Mithril

Though their escape from the sewers had been a sorry sight, it had not been as hopeless as they had imagined.

When the Aberrant Horde chasing them reached the vicinity of the Waterworks basement entrance, it seemed to have been stopped by some invisible boundary.

After a burst of frenzied howls, it reluctantly retreated into the depths of the darkness.

"Phew... phew..."

Everyone slumped inside the Security Room by the Waterworks gate, gulping down air.

Lu Yuan leaned against the wall and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

The weakness of having survived a disaster left him trembling slightly.

But Lu Yuan's attention was completely fixed on the notification flickering at the edge of his vision.

[Witnessed and survived: Deep-Sea Hound, Corpse Moss, Mutant Rat Swarm]

[Forbidden Studies—Seeker: +3, 3/50]

[Sanity II: +2, 27/47 (Experience)]

Lu Yuan's gaze shifted slightly.

Two experience points?

Being tormented for an entire night by that damned Strange Dream only earned him five points a day.

Yet that desperate ten-minute flight had nearly matched an entire night's gains.

And his Sanity had increased as well.

"Do risk and reward go hand in hand...?"

Lu Yuan lowered his head, his fingers absently rubbing the grip of his Silver-Plated Pistol.

If his previous attitude toward these aberrant creatures had been to avoid them at all costs, then now the scales had begun to tip.

Leveling up through Strange Dreams was far too slow. Compared to that, this kind of visible danger was actually more worthwhile.

"Looks like I'll have to court death a little from now on."

Lu Yuan quietly calculated in his heart.

Of course, that was on the condition that someone as powerful as Hans was standing at the front to carry them.

During the break, the atmosphere in the Security Room eased considerably.

"Hey, Doctor."

The Night Watcher named Ed came over and offered Lu Yuan a somewhat crushed cigarette.

"Thanks for earlier. If you hadn't warned me, I'd probably have lost this leg."

Lu Yuan waved it away.

"It was nothing."

The taciturn giant beside them, Gray, also said in a muffled voice, "Your brain really works well. You're much better than those doctors at the base."

Only the cold Night Watcher who had been clearing the way at the front merely nodded at Lu Yuan from a distance without saying anything.

"To be honest, when I first saw the base send a temporarily conscripted doctor to be vice-captain, I wasn't happy about it." Ed exhaled a smoke ring and spoke bluntly. "Now I get it. Sometimes, a brain really is more useful than a blade."

Lu Yuan smiled without pursuing the subject.

He took the chance to point at the empty metal rack in Gray's pack.

"That last strike just now... what was it? It was incredibly powerful."

"That was Mithril."

Ed lowered his voice, and a trace of reverence entered his tone. "It's good stuff, but it's also deadly stuff."

"Those lunatics in R&D Department extracted it using alchemy and some... uh, material that can't be mentioned."

"It has devastating killing power against polluted creatures, even Eerie beings. That silver fire isn't ordinary fire—it burns Spirituality."

"But the stuff is extremely unstable. Shake it too hard, and it might explode." Ed shrugged. "That's why each team can only bring two bottles per mission. Bring more, and you're a walking powder keg."

Lu Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

As expected, for the Night Watchers to stand firm in this world overrun by Eerie horrors, their foundations had to run unfathomably deep.

"Oh, right, Doctor." Ed leaned closer again. "I heard you opened a clinic behind Old John's Tavern?"

"Yeah. Laisen Clinic."

"If I have any problems in the future, can I come to you?" Ed seemed to recall something, his face full of distaste. "The doctors at the base are too fierce. They'll pour a whole bottle of potent Magic Potion down your throat to treat a cold. I don't want them to cripple me with their treatment."

"You're welcome anytime," Lu Yuan said with a smile. "Just remember to bring enough money."

Just then, the whinny of horses came from outside.

Hans pushed the door open and entered. His expression was still stern, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes.

"Get up and get to work! Reinforcements are here."

The reinforcements this time were of a high caliber.

In addition to the young messenger named Toby, there was a black carriage loaded with wooden crates and a man dressed in an elegant tailcoat.

The man looked to be around thirty. He held a gold-inlaid cane in his hand, and an elegant smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

What drew the eye most were his emerald-green eyes, deep as a pool of stagnant water.

Captain of the Second Night Watcher Squad, Valentin.

"Hans, I heard a bunch of rats drove you out?"

Valentin stepped down from the carriage, his tone flippant. He even covered his nose with a handkerchief. "How embarrassing."

"Cut the crap." Hans shot him an irritated glare. "The situation below is more serious than we expected. It's not just a bunch of rats. There's also a Meat Mountain incubating down there."

"A Meat Mountain?"

A bloodthirsty gleam flashed through Valentin's green eyes. He licked his lips. "Sounds like... it might be a new flavor."

Standing nearby, Lu Yuan keenly sensed the dangerous aura radiating from the man.

It was not an aura a human should possess. He was more like a beast wearing human skin.

An Eerie Path Transcendent... Lu Yuan made his judgment.

After a brief tactical arrangement, the new offensive began.

This time, with ample supplies, the Night Watchers no longer held back.

Several crates of Molotov Cocktails were unloaded from the carriage, along with a special Holy Water that emitted a faint golden glow.

Most crucially, Valentin had brought a full three bottles of Mithril.

"This time, we have only one target—the Meat Mountain blocking the drainage outlet."

Hans pointed at the map. "Valentin will lead the attack, and I'll support him. Everyone else will clear the small fry and provide cover."

Considering the threat of the underwater tentacles, Lu Yuan was assigned a large-caliber Copper shotgun and two bottles of special Holy Water glowing faintly gold.

Lu Yuan reached out and accepted the two bottles of Holy Water. The instant his fingertips touched the glass, a warm sensation traveled up from them, and the familiar Gray-White Text at the edge of his vision suddenly flickered.

[You have come into contact with new knowledge: water tainted with faint "light"]

Looking at the gray text appearing at the corner of his eye, Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Could touching such things also grant new knowledge? Though it had not directly raised [Forbidden Studies], surely every little bit added up and would prove useful.

Lu Yuan turned his gaze toward the Mithril, but he was in no rush. Now that he had joined the Night Watchers, coming into contact with such things was only a matter of time.

They entered the sewers again.

This time, no one was stingy with ammunition. They advanced all the way while hurling Molotov Cocktails.

The Corpse Moss clinging to the walls let out sizzling shrieks amid the flames and turned into charred black ash.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"

Hordes of Mutant Rats tried to counterattack, but before the dense web of gunfire and the wall of flames formed by the Molotov Cocktails,

they could only turn into blazing fireballs and die in despair.

"Put on your gas masks! Watch out for the toxic smoke!"

Hans roared, his greatsword whirling so densely that not even water could pass through, cleaving several Deep-Sea Hounds that slipped through the net in half.

As for Valentin, the captain of the second squad, he now displayed combat strength that sent chills down one's spine.

He took off his tailcoat, revealing a lean, muscular upper body. Then he pulled a bottle of blood-red Potion from his coat and tipped it back into his mouth.