C20: New Friend...?

"Ha… what does this guy need a grade 02 curse breaker for? If he knows a guy with a Grade 02 curse, they're better off dead!" Melloni sighed in exhaustion as she walked among the shelves, picking up a few bottles.

The assistant who was supporting others to find potions and herbs in the "Melgard Pharmacy" overheard the woman.

"A grade 2 curse? That is a tight knot indeed."

Melloni narrowed her eyes and looked behind. "I know right!"

"I suggest that you take the umm… Former's guide to assist you in it, Miss."

"Former's? I was wanting to buy that!"

While Melloni was making quite the acquaintance in the Pharmacy, Jamie was making an acquaintance with a cat inside the sewer systems!

////

Jamie and the Cat walked through the sewer waters, flashing their torches on the shit-colored waters, every now and then.

"Jesus, the smell!"

"Gotta bear with it," the cat replied.

The two have gone quite deep into the sewage system now, taking three straight turns, and none of them had yet encountered Sewer Rats of any kind. Plus, why were these rats so hard to defeat for the Downwood Guard?

The cat wasn't taller than Jamie's waist and there was no bloody weapon in his hand. The sewer water reached up to the cat's knee! 'Ugh….'

SPLASH!

The two got startled upon hearing the splashing sound and they quickly shone their torches in the direction it came from.

"Fuck, just a goddamn shit load," Jamie sighed in relief. It was a dump that was probably washed down a toilet through the drainage. "Where are these goddamn rats!"

Andy looked up at Jamie and shook his head. "What are you doing here, honestly. These rats are surely mutated by a pretty effective potion and a [Level 2] person like you… I can hardly believe you'd survive these waves to come."

Jamie smirked at this question. "As you said before, I'm hiding something."

The cat looked back at the human. "Hmmm…" the Animagi was getting suspicious of this human, but what the hell, he'll need all the strength he can get to survive this anyway.

As they went further in, they finally sensed the presence of something in there.

This part of the sewer was different from the part they just crossed. The tunnel had weird gooey red stuff in the walls which looked too bright to be blood.

Jamie closed his eyes and he sensed the creature's aura, which was filled with a thirst for blood.

"We got one, straight up the path," Jamie said, unsheathing his sword.

"Not one, many!"

////

It was Thursday and her big sis didn't even let her go to the potion shop to take care of it. But, of course… not like she had any magical powers like Dad and big sis did!

"Hmmm…" she dropped down on her large untidy bed and looked around her room.

A couple of posters of the strongest demons, and a quote from the strongest Demon Hunter Alex Borge were there. And of course, a shelf of her books about Demon Studies and Dark Magic. She felt like she was too bored in this life now, and to excite her a little… she needed something more.

"What should I do?" she stared at the ceiling of her room and wondered. "What should I do, grandma?"

There was a moment of silence, but nothing in particular happened.

She chuckled after this. "Of course… As Grandma said, the dead don't talk! Not you, Mom. Not Dad."

She curled up at the edge of her bed and kept her head on her knees. 'What should I do? Ugh… so boring! And – why is sis taking so long? Ugh –' she stared at her phone, which had messages popping up again and again!

Leila and Alan were still fucking arguing with each other!

"What the hell…" Claire sighed, seeing this. The two get extra talky with each other whenever they chat. 'I think Leila likes Alan…' she sighed. ' I wish I had –'

A face came to her head, and this face made her forget about everything and made all her worries go away! It was…. The blue eyes, the snow-white hair, and that simple guy who was 'Jamie.'

///

Jamie's handsome reflection on the sewer water blurred when he stepped toward the Rats awaiting him at the end of that turn.

"Hey, unsheathe your weapon, cat!" Jamie called out as Andy just kept staring at the Rats who were clearly charging toward them.

"I have a bicycle that flies, bro. I thought you would've already guessed by now, that I'm a mage!" he replied, raising his paw in the direction of the incoming Rats. The cat closed his eyes and focused on the energy that was flowing around him.

"Get back!" he shouted and a wave of blue light shot across the sewer system and pushed all the Rats back.

<You have learned a new spell: Mana Wave!>

A message popped up on Jamie's retina. He had learned a new spell just by gazing at it!

Jamie gazed at the cat and smiled. "You impress me, cat."

"And… What is your name?" The cat looked up at Jamie.

"Jamie. Jamie Fang."

"Well, Jamie… let's slash these motherfuckers!"

Jamie and Andy dashed towards the Rats who were temporarily stunned by that magic wave the cat had just released. Jamie with his Old Eden and the cat… simply summoned two swords with magic.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

<You have killed a rank 5 mutated rat!>

<You have…>

<You have…>

<One Rare Soul gained!>

<One rare soul…>

Jamie was covered in blood, and so was the cat when they finished slicing the sleeping rats.

"There are definitely more back there. We have to keep looking, and surely… those red eyes. They remind me of a battle I've been to in the past! If these rats are mutated, there definitely is a person who has caused this! And that guy is the one puppeteer of them all!"

"We just need to kill him then?"

Andy chuckled at Jamie. "It is not so simple. Look behind you, these motherfuckers are unkillable till we reach their core!"

Jamie took a glance behind, and the blood spilled on the sewer water was moving back into the bodies of the Rats and they were healing once again!

"Goddammit!"

////

"So? The Former's guide contains all the different recipes to make these higher-grade potions? Why did I not know about this?"

"Yes, yes it does," the woman walking with Melloni smiled at her.

"I see."

They stood before the counter as Melloni placed the book and the potions she had bought down on the counter.

"Is that all, Miss?" the woman at the counter asked.

"Yes, it is."

Melloni gazed back at the assistant as she walked away from her, back to guide the other customers. But, she didn't feel like she should just – let her go even without a goodbye.

"Jenni, was it? I'd like to brew a potion or two if you want for your Guild on weekends!" she called out to the woman as she walked away. Jenni, the curly-haired beautiful girl turned around.

"Umm… sure!"

"Here is my card," Melloni gave the card to the assistant and smiled at her. "Call me at this number or send a text! We could even study about Potions a little more together, no?"

The assistant blushed upon hearing this, which Melloni did not seem to notice!

Then, Melloni hurried out of the shop.

Jenni read the card in her hand, and her name just surprised the shit out of her!

"Lorkey? That hot girl is that sadist Claire's sister??"