Ethan's armored coat floats in the wind as he watches the decrepit tavern from a roof. People enter it in small groups, each paying a fee to a guard disguised as a beggar before entering the secret passage.

'Around a hundred people,' Ethan summarizes. 'I haven't seen Viktor, nor his mage. Unless they delegate the event, they should have another way in and out.' Ethan waits a few more minutes, ensuring that tonight's visitors have all already arrived.

He drops from the roof, landing next to Russ. 'Follow,' he orders before moving towards the tavern. Several people are watching the perimeter, but their formation has several blind spots. Ethan navigates through them to reach the tavern undetected. He opens the door in a soft movement, immediately moving towards the beggar.

Ethan places his hand down to drop a coin into the beggar's hands. Ethan lets go of a copper coin, and the beggar raises his head. Ethan stabs the man's brain through his jaw, creating whisps of dark Ether he absorbs. He drags the corpse into a dark, hidden corner of the tavern before pulling his dagger out.

Russ uses his paw to move a piece of wood that was sitting next to the beggar. He reveals a leather pouch filled with silver coins. "You found that to? That's a good boy," Ethan whispers before pouring the coins into his haversack.

Ethan approaches the location of the hidden passage. Activating predator's sight, he scans the area, spotting handprints still warm on an iron torch holder. He grips it, twisting and pulling in different directions until it finally rotates. With a soft click, a section of a wooden wall swings open, revealing wide stone stairs flanked by rails on each side, designed for carts.

The stairs lead Ethan twenty meters underground to an old arching tunnel. He can hear clammers coming from afar. He passes in front of a large prison gate built on the side of the tunnel. The lock is crude, and Ethan opens it with his dagger.

Closing the gate behind him, Ethan senses the figures of monsters further inside. 'Sneak,' he orders. Russ melts in the surrounding shadows, becoming almost invisible. They arrive in a large room, lit by torches, where imposing cages hold various monsters. An imposing wooden door lies closed at the other end of the room.

Among these creatures are gaunt goblins, their skin clinging tightly over their bones. A pair of creatures like the one Ethan killed in his parking, their muscular frames now washed away. A massive, fat, and pustulated humanoid scratches at the ground. Giant spiders skittishly hiss at Ethan, recoiling into the corner of their cage.

"You aren't one of them," the pustulated giant says. Its voice is deep and gravelly, rasping through the stale air. Ethan turns his gaze, shocked by its sentience. Ethan approaches the cage and thinks, 'Insight.'

Thrumm

Lv.11/20 (Troll) Troll

Strength: 27 Charisma: 3

Dexterity: 10 Perception: 14

Constitution: 30 Willpower: 12

Intelligence: 12

Abilities

Regeneration (D)

"You are the first monster I met who can speak," Ethan says. 'Well, perhaps I already met one of them,' he thinks. "Tell me, Thrumm, what do you know about this place?"

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The troll nears the edge of its cage. "They make us fight against other monsters and against the humies they don't like. If we win, we go back to the cage; if we don't, we feed the others," he explains.

"So, you're a gladiator," Ethan says. He falls silent for a moment, thinking. 'If I set him out in the city, it will draw the guards, but they may not find the entrance in time. Perhaps I could use it … him to prompt them to call reinforcements.'

Ethan glances at a wall, spotting keys hanging on it. "If you promise to not attack anyone, I can get you out of the city," Ethan says.

The troll looks perplexed, gauging Ethan's ulterior motives. "I am hungry," the troll says.

"I killed a bandit coming here; you can eat him," Ethan informs. Thrumm salivates at his words. Ethan listens further into the original tunnel through predator's sight. Clamors erupt as a beast lets out a guttural roar.

Ethan grabs the keys and unlocks Thrumm's cage. Opening its door, Ethan casts debilitating hex. He tunes it to only reduce Thrumm's strength without immobilizing him. "Just a little insurance," Ethan says.

Without a word, Thrumm follows Ethan to the tavern. "Wait here; I'll make sure the way is clear. Your meal is in this corner," he says before exiting the decrepit building.

Using Silent steps, Ethan rushes through the streets, taking out Viktor's lookouts in a flash. As Russ ends the last of them, Ethan stores his armor and masquerades as his weak self. "Sneak," he orders Russ before rushing to a squad of guards.

The five guards raise their weapons at him, and he stops. Feinting to breathe heavily, Ethan says, "There is a monster in that building; it's eating somebody alive!"

The guards look at each other and run towards the tavern. As they kick in the door, they freeze in their tracks. Thrumm is crouched in a dark corner, his hands ripping through the bandit's corpse. The sounds of flesh tearing and bones crunching under his teeth send visible chills through their bodies.

The first guard's face contorts in disgust, his hand rising to shield his nose from the stench of the troll. Another guard gags, turning his head away to puke. 'That's not that horrible,' Ethan thinks. 'Or is it just us who are too accustomed to that kind of stench?'

Russ whines as if confirming Ethan's doubts. One of the guards throws his spear at the troll, piercing his left forearm. Thrumm roars in pain and rushes the guard, pulverizing the tavern's storefront.

"Go get reinforcements!" their leader yells at the youngest of the guards, who runs off into a nearby street. Thrumm breaks off the spear, and his wound closes.

"Fire! We need fire!" one of the guards yells.

'Ho yeah, I remember. One time I was playing a game with One, and we faced a troll. It kept regenerating, even after we killed it, until One threw a fireball at it,' Ethan recalls.

Thrumm grabs one of the guards by the chest and crushes him, squeezing his blood onto the others. "Leave Thrumm alone!" he roars. Another guard stabs him in the crotch with his spear. Thrumm hurls his fist at him, sending him through a building.

"Ouch!" Ethan sighs. He closes his eyes, forming the runes of the Flame spell with precision. Instead of letting it shape into a cone, Ethan wills it into a small sphere.

"Ether manipulation leveled up," the voice announces as Ethan throws the burning sphere. It hits Thrumm's shoulder and breaks into a wave of fire.

The flames engulf Thrumm's frame. He hurls himself to the ground, rolling into the stone pavement to extinguish himself. The guards stab him repeatedly; a blow to the head ends his life. The fire continues to spread on his body as the guards watch.

"You leveled up. Russ leveled up."

The guards turn to the source of the fire spell, but Ethan has already left. Ethan enters the building where one of the soldiers lies dead. He moves him to a dark alleyway, removing his armor to disguise himself as soldier. 'They'll think he survived and went to get treated. At least until tomorrow morning,' Ethan thinks as he hides his face with the guard's helmet.

He bends to the guard's level, closing the dead man's eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought the guards would be stronger," he mutters before moving closer to the tavern.

Several squads arrive, accompanied by what seem to be adventurers. Some watch as the corpse burns; others enter the tavern. "There is a tunnel in there," one yells.