to see the 'Lord' yourself."

As he spoke, a dark light pattern mixed with purple light appeared on the back of his hand.

--It was the mark of a sword blade and a dragon claw!

Ballin hadn't reacted to what happened yet.

A ring of deep red array patterns appeared at his feet, and then his eyes went black...

The surrounding scene had all disappeared, the blacksmith shop, the Undertaker, and everything about Sevis were gone, and Balin felt a clear sense of weightlessness coming from his body.

His consciousness was also repeatedly circling between trance and wakefulness.

...

Until the scene in front of him regained light.

The first thing Balin saw was a rather magnificent ancient palace.

The figures of the ‘Undertaker’ and Sevis had returned to Balin’s sight.

“Welcome to the ‘Holy Abyss’, ‘Ghost Craftsman’ Balin.”

Just in front of Balin, another man in a suit and leather shoes appeared. With a sly smile on his face, he took off his hat and bowed deeply to Balin.

“I am the apostle of [Nothingness], ‘Dream Stealer’ Pior. Of course, in this place - in this Forgotten Royal Court, all of us are the most pious servants of the ‘Lord’.”

[Nothingness]... “Holy Abyss” and the apostles of [Nothingness]?

Ballin looked at the man in front of him, and suddenly remembered what Sevis, the ‘Head of Fire Worship’, had said before.

"——That is the paradise of the same fate."

... [Glorious], [Bitter Tea] and [Nothingness] have all appeared in front of him. Is this the so-called... "Holy Abyss" of the same fate?

"..."

Ballin thought to himself, but just looked at the man in front of him coldly, without saying anything.

He was "teleported" by the undertaker by unknown means, and he didn't know how to leave here. In this case, let's see what the other party is going to do.

Pior said "welcome" to him, and then raised his arm and pointed to the largest and most magnificent ancient palace for Balin.

"The Lord has been waiting for you, the guest of the Holy Abyss. Go to see him, I look forward to working with you one day."

After speaking, Pior stretched out his hand and waved, and in front of Balin, there appeared spiritual threads that were entangled with each other and extended to the huge palace.

They turned into butterflies, fluttering in front of Balin, guiding the direction Balin was going.

The ‘Undertaker’ and the ‘Fire Priest’ Sevis had also come behind Balin, half escorting and half monitoring him.

After thinking about it, Balin sighed and shook his head slightly.

Then, he took steps and followed Pior's imaginary butterfly towards the main hall.

…

Before Balin arrived at the main hall, the 'butterfly' that guided him stopped on the stone pillar in front of the hall, turning into bits of broken light and dissipating.

The 'Undertaker' and Severus stopped moving forward. The vague figure in the hall and on the golden throne made a young, calm, but irresistible voice:

"Undertaker, and Service, you did a great job."

"Go to the Faceless One. She will represent me and give you the rewards you deserve."

"..."

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord." 'The Undertaker' and Serves knelt down on one knee to the figure in the hall and thanked him devoutly. Then they stood up and said to the other person in the royal court. Walk sideways.

Looking back at the backs of Undertaker and Serves, Bahrain felt a deep sense of oppression inexplicably.

He then heard a new voice coming from the hall:

"Come in, 'Ghostsmith' Balin Huttel."

"We are old friends, Balin. Come in, I want to talk to you."

The sound was not heavy, but it made Bahrain feel a strong sense of majesty.

At the same time, Bahrain felt that the spirit in his body seemed to be instinctively afraid of something. His feet had involuntarily taken one step, then two steps into the hall...

Bahrain finally entered the main hall and finally saw clearly the image of the "Lord" on the golden throne.

It was a figure wearing a golden and black patterned robe, with a black puppet mask on his face.

He was playing with a short firegun in his hand. After Bahrain finally came to the center of the hall, he raised his head and said to him with a smile:

"Do you still remember, Balin? Half a year ago, I always bought fire blunderbuss like this in your blacksmith shop."

"They are exquisitely crafted and equally powerful. Even without being enchanted with the 'Inscription Method', they are enough to kill second-level or even third-level extraordinary beings."

"..."

Looking at the 'Lord of the Holy Abyss' on the throne, and then looking at the fire blunderbuss in his hand, Balin's pupils began to tremble slightly.

He remembered - there was indeed a period of time half a year ago, when someone came to buy a large number of these short-fire muskets from him every once in a while...

The man always wore a white or beige cloak and wrapped his face with a scarf, leaving only his eyes exposed. Bahrain also regarded him as a regular customer, but did not know what his identity was behind the scenes.

"So it's you..." Balin narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, it's me." Luo Xiu's voice still contained a smile, and he slowly stood up from the golden throne and walked down the hall.

"I have always known that there is an outstanding craftsman in Morningside Town. Balin Hertel, the 'Holy Abyss' needs talents like you."

"So, make a deal."

The sound of stepping, stepping footsteps echoed on the pillars and beams of the hall.

"Deal?" Balin asked, his hand secretly reaching behind his waist.

Luo Xiu had seen Balin's actions.

But he didn't warn or stop him. He just smiled and raised his arm, stretching out a long finger.

Gray light suddenly lingered on his fingertips, gray mist filled the air, and "Guardian of Illusion" Amber appeared on the right side.

Then, he stretched out his second finger, and the "Ember Wolf King", "Shadow Raven" and "Netherworld Pegasus" were quickly summoned and surrounded Bahrain.

The oppressive spiritual aura has firmly shocked Bahrain in place, making him unable to move at all.

"Don't try to do unnecessary things, Bahrain."

Luo Xiu's voice was still calm without any ripples. Facing Balin's suspicious eyes, he said:

"Join the Holy Abyss and work for me, Bahrain."

"I don't want to use special means against you. So, until now, this has been part of the 'deal'."

…