Chapter 10 The Dragon's Mom

Arad walked into the west of the city. On his way, he asked one of the guards about directions.

"Do you know where I can find the sewer entrance?" Arad asked as he approached the guard.

The guard looked at him with a surprised face, "Black hair and red eyes, are you Arad?"

[Hold up]

"Do you know me?" Arad asked with a worried face. He has only been in the city for two days.

"The news about your fight with sir Alcott this morning has spread across the city. People are already gossiping about you." The guard said with a smile. "There is even a rumor about reforming the dragon hunters' party with you as a member."

"The dragons' hunters?"

"Alcott, Nina, Amber, and lastly you." The guards said with a smile, "New just came by, is it true?"

[We just came from the guild. How fast does news travel in this city? Answer him like this.]

"I refused; for the time being, I like to do more solo hunter to get a grip on my abilities, and then I will find or create a party to join," Arad replied as told.

"I see. The news is right. But only halfway." The guard smiled, pointing into the distance. "You can find the sewers in that direction."

"Thank you." Arad thanked the guard and started walking.

"That was scary. To think everyone would have already heard of it."

[It will spread. Alcott's name was a part of it, after all. I don't think people will keep it quiet on S-rank news.]

"I hope they don't keep their eyes on me."

[If things became weird, we should leave the city without notice.]

"You're right. A bigger city with more people might be easier to blend in." Arad smiled.

After a short walk, he reached the sewers.

The sewers' rotting wooden door cracked, reeking of high heaven. The stench was strong enough to force Arad to stay away.

"What in the hell? How could it be so bad?" He growled.

[It's clogged up, and with the rat corpses inside, everything keeps rotting and mixing into a foul solution.]

"Can't they clean it regularly? Why do adventurers have to take such quests?"

[No one wants to clean, so it gets left, and after months, they put a quest for cleaning.]

Arad cringed, closing his nose and attempting to get closer. After just a few steps, he couldn't do it.

[We should ask other adventurers for advice. One of them should have taken this quest before.]

Arad shook his head, "No way I'm going back. Let's ask someone else."

[Who are you thinking off?]

"Let's ask Lyla. I'm sure she can help." Arad said as he walked away.

[Lyla Belethor, the shopkeeper? You sure took a liking to her.]

Arad shook his head, "I know. I should be able to trust her. She taught us about her trade and how the city works."

[Won't that make Amber trustworthy? She taught you about sorcery.]

"I don't like that I contend with her as a fire sorcerer. I and Lyla's paths will never cross, she is a merchant, and I'm an adventurer."

[A strange logic just like your mother, but it's not bad.]

It was then that Arad thought about it.

"Since you're in my head, I never thought to ask, but do you have a name?" He asked, scratching his head.

[I don't have a name. I'm a fragment of your mother's consciousness.]

"How should I call you?" He looked up, "It will be strange to just speak to you without using a name."

[You can call me Mom if you want. I'm joking. Just give me a regular name.]

Arad smiled, "Okay then, Mom, nice to meet you, even if it's a bit late."

[Don't call me that!]

"Mommy? Is that better?"

[Don't do it, give me a regular name.]

"Let's go with Mom, Magical Orion's Mother. Miss Orion's mother, or what about My only mother or Mom o' Mom?"

[Now you're joking. Okay, you can use Mom.]

Arad smiled, "Nice to work with you, Mom."

Mom whispered that Arad couldn't comprehend her words, [Multiverse Obliterating Monster is more like it.]

"What do you say?"

[We're close to Lyla's shop.] She said. What was in the past remains in the past.

"Isn't it Arad? What's brought you here, wolf material?" Lyla spotted him on the other side of the street, "You look happy."

Arad slowly approached her, "In truth, I have a problem." He told her about the stench in the sewer.

After listening to him explain in silence, Lyla nodded, "I have a simple solution." She walked into the shop and soon walked out with a large green bottle.

"Olive oil, can you smell it? How is it?" She asked, pointing the open bottle toward Arad.

"I can smell it, but it's not as bad," Arad replied, taking a deep whiff of the oil.

"When we can just do this," She pulled an old rag from underneath her counter. It was surprisingly clean.

After putting the rag in a tiny bow, she dripped oil on top of it and rinsed it well. "Use this as a face mask. It will be a bit better."

[It isn't as fresh air but something we can handle. I have a plan to clean the sewer in a few minutes, so let's go.]

"Thanks, Mom," Arad said, talking with Mom.

Lyla laughed, "I'm not your mom, but I can cook for you if you come for dinner." She patted Arad's hair, "I have a daughter but never a son. You're welcome at my home at any time."

Embarrassed, Arad ran away toward the sewers while Lyla waved to him with a smile.

[I told you Mom is a bad name.]

"Can't I talk with you without speaking?" Arad cried.

[Of course, you can. I can hear your thoughts.]

^Like this?^ Arad thought.

***

When something between ^...^. It's a thought, an inner monolog, or if Arad is talking with Mom.

And, Yes. she is named Mom.

***

Arad put on the mask upon reaching the sewers. ^Mom, what's your plan?^

[Absorb everything into the void and will release it elsewhere.]

Arad froze in place, "You know the void is my stomach, right?" He wasn't that happy eating half a year's worth of waste.

[The void is a secondary pouch that can feed into your stomach. It's an inventory in which you can store things.]

After a few minutes of convincing, Arad used his inventory(Void stomach) to absorb(Eat) everything in the sewers as he did the mind and slime cores before.

The sewers were left sparkling clean, and even the massive rates dwelling inside got sucked into the stomach.

All the rats died since Arad's stomach had no air, time, or space. When Arad forced them inside with all the waste, they instantly died.

Arad slowly plucked all the rats' tails. He then walked back to the guild, having finished his quest.

"Nina, I finished the sewer and rat quests. Can you check on that?" Arad asked with an exhausted face.

"What? You finished in one day?" She rushed at him, "You didn't burn the sewers, right?"

Arad looked at her, "They are clean. Why would I burn them?"

Nina sent a group to confirm, and they returned after half an hour with stunned faces. "It was clean."

"We found the waste pile in the indicated location. And all the rats' corpses." Another of the team replied.

All the adventurers stared at him, wondering what trick he used to clean the sewer.

"So, how much do I need to rank up?" Arad asked with a smile.

Nina looked at him with a worried face, scratching her chin, "Lower quests don't count to rank up. You need to finish E-rank missions."

Arad looked at her with a dead face, "I will take an E-rank quest."

"You will need at least another party member. Please join or form a party to be able to take quests." She replied.

"I want to go solo," Arad growled.

"The rule is put to protect adventurers. Please find another party member." Nina replied, "You can be stabbed in the back by a goblin."

"By the party member you want me to get," Arad replied, glaring at her, "But fine. I will look into it."

Nina smiled, "If you didn't find a suitable party member, the guild can recommend one."

Arad waved his hand and glared at her, "I will quit adventuring and seek my own way if I can't find a suitable partner."

[What now, what will you do?]

^To the slave market,^

[You can trust someone under a slave contract but are you sure you can afford them?]

^We will only have a look^

***

The slave market:

"All the elves have been ransomed." A man said, "Except for her," The man looked at the papers.

"Aella Deianira," He left the papers on the table.

"What should we do with her? Keep her on sale. No one wants her." The other man replied.

"The whole elvish kingdom refused her. Everyone is scared her magic will fail again and cause a disaster."