"Let me ask you this. What time do I normally clock in?" She said, pushing his brother's face away.
"Around 5? Out of the five of us, you're the earliest one to come here." Alexander said, sitting down in his chair again.
"That's right. When I came here this morning, I found him waiting outside."
"Why was he here that early? The sun isn't even up that time."
"He said he always wakes up around four in the morning. Since he can't sleep again, he decided to jog around town and visit the guild at the end of it." She paused for a bit.
"Since he was already there, I asked if he wanted something to drink. He quietly said yes, so I served him some coffee."
"This still doesn't answer why he is already doing a quest," Alexander said, tapping his fingers on the table.
"Just wait will you!" His sister sneered. "After I served him, I then set the quests on the board, he went and helped me with it, and asked if he could take one of those."
"I told him yes, but when I saw the one he was planning to take, I told him to take another one. Since he will have a hard time doing it. He answered that he has something that can help him do it. So, since he was willing to take it, I just gave it to him. After we were done he said thanks and left."
Alexander sat quietly for a moment before asking: "What quest was it then?"
"Hmm? It was a sewage cleaning quest. If I remember correctly, the quest needs you to unclog some pipes deep underground that have been stopping the flow of the water below."
"Why would he take that? That place stinks so much that not even those working in the temple would take it. Almost everyone who takes that one, would come back demanding more rewards because of the smell they had to endure."
"I know right. But he said he had something to let him breathe without smelling anything down there."
Alexander took a deep breath, seeing how he couldn't help Nine himself. The only thing he can do right now is do his job, wait for the next chance, and give him the quest he had.
*****
At the same moment, within the town's underground sewage system. Nine quietly ran away from the horde of rats chasing him. He knew screaming out loud would only make things worse.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!!! Not again!" He cursed and screamed in his mind, hearing the squeaks of the rats chasing him.
"I thought I avoided them? How did they suddenly group up and make this rat tsunami?"
---
Let's go back a few hours ago.
After leaving the weapon shop, Nine made his way to the inn, after checking in for one night, he ordered some food and then slept with his stomach full.
Waking up around four in the morning like he always does, he found he had nothing to do since his phone did not cross with him. So, he decided to run in the center of the town.
After running loops around in the center, he unconsciously made his way to the adventurer guild set on the east side of the town.
There he found one of the beautiful female receptionists from yesterday, since it was still early, he wanted to run away, not wanting to be called a stalker or such.
Before he could even prepare himself to run, the lady suddenly started talking with him, and as the conversation went on, he found himself helping her set the quest on the board.
By that time, it was already too late to leave her alone. Having served drinks and talked for too long with her. As he was putting the quest on the board, he found one asking to clear out trash in the sewage system.
Remembering how the thing he received from the Elf the night before allowed him to breathe without smelling something else.
He asked the lady if he could take them. After some debating, he managed to take the quest. Of course, he made sure to finish the job and the drink before leaving her alone.
Going back into the inn, Nine checked out and made his way outside the town where the entrance is. There he met a man, who made the quest, after some talk, he received a pair of knee-high boots and a cloak.
He was told to clear out as much sewage debris as he could and come back when he can't do it anymore. He asked how he would know he had done it, if he wasn't going in. The man just told him he knew whether Nine actually did the job or not.
With that, he entered the sewage and put on the mask he received from the night before. At first, everything was good, he avoided dealing with the giant rats and made sure to do what he was meant to do there.
After half an hour in, he found his first sewage debris. Using the iron staff with a hook at the end, he got from the man before, he cleared them out, and made the flow of water move again.
Looking at the things within the water, he felt disgusted by it, even though he could not smell anything thanks to the mask he had on. Still, it felt fulfilling seeing how the stagnant water began moving again.
After putting the trash on the side where the water can't get to them, Nine continued to move deeper. After moving for a few minutes, he met the end of that road. Going back, he then started moving on to the other sections.
Within a few hours, Nine went through 4 sections and cleaned four sewage debris. During that time, he accidentally crossed paths with some rats and got chased by them.
He managed to escape from them by going around the corner and not moving as much as he could. Thanks to the darkness of the sewage, the rats would miss him.
When the conversation between the siblings in the guild started, Nine found another area to clear.
"My god. This shit is big." Nine said looking at the giant pile of trash leaning against the wall, covering the road behind it.
Without wasting any moment, he started using the staff he had, pulling out a large amount with the hook and putting them on the road area.
"Hooo. My stamina is getting depleted a bit too much." He said, seeing how he was sweating a lot. After clearing the small ones, Nine found a giant tree branch within them.
Seeing how this one was the core foundation of the pile, he placed the staff on the side and hype himself up to pull it out. If he can take this out, the entire thing will fall down, and clearing it will be much easier.
Pushing away the small trash on the branch, Nine placed his hand around it tightly, using his legs to pull it. Groaning, Nine muttered: "It's a bit hard, with all things wrapped around it."
The trash pile consists of some discarded clothes, crates, ropes, food, broken weapons, and glass. With the ropes holding together everything, Nine would need to pull harder to take out the foundation of it.
Which is the giant tree branch within the pile. "Oh! Just one more push." Nine muttered, feeling that he could now pull it much more easily.
With a bit more effort, Nine successfully pulled out the branch, making the three-and-a-half-meter trash pile fall apart. Watching the tiny glass shattering, he wondered if this was all right.
"That man said, he'll bring others in to clear this up, I just need to put them on the side where they can take them." Remembering the words of the man before.
Half a minute later, Nine was finally able to see the other side of the wall..... There, behind that wall were tens of red pupils staring at him. Although that freaked him out a bit, he knew he could just scream really loud making them run away.
But deeper behind that side, a pair of emerald eyes at the same level as his was glaring back at him. With how quiet the sewer was he could hear sounds where those eyes were.
A sizzling sound echoes from it. Nine closed his eyes, then opened them as soon as. Seeing how the rats haven't moved yet, he plans to take this chance and run.
As soon as he grabbed his staff, which he had put away before, he heard the rats moving forward. Without looking back, he held on tight and started running away.
Within a few steps, he turns to the corner, going back to the area he had explored earlier. Then suddenly...
BOOM!!!
A large, exploding sound echoed from the area where he had been before. Looking back, he found the trash pile scattered on the walls. Dirt, clothes, food, and water slowly falling down from the wall onto the roadside.
....!
Before he could even turn his head back on the road. Nine was looking at a two-meter-sized humanoid rat. Its skin color combinations are red, green, brown, and black.
"Fuck!"
***
Chapter 5 end.