Oakhaven might look peaceful on the surface with its chimneys puffing warm smoke and neat cobblestone streets, but its sewage system told a different story.
This city was a mining and magic ore processing town. Alchemical waste, mana dust residue, and the filth of thousands of residents all flowed to one place: The Undercity Drains.
Vaelen opened an iron manhole cover in a dead-end alley blocked by piles of empty crates. The stinging smell of ammonia and sulfur slapped him right in the face.
"Smells like home," Vaelen joked blandly, holding back the nausea rising again.
Inside his stomach, the noisy voices grew louder. The 'trash' souls he had swallowed—thugs, rats, ghouls—were like rioters in his meridians.
"Kill him... no... mercy...""Meat... hungry...""Pain... help..."
Vaelen struck his own chest hard. "Shut up," he growled. He jumped down into the darkness.
Vaelen landed in ankle-deep wastewater. His boots dipped into murky, oily liquid. The only source of light was bio-luminescent moss growing sparsely on the damp brick walls.
Vaelen didn't need a torch. The Entropy System adjusted his retinas to monochromatic night mode.
[Location Discovered: Oakhaven Sewers (Western Sector)]
[Contamination Level: Rank 8 (Toxic)]
[Navigating towards: High Purity Signal...]
He walked against the current. The wastewater here didn't just smell of human waste, but also of sharp metal—residue from the magic blacksmith workshops above.
Every step Vaelen took was accompanied by pain in his joints. His Qi was jammed. If he met an enemy now, he couldn't use Abyssal Step. He had to fight manually.
Squeak... Squeak... SCRAAPE.
The sound came from the darkness ahead. Dozens of glowing red dots appeared on the walls and ceiling of the tunnel.
[Monster: Sewers Rat Swarm]
[Rank: 9 (Low)]
[Note: They eat mana waste. Aggressive.]
A rat the size of a house cat jumped from a pipe above Vaelen's head.
Vaelen's reflexes were slowed by pain. He realized it half a second too late. He ducked, but the rat's claws still managed to scratch his cheek.
"Tch!" Vaelen swung his longsword awkwardly.
SLASH!
The rat was cut in two. Its blood was acidic, hissing as it hit the wastewater.
However, one death triggered the rage of the swarm.
"Squeeeeak!"
A wave of rats flooded from the front tunnel, crawling on walls, running on water, jumping over each other. There were hundreds.
Vaelen took a step back. Under normal conditions, he could use his "Hunger" aura to scare these small beasts, or use Shadow Grip to crush dozens of them at once.
But now, his pipes were clogged with trash.
"System! Divert remaining jammed Qi to Skin Reinforcement! Ignore offensive attacks!"
[Affirmative. Redirecting polluted Qi to Skin Defense.]
Vaelen's skin turned grey and hard as rock. He discarded technique and elegance. Vaelen roared, charging into the swarm of rats like a bull.
He kicked, stomped, and slashed. Rats bit his calves and arms, but their teeth shattered upon meeting Vaelen's Qi-reinforced dirty skin.
Vaelen didn't eat them. He was sick of trash food.
"Move!"
He shook off the rats clinging to his body, continuing to run through the swarm. He didn't aim to kill them all; he aimed to reach the source of "Purity".
After ten minutes of running and fighting, the number of rats thinned. They were afraid to chase further. They were afraid of what lay ahead.
Vaelen reached a giant Cistern (Central Holding Tank).
This room was shaped like an ancient brick dome. In the center, there was a large pool filled with churning glowing green liquid. Drainage pipes from various corners of the city emptied here.
In the middle of that poison pool, something was sleeping.
A giant Slime blob, transparent yet glowing green. Inside its gelatinous body, remains of human bones, rusty weapons, and undigested magic debris were visible.
[BOSS DETECTED (HIDDEN)]
[Species: Alchemical Sludge Monarch]
[Rank: Rank 8 (High Stage)]
[Attribute: Acid/Corrosion]
[Danger Level: Fatal without purification equipment.]
This was it. The contamination source the System meant.
This monster wasn't a creature with a soul or emotions. It was a blob of pure instinct made of chemical reactions and magic waste dumped for decades. Its energy was Pure Toxic. No "trash emotions" inside it.
Vaelen stood at the edge of the pool. His breath heaving, rat blood dripping from his armor.
"If I eat you..." Vaelen muttered, his brain processing a crazy theory. "...Your acidic nature will burn the trash in my meridians."
Like swallowing chemotherapy to kill cancer cells. The risk? He could melt from the inside.
The Slime blob sensed the presence of biomass (Vaelen). It vibrated. A green slime tentacle shot out from the pool surface, its tip hissing, dripping acid capable of holing stone.
Vaelen didn't draw his sword. Physical weapons were useless against liquid.
He instead unbuttoned his armor, throwing the leather armor and his undershirt onto the dry floor. He stood bare-chested, showing off his body covered in scratches and black meridian tattoos pulsing painfully under his skin.
"Come on," Vaelen challenged. "Let's see whose digestive system is stronger."
SLORP!
The Sludge Monarch fired a blob of acid the size of a basketball at Vaelen.
Vaelen didn't dodge. He spread his arms and caught the acid ball with his bare hands.
HISSSSS!
The skin of his palms blistered instantly, flesh peeling away revealing muscle. The pain was excruciating—a 10 out of 10 scale.
But Vaelen didn't scream. He grinned maniacally.
[Active Skill: Prototype Siphon - INVERTED MODE]
[Strategy: Draw the Corrosion INSIDE.]
Instead of absorbing energy to store, Vaelen pulled the corrosive nature of the acid and forced it to flow through all his clogged meridians.
The green acid crept in through the pores of his hands, spreading to his arms, shoulders, and chest, tracing the jammed Abyssal Root paths.
Inside his spiritual body: The acid met the "Soul Trash" of thugs and ghouls. A reaction occurred. The trash burned. The faint screams in Vaelen's head turned into screams of pain, then vanished into silence.
Vaelen fell to his knees, vomiting black blood mixed with green foam.
The pain was paralyzing, but a feeling of "relief" began to emerge. The blockages were destroyed. His energy pathways, though burned and raw, were now clean.
But the monster in front of him didn't care about Vaelen's therapy. It rose fully from the pool, reaching five meters in height, forming a tsunami wave of acid ready to swallow the young man whole.
Vaelen lifted his face. His eyes glowed red. His body smoked. The meridians under his skin now glowed faint green before turning back into a deeper pitch black.
"Therapy complete," Vaelen whispered, his voice hoarse.
He stared at the Sludge Monarch.
"Now... the main course. My tank capacity is empty again. And you look like the perfect energy drink to Rank up."
Vaelen activated [Abyssal Step].
This time there was no jam. No resistance. He vanished, and appeared in the middle of the giant Slime's body—entering its core.
Most people would melt and die. But Vaelen turned his entire body into a Black Hole.
[SKILL: GLUTTONY PROTOCOL (UNLOCKED)]
The cistern pool shook. Amidst the silence of the sewers, a gruesome feast began. The Apex Predator was recharging his power.
Because he knew... tonight, uninvited guests would come to the inn. And he had to prepare a proper welcome.
Meanwhile, on the roof of Oakhaven City Hall.
A man wearing a half-mask was staring toward The Iron Barrel inn through magic binoculars. His cloak fluttered softly, making no sound. On his shoulder was the emblem of Eclipse (Solar Eclipse).
"Team Alpha in position?" he whispered into a communication device.
"Ready at the back door, Captain."
"Team Bravo on the roof. No sign of movement from target Vaelen Rour since he disappeared into the city this morning. But the girl, Isolde, is in her room."
The masked man—Eclipse Captain, Silas—nodded coldly.
"The man probably ran away in fear, or died in the sewers from an overdose of cheap drugs. Doesn't matter. The main target is Lady Isolde. The orders are clear: Kill her, make it look like a common robbery."
The sun began to set on the western horizon, turning the sky blood red.
"Operation starts when the first street lamp lights up."
Down there, inside the inn room, Isolde was sitting on a chair clutching her dagger. She felt a bad omen making the hair on her neck stand up.
And far underground, in the darkness of the sewers, a pair of Peak Mortal Rank 9 eyes—now vibrating on the threshold of Ascension—opened in the darkness.