Wizard: Unlimited Profession Slots Chapter 806 - 363: The Forgotten... (2)

Those erased from existence might never come back.

"The Abyssal surroundings truly spark hallucinations with ease; perhaps you’ve mixed up your own memories with someone else’s."

Maxim unclenched his tightly gripped fist and shook his head with a bitter smile:

"You’re right... if a companion like that really existed, how could I possibly forget? We went through life and death side by side, confronted unimaginable terrors...

"His tone softened, as though he was persuading himself:

"Memories are unreliable, after all. Staying in the Abyss for too long blurs so many details."

Yet Ron could tell Maxim didn’t fully buy his own explanation.

Deep uncertainty and terror lingered in his gaze.

Like someone who’d lost a crucial fragment of their memory mosaic, aware of the gap but powerless to recover it.

Back in the Flesh and Blood Forest once more, Ron still sensed that piercing chill deep in his bones.

Did Corina and Trish truly live?

His recollections of them felt incredibly sharp:

Corina’s odd humor hidden under her icy facade, her features warped by Abyssal corruption once she took off her mask;

The radiant grin Trish flashed now and then in their secret encounters, her expression brimming with yearning as she spoke of the future and broader horizons, along with the delight in revealing her Forest Elf ears...

But with everyone else having forgotten them, how could anyone confirm if these memories held truth?

"This stands as the cruelest trait of the Land of Oblivion," Ron thought with a wry smile:

"It doesn’t just claim lives—it strips away the very essence of being; the erased lose even the chance to be grieved."

Still, as a logical scholar, wallowing in feelings like this offered no benefit.

The key lay in pulling useful insights from this event.

"At the very least, I’ve confirmed my special soul makeup provides real resistance."

He swiftly shifted his perspective: "This shield works against Abyssal corrosion and guards me from assaults that twist reality itself."

Such a breakthrough showed he held an edge over typical wizards in dealing with these dangers.

Pulling his mind from these reflections, Ron turned to the immediate mission.

Via the Spiritual Link, he felt Explorer One nearing a zone thick with Abyssal energy.

"Captain Miller," he addressed the watchful veteran:

"I must conduct a divination to chart our next steps."

Worry flashed in Miller’s lone eye.

Having explored extensively, he understood the perils of divination within the Abyss all too well.

"Got it, boss." Without delay, he commanded the squad to form a defensive outpost:

"Everyone, listen! Deploy the protective circle per protocol!"

The battle-hardened team displayed remarkable speed.

While griping about the revolting terrain, Blake expertly placed detection Runes nearby.

These were dynamic Runes inscribed using blood from a unique Abyssal beast, designed to detect and warn of incoming threats ahead of time.

"Cursed Flesh and Blood Forest," Blake muttered in his rough tone:

"Coming here always feels like tumbling into some massive beast’s guts."

Camilla shot him a glare as she assisted with the barricades:

"Watch your mouth, Blake. In a place like this, your gripes could draw the attention of things better left unnoticed."

"Ha! Bring on the monsters!" Blake scoffed, slapping the axe on his belt:

"This blade hungers for new meat and gore!"

Brash talk aside, his fingers flew, weaving the safeguard Runes into an unbreachable net.

The remaining duo handled erecting a makeshift haven.

They employed specialized noise-dampening substances to craft a sealed area that could fend off the diverse Spiritual Disruptions rampant in the Abyss.

At last, Miller produced an intricate gadget Ron hadn’t encountered before.

It looked like a fusion of organic tissue and machinery.

Strangest of all were its "eyes."

Dozens of lenses in assorted sizes spun on their own, surveying the area.

"This is the Observatory’s newest creation—the ’Silence Box.’"

Miller fine-tuned it while describing:

"The Abyss teems with all sorts of Spiritual Noise, from murmurs of eldritch entities and cries of the departed to the wild pulses of Chaos."

Once powered up, the device triggered noticeable shifts in the air around them.

The faint, warped murmurs vanished, and the sickening itch of insects skittering in one’s ears faded away sharply.

An invisible barrier seemed to isolate the suffocating, madness-inducing pressure permeating the air.

"I’m not fully grasping the creation method of this item,"

Miller pressed on, a practical spark gleaming in his solitary eye:

"But it’s preserved countless lives, that much I know. In the Abyss, standard divination rites prove almost impossible; the disturbances not only ruin prophecy precision but can draw... unwelcome scrutiny."

He dropped his tone to a hush:

"I’ve witnessed Divination Masters conducting rituals in the Abyss, inadvertently summoning stray ancient spirits. Those beings hold acute sensitivity to prophetic endeavors; once they fixate on you..."

Miller slashed a finger across his throat, the silent message unmistakable.