The Last Gentleman
Chapter 551: 549: Process

Everyone was intently listening to Thirteen’s narration when suddenly the coachman’s laughter interrupted them.

William also took the opportunity to roll down the front window and saw that the coachman had finished dressing.

"What’s so funny about that?" William tried asking.

The coachman calmly responded, "You are not the first person to seek acknowledgment from the Tenth Abyss. Many have tried before, even some who are overly confident after completing the path, like me."

This statement stunned William; he had been doubting the other’s identity from the start.

"As you can see, I failed and have become a permanent slave of the Tenth Abyss, wearing this irremovable ’mask’ and staying here to work for the Abyss, pulling in outsiders with potential like you to the settlement.

Of course, no matter how many people I bring over, the outcome remains the same.

As more and more people become slaves, the Extremely Dark Land corresponding to the Tenth Abyss will grow even larger, eventually reaching the standard of the Source Epidemic Area and beginning a full-scale invasion of the Old World itself."

William did not care about what the coachman said, "What do I need to do to contact the Tenth Abyss?"

"Are you so eager to become a ’coachman’ like me? However, you haven’t completed the path and might end up with an even lower position.

The method to reach the Abyss is simple, once you arrive at the ’Settlement of the Abyssals,’ the last stretch of road to the Tenth Abyss remains.

However, not everyone can embark on this path, a prerequisite must be met.

Many outsiders linger around the settlement, trying to meet this condition every day... ’Condensed Face’."

"Condensed Face?"

Upon hearing this term, William immediately thought of the Abyss Material that had condensed on the face of the City Lord Price during their first meeting at the Dark Moon Tower.

The coachman also explained cheerfully:

"Once an individual chooses to accept the ’Tenth Abyss,’ the chaotic Abyss Material will proliferate within and start ’replicating’ the individual’s most prominent feature, often starting with the lower body.

You must have seen some individuals with abrupt transformations in their lower bodies, with fingers, organs, or hair chaotically stacked together.

When the entire body undergoes transformation, the individual will lose their original attributes and become an ’Abyssal.’

The ’Mouths’ you have encountered are a very common type of Abyssals, numerous and widespread in the Extremely Dark Land, and any outsider devoured by them will randomly be transmitted from another mouth.

These types of Abyssals are the lowest rank because they never managed to control the Abyss.

But if an individual can effectively suppress, without understanding the Abyss during its invasion, and prevent the Abyss from replicating the physical body, another situation will occur.

The Abyss Material will reach the head and seep through the facial features, self-replicating based on the collected ’genetic fragments’ and combine with you in the form of a mask.

This is ’Condensed Face.’

Only those with a Condensed Face are qualified to step onto the ’Pilgrimage Road’ behind the settlement."

"So, the state the City Lord Price was in before was Condensed Face?"

The coachman replied, "Exactly, you can tell from the remnants of his skull.

It’s quite exaggerated; someone managed to tear off a fully rooted Abyss Mask by hand... rather than believe you, a young man, I would sooner believe your friend had a 1% chance of receiving the Abyss’s acknowledgment if they hadn’t torn off the mask."

"Not interested."

Price made his stance clear; his only interest lies in the moon, and this pitch-black Abyss is even contrary to the moon.

William, on the other hand, was getting more excited the more he listened, "So what exactly is the Pilgrimage Road?"

"It’s the final path to face the Abyss, walk the entire distance ceremonially as a pilgrim to reach the location of the Tenth Abyss. How exactly to pilgrimage, you will naturally understand once you reach the settlement and accomplish Condensed Face.

The difficulty of the pilgrimage is higher than that of Condensed Face, with many pilgrims falling along the way. My pilgrimage also failed after completing only 3/4 of it.

Even if a truly omnipotent individual completes the pilgrimage, they still need to undergo one final ’audience’."

When the true form of the Tenth Abyss was revealed, no one could remain calm, and the audience was deemed a failure.

However, individuals who completed the pilgrimage would be appreciated by the Abyss, and even if they failed during the audience, they would attain a higher position and become an "Abyss Envoy."

No need to drive every day like me, just responsible for executing those who don’t follow the rules in the Extremely Dark Land, quite a relaxed and interesting job."

"Condensed Face, Pilgrimage, and Audience... just complete these three steps, right?"

"Haha, easier said than done... Until now, no one has completed all three tasks, so it’s unknown if there are other circumstances after the audience."

"Thanks."

"It’s just my duty, as a coachman it is my role to introduce these processes to you. Once you complete Condensed Face but fail on the Pilgrimage Road, becoming one of us, I do earn a ’commission’."

William flashed a professional fake smile, "Great~ Let me ask one more thing, since only the Solid Maskers can undertake the pilgrimage, my group of friends can’t accompany me, right?"

"The two Honored Tumor Knights definitely can’t, but I’m not sure about the Candle Puppet. If she is completely classified as a tool, she could be carried.

However, I personally advise not to carry any illuminating objects; the so-called pilgrimage requires absolute devotion, and since you have chosen to embrace the Abyss, you should willingly embrace the darkness here."

"Understood, then while I’m on my pilgrimage, my friends should be able to freely explore other areas, right?"

"They can... However, since they reject the Abyss, wandering outside will be viewed as intruders and will be attacked by the Abyss dwellers."

"Understood."

Closing the front carriage window, William already had a rough plan in mind.

"Jin."

"What?"

"I’ll handle the Condensed Face and the pilgrimage alone, you and Price can either wait for me in the settlement or explore the Extremely Dark Land on your own, just don’t follow me to Condense Face."

Jin patted William on the shoulder, "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do something so dangerous... Besides, I don’t have such an urgent need for the Abyss yet. Compared to the malignant diseases associated with the Abyss, I am more interested in seeking the treasures left behind from that war in this pitch-black space."

William then looked at the silver-armored rat man sitting opposite, "What about you, Price?"

"I don’t mind, I can explore with Miss Jin."

"That’s good... during that time, you guys can take Thirteen along, her illumination can help you avoid the dark pressure during exploration."

Upon hearing this, Thirteen felt a sudden tightness in her chest, "Teacher!"

"The coachman just said, we need enough devotion... and besides, if there’s danger that needs to dispel the darkness, Grape can handle it too."

Thirteen still couldn’t rest easy, as a Candle Puppet she was very aware of how dangerous the Abyss was, and her mission was to accompany the teacher to the Abyss.

Just then, an armored arm hugged her shoulder, "Calling William a teacher yet knowing so little about him... just follow us obediently, don’t trouble your teacher.

And, your explanation earlier was quite nice, I quite like you now."

Thirteen squeezed her skirt when Jin suddenly praised her and hugged her so intimately...She did not object to this Honored Tumor Knight because Thirteen had already identified that the woman named Jin was her teacher’s close friend and possibly even more.

"Alright, alright, Knight."

"Still quite shy, aren’t you~"

Jin slightly pushed up her helmet, and a delicate tongue slipped out, licking at Thirteen’s eye socket, tasting the wax oil.

This action made Thirteen confused, and the tingling sensation from her eye sockets caused all her parts to creak.

"Later, when you follow me, you’d better perform well, I can taste that your function isn’t just illumination... Your physical structure is very special, probably excellent at killing too."

"Under...understood,"