The next evening, I was picked up right from the school. Su Men was a plump, cheerful man of short stature. He constantly joked and didn't stop talking for a minute. His team consisted of two Fire magicians and one Ice magician. All three were young, pretty girls.
As soon as I met everyone, I looked at Su Men's satisfied face and said:
"You've set yourself up well!"
"Break through to Intermediate level, kid, and you'll live a cheerful life surrounded by beauties too!"
The two Fire magicians were named Jiao Pan Ram and Jiao Pan Sok. They were sisters and looked very similar, though not twins. They didn't admit who was older or younger, and you couldn't tell from looking at them.
The Ice magician was named Wen Ming, a miniature girl with a doll-like face who also served as the driver.
All three were third-tier Basic Magicians and played the attacking role in the group, while Su Men handled defense and movement.
A fence had been set up around the burrow exit, which we passed without trouble using our hunter IDs. It was about forty centimeters in diameter and went deep underground.
Initially, I became a hunter to track down the One-Eyed Magic Wolf that would sneak into the city. If followed, one could find the source of madness used by the Black Order. My plan was simple: find the source, let my talisman drain all the energy from it, try to synthesize its composition with my Poison element, and make it harmless.
It's unlikely these tunnels would lead me to it, but this is how the rat monsters will sneak into the city. Even if the tragedy doesn't happen, the monsters could kill a lot of people by getting into the safe zone through them. Besides, they even got into the school. In all times, during any conflict, children are the first to suffer because they are weak and cannot protect themselves. But it's on children that the future world depends, so I will try to protect as many as possible.
Sinking into the shadow, I headed deep into the tunnel. The darkness was no hindrance; I saw the entire tunnel from the shadow in black and white tones. After about two hundred meters, it led me to the sewers.
In principle, I suspected something like that. Why dig new tunnels when you can use existing ones? Besides, the sewer tunnels were spacious enough. All that was left was to find out how the monsters got into them and clear them out.
Emerging from the tunnel, I spoke to Su Men:
"The tunnel leads to the sewers two hundred meters from here."
"Wait. You mean this beast got here from the sewers?"
"Yes."
"Damn! Didn't see any monsters there?"
"No, I didn't study the sewers at all. I immediately came back here with the news."
"Alright, wait for me, I'll call Deng Kai." He took out his phone and got into the car.
The girls from his team stood nearby discussing something. Not wanting to stand awkwardly, I went over to them.
About ten minutes later, Su Men got out of the car and gave me a fragment of an Earth Seed.
"Take it to the start of the tunnel and come back."
When I returned, he explained:
"With this fragment, an Intermediate Earth Magician from the hunter union will seal the tunnel with a stone wall and then bury it back entirely. Our work here is done! Let's return to the Union; tomorrow will be a difficult day."
As I thought, we were assigned to clear the sewers. First, we were given a map of the entire city with exit points.
I would descend in shadow into the tunnel itself, scout it for monsters and unplanned tunnels, and return. If I found a monster, Su Men would pick up his team, and they would kill it. Also attached to us was Kun Yang, an Intermediate Earth Magician; he sealed the new branches found. First, he'd release waves to collapse the tunnel, then place a plug made of a first-tier Intermediate stone wall. He had a seed related to granite, so the wall was quite strong. A checked tunnel was marked safe, and we moved to the next.
Day after day, we cleared the sewers. When more than half had been scouted, I saw a wolf coming from an unscouted section. When it passed by, I attached myself to its shadow and waited, memorizing the way.
The monster turned into a dug tunnel and began descending below the sewer level, emerging in a spacious cave with a large water reservoir in the middle. It entered the water, sprawled out, and dozed off. My ring began signaling that there was energy here it wanted to absorb.
The air itself in this place was filled with magic; cultivation here accelerated about twenty-fold. I won't absorb it yet. First, I need to get rid of the free-loaders, cut off access here, and break through to the third tier. Then I can absorb the source itself, the ring will purify it, and I'll be able to break through to the Intermediate level.
First, I decided to explore two more tunnels leading from the cave. One led outside the safe zone and was a couple of kilometers long. The second led to another part of the sewers, near a surface exit next to an abandoned construction site.
Returning to the cave, I emerged from the shadow, took a stone, and threw it at the wolf. It started and jumped to its feet, saw me, and growled loudly:
"Graaaaa."
"Here, doggy, follow me," I whistled and dashed into the tunnel, immediately sinking into the shadow.
The monster burst into the sewers and began to go wild, unable to find me. I moved to the group.
"There's a One-Eyed Magic Wolf there—high tier, likely close to a breakthrough."
"Dammit! From where?! Kun Yang, will you help?"
"Of course," he replied. "Is it alone?"
"Yep."
"Then let's go."
"Show the way," Su Men said.
We descended into the sewers; the monster was about five hundred meters away.
"Over there," I pointed.
"Let's go," Su Men commanded.
All six of us headed down the tunnel. When we got close enough, the monster sensed us and rushed in our direction. Su Men shouted:
"Light Wall."
A thin glowing film blocked the tunnel, which the wolf hit head-on. Despite appearing weightless, it was an Intermediate spell, and a Servant, even on the verge of breakthrough, would have to sweat to break it.
"I'm ready, take it down." This was Kun Yang.
While the monster beat against the light wall, he formed his Intermediate spell—not of Earth, but of his second element, Fire. The light flickered and disappeared. The wolf howled triumphantly but quickly went silent, sensing the wave of emanating magic.
"Fiery Fist!" Kun Yang shouted loudly, and a large ball of fire—about ten times larger than its Basic counterparts—flew and slammed into the wolf.
I was even deafened by the explosion. But the wolf definitely got much more. Its front left leg was torn off, it flew back about five meters, and continued to burn with hot flame. Но монстры есть монстры. Even with such damage, it stood up and, limping, ran toward us.
"Tornado," Su Men said. Green streams of wind whirled around the wolf, lifting it from the ground to the ceiling and spinning it in a circle. The flames on the wolf began to burn more fiercely.
"Fire Burst!" the Fire magician girls said simultaneously, and smaller fireballs flew into the tornado. When the spells collided, a pop was heard, and flames began to swirl in the energy vortex, blazing even stronger. Soon the tornado became a fire one, and the smell of burnt meat and fur spread through the tunnel.
After about ten seconds, the energy in the spell ran out, and the wolf's charred carcass fell to the ground. A ball of energy separated from it and was absorbed by my talisman. A whole soul of a peak Servant, strengthened by the source of madness, would definitely strengthen my ring. After doubling the cultivation effect, it stopped rising. It's likely gathering energy for a breakthrough to a new level of development, preparing to become a Nebula-level tool. Of course, it's better to feed it a Warrior's soul or a similar tool, but where to get one?
"Is it just me, or do I want some BBQ?" Su Men asked.
"Well, there's a ready one right in front of you," I told him.
"No, no, no," he replied. "I'm not eating that. Let's go to a place I know and order some normal food, not this filth."
"Let's go," Kun Yang said. "The smell gave me an appetite too."
"We still need to close two tunnels," I told him.
"Alright, let's go."
"Give me a ride in the shadow, you can't squeeze through there."
"Oh, go ahead, I've never moved like that."
Picking up Kun Yang, I first moved him to the tunnel leading outside the safe zone. He set a plug and collapsed it, then we sealed the tunnel leading to the sewers. Only the one leading to the abandoned construction site remained; I plan to use it to reach the source. Finishing our business, we went to celebrate; there should be a decent reward for the wolf.
Days stretched on as usual. Only after scouting the sewers would I head to cultivate at the source.
After a couple of days of cultivation, I broke through to the third tier in Shadow and Poison. My spiritual strength grew another two-fold. At the third tier, Poison began to crystallize; combined with the second-tier acid poison and increased penetration ability, this crystal had good piercing power. If it retains its poisoning and weakening properties, it will be quite a lethal thing even for high Servants. Without overthinking, I kept its original name: Poison Fang. If I can synthesize the source of madness and turn it into a crystal, I think it will make a good monster bait.
At the third tier of Shadow, I could calmly enter the Shadow Dimension anywhere, using only my shadow, which became just a spot about one centimeter in diameter, and could emerge anywhere. My shadow was not its standard variation but rather a portal to the Shadow Dimension, and with each tier raised, I began to interact with and control it better.
Next, I decided to focus only on the Shadow element to break through to the Intermediate level as quickly as possible.
***
The second year of study at Tian Lan Magic High School ended. No other significant events occurred. With Su Men's team, we systematically cleared the entire sewers and sealed all branches, finding a couple more tunnels leading outside the safe zone. Once we stumbled upon a nest with a ferocious rat, a Warrior-level monster. How quickly I ran from there!
I wasn't even allowed near the killing of that rat. All five Intermediate hunters from the Union gathered, joined by three more from the Magic Association, and went in, leaving us on guard. Half an hour later they returned satisfied, dragging the carcass of the ferocious rat. No soul essence remained in it, of course. But they tossed me a hundred thousand for scouting help. In total, from the sewer epic, I earned just over a million yuan, which is a lot of money for a Basic Magician. I'll save another three hundred thousand and be able to buy a Nebula-level tool to feed the ring.
I also enrolled in pharmacy courses at the Union. Their main duty is collecting ingredients from magical flora and fauna, preparing various antidotes for monster venom, as well as mixtures that distract, deceive senses, or repel monsters entirely. An extremely interesting profession requiring much knowledge.
In the vicinity of Bo City, there weren't many resources for experiments, but I managed to get some. Near the border of the safe zone, I found magic vines whose thorns produce a paralyzing venom that, in small doses, can take down a low Servant.
Finding the plant, I couldn't believe my luck. Collecting a little, I was able to synthesize it with my Poison element. For this, I soaked a needle in it, pricked myself, and sat there paralyzed, trying to isolate it from my blood in the inner world. Of course, as a Poison magician I have a more resistant body, but resistance only grows with cultivation, and I'll only be fully immune after completely synthesizing it in the magic world. Also, the amount of available poison is limited—one star per poison.
When I fully mastered the paralyzing venom in my inner world, I sent it to the fourth star. The first was occupied by necrotoxin, the second by acid poison, the third by crystal poison, and the fourth by paralytic venom.
I'd like to find some organic neurotoxins, but I'm afraid I won't live to master them. Pufferfish toxin, for example, kills almost instantly even in tiny doses. And heaven knows what that stuff has mutated into in this world.
I should also look for a poison that blocks magic use; then even Sound and Spirit magicians would be jealous of me.
The foundation of Shadow magic was gradually strengthening but hadn't reached the boundary yet. The energy at the source lasted only a week; after that, the energy concentration began to drop rapidly. There's still enough in the water, but it only accelerates cultivation by about two-fold—plus the amulet's effect, making it four-fold. When I hit the boundary of the Intermediate level, I'll absorb the source itself. This will provide a short-term power spike sufficient for the breakthrough.
I haven't managed to synthesize the source itself yet; the magic energy present in it prevents it. When I drain it completely, then I'll try.
Currently, I was sitting in the water and cultivating calmly. I left Su Men's group, arguing that I'd be doing more research than fighting, at least until I broke through to Intermediate. They let me go easily, occasionally throwing me scouting tasks. And my herbaria from the yellow zone were bought up quite willingly.
Suddenly there was a loud noise and the cave shook. Without thinking twice, I hid in the shadow and waited, maximizing my concealment.
One of the cave walls began to crumble and a passage began to appear. When it formed, the cave was illuminated by light. Three people in blue robes stepped from the passage. Five more followed closely behind, but in grey. They surveyed the cave and spoke.
"There is the very source that drives the monsters into a rage."
"You said water from the Holy Source flows here and there is a high concentration of elements, albeit poisoned."
"Monsters dug a path here; they probably drained it for their evolution."
"Perhaps, but we can't risk it; a permanent guard must be established here."
"And what will they do if monsters show up? Fight here and damage the source? Or collapse the cave entirely?"
"Hunters recently blocked this place while clearing the sewers. Most likely no monsters are left."
"Lucky they didn't find this place. The ceremony could have been at risk."
"Let's test its effect."
One of them smashed a pearl. A Colossal Rat fell from its glow. He ordered it:
"Drink the water from the source."
It approached, and as soon as it touched the water, it shrieked wildly. Turning around, it tried to attack its owner.
With a wave of his hand, he lifted the rat to the ceiling and slammed it against the floor. A loud crack was heard; the monster's head burst, and broken bones pierced the skin in many places.
Space Claws, Space magic, I thought to myself.
The magicians quickly exchanged glances.
"I think that was sufficient demonstration," said the one who sounded like Mu He. "If we arrange a rain from this water, little will remain of the city. The ceremony will be a success."
"Yes, I think the Master will be pleased."
"Do you think this will harm your clan in some way?"
"The Mu Clan practically owns this city; they literally suck resources from us, giving almost nothing in return. Destroying the city will hit their reputation hard."
"If your wife knew you decided to destroy your city to avenge her..."
"Don't worry, she won't know; she died after being stripped of her cultivation."
"Your business. Just know that if you decide to betray us after the ceremony, we will torture all your remaining relatives to death."
"Almost none are left, at least those dear to me."
"As you wish."
They turned and walked back. I attached myself to the shadow of one of the grey robes. Everyone exited the passage in an abandoned house standing at the border of the safe zone.
"Can Yu An definitely take the source from the storage?"
"Yes, it's practically a settled matter; only formalities need to be observed to avoid suspicion."
"Good."