I then inspect the corpse of the Plague Poison Black King Boss Rat—the chief of the sewers I met right before opening the lunchbox.
It died with a shocked and anguished expression on its face along with residual foam on its mouth.
Its belly is a little bloated as well.
Did a lot of Arleaf’s cooking crawl inside or something…?
Or maybe her cooking causes some kind of weird effect.
… in any case, take care of it, Veno.
‘Understood. Damn, it is resisting me. Hmpf!’
Some way or another, Veno successfully manages to store up the Boss Rat.
The content of the Boss Rat’s stomach remains on the ground.
Arleaf’s cooking, along with whatever else was inside, gives off quite the stench…
… it’s pulsing. Maybe that’s what was swelling up.
I stick a sword in it and it becomes still.
‘That is the first time I have seen it happen. I would like to believe that it is a one-time matter.’
I just hope nothing weird comes jumping out of the sewers to attack the people topside.
‘That sounds like a work of fiction from thy world. In any case, is that not similar to how Muu was born?’
Hey, I’ll be mad if you upset Muu.
But that’s undeniably a scary thought.
We continue our search in the sewers for a second day.
It’s awfully eerie how silent it is down here, save for the sound of running water. If I were alone, I might have gone crazy by now.
Luckily, I have Veno with me. With his mapping skill, we’re able to explore every nook and cranny.
What had occurred here was truly unexpected.
‘The lass has become quite formidable, aye?’
Yeah. Speaking of which, for the past two days, Arleaf has broken two doors in Wayne’s home already.
I guess she isn’t used to her sudden surge in strength.
Muu’s got fired up seeing how it has a rival now.
Anyway, our exploration brought us to the nest of the rats. I’m sure this was where the Boss Rat called home.
That’s fine, but…
‘Them lowly rats collected treasure, likely pilfered from the likes of adventurers.’
Besides junk, there are gold and silver pieces inside the nest.
As well as equipment and booze… everything is in rough shape, so I’m not too interested.
There are even human skeletons. Judging by their light armor, they might have been adventurers.
Everything’s quite rusty, but there’s a nice-looking short sword and a broken staff that caught Veno’s attention.
Oh, it has the same design as my old moldy Robe of Concealment.
‘This one might have been a Ranger… considering its close-quarters weapons.’
Hmm… what’s this?
It feels morally wrong, but I shift the bones around and examine the robe.
Assassin’s Robe +5
Quality: Damaged
Assassins only
Required level: 50
Bonus effects: Cloaking, Analysis Resistance (High), Presence Obfuscation, Silent Steps, Sneak Attack Bonus
A camouflaging robe for assassins. Woven to look unassuming.
Made from the hide of a monster notorious for its concealment abilities. Resists analysis, enabling the user to blend into their environment.
Looks like it’s even better than what Veno gave me.
‘Specialized equipment. It would be difficult for one to realize its full potential if they are not the right class.’
Hmm, that’s new to me, but I get it. If you’re the wrong class, you’ll never master how to use it.
I wonder what kind of person they were, seeing how they have such good equipment and all.
‘Obviously, an assassin. They might have dwelled in the sewers but was ambushed and killed by rats.’
It’s a dog eat dog world out there. And it seems like there’s quite a few sets of remains too.
What, was this some kind of secret assassin base of operations?
I inspect the broken staff.
Dark Acolyte’s Ceremonial Staff +3
Quality: Damaged
Heretics only
Required level: 45
Bonus effects: Dark Magic Bonus, Enhanced Ritual Magic, Power of Sacrifice
A wooden staff that absorbs the heretic’s blood to enhance their powers.
The more blood sacrificed, the more power gained.
Wow, that’s a sinister description.
‘Perhaps not an assassins’ base, but a hideout for heretics. It is rather powerful; shame that it is broken.’
I’m not sure whether to feel lucky, but that’s the treasure I’ve found.
How long ago was this anyway?
Going by the skeletal remains and the deterioration of the junk, it can’t be anything recent. That much I know.
‘It may be a dark history of this world.’
As I was rummaging through the pile, I found one of Arleaf’s sandwiches tucked between some bones.
“Gotcha.”
I crush it with my fist.
Even in its weakened state, it’s still quite difficult to put it down.
It’s quite the nuisance. It wriggles about even after being killed.
If I had failed, it’d probably aim its attack at my mouth.
That’s probably an instant death for anyone but me.
‘The lass’ cooking is the ultimate assassin, eh?’
I can’t refute that.
Anyway, what should we do with the equipment?
We could fix them up and sell it for a pretty penny, but do we have to notify the guildhall about it first?
‘Thou couldst equip it as well. Dost thou wish to be an Assassin? It may synergize well with Poison-Wielder.’
Nah… if I needed to do so to survive, then maybe. But it’s unnecessary right now.
I wouldn’t be able to make the most of it anyway. Not to mention that in the condition they’re in now, I’d be better off with my current equipment.
‘In any case, thou shouldst report back to the guildhall first.’
Yeah, probably. Then let’s collect anything out of the ordinary.
With that, I check my map to make sure I’ve looked everywhere in the sewer.
It seems like it’s connected to some cave as well.
According to Rurika, they used the underground cave system to make their sewers, so it’s not a surprising find.
Since it’s stands out so obviously, Veno marked down the entrance to the cave.
The pile of monster corpses we collected today seems a lot for Veno, even with his storage magic.
Every little monster counts, and it stacks up quick.
Though after skinning them, Veno’s probably gonna burn the flesh in a big pile.
We can always take out the trash later.
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