Sewers

The White Eagle Federation was a nation established on the New Continent, and from the very beginning, its cities had been designed to avoid all the shortcomings of those on the Old Continent.

For example, beneath every city and residential district lay a vast, convenient sewer system, effectively preventing the awkward scenes common in Old Continent towns, where wastewater flooded the streets whenever it rained.

Of course, no matter how good a system was, problems were bound to crop up after years of operation. That was when manual clearing became necessary.

In truth, the section Sean was responsible for wasn't particularly difficult or demanding. If not for everything that had happened earlier, it wouldn't have landed on his shoulders at all.

"I have to say, Sean, you've really found yourself a 'great' job!"

Down in the sewers, Sulu wore a full set of work clothes and a thick mask. Even so, the foul stench still hit him head-on, turning his face green.

"Urgh..."

Beside him, Sean had already taken off his mask and was retching over a drain. "I swear... I'm never taking a job like this again!"

"If you do, I'll punch you right in the head!"

Sulu held up a lantern, doing his best to avoid the filth, but his tall boots had still gotten smeared with large clumps of black, unidentified sludge.

Toxic gases might have built up in the sewers, but the workers who'd come before them had already tested the conditions firsthand.

Shouldering a shovel, Sulu made his way to a blockage. Piles of household garbage had nearly sealed off the passage, and wastewater was spilling everywhere. "Let's get to work!"

No matter where you were, work had to be done the hard way.

Sulu brought his shovel down hard, scooped up a big pile of garbage, and tossed it into a woven sack beside him.

"Urgh... Let me throw up for a little longer..."

Sean clung to the wall, making Sulu utterly speechless.

As they worked, Sulu stayed fully alert, keeping an eye on their surroundings. He was very interested in those campus ghost stories.

But after a whole day of work, they'd found nothing at all, apart from startling hordes of rats and cockroaches.

Looks like the so-called wraith's crying was all in someone's imagination... Maybe that sanitation worker was bitten by a big rat or a snake?

Sulu could only shake his head at the thought.

He'd hoped this might be a chance to encounter the supernatural. Who knew he'd actually end up as a sewer cleaner?

Seven Gods, were they messing with him?

As it turned out, people could adapt to almost anything. After three days, even Sean had gradually gotten used to the smell of the sewers and was swinging his shovel with gusto.

Once he set himself to a task, he worked pretty hard. That was one reason Sulu hadn't cut ties with him yet.

"Hmm, judging by the progress, we might not need ten days. We could finish in seven or eight!"

During a break, Sulu surveyed the work and came to that conclusion.

"Hey, we have you to thank for that, brother. I won't forget your help!" Sean said sincerely.

Over the past few days, Sulu had done enough work on his own to equal two people. Sean had seen it all.

"Mm!"

Sulu answered absentmindedly. With his current strength, this kind of work was easy.

But for some reason, he'd felt that something was off ever since a little while ago.

That's right... Something's off. It's too quiet!

He thought it over, then finally realized what it was.

Sewers were rats' favorite place. Even after being disturbed for three days, they still showed up now and then, giving them a sudden scare.

But today, they hadn't gotten a single one of those "surprises"! When something was out of the ordinary, it meant something was definitely wrong!

"Sean, don't you think there are fewer rats today?"

Sulu crouched slightly, shovel in hand, and voiced his suspicions.

"Rats? Those damn things can all die for all I care..." Sean replied, looking annoyed.

Just yesterday, a nest of rats had fallen on his head, and one had nearly crawled inside his clothes. Remembering that nightmare made him shudder.

"Fine!"

Sulu grew even more wary.

He hated rats too. They were filthy and disgusting, and they didn't even give XP. Still, they were better than some unknown danger. "Let's be extra careful today!"

"No problem! Whatever kind of monster it is, one swing of my shovel will kill it!"

Having rested enough, Sean took up his shovel and struck a confident pose.

Whoosh!

In that instant, everything changed!

A basketball-sized black shape suddenly appeared out of the darkness, two blood-red points of light darting straight toward Sean's lower leg!

"Oh! Shit! What is that?"

Sean swung his shovel and smacked the shadow away.

Smack!

The black shape landed on the curved wall and dropped to the ground. It shook itself, seemingly unharmed, then squeaked at Sean.

"That's... a rat?!"

Sean froze.

The shadow was a rat, two or three times larger than normal. Its curled-up body was about the size of a basketball, and it had a long tail, sharp teeth, and black claws.

Most striking of all were its eyes, glowing a blood-red color.

"A mutated rat?!"

Sulu let out a breath.

Once they knew what they were up against, it was easier to deal with.

"So part of those campus ghost stories really was true!"

Sean took a deep breath and gripped his shovel like a baseball bat. "But it's just one big rat..."

Before he could finish speaking—

Squeak! Squeak!

A mass of blood-red points suddenly appeared in the darkness, accompanied by the rats' distinctive squealing.

"Oh! Shit!"

Sean's face fell. "There are so many!"

"Tsk, tsk!"

Sulu counted. There were at least ten mutated rats in the darkness, and even he felt like retreating. "This could get troublesome. Let's get out of here!"

"Right!"

Sean nodded quickly and backed away several steps.

But as soon as he retreated, it set off a chain reaction. The mutated rats in the darkness immediately charged at them.

"Hah!"

Sean swung his shovel with all his might, hitting one of the mutated rats and sending it flying.

But it didn't help!

The rat he'd knocked away only rolled a few times before getting back up, while even more mutated rats broke through their defenses and reached Sean's feet.

With their sharp teeth, they could definitely bite through Sean's boots and protective clothing!

"Crane Style!"

At the critical moment, a figure rushed over. A pickaxe had appeared in his hand, and he swung it with all his might.

Thud!

The pickaxe's sharp point pierced a mutated rat's belly, nearly running it through, then lifted it up.

"Squeak!"

The mutated rat's shriek rang through the sewers, frightening the others into stopping in their tracks.

"Sulu... you saved me!"

Only then did Sean let out a long breath. Then he burst into curses. "That damn profiteer! If I'd known there were this many giant rats in the sewers, I wouldn't have come here even if it killed me!"

"Pickaxes work better against them!"

Sulu tossed him a pickaxe, but a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes. On the Attribute Panel, a line of text had appeared:

[XP+10]