Chương 105: Chapter 065 A Fugitive’s Descent Into The Sewers Of Lundun

Jack weighed his options as he hid in an alleyway a few minutes' walk from his home and the site of the fight. He was still out of breath from the adrenaline rush and short sprint.

"Could I kill them?" He whispered as he hid in the shadows of a doorway. [Shadow Veil] pulled him into the darkness, partially hiding him from cursory glances. To protect his secret for a while longer, he'd concluded the two inquisitors and the four remaining guards would have to die and die today. If I had some [Chronos Sphere] spell scrolls and the element of surprise. Maybe. He was picturing himself using the scrolls to get the jump on the two inquisitors and four beastkin guards.

"Without the spell scrolls…" he muttered while shaking his head. He was still injured, his mana was low, he was covered in blood, and he only possessed [Fireball] spell scrolls. I should've used my scrolls to conserve mana. He shook his head again, realising even if he had plenty of mana and a handful of [Chronos Sphere] spell scrolls, it would still be suicidal. He'd have to kill six of them over the space of a few seconds, and that was assuming the two inquisitors lacked protective rune enchantments.

Most inquisitors were of noble birth and could afford a few protections. Realisation hit like a hammer.

"I can't ever go home again. What am I going to do?" He took a deep breath to calm himself as he thought of his family.

"They're in danger because of me!" Having killed the two beastkin guards, the area would soon be swarmed by more guards and inquisitors searching for him. They would canvass the area with his description until they tracked him down.

"Fuck!" Jack limped in the opposite direction from his home. He was injured, covered in blood, and had no plan.

"Shit," he muttered to himself as another group of Lunduners gave him a wary eye. As his mana regenerated, he cast pseudo [Heal] on his three injuries, prioritising his hip, so he could walk faster. He'd also recast his [Shield] and [Reflect] skills. He pictured the maps he'd bought from Nighthawk and Raven less than a week before he died. As he examined them, his pseudo librarian [Cross-Reference] skill indicated other maps he'd seen during his past lives.

"This is so useful." He looked for a suitable place to hide.

"That will do for now." Jack changed direction, and a quarter of an hour later, he was entering the city's sewer network. He stood before a broken manhole cover. They were supposed to be locked to prevent slime breakouts, but the latest map indicated this one was faulty. He took one last look around, not seeing anyone watching or following, and with [Assassin's Intuition] remaining silent, he descended into darkness. Thanks to his pseudo goblin [Night Vision] skill, he could see as if it were an overcast day.

"I can't believe I'm in the damn sewers." He followed a tunnel that headed towards his destination.

"I was going to go to the Academy. Fuck!" All his plans were in tatters thanks to the Inquisition. The sewers spanned the capital city, but didn't serve every home. At least not yet. There were ambitious plans underway to link up every property in Lundun, but for now, the network covered most of the major locations. Jack traversed the underground tunnels with care; if he were unlucky, he might run into city workers or adventurers who kept the sewers clean of dangerous vermin and acidic slimes.

As he walked through the sewers, he checked his two new pseudo skills. [Class Screen-Internal View] Class: Novice Blood Mage (1) Compatibility: 80% Novice Primary Skills … ——Harvest Pseudo Skills (0) … ——Pseudo Warrior: Axe Cleave (0) ——Pseudo Warrior: Pierce Armour (0)"[Axe Cleave] is useless." The skill required the warrior to wield an axe.

"That's a good one." He was thinking about the [Pierce Armour] skill, which, as the name suggested, allowed the warrior to pierce armour more easily.

"Works with all sharp weapons." He gripped the damaged handle of his dagger and smiled. As he turned the corner, [Assassin's Intuition] pinged as he was confronted by a small acidic slime, not much bigger than an adult's head. The slime, having sensed him, slid towards him at a slow, steady pace. Slimes weren't much of a threat as long as a person didn't step on one or have one drop on their head. He marked it with [Assassin's Mark] and gained no useful information: Healthy Slime.

"Is that it?" Jack stabbed the slime with the pantherkin's sword, and the slime's insides popped over the tunnel floor, coating it in a strong acidic goop. He stepped over the puddle of acid and checked his Interface, hoping to find a new skill. He sighed.

"It was worth a try… I should kill one with my dagger. To be certain." A few minutes later, he found a slime exiting a drain. He drew his dagger and slashed through the slime, causing it to pop as he quickly withdrew his arm.

"No itching or power rush." Jack checked his Interface anyway to find no new pseudo skill.

"So, no skills from slimes." Half an hour and a few more popped slimes later, he pulled himself out of another manhole located in Grime City. Taking a refreshing breath of air, he walked towards his final destination, the area where he'd killed Mo the mage. Another quarter of an hour and he entered a derelict building where he could rest and decide what to do next. Jack spent a few hours cleaning the blood from his body and clothes the best he could while waiting for his mana to fully regenerate.

He still didn't have a good plan; his current one was to buy a disguise, hide in Grime City, and pray the Inquisition was inept and didn't link the earlier incident to him and his family. He wasn't feeling very confident regarding his plan.

"If they hurt them… I'll kill them all." Jack clenched his teeth in frustration. The stress of not knowing what was happening back home was eating him up on the inside. He'd already prayed to the Gods over a dozen times for them to protect his family.

"I need to send a message or something to let them know I'm alright. I have to keep them safe, especially Zia. She's important."

Having regenerated his mana, Jack headed towards a well-known trading area within Grime City. [Assassin's Intuition] triggered multiple times as he passed by shady characters. He kept his hand on his dagger at all times. Probably assassins and thieves checking me out as a potential score. He wondered what they'd see if they tagged him with [Assassin's Mark]. Probably minor injury, paranoid, no armour and no protections. I should buy a few protections. He'd lucked out with the pantherkin; he now had almost 3 gold.

With a slight limp, he walked through the rundown market. The axe blow hadn't broken the skin, but it had caused severe bruising. The wounds to his left arm and head were scabbed over, but it would take a few days before he'd be back to normal. Jack searched for merchants selling secondhand armour; he needed a disguise. He headed towards a stall—if a couple of old tables and a chair could be described as a stall—run by a girl. She can't be more than ten years old.

"How much?" Jack pointed at a full set of brown leather armour that had seen better days. If he were an adventurer, it would be lucky if it lasted six months before it required replacing. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The young girl offered a bright smile.

"Only 3 gold to you, sir. It was once worn by a famous adventurer who killed over one thousand goblins."

"Well, I can believe the tall story. It looks like it's been attacked by a thousand moths." He laughed.

"Where are your parents so I can get the real price?" The girls scowled at him.

"For that, it's now 10 gold." She crossed her arms.

"20 silver," Jack smirked. She actually believes she's good at negotiating. She uncrossed her arms and smiled again.

"The real price is 1 gold, but…" Her smile turned into a sad frown.

"…my younger brother, poor Timmy, needs to see a healer or he'll die of… something really bad." She wiped her dry eyes like she'd been crying. Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"Who taught you to negotiate?" The young girl straightened up, and her smile returned.

"I taught myself." There was pride in her voice.

"I can tell," Jack chuckled.

"You're terrible. I'll give you 30 silver, and that's it." It wasn't worth more than 25 silver, but the girl had taken his mind off his problems for a few moments, and coin was the least of his concerns.

"Deal!" The girl grabbed the leather armour and rolled it into a rough ball-like shape. He shook his head and paid. As he walked away, the girl chuckled.

"If I'm so bad, why'd you pay 30 silver for something I pulled from a bin?" Jack shrugged and continued on his way. The armour was the perfect disguise; he'd be ignored by most of the city. He wandered the market and bought a pair of old leather boots, a tatty cloak, a cheap tin mask, and a strip of black cloth to wrap around his white oak bow. He sold the pantherkin's sword for 70 silver; it was worth more, but he didn't have the time to waste.

He returned to the derelict building with his disguise and a couple of meat pies. Including the leather armour, he'd spent almost 50 silver. Back at his temporary hiding place, he changed out of his normal clothes and dressed like an assassin or rogue who'd seen better times.

"No one will recognise me dressed like this." He looked down at the old scuffed leather boots.

"Not even Arman." He sniffed the leather armour; it stank.

"I wish I had my filtered mask. It was worth 40 silver."

"This looks disgusting." Jack bit into a pie. The meat was grey and gristly. He started to chew, expecting it to taste awful, but.

"That's… That's alright," he mumbled between crunchy bites. He sniffed the pie filling.

"It doesn't smell great, and the texture's terrible." He took another bite.

"It tastes… good, though." Realisation hit.

"It's the Gods damn goblin skill." He was, of course, referring to the pseudo goblin [Iron Gut] skill. Apparently, not only did it mean he could eat almost anything, but it would taste acceptable as well. He recalled what he'd said to Cain.

"I take it all back. This is a good skill." He started to laugh at how ludicrous it was that he'd gained the skill.

"Who would've believed goblins have classes and skills?" Soon, though, his mind drifted back to his dire circumstances, and the laughs turned close to tears at the loss. He sat in the shadows of the derelict house, hidden by [Shadow Veil], thinking about his family. He again prayed that the Gods would protect them from the Inquisition and the blood mages. Jack upturned his coin purse onto the grimy floorboards.

"3 gold, 5 silver, and some change." Before heading back into the main city, he hammered out the skeleton of a plan. At the Mercia Royal Courier office, he paid 2 silver for the urgent delivery of a letter to his parents. The contents were, of course, a lie. He claimed that part of his vision from the Gods involved spending a few days in isolation without informing anyone in advance.

It was a ridiculous excuse, but the alternative was to explain he'd killed a couple of guards and had to stay away until the heat died down. Next, he took a detour to Nighthawk and Raven. He pushed open the well-oiled heavy door. Like before, there was no chime to indicate a customer had entered. To his right was a pair of men dressed all in black. Assassins. The pair gave him a quick once-over before turning back to whatever they were browsing. Like his last visit, there was no one at the counter.

He's hiding again. Jack smiled behind the cheap tin mask. He won't get me this time. Still smiling, he went straight to the plain blackened steel mask and took it off the shelf. He paused in anticipation of the shopkeeper surprising him. Nothing happened. Maybe it's because of the other customers. He moved towards the gloves and grabbed the same type of gloves as last time.

"Good choice of mask there, friend. And welcome to Nighthawk and Raven."

"Fuck!" Startled, Jack spun on his heels to find the slim, sharp-eyed shopkeeper leaning against a mannequin at his side. He got me again. He heard the other customers chuckling. He must do this all the time for new customers. He continued shopping. After grabbing two dozen arrows with serrated tips at a cost of 16 coppers each, he headed to the counter. He added a dozen cheap smoke pellets and a dozen blinding powders.

"That's it, thanks." The merchant offered a smile and looked at Jack's cheap face mask.

"That's a good upgrade, young man." He flipped the mask over and pointed at the runes.

"Durability and improved sight runes, plus an air filter rune to hide the smell of sewage as you use the tunnels." Jack couldn't help but interrupt.

"What?" The old man smiled.

"Blocks out the smell of sewage, but it doesn't stop you from absorbing the smell. He tapped his nose. We stock a small selection of spell scrolls. Do you want a [Cleansing] scroll or a [Hide Scent] scroll?" He pointed towards a small shelf of scrolls.

"Hmm… How much?" He asked. I could do with a few [C lean s ing] scrolls. He was thinking back to after he'd killed the guards. He could've cleaned away the blood and been less conspicuous as he made his escape.

"Same price as the scroll shops. 6 silver and 50 coppers," the shopkeeper replied. Jack thought of his limited coin and quickly calculated the cost. The total cost rattled through his head. Mask, 40 silver. Leather gloves, 5 silver. Two d ozen arrows, 3 silver and 84 coppers. Twelve blinding powders, 2 silver and 40 coppers. Twelve smoke pellets, 1 silver and 2 0 coppers. 52 silver and 4 4 coppers. He nodded, remembering the chase through Viscount Tides' hunting grounds.

Had he had a couple of [Hide Scent] scrolls, he and Cain could've ditched the horses and walked back to Lundun.

"I'll take three [Cleansing] and two [Hide Scent] scrolls." He thought about how he'd managed to fight so many blood mages before Greaves killed him.

"Do you have any [Chronos Sphere] spell scrolls?" They'd been essential at difficult times. The shopkeeper added the five scrolls to the pile.

"Yes, but they are harder to come by. We sell those for 25 silver each." He looked under the counter.

"We have two in stock." Jack wavered. They are so useful… but 25 silver. He made a decision. Staying alive was more important than coin.

"I'll take both of them." He quickly calculated the bill, pulled out 1 gold 35 silver, and placed the payment on the counter. While smiling, the old man calculated the price. He wrapped his items and gave Jack 6 coppers in change.

"Anything else?" Jack shook his head and left Nighthawk and Raven with his new purchases and a lighter coin purse.

"That's better." Jack took a deep breath after using a [Cleansing] spell on his body and smelly leather armour. The spell scroll didn't remove dirt as well as washing, but at least the bad smell was gone. Now wearing his new filtered face mask and having placed his new supplies in convenient pockets, he headed back to the main city. After almost an hour of traversing the shadowy back alleys of Lundun, he found himself across the street from his home.

He was hiding in a neighbour's garden, embraced by [Shadow Veil] while watching his home. I hope they're alright? He planned to watch his home until he saw a member of his family. Dad should be home soon. He again prayed to the Gods that his family would be protected. Fifteen minutes later, his father walked down the cobbled street towards his home. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Gods," he whispered while avoiding the urge to run out to greet him. William pulled open the door to enter the courtyard, and Jack's eyes widened in shock behind the mask.

"No!" He could see a few beastkin guards inside the courtyard. He watched as his father paused before entering the property. Jack placed [Assassin's Mark] on his father as the door closed behind him. Healthy, surprised, no armour, no protections. He sank to his knees in despair.

"They know it's me." His mind spiralled into panic and the need to act. He gripped his dagger, the damaged handle providing some comfort.

"I have to do something." He looked across the cobbled road at the closed door as the feeling of impotence washed over him. He knelt in the soft, damp soil for what felt like hours. He'd been torn between storming out of his hiding place to confront the guards and whoever else was in his home, and skulking back to the derelict property in Grime City. Instead, he waited and watched as nothing happened.