Abyss System The Rise of the Lord-Chapter 105: chaoter evaluation path

Zaber watched Larden rocking slightly for a moment, then approached the cabin wall. He stretched one leg out, drew the other in, leaned his hand against the wall, and sat down. Beneath the wooden floorboards, a faint creaking could be heard; the air carried the mingled scent of old cabin timber and dust carried by time.

Larden slowly stopped rocking and took a deep breath.

"Do you think I went too far, kid?" he asked, his voice retaining its former firmness yet now softened with a gentler intonation.

"Thinking about what you did would only harm me, and my opinion on the matter is this: the subject is closed." He drew his gaze away from Zaber and spoke the words with deliberate care.

Larden stared at Zaber in genuine surprise. In the old man’s eyes flickered a mixture of astonishment and an attempt to understand.

"How did you reach this level? Even if you were emotionless, your ego would never allow it," he said, a trace of wonder in his voice, his breathing carrying a noticeable weight.

Zaber lowered his head and remained silent for several seconds. Inside the cabin, only the faint groaning of the wooden floorboards and the whisper of wind slipping through the window could be heard.

"I’ve grown used to it. I try to control my thoughts. Rage, sorrow, the past and the future, anxiety—whether good or bad—I don’t dwell on them. I simply try to pass through the present," he said in a low but resolute tone. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Larden fell into thought, then slowly stroked his beard.

"So everything I said about you was wrong. Have you grown curious about your own story? Will you tell it?"

Without lifting his head, Zaber answered in a cold yet clear voice:

"My story? Don’t misunderstand me, old man. You are not someone capable of understanding me. And even if you were, telling it to anyone would be a display of weakness for me—one that will never be shown."

Larden stroked his beard once more and gave a faint smile. A mysterious yet controlled astonishment appeared on his face.

"That goes against our agreement, but I’ll turn a blind eye. Tell me this, then: at the very least, what is the one thing most precious to you?"

Zaber paused for a moment. His thoughts were tangled, his heart filled with long-worn, heavy emotions. The question caught him off guard—no one had ever asked him anything like it.

"What is precious to me?" he thought inwardly. "I cut my little sister out of my own life, abandoned my friend, was betrayed by my brother, my parents were killed. My people tried to murder me hundreds of times. I’ve never cared for worldly things. My life has never been good. Everything I had, I lost. Now even my feelings are mistaken. What do I have left?"

The thought echoed and circled in Zaber’s mind. Inner voices clamored, yet he sat silently, listening to them. After a short while, he raised his head and spoke in a calm but icy tone:

"The thing most precious to me... I suppose it’s myself."

Even Larden had not expected that answer. He swayed slightly as he looked at him. A barely perceptible smile appeared in his eyes.

"I haven’t encountered a character like this in four hundred years. So there are still types I’ve never known," he thought to himself.

He rose to his feet, took a slow step toward Zaber.

"Come, let’s have a lesson, kid," Larden said. In his voice one could sense not only authority but also a warmth mixed with long experience.

The air inside the cabin was thick, heavy, and still. The cold wind that slipped between the wooden floorboards and walls only heightened the tension between them, lifting once more the weight of long-buried emotions. Zaber, however, kept his eyes lowered, following every step with careful attention as he continued to watch Larden.

Larden led Zaber once again to the wide field on the outskirts of the city. The wind blew freely across the open expanse, gently swaying the tall grass. Zaber scanned the surroundings, his body noticeably tensing—as though preparing for an attack.

At that very moment Larden took a single step forward, brought his hand close to his face, slowly clenched his palm, then gave a light cough.

"Ghm... ghm..." he said deliberately, drawing attention. "Not for fighting today. Today’s lesson is about knowledge."

Zaber tilted his head in surprise. He held silence for a moment, then sat down on the ground, folding his legs beneath him. His gaze never left Larden, yet the readiness for combat in his body gradually eased.

Larden placed one hand behind his back and began walking slowly across the field as he spoke.

"The path to growing stronger... some call it evolution, others call it leveling up, and there are still other names. Many labels, but the essence is one."

He paused for a moment and studied Zaber closely.

"The first path is through inherited power from ancestors. In other words, bloodline. Strength passes down from parents, from the clan. Most people walk this path."

The wind lightly fluttered the hem of Larden’s robe.

"The second path is the way of mages. They grow stronger through external aid. Magical books, elixirs, rituals... Their core strength lies in knowledge and perception."

He continued walking.

"The third path belongs to swordmasters. They possess no magical power. They evolve through sword technique and aura. Their greatest advantages are endurance and precision."

Larden lightly opened and closed his palm.

"The fourth path is that of spiritual masters. They draw power from good and evil emotions alike. Some consume spirits, others rely on external aid. They are often enemies to everyone. Their foundation is the heart."

Zaber listened in silence, but his gaze grew steadily more serious.

"The fifth path is that of elementals. They evolve by consuming elements. Their primary strength is adaptability."

Larden lowered his voice slightly.

"The sixth path is the way of artifacts and ancient relics. They nurture objects and draw power from them. Their main resource is external sources."

He paused briefly, then continued.

"The seventh path is the path of the chosen. Someone selects them. They use that power to create their own strength or borrow it as debt. Their foundation is luck."

Larden stopped and looked Zaber over carefully.

"All of these paths have both good and bad sides. And remember: these paths are not about strength itself, but about how one evolves."

Without hesitation, Zaber spoke.

"Old man, you yourself are on the path of the chosen, aren’t you?"

Larden walked slowly back and forth across the field.

"Yes. The Golden Flame chose me. But it no longer belongs entirely to it. I made its power my own and evolved it."

The wind gently stirred Zaber’s long black hair. Without raising his eyes, he asked:

"Old man, is there no other path beyond these? I don’t fully fit any of them. You know I’m on the artifact path, yet even that..."

Larden let out a deep sigh.

"There is. The eighth path. The hidden path."

His voice grew heavier.

"The path of darkness. Almost no one walks it. Because, no matter what, most people fit into one of the paths above."

He fixed his gaze on Zaber.

"This path is for true children of darkness. If you intend to walk it—you must become cold. A manipulator. A ruthless deceiver. Prepared for every evil the world can offer. On this path, you must not break under any obstacle, deceive those around you as external tools, exploit them, and once their usefulness ends, turn them into resources."

Larden spoke the words not harshly, but with absolute clarity.

"The fundamental principle is one: view the world as a useful resource and exploit it."

He added:

"And there are hybrid paths born from these as well—few can walk them. For example: mage-swordsman, elemental-mage. But the core paths remain these."

Zaber suddenly asked with interest:

"So there are many variations of paths too? Even though most people think there are only two kinds?"

Larden nodded.

"Yes. Exactly."

He fell silent for a moment.

"Most speak only of darkness and light. But that concept is not the same for everyone. That’s why they cannot be placed among the paths of evolution."

Zaber felt a slight inward relief.

I had already chosen this path... he thought. I simply hadn’t named it.

The wind once again enveloped the field in silence.

Zaber slowly closed his eyes.

He was no longer choosing this path.

He had already been walking it for a long time.

He tried to order his thoughts, yet one question circled endlessly in his mind:

Where will this path lead me...

Or did I lose everything precisely because I walked this path without realizing it?

Or perhaps—for this chain, for this path—I have already been paying the price throughout my entire life?

Friends, what do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments. Don’t forget to add this novel to your library. Power Stones and Golden Tickets help Chapters come out faster and give me great motivation