Chapter Thirty: The Rat’s Den

The magician bows his head and tells you that there are strict rules in the trading grounds of the sewers: anyone who discloses a client's whereabouts will be punished by the Debt Collector. Unless, of course, you can pay him enough—say, one Sun Coin—so he can find a way to appease the Debt Collector. Please make your choice: One, leave this place; Two, press further; Three, offer money for information.

With the magician's secret in your hands, you are in a position to continue pressing him. You decide to try pressing further. You lick the Shadowblade dagger and glare at him! The magician, intimidated by your aura, takes a die from beneath the table and rolls it, letting fate decide if he will tell you anything.

The die spins… and lands on five. Based on the result, he finally decides to tell you, but insists you must never reveal that he was the source; otherwise, the Debt Collector will surely settle accounts with him. He confides that he did meet a neurotic Night Watchman and even won ten Moon Silver Coins from him. That Night Watchman claimed to have a great treasure for sale, and at the magician’s recommendation, he went to the Rat’s Nest.

He explains that the trading grounds before you are only the shallowest level of the sewers, dealing in ordinary goods such as medicine, weapons, and food. The true valuables are hidden in the deeper Rat’s Nest, where not only treasures abound but also all manner of exquisite services. You acquire the intel “Rat’s Nest,” recorded in your information log.

Rat’s Nest? Should you continue exploring deeper? Morningstar gathers the information, confirms there is nothing more to be learned, and chooses to leave.

As you depart, the magician remarks that he can see you are no ordinary person. Yet, even so, it will be difficult for you to obtain anything useful in the Rat’s Nest, for its inhabitants are highly xenophobic. The rats of the sewers gather in their nest, gnawing at the corpses of those who once stood above. This sewer is the rats’ domain—whether you hunt fugitives from Black River Prison or bear the title of Witch, you will be gnawed upon here.

That description sounds rather dangerous. Morningstar shakes his head; danger has been his constant companion—be it the traveling merchant at the beginning or the Gluttonous Flower. If not for his extra life, he would have already conceded defeat. But, to grow stronger swiftly, adventure is indispensable.

A series of options pop up, and Morningstar can now choose among several places: clothing shop, food shop, weapon shop, rat pet shop, strange potion shop… He visits each in turn, but whether clothing or weapons, the merchandise is mediocre. For example, the best garment at the clothing shop offers only two more charm points than the Night Watch Captain’s uniform. He doesn’t need charm at the moment…

What puzzles Morningstar most is that neither the Shadowblade nor the Black Rain Boots can be repaired here; the shopkeepers admit their skills are insufficient. Having visited all locations, he is left with two options: retreat, or venture into the depths of the Rat’s Nest.

Morningstar rises, having just finished his meal, and decides to order a cup of invigorating coffee. As the magician said, it is impossible to buy anything worthwhile in the superficial trading grounds. To obtain good items, one must descend deeper, but those depths belong to the rats—and so the "Rat’s Token" is required. Fortunately, he possesses Vigel’s Rat’s Token.

Morningstar sips his coffee; its smooth, clean taste refreshes him. Dangerous, perhaps… but why flinch? A Lampbearer must embrace adventure! He sets out for the Rat’s Nest.

Once more, you pull up the hood of your Night Wanderer’s cloak, concealing yourself as much as possible. Courage blazes in your heart as you follow the path downward. As you proceed, you see increasingly thick black tree roots and clusters of rats crawling among them.

You vaguely recall that, to expand their territory, the residents of the sewers dug feverishly underground, causing severe subsidence. To stabilize the ground, Black River Prison petitioned the Sun Tower for a seed and planted a Reverse-Life Tree. Its giant branches spread out, securing the soil and ensuring the sewer’s stability.

Reverse-Life Tree—does it mean a tree growing downward? Morningstar drinks another mouthful of coffee, marveling at the ecosystem of the New City. If someone brought such a sapling from the game to Earth, it would surely unleash a terrifying disaster.

The light grows ever dimmer, but as a Night Watchman, your adaptability to the darkness is strong, allowing you to proceed smoothly. You advance cautiously…

Gradually, you feel the warmth of torches again, and the number of rats increases. Suddenly, a red text appears!

As the light falls upon you, your form becomes more visible, and a massive Blackwood Rat launches an attack!

Tch… Morningstar is startled, immediately clicks to view the panel, and enters combat mode.

Blackwood Rat
Trait: Cup Shadow
Description: It craves the taste of fresh flesh, especially that of Blade-Bearers.
Level: 4
Strength: 5
Agility: 14
Introduction: A large rat parasitized by the black trees; it favors ambushing from blind spots, and its bites carry a poison that causes Blackwood Disease (increasing constitution but subjecting the body to plant control).

Agility? And it prefers rear attacks!

Its tactics are as insidious as the merchant’s earlier assaults. Its stats are not high, but the crucial danger is its poisoning effect! Morningstar has no wish to be controlled by plants.

To avoid injury and poisoning, Morningstar decisively spends two Spirit Points to use "Morning Star’s Search," locking onto the Blackwood Rat’s position.

The Morning Star leaps forth; current Spirit: 10/16.

The rat’s maneuvers are treacherous, but all its movements are clear to you. You sidestep the bite and deliver three consecutive strikes with the Shadowblade.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

Blackwood Rat gushes black-green blood, convulses, and bleeds out.

Experience gained: 8 points. Blade trait triggers, additional 2 points gained, current level 4, 3 free attribute points acquired, experience now 7/100, Blood Blade Fruit digestion +1%.

Morningstar exhales in relief—luckily, he did not get poisoned. He does not want to suffer any more afflictions.

At this moment, he has reached level three and has nine free attribute points to allocate! Previously, worried about insufficient Spirit, he had kept these points in reserve, like backup potions. Now, having obtained and consumed a Spirit Limit Potion, he feels ready.

Morningstar’s plan: allocate some to Agility, keep the rest in reserve, since the Blood Blade Fruit has already boosted Constitution and Strength.

Allocate points!

Morningstar puts five points into Agility.

Your non-equipped Agility value: 14 → 19.

With the bonuses from the Black Rain Boots and Night Wanderer’s cloak, both Agility and Strength now exceed 20! Morningstar can now move as lightly as a swallow.

He is one level away from talent growth, but the next level will be much harder, requiring a full 100 points.

Wait—he remembers that the Shadow Beast at level 3 gave 9 experience, but this level 4 Blackwood Rat only gave 8? Morningstar searches this issue on the Daywalker forum, finding the answer in the “Newbie One Hundred Questions” section.

Experience increases not just with monster quality, but also with the level difference between yourself and the monster. The higher the monster’s level compared to yours, the more experience you gain; the lower, the less. If the monster’s level is below yours, experience gained is minimal. As compensation, after level ten, the experience bar does not grow excessively.

No wonder Luo Qing said that killing overly weak creatures grants no experience.

So this game encourages fighting monsters above your level?

Morningstar ponders, resting his chin in his hand, and continues.

You press onward, hearing the clang of hammering iron, and the black tree roots around you transform into black brick walls. Here, you feel no warmth; a chilling, sinister air blows toward you, and the cold makes you shiver with faint fear.

A black text appears.

A stream of rats scurries past your feet, and the Debt Collector of the sewers has noticed you, slowly approaching.