Clang!

Thud!

Screech!

Arthur scrambled away from the now-closed gate as he did his best to catch his breath. With wide eyes, he watched the lid shake and move; the monster trying to break free.

To his relief, the magical lock reappeared as soon as the grate slid back into place.

The fact it was strong enough to keep the monsters at bay was something he’d need to remember. Arthur could already picture having to escape from something with too many legs.

Sewers always held the grossest monsters in the video games he played.

His heart racing, he crept back to his stall and flipped the lid of the rectangular counter box. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable place he’d ever slept.

Still, anything would be better than sleeping in the open.

After squeezing in, he settled down to sleep. Tomorrow would bring with it daylight, and perhaps the chance to explore unmolested.

A yawn escaped as he crawled out of the box. His eyes squinting in the dawn’s light. No one had bothered him during the night, which he was grateful for. It allowed him to get a proper rest.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before.

Back home.

That thought gave him pause.

What was going on back home? His parents must be reeling at the news. Arthur hoped they gave him a nice funeral and got him a suit. The goddess had already forced him to be reborn in his old uniform; he didn’t want to be buried in it as well.

With a stretch to work out the kink in his back, he checked the seat crate. It remained as empty as ever. Arthur sighed, even though he knew it’d been a long shot.

Inventory was something the goddess had apparently decided he needed to figure out on his own. Which he supposed was fine. Arthur was an adult. Stranded or not, he could manage.

He wasn’t sure he believed the thought even as he had it.

His eyes fell on the alleyway. The growling in his stomach fought with his mind. Did he really want to eat something he found in the sewers? Though, did he really have a choice?

A sigh escaped him as he glanced upwards.

It was still early. He could wait. Perhaps today would be the day someone came past.

Besides, if he was in the sewer when someone arrived, he would lose out on the chance to learn more about the world. Plus, if they vandalized his stall, he’d be without a place to sleep.

Arthur nodded to himself before sitting once more.

“Come in, come in,” Arthur whispered. “Shops open.”

The sun beat on him, and he did his best not to scratch at his neck. The damn shirt collar rubbed against his skin in the most unpleasant way.

He’d been waiting for hours, and no one. His stomach rumbled. Worse now, it was competing with his dry throat.

Food and water were on his mind constantly. He’d never been without, not really. Now that he was, he hated the feeling.

Soon enough, he couldn’t take it anymore.

Arthur jumped to his feet with enough force to tip over the box. It was time to hit the sewers, to brave whatever monsters were down there. The memory of those green eyes flashed in his vision, and he shuddered.

For this adventure, he’d need a weapon. Thankfully, he knew where to get one.

With a spring in his step, born from discomfort and not a minor bit of excitement, Arthur made his way to the dumpster.

It was time to go adventuring!

***

“One man’s trash is another man’s survival gear,” Arthur said, trying to inject some cheer into his voice as he pulled open the lid.

The smell hit him once more.

He grimaced, but soldiered on with his search through watering eyes. Bricks and glass shards were options, but he wanted something with a bit more range.

Arthur knew he wasn’t all that strong, so it would probably be best if he struck from a distance.

An assortment of broken pipes caught his eye, though a special one called to him. He plucked it out, marveling at the find. It was a solid steel pipe, thin but long enough to be used as a cane. At the top of the pipe, a copper tap sat, looking corroded and worn.

Flecks of dirt ran along its length, so he assumed it came from a garden. Either way, it was easy to swing, and the tap section made a useful handle. It would do.

With trembling hands, he reached up and pulled the lanyard from around his neck. Key firmly in his grip, he moved to the grate. He braced himself, ready this time to duck away at the first sign of trouble.

As the light flashed, he moved sideways, raising his makeshift weapon. There wasn’t a sound, and with hesitation, he moved to look. Not a creature in sight. All he could see was the small ladder leading down and the dark, stinking tunnel.

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Perhaps whatever the creature was, it hunted at night?

The monsters being nocturnal would be advantageous. He could hunt during the day and sleep soundly, knowing they couldn’t get through the lock.

Arthur made sure the key was securely around his neck before he climbed the ladder into the sewer. As he descended, the smell got worse. However, he did his best to ignore it.

At least there was a platform that ran alongside the channel, so he wouldn’t be walking in the water. Not that there was much water to walk in. No surprise, considering the lack of people.

Few flushing toilets around.

When he was a few steps away from the ladder, the message flickered before his eyes.

LOCATION CHANGE: SEWER DUNGEON (RANK F)

A dungeon?

That got his attention, and he looked around worriedly. If this was some kind of dungeon, that would explain the monsters. Did whatever lived down here do so because of the destruction he’d seen upstairs?

Or was that a different entity entirely?

Arthur found himself torn on if he wanted to find out.

On the plus side, he understood what to do now. He wasn’t much of a gamer, but when working in retail, there wasn’t much else cost-efficient to do with your spare time. Arthur hefted the pipe, keeping an eye out for any signs of monsters.

Rank F sounded like the lowest rank. That should mean nothing in here was particularly dangerous. Which suited him just fine. He wasn’t some dragon slayer, and if he was lucky, never would be.

Arthur stood, glancing side to side as he debated which way to go. Darkness loomed on both sides. The sunlight beaming through the grate was the single point of illumination.

He would need some kind of light if he wanted to continue. There was no way he was going to fight monsters in the dark. That was asking for trouble.

His thoughts moved toward making a torch.

However, unless he climbed back to the surface, he didn’t have any wood. Nor any way to make a spark.

Arthur glanced at the ceiling, wondering if there were lights embedded in the ceiling. Above him, a lump of what he hoped was mud sat.

He stared at it, trying to identify it. As the light shifted, Arthur noticed a glint of something shiny.

That would do.

By climbing up the ladder, he could reach it with his weapon. He scraped it along the plastic casing, getting rid of the sludge that caked it. There, a small light shone. With another look around, he spotted another nearby lump.

It seemed whoever built the sewers placed them a set distance apart. That gave him a plan moving forward.

Now came the question.

Left or right?

***

He picked left on a whim, moving forward and stretching and jumping to clean off more of the electric lights. They glowed softly, illuminating more of the tunnel. As they did, Arthur couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

Before, he could only guess what hid in the darkness.

Now? Now he knew.

“Oh, my god.”

He stared at the corpses that littered the waterway. They were rats, though none were intact. Each was missing limbs, tails, or massive patches of fur. It was clear even to his inexperienced eyes, something had hunted them.

Even if the bodies hadn’t told the story, the claw marks along the walkways did the job. The predator’s claws left long lines, and pools of blood from its kills dotted its path.

He stumbled back, away from the scene, and he felt his foot hit something squishy. With a scream, he leaped almost a foot in the air before he spun around.

Eyes shut, he waved the pipe in his arms around, wincing as it clunked against the wall.

There was no other pressure on the stick, and he opened his eyes. A rat corpse sat there, looking more mangled now that he’d added his own weight. He reached out and poked it with his pole.

No response, a fact he thanked the goddess for. Arthur felt no desire to deal with zombie rats. They were gross enough already.

With a loud popping sound, a box appeared in front of his view, asking him to decide on new options.

STOCK FOUND

1X ROTTEN RAT MEAT - COMMON

1X DAMAGED RAT PELT - COMMON

1X DAMAGED RAT TAIL - COMMON

1X DAMAGED RAT SKELETON - COMMON

SEND TO STORE INVENTORY

ADD TO BAG (UNAVAILABLE - MISSING SHOPKEEPERS BAG)

DISCARD ALL OPTIONS

Arthur nodded to himself, even as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. This would be how he got his inventory then. Great. That didn’t actually solve his problem with customers, food, or water.

But at least he could die with the knowledge he could have started stocking his shelves.

He didn’t really want any of these items. With no way to know if the box was some kind of magical storage device, he didn’t want to deal with the smell. The fact it forced him to take everything or discard everything could make things tricky.

But that would be a future Arthur problem.

He picked the option to discard all items, and the box closed. A fact he was thankful for. It wouldn’t have surprised him if the goddess had made it explode into disgusting chunks to see his reaction. With this new information in mind, he kept his eye peeled for any fresher corpses.

None popped into view, but the claw marks were getting more obvious.

It wasn’t long before he found himself near a rectangular metal door. The word maintenance was barely visible through the scratch marks. The bottom section of it was bent, as though something had forced it open.

Arthur grabbed the handle and pulled, finding it locked. That didn’t fill him with confidence, and neither did the sound of nearby scrambling. He spun around and gasped at seeing the monsters from the previous night.

A giant rat, similar in size to a small dog, halted its advance under the nearest cleaned light. It hissed at him, green eyes glowing with a strange intensity as it waited. Arthur gripped the pipe in his hands, holding it low as though in a golf swing.

“Come on then, ugly!” he called at it.

He didn’t know if it was the insult or the fact he moved to a better swing position, but the creature lunged. With a mighty swing, the bottom of the pipe connected with the beast’s head. It hissed and squeaked as his haphazard strike flung it into the waterway.

With speed, it scrabbled out and lunged again. He hit it once more. This time uppercutting it under the chin. With desperation, he moved while it was on its back, and he plunged the pipe into its neck.

The squeaking took longer to stop than he expected. He wished it hadn’t.

His eyes closed, and he shivered even as he heard a familiar popping sound of a text box coming into view.

He supposed it was time to check on his new inventory options.