"Hmmm." Without wasting any seconds, Nine examined his window thoroughly, making a comparison from his level 1 self to the current.
"Looks like each level up will increase all my stats by 1 point. And thanks to the ability I received before, the agility, stamina, and vitality stats will be much higher than the rest... The only stat that didn't increase is the luck stat."
"Still, this entire fight is a great event for me to get stronger... Now, if that fire just lets out so I can open that rat's body to see if it has anything within it." Nine recalled the things he knew about monsters back in his original world.
"Typically, these types of monsters have a magic core in them. I just have to give up on taking the other valuable parts of its body and take the one I know only."
Nine sighed. He knew that the magic core of this humanoid rat was not the only valuable thing about it, but since he didn't know what those valuables were, he had to give up on them and take the only thing he could and knew about.
"Also, how come the stats increased by the items are not updated to my window? Is it because these items are not mine entirely, and belong to another person?"
***
Outside the sewage system.
The time was nearing 4 p.m. This meant that an entire day had passed. This also meant that the adventurer he met this morning had been inside the sewage system for an entire day too.
When the quest maker met Nine this morning, he didn't expect much from him since he only had civilian clothes and no gear at all.
Feeling guilty about sending such an adventurer deep into this dark space in such a situation, he gave his prized possession to him.
In hopes that he would be safe and come back safely.
Within the first hour, the quest maker had nothing to expect at all, since, after all, it would take an hour or two before he would meet one of the piled-up trash within this labyrinth-like sewer.
Around 9 a.m., something changed with the flow of water outside. The water was moving much better than before and carried small pieces of trash. This meant that the adventurer had cleared out a sewage debris pile in there.
At 11 a.m., the water pipe was blowing out a large amount of dirty water along with large pieces of trash. This meant the adventurer didn't simply take care of the trash piles scattered within the system but also opened up those manhole covers, allowing such things to happen.
When the time reached 1 p.m., the quest maker started to worry. It had been more than six hours since the adventurer went inside.
The results that were showing before his eyes were already better than anyone had accomplished so far. So the adventurer should have come back by now, but... he was nowhere to be seen.
He wondered if the adventurer had accidentally gotten into a fight or worse, died. He knew that this quest wasn't wanted due to the horrible smell inside the system. Because of this, the quest went from an F-Rank to a C-Rank quest.
This wasn't the only reason the quest ranked up in difficulty, but also due to the unknown danger of it. With the sewage receiving all kinds of trash from the people living in the town, all kinds of things got into it.
If someone were to throw out a corpse, then that corpse would be engulfed by the dark energy of the sewage... There's a chance that it would become a monster. This wasn't the only thing that could be born in here, but also mutated rats that could reach the size of a meter or two.
As the quest maker started making a decision on whether he should alert the guild, he heard a voice deep inside the 3-and-a-half-meter-wide tunnel. There, Nine's figure slowly appeared, wearing the things he had given him this morning.
Nine stared at the quest maker while still inside the tunnel, then said, "I'm just here to eat something and come back as soon as I'm done," worrying if the quest maker was not satisfied with his work.
"....." "No... You don't have to. You've already done a great job doing this," the quest maker said, gesturing to Nine to leave the tunnel.
....
As Nine ate on the side, the quest maker was making a report for Nine to give to the guild. A few minutes ago, the quest maker asked Nine if he was allowed to see the things he had done inside.
When Nine answered: Yes. A small marble suddenly popped out of his forehead. When the quest maker grabbed it, he started writing. If he had to guess, that marble was probably a memory made from the quest maker's skill.
"So this was what he was talking about earlier. Still, the ability to obtain a memory by simply asking whether he's allowed to see it... That's overpowered as hell. If this was my original world, that skill would be sought out by everyone."
Nine couldn't believe such a skill could exist. But he couldn't care more about it and just wanted to eat to his fill.
"... How do people feel full with just these?" he asked. The food he was eating was a simple egg and sausage with a side of vegetables. Even though the portion was large, he still felt hungry.
A few minutes went by again and the quest maker handed the paper he was writing earlier to Nine.
"Here! Give this to the receptionist at the guild and they'll give you the promised reward money. Also, quite lucky you are. You didn't just get a mana core but also an item skill." The quest maker praised Nine's luck for obtaining such a thing.
In this world, there are two types of dropped item skills. One is called: [Item Skill] an item that can give a skill to your equipment. While the other one is called: [Skill Item] equipment with a skill on it.
Nine had just obtained an [Item Skill] from the mutated rat he had fought with. A rare thing to happen.
Saying thanks to the quest maker, Nine made his way to the guild and left the place.
As he walked to the guild, he couldn't help but look back, thinking: "I kinda want one of those items."
Just like the agreement he made this morning, Nine had to give back all the things he received from the quest maker after completing the quest.
Now here, Nine was walking back to the guild without any of those items he had used in the sewage system, and only had the mask he received from the weapon shop owner.
---
Loot obtained from this quest: Mana Core (Mutated): 1.
Item Skill: 1. Quest Completion Mark.
Things lost in this quest: 3 Lantern Oil.
*****
End of chapter 8.