In the South District, a monument-like structure was emitting waves of foul odor. Residents of the City of Alchemy steered well clear of it as they passed by; smelling it for too long easily brought on dizziness and nausea.
This was one of the entrances to the City of Alchemy's vast sewer system. Although everyone knew sewers were where filth gathered, an odor like this had never appeared before.
After all, this was the City of Alchemy, a place where even sewer entrances were fashioned into artistic statues; how could it tolerate such a pervasive stench? Two or three years ago, a foul smell like this would have been cleared out in less than half a day following complaints from residents.
Now, however, people could only pinch their noses and take a detour.
When Anbaixiu and Naomi arrived, they caught sight of the rogue and the ranger entering the sewers in the distance.
Naomi couldn't help but say, "Just to harm someone, they're willing to put themselves in danger."
The two had actually braved the disgusting stench and gone into the sewers solely to entrap others. The naive druid girl was deeply shaken by such malice.
Anbaixiu, on the other hand, felt nothing of the sort. This druid girl had clearly grown up sheltered. Combined with druidic tenets that leaned toward goodness, her life in the tribe had probably been simple and pure—only for her clan to fall into trouble now, forcing her to confront this cruel world on her own.
Having one's worldview violently shattered was probably agonizing.
Anbaixiu merely said calmly, "Welcome to the real world."
Having transmigrated centuries ago, even if Anbaixiu had only ended up as a counterfeit legendary figure, the wicked malice of the mortal world he had witnessed was still countless. A petty matter like this wasn't even worth committing to memory.
Naomi fell silent for a moment. She showed little dismay; instead, a bit more resolve crept into her demeanor.
"Master Ultraman, are we going in now?" Naomi asked.
Anbaixiu replied, "No rush. You're a druid, so you can summon beasts, right? Do you know how to summon a raven?"
Naomi nodded. Summoning beast companions was a druid's signature skill, and summoning a raven was the most basic of basics. Through a magical ritual, one could call forth the projection of a raven from the distant wilds. It was no different from a real raven and served as an exceptional scout.
Anbaixiu pointed at the sewer opening beneath their feet. "Summon a raven, send it in from here, and circle around to see what's beneath the statue."
Hearing this, Naomi immediately understood what Anbaixiu meant. He feared those two had set a trap at the sewer entrance.
Naomi couldn't help thinking, *This undead is truly cautious. I really did find the right person.*
It was just that druidic doctrine and the undead were fundamentally irreconcilable. Naomi worried that even if she rescued her clan, she wouldn't escape punishment.
Still, now was not the time to dwell on that. Anbaixiu was already the only lifeline she could grasp. Even if she was to be punished by the gods, that would have to wait until her people were saved.
Naomi summoned a raven as Anbaixiu instructed and sent it through the sewer grate at their feet. The moment the raven entered the sewer, Naomi's expression shifted. A summoned wilderness companion was deeply linked to its master, sharing the vast majority of their senses.
As a result, it felt as though Naomi had entered the sewer in person. The sickening stench became all the more pronounced, nearly making her lose control of the raven.
Forcing down her discomfort, Naomi guided the raven around for a pass. She found neither of the two who had entered earlier nor any signs of traps left behind. Unable to bear the stench any longer, Naomi quickly recalled the raven and reported her findings to Anbaixiu.
After listening, Anbaixiu scoffed disdainfully. "Looks like they're just a pair of amateurs. If I were setting up an ambush like that, I'd have left at least five magical traps at the entrance."
"So we're going in now?" Naomi asked.
"No rush. What if their methods were clever and you missed their traps?" Anbaixiu said.
"Then do you plan to investigate again? If so, why didn't you go yourself in the first place? Undead don't even have a sense of smell!" Naomi was thoroughly annoyed. If Anbaixiu didn't trust her, why make her scout? Hadn't she just suffered through that stench for nothing?
"Caution is always a virtue. Don't worry, no need to make it complicated—we'll just take an alternate route."
Anbaixiu cast a spell, sending magical energy washing over himself and Naomi. Naomi thought it would be Invisibility again, but to her surprise, their bodies dissolved directly into two plumes of mist.
This was the Gaseous Form spell. It could transform a solid body directly into gas, allowing the target to retain consciousness and move by floating. In this state, one was immune to physical attacks and certain magical attacks, though no actions could be performed other than movement.
Naomi couldn't help marveling, "A mage truly lives up to the name—so many tricks up your sleeve."
Mages differed from other spellcasting classes; their spellcasting relied on intellect. In theory, they could cast any spell they could comprehend, so mages commanded far more spells than other casters.
As for whether that meant being a jack of all trades and master of none, that depended on the individual; one couldn't make a sweeping generalization.
Leading Naomi, Anbaixiu slipped through the narrow sewer opening in their gaseous states, entering the subterranean world of the City of Alchemy.
Yet having originally planned to travel in mist form, Anbaixiu decisively dispelled the gaseous effect upon entering the sewers.
Anbaixiu said in surprise, "How did this wretched place turn into this?"
Rot, decay, malevolence... these foul energies felt almost tangible, making even a lich like him profoundly uncomfortable.
Upon entering the sewer in a gaseous state, Anbaixiu had sensed his body beginning to suffer contamination. Maintaining mist form for too long would surely expose him to who knew how many repulsive contagions, so he had promptly reverted to humanoid form.
Naomi had far less resistance than Anbaixiu. In just a brief moment, her face had already turned green. The extensive surface area of the gaseous state in this filthy air had caused her to be rapidly tainted.
Once back in humanoid form, her entire face was pale, and she lacked even the strength to stand steady.
Just as Anbaixiu was about to dispel these negative effects from Naomi, he saw a flash of light in her palm, and an oak statue abruptly appeared.
Pure green light radiated outward from the statue like ocean waves, vigorous vitality spreading forth to carve out a pocket of sanctuary within the foul sewer chamber.
Naomi's strength quickly returned, and the corruption in her body was instantly purged clean.
Anbaixiu stood outside this green barrier, looking as if the green radiance was far more terrifying to him than the sewer's foul stench.
Anbaixiu stared at the statue for a moment before saying in astonishment, "A statue of Silvanus? Your clan received a divine blessing?!"
Silvanus, God of Nature, was the deity worshipped by most druids. But faith was faith; believing in a god didn't mean the god would pay you any heed. Yet Anbaixiu could sense formidable divine power lingering on this small statue. This was an artifact blessed by a deity—a supreme clan treasure to any druid tribe.
Things were starting to get complicated.
A treasure like this would never be taken outside the tribe unless the clan had been wiped out.
Naomi was alone, bringing a divine artifact to save her people... Either her clan had already been annihilated, or she had stolen it from them.
Chapter 24