Chapter 568 Pokkir Sewers
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As the journey back to Tretidian promised to take a while longer, Kaizen felt he couldn't go that long without evolving, so he headed to where the local Pokkir adventurers indicated was a farming area, the city sewers.
Kaizen approached the entrance to Pokkir's sewers, a dark arched doorway in an abandoned city canal. He saw other players entering, but waited to enter alone.
The damp, cold atmosphere emanating from the place was already noticeable before he even entered the subterranean depths. He knew this area could be challenging because of the smell, but it was also an opportunity to gain experience and consequently more levels.
Before entering, Kaizen took a look at his equipment. He made sure his armor was properly fitted and the Night Sword perfectly positioned for combat. Then, he took a deep breath and remembered the words of Lucas from the Fencing Department, he needed to focus more on dodging instead of just blocking attacks, and Kaizen wanted to train that now.
With focus, Kaizen entered the darkness of the first sewer tunnel and was soon enveloped in a twilight. The sound of his boots echoed far off the damp walls as he cautiously advanced only a few steps. The sunlight was weaker, but along the path of the first tunnel it provided enough visibility to move forward.
Meanwhile, he thought to himself:
'These sewers are quite different from the dungeons I have explored so far. However, this is the best chance to gain experience I have for now."
As the city was only a few meters above where Kaizen was, he could hear some sounds from it at first, like the sounds of carriages, crowds walking, and even the indecipherable buzzing of voices. Gradually, though, all of this became more muffled as he went deeper.
Despite this, all was still quiet.
When he came to a fork in the road, Kaizen chose the left path, because this side seemed darker than the other. He knew that most other players would have chosen the right side, but he wanted to find more monsters, not more people.
The path widened as he went along, and so it didn't take long to reveal a large underground room, with stone pillars and some water channels running around it. The gloomy atmosphere was compounded by the presence of cobwebs hanging from the corners, giving away the presence of these creatures. Suddenly, a low, ominous grunt echoed off the walls of the room. Kaizen became alert but excited, knowing he was about to face an enemy. Shortly after, a pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the shadows, revealing an unusual mob: a Giant Rat.
The Giant Rat looked like a grotesque aberration, several times larger than an ordinary rat, reaching the size of a common pig, with sharp teeth and lethal claws. It advanced towards Kaizen with fury, ready to pounce.
Kaizen smiled and did not hesitate to get into combat position. He remembered his training in the Fencing Department and the importance of dodging attacks.
"Dodging allows you to save energy and respond with more accurate strikes." Kaizen said to himself, paraphrasing Lucas' words.
The Giant Rat charged at Kaizen, and the adventurer moved to the right, dodging the monster's attack with grace. He observed the creature's movement pattern, finding a gap in the same moment to attack, not that he needed one, this monster was very weak after all.
With one swift motion, Kaizen swung his blade and struck the Giant Rat with the Night Sword, causing a deep gash in its skin. The monster howled in pain and toppled over, defeated with ease.
[You killed a Giant Rat. You gained +500 XP.].
Kaizen took a deep breath, disappointed. "I think I've sweated more in the heat of this place than I have with this mob." He stated.
However, while Kaizen was still bemoaning the ease of the battle, he was reminded by another low grunt why this was a farming place. Another rat emerged from the same tunnel as the previous one, and before Kaizen knew it, a horde of glowing eyes emerged from the dark shadows of the various tunnels that connected to this large room. They were several Giant Rats, more than he had ever faced before. Moreover, Kaizen could notice something strange and disturbing about some of them: a strange, disgusting green liquid flowed from their mouths and eyes.
"This is not good." thought Kaizen, feeling the tension rise. "Perhaps I spoke too soon."
The Rats advanced towards him, their eyes glowing with hunger. Impressively, the rats excreting the green liquid moved in a coordinated manner, as if in sync, making combat more challenging when mixed with the randomness of normal Giant Rats.
Some of the Rats threw the green liquid towards him, and Kaizen managed to dodge in time, preventing the substance from hitting him. Thus, Kaizen realized that he would have to take things a bit more seriously and assumed a less relaxed combat stance, holding his Night Sword tightly.
Suddenly, a Giant Rat of the special type advanced towards Kaizen, who delivered a swift blow, cutting the creature down before it could react.
[You killed an Infected Giant Rat. You gained +1500 EXP.].
'Infected?'
However, Kaizen didn't have time to think about that now. Right after he killed the first infected rat, another one launched itself towards him, and then one more.
Surrounded, Kaizen moved towards one of the Rats, attracting its attention, and then quickly dodged to the side, causing the first monster to collide with the other Rat behind it. The two Giant Infected Rats were momentarily disoriented by the impact, and Kaizen took advantage of this gap to land a blow on each.
Green liquid spewed from the creatures' bodies as they were struck, and the confrontation continued.
Despite the challenge, Kaizen was enjoying himself and had a smile on his face as he was engulfed by the rain of blood from these monsters.
[You killed an Infected Giant Rat. You gained +1500 EXP.].
[You killed an Infected Giant Rat. You gained +1500 EXP.].
[You killed a Giant Rat. You gained +500 XP.].