Passing the threshold beyond the levels he could feel the time speeding up, the space getting thicker with energies dense and more imbedded in the physical. It was a feeling every addict knows well, that rush and bliss that fills your brain and turns your thoughts into a marshmallow. That is what happened for a moment, but within seconds of Luke stepping his first steps into the lower level of the Sewers the throbbing pain, that was always at the back of his mind roared with a vengeance. Pulsing with sharpness cutting his neural pathways, it traveled through his eye, brain, and down the spine.
The feeling of being submerged in arctic waters flooded his mind and body. He started trembling, his knees shaking and chest tightly constricted he ignited his core, letting the Primordial run amok within him. As if the floodgates were opened, a stream of liquid fire started pouring from his chest and overtaking the Void. The energy around him thrummed with excess power, steam rising from his skin that barely hid the clots of blood-forming from bursting blood vessels.
The Void was once again forced into submission. For now. He calmed down, taking steady breaths and letting himself cool down from that little surprise.
Speaking of little, The Little Fella popped out during this commotion.
Here, he seemed much more real, still inky blot of snarky darkness but a bit bigger, and as if the coiling darkness that formed him had more depth to it. It gave Luke the judging side eye and asked:
“Any troubles?”
“Nah, just nostalgia, how are you feeling? You seem a bit different”
Checking over his little body he pondered for a moment and answered:
“Good, better than before to be honest. It feels like it’s easier to breathe here, and I mean it magically, it still stinks like rotten ass in here.”
“Yeah, me too, come on, you can check for any clues to what you are while I do my job, the faster we are done the less ass I have to inhale.”
“Maybe take Cupid here next time, he would probably enjoy it here.”
Luke’s face flushing to the color of a tomato he dropped the conversation and chose a direction at random. Here, the tunnels were similar in design to those above but were much grander. The stone tiles forming the way were bigger in size, and a bit rougher, not as slick. They also had more cracks and some weird flora on them. The muck from the filth river seemed full of little critters and weird bugs and shelled creatures.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
*Better not stomp on any of those, who knows, maybe it’s Monsoons uncle or something*
The waters were still filled with gasoline-like trails of magical refuse. Here, they had much stronger color, it wasn’t hard to guess that all magic here got amplified. The difference between here and the surface was like heaven and earth.
It didn’t take long to find the first of the slimes. Just casually walking around he noticed a wobbling trash bag near the surface of a water bank he was walking next to.
Taught by his previous mistake, he used a telekinetic construct formed around his right hand. A metaphysical claw extended to a huge size, wrapped gently around and lifted the thing. It squirmed in his grasp trying to escape but wasn’t strong enough to pierce his form. Creating a second construct under the slime, he molded it into a bowl. Once sure he wouldn’t get splattered he willed a spike to rapidly skewer the slime, with a slosh a hole formed through it and it spilled like a bucket of water into the bowl.
Luke’s eyes watered as his nostrils were assaulted by the tidal wave of rotten stink. Barely managing not to drop the construct he quickly pulled out the talisman in the shape of a badge from his back pocket, closed into the bowl as if it was an active bomb and with breath stilled in his chest he willed the talisman to suck up the scum.
Leaving only the gel covering of the Szlam behind him, around 60 liters of its juices got sucked up.
A good haul, only a few more and the crystals.
Walking around some more, he found 8 more, some even bigger ones but all being practically harmless. Within 10 hours that job was done. All went surprisingly well, comparing that to his frantic death march, he wanted to laugh at the difference. Now, just the basic techniques were enough not to worry about his surroundings. Casting out a weak grainy wave of telekinesis allowed him to be sure nothing was lurking behind the corners or on the ceiling near him. When the coast was clear he, again, clad himself in the Unseen Cowl he created.
He caught a salamander-type thing stuck to the wall on his head's height, silently waiting for him to turn the corner and we nestled in its jaw. That plan didn’t work out as he soundlessly dashed near the edge, and with a twist of his hips cut sideways with a Construct Clad Hook and turned the things head into mush, bloody mist and brain matter crammed into the cracks he just created in the wall.
Once the body lifelessly fell down he picked it up as loot and hid it in the Talisman. Who knows, maybe it’s useful.
Crossing through the tunnels he discovered fauna and flora that amazed him. Even in this filth-filled ecosystem life thrived. Whenever he sensed something unusual or The Little Fella nudged him to point at something he would scavenge some weird small materials and broken trinkets that still contained some power.
After about a day of travel, he found what the Crab Man described as one of the Throats, tens of waterfalls and hundreds of tunnels big and small were dropping into this huge cavern filled with water and floating trash piles.
On his right, he saw something casting a pale light on one of the trash piles that connected with the walkways.
A huge aura of dim light radiated steadily from it, it must have been the Snail he was looking for.
When he got close enough to see past the pile his mouth dropped open, what he saw was definitely not a snail.