Poverty Left Me No Choice

At the end of the alley stood a city wall over twenty meters high. Unless he could fly, there was no way a living person could vanish into thin air. And with the footprints ending beside a sewer cover, the answer was already obvious.

The cover was not made of metal, but of something like concrete. On the underside of the round cover were two recessed grips, making it easier for maintenance workers to lift it and enter the sewers to clear out silt.

Yet it was surprisingly light. It did not feel nearly as heavy as it looked when lifted, more like it was hollow. A layer of velvet had even been deliberately placed beneath it to prevent any noise when the cover was moved and avoid drawing unwanted attention.

The group stood around it and peered down the shaft. They could see a faint, flickering glow, while an indescribable stench drifted out as the cover was opened.

"We have to catch up. If we let him get away, he'll be much harder to catch later."

"I agree."

Kaya's suggestion immediately won Koura's approval. Beside them, Eve stated:

"I don't mind. If you're going down, I'll go too."

Which was more or less the same as abstaining from an opinion. The three of them then turned to Pei Renli, whose face was twisted in disgust.

Honestly, Pei Renli really did not want to go down there.

Aside from the fact that crawling through sewers was physiologically difficult to accept, the risks of continuing the pursuit were growing higher and higher.

This sewer entrance had clearly been modified by someone. Combined with the light below, it was easy to guess that it was being used as some sort of convenient passageway.

Human trafficking was obviously profitable, but transporting people overland was extremely inconvenient. The area around Curtain Star City was harsh: to the west lay the Great Tree Sea, to the north were ravines winding through endless mountains, and to the east stretched a vast, rolling wasteland. This independent city stood alone like a single fragile seedling.

For them, traveling by water was naturally the most convenient option. But a city wall stood between the lower district and the harbor district. Striding through the city gate with a person slung over one's shoulder was practically turning oneself in.

So this modified sewer entrance they had found was most likely a convenient route for transporting kidnapped people from the lower district to the harbor.

But if it was only a passageway, that would be one thing. The real fear was that the other end of the passage led to their den...

If that was the case, then the four of them would be walking straight into a whole gang of vicious criminals.

Pei Renli did not feel particularly confident. After all, he had only been at school for two weeks. Before that, he had been an ordinary person with combat power rated at a pathetic five. And the other side clearly would not obediently surrender.

Still, catching up to them did not necessarily mean they were one hundred percent walking into death. Pei Renli still had one final safeguard: Lavna.

In the worst-case scenario, he could have Lavna come out and save them. But that was a last resort, since it would be hard to explain where she came from. At most, he could pretend not to know her and have Lavna make a guest appearance as some generic passing Kamen Rider.

Another important factor was that Pei Renli had absolutely no faith in the guards' integrity. If they turned back to the school only to be told that the mission had not been completed and they would not be paid, that would be miserable. Pei Renli could not even afford ink right now.

So after quickly weighing the pros and cons, he could only nod helplessly beneath the questioning gazes of the other three.

Poverty had become a crucial reason behind Pei Renli's decision.

Naturally, Pei Renli had never been inside a sewer before. Then again, ordinary people probably did not have that kind of experience either.

Unlike the pipe-like sewers people imagined, the sewers beneath Curtain Star City—and most large cities—were exceedingly spacious, not narrow at all.

Kaya, the most agile among them, took the lead. The group climbed down the ladder one after another, descending some thirty meters before their feet finally touched solid ground again.

It was roughly seven or eight meters wide, with a ceiling four or five meters overhead. Rather than a sewer, it looked more like a tunnel. Passageways wide enough for three people to walk abreast ran along either side, while foul water carrying all kinds of debris flowed through the center, reeking horribly.

It was a sewer, after all.

It had been built so wide primarily for easier maintenance. Monsters that liked such environments often moved into the sewers of this world, and if the passages were narrow pipes, there would be no way to deal with them.

Then again, they had actually dug sewers beneath the city wall. What had the local urban planning department been thinking? Were they really not afraid that the wall would collapse along with them?

Pei Renli did not know the exact reason, nor was he interested in pondering it, because the place stank far too badly...

Covering his nose and mouth, Pei Renli looked around. He immediately spotted a torch stuck into the wall five or six meters away. The flickering light they had seen from above came from it. But there were no other sources of light, nor was there any sign of the man who had gone down before them.

As they gathered closer, Kaya judged:

"This torch is about to go out. It should have been placed here three or four hours ago."

Because the torches in this world used oil mixed with special ingredients, they burned for quite a long time—usually around four hours.

Beyond that torch, the sewer ahead was nothing but profound darkness.

Pei Renli raised his left hand and drew a circle with his finger, immediately casting Light to replace the torch whose flame kept sputtering as its fuel ran dry.

Eve also changed her casting gesture. Four pure white balls of light floated at her side, illuminating more clearly the "river" of filth flowing beside the group...

This was Dancing Lights, a basic cantrip just like Light. The difference was that the source of Light could "stick" to the surface of a designated object, while the spheres created by Dancing Lights could move freely around the caster.

When venturing through darkness, preparing multiple light sources was basic practice. After all, if something unexpected happened and they lost their illumination, they would be left groping blindly.

"The footprints are here."

Koura crouched halfway down and pointed at the ground. The brick passageway was covered in muddy sludge, making the footprints extremely obvious.

"And I found a mechanism. I can't be sure whether there are more traps, so I should take the lead."

Just as those who gained magical power through study were called mages, people like Koura were known as rogues.

Of course, that was a very broad term. Thieves, pickpockets, assassins, and all those who walked along the edge of darkness were called rogues.

They specialized in slipping through doors, picking locks, and disarming mechanisms and traps. They were also among the most indispensable people in an adventure, because compared to the threat posed by monsters, traps actually caused far more casualties.

Come to think of it, it was not surprising at all that Koura, a paparazzo and blabbermouth, possessed rogue skills...

The mechanism Koura had mentioned was a sluice gate installed in the ceiling. It had probably been prepared when the sewers were first built, allowing someone to pull a switch and lower the gate to divert the wastewater when necessary.

However, since this had clearly been used as a secret passage before, it was indeed possible that traps had been set here.

Switching places with Kaya, Koura took the lead while Pei Renli and Eve behind her held up magical lights. Following the footprints, the group made their way step by step deeper into the sewers.

The sound of wastewater gurgling filled their ears, drowning out even their footsteps. Every so often, they caught sight of gleaming eyes in the unlit darkness ahead. Whether they belonged to rats or some monster lurking down here and spying on them, no one knew.

The ground beneath their feet was slick. When the light fell on it, it felt like stepping on a huge bar of soap—greasy and slimy.

And through the soles of their leather boots, they could feel something soft and squishy beneath them. Whether it was mud or...

Well, best not to dwell on it.

Worst of all was the smell. Like a tiny brush lightly tickling the insides of their nostrils, it made everyone almost completely silent. Not only would the slightest sound carry far in this place, but opening one's mouth in such an environment took considerable courage.

Even stranger, Pei Renli found that as he walked, he was gradually getting used to the sewer air. Though it was more likely that the nerves responsible for sensing smells had temporarily gone on strike...

The environment was unpleasant, but bearable. They had prepared themselves mentally before coming down, after all. But after tracking their quarry for roughly ten minutes, they ran into a major problem.

As mentioned before, the sewers had sluice gates used to alter the flow of wastewater. These gates were controlled by dedicated switches aboveground.

Unfortunately, when they reached a crossroads, one of the gates on one side had been lowered. With its path suddenly blocked, the wastewater level immediately began to rise.

The group had no choice but to hurry toward higher ground. The suddenly rising water also completely washed away the only trace they had been following—the footprints.

The passage that had once held the footprints was now covered in half an inch of wastewater. Even when Eve cast Detect Footprints again, it was useless.

"I'll see if I can lead you around from the side. Maybe the gate at the other end hasn't been lowered. We might still be able to find the footprints."

If they wanted to continue the pursuit, Koura's suggestion was their only option. Left with no choice, they could only take a detour.

But that detour only made things worse.

Not only had they completely lost the trail of footprints, but after walking for several minutes, they found no signs of torches having been placed along the walls.

No torches meant the area they had entered was not the secret passage, but the actual sewers.

And when they realized this and tried to head back, they made the miserable discovery that they were lost...

The artificial traces along both sides grew fewer and fewer. As they walked, the brick-and-stone sewer gradually became a rocky passage. If wastewater had not continued flowing beside them, they might have thought they had somehow wandered into a natural cave.

"That's not right. I clearly followed the way back."

Koura, who had been leading them, furiously scratched her head until her short flaxen hair became as messy as a chicken's nest.

"Forget it. Let's look around nearby and see if there's an exit."

Even Kaya knew they had lost their target under these circumstances. Since that was the case, there was no need to remain in the sewers.

Eve continued listening without expression. Even the sewer stench had not changed her face much, and as usual, she offered no opinion.

Pei Renli had not wanted to come down here in the first place. Hearing that, he said, "Then let's head back. I remember there was a ladder leading up near the intersection we passed earlier."

The moment he finished speaking, he saw a flash in the darkness.

"Watch out!"

Koura immediately spun around, grabbed Pei Renli's cloak, and yanked hard, forcing him to duck nearly half a head lower.

Right after that, Pei Renli felt something fly over his head and strike the wall behind him with a crisp clang.

Under the magical illumination, they could clearly see that it was a crude, crooked arrow.

At the same time, a large mass of dense, rapid little footsteps was quickly approaching from the darkness not far away...