Dangers in the sewers

"Mh? Fenrya, where have you been?" A tabaxi notices the return of their companion and asks where she went.

"I felt like fighting, so I looked for some rats to warm up with." Fenrya doesn't reveal her encounter with Sanryu to her companions, after all she didn't kill him, so it wouldn't be good news to give to her group.

"Okay...have you met any humans?" The tabaxi asks if he has encountered any enemies in these parts.

"No, no humans, unfortunately...I would have liked to kill some." Fenrya makes up an excuse to deflect her companion's question.

"Okay, you can go around and beat up whoever you want, Fenrya, but don't go too far and don't attract attention to the humans, we have to stay hidden for a few more days." The fellow tabaxi tells Fenrya to be careful not to be discovered by the humans.

"I know, you don't need to remind me." Fenrya responds carelessly and passes by the tabaxi.

"Tsk, filthy abomination, don't raise your eyebrows too much...just because the boss considers you useful to the mission, you're not part of us, remember that well." The tabaxi clicks his tongue, and warns Fenrya not to pose, after all she is not welcome in the tabaxi community.

"..." Fenrya does not respond to the tabaxi's insults, she is used to this treatment, she continues on her way. 'Don't cause me any trouble, human, otherwise I will come looking for you and hunt you down like prey.' Fenrya hopes that Sanryu doesn't reveal anything about what he saw in these sewers, otherwise it would be a problem for her.

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"Mhh?" Currently a group of people are stationed in a corner of the wall of the sewer alley.

"She's coming to her senses, great job, Ted." A member of the group compliments his partner who is currently treating Sanryu's wounds.

"Well the bones in his arms are healing quickly, but the stomach is a different story. He was crushed, so I can only speed up the healing process, the rest depends on his body." The group's priest, Ted, explains the conditions of the Sanryu state.

"At least you saved his life, without you he would be dead by now, that's something." The third and final member of the group tells Ted, while covering the priest's back, anticipating some rat ambush.

"I...am alive?" Sanryu seems to be rambling something as he regains consciousness.

"Yes, boy, you are still among us, can you get up?" Ted responds to Sanryu, reassuring him of his state of life.

"I think so, were you the one who cured me?" Sanryu still feels some pain on his abdomen, but still manages to steel himself and get up.

"Yes, we saw you collapsed on the ground, with a lot of blood coming out of your mouth. And I had a pit on my stomach, but I managed to heal that, but the real damage is to the internal organ, but with the power of my light, healing should have accelerated." Ted explains the state of his injuries to Sanryu, helping Sanryu up in the process. "What happened to you, boy? Those wounds certainly aren't from rats, I've seen my fair share of bodies wounded by those creatures, but yours...looks like you've wrestled a gorilla." Sanryu compares the image of a gorilla and that of woman, they have nothing in common.

"It wasn't a rat... to tell the truth I couldn't see it well, it was very fast, are you going rat hunting?" Sanryu asks if they had the same mission as him.

"Yes, lately there are many more rats than expected in these sewers, they are multiplying at a great speed, that's why there are more missions with the same objective." Ted explains why they have the same mission.

"Now I understand why...but if I may advise you, keep your eyes wide open, there is something in these sewers that is much worse than rats." Sanryu warns the group to be very careful.

"Who do you think you're talking to, newbie, I remind you that if it wasn't for Ted, you would be dead by now." The one covering the group's back, who looks like a hunter, admonishes Sanryu's sentences.

"We appreciate the warning, boy." Ted thanks Sanryu for caring about him. "Don't mind Fil, he's actually a good man." It seems that the hunter is called Phil.

"Ha ha, of course." Sanryu let out a sarcastic laugh. "But the one you have to thank is me, you saved my life, that's what I owe you." Sanryu will not forget the assistance of this priest, even if he passes away many years.

"And the duty of a priest, to save people who are at the end of their lives, is a pleasure, boy." The priest seems to exude a protective aura from his figure, which almost blinds Sanryu.

"Then I'll stop bothering you, I wish you good luck." Sanryu breaks away from Ted, with a slow and heavy walk, he heads towards the exit of the sewers.

"Shouldn't we accompany him to the exit? What if he encounters rats along the way, or worse?" The last member of the group, who appears to be a warrior dressed in iron armor, turns to Ted.

"There's no need, the rats around there are all dead, and it was definitely that boy who killed them, he can take care of himself." Ted has full faith that Sanryu can do it on his own. "Now we'll have to look after ourselves, let's get to work." Ted urges the group to begin their mission.

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In a darkened area of the sewers, tremors begin to make part of the wall vibrate. This tremor becomes stronger and stronger, until it creates cracks and then creates a very large hole, capable of allowing two people to pass together comfortably.

"We did it sniff sniff, we broke through the wall, tell the boss sniff sniff." Some short figures come out of the hole and mumble something.

"Yes, yes great job sniff sniff, we did it sooner than expected, the structures of hairless monkeys are easier to break than those of Caps with hair on their chin." These creatures are just over half the height of humans, and have the features of bipedal rats.

"Sniff sniff now we can start invading this city, and then expand throughout this region." It seems that their intention is to invade Deria.

It seems that this city is becoming the center of the beginning of a future crisis for this kingdom.

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"Finally! The sunlight, it's always a good feeling." Sanryu manages to reach the exit of the sewers without any problem, luckily there were no rats that got in his way. 'Was I right not to reveal the identity of that tabaxi? I hope I don't regret it.' Sanryu lied to that group by telling them that it was a mysterious creature that reduced him to that state.

"This is no time to think about it, let's head to the inn, I'll talk to Lurue about it." Sanryu decides to discuss it with the goddess, perhaps she will be able to give him good advice.

After a few minutes of walking, Sanryu reaches the inn, to the latter's great joy, he was starting to feel uncomfortable due to the dirty looks that the city people sent him because of the stench he carried with him. 'But it's not my fault, and I've made your lives a little safer, you should at least look at me with a minimum of respect.' Sanryu greets the innkeeper and without any hesitation, goes up the stairs to reach the room. "I'm back." Sanryu opens the door and greets the goddess who is still lying on the bed.

"Oh you're back, how did it go-yuck! What's this stink you're carrying around with you?! Stay away from me!" Lurue is assailed by the strong stench that Sanryu has on her.

"I can't help it, since I've been in the sewers for a long time, and it's certainly not a smelly place." Sanryu places his weapon on the chair, along with his leather armor. "I'll go take a bath first and then I'll clean my clothes, bear with this stench until I'm done." Sanryu heads to the bathroom of the room and very hastily fills the large wooden basin with water that had already been prepared by the inn's servants.

The basin is placed on an iron platform, and underneath it there are some charcoals, which if lit with a fuse, can catch fire, thus making the basin, which also has an iron base, heated up and consequently , heat the water. Sanryu sets these charcoals on fire with fuses and the water immediately begins to heat up and the boy undresses and then immerses himself in the water. "Ahhhh that feels good."

Sanryu noticed that this basin has already been used. 'Lurue probably already tried it, did she know how it worked? I think you asked the orderlies how it worked." Lurue has already taken a bath while she was staying at this inn.

'It's incredible how that priest healed me so well, I almost no longer feel pain in my arms and my stomach is healing, I don't even dare imagine the state he was brought into... thank goodness he can't see inside my body.' Sanryu was lucky to still be alive after that tabaxi's blows, a normal human being wouldn't have survived the first blow. 'What the hell is going on around here? Tabaxi exceeding human boundaries...for what reason? Usually their race remains steadfast in their territories, having no intention of conquering other nations, let alone waging war with other peoples, perhaps they were provoked? It's the only hypothesis I can think of.' Sanryu doesn't understand tabaxi's presence in these parts, he is starting to be intrigued by these events. 'That the prince is around to solve this problem?'

After about ten minutes, Sanryu finishes cleaning his body and also cleaning his clothes and armor. "Lurue, I need to talk to you about something." After finishing everything, Sanryu asks for Lurue's attention.

"What do you have to tell me?" Lurue seems to be very calm and turns her attention to the boy.

"Well you see, it happened to me in the sewers..." And Sanryu begins to tell everything that happened to him in the sewers.

"Tabaxi? And you almost died?! I also told you to be careful, how did you manage to get those wounds in a simple mission for mice? Good thing you met some adventurers with good hearts, otherwise you would have died right there." they would have taken advantage by robbing you of all your possessions." Lurue is shocked to learn what happened to the boy in those sewers. "I can't leave you alone for a moment, you risk dying, it's like being taught to a little boy."

"But I told you that she was a tabaxi... and she was very strong, at least stronger than me. I couldn't predict her movements, she seemed like an unstoppable tiger." Sanryu remembers that girl's moves, he is still impressed by those superhuman movements. 'Will I also get to that level? As long as you survive until then, eh eh.' Sanryu hopes to get to those fighting levels.

"It is well known that tabaxi are already basically superior in muscular strength compared to simple human beings... and if we add that in every living being the energy of Ethia, the Astral, flows in their veins, then things become more complicated." Lurue says the name of an energy.

"Astral ehh, my father told me about it, it is the energy that allows the use of magic, if refined properly, it is capable of increasing the physical performance of every creature." Sanryu is aware of this Astral.

"Exactly, power that you still have to awaken, it's strange considering that every living being manifests it already at birth. However, returning to the main question, I don't think that tabaxis should be your problem, the army is already there that thinks about these problems, right? You're worried about becoming stronger... it's also about finding that threat you talked about, I have to face someone strong, otherwise I'll get rusty." Lurue lies back on the bed and tells Sanryu not to worry about things that don't concern him.

"Maybe you're right, but I still have doubts..." Sanryu mutters these sentences, while he looks out the window.