Taming SSR And UR RANK Superwomen-Chapter 16 — One Hour in the Abyss Part 2

Thomas opened the shop with a thought.

The panel floated in front of him, faintly illuminating the damp walls of the Abyss. The blue light felt almost like an insult in the darkness, as if the system didn’t understand—or didn’t care—where they were.

He scrolled through the options quickly. Common items. He had no more than five items unlocked in the shop, and all of them were irrelevant to his current situation. Thomas frowned.

’This is useless... everything here is for taming heroines, not surviving the Abyss.’

With that thought, he rubbed his chin and lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

’Wait a second... I was able to bring Selene with me. Maybe I don’t need to kill anything. What if I came here with an attack-type heroine? Maybe I could sell something from this place, though I don’t even know if there’s a market for it. As far as I know, only the tournament uses anything related to the Abyss: beast battles.’

Just then, a noise made them both spin around. It wasn’t the puppet monster. It was something faster—a wet snap, followed by a rapid dragging sound.

Selene went pale.

"Thomas..."

From the side corridor emerged a hunched creature with multiple limbs, glowing eyes embedded in a mass of darkness. It moved with erratic violence, slamming into the rock and emitting a high-pitched screech that made the air vibrate.

Thomas didn’t think.

"Run!"

They both took off running.

Their footsteps echoed chaotically. Thomas felt like his legs might give out at any moment. The air burned in his lungs, and every corner looked like a potential dead end.

The beast roared as it ran in a zigzag pattern, crashing into the corridor walls. The hardness of its hide produced a sound like blades being sharpened against stone. It had to be nearly thirteen feet tall and almost twenty feet long.

Selene ran beside him, breathing hard, fear evident on her face. Thomas grabbed her hand to help her keep up; she was slower than he was.

The corridor opened abruptly—too abruptly. They burst into a massive natural chamber... and came to a dead stop.

Before them stretched an enormous cavern, impossible to take in at a glance. Waterfalls cascaded from impossible heights, forming rivers that plunged into a turbulent lake hundreds of feet below. Winged creatures crossed the air, dark silhouettes against the constant mist.

The screech echoed behind them again. Thomas reacted instantly.

"There’s no time!"

He looked at the raging river far below and then at Selene, who stared back in horror.

’If luck exists... now would be a great time.’

Without thinking further, he pulled her with him, and they both jumped off the cliff.

The wind slammed into them violently. The void stole the air from their lungs. They both screamed, clinging to each other’s hands with all their strength. Thomas closed his eyes just before impact.

The water swallowed them.

The impact was brutal. The world dissolved into noise, pressure, and chaos. The current dragged them mercilessly, spinning them, separating them, tossing them like weightless dolls.

Thomas completely lost his sense of direction.

’Selene—’

He opened his eyes underwater and saw her a few yards ahead, spinning out of control, about to be dragged into deeper water.

When he broke the surface for air, the roar of the water rang in his ears as he kicked desperately to steady himself, but it was useless. He was pulled under again, tumbling out of control.

Selene was lost. And he knew it. In a last attempt, not knowing whether it would work, he pulled the spatula from his pocket and called her back.

’Selene, return.’

He didn’t even know whether distance mattered. He simply clung to the spatula as if his life depended on it, fighting not to be swept away.

Time blurred until he managed to surface again, and his body slammed into a rocky wall. The impact was brutal—strong enough to break bones—but he realized it was the riverbank, so he forced himself to dig his nails into the earth and hold on.

The force of the river tried to drag him back in, but he screamed at the top of his lungs as every muscle in his body fought to pull himself free.

When he finally managed to climb up, he rolled across the smooth rock, away from the edge. Exhaustion hit him instantly. All the energy he had burned to escape left him sprawled on the ground for several minutes, breathing through his mouth.

The constant roar of the waterfalls filled the air.

When he regained some strength, he pushed himself up and saw that he was at the edge of an area filled with stalagmites, like a vast valley of jagged stone.

He opened the system menu with his mind and checked the timer.

[Time remaining: 00:42:17]

His head dropped forward with an exhausted sigh.

’At least Selene’s gift seems to be working.’

He looked at the spatula in his hand nervously; he still didn’t know if it had worked. Afraid that something might have happened to her, he released its contents, and a pale blue light appeared.

His heart pounded. He swallowed hard, his stomach twisting as the light persisted. Unconsciously, his fingers tightened into a fist.

Selene appeared kneeling in front of him, completely drenched. Her first reaction was to take a deep gulp of air, proof that she was still shaken from the river.

Thomas exhaled slowly, his whole body relaxing.

’Damn... what a relief. It would’ve been my fault if something had happened to her.’

Selene lifted her gaze toward Thomas; her expression was tense and confused at the same time. He pressed his lips together, almost smiling out of pure nervousness, as he thought:

’Oh no... here come all the possible insults.’