Asher didn't dare open his eyes or mouth as he felt his way through the aqueduct.
As it turned out, it was a lot more shallow than he imagined, being only around two and a half metres deep.
His boot landed on the soft surface of the grime that had accumulated at the bottom of the channel, and he pushed forward.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty.
He pushed off the floor of waste, only to realise his left ankle was stuck. He tugged once, twice, then reached down to pull his foot free. That was when he felt an opposing force pulling him back down.
Are you kidding me?! Here too?
Asher didn't need to use Inspect to know that it was probably a Sewer Slime pulling him down. He struggled for a full ten seconds, gripped by absolute terror. He could already feel the air straining to burst from his mouth.
Then he remembered he had a sword on him. He reached for the hilt and pulled it out of its scabbard. He waved it about, trying to feel for the right spot so as not to pierce his foot.
He grunted, and a torrent of bubbles exploded from his lips. A little of the murky water got in his mouth, but he didn't have the mind to pay attention to that.
Asher stabbed down with all his might, but was distraught to find the blade had bounced off the slime below.
The frown on his face deepened as panic started to grip him. He raised his sword again, and plunged even harder, twisting his torso to generate extra momentum.
He heard a dull thud as the tip of his blade penetrated the slime's membrane.
At that exact moment, he poured everything into conjuring his Blessing.
From above, a tiny flash of light made it to the surface, followed by a flurry of bubbles. A few seconds passed in silence until Asher's head tore through the water.
Eyes clamped shut, he flailed about, letting go of his sword and scabbard as he spat out a mouthful of clammy sewage. He practically gulped down what felt like the freshest air to him. It was completely dark, but he was safe. For now.
Asher felt his muscles ache as he swam sideways back to the stone brick platforms. It was only when he felt the slick but solid rock that he dared to relax a bit.
Wait! My sword! Fuck! Like the idiot he was, he had done the one thing the guard had explicitly told him not to do.
Fuck, fuck, fuck,fuck... He pushed himself back further out into the aqueduct and swam about for a while. Maybe it sank to the bottom?
He was about to reach down with his feet to confirm when he remembered his situation. He had only managed to get away from the Sewer Slime underwater with the help of his sword, and now, he was without it. What if he got caught again? Not to mention the fact that he was utterly exhausted from overusing his Blessing.
With great reluctance, Asher hauled himself out of the aqueduct and back onto the platform. His messily cut dirt blonde hair was matted across his forehead, and he was covered head to toe in muck and slime.
He looked miserable. Not only that, he felt miserable.
Who would've thought his very first adventure would end up like this? He was stranded in a hungry, poisonous, ever-shifting maze without a weapon, food, or water.
Any immediate danger had passed, but the giant Sewer Slimes that had been dormant for so long had been stirred by Asher's intrusion, and the young adventurer wasn't counting on them to settle down any time soon.
For the first time since entering this dungeon, Asher checked his status.
<[Asher]>
[Level: 1]
[Blessing: Imbue Sunlight]
[Boons: – ]
[Skills: – ]
[Quests: Sewer Cleansing]
For no reason in particular, he re-read the description for his only quest, which only discouraged him even more.
<[Sewer Cleansing]>
[Quest Rank: F+]
[Conquer the Sewers of Molanda.]
[Reward: 36 dipa]
He stood up. His legs were aching from sprinting, and he was still out of breath, but there was no time to waste. Now that he had an idea on how to narrowly avoid the giant Sewer Slimes, he needed to get to safety.
And so, he walked. He walked through the endless tunnels of grime that seemed to loop and spiral back into itself.
Asher spent what felt like hours wandering deeper and deeper into the maze, learning to pinpoint the squelching sounds of the giant Sewer Slimes. He avoided many, but still ended up having to dive into the aqueduct a couple more times.
This time, he swam through the heavy, murky water and emerged from the surface as if it was nothing, managing to avoid the Sewer Slimes over and under him.
He hacked and coughed the sewer water out of his mouth, and once he got out of the channel, slicked his disgusting hair back and blew his nose.
As he shook himself dry like a dog, Asher heard a faint squishing sound. He cast his Blessing, and a faint light illuminated the path in front of him. Sewer Slimes were forming again.
Not a moment was spared as he dashed forward and plunged his hand into the slime's gelatinous body and wrapped a hand around its core, ripping it straight out. As it turned out, while Sewer Slimes were mildly acidic, its gelatin did nothing more than irritate the skin a little. Its real danger lay in its filth and stickiness. The former could kill you if you got it in a wound or orifice, and the latter allowed it to accumulate mass much faster than normal slimes.
However, its stickiness wasn't an issue if it was a swift in-and-out operation. As long as Asher moved fast enough, it wouldn't be able to cling onto his hand to weigh him down and affect his mobility.
It was soon after killing all the normal-sized Sewer Slimes that he felt an eerie sensation creep up his spine. Then, he heard the slopping of a giant one echo through the tunnels. It sounded like vomit spilling over the floor.
He didn't spare a moment and hurtled down another tunnel, away from the approaching monster.
It was then that a new set of words appeared in the corner of his vision.
[You have learnt a new skill.]
<[Stealth]>
[Level: 1]
[Staying hidden from powerful enemies is just as important as killing them. Your mind has begun to adjust itself to survival.]
[Abilities: Basic Precognition]
Yes! thought Asher as he used his intent to read through the details of his skill's ability.
<[Basic Precognition]>
[Type: Passive]
[Your instincts have been sharpened. You feel danger before it arrives.]
Asher tried to get a feel for his new ability, but it didn't feel like anything had changed. Does the system just display the abilities I gain? It'd make sense; I felt that giant slime coming even before the system told me I gainedStealth.
He just stood there for a moment, taking it in. It was then that he thought:
That was lame.
He had expected a more significant power-up from learning a skill, but it seemed all he had gained was a minor boost to his survivability; nothing that would notably increase his combat prowess.
Well, it's better than nothing, I guess. Time to get going! Despite his disappointment, his new acquisition made him feel a little better about his situation. He had a pep in his step as he continued on his search for a way out.
Another hour went by. It turned out that Basic Precognition was a lot more helpful than Asher had thought. He managed to avoid diving into the aqueducts ever since, and his progress through the dungeon had been coming along much more smoothly.
Asher turned into another fork in the road, and to his pleasant surprise, the aqueduct split off into two streams, leading into grates embedded into the walls.
The platforms on either side of the aqueduct led to the island between the two streams, and where there was supposed to be a dead end to the tunnel was an archway leading into a flight of stairs.
He had found the path to the second floor.