Three Cuts, One Shadow Part 1: Sewer Blood & Beetle Fire
Chapter 20 – Three Cuts, One Shadow Part 1: Sewer Blood & Beetle Fire
The job board was quieter than usual. Morning light leaked through the guildhall windows like reluctant fog. Kael stood alone, hood raised, eyes scanning the rows of parchment.
He found what he needed.
[Quest: Sewer Nest Purge]Infestation – Sector 4 DrainworksCreatures: RustmawsNotes: No party sign-up. Hazardous air. Previous report: 12–18 targets.Reward: 18 silver, hazard bonus for intact corpses
He tore the listing and walked toward the clerk's desk.
The same man glanced up and groaned. "You again?"
Kael dropped the paper on the counter.
"No team?" the clerk asked, half-knowing the answer.
Kael didn't respond.
"Fine," he muttered. "Sign here. Bring back proof. And try not to die in a pipe this time."
Quest One: Sewer Nest Purge
The air was rot and wet iron.
Kael dropped silently into the storm-drain entrance behind a burned-out blacksmith's shop. The tunnel swallowed light instantly. He didn't bring a torch.
Flowing Shadow wrapped around his steps, each footfall soundless. His breath shallow. His sword drawn, low and reversed.
He moved as if the tunnel had memorized him.
The Rustmaws came fast.
Blind. Low to the ground. Hunched like rats, mouths split wide with teeth that clicked like bone dice. They hunted by vibration—slightest motion drew them.
Kael didn't walk.
He slid.
The first one lunged.
He ducked under it. Slit its throat as it passed. Rolled once, reversed the blade, cut upward beneath its jaw. It didn't even squeal.
Two more heard the splash. Charged.
He blinked left.
Steel kissed bone, kissed wet air, kissed nothing else. The second creature's head dropped into the muck before the third even turned.
Three more came after that.
Didn't matter.
Five minutes later, the nest was dead.
He stood in the deepest chamber of the drain system, breathing the stink of rot and old iron, his sword dripping in black blood.
Four bodies intact. Seven more partially salvageable.
He didn't linger.
Back at the guild, he dropped the bodies in a tarp, wrapped tight.
The clerk raised an eyebrow. "All that... alone?"
Kael nodded.
"Shit."
He counted the silver. Gave him a bonus.
"Want another one?"
Kael didn't speak, but his hand drifted back to the board.
[Quest: Fire Beetle Breach]Location: Grain Vault OutskirtsCreatures: Emberbeetles (Explosive)Notes: Explode on death. Recommend ranged team.Reward: 25 silver, +bonus for intact shell recovery
Quest Two: Fire Beetle Breach
The field smelled like ash and roasted wheat.
Kael arrived at dawn. The vault was just beyond the western farmlands—half-sunken storage domes meant for emergency stockpiles. One had cracked open. Smoke hissed from the breach.
Inside: beetles.
Emberbeetles—palm-sized, red-shelled insects with pulsing thoraxes. They built hives from burned materials. Each one exploded violently if ruptured too fast.
There were at least two dozen.
Kael didn't draw his sword immediately.
He used the terrain.
He waited, eyes scanning their movement. Then used a rock—small, fast—not at them, but behind. It echoed.
They moved.
He blinked behind them.
Slice.
Only one.
Pulled the blade before the explosion.
Repeat.
Faster. Precise. Like a surgeon timing heartbeats.
After twenty-three minutes, all were dead.
None had exploded.
He wrapped six intact shells, sealed them in a thick cloth, and walked out of the dome before the sun had fully risen.
At the guild, he laid the shells on the clerk's desk.
The man stared.
"Wait, these didn't pop?"
Kael said nothing.
The clerk checked the time.
"You were gone two hours."
Still no answer.
"…You're scary, you know that?"
He passed over the silver, plus bonus.
Kael pocketed it silently.
[System Notification]
✔ Solo Guild Quests Completed: 2✔ Combat Efficiency: Above 90%
1 task remaining before rank evaluation.
Kael returned to the board without a word.
His fingers stopped on the third listing.
The quarry.
His eyes narrowed.
Time to finish it.