Chapter 145: Reentry

Rabst confidently led the way in the dim sewer, his feet soundlessly stepping on the damp stone ground next to the slowly and silently moving stream of dirty, rat-infested water. Occasionally, he would stop and put his hand against the mossy wall with closed eyes. Stay tuned with m-v l|-NovelFire.netZach, who was behind him didn't ask him why. He was happy knowing Rabst wouldn't get lost. It also seemed like he had good senses. But Zach still had a barrier around the group in case there were any traps or ambushes waiting for them.

But they walked for what felt like hours without anything other than a few rats trying to launch themselves at the barrier. The dim light and the endlessly winding sewer tunnels made it impossible to walk fast.

Zach had a feeling Rabst wouldn't have any trouble running around, but if he did, he would inevitably leave the others behind. And if Zach got separated from the others, he could spend a lifetime wandering around underground without finding a path up.

Of course, with Yanael by his side, he could just blast his way up through the ground. It wasn't like the layer of stone and earth between the surface and the sewers was especially thick.

"...Is it just me, or would someone have noticed something if they were in the sewers? Whether it be noise, presences, or underworld energy?" Zach asked as soon as he realized that he could feel the vibrations of carriages moving above them. It was very faint. But Rabst also felt it.

If that were the case, Rabst or someone else with good senses would have also sensed something in the reverse positions. If they were on the surface and there was a lot of activity, even if they tried to be stealthy, they would still sense something going on below.

The others stopped and straightened up. They thought over what Zach had said for a moment before slowly realizing that he was right.

"...So, now what? They aren't anywhere in the city, and they aren't in the sewers? Where are they, then?" Julius asked.

The others also looked at Zach as if he was supposed to have answers just because he realized the problem. It was also because he had sent them into the sewers in the first place. Although it could have been worse, the smell wasn't exactly pleasant.

And now he was saying they might be looking in the wrong place. It was natural for the others to expect something from him, considering it was his fault they would be stinking for days after this.

"I didn't say they weren't in the sewers, just that we might not be looking in the right place."

"Can you elaborate?" Rabst was getting impatient with how unclear Zach was being. He wasn't the only one.

"It's just…We're dealing with the Underworld. Wouldn't it make sense if there was an entrance to the Underworld or a Locale beneath the sewers? These tunnels are just to get away from the city and lose anyone who might try to follow them."

"So, we're looking for another entrance or something like that that leads even deeper into the ground?" Rabst asked to confirm. Sёarᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"It's just a theory, but…" Zach shrugged. Rabst looked at Dukiel and Julius. They also shrugged.

"That means we will need to revise our strategy. We will never find it if we search like this. We need to get a map of the sewer system and all manholes." As soon as the others nodded at his words, Rabst started leading the way back.

Zach's words made sense, and they decided to proceed with his theory as the basis for their search. That meant they needed to prepare. It would be useless trying to find a way into the Underworld by blindly following the sewer tunnels.

It wasn't impossible. They might get lucky.

But it wasn't like the Underworld would have signs pointing at where they were kidnapping people, and the entrance certainly wouldn't be covered in flashing lights.

However, the entrance's location wouldn't be random. It would be somewhere relatively centered so that all the manholes were close. Otherwise, it might be difficult for the kidnappers to drag their victims all the way without being detected or leaving signs of their passing.

It also needed to be somewhere it wouldn't be randomly found by someone doing a routine maintenance check or cleaning of the sewers, no matter how rarely those were done. Even if the underworlders used their magic to hide the entrance, there was no telling what people could discover by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Zach, Rabst, Dukiel, and Julius discussed how the entrance might look and where it might be on the way back to the surface. And their second priority as soon as they left the sewers was to look for a map of the sewer system.

Their first priority was naturally to clean up. Even if they had just walked and nothing but their feet and palms touched anything, the swampy smell of the sewers clung to their clothes and skin.

Zach was pretty clean since he had an almost skin-tight barrier around him all the time, but if he blocked air, he would be unable to breathe, so he wasn't completely in the clear.

It was late at night, so the quartet decided to regroup afternoon the next day. Zach, Dukiel, and Julius checked the library for the sewer system and any relevant information during the day, and Rabst went to the city's administrative office.

Together, they had managed to scrounge together a couple of decent maps and a few records of collapses and remodelings that had been done in the past. It wasn't perfect, and the maps weren't made to be followed like ordinary ones. It was simply a record of where the tunnels were beneath the city in case anyone was planning to dig deeper than a stick's length.

But it was more than enough for them to get started. They huddled around and started circling places close to different groupings of manholes and wells. Eventually, when they had a route to follow and search along, they reentered the sewers, this time in less fine clothes.