Get to the Upper City! Part 3

"Holy shit!" Joshua yelled, as he could feel the intense heat from the blade on his skin. "It's a magical sword! I mean I thought it was, but it has an enchantment! Also, enchantments! So happy this world is one where enchantments are a thing.

Augmenting weapons and items with enchantments is always enjoyable! I hope I can learn the skill that allows me to create this, or does it only occur naturally in dungeons? I have so many questions. But I guess I already knew about enchantments. Steel silk is obviously one. Although it's more of a magical augmentation than enchantment."

Joshua let out a happy sigh and just basked in the glory that was his blade. He then remembered the skeleton, which was still waiting at the edge of the boundary. It was starting to fizzle out, as there was not much other than the magical oil to burn. He walked over with his fiery blade ready.

He decided to aim for the exposed ribs and stabbed there. As soon as the blade touched the undead minion a massive explosion of white light erupted from the contact point and a shockwave traveled through the tunnel. The force of the shockwave was so great that Joshua fell backwards onto his hind parts.

As the shockwave hit the other two skeletons, they both burst into white flame and turned to ash where they stood, as for the skeleton he struck, only its armor and weapon remained. He looked at his blade, the fire had burned out.

"That was amazing!" He rejoiced. He wanted to check his status plate, but the tunnel was far too dark now, in fact it appeared far darker than it was before. Looking around Joshua noticed that more of the green torches were extinguished. The shockwave from his attack must have taken them out.

He could hear the moving of bone and steel from the places that were once protected by the green light. "Shit." He said as he got up. "What was that saying? May the light of hope extinguish the darkness and illuminate the night."

The sword did not react this time. "Oh shit!" Joshua said. "Must be one of those limited use enchantments! I always hated those! I really hope I can recharge it! But for now, I need to get out of here!"

He started sprinting as fast as he could towards the other end of the tunnel, hopefully towards more green lights. He could hear the movement of the skeletons as they started to stir to life. He could see a faint green glow in the distance, and what looked like a ladder.

He had his goal. He picked up the pace and ran as fast as his skinny legs would take him. As he got close enough, he jumped into the light and started climbing the ladder. The exit was an iron door, much like the one he opened entering this place. He pushed but it would not budge.

"Shit. Probably something on top of it." He said. He climbed up so that he was scrunched up near the door and secured his feet into the ladder. He then placed both hands on the door and pushed as hard as he could with his arms and his legs. Slowly the iron door showed signs of movement.

After it started to move it flung open and landed with a land clang upon the ground. Joshua found himself in the middle of an empty cemetery. A large statue of a winged god was a few yards away, with a circular area of cobblestone around it and benches.

Around the circle were various grave markers, and he himself appeared to be in one. He crawled out of the crypt and closed the heavy door back. He hoped this was the right place as he had no memories of it. He could see the rooftops of buildings in the distance and headed in that direction.

As he reached the city, he found it to be in much better condition than the one he had left. The people walking around were all well dressed and groomed. He could hear a lot of commotion in the distance and headed towards it in hopes that it was the market he sought.

He pulled out his status plate to look at it as he walked. It looked as if he had gained five levels from those three skeletons. It made him question just how powerful they were. He glanced to see if any new skills had shown up yet. Sadly, he still only had the two.

"You there boy!" A person yelled out, causing Joshua to look up and over at them. "Can I interest you in some fish?! Freshly caught this morning!"

The fishmonger was not the only one trying to grab attention, Joshua had walked into the open-air market, booths were set up all over and the people working them were calling to anyone that would listen.

"No thanks." Joshua said as he started his search for sugar. He found merchants for various meats and vegetables, for clothing, armor, weapons, and even alchemy. He looked over the alchemists table as he thought it would have the highest chance of having the sugar he needed.

If it was unknown in the world, it wouldn't be outside the world of reason that an alchemist would consider it an alchemical ingredient. He scanned the table, there were all sorts of strange items and lots of familiar items. He saw oregano, basil, and rosemary among the items. He continued to scan until he found a jar. It was labeled plant sand and was filled with white grains.

"Hello?!" The alchemist was calling out to Joshua as he was searching for his items. Joshua was too focused on his task and the noise of the area was too great for him to notice. "HEY KID!" The alchemist yelled.

That got Joshua's attention and he looked up at the alchemist.

"You want to look all day, or you got an order for me?" The alchemist demanded. "What noble wants what now? If it's another stiffening potion for Lord Flaquid, it's going to be double. There are more men in this world that need the services of that potion."

"Huh?" Joshua asked. "I am not here for a noble. I was actually just interested in this plant sand here."

"In the plant sand?!" The alchemist replied. "Why would you even care about such an item? Do you fancy yourself an alchemist?"

"If I could get a sample, I will let you know." Joshua said.

"Alright, hold out your hand." The alchemist said. He reached in and got a pitch of the sand out of the jar and placed it in Joshua's hand. "It is high quality plant sand as you can see, you can feel the coarseness of the grains. It is a fantastic addition to cleaning balms as it always leaves the skin smooth.

Is that why you are after it? You got a lady you want to impress? Well, if that's the case I will give you a discount, I am a fool for love!"

Joshua placed the sand on his tongue. As soon as it hit his taste buds he knew, it was pure cane sugar, exactly what he was searching for.

"Why did you just eat the plant sand?!" The alchemist cried out. "You're not supposed to eat it! Didn't your parents teach you anything?!"