Inside a small warehouse near the docks in Clark, there was a sewer not shown on the city’s blueprints.
A ratman crawled out from inside, exchanged a confirming glance with the two gang members guarding the place, and only then climbed all the way out.
Soon after, more than ten people crawled out one after another. These were the ones who had gone into the sewers two days earlier, among them Dylan and Cloro.
The heavy rain had lasted for two days, forcing everyone to stay underground for an extra day.
Once out, the ratman collected everyone’s iron tags and then shooed them out of the warehouse.
Clearly, the ten-silver service ended there.
“Brother Dylan, thank you for what you did back there,” Cloro said sincerely.
At the vineyard estate, if Dylan hadn’t joined in, the one to die would most likely have been him.
“Don’t mention it. I was the one who received much care along the way.”
In just a few words, both men knew it was time to part.“Then, Brother Dylan, I wish you good fortune!”
“Big Brother Cloro, until we meet again.”
The two clasped hands, nearly hugging each other.
Lin Jun almost changed the channel from watching such a scene.
As he watched Cloro’s departing back, Dylan’s feelings were complicated.
By rights, he should hate demons—the memory of his daughter poisoned by blood toxin was still fresh.
Yet Cloro had truly treated him well along the journey, even if that goodwill came from the mistaken belief that Dylan was also demonfolk.
He only hoped that the two of them would never one day stand on opposite sides.
But then again, if his boss someday decided on a whim to ally with the demons, he and Cloro might actually become real comrades…
Still, turning against humanity—that was not a future he wanted.
“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and follow!”
The boss’s voice snapped Dylan back to his new mission.
Looking around, he spotted the black-robed man already disappearing around a corner, and quickly followed.
Lin Jun had told Dylan to tail him first, observe, then decide whether to trade or otherwise find a way to learn about Abyssal Magic.
It wasn’t strange for Lin Jun to care so much. Though he couldn’t yet cast spells himself, he already had skills in all the other magic schools—except this one. It was like an unopened rare card. Not knowing what it did made him itch with curiosity.
Even if nothing else, learning more about this world’s system of power was necessary.
But Lin Jun had underestimated things.
Cloro’s judgment of Dylan’s spying ability had been spot on: a rookie!
It didn’t take long before the black-robed man seemed to notice the tail, quickening his pace and darting into an alley.
Dylan sped up to follow.
Inside the alley, the two were openly in chase now, one ahead and one behind.
Lin Jun was exasperated. They were already exposed. What was the point of chasing? This was a city, after all.
Thinking again, Dylan wasn’t a professional. Asking him to tail someone was indeed forcing the issue.
“Forget it, at this point you might as we—”
Before he finished, black light flared in the black-robed man’s hand, condensing into a twisted sphere of magical energy.
Dylan’s leg suddenly buckled, and he barely caught himself on the wall.
Oh?
Lin Jun perked up with interest.
He quickly opened Dylan’s status panel and indeed found something new in the status bar:
【Curse of Weakness: Attributes -20% (104)】
A curse!
It only lasted two minutes—not long.
Still, this was Lin Jun’s first time seeing a debuff classified specifically as a curse.
Just learning this made the chase worthwhile.
Poor Dylan. Already weakened by 【Aging】, which reduced his attributes by 20%, now another -20% was stacked on top.
Running now looked like he had kidney deficiency—weak steps, shaky legs. Within moments, the black-robed man had shaken him off.
Worse, his weakened appearance attracted scavengers lurking in the shadows.
While Dylan leaned against the wall, catching his breath, five thugs with clubs and knives surrounded him.
A foot hooked out from a corner, tripping Dylan so that he staggered and dropped his bag, spilling its contents across the ground.
Normally, these men—barely copper rank, if that—wouldn’t dare target an adventurer.
But if the adventurer looked ready to collapse any second, that was another matter.
【Curse of Weakness: Attributes -20% (4)】
Four seconds later, the curse faded. The sudden weakness vanished just as abruptly as it had appeared.
Dylan inhaled deeply—his strength returned in full.
The thugs hadn’t noticed the change. One stepped forward, iron rod in hand, threatening:
“Old man, hand over your sword and your pack, and we—”
Old man again!
Dylan’s hand was already on his sword. If the thug moved one more step, he would slit his throat.
“What are you doing?”
From the end of the alley, light glinted off silver-gray armor. The sharp rhythm of iron boots on stone tightened the air. A knight strode toward them.
“A knight?”
“Run!”
The thugs fled at once. They didn’t dare trouble even city guards, let alone a knight.
Only Dylan remained.
He too had thought to run, but that would look far too suspicious. He forced himself to stay.
Yet he was puzzled. Why would a knight bother with such a trivial matter? Usually, they wouldn’t care.
As she approached, Dylan realized this knight was a woman.
She wore full armor, but no helmet. Short chestnut hair framed a scar above her brow ridge. From afar, it would have been hard to tell her gender.
And she wasn’t the only one who had misjudged—so had Knight Liadrin.
She had thought it was just a civilian being harassed by thugs. That’s why she had intervened. But up close, she saw it was an adventurer.
She disliked adventurers. Still, since she had already come over, she asked:
“Are you unharmed?”
Her formal tone eased Dylan’s nerves. He had feared she came because she had noticed something abnormal.
He played the role of an ordinary adventurer perfectly.
“Thank you, my lady, for your protection. Thanks to you, I am fine!”
“Good, that’s all that matters.”
Liadrin’s eyes shifted past him to the spilled bag on the ground. Her gaze lingered on a pendant that looked familiar.
She thought for a while but couldn’t place it, so she moved on. She had no desire to waste time with adventurers—most of the city’s troubles came from their kind.
As she left, Dylan finally breathed easier.
Those thugs he could have dealt with easily. What unsettled him was the knight’s appearance, as if he were suddenly being investigated.
Still, all ended without incident.
After gathering his things, Dylan oriented himself and headed toward the docks—he needed to ask when the next ship to the archipelago would sail.
…
That evening, inside Knight Liadrin’s home.
Bang!
Her fist slammed the table.
“Wasn’t that Wilfred’s pendant of power!?”