Blackrock City, a border fortress.
This rock-solid city had entered the rainy season, the drizzling rain soaking every corner of the city.
For Louis and his family, rainy days were a disaster.
Holding a wooden basin under the leaky roof, Louis listened to the dripping sound of water hitting the bottom of the basin, desperately hoping the rainy season would end soon.
The cold, damp weather made the bedding both damp and musty.
Every night, Louis's joints would ache from the dampness.
It seemed that rheumatism and other age-related ailments were about to strike him.
"Sigh, how did I, a model citizen of China, end up in this godforsaken place?"
Louis sighed inwardly.
A week ago, he had honorably saved a child from being hit by an out-of-control truck, and thus transmigrated into the body of a sixteen-year-old boy in another world.
The original owner of this body shared the same name as him, Louis.
His parents were workers at a small merchant guild. Thanks to this connection, the original owner became an apprentice to the guild's manager, learning to read and do arithmetic.
However, just two months ago, the guild's caravan was raided by monsters while on an outing, resulting in the deaths of his parents.
The guild subsequently went bankrupt, compensation payments were delayed, and his life plummeted.
Then, due to the original owner's failed suicide attempt, Louis, from Earth, inherited everything.
After absorbing the original owner's memories, Louis discovered that this world's level of civilization was similar to the Western Renaissance period of his previous life, but it possessed extraordinary powers and races.
Demons, alien species, dragons, elves, dwarves, goblins… all truly existed in this world.
To combat the roaming alien races, the profession of adventurer was born.
When he first transmigrated, Louis was also eager to become an adventurer, wanting to team up with elves and dwarves, defeat enemies, earn bounties, and reach the pinnacle of life.
But reality cruelly poured cold water on his hopes.
Registering as an adventurer is simple; all you need is proof of identity and ten copper coins.
However, the mortality rate for new adventurers is a staggering 70%!
And most of them don't die in battles with monsters, but rather from infected wounds, poverty, and hunger (this isn't a multiple-choice question, it's a ranking question!), making it a truly high-risk profession with no resources and no advantages.
Ultimately, who would willingly do such a dangerous job if they weren't desperate?
Only one in a hundred adventurers manages to master extraordinary powers and become a superhuman.
Every year, countless young people with dreams come to this border metropolis, venture beyond the city walls, form teams, and adventure, only to die for various reasons—either at the hands of monsters or silently in some corner of the city.
Such cases are especially common in Blackrock City, almost like the death row of a certain great power in his past life.
Therefore, Louis finally gave up the idea of becoming an adventurer and prepared to find an ordinary job to make a living.
"Brother, dinner's ready."
Louis was lost in thought, gazing at the rain outside the window, when a childish voice suddenly came from behind him.
Turning his head, he saw a thin, petite figure carrying two plates out of the kitchen and placing them on the old wooden table.
The child was eleven or twelve years old, but only a little over 1.2 meters tall, wearing only a linen blouse inherited from his father, so large it covered his knees.
The little one looked pale, but his exceptionally fair skin and delicate features hinted at a future beauty.
"Merry, thank you for your hard work,"
Louis said gently, sitting down at the table and stroking the little one's soft, silver hair.
Merry was the original owner's younger brother, an abandoned child adopted by his parents.
Yes, not a sister, but a brother.
A lovely boy.
After their parents passed away, he single-handedly supported the family, taking on all the chores—grocery shopping, cooking, laundry—and even making matchboxes to earn a meager living. Otherwise, the original owner, who knew nothing but studying, would have starved to death long ago.
Little Merry smiled sweetly at the praise, his light gray eyes curving into beautiful crescent moons.
Louis looked down at the food on his plate, his expression immediately turning bitter.
It was a piece of black bread and a plate of greenish-brown vegetable soup of unknown origin.
The only consolation was that in this humid, rainy season, even the hardest black bread would soften—though it was still hard to swallow and prone to mold.
Louis ate this for a whole week.
But he couldn't complain.
The family's finances were already precarious; even with this cheap food, Merry's portion was half that of his.
Louis sighed again, tore the black bread into pieces and threw them into the soup, then, holding his breath and swallowing his medicine, quickly devoured the food in front of him.
Merry also finished quickly, her small hands, covered in scars and glue, clutching the hem of her clothes, and cautiously asked,
"Brother, could you find a job?"
After speaking quickly, the little guy seemed afraid of being scolded, and hurriedly lowered her head to explain,
"We...we don't have much money left. We're a week behind on rent, we've sold everything we could, and I can only earn five copper coins a day pasting matchboxes..."
Hearing little Merry's increasingly lower voice, Louis smiled and said,
"Don't worry, I've already scheduled an interview with a merchant guild. I'll go for the interview later, and if all goes well, I can get a bookkeeping job."
Merry was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
In his memory, his older brother had become indifferent to everything after their parents' death, and if he said anything too much, he would yell and scream in despair.
His brother had recently become gentler.
"Mmm!"
Little Merry smiled sweetly and nodded vigorously.
Louis washed his face to make himself look more presentable, and seeing that the rain had temporarily stopped, he put on his only decent-looking coat and went out.
He hadn't gone far when a short, stout man waved to him from a distance.
"Louis, are you busy? Come lend a hand. Another adventurer died here, what bad luck."
Moving a corpse?
Louis frowned, somewhat reluctant to go; he didn't want to get his coat dirty.
But to avoid damaging neighborly relations, he finally nodded.
Following the stout man's directions, Louis quickly saw a corpse curled up in a corner.
It was a young man, dressed in tattered clothes, with a festering, oozing wound on his leg, the exposed skin an unnatural bluish-gray.
Several neighbors were pointing and whispering about the corpse.
"Another out-of-town adventurer with no money for treatment."
"Injuries during the rainy season are so easy to get infected. I saw a dead man on the roadside yesterday, just as badly injured as this young man." "
He calls himself an adventurer, but what's the difference between him and a vagrant?"
The short, stout man beckoned to the men present, and they hurriedly lifted the corpse.
Louis also grabbed one of the corpse's legs.
Just then, a soft 'ding' sounded in his mind.
[Collectable attribute detected, collect?]
Louis was slightly taken aback, then his heart skipped a beat, and he responded without hesitation in his mind:
"Collect!"
The next second, a new notification sounded.
[You have picked up the corpse of the 'Blacksmith Apprentice Adventurer'. Attributes: Strength +1, Forging +1]
Before the notification sound even finished, Louis felt a warm current flow through his body, and at the same time, a large amount of knowledge about forging flooded his mind.
[Pickup successful, personal panel unlocked]
[Forging skill unlocked]
[Name: Louis]
[Extraordinary Profession: Unawakened (0/10)]
[Life Profession: Forging LV1 (1/10)]
Ability Values: [Vital Energy: 5]
[Concentration: 5]
[Stamina: 4]
[Strength: 5 (+1)]
[Dexterity: 6 ]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Faith: 0]
[Perception: 5]
[Note: The standard ability value for an adult male is 5]
[Skills: None]
Looking at the personal panel that suddenly appeared in front of him, Louis's eyes gradually widened.
A cheat code! It's a cheat code!
Just by casually touching the corpse, he directly increased his strength by a quarter and learned a professional skill?
Louis clenched his fist tightly, feeling the sudden increase in strength within his body, and his heart was filled with excitement.
However, Louis quickly realized a problem.
The cheat code for acquiring attribute points was great, but it seemed to only work on corpses… so where was he going to get so many corpses?
Thinking this, he followed the neighbors, carrying the corpses, towards the outside.
Suddenly, an idea struck Louis, and he asked the short, stout man,
"Uncle Theodore, where are we taking these corpses?"
"Throw them into the sewers; the rain will wash them away,"
Theodore replied calmly.
Louis and his neighbors stuffed the body through a sewer opening and continued on their way to the Merchant Guild.
He seemed lost in thought.
Soon, he arrived at the guild's employee entrance.
It was crowded with job seekers, all as young as him; he stood out in the crowd.
[Remember this site's domain name: Taiwan Novel Network, great experience, t̑̈̑̈w̑̈̑̈k̑̈̑̈̑̈ȃ̈̑̈n̑̈̑̈.c̑̈̑̈ȏ̈̑̈m̑̈̑̈, super considerate!]
He stood in front of the crowd for a while, then turned and walked away, heading straight for the Adventurers' Guild a hundred meters away.
...
"Mr. Louis, this is your Adventurer's Badge. You can now accept quests at the quest board. Have a safe adventure." A
sweet-looking receptionist with long, wine-red hair smiled and handed Louis an iron badge.
Louis nodded and went to the quest board.
Blackrock City was also known as the City of Adventurers, and the Adventurers' Guild branches here were as numerous as public toilets. The branch Louis was in not only received adventurers but also provided them with fine wine, food, and meat.
At this moment, the guild's dining area was already more than half full, with adventurers of various appearances and temperaments chatting enthusiastically.
No one noticed the arrival of Louis, the newcomer, and the face-slapping plot that was so popular in novels was naturally out of the question.
After looking around in front of the quest board for a while, Louis's eyes lit up.
[Quest: Clogged Sewers (Long-term)]
[Quest Description: The rainy season has overwhelmed Blackrock City's drainage system, and some channels are blocked, perhaps related to the corpses dumped into various sewers.]
[Quest Requirements: Find the corpses blocking the drains and mark them on the sewer map]
[Quest Reward: 3 Copper Coins/Corpse]
"Sure enough, I remember the Adventurers' Guild has such a long-term quest,"
Louis thought to himself with delight.
If he wanted to loot corpses and collect attributes, he could just go to the sewers.
But if you can get the bounty while collecting attributes, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?
Besides, no one is usually willing to take on low-level quests like this. The sewers are turbulent during the rainy season, and there are small monsters running around. Not to mention, the bounty for completing the quest is small, making it extremely low cost-effectiveness.
Often, after a long day's work, he might not even earn ten copper coins. He
could earn more carrying bags at the docks.
He took his commission form to the receptionist to register his task and received his quest item—a map of the underground drainage system.
After storing his coat, Louis left the Adventurers' Guild and found a nearby manhole cover.
Taking a deep breath, Louis pried open the cover and climbed inside.
As soon as he entered, a stench of various mixed smells made Louis want to vomit. The stench seemed tangible; in a daze, he thought the air around him was tinged with excrement.
This world supposedly possessed supernatural powers, but supernatural abilities were far removed from ordinary people. At the very least, no superhuman would want to do the work of maintaining sewers.
Louis held his breath and climbed to the bottom, standing on a dry, high point at the edge of the sewer.
He stared at the lifeless, stagnant, foul-smelling water that almost reached his feet, remained silent for a moment, then sighed and silently walked further in.
A little stench is fine, it's better than fighting goblins in the wild.
The only consolation was that the sewer walls were covered in glowing plants, providing a faint blue light so he wasn't completely blind.
Following the sewer, Louis soon arrived at a blocked drain.
A bloated corpse lay across the drain, surrounded by a pile of accumulated filth—household debris, dead cats, and dead dogs.
Louis walked to the dry end of the road, enduring the stench that nearly killed him, and strained to reach the half-submerged body, but couldn't reach it.
Frustrated, he took off his shoes and trousers, leaving them aside, and stepped barefoot into the sticky sewage, finally managing to touch the corpse.
[Collectable attribute detected. Pick up?]
Pick up!
[You have picked up the corpse of the 'Farmer Adventurer' with the following attributes: Stamina +1, Farming +1]
[Farming skill unlocked]
"Was it Stamina that increased this time?"
Louis felt his breathing become longer, his fatigue greatly reduced, and a lot of farming-related knowledge appeared in his mind.
The life skill attribute is easy to understand; it comes from the life skills the corpse was good at in life.
The blacksmith apprentice adventurer from before must have worked as a blacksmith for a while before becoming an adventurer, while this farmer adventurer is skilled in farming.
But what are the criteria for acquiring ability values?
It can't be randomly acquired, can it?
The sample size is too small, and the system doesn't provide an instruction manual. Louis shook his head, deciding to put these thoughts aside for now.
He marked the location of the corpse on the map with a charcoal pencil, and then, with anticipation, touched the corpse, finding a rusty, cheap dagger.
It was probably the kind of junk weapon used by skeleton grunts in the game.
Although it was a cheap item that weapon shops wouldn't even bother to take back, Louis was still very happy.
Freebies are always delightful.
He took the dagger, returned to the shore, put on his shoes and trousers, and continued on his way.
In the dense, capillary-like sewers, Louis walked for an unknown amount of time, unknowingly arriving at an area where glowing plants were sparse.
This river hadn't flowed for a long time, and if nothing unexpected happened, the outlet ahead was blocked.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"
The faint squeaking of a rodent alerted Louis. He quickly bent down, gripped his dagger, and cautiously looked in the direction of the sound.
In the pale blue light, a shadow, about a meter long including its head and tail, appeared in Louis's line of sight, lying beside the water outlet.
It was an outrageously large rat, currently perched on something solid in the riverbed, gnawing at something.
Louis approached silently, and upon seeing the rat's actions, a strong chill ran down his spine.
The rat's head was repeatedly thrusting in and out of the abdominal cavity of a corpse, each time pulling out a small piece of rotting, whitish flesh.
Its eyes, flashing intermittently, emitted a scarlet glow.
In an instant, Louis confirmed the creature's identity—a small monster called a gray rotten rat, ranked one level lower in danger than a goblin in the Adventurers' Guild's monster encyclopedia.
These creatures are abundant in the sewers of human cities, frequently emerging from them to steal food stored by citizens, and there are even records of them eating infants and children.
Although the Gray Rot Rat is a solitary monster and lacks the intelligence of a goblin, it should not be underestimated.
Its teeth are teeming with germs and toxins; if bitten, Louis would likely suffer the same fate as his predecessors.
Louis stood a short distance away, hesitating whether to rush forward and kill the Gray Rot Rat.
Ultimately, he decided to take the risk. He
would have to deal with these sewer-swarming monsters sooner or later.
Besides scavenging corpses, he also wanted to conduct an experiment on this adventure:
to see if slain monsters would lose any attributes.
The gray carrion rat, engrossed in its meal, was unaware of Louis's approach. The pungent stench of the sewers effectively masked Louis's own scent.
He slowly approached from behind, and the instant its head was completely inside the corpse's abdominal cavity, Louis pushed off with his feet, lunging at the rat like a taut bowstring.
He gripped the rusty dagger tightly with both hands, and as he pounced on the rat, he slammed it down.
*Thud*
—the fairly sharp tip of the blade pierced the filthy fur, grazing the hard spine and disappearing deeper.
Louis landed on top of the rat, using his weight to drive the dagger all the way into its body, half of his body submerged in the sewage.
"Squeak!!!"
The pinned rat let out a piercing scream, its survival instinct still causing it to writhe despite its fatal wound.
Louis could clearly feel the strength emanating from this large, gray rat, comparable to that of a medium-sized hunting dog, almost pushing his thin frame away.
It was as difficult to handle as a pig during Chinese New Year.
He gritted his teeth, continuing to press down on the beast, forcefully spinning his dagger.
A few seconds later, the struggle beneath him weakened and finally ceased completely.
When the notification sounded in his ear, Louis knew he had completed his first kill since joining the adventure.
[Collectable attribute detected, collect?]
Collect.
[You have collected the corpse of a level 0 monster 'Gray Rot Rat'. Attributes: Extraordinary +0.1, Skill 'Sewer Creature' *1]
[Skill 'Sewer Creature' unlocked]
[Sewer Creature (Passive) (Entry-level: 1/10): Your adaptability to the harsh environment of the sewers far exceeds that of ordinary people; you are immune to common germs and toxins.]
Hearing the notification sound, Louis was somewhat stunned.
The gains from looting this corpse were unprecedented.
So, the cheat system can not only unlock attributes, but also skills?
He could understand the latter; the skill "Sewer Creature" was clearly one of the abilities possessed by the Gray Rot Rat.
From now on, when he's active in the sewers, even if he accidentally gets injured or bitten by a Gray Rot Rat, he won't have to worry about infection.
But what exactly is this "extraordinary" attribute?
He quickly seemed to remember something and immediately brought up his personal panel.
[Name: Louis]
[Extraordinary Profession: Unawakened (0.1/10)]
[Life Professions: Blacksmithing LV1 (1/10), Farming LV1 (1/10)]
Ability Values: [Vital Energy: 5]
[Concentration: 5] [
Stamina: 5] [Strength: 5] [ Dexterity
: 6] [Intelligence: 6] [Faith: 0] [Perception: 5] Skills: [Level 0: Sewer Creature (Beginner: 1/10)] Looking at the points added to the "Extraordinary Profession" section, Louis thought to himself, "As expected." Extraordinary professionals exist in this world. As far as Louis knew, whether warrior, mage, thief, or priest, their power all came from a special power called "Mana," commonly known as magic. Every professional needs to accumulate Mana during their apprenticeship. Only when the total amount of Mana reaches a certain level and certain conditions are met can they change professions. However, Louis, being a commoner, had no idea how to accumulate Mana or what the specific conditions were for job advancement. "Could it be... that this so-called extraordinary attribute is actually magic power?" Louis pondered to himself. But he quickly dismissed this guess, as he felt countless invisible forces spontaneously flowing into his body. However, this feeling only lasted a short while before disappearing. Louis had a feeling that these invisible forces merging into his body might be the real Mana. "So, the extraordinary attribute doesn't bring magic power, but rather an increased mana bar?" Louis felt he had discovered the truth. This conjecture excited him even more. Looking at his personal panel, the attribute required to awaken an extraordinary job was only 10 points, and a single Gray Rot Rat had increased his progress by one percent. If that's the case, wouldn't killing a hundred Gray Rot Rats be enough to potentially become an extraordinary job user?
Extraordinary professionals—these are the true elite, the uncrowned aristocracy!
And now, the door to that class has opened a crack for Louis.
After taking several deep breaths, Louis suppressed his excitement and slowly pulled the dagger from the gray rotting rat's corpse, looking at the human corpse piled up next to it.
It was a highly decomposed body, gnawed beyond recognition.
However, Louis didn't find it filthy or disgusting; on the contrary, he felt a sense of familiarity and quickly reached out to touch it.
But the result of this touch disappointed Louis—the notification sound indicating that a lootable attribute had been detected did not appear.
"Could it be that the corpse has been dead for too long, causing the attributes to disappear?"
Louis frowned, looking at the corpse, which had clearly been dead for more than a week.
This significantly cooled his almost feverish excitement.
While his cheat ability was powerful, it seemed to have many hidden limitations in terms of acquiring attributes, preventing him from achieving instant success.
Composing himself, Louis marked the locations on the map and headed towards the remaining unexplored areas of the sewers.
Over the next few hours, he encountered two more corpses, obtaining attributes from one of the less decomposed bodies.
[You have collected the attribute from the 'Farmer Adventurer' corpse: Farming +1]
"Another farmer adventurer? Looks like many people can't survive by farming and have to become adventurers to make a living."
"I heard this country is at war, and taxes on farmers are very harsh."
Louis glanced at the increased farming skill proficiency on his personal panel and sighed.
Then he was puzzled.
Both were farmer adventurers, so why had he been able to collect both ability points and life skill proficiency from the previous corpse, but only the latter from this one?
"Could it be... that the acquisition of stats like Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance is related to the corpse's stats in life?"
"Whether it's a blacksmith's apprentice adventurer or a farmer adventurer, they're all still ordinary people; none of their stats exceed 5."
"When their stats are higher than mine, I can pick up that attribute, but when all their stats are equal to mine, their attributes are useless to me, so I can't pick them up?"
Louis scratched his head.
Except for Faith, all his stats were already 5 or higher.
Did he have to start with the corpses of strong individuals to get more attribute points?
These targets didn't necessarily have to be professionals; they could be strongmen or sprinters among ordinary people.
There should be such corpses in the sewers too.
While pondering, Louis walked along the sewer.
Just then, a crisp system notification sounded in his ear.
[High-value corpse detected. Proceed to pick up attributes?]
Louis was startled at first, then his face lit up with surprise.
So this cheat code actually proactively alerts me when a high-value target appears nearby?
I was just wondering how to continue acquiring attribute points, and this is like a godsend.
After the notification sound ended, a virtual arrow appeared before Louis's eyes, with the straight-line distance between him and the target marked below it—exactly one kilometer.
Louis nodded inwardly; if all went as expected, the limit for the Golden Finger to detect high-value targets was one kilometer.
However, the sewers were too winding; the actual distance to find the target would far exceed one kilometer.
Following the arrow's guidance, Louis wandered through the maze-like sewers for a long time. When he was
only a hundred meters away from the target, he slowed down, cautiously observing his surroundings. After taking a few more steps and rounding a corner, a strong, pungent stench assaulted Louis's nostrils.
He instinctively held his breath, frowned, and looked ahead, his eyes widening.
At the end of the path stood a translucent, dark red wall of flesh, seemingly alive, slowly writhing forward, devouring everything in its path.
Louis could clearly see the corpse of a gray rotting rat encased within the wall of flesh—its completely dissolved skeleton, shattered flesh, and intact eyeballs squeezed from the sockets of some unknown creature.
The stench, as if from a hundred corpses piled together and exposed to the scorching sun for three days, was undoubtedly emanating from this monster.
This utterly horrifying scene deeply shocked Louis.
Did such a monster really lurk in the sewers of Blackrock City?
Louis swallowed hard and, very "instinctively," chose to retreat.
In the final second before retreating, he clearly saw the target detected by his cheat system.
It was a male corpse encased in a wall of flesh, wearing light metal armor.
He had likely been dead for no more than twenty-four hours; his skin had been completely corroded, revealing layers of bright red muscle beneath the armor. Even on his skinless face, the suffocation and despair he had felt before death were still evident.
Louis retreated rapidly, his mind racing.
"The light armor on that corpse looks so high-end. Could it be that he was a seasoned adventurer in life?"
"Even such a master would die in the sewers. This damned world is really not suitable for ordinary people to live in!"
As for why he was able to escape while that master died? Those who
drown are usually good swimmers. Louis guessed that the other party probably misjudged the strength of the monster and realized that it was too late to escape when he realized that he could not defeat it.
Thinking about all this, Louis couldn't help but feel a chill.
Being an adventurer was indeed a high-risk, unreliable profession; even with cheat codes
, one couldn't afford to be reckless. Perhaps only by becoming a superhuman could one possess a certain level of self-protection.
After keeping a safe distance from the monster, Louis had already considered giving up, thinking of going back to rest for a day and coming back tomorrow.
But considering that he had only marked two corpses so far, earning only six copper coins as a bounty—not even recouping his initial investment in becoming an adventurer—he could only grit his teeth and persevere.
You don't know your potential until you push yourself.
For the next few hours, he systematically checked the surrounding pipes and sewers, like playing an open-world game, marking up the nearby map one by one.
His efforts weren't in vain; he found three more corpses blocking the sewers. Two of them were already over-rotted and worthless, while the other gave Louis a +1 farming skill point.
Having been busy from morning until near dusk, Louis felt extremely hungry and climbed onto a nearby manhole cover.
His clothes, soaked with sewage from fighting the gray rats, were now dry, but the stench still made passersby on the street avoid him like the plague.
Louis, being a man of pride, hurried home to change before going to collect his bounty.
"Brother, your clothes..."
When Louis entered the house, Merry, who was the first to greet him, was taken aback by his condition.
Without even blushing, Louis lied,
"I accidentally fell into the sewer on the way back. I don't know which damned guy stole the manhole cover. Luckily, it only got my clothes dirty, and I wasn't hurt."
Little Merry breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, saying,
"It's good that you're not hurt."
As she spoke, the little guy stepped forward and started pulling at Louis's clothes:
"Brother, hurry up and take off your dirty clothes. I'll go heat up some hot water for you to take a bath, and then we can use the bathwater to wash your clothes."
Louis scratched his head awkwardly but didn't refuse.
When it came to housework, he, having lived two lives, was no match for Merry, so he decided not to cause any trouble.
Wearing only his underwear, he waited in the house for a while until Merry boiled the water.
For the poor, hot water was a luxury. Taking a bath in a tub like in movies and TV shows was impossible. Just getting a basin of hot water to wash the body, clean the sensitive areas, and rinse with clean water was already quite good.
Fortunately, the original owner's family hadn't been poor for long, and a small piece of soap remained, which was enough to get him clean.
After bathing and changing clothes, Louis felt as refreshed as if he were wearing new underwear on New Year's morning.
The little guy poured bathwater into the basin of dirty clothes and carefully rubbed them with the soap suds.
After a while, Merry asked softly,
"Brother, how did the interview go?"
Louis smiled and said,
"I passed the interview. If all goes well, I should get my first paycheck next week."
This was, of course, a lie, but Louis was confident he could return home with a generous 'salary' in a week.
He'd already got a cheat code; if he couldn't even support his family, what good would that cheat code be?
Merry's silver-gray eyes lit up, her expression brightening instantly, and she nodded happily.
Louis ruffled his younger brother's hair and said,
"Oh right, I forgot my coat at work. I'll go back and get it."
With that, Louis turned and left, heading towards the Adventurers' Guild.
...
"Dear Adventurer, this is your commission fee. Please keep it safe. Someone will go to the location marked on the map to verify it later."
The receptionist pushed out a small stack of copper coins.
Louis carefully counted them and stuffed the fifteen coins into his pocket.
Just as he was about to leave, he remembered the wall of flesh and looked at the adventurers coming and going in the guild. He said,
"I have some information about a powerful monster. Can I get a reward for providing this information?"
The red-haired receptionist smiled and replied,
"Of course! The guild will award a reward based on the importance of the information. Would you like me to take you to the reception room for a detailed discussion?"
Louis was delighted and nodded, entering a small reception room.
He first described the shape of the wall of flesh, then mentioned seeing the corpse of what appeared to be a veteran adventurer inside it.
The receptionist pondered for a few seconds before replying,
"Thank you for the information. The monster you witnessed is most likely a Flesh Slime formed from a large number of rotting corpses. Some powerful individuals can even reach the Transcendent level." "
We will have professionals assess the importance of this information. If we can contact the family of the veteran adventurer's corpse, we believe you will receive a substantial reward."
Louis nodded, got up, and left.
In the information he provided to the guild, he hadn't marked the exact location of the Flesh Slime, the wall of flesh.
His idea was simple: once an adventurer accepted the quest to subdue the Flesh Slime, he could lead the way.
After successfully defeating it, he could casually touch the corpse to collect its attribute points.
Louis only hoped the guild would act quickly and that the corpse could hold out for a while, not be digested by the Flesh Slime too soon.
Whether they could quickly accumulate initial wealth depended on this.
Louis retrieved his deposited coat and returned home.
The guild wasn't close to his house, and it was already dark when he arrived.
Standing at the door, Louis saw a dim light reflected in the window, and a small figure bustling about in the small room, the faint aroma of bread and meat wafting out.
It was dinnertime.
Wait, bread and meat? Louis
paused, somewhat surprised.
Pushing open the door, he saw Merry standing by the small stove, cooking stew. The oil on the broth proved it was a soup with meat. Two pieces of black bread sat on the stove, warmed by the residual heat of the fire. Regardless of the taste, the aroma alone was far better than anything Louis had eaten in the past week. It's a holiday! "Brother, you're back!" Merry stepped forward and took Louis's coat, explaining somewhat shyly, "After I found a job, I wanted to celebrate, so I bought some meat and some better quality bread... Is that okay?" Louis ruffled his younger brother's soft silver hair: "Of course! Once I earn money, I'll eat meat every day, every meal!" The little guy happily squinted his eyes, trying to burrow his head into Louis's hand. After a long-awaited proper meal, Louis took his brother to the nearby well to fetch water, and then there was nothing else to do. He missed his cell phone and computer from his previous life, but after transmigrating, he couldn't even find a book in his house, so he had to go to bed early. The original owner's house was quite nice, but after their parents' unexpected death, the two brothers moved to this small room with only one bed, and had to squeeze together to sleep at night. Under the damp, cold, and heavy bedding, the little guy clung tightly to Louis, using the latter's body heat for warmth, and slept soundly. Louis also discovered that with the improvement in his strength and endurance, his overall physical condition had also improved, and the previously unbearable damp and cold environment was no longer a problem. In the pitch-black night, Louis slowly closed his eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace that night. The next day, Louis got up very early.
Merry had gotten up even earlier than him, prepared breakfast in advance, and boiled water for him.
In this world, ordinary people only eat two meals a day, so breakfasts are quite substantial to last until evening—specifically, only for Louis.
Louis didn't say anything about the little guy's "differential treatment."
He wasn't a sentimental person and didn't like to refuse.
Only when he was full could he have the energy to earn money, and when he no longer had to worry about food, Merry would naturally be able to eat his fill every day.
"Brother, be careful on the road. I'll lock the door when I'm home alone,"
Merry said reluctantly as he saw Louis to the door.
Louis waved to the little guy, left the alley, and headed towards the guild.
He had already accepted a quest, and theoretically could go directly to the sewers to work, but to prevent Merry from discovering that his brother had become an adventurer, Louis had left his dagger, map, and other items at the guild and needed to retrieve them first.
He also needed to check if the quest to hunt down Flesh Slimes had been posted.
Arriving at the guild's reception window, the red-haired receptionist smiled and said,
"Mr. Louis, welcome." "
I reported the intelligence you provided last night. The quest to hunt down the Sewer Flesh Slime has been officially issued, but unfortunately, no family members of the deceased have contacted the guild yet, so the reward might not be very high." "
If possible, please provide more details, such as the location of the target."
Louis thought for a moment and replied,
"I come to the guild every morning and evening. If someone accepts the quest, I can act as a guide."
The receptionist seemed puzzled, not understanding why Louis would go to such lengths.
She thought for a moment and reminded him,
"Mr. Louis, since there is no client for this quest, all proceeds, including the Flesh Slime's core and the equipment on the deceased, belong to the guild. Adventurers cannot take them for themselves." "
I know, I just want to witness the battle of the strong,"
Louis casually made up a reason.
To be honest, Louis didn't care about the reward or quest bonus. If there was any, great; if not, he would just curse the guild for being greedy.
As long as it didn't interfere with looting the corpses, anything was negotiable.
Louis's reasoning was quite convincing, and the receptionist nodded in understanding.
He checked in his coat, took his dagger and map, and prepared to head to the sewers to continue his struggle, while also confirming the location of the Flesh Slime.
He knew it was slow, leaving a trail of slime in its wake, and he had a cheat-like notification sound every kilometer, so he wouldn't lose it.
But just as he was walking towards the door, a clear female voice called out to him.
"Louis? You're Louis, aren't you?"
Louis, who had inherited the original owner's memories, vaguely felt that the voice was familiar.
He turned around and saw a short-haired girl with blue hair, wearing leather armor and carrying a longsword, walking towards him. The
blue-haired girl had fair skin, delicate features, and bright emerald green eyes, making her stand out among the group of rough-skinned, large-boned adventurers.
Louis quickly recognized the girl; she was Dina Hughes, the daughter of the Hughes Merchant Guild's president.
Guild Master Hughes was the original owner's and her parents' employer, and he too died at the hands of the monsters attacking the caravan, which was the main reason for the guild's collapse.
Louis knew from the original owner's memories that this Miss Dina had loved swords and spears since childhood, and after the family tragedy, her choice to become an adventurer seemed both unexpected and understandable.
However, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse.
Judging from Dina's equipment, she was a true adventurer; he, a nobody without even a decent weapon, couldn't compare.
"Miss Dina, is there anything I can help you with?"
Louis asked.
Seemingly sensing the distance in Louis's tone, Dina pursed her lips, a look of guilt appearing on her pretty face, and whispered,
"Louis, I'm so sorry… After my father passed away, to compensate for the loss of goods, all our family's property was mortgaged and sold by creditors, leaving us with no compensation, and my mother…"
She paused, not continuing.
She lowered her head, pulled a shrunken purse from inside her leather armor, opened it, and poured out a gleaming, exquisitely crafted silver coin.
Hesitating for a moment, she poured out another, stuffing both coins into Louis's hand, apologetically saying,
"I only have three silver coins and a dozen copper coins left. This is all I can give you; take it for now."
"My teammates and I just accepted a quest to help a village outside the city hunt monsters. Once I earn the money, I'll definitely pay back your parents' pension with interest."
According to the kingdom's exchange rate, one silver coin was roughly equivalent to one hundred copper coins, with only minor fluctuations.
The average monthly income of a dockworker wouldn't exceed six hundred copper coins.
Looking at the two silver coins the girl handed him, and then at her embarrassed expression, Louis couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
What a kind and innocent young girl; how did she end up on the path of adventurer's death?
Although Dina has practiced martial arts since childhood, it seems she's still a long way from becoming a professional. Will she really follow in the footsteps of those predecessors who made their homes in the sewers?
Seeing Louis hesitate to take the money, Dina directly stuffed the silver coins into his hand and said sincerely,
"Louis, don't worry, this request isn't difficult. I'll definitely complete it."
"I've practiced swordsmanship since I was little, and my swordsmanship is very good. Most adventurers can't beat me. Maybe I can even become a professional warrior in the future."
"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably be back in about three days. Please look forward to it."
Louis: "..."
If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is likely to happen.