Hello. I need A Complete Encyclopedia of Abyssal Creatures, annotated. And some files on brokers and Magic Maidens. Lingchen Yao, freshman at Jiuqiong University—here’s my student ID.

Your details are on record. Please return everything within a month. If you’re late, we’ll deduct from your deposit.

Understood. I’ll finish quickly.

The woman turned; her smile snapped shut like a shutter, her face set. From a side drawer, a brown lamb doll crawled out, odd-faced, a pale Magic Stone gleaming in its chest like moonlight.

It clambered onto the desk, paused like a wound-up toy, then spoke.

He smells of the Abyss. The scent is faint, like rain on cold iron, but you can’t fool me…

Teacher said a normal person carrying Abyssal Aura points to two paths. Either the Abyss has marked them, or… they touched the Abyss and lived, paying a price nobody dares to name.

No, I need to ask the boss for leave. Either way, it’s grave.

She shot up before finishing, scooped the doll like a hawk snatching prey, and rushed off to apply.

Lingchen Yao left the library with books in his arms. Bags of every size swung at his sides like drifting leaves. In his ear, the Eye Orb’s voice clicked with machine calm.

You have me. Why do you need an encyclopedia on Abyssal creatures? Don’t you trust me? We worked fine last time, didn’t we?

Irritation rose like heat. He rolled his eyes at the sky, halted, and pulsed thoughts through the Eye Orb’s nerve-threads.

No, I don’t trust you. We’re bound by profit, nothing else. In a crucial moment, in a real fight, if I bare my back to you, you might plunge a Blade and strip my Magic Stone to resurrect.

Back in the demon wolf episode, you kept secrets. You’re full of shadows. I don’t want more entanglement. This is fine—equal exchange. You revive, I grow stronger. Simple.

Bottom line, I won’t rely on you. My own strength is more reliable. There’s no free lunch under the sky.

The Eye Orb went quiet, lids shuttered, as if agreeing, as if thinking.

Lingchen stepped into a roadside restaurant, chasing the noon hunger like a migrating bird seeking water.

By the way, the cashier at the library is a Magic Maiden of First Symphony. She’s a little behind you now.

So what? Didn’t you say my Abyssal Aura might slip past a Cantata Two?

Broth lifted his noodles like silk strands, clean and bright. Meat aroma filled his mouth like a small fire.

Right, but she’s special. Some Magic Maidens are keen-eyed for Abyssal Aura. Even if it thins so much a Cantata Two can’t feel it, they still sense it.

You didn’t tell me that last night. I need an explanation and a profile of that type. Third strike ends our deal. I’ll hand you to a Magic Maiden.

His face cooled like clouded glass. He set his chopsticks down.

This type is rare. I didn’t think we’d meet one. They’re not Magic Stone bearers, but Contractees. They bind with sentient creatures, gaining thought and knowledge, while the creatures gain Mana to live. Mutual, like us.

Cut the fluff. Keep going.

He didn’t want the Eye Orb’s detours. He sipped the meat broth, staging calm like a still pond.

Some contract beasts are born sensitive to Abyssal Aura. That sense passes to the girl through the pact.

Girls with contract beasts grow fast; most reach Chapter Three. A height a Magic Stone bearer may never touch in a lifetime. Pacts grant more magic than stones, and the power flows to the Magic Maiden.

Countermeasures?

Boss, one cola.

Lingchen lifted a hand, tugged his collar for air. His eyes slid sideways to the girl behind him, phone raised like a small shield over her cheek.

Hot day, huh.

There’s no detailed dossier on them. You set your plan by the girl’s contract creature. Until she fights, nobody knows its true shape.

He cracked the can; white vapor curled upward like morning mist. Summer begs an icy cola. He paid by phone and strolled out into the sun. Heat glazed his pale skin; sweat beaded like dew.

The street roared as usual, as if yesterday’s Abyss monster never came. He ignored the girl. The Eye Orb had advised doing nothing—and the reason held.

His Abyssal Aura clung from transforming. After the Eye Orb’s filtering, it thinned to a whisper. It would fade entirely if he didn’t transform for a few days.

He drifted toward yesterday’s alley. Yellow tape cut the scene like a warning river. Officers and Magic Maidens patrolled in loops, on guard. The culprit—Lingchen—stood at the perimeter, reading the battle’s bones.

She’s likely still nearby. His gaze swept like a lighthouse beam.

Area’s sealed. Please take a detour.

Ah. Sure…

He hadn’t planned to linger. Staying only raised the risk like sparks in dry grass. He’d come on a whim to look. No need to stay. The fight had been near his home; the shockwaves might touch his life. He needed the lay of the land.

Two Magic Maidens. Several officers. Better behave for now. Good. More than a month till term starts. Time to relax.

He took a quieter street and returned to his rented place like a dusk bird returning to eaves.

The girl from the library didn’t keep following; she was stopped. A girl in a black coat stood cold as night. A gun and a Blade rode her belt. Nearby officers bowed to her with respect like trees in wind.

What are you doing?

Uh…

The girl hugged her lamb doll, words bunching like tangled thread.

I’m a new Seeker, a Magic Maiden of First Symphony, Yun Mengmeng. While cashiering at the library, I felt someone with a richer Abyssal Aura than an ordinary passerby. From what my teacher taught, I think that person may have contacted Abyssal creatures, so… I…

Yun Mengmeng’s cheeks flushed like dawn. Following someone isn’t exactly virtuous.

I’m an Order Keeper, codename Moon Owl, Cantata Two. I understand what you reported. Next time, report to the Order Keepers. These cases are ours. Seekers don’t need to intervene; your duty isn’t combat.

In this battle, we Order Keepers lost many rookies. In recent years, with gate after gate of the Abyss opening, we’ve grown strained. We urgently need Seekers to find a way to close or damp the Abyss.

Seekers carry heavy tasks. I hope Seekers stay out of fights. I don’t want to see any Seeker die to monsters.

That’s all. I said too much today, but remember it.

Moon Owl leaped lightly. Light dimmed under a passing shadow, then spilled back like rain. Before Yun Mengmeng could blink, Moon Owl was gone.

The doll in her arms opened its eyes, perched on her shoulder, and patted her like a friend.

Relax. You’ll grow stronger than her one day. I promise.

Oh no!

Her lashes trembled; memory hit like a dropped cup.

Every time I use my ability, I forget something important. I only remember after it ends. I took an hour off from the library… I can’t make it back… my pay this month…

Yun Mengmeng ran for the library, panic fluttering like a sparrow.

Lingchen reached his rental. The landlady, a broad-faced woman, paced the doorway. The old wooden floor creaked like a worn boat. Her glance snagged on Lingchen’s bags, surprise flickering like a match.

This stingy kid bought things? He’s usually tighter than a clenched fist. I should gouge him before he moves out.

But her target today wasn’t him; it was the tenants across from him. Spooked by monsters, they wanted to move. She was hunting a way to keep them.

Tenants never run dry, but she always spent extra breath laying down rules for that brainless crowd. She wasted more time adjusting to their bad habits.

Picked up quite a haul today?

Her boisterous tone grated like sand, but Lingchen smiled. He’d live here for over a month yet. No need to plant sour memories.

Yeah. Getting things ready for term. I’ll be in the dorms. My stuff’s pretty shabby… I’d be laughed at.

He opened the bags: modest clothes, study materials. They chatted briefly, words like stones skipping water. Then the landlady shot forward and blocked the tenants across the hall who were trying to slip inside.

Their talk went sour, sharp as vinegar.