The Neutral Lands. The Abyss.

“Full house!”

“Wait a minute! That’s your fourth full house in a row! You must be cheating!”

“Hmph! Show me the evidence then!”

Numerous voices of excitement bellowed out, breaking the serenity of the quiet lands. The Abyss, one of the most mysterious lands on the planet. Twenty-metre tall outposts decorated the lands that surrounded the Abyss, each one well-equipped with communication devices and newly designed weapons from the Blacksmith’s League. Most importantly of all, the outposts were run by some of the Alliance’s best sentries. For the most part, they were diligent and well-trained for their jobs. Back during their warring days, their countries could count on them to guard anything, be it barracks in the middle of winter or watchtowers in the blistering heat.

However, the sentries are after all… humans. Ten years of guarding the same place had made their lifestyles rather mundane and routine. One day, one soldier who had gotten so bored brought out a deck of cards and started to open a deal house for entertainment. In the beginning, many resisted the temptation of gambling due to their vows to watch over the outpost. Alas, the boredom of constantly looking down into a dark abyss turned out to be too strong for the soldiers to endure.

One group fell within a week. The next one within the month. Until eventually, all of the soldiers were now involved in the illegal gambling den in the outpost.

Currently, over ninety percent of the men were gathered in the mess hall, the place where all of the gambling was hosted. The remaining ten percent were taking their shifts, but their minds were on the boisterous event that was taking place downstairs.

“Here you go...” The dealer looked at the man who won four times in a row with complete disgust. However, the rules were the rules. Pushing over all of the gold on the table, the dealer paid the man his fair share.

“That’s more I like it!” The man smiled disgustingly as he pocketed all of the money. He was tempted to bet even more, but ultimately he took to his feet.

“Leaving when you’re ahead?” A fellow soldier sneered, not happy that he had lost all of his money to the conman.

“When I’m on such a streak? Don’t make me laugh!” The man chuckled. “I’m just going out for a piss! When I return, I’ll be sure to win you all clean! HAHAHA!!!” Like a stereotypical villain, the man left the room with a peal of maniacal laughter. His shoulders were trembling in pure bliss and face contorted to a crescent moon.

“Hah, what a day! I’m really going to be rich after this!” Whistling while walking down the hallways, the man quickly made his way to the latrine and unzipped his pants. Though, he wasn’t going to hold his manhood in his palms. Taking out a golden idol from his pants, the man stroked the little fella with an adoration that he wouldn’t even use for his own children. “My lucky charm… Who would have guessed that the Abyss could spit out such useful devices?”

The golden idol was in the shape of a disfigured human being, not too pretty, but not entirely ugly as well. If the man were to bring out the idol, he would be certain to turn heads within the trained Alliance sentries. Fortunately, he didn’t, and it allowed him to keep his winning streak.

“Hehehe, rub you for a little more good luck…”

“...”

“Hmmm?”

The man continued to do what he does best. Caressing the idol to hopefully bring fortunes to him. A glimmering light broke free from the eyes of the idol each time the soldier rubbed its head, making it seem quite eerie in the process. However, the man didn’t care. As long as his luck improved, he was willing to make a deal with the devil.

“Money, money, money, money… Give me money!” The man was practically praying towards the idol in worship now. Drunk by the promise of riches, the trained soldier had ignored all of the warning signs that the object was giving out. Alas, that would prove to be his downfall...

“Okay...” A languid voice sounded out from the idol, prompting the man to leap back in fear. Ever since he’d picked up the golden statue, the idol had been silent as a church. No matter how much he’d touched it or talked to it, the idol never responded one bit. Yet now…

Screaming, the man dropped his worshipped item: “W-what?!”

A black mist surged forth from the idol as bits of golden splendour took the edges. Mana that wasn’t supposed to be present within the lavatory were now in full throttle, and a feeling of dread crept up the conman’s spine. He wanted to scream, but the mist was now pushing into his mouth. The man was silenced and all alone...

“You’ve asked for it...” The same voice continued on, this time a little more chirpy. “I shall give you all the money in the world… In hell.”

Before the conman could voice out one word in protest, he breathed his last. There was virtually nothing that he could do against the mysterious might of the golden idol. He wasn’t able to figure out whose mana was sealed within the statue of good luck. Once the man was motionless, the idol started to crack as more and more spiritual energies were released within the latrine. One might think that the undulations created by the idol would have caused an uproar within the outpost by now. However, the dark mist that shrouded the idol was doing its duty dutifully. None of the spiritual energies slipped out from the cubicle, and the area was still as silent as it was before.

Though, there was one significant change…

The light generated by the idol congregated into one spot, creating a humanoid with a feminine figure. She had creamy, blonde hair with pale white skin that seemed sickly. She had a full bosom and a perfect set of teeth. Donned in a white-gold outfit, the woman embodied everything that was luxurious about her colour.

Kin stretched her arms out while warming up her neck. She had been hiding inside of the idol for many days now, and it was starting to put a strain on her humanoid body. It took some time, but Kin eventually got used to her weakened body state.

“Ah… That bastard is finally dead...” Looking down at the corpse of the man who had been a little too familiar with her golden idol, Kin spat in disgust. “Tsk, I’ll probably need to jump into the yellow river to wash away the filth that he’d infected me with.”

“Don’t be that way,” a telepathic message entered Kin’s mind, forcing her to stop her stretches. “We have to complete the mission first.”

“Gin, you’re not the one that had to deal with the disgusting shit that he’d put me through! How could you know what I’m feeling!”

“We are linked, you know...” Kin’s twin brother sighed. Truth to be told, he was quite sympathetic towards his elder sister’s state. To gain information about the Alliance, she had been forced to endure the disgusting touch of the gambler, as much as she hated it. After all, Kin was a proud Tier 9 Spirit Beast that stood at the apex of the cultivation world.

“No matter… Once we’ve taken down this outpost you can take all the time in the world in the shower. I’ll even provide the most luxurious soap I can find.”

“That’s more I like it...” Kin folded her arms in delight at her brother’s suggestion. However, her smile quickly turned into something far more sinister.

“Hey, you done yet? We want to win our money back!” An impassioned voice interrupted the sibling conversation as two loud knocks were heard on the door. Evidently, the other sentries in the outpost were here to demand the gambler to exit the latrine.

Pouting, Kin channelled her mana all throughout her body as two ears popped out from her head and a fluffy tail emerged from her bum. “Hah… Let’s end this quickly...”