184 - Done And Rusted

Deep within the sewers, Alexandra was starting to regret taking on that quest. If not for the 50,000 contribution points that awaited her in the end, she would have gone to the council to ask for another way to prove she deserved a chance at opening her guild in Balrum.

Honestly, she was annoyed because all the councillors knew very well that the guild was in their best interest. They were just using her to do their dirty work.

The deeper she went into the tunnels, the more she wondered why Balrum needed such an extensive network of underground canals. She’d been at it for weeks, but the town wasn’t that large. At this point, there were more sewers than streets.

When she asked, nobody had the same answer for her. Some said Balrum used to be larger before the mud wastes formed. Some said the town was built on ancient ruins dating back to before the basin changed to its current form. Some even dared to claim the sewers weren’t that large and that she was exaggerating.

Alexandra was inclined to believe the ancient ruin theory. Case in point, the deep tunnels didn’t look like sewers anymore. They were just wide, dry tunnels with perfectly smooth walls.

At least this section was more palatable to explore. Long gone were the filthy elementals of the waste-clogged waterways. This meant Speck was finally willing to help, in part so it could consume the few darkness elementals that naturally roamed these parts.

“This quest is only worth an uncommon skill. We have to be reaching the end of it,” she whispered, deciding to keep going for a little while.

Her steps took her to a room where a rusted ladder climbed back all the way to the surface. She could see the sunlight drip through a grid far above her head.

“I guess we could also stop here for today,” she said. “That’s a good place to come back to.”

There were a few of those ladders in the sewers. They were convenient to avoid having to trudge all the way from the stream entrance.

Let’s see if the ladder’s holding up.

She put a hand on the first step and shook it. The rust flakes stuck to her hands, but the metal held. Before stepping on it, she repeated the test with all those she could reach. Her gloves turned orange from the rust.

Alexandra hoisted herself onto the first rung, the cold metal groaning beneath her boots.

“Good enough.”

She shrugged and started climbing. With every step, the scent of fresh air grew stronger, mingling with the tang of the decaying iron.

She was halfway to the sunlight when a vibration shuddered through the structure.

Alexandra froze, her boots locked against the metal. Beneath her fingers, the solid rungs suddenly softened, losing their shape.

The ladder dissolved beneath her.

The rust moved in a swirling vortex of orange powder. As Alexandra plummeted down the shaft, the decaying iron reformed itself in midair into a jagged, shifting mass of razor-sharp flakes. Two glowing embers ignited in the center of the swirling rust cloud, fixating on her as she fell back toward the stone floor.

“Fuck.”

“Rust. Elemental,” Speck said, already forming into a shadow figure beneath Alexandra. It caught her at the bottom of the shaft, softening her fall.

Alexandra immediately locked onto the rust elemental with a fully powered beam from Rays Of The Sun. The solar energy tore through the rust with ease. The elemental was only Silver. One thing Alexandra had learned in the sewers was the purifying aspect of the sun. Anything that came into contact with solar energy was cleansed.

It worked wonders on the rust elemental. Soon, there was nothing left of it but a few flakes flying in the stale air of the shaft.

Better not breathe that in.

With the ladder gone, Alexandra retreated into a tunnel and checked her journal. Just in case. She had lost count of the times she had done it after slaying yet another elemental. At this point, it had to be hundreds, if not more.

This reproduction was taken without the author's permission. The official page used to publish the story carries the chapter.

Clear the elementals living in the sewers of Balrum (1/1)

Contribution Points: 15,310 -> 65,310

Her eyes went wide. “Finally!”

After returning with the Paladins, she’d had them work on a few quests, including the beer one. But they were ultimately just four people, and they could only net her so many points. More importantly, she was finally free to leave the sewers behind for good.

With the ladder gone, she traced her steps back to the one she used to go down in the morning.

When she emerged, she took great care to stop by the bath to prevent more issues from cropping up at home.

As she relaxed in a private bath, she checked her progress since returning to Balrum.

Daily quests summary: Eleven Quests Completed -> +110 exp, +2 STR, +6 DEX, +2 CON, +1 INT

Daily Quest Streak: 156 -> 167

Rays Of The Sun 6 -> 7

Solar Collapse 2 -> 4

Solar Affinity 6 -> 7

One Among Many 2 -> 3

Steady Balance 7 -> 8

Giant Slayer 12 -> 13

She didn’t immediately rush to purchase a new uncommon skill. First, she wanted approval from the council. Besides, she was only two weeks away from level nine, which might change her approach again. Though she didn’t think taking Streak Enhancement to Bronze would fundamentally change her build.

When she was clean, Alexandra walked directly to the council without stopping by Medh’s to offload her loot. The merchant was getting tired of the sources native to the sewers. Alexandra understood that there were only so many waste elemental sources he could pawn off to his clients. He might be interested in the rust elemental source, however.

Later.

It took only a few minutes to reach the council, and a few more to secure a meeting with Emher. The man was in his office, working at the seemingly endless pile of paper that had accumulated on his desk.

“I’m done,” Alexandra said, striding in and not bothering with greetings.

“You give up?” Emher asked, scribbling something on a document. He didn’t look up.

“What? No. I’m done clearing the sewers,” she said. “Get the council together and let me open my guild now.”

The councillor raised his head. “You did?”

“Why do you look so surprised? It took me over a month.”

“Faster than I expected,” Emher said. “Faster than any of us expected, in fact. I think some of my colleagues signed off on this only because they believed you wouldn’t see through the end.”

Alexandra frowned. “Who?”

“It’s not important.” Emher coughed. “All that matters is that you did it. Congratulations. And thank you. The sewers did need a good cleaning.”

“Fine. I won’t stir up more trouble. But I do want my request approved. That was the deal.”

“It should not be an issue,” Emher said. “My colleagues should still be here. Let me gather everyone.”

Soon after, Alexandra and all the councillors were sitting in the amphitheater with Yaren presiding over the session.

“We won’t keep you busy for long,” she said. “We’re here to decide on Alexandra’s guild. She completed the task we gave her by clearing the sewers of elementals. I say we allow it.”

“What is there to discuss?” one said. “We already agreed.”

“As long as the quests she offers are permitted by law, I see no issue with it,” another chimed in. “But I do not wish for a repeat of the drunken night to happen.”

Yaren nodded. “Show of hands.”

All the councillors agreed.

“Good. The session is dismissed.”

Alexandra sighed in relief. That went better than expected.

Yaren was about to stand up when Torak raised his voice. “Wait a moment.”

“Torak, do you have an objection?” Yaren asked.

Alexandra clenched her fists. Come on. I had them. Why do you have to chime in?

“Not an objection. I’m petitioning the council to rent the old school to Alexandra’s guild.”

She raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t a terrible idea. The old school was near the main square carved into the base of the cliff. It was a good, central location.

“Indeed, the old school isn’t being used anymore,” Emher said, his voice somewhat hesitant. “But it’s a historical building. Many of us grew up in there.”

“I agree with Emher,” a man said. “It’s a bit much.”

“We wouldn’t be giving it for free, Kilec,” Torak argued. “You shouldn’t lock our precious troglodyte estate because of nostalgia.”

“You’re too young to understand,” the man countered.

“You’re too old to see reason,” Torak spat, only for Cem to put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry. That was rude. But do see my point.”

“Enough,” Yaren said, her voice betraying a tinge of exasperation. “Torak, Kilec, watch your words. As for the rest of you, mind the image you’re giving of our council.” She locked eyes with Alexandra. “Do you want it?”

“Yaren!” Kilec stood up. “You can’t—”

A glare from Yaren was enough to silence him. “Do you want it?”

Alexandra looked at the councillors. “Yeah, I guess.”

A sly smile pulled at Yaren's lips. She opened her mouth, and Alexandra grimaced as the councillor uttered the most outrageous price she’d ever heard.