Sylvanus Statue

In the southern district, a building that looked like a monument was giving off waves of foul odor. The residents of Alchemy City kept their distance whenever they passed by. If they smelled it for too long, they would easily become dizzy and nauseated.

This was one of the entrances to Alchemy City's enormous sewer system. Everyone knew that sewers were places where filth gathered, but an odor like this had never appeared before.

After all, this was Alchemy City, where even sewer entrances had to be made into art statues. How could it tolerate such a stench spreading everywhere? Two or three years ago, an odor like this would have been cleaned up within half a day because of the residents' complaints.

But now, people could only pinch their noses and take a detour.

When Amber Xiu and Naomi arrived, they happened to spot the thief and Ranger entering the sewers from a distance.

Naomi could not help saying, "They were even willing to put themselves in danger just to harm others."

The two of them had actually endured the foul odor and entered the sewers purely to set a trap for someone else. The innocent Druid girl was deeply shaken by such malice.

Amber Xiu did not feel much of anything. This Druid girl had obviously been well protected since childhood. Besides, the teachings of the Druids leaned toward kindness, so she had probably lived among all sorts of simple, beautiful things in her tribe. Now that her people were in trouble, she had no choice but to face this cruel world herself.

Having one's entire worldview forcibly torn apart must have been extremely painful.

Amber Xiu merely said calmly, "Welcome to the real world."

After crossing over several hundred years ago, Amber Xiu had only managed to become a second-rate legendary figure, but he had seen more of the world's wickedness than he could count. A trivial matter like this was not even worth remembering.

Naomi fell silent for a while. She was not particularly discouraged. Instead, there was more determination in her eyes.

"Master Ultraman, are we going in now?" Naomi asked.

Amber Xiu said, "There's no rush. You're a Druid, so you should be able to summon beasts, right? Can you use Raven Summon?"

Naomi nodded. Summoning beast companions was a Druid's specialty, and Raven Summon was the most basic of the basics. Through a Magic Ritual, they could exchange for the projection of a raven from a distant wilderness. It was no different from a real raven and made an excellent scout.

Amber Xiu pointed at the sewer entrance beneath their feet and said, "Summon a raven and send it in here. Have it take a detour and check beneath the statue."

Naomi immediately understood what Amber Xiu meant. He was worried that the two men had prepared a trap at the sewer entrance.

Naomi could not help thinking, This undead is incredibly cautious. I really chose the right person.

However, Druid teachings and undead were utterly opposed. Naomi worried that even if she rescued her people, she still might not escape punishment.

But this was not the time to think about that. Amber Xiu was the only lifeline she could grasp. Even if the gods were going to punish her, that could wait until after her people had been rescued.

Following Amber Xiu's instructions, Naomi summoned a raven and sent it through the sewer entrance beneath their feet. The moment the raven entered the sewers, Naomi's expression changed. Summoned wilderness companions shared their master's sensations and could share most of their senses.

As a result, Naomi felt as if she had entered the sewers herself. The nauseating stench became even more intense, almost causing her to lose control of the raven.

Naomi endured the discomfort and controlled the raven as it circled around. It found neither of the two who had entered earlier nor any signs of a trap. Unable to bear the stench, Naomi quickly called the raven back and reported her findings to Amber Xiu.

After listening, Amber Xiu said disdainfully, "Looks like they're both amateurs. If I were robbing someone who was doing the same thing, I would leave at least five Magic Traps at the entrance."

"Then are we going in now?" Naomi asked.

"There's no rush. What if their methods are sophisticated and they left a trap you failed to notice?" Amber Xiu said.

"Then are you planning to investigate again? If so, you should have gone yourself in the first place. Undead don't have a sense of smell!"

Naomi was quite unhappy. If Amber Xiu did not trust her, why had he sent her to investigate? Had she suffered through that stench for nothing?

"Being cautious is always a good thing. Don't worry, we won't have to trouble ourselves again. We'll take a detour."

Amber Xiu cast a spell, and magical power settled over himself and Naomi. Naomi thought he had cast Invisibility again, but unexpectedly, their bodies directly transformed into two clouds of mist.

This was the Vaporization Form spell. It could directly turn a physical body into gas while preserving consciousness, allowing one to move by floating. In this state, one was immune to physical attacks and some magical attacks, but could do nothing besides move.

Naomi could not help sighing, "As expected of a Mage. You have so many tricks."

Mages differed from spellcasters of other professions. They relied on intelligence to cast spells, and in theory, they could cast any spell they were capable of understanding. Thus, Mages mastered far more magic than other spellcasters.

As for whether that meant they knew much but mastered nothing, that depended on the individual. It could not be generalized.

Amber Xiu took Naomi with him, and the two of them slipped through the narrow sewer entrance in gaseous form, entering the underground world of Alchemy City.

Amber Xiu had originally planned to maintain his gaseous form while traveling, but the moment he entered the sewers, he decisively dispelled the Vaporization Form.

Amber Xiu said in surprise, "How did this wretched place become like this?"

Rot, decay, evil... These negative auras seemed to have become tangible. Even he, a lich, felt deeply uncomfortable.

When he had entered the sewers in gaseous form, Amber Xiu had felt his body beginning to become contaminated. If he maintained that state for a long time, he did not know how many disgusting things would infect him, so he decisively returned to human form.

Naomi's resistance was even lower than Amber Xiu's. In just a short while, her face had already turned green. Her gaseous form had made greater contact with the foul air, causing her to become infected rapidly.

After returning to human form, her face was deathly pale, and she barely had the strength to stand.

Amber Xiu was about to dispel the negative effects from Naomi when he saw a flash of light in her palm. Suddenly, an oak statue appeared.

Pure green light spread from the statue like waves. Vigorous life force surged outward, creating a safe space within the filthy sewers.

Naomi's strength rapidly recovered, and the contamination in her body was instantly purged.

Amber Xiu stood outside the green barrier. To him, it seemed that the green light was even more terrifying than the stench of the sewers.

Amber Xiu stared at the statue for a moment before saying in surprise, "The Sylvanus Statue? Has your tribe received a divine blessing?!"

Sylvanus, the god of nature, was worshiped by most Druids. But faith was one thing; believing in a god did not mean the god had to care about you. Amber Xiu could sense powerful divine power within this small statue. It was an object blessed by a god, a treasured heirloom of any Druid tribe.

Things were becoming complicated.

A treasure like this would never be taken outside the tribe unless the tribe had been wiped out.

Naomi had brought a divine artifact alone to rescue people... Either her tribe had been wiped out, or she had stolen it from the tribe.

The End of the Chapter