episode_0012

Inside a dark sewer.

“Hmm, fragrant smell.”

The stench of all kinds of filth assaulted my nose. It’s not unbearable, but it’s unpleasant.

Quien’s sewer system was wide and complex, commensurate with the size of the city. It’s not my first time, but I haven’t been to everything.

I walked along the narrow path on either side of the sewage stream.

“I wish I could find it quickly.”

I lit the lantern I had brought with me in advance. The surroundings became brighter and visibility became clear.

You can enhance your vision with mana, but since you never know when you will be able to find your target, it is better to save your mana. Instead, its hearing was strengthened so that it could detect its presence from afar.

Even the disadvantage of being easily visible to others was an advantage for now.

“Heteromorphic pigs have a tendency to be attracted to lights.”

I have done the quest to subdue strange pigs before. Except that it was a little annoying, it was easily resolved.

“Come out quickly~”

I wanted to get away from the foul smell of sewage and breathe the outside air. I kept my mouth shut, listened, and moved forward.

.

.

.

How far has it progressed like that? Suddenly, a small noise was heard from far away.

‘what?’

It’s too far away so I can’t hear it well… It sounded like a fight.

‘Let’s go first.’

It may have nothing to do with the request, but it was better to find out if there was someone else in the sewer. There is a possibility that he may be a subversive person.

I silently walked towards the source of the sound as quickly as possible.

‘It’s pretty intense.’

As it got closer, the noise became louder. There are two fighting.

The sound of something exploding. A ferocious roar that cannot be considered human. A person’s small words and something loudly thumping. and,

‘Is it really magic?’

I can’t say for sure, but it was an unusual sound.

‘… I don’t think this is normal.’

It didn’t seem like a fight between two people. Although their identities were unknown, both sides seemed to be quite strong.

I increased my speed.

The noise gradually grows louder. Noises made by humans and non-humans can be clearly heard.

.

.

Stop.

If you turn this corner, there will be a fight between the two.

“… … .”

I was worried for a moment. Rather than intervening right away, wouldn’t it be better to step in when both sides have lost their strength?

But it seems I wasn’t the only one who noticed the other person’s presence.

“I don’t know who you are, but please help me!”

A familiar voice. I’m sure I’ve heard of it.

“… No way?”

I kicked off the floor and ran.

What I saw when I turned the corner.

“What is this-”

Quang!

I ducked to avoid a tentacle or something that suddenly flew in.

In front of me was a wizard wearing red-brown robes and a strange monster that I had met in the slums last time. It wasn’t a pig. The strange pig fell dead near the monster.

Its overall appearance resembled a wolf, but it was as big as an average tiger. The unique hideous appearance indicated that it was the work of the person who created the abnormal pig.

Two eyes as yellow as pus and tough gray fur. The claws were long and sharp, like those of a bird of prey. Body parts of animals of unknown species were sprouting all over the body.

It had a sharp, awl-like stinger at the end of its scaly tail like a snake.

The worst part was its abdomen, the intestines spilling from its cracked and torn abdomen and writhing as if they had a will. That was the one that attacked me earlier.

“Are you a customer? Mr. Ethan?”

I answered yes and asked the wizard.

“What on earth is that?”

“I don’t know either. I never thought there would be something like this in the sewer!”

The wolf rushed at the wizard as if he would not wait.

Although he looked miserable, his movements were agile. The fact that he survived something like that was like proof of a wizard’s skills.

Even though she was wearing an eye patch, she was able to avoid the Yorijori attack.

‘The inside of the robe… ?’

“Don’t just watch, please help!”

Oops.

I drew my sword and charged at the wolf.

The wolf, which was about to bite the wizard by opening and closing its mouth, instantly fell back and swung its tail.

Chang, Chaeng.

The needle at the end of the tail and the sword clashed. Is it like this? It was fast and strong, but no problem.

The wolf seemed wary of me suddenly appearing. He lowered his posture and did not take his eyes off me.

“This is not an easy opponent. Be careful, Ethan.”

The wizard behind him said.

“If you can tie the wolf’s paws just a little, I will do anything.”

Except for some battle wizards who are good at close combat, a wizard’s true value comes when he or she receives protection from others. As someone who had experienced the Empire’s magic corps casting powerful magic while the allies bought time at the rear of the battle line, her words sounded quite trustworthy.

but.

“No. There is no need for that.”

The wolf stabbed me with its tail as if trying to figure out my skills. The fierceness of the attack, cutting through the air, felt like an animal.

“How dare you.”

A flashing trajectory.

Suddenly-

The tail that was aiming for my chest was cut off cleanly. The tail that fell to the ground twitched for a moment and then stopped moving.

“-!-!-!”

It seemed like he was very upset that his tail was gone. The wolf ran wild on its own, and then suddenly rushed towards me.

“Mr. Ethan!”

Faster speed than when attacking a wizard. But still.

Mana spreads throughout the body. Suddenly, a memory came to mind. A wandering knight who first taught me how to use a sword a long time ago, when I was still young. Thanks to her, I was able to dream of becoming a knight.

The mana that filled my body flowed into the sword I was holding with both hands.

A wondrous power that could not be experienced in a previous life.

A blue brilliance dwells in the sword.

“Inspection… ?”

From top to bottom, remembering the knight who once taught me how to hold a sword.

“… It’s slow, man.”

Because it is concise, an overwhelming trajectory is drawn.

Cheok-

Clap and flutter.

The wolf split in half without reaching me. The wolf’s body, split into left and right sides, made a disgusting sound and sank its head into the muck.

silence.

The sword without a drop of blood was sheathed. When I looked back, there was a wizard with a surprised expression.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t even ask your name.’

She asked with a surprised expression on her face.

“Could it have been a sword?”

I scratched my head.

In “… Right?”

“Ethan, you are so strong!”

“Haha, no, not to that extent… The wizard fights well too.”

“Still, if it wasn’t for Ethan, I might have died. Phew, this isn’t my specialty.”

Even if you say it like that, if you were an ordinary wizard, you would have died several times before I came. If he had fought under someone’s protection, he might have defeated the wolf a long time ago.

‘It doesn’t seem like there are any major injuries.’

Well, isn’t a good thing a good thing?

I cut off the paws of the wolf and the pig with a dagger and put them in my pocket. I said it out of embarrassment.

“I came here after receiving a request from an adventurer, so I have to bring proof. To be precise, I came to catch that pig… I will share the reward.”

Even though the wizard caught the pig, I actually had a large stake in the wolf, but I decided to split the money. It was rare to have the opportunity to connect with a wizard of that caliber.

Of course, I found out that she was not only kind, but also had a magician side.

‘That’s pretty good.’

It was an acceptable hobby.

The wizard who heard me shook his head.

“No. It’s okay if you don’t pay any compensation. It would have been dangerous without Ethan. I really appreciate this.”

As she said that, she bowed and expressed her gratitude.

.

.

Considering that another enemy might appear, we decided to leave the sewer immediately.

We didn’t talk much on the way out, but there was still one thing I wanted to ask.

“Well, I saw you earlier, are you not wearing anything under your robe?”

It was a question prepared to be met with a fireball, but fortunately she did not turn violent.

“Ah… that… That’s it… .”

It was a common reaction from a woman whose taste for exposure was revealed to a man.

Although her eyes were obscured by an eye patch, it was clearly visible that she was embarrassed.

I said with a smile, out of consideration for the other person.

“It’s okay. It can happen. If you’re a fan of exposure, aren’t you on the gentle side among wizards? I actually felt relieved.”

It was clearly something he said to reassure her, but for some reason his expression became darker.

“Sorry… . I showed you this ugly body.”

“Yes? I’m not good at it. I actually thought it was beautiful?”

I couldn’t see it closely, but it was definitely a pretty body. Although I don’t have breasts.

“Does Ethan’s girlfriend have bigger breasts than me?”

The woman who spoke gloomily and out of nowhere was, after all, a wizard.

I answered honestly.

“Um, that’s right.”

“I see.”

For some reason, the wizard’s expression got much better. It was a little fun to see a different side of myself that I didn’t see when I first met him.

We soon reached the exit of the sewer. Because she gave in, I climbed up the ladder first.

When I climbed up, he supported my buttocks with his hands, but I didn’t feel any special intention.

“Ugh, I feel uncomfortable.”

Because the wolf splashed the water, a foul odor came from its body.

“I have to go back and wash up too.”

I open the door to the outside… Before I asked her name.

“Can you tell me your name?”

Although she seemed to have heard something unexpected, she answered obediently.

“My name is Siren. Siren Alpnen.”

“You are Siren.”

Siren said with a smile.

“Yes. Feel free to call me Siren.”

“Thank you, but we’ll save calling you that later.”

I am not sociable enough to be rude to people I have just met. Right now, even Karen was called Ms. Karen, so she couldn’t call the wizard by her name.

She smiled brightly, not minding my rejection.

“Call Ethan whatever you want at any time.”

We opened the door and came out. The entrance to the sewer was in a remote place, so not many people went there.

“I was thankful today.”

I also bowed to the Siren who bowed her head.

“Okay, see you next time.”

After saying goodbye to Siren, we went our separate ways.

“Now that I think about it, this is a pretty big deal… .”

I looked at the bag of wolf paws.

The strange pig is difficult to deal with alone at the silver level, but even with two people, we can easily defeat it as long as we remain calm.

But the heteromorphic wolf I met this time was different.

“If it weren’t for me, someone would have died.”

It was an enemy that was impossible for a silver-level adventurer to deal with. If you go alone, you will inevitably die, and even if you form a party, if you are lucky, the only way to escape would be to use a companion as bait.

The reason we are ignoring the emergence of abnormal pigs is because the risk is low. However, in my opinion, this heteromorphic wolf was something that could not be ignored.

If something this strong and violent was roaming the city, a being that was artificially created by someone rather than naturally born, the culprit had to be found.

There is no law that prevents more dangerous things from appearing later.

“I wonder if it will be resolved quietly… .”

If the culprit of the incident was really in the slums, the problem could have escalated. Of course, since the slums cannot confront the city head-on, there is a possibility that it can be resolved appropriately.

“First, I have to go to the guild to report.”

Even though I came out of the sewer, the smell of sewage still emanating from my body was unsettling.