Siterion- 'The Labyrinth'

When Arin descended into the lower levels of the sewer, the daylight had already vanished. The only illumination came from strange glowing mushrooms blooming here and there. Their luminescence was not enough for human eyes to navigate, but for an Undead like Arin, it posed no problem. In fact, after spending the whole day in bright sunlight, he felt relieved to be in the cold embrace of the sewer's darkness. He missed his specters; if they were here, they would survey the entire sewer system for him in moments, and the quest would be completed swiftly. However, Arin doubted he could carry his undead minions with him in a bustling town. He wished there was a way to summon them at will. This was a problem he needed to solve, but for now, he focused on the task at hand.

Arin realized another mistake. He hadn't brought any weapons with him. He felt he was getting dull after coming to this world. However, he could utilize his dark energy skills, with 'Life Drain' being the most effective against enemies. He decided to use it to clear the sewers.

After more than an hour of exploration, he had killed around eighteen rats. Life Drain took one to two seconds to kill a rat, so the progress was somewhat satisfactory.

One thing was strange. He had expected more dangerous critters as he delved deeper, but they were absent. There were no waves of ravenous rats, mutated leeches, or other dangerous creatures. The eerie silence was unnerving. The quest was going so smoothly that he wondered why the Guard-captain was so concerned about his safety. Something was amiss. This peaceful exploration made him uneasy.

He looked around and noticed strange graffiti on the sewer walls. Who would enter such a deep part of the sewer to draw these symbols, Arin wondered. As far as he could recall, he hadn't seen these graffiti before.

He continued following the strange scribblings, which became more vivid and clearer. Arin was lost in reading them and trying to decipher their meaning. Suddenly, he heard a metallic click and stumbled to the ground with a thud. As he fell, he felt a sharp pain in his foot. Pain was unusual for an Undead, based on his understanding from popular media in his past life.

Arin sat down and discovered his left foot was caught in a bear trap. "Whaddahell!" Arin wondered. "Who would put a bear trap here?" He imagined criminals had taken shelter in this labyrinthine structure and installed traps to stop pursuers. But it was strange for them to draw attention with graffiti unless they were bored and careless.

As Arin freed his foot, he heard the faint sound of water splashing, as if people were stealthily walking to avoid making noise. The water on the floor gave away their footsteps to Arin, whose hearing had improved after becoming an Undead.

He quickly freed himself and pressed his back to the wall, ready for a surprise attack. Now he really missed having a weapon. The footsteps grew closer. Arin prepared himself.

Two dwarf-like figures approached from the alley, their eyes glowing. Arin doubted they were humanoid. As they neared the trap, one inspected the fluorescent green liquid on it—fluid flowing in Arin's veins.

As the first figure inspected the liquid, the second one looked around. When the second one turned toward Arin, he quickly grabbed its neck with both hands and whispered, "Dice is cast, your life now mine; let it flow, by dark design." The creature withered like a dried husk, its ability to make noise dissipating with its life force.

The first creature was taken aback by the sudden events. Before it could react, Arin finished draining the second creature dry. As the first one prepared to attack, Arin threw the dried-up husk at it, causing it to screech and fall.

Arin pointed at the creature, "Wither and rot, life to naught." The creature threw the carcass aside and stood up, trembling. It drew a short sword but couldn't attack. Arin grabbed the stave dropped by the second creature and hit the first one hard. Blood splattered on the wall. After ensuring it was dead, Arin examined them closely. They were large rats, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were humanoid ratmen.

[You have killed 2 enemies. You have been awarded +20 exp]

[You have killed 2 enemies of a higher level than you. You have been awarded a bonus of +10 exp]

[You have killed 2 Ratmen. Kill-Count 2]

[Kill 48 more to unlock title ??????????]

"These annoying notifications," Arin grumbled, having no time to observe them.

He searched the bodies thoroughly. The short sword and stave were added to his inventory. He found two strange amulets, each with a hexagon and a snake-like pattern. He felt dark energy emanating from them. As Arin held the amulets, he felt the energy seep into him, along with visions of a snake with red eyes, green fire, and hooded figures. The invasive visions caused a brief headache.

Arin moved forward, holding the stave in one hand and the short sword in the other. He headed in the direction from which the Ratmen had appeared. He didn't resurrect the Ratmen corpses, as he didn't know how to cancel summons. If sewer-cleaners found undead Ratmen the next day, it could create unwanted complications for Arin.

As he moved ahead, he heard a familiar voice in his head. "Nerthazir's champion is a novice who has not realized even a fraction of his power, but Nahun's acolytes are more powerful by virtue of utilizing their potential, even if their rank is lower than a Champion's."

"My Lord," Arin replied in his mind with reverence. "Thank you for your guidance. But isn't it odd for you to help your Champion so frequently? I didn't expect you to be so helpful!"

"Keep exploring, and you will find your answer," the voice chuckled. "Now go with my blessings and prove your worth!"