After leaving the noble district, he went to a small, poorly maintained shop behind the Flower District. Dust covered the wooden floor, and the planks creaked as Gantz crossed the porch. A rusty bell rang strangely; he looked up and saw the piece was partially eaten by rust, leaving only a hint of its original gold.
All around, the counters were dusty but cluttered with junk.
— "Excuse me!" Gantz shouted, waiting to be served.
A tall man wearing a sleeveless shirt appeared; his broad arms and barrel chest made his presence striking.
— "Apologies for the delay. What can I do for you?"
— "What do you have for me besides these antiques up front?" Gantz pointed to the swords and maces tossed behind the glass.
The man thought for a moment.
— "Where are you from?"
— "I'm with the richest Dwarf in the city."
— "Follow me."
Passing through a hallway that was also poorly kept, with ceiling planks partially loose and spiderwebs everywhere, Gantz glanced through the gap of a door and saw a dark-skinned woman, naked and tied to the headboard of a bed. He stopped for a second, and the man noticed, turning to Gantz with a smile.
— "Don't get the wrong idea. My partner and I are trying for a child."
— "Congratulations," Gantz said awkwardly, resuming his walk behind the man.
This city is more perverted than the village I came from, he pondered as they crossed another door.
This time, the place was clean. Weapons covered every corner, and the walls were lined with magic weapons: swords, spears, and firearms.
— "You have a lot of firearms here."
— "While they aren't effective against more powerful beings, they can still solve the problem if we're talking about common folk and goblins. But if it's an Orc, then only mana will do."
— "I'll take these four fragmentation grenades, this plastic explosive device too, a shotgun, and a rifle. Oh, and those smoke and poison bombs."
— "Are you planning to rob a bank?" the man asked, shocked.
— "Maybe," Gantz replied as he picked up the equipment himself and placed it into a black backpack he'd grabbed from a shelf. He handed the mana crystals to the man and headed back through the hallway. He stopped past the door and turned to the man. "What's your name?"
— "It's Bruto."
— "Your wife has a pretty sour look on her face. Better pick up the pace there."
Bruto ran as fast as he could toward the bedroom with the friendliest face he could manage.
— "Someone's going to suffer a bit today," Gantz said, shaking his head as he left.
Gantz also tracked other exits from the city sewers located in different areas; he was able to traverse the entire city with ease. This will help me get out of here as fast as possible.
While returning, he spotted a door in a gap of the tunnel. He'd almost missed it while passing; the gap was so well-crafted it seemed not to exist. Squeezing through the narrow path sideways, he reached the yellowish door. Is it open? He turned the knob and pushed, but the door didn't even budge.
— "Luckily for me, part of the memories I absorbed include lockpicking techniques." He pulled a tool kit from the ring and began fiddling with the lock. It took no more than thirty seconds for the door to slide open.
— "For a secret door, the security is mediocre!"
He poked his head inside and peered. Just a smooth, completely white corridor that went on for a few meters before curving. Although it wasn't pitch black, the atmosphere was still somewhat somber. I have a feeling I shouldn't enter here. He stepped in cautiously, walking on his tiptoes.
Passing through the corridor and turning right, he realized the path continued forward for a long time, as he couldn't see a wall at the end of the hall. Three times he slowed his pace, looking back and thinking about turning around. The further he went, the more a feeling of suffocation dominated every cell of his body. Finally, when he decided to head back, he noticed another door beside him. It had no handles, but due to the lines separating it from the wall, he could perceive it. Placing his fingertips on the door, Gantz thought for a moment, looked back at the exit, and then pushed. The door opened, revealing a black room and a cold mist rolling out. Stepping into the room, he felt the impact of the temperature drop on his body, which immediately began to shiver from the cold.
The further he went in, the more the temperature fell. There were no switches, and the light didn't turn on even though he was ten steps from the door. Remembering he had a lantern in his ring, he pulled it out. The ball of light, the size of a fist, lit up when supplied by Gantz's mana. He tossed the ball forward, making it float.
The ball floated for a few paces before stopping and veering off the path, illuminating naked bodies standing in a row. He leapt backward toward the door as he observed the faces of the corpses: a row of men and another of women. Ordering the orb to return, he tucked it back into the ring, exited the room, closed the door, and like a child who had committed a terrible mistake, ran back through the corridor at maximum speed. It took him less than half the time to reach the curve and exit through the door he'd entered.
— "I really shouldn't have gone in there!"
He kept running, zigzagging through the tunnels until he felt safe enough.
— "Damn, I'm never doing that again!"
— "Doing what? If you'll pardon my
rudeness."
Gantz slowly raised his head, the hair on his body standing on end. He saw a tall man wearing a fine black suit and pointed leather shoes. His white hair was swept back, but what truly caught his attention were his hawk-like eyes, which seemed to look inside Gantz's very soul.
— "I pardon the rudeness," Gantz said, straightening his hunched body and looking calmly into the man's eyes.
— "I was passing through the tunnels and ended up lost. But why does that interest you?"
Gantz's eyes glowed with an arrogant blue hue as a feeling of disgust consumed him entirely. The man noticed the blue tones in the boy's eyes and stepped back, but maintained a slight smirk.
— "A thousand pardons. I had no idea I was dealing with a holy man!" the man uttered, though a slight expression of disgust could be noted as he spoke.
Gantz grunted and walked past the man with his chin held high, as an arrogant noble would. He walked a few paces, always alert to any movement from the man. He pulled out a small mirror and used it to glance back quickly. No one was there anymore.
Thanks to the seas! he thought.
Thanks to the holy Matter! thought Alistar, letting out a sigh of relief. It would be easy to get rid of that disgusting little fish, but he knew well how terrifying the backlash for his actions would be. Members of the Church have their tracking methods, and he wasn't in the mood to end up in the Church's hands again.