Chapter 23
### After the Third Return to the Ash Field
After my third return to the ash field, I became absolutely certain that as long as I was in Hell, I would always reappear exactly where I had left my character. I felt nothing—just continued healing. I used to think blindness was frightening because of the unknown, but now, I see nothing. Only the distant hiss of lava and complete silence surround me, yet I feel no fear.
Debuff Received: Universal Weakness
Effect: 50% reduction in all primary stats, skills, and resistances.
Duration: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds… 58… 57…
As soon as my vision returned, Vaalsi slapped me with another debuff. No time to look around—the real question was whether I could survive under such a debuff in this hostile environment.
Damage Taken: 500 units (Ignored: 317 units)
HP: 82/200
Physical Damage Resistance: +0.02%
Physical Damage Ignored: Up to 634 units/sec
Mental Damage Resistance: +0.01%
Mental Damage Ignored: Up to 62 units/sec
Vitality: +1
Minor Heal! Minor Heal!
Damage Taken: 500 units (Ignored: 317 units)
HP: 84/200
He scared the hell out of me. Yesterday, I noticed something strange—at least a quarter of the constant damage I took was mental. My physical resistance had stopped growing, but my mental resistance kept increasing. My Intelligence had leveled up to 45 over three days of constant healing. Now, I was healing exactly as much as I was losing, plus the regeneration from my boosted Vitality.
Damn you, Vaalsi! What else will you throw at me? Full-body paralysis? Nah, you can’t—that’d violate human rights laws.
So, almost a full extra day of this.
Good thing I didn’t panic when "Dark Veil" disappeared. Over these days, I’ve trained my Perception well on Hellworms. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something wrong at the edge of the cliff. Thank God I was already lying down—otherwise, I would’ve jumped up in terror.
On the cliff sat an unfamiliar demon.
Demon, Harol, Level 250.
He was using some kind of natural camouflage, blending in with the rock. Long red antennae-like whiskers swayed despite the weak wind. Faceted eyes stared unblinking. His body was large, lizard-like, but with fly-like wings.
Reading his name, I realized what had happened. Finding no intruder, they had sent Harol here as punishment for a false alarm. The whole demon squad cursed his name every other word.
I spent another day lying there, healing. Harol occasionally circled the field before returning to his perch, motionless. Damn, this guy has nerves of steel—sitting still like that. Me? I had healing and logs to read—not boring at all. Each reread had fewer untranslated words as the game auto-replaced them.
Ordinary demons chattered nonstop, while squad leaders stayed silent. Turns out, the Ash Fields are just the outskirts of Hell’s first circle. Beyond lies Limbo—where minor sinners suffer. Souls trapped here endure endless torment, and the local ruler’s fortress emits an aura of pain, draining their energy. That aura is what damages me every second.
Each circle of Hell is smaller than the last, and the lower circles’ auras are far worse—fire, ice, disease, paralysis, death, terror, even parasites and stench. They also spawn monsters straight from the ground. The Ash Fields separate the Demon World from the misty Veil, beyond which lie the Gray Lands. No demon dares approach it.
Demons detected severe spatial distortions and sent four squads. Finding nothing, three left after sweeping a kilometer radius. One squad stayed two more days before leaving. Harol was sentenced to five days of punishment here for the false alarm.
It got boring—game, then two hours with a psychologist, studying. Eight days of this. The last two, I didn’t even need healing. Today, Harol would leave, and I could finally escape these fields.
Vaalsi was a real bastard. Every psychologist visit came with a new debuff—Lame, Deaf, Mute. Today, he’d add something else.
Harol flew off without a sound. I crawled out of the ash and checked myself. My child’s clothes were completely corroded—only a diaper left. My skin had turned an unremovable gray, even my hair shifting from black to ashen.
I need to level up. And I need intel. My HP and stamina pool were massive.
- Status Window -
Name: Saji
Level: 0
EXP: 0/100
Race: Human
Class: Unselected
Stats:
- Strength: 20
- Agility: 20
- Endurance: 68
- Intelligence: 58
- Wisdom: 45
- Free Points: 0
Secondary Stats:
- Speed: 20
- Athletics: 20
- Spirit: 40
- Vitality: 60
Combat Stats:
- Physical Damage: 10
- Carry Capacity: 50 kg
- Mana: 450
- Health: 680
- Stamina: 680
Regen:
- Health: 600/min
- Mana: 400/min
- Stamina: 200/min
Resistances:
- Physical: 2.51% (Ignore up to 874/sec)
- Poison: 1.27% (Ignore up to 211/sec)
- Mental: 0.65% (Ignore up to 125/sec)
Skills:
- Life Magic: 74
- Stealth: 25
- Perception: 45
- (Full list omitted for brevity)
Damn, I’m strong. A healer, maybe? Life Magic at 74! But my weakness and inability to run were bad. Overload training it is.
The Ash Fields were a loop—running far enough would bring me back. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
An hour later, I could jog. A day after, I ran freely. The map showed I’d barely covered any distance. Bored, I moved along the Veil, peering into it. Sometimes, shapes flickered—something watching me.
Damage Taken: 800 (Ignored: 125)
HP: 45/720
Mental Resistance +0.02%
Pure mental damage. Terror. Suffering souls, screams, empty eye sockets—all soaked in Dread, an entity living in the mist. I survived only because I tripped. Over what? A bone—a sharpened femur.
Throwing Bone Spike
???
Damage: ???
No other bones. The Ash Fields were lifeless, but I needed mental resistance. This border was perfect for grinding.
One touch taught me enough. I buried myself in ash, leaving only my right hand exposed to the Veil. Left hand pressed to my chest for healing.
Damage Taken: 800 (Ignored: 256)
HP: 20/780
Death…
I saw Her in the mist—a black cloak, a scythe on her shoulder. No face, just two green embers for eyes. A whisper of a thousand voices filled the air. Waves of power blew the ash away. She crouched before me, reaching out.
"Not yet," I said.
She left, followed by two shadows—Terror and Despair. A third, Fear, watched from above.
Debuff: Aura of the Lord of Terror
Effect: You feel the Horror of inevitable death.
Duration: 10:59… 58…
Debuff: Aura of the Lord of Despair
Effect: You feel the Despair of inevitable death.
Duration: 10:59… 58…
Debuff: Aura of the Lord of Fear
Effect: You feel the Fear of inevitable death.
Duration: 10:59… 58…
She walked on, her dark entourage following.
Mental Resistance +1.02%
Gift Received: Postponed Meeting
You’ve seen Death and her three companions—Terror, Fear, Despair—yet lived. Upon final death, she will claim your soul for the Lands of the Dead.
I bolted. Never again.
Ten minutes later, I saw them—an army of demons. I ran, but they followed. My only escape? The Veil.
Damage Taken: 800 (Ignored: 455)
HP: 335/780
Minor Heal!
I could survive inside—barely. Two seconds at a time.
Two weeks later, I’d covered a quarter of Hell’s first circle. My stats had skyrocketed.
- Status Window -
Name: Saji
Level: 0
Stats:
- Strength: 200 (Capped)
- Agility: 177
- Endurance: 92
- Intelligence: 102
- Wisdom: 99
Resistances:
- Mental: 2.69% (Ignore up to 1003/sec)
Abilities:
- Eye of Impa
- Postponed Meeting
Logs:
World Order Shift: Tier 5
Demonification: 0.01%
Your soul is bound to this world. Your flesh adapts to its order.
Active Limiter: Tier 5.
Numbers of a higher order—ten times greater. My limiter had been upgraded. Chrysalis was Tier 4; Hell, Tier 5. Natural growth cap increased tenfold.
But demonification? No idea what it does.
Next goal: Fire resistance, healing. The lower circles would be worse—fire, ice, lightning, disease, paralysis. Death auras? Mental. I could handle those.
I imagined a cockroach surviving a nuclear reactor. That’s me now—seeking trouble headfirst.