Kael sat on the edge of the stiff mattress, the cacophony of Hall C washing over him without penetrating the cold bubble of his thoughts. Laughter, arguments, the cry of a baby—they were sounds from a world he no longer fully inhabited. His world had shrunk to three facts, sharp and cruel as broken glass: Lily was alive, Lily was in danger, and Lily was on her own.
The initial wave of despair, so powerful it had threatened to drown him, began to recede. In its place, something cold and hard started to form in the pit of his stomach. It was the icy resolve of a programmer facing a critical, system-crashing bug. There was no room for panic. There was only the problem, and the methodical, relentless search for a solution.
He mentally laid out the variables.
Objective: Reach the LIPI research center in Cibinong and find Lily. Obstacle 1: He was a Level 1 [Lamplighter] (as far as anyone knew) on probation. He couldn't leave the camp. Obstacle 2: He was pathetically weak. A solo journey was suicide. Obstacle 3: The official 'Sentinels of Science' team was high-level and they were missing. No one here was launching a rescue. He was on his own.
The solution was a chain of logic. To get to Lily, he needed to leave the camp. To leave the camp, he needed to be strong enough to survive. To get strong enough, he needed to kill monsters, absorb cores, and gain experience.
His first step wasn't to fight, but to gather information.
He stood up and walked out of the barracks. He found a woman sorting medical herbs and asked for directions to the workshop. Following her instructions, he navigated the makeshift streets until the smell of ozone and hot metal led him to a large, open-sided hangar that used to be the university's automotive training center.
Inside was a hive of activity. People were sharpening blades on grinding wheels, welding scrap metal onto vehicles, and tinkering with generators. Here, amidst the grease and the noise, Adi the [Tinkerer] was in his element. He was bent over a sputtering generator, a look of intense concentration on his face.
"Adi," Kael said, approaching him.
Adi jumped, then broke into a relieved grin when he saw Kael. "Hey! You got settled in? Crazy place, right?"
"It is," Kael agreed. "Listen, I was just curious about what you guys were saying earlier... that expedition team, the 'Sentinels of Science'? Sounds important." He tried to make his tone one of casual curiosity.
"Important is an understatement," Adi said, wiping his greasy hands on a rag. "That was a top-tier mission. Led by Dr. Aris—he's a Level 15 [Geologist], can literally read the earth. They took some of our best combat classes with them. They were after research data for a universal anti-viral agent. Something that could theoretically neutralize any System-borne plague or poison. A real game-changer."
Adi's face fell. "Everyone's real worried. If something got the better of them... well, no one wants to think about it. We don't have another team strong enough to even attempt a search and rescue mission in that sector."
The final nail in the coffin of Kael's hope for official help. He thanked Adi for the information and left the workshop, the cold resolve in his gut now frozen solid.
He was completely and utterly on his own.
He knew what he had to do. He needed EXP. He needed monster cores. And he needed to do it without raising suspicion. A [Lamplighter] wouldn't volunteer for a patrol, but he might volunteer for a dirty job no one else wanted.
He found the heart of the camp: a large, open-air mess hall. Nailed to a massive tree next to it was the community bulletin board. It was covered in notices, trade requests, and a large, chalk-written list under the heading: DAILY WORK DETAILS.
Kael scanned the list.
Kitchen Duty (4 slots)
Farm Work - Weeding (10 slots)
Wall Maintenance - West Wall (3 slots)
Childcare Assistant (2 slots)
His eyes skipped past the safe, mundane jobs and went to a smaller section at the bottom, written in red chalk. HAZARDOUS DUTY (Bonus Rations & Priority Gear Application).
Perimeter Scavenging - Risky (Team of 4, Lvl 5+ only)
Wall Patrol - Night Shift / Vermin Watch (2 slots)
Sewer Clearance - Slime Infestation (3 slots, Lvl 1-3 recommended)
His gaze locked onto the last line. Sewer Clearance. It sounded disgusting. It was dangerous enough to be considered hazardous, but low-level enough that a supposed Level 1 like him could apply without raising suspicion. It was a job for the desperate, the new, and the foolish.
It was perfect.
Below ground, in the dark, where no one was watching. Where a [Lamplighter] might need to use his abilities to illuminate the tunnels. Where low-level monsters spawned. Where he could grind, kill, and absorb cores in secret.
This was his path. A path through filth and darkness that would, he prayed, lead him back to his sister. He walked to the sign-up sheet next to the board and, with a steady hand, wrote his name next to the first available slot for Sewer Clearance.