Old Town District, Ruke Long Street.
A noble's carriage, old but still quite luxurious and spacious, was parked by the side of the road.
The journey from Geluo Street in the New City District to Ruke Long Street in the Old Town District should have taken half an hour, but Zorn had spent a full two hours.
This was mainly because Zorn had intentionally instructed the coachman, Old Nero, to take the long way around. He had also gotten out of the carriage twice to survey the streets they passed through.
Only by experiencing the current state of Ogrande City firsthand could he better prepare for the various plans he had in mind.
Resting with his eyes closed, Zorn combined the plans in his mind with what he had learned about the market, and several promising investment ideas had already taken shape.
Of course, all of this depended on having start-up capital.
The hundred-odd gold pounds at the manor were clearly not enough.
'Today, the treasure deep within the sewers is that precious start-up capital. There's no room for error.'
While Zorn could attempt it alone with his current strength, it would be risky, and he might even fail.
But acting together with an Extraordinary Rat Catcher who was extremely familiar with the sewers of Ogrande City was much safer.
Most importantly, the price for these Rat Catchers from the bottom rungs of society was usually not very high. This would be a very cost-effective deal.
Before long, the sound of footsteps approached from outside.
The carriage door opened, and led by the butler, Glangk,
two Rat Catchers entered the compartment.
The carriage was quite spacious; even with four people seated, there was still plenty of room.
On the left side of the opposite seat sat a middle-aged man in his early thirties. He wore a thick felt hat, a fleece shirt underneath a coarse-collared jacket, and leg-wrapped trousers with short, black, waterproof rubber boots.
This outfit could protect him from the dampness in the cold, wet sewers, allow him to wade through shallow water, and resist the bites of mutated gray rats.
Beneath his coarse eyebrows, his calm eyes were filled with confusion and deep-seated vigilance.
Faced with a sudden invitation from a nobleman, this veteran Rat Catcher remained sufficiently level-headed.
He was well aware of the huge chasm between a Rat Catcher from the dregs of society and a nobleman from the upper class.
His companion, a young Rat Catcher around Zorn's age, was dressed similarly.
But this boy of fifteen or sixteen was more curious and nervous about his surroundings.
When he saw the young noble dressed in a clean, crisp black formal suit, looking as if he had stepped out of an oil painting,
his status as a Rat Catcher and his poverty made him feel like a sewer rat, wanting to find a hole to crawl into. His low self-esteem left him flustered and awkward, to the point where he even tried to breathe as shallowly as possible.
Inside the carriage, Zorn sized up the young Rat Catcher, who was about his own age, with a hint of interest.
Although the boy before him seemed a bit nervous and disheveled,
Zorn knew.
This young Rat Catcher, "Isaac Adolf," was the future Legendary God Hunter.
His name would one day be known in every corner of the continent.
On the Holy Land Continent, it was he who would hunt down and exterminate the Plague Evil Rat that caused the horrific Rat Plague.
Some of the less powerful Evil Spirits would tremble in fear at the mere mention of the God Hunter's name.
Of course, if events followed Zorn Corick's original trajectory,
Isaac Adolf would, at the appropriate time, join the hunt and crusade against the "Evil Spirit Wizard," and land a Heavy Strike on the big boss himself.
Without a doubt, their destinies were fated to intersect.
However, the future Legendary God Hunter was currently just a frail boy.
And the future big boss, the Evil Spirit Wizard, a part of some Evil God, was also just starting out.
This time, Zorn's target wasn't the young Rat Catcher who wasn't yet a Transcendent, but the veteran Rat Catcher in his early thirties, the apprentice's mentor and teacher, "Bevis Ackman."
A true Rat Catcher who had mastered an Extraordinary Sequence.
After a moment, Zorn broke the silence in the carriage and got straight to the point.
"Master Bevis, I need to go to the 'Blue Glow Moss' area deep in the sewers to find something."
"Lately, the gray rats have been running rampant in the deep sewers, and I've heard quite a few dangerous rumors."
"For example, rats as large as medium-sized dogs. They are said to be savage and cruel, pushing vagrants and drunks into the depths of the sewers to be eaten."
"They also target young children, following sounds to steal infants for food."
"They even mimic the mating calls of female cats to lure in stray cats and then slaughter them for sport."
"From these rumors, you can tell just how dangerous those terrible sewer rats are."
"Therefore, I hope you will be able to provide me with an escort."
"Upon completion, you will receive a reward of five gold pounds!"
The deep pupils beneath Bevis's coarse eyebrows contracted slightly.
Five gold pounds might not be much for a nobleman, but for a Rat Catcher like him, it was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Due to the rat infestation, Ogrande City Hall had increased the buy-back price for giant gray rats, which made life a little easier for Rat Catchers, but only a little.
They earned 50 to 100 Copper Coins a day, which was between one and two Silver Dragons.
That was the combined income for the two of them for a full day in the sewers.
And a single gold pound was worth 20 Silver Dragons.
Five gold pounds would take the two of them three or four months to earn, and that's if they didn't eat or drink.
"The Blue Glow Moss area?"
A thoughtful expression appeared on Bevis Ackman's face.
"That's a very large area. If you could provide more detailed information, perhaps... we could save a lot of time."
Hearing this, Zorn took out an ordinary piece of parchment and handed it over.
Bevis Ackman unfolded it and examined it for a moment before looking up again at the young nobleman, who was about the same age as his own apprentice.
"I think I know the exact location now. We can even... use the nearest entrance."
Drawn on the parchment was a Holy Emblem of two serpent heads circling each other—the symbol for the abandoned underground territory of the "Sun Double Serpent," an Evil God Organization that had already been wiped out.
And that was the hiding place of the treasure.
「A quarter of an hour later.」
Following the somewhat rusty handrails, they descended into the sewer.
An indescribable stench—acrid, rotten, and cloying—assaulted their nostrils.
He was an old Player, after all. In his past life, Zorn had done his fair share of gray rat-catching quests in these very sewers.
Plus, as a member of the Star Trace Fighter Sequence, his adaptability was naturally strong.
After a moment, Zorn adjusted to the environment.
The young Rat Catcher, Isaac, skillfully opened and lit his Lantern.
The hand-held Lantern, fitted with reflective glass, focused the orange light into a beam, illuminating the darkness ahead like a flashlight.
This was a standard underground drainage channel.
In the middle was a drainage channel about six to seven feet wide, flanked by foot-wide walkways on either side.
A long time ago, this underground passage had served as a shelter for the residents of Ogrande City during the gray mist invasions.
As times changed, the threat of the gray mist invasions disappeared.
The underground passage was subsequently abandoned.
It became the sewage channel for the entire city.
The Rat Catcher, Bevis Ackman, glanced at the young nobleman beside him with a hint of surprise.
One had to know, forget nobles—even ordinary people could hardly stand the filthy and nauseating smell of the sewers.
Yet the young nobleman before him acted as if it were nothing.
For a moment, he became even more certain of the suspicion in his mind.
Dipping one hand into the sewage of the channel, Bevis quickly drew a Summoning Ritual Array in front of him with a hexagram as its base. Then, he placed his hand upon it and began to chant a Spell.
The obscure and tongue-twisting Spell echoed through the dark, cold sewer like a phantom.
A mass of shadowy black mist billowed up under the Rat Catcher Bevis's palm.
A rat the size of a small dog, with gleaming green eyes and glossy fur, scurried out of the shadowy black mist, squeaking.
And it wasn't just one rat; a total of three emerged one after another.
"Contracted Spirit Rat?"
Zorn raised an eyebrow slightly.
'This is quite a good Extraordinary Ability. Contracted Spirit Rats have average combat power, but they are nimble and light, with extremely sharp senses of smell and hearing. They have the ability to pass through walls, dig holes, and eavesdrop for information.'
These seemingly insignificant abilities could play a major role at critical times.
The Contracted Spirit Rat was one of the better Abilities in the Rat Catcher Sequence.
The young nobleman's voice made Bevis Ackman look up slightly.
He had sensed that this young noble was unusual before, and now it seemed he was indeed a Transcendent as well.
As Bevis stood up and whistled a few times, the three squeaking Contracted Spirit Rats quickly disappeared into the darkness ahead.
Watching this scene, Zorn felt a little more at ease.
With the Contracted Spirit Rats scouting the path ahead, the three of them could be the first to know if a savage swarm of rats appeared, and then make a run for it.
Otherwise, running headlong into a rat swarm would be big trouble.
This was also one of the reasons Zorn had sought out this Extraordinary Rat Catcher.
"Esteemed Lord Zorn, I didn't expect you to already be a Transcendent at such a young age!"
Bevis said, looking at Zorn with a steady voice.
A Transcendent?
At his side, the Rat-Catching Apprentice Isaac was startled.
His gaze swept to the handsome, eloquent nobleman, and a feeling of envy welled up in his heart.
He knew from his teacher that Transcendents possessed incredible abilities.
He had always wanted to become a Transcendent, but his teacher's answer was always the same.
"Isaac, you're not ready yet!"
That answer left him frustrated and discouraged every time.
Zorn remained noncommittal in response to Bevis's statement.
Hiding one's identity and Sequence as much as possible was one of the things a Transcendent needed to do.
He narrowed his eyes and peered into the deep darkness where the Contracted Spirit Rats were scouting.
"Master Bevis, could you tell me the rumors about the Rat King?"
"The Rat King?"
Leading the way, Bevis frowned slightly.
"Some time ago, a Rat Catcher claimed to have seen a giant rat, as big as a large hound, dragging a wailing, begging vagrant into the sewer."
"Since then, news of a man-eating Rat King has been spreading."
"At the same time, Rat Catchers in several other locations have also reported that their traps were deliberately sabotaged."
"I'm not sure if there really is a Rat King."
"But based on these rumors, it does seem that an intelligent, giant rat has appeared."
"We had best pray we don't run into that terrifying big fellow."
As he spoke, Bevis was already heading deeper into the sewer tunnel.
'Not run into it?'
Zorn's pupils constricted slightly, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.
'My apologies, but our destination is the Rat King's lair. The Rat King is only Level One right now. It's still weak and manageable. Once the Rat Plague breaks out and the Rat King completes its evolution and promotion, mastering a powerful Forbidden Power, it will be far beyond our ability to handle.'
Led by Bevis, the trio continuously encountered rats.
Sometimes one or two, sometimes three or five.
The large ones were the size of house cats.
However, under the assault of the apprentice Isaac's slingshot, these rats quickly became trophies.
As they entered a wider section of the sewer tunnel,
a large patch of azure, fluorescent moss appeared before Zorn's eyes.
The Treasure Land. They had arrived!