Safe Travels

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!"

The piercing shrieks were like red-hot needles stabbing into their eardrums, instantly drowning out every other sound in the sewers.

The dark passage seemed to come alive as countless bloated shapes surged from the shadows, carrying a nauseating stench as they lunged at the three of them.

"Perfect!"

Bochi Iron Anvil let out an excited roar, his short body erupting with astonishing strength.

He gripped his Mining Pick with both hands, lowered his center of gravity, then spun and swept it out—there were hints of the Warrior's basic skill, Momentum Slash, in the move. Though it looked somewhat awkward since his weapon was neither a battle axe nor a greatsword, and the form was far from standard, the Dwarf's natural strength still sent the heavy pickhead crashing into the rat swarm with a howl that tore through the air!

"Bang!"

The first rat to charge forward, nearly as large as a half-grown hunting dog, did not even have time to scream before it was smashed apart into a mangled puddle of flesh.

"Have a taste of this, you filthy long-tailed bastards!"

Spittle flew from Bochi's mouth, his beard whipping wildly with his movements.

The Dwarf's inborn combat instincts were on full display. Like an unbreakable reef, he forcefully withstood the first wave of the rat tide.

On the other side, Aila Starlight did not possess Bochi's earth-shaking momentum. Her movements were so light they seemed weightless.

She slipped and dodged nimbly through the cramped space and gaps in the rat swarm. Every sidestep and duck resembled a rogue's beginner-level Combat Reflexes, but this was more instinct born of a Half-elf's natural agility than any precise footwork gained through formal training.

The two gleaming Daggers in her hands were like venomous fangs, darting out soundlessly before swiftly retracting.

Every flash of blade was accompanied by a short, muffled squeal of pain.

Xia Lin twisted aside and narrowly avoided a rat's pounce. The rusty shortsword in his hand reflected the light of Bochi's torch as he slashed at the beast's filthy neck.

"Rip."

The feeling was wrong. It seemed he had only cut through its fur and skin.

The rat howled in pain and lunged at him even more frantically.

He smoothly withdrew his sword, spun around, and followed up with another strike.

Instead, the slick moss beneath his feet nearly made him do the splits on the spot, leaving him in an extremely undignified pose.

Fortunately, Aila's figure blurred beside him, and her dagger flashed like lightning, precisely piercing the rat's eye socket.

"Focus." Aila's voice did not waver in the slightest.

Xia Lin's face heated up. That had been embarrassing.

He had once traded several full meals and a few bottles of the cheapest rotgut for some Basic Swordsmanship footwork, chopping techniques, and a set of Beginner's Guide to the Magic Warrior notes from the old drunk Green.

But honestly, the swordsmanship he claimed to have learned from "Quicksword Green" was truly unbearable to watch.

There was an old saying among mercenaries and adventurers: "A novice's sword either chops wood or stirs shit." Xia Lin felt that he probably belonged to the latter category—and he was using an unsharpened stick, at that.

He steadied himself, staring at the rats before him, each fatter than a house cat, and forced himself to focus.

This battle was less of a fight to the death than a somewhat disgusting cleanup job.

Though these ordinary Sewer Giant Rats were numerous and terrifyingly large, their attack patterns were simple and their intelligence low.

They posed little threat to the three of them, who could barely be considered armed "adventurers."

Spotting an opening, he charged at another rat that was especially large.

That thing seemed to be a minor leader among these little monsters.

Xia Lin took a deep breath, pushed off with his feet, and leaned forward.

He wanted to shout something cool, like, "Holy Light, that enemy is worthy of battle," or something along those lines.

But when the words reached his lips, what came out was a simple and brutal, "Die, fat rat!"

He tried to channel the energy in his body—supposedly an Arcane Pool—into the tip of his sword.

Old Green had taught him this ability during one of his few sober periods. Supposedly, it could make a weapon a little sharper.

Although every time Xia Lin used it, it felt like nothing more than a psychological effect. The blade merely gave off a faint glow that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

Whatever!

He gathered all his strength into his arm and thrust the shortsword forward with everything he had!

"Squelch!"

This time, the feeling was right!

The sword tip precisely pierced the "Elite Rat's" eye socket. Warm blood ran down the blade, carrying an intense stench.

The rat's huge body twitched a few times before collapsing heavily to the ground.

With the "leader" dead, the remaining rats seemed to lose their command. They fell into chaos, and their attacks visibly weakened.

After another round of hacking and slashing, the sewers finally began to quiet down.

The squealing stopped completely, leaving only the drip-drip of sewage and the three of them breathing heavily.

Rat corpses carpeted the ground in layers, piled atop one another in gruesome and miserable states.

The smell of blood mixed with the sewer's original stench, creating an even more nauseating odor.

"Whew... Finally... done."

Bochi dropped onto a somewhat cleaner stone nearby, exhausted like a dehydrated dog.

He pulled a battered leather waterskin from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and took a huge gulp.

"Damn it!" the Dwarf cursed between heavy breaths. "All this filthy, exhausting work for a measly thirty copper coins! Those bloodsuckers from the Adventurer's Guild, sitting in their offices all day, deserve to be hanged from the city gates!"

"Vampires do not like staying on city gates. They prefer dark basements," Aila replied blandly.

She calmly took out a cloth and carefully wiped the blood and grime from her two Daggers until the blades gleamed coldly again, reflective enough to show a person's face.

Only then did she bend down in an orderly manner and use her dagger to cut off the sufficiently large rat tails that met the task requirements.

A thin string stained with blood was soon threaded with thick, long gray tails.

Xia Lin was slightly slower.

Looking at the mess on the ground, he silently calculated how many copper coins those tails could fetch.

Thirty copper coins was the total reward. Split three ways, that was ten for each of them.

And they still had to deduct the healing salve they had bought on credit, as well as that long-standing debt to the tavern owner...

Fucking... soul-crushing poverty.

He noticed that the tail of the "Elite Rat" he had just killed was especially thick and long, nearly the length of his forearm.

[Item: Extra Large Sewer Rat Tail]

[Durability: 13/20 (Astonishingly tough)]

[Kills: 0]

[Evaluation: Other than proving that you killed an overfed, oversized rat, it is completely worthless. Perhaps... it could serve as a low-quality whip? Friendly reminder: Do not use it as a sex toy!]

"Sex toy?" Xia Lin's mouth twitched as he stared at that improper evaluation.

This Golden Finger's tendency to make snide remarks was getting more and more uninhibited.

He carefully cut the tail off at the base with his shortsword, tried to wipe away some of the blood, then gripped its root and snapped it through the air.

"Whoosh—crack!"

Hey, it really did feel a bit like a whip! The sound was dull, and it felt strange in his hand, carrying a fishy smell, but it was unexpectedly satisfying.

Aila straightened up and watched Xia Lin play with the whip. A rare teasing smile flickered through her eyes.

She wiped her Daggers clean, folded her arms, and slowly spoke in that cool voice of hers.

"I have to say... this 'whip' looks quite sturdy." She paused, her tone calm. "When we return to the inn tonight, do you want to try using it another way?"

Xia Lin froze, then flashed his usual shameless grin and met her gaze without backing down. "Oh? So Miss Aila is into that? Sure. As long as you do not cry and beg for mercy tonight. But let me say this first—I do not have spare money to buy you expensive salve."

Aila leaned slightly closer, her beautiful eyes staring directly into Xia Lin's. Her lowered voice carried a magnetic quality. "Cry? That depends on someone's 'skill.' Maybe it will make people beg for more instead. As for the salve... I can bring something better myself. Want to try?"

"By my Old Man's beard!" Bochi's deafening roar shattered everything. "You two slippery little brats, can you wait until we get back to the inn before going into heat?! Get your asses over here! What the hell is this hole?!"

Bochi pointed wildly at the area behind the giant rat's corpse, spittle flying everywhere. The crude shout completely dispersed the ambiguous atmosphere between the two. They could only exchange helpless looks, call a temporary "truce," and hurry over.

Bochi was struggling to shove the huge rat corpse aside with his Mining Pick.

As the body was moved away, the sight behind it startled all three of them.

Where there should have been a solid, rough sewer wall, there was instead a black hole about half a person's height, its edges unusually smooth!

The hole extended inward, and a passage could vaguely be seen beyond it.

Unlike the surrounding sewer, where filthy water flowed freely and the brickwork was mottled and worn, the inner walls of that passage seemed to be built from some smooth black stone. The ground was relatively clean and level, and faint geometric patterns that clearly were not naturally formed could even be seen.

A faint but distinct current of dry, dusty air slowly blew out from the opening, dispersing some of the sewer stench.

"This is..." Aila frowned, her eyes full of vigilance.

Bochi rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes shining. "By my beard! Did that rat dig a hole here? No! The edges are way too neat. No rat dug this! It looks like... some kind of entrance?"

Xia Lin stared at the opening as buried fragments of the original owner's memories gradually surfaced in his mind.

He took a deep breath and said in a low voice:

"I think... I vaguely remember something."

He organized his thoughts and said to the other two, "I transmigrated... Uh, I mean, I once heard some old folks say that Changhe City, the city we are in now, was actually built atop extremely ancient ruins."

"They say that a very long time ago, this place was once a powerful magic city-state that later fell for some reason. During the city's early years, people often accidentally discovered ancient magical passages or hidden rooms while digging foundations or cleaning sewers. They found priceless magic items or ancient documents and became rich overnight."

Xia Lin pointed at the opening. "But supposedly, such things have become rare over the past decade or so. Everyone thought the ruins that could be found had already been stripped clean by those before them."

He looked at the deep opening, so utterly different from its surroundings, as an inexplicable light flickered in his eyes.

"Could it be... that beneath our feet lies the entrance to an Ancient Magic Ruins... one nobody has discovered yet?"