--------///----Reina's POV----\\\--------

After we finished registering the metal mage Alice mentioned came by. He took a long look at our emblems as he shaped our plates. It took him a few minutes to finish but when he was done the plates and our emblems looked essentially identical. After he was done he left and Alice started talking.

(Alice) " Now that your plates are done, what are you all going to do now? "

(Mina) " For now we'll be looking into simple requests and start working our way up. What kind of requests are we capable of taking on? "

(Alice) " For now you can take on any kinds. However there are limits. If you plan on taking on exterminations or bounties then you'll need to take on lower classed requests of the same kind. There are no exceptions to this rule... Sorry. "

(Endis) " Sounds like a pain in the ass. What's that for? "

Alice just gave Endis an awkward smile because of that comment.

(Alice) " It's to ensure newly ranked parties or individual adventurers don't die that quickly. Let's say an adventurer is rated as a C tier. That adventurer may have no experience with C tier beasts and just dive head first into them. By having no experience with beasts of that class they'll be underprepared and have a higher chance of dying. However this rule of forcing adventurers and parties to fight beasts or bounties of a lower rank, that will provide them with experience and help prepare them for beasts or bounties of a higher rank. "

(Mina) " Hmm. It sounds good in my opinion. That and it's actually good for us since i don't think any of us have gone out of our way to hunt beasts. We could definetly try that out. "

(Reina) " But what can we hunt? What rank do we start at for those? "

(Alice) " For now, you all are allowed to take C ranked hunting assignments. On the boards i believe there are at least five kinds of C rank hunting quests. Other then that, you're allowed to take on any other requests you'd like.Whenever you pick an assaignment feel free to let me know and i'll file that it's taken. " 

(Mina) " Thank you Alice. "

(Alice) " You're welcome. Will that be all? "

(Mina) " Yes. We'll head off for now. Bye. "

(Alice) " Goodybye and stay safe. "

After Mina was done we started leaving the guild but i waved a bye to Alice before we went out the door.

(Endis) " So... What do we go for now leader? "

(Mina) " First we should check out the place you found. There are a bunch of blacksmiths here but i'm interested on what makes the one you found out about so special. If that turns out to be a dud then we can just ask for directions to the blacksmith my dad mentioned. After that we could start looking into requests. "

(Reina) " Are we not going to look into alchemists? "

(Mina) " Alchemists are... Expensive. To say the least. Even the ones here aren't an exception. It'll be easier to just get the ingredients my mom asked for and send them to her for potions and anything else we want. We'll have to wait but it's probably the best alternative. "

(Reina) " Huh. Ok. So where do we go for that blacksmith? "

(Endis) " Leave it to me! "

After saying that, Endis hit his chest and started walking ahead of us. His scarf kept flapping in the wind which made him look stupid with the weird walk he was doing, but i wasn't going to tell him that. We spent some time just walking down random streets for what felt like hours before we found where we were supposed to be. The shop itself didn't have the window to advertise its wares but it still had the side room where the forging happened. The shop seemed to have two floors alongside that side room. The wood seemed to be fine but it was kind of... Bland? The shop didn't have any logo to identify itself, all it had was a name. - Gordian's wares -.

(Reina) " Isn't that? "

(Mina) " The smithy my dad recommended? Yes. "

(Endis) " Huh. Well we might aswell check it out. "

We walked up to the shop and had Endis knock on it.

(???) " Fuck off! I'm bese! "

That shout came out as soon as Endis had knocked. We all just looked to each other and looked uncertain of what to do now. Mina sighed and started to talk. 

(Mina) " My father recommended this shop. Do you know someone by the name of Nillio? "

(???) " Da fuck? That bastards got kin? "

We heard something fall and footsteps coming towards the door after he said that. It didn't even take long for him to get to the door as it opened up not a minute later. The man was a shorter then a meter and a half dwarf with striking red eyes, short graying platinum hair and a platinum beard that didn't seem to be graying at all. After he fully opened the door he started looking all over us and set his sights on Mina. He wore a thin brown shirt and some comfortable looking red pants. He had some plain brown shoes. He was a bit sweaty but it wasn't an issue. 

(???) " You're tha cunts kin? "

(Mina) " Umm. Yes? "

(Nillio) " ... Ehhh. Come in then. Ion get many idiots tryin to buy my shiet so don't be surprised if ya see sum that's a lil aged. And yes, I'm Nillio. "

After he said that, he started walking back into his shop, which now that he wasn't blocking some of it i could see that weapon racks lined the walls. On the left were all kinds of swords, the right had spears aside until they stopped at where the door to the actual forge was. And on the back wall behind the counter seemed to have hammers. The staircase that led to the second floor was behind the counter. As we walked in i could see some barrels full with other weapons but they seemed either broken or old.

(Reina) " Whats the point of keeping the broken stuff around? "

(Nillio) " "One's trash is anothers treasure" Or some shiet like that. Sometimes i repair em or sometimes i use em as scrap. Tho that saying still goes. Sometimes i'll repair a broken shitty sword and end up with some fuckin forgotten masterpiece. Anyhow time for all of ye to talk. I see those plates around yer necks, whatcha looking for? "

(Mina) " Currently, nothing specific. We came here because we were interested in why my father recommended this shop to us. "

(Nillio) " Huuuh? That's ya reason fur botherin me while i'm workin?! Bah! Shoulda asked what ye wanted before i opened mah damned door. Ah hells with it. Ya here so might aswell make yaselves usef- If your just gonna keep touching my shiet without saying nuthin ima hurt ya! "

(Mina & Reina) " Huh? "

His last words suprised us but considering who we were with, we understood who he was talking too. I turned around and sure enough, Endis was rummaging through a barrel but turned to stare at all of us as if he was a kid caught taking candy from a stall. He kept the broken dagger in his hand while he did though. 

(Endis) " I mean... I couldn't help myself. "

(Nillio) " ... Put the shiet down and get over here. "

(Endis) " Haah. Yes sir. "

Endis definetly looked and sounded like a dejected child after that.

(Nillio) " Back ta what i was saying. Since yer here you might as well do me a favor. "

(Mina) " Do we get anything out of this? "

(Nillio) " ... If ya find what i'm looking fer then fuck it why not. I'll work on some shiet for ye. "

(Endis) " That's good and all but are you any good old man? "

Nillio's eye twitched and it looked like he was about to pop a blood vessal. Luckily Mina distracted him.

(Mina) " What do you want us to do? "

(Nillio) " I had some of my shiet thrown in the sewer, i'll need ye to go git it. "

At the word sewer, all of our faces scrunched up. 

(Endis) " This isn't some kind of punishment because of me, is it? "

(Nillio) " No yeh whelp. If ya keep questioning meh then it might turn into it. "

(Reina) " Endis, can you be quiet for a little bit and let Mina handle this. "

(Endis) " ... Fineee. "

(Reina) " Thank you. "

(Nillio) " Anywae. I'm missin a hammer, two greatswords and a longsword tossed into the shitter. Ta hammer will probable be the hardest fer ya to find so good luck with that shiet. "  

(Mina) " How're we going to find them though? "

(Nillio) " Shiet in the sewers always ends up in a seperate section. There's a map of the damned place at every entrance fer people to go find their shiet. Just go down any hole and you'll find it. "

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

(Mina) " Are those really all we'll have to find? And if that's true then why don't people go into the sewer to clean it out? "

(Nillio) " Yes. I lost some other shiet but i couldn't care less about em. And fer yer other question, the officials ere go down one every two months or so and clean it up. Whatever shiet they find they clean up and sell it off to whoever wants em. "

(Reina) " That interesting... But how dies that work in the first place? "

(Nillio) " Fuck if i know. I'm not a architec. i just know it does. Now hurry n git so i can get back to work. "

(Mina) " Ughh. Yes sir... "

Min turned around and grabbed Endis, who was close to another barrel, and kept going. I followed behind until we were out the door.

(Mina) " Haaah. How does my dad even know him?.. "

(Nillio) " I TAUGHT THE CUNT! HURRY N GIT! "

We all turned towards the closed door and just turned to each other and blinked.

(Endis) " So that's where your dad got it from. "

(Mina) " ... Let's just go. "

(Endis) " Can you let go of me first? "

Mina was still holding onto the back of Endis' scarf and only let go when he brough it up.

(Reina) " So... Where's the nearest entrance? "

(Endis) " Ummm. Should we ask him? Or try our luck? "

(Nillio) " DOWN THE STREET, TAKE A RIGHT N GO DOWN THE HOLE! "

(Endis) " Geez, how the hells does he keep hearing us?"

(Reina) " Maybe we shouldn't be directly infront of the door while we talk? "

(Endis) " Good point. Welp, lets get going. .. Down the street and take a right. Then down the hole? The hells?.. Ah we'll figure it out when we see it. "

(Mina) " Yea. Let's just get this done with as quick as we can. I don't want to spend all day in a sewer of all places. "

(Reina) " Definetly. "

(Endis) " Can i atleast put my scarf and stuff away? I don't want to go into a sewer with all of these on me. "

(Mina) " Why didn't you leave everything back at the guild? I left my basket of snacks so why didn't you leave the literal gems and scarf? "

(Endis) " I mean... I could've, but i wasn't expecting having to need too. "

(Mina) " Haaah. Let's go and then head into the sewers. We can ask Alice a bit about the sewers when we get there so it's not all a waste of time. "

(Endis) " Yea, think of it as getting more information. My thing will just be happening on the side. "

(Reina) " Are we going to need anything for the sewers? It's probably safe but is there going to be anything that we can get for the smell? "

(Mina) " I'm not sure. Let's save that for Alice. "

After we were done talking, we started heading all the way back to the guild. Endis bought us some stall food which Mina and i appreciated. We ate and kept walking till we got back to the guild. When we got back, Endis took off the scarf and held it in the hand he held the gems in and waited in line with us. After we got back to Alice, Endis handed them over.

(Endis) " Can you store these somewhere until we get back? "

(Alice) " Yes? But where are you all going? "

(Mina) " ... The sewers. Is there anything we have to be worried about down there? "

Alice gave us all a pitiful look as she held Endis' scarf and gem and money bag.

(Alice) " Do you have to go down into the sewers? Why are you going there in the first place? "

(Mina) " We're doing a favor for my fathers teacher... And yes, we have to go down into the sewers... Unfortunately. "

(Alice) " Well then... Aside from the smell of the sewer sticking onto your clothes, the only thing you should worry about are the slimes that inhabit the sewer. It should just be slikes but the last sweep was a month ago so there may be a Ooze or a Bile roaming around. "

(Reina) " Ooze or Bile? What are those? I know about slimes but i've never heard of those things. "

(Alice) " Well they're the lesser known slime evolutions. Slimes themselves aren't exactly considered monsters since they just appear naturally and kind of just drift around eating trash and the like. However Oozes and Biles are considered monsters as they'll actively hunt things like rats or people.

Oozes will drown their food and just let it digest inside their bodies. Yet Biles have potent acid composing their bodies which they actually attack with. Slimes are F rank, all you have to do is pull out their core or disperse their body. Oozes are considered E rank as they're still relatively easy to defeat. Biles however, they are ranked C rank as they're capable of shooting their acid, using tendrils of acid, ambush tactics, and are reasonably difficult to deal with. However with your party it shouldn't be a problem unless you encounter multiples. " 

(Mina) " Ugggh. Thank you Alice. "

(Alice) " You're welcome... But when you come back, please don't come here immediatley. I don't think any of us like the smell of the sewer. There's a bath house 10 minutes east of here so you can all go there after you're done. "

(Endis) " Oh thank fuck. I think i would actually lose it if i had to smell like a sewere for longer then i needed too. "

(Alice) " If that's all then good luck to all of you. "

(Mina) " Thank you Alice. "

(Reina) " It's hard for me to imagine what we'd do without you Alice. Thank you for helping us. "

(Alice) " I'm just doing my job. Thank you for picking me. "

(Endis) " Don't have to thank us, you're kind of the only one we've talked too so it's obvious we'd pick someone we already know. "

(Alice) " That may be true but it's still an honor. "

(Mina) " Endis, let her be happy and hush. Anyway we're going to head out now. Bye Alice. "

(Reina) " Bye. "

(Endis) " What they said. Anyway see ya later. "

After we were done and left the guild, we made our way back to Nillio's shop and went the way he told us to go. Eventually we found what he maent by "hole". There seemed to be a staircase that led underground.

(Mina) " Alright... Everyone ready? "

(Endis) " As ready as someone whose about to go into a sewer can be. "

(Reina) " What he said... I'm not looking forward to this at all. "

(Mina) " None of us are... Ugh. Let's get going. "

As we started making our way down the stairs the stench of the sewer hit us as we were about to be all the way down. Mina gagged, Endis plugged his nose and i almost threw up.

(Endis) " I've smelled worse but holy hells this is disgusting. "

(Reina) " What have you smelled that's worse then this?! "

(Endis) " Oh you don't wanna know. "

(Mina) " Can we just keep going? "

(Endis) " Definetly. Hold on. "

Endis took out some big rag thing from under his cloak and ripped it into pieces for us.

(Endis) " Wrap this around your face, it'll help. For a bit. You'll just have to bank on getting used to the smell while we're down here. "

(Reina) " Couldn't you have given these to us before we came down here!? "

(Endis) " I forgot i had it ok! "

After we put on our makeshift masks we started looking for the map that was supposed to be around here. Endis was looking across the "water", i looked to the left and Mina took the right.

(Mina) " Found it! "

When we heard Mina shout we ran over to her immediatley. The map itself was massive and covered a big portion of the wall. If there was a good light source in the sewers then we would've seen it easily but since there wasn't, it took a bit.

(Endis) " What the hells am i looking at? "

(Mina) " ... I have no clue. Why did they have to make it so convaluted? There are places with dead ends, routes that lead further down, somewhere that goes up? What is this? "

(Endis) " Memorizing this is going to be a massive pain in the ass. "

(Reina) " You can memorize this? "

(Endis) " Give me a minute... Reina can you make some candle light? If i had some light this would be easier. "

(Reina) " Sure. "

After Endis asked, i made a small flame and held it on the tip of my finger. The light was bright and gave us all a good amount of visability in this dim sewer. The map showed a lot of intersecting paths, paths that crossed each other but were on different levels and more. The more i looked the more confused i got. But ecentually i saw the path that would lead to the trash site. After another minute or two, Endis finished looking at the map.

(Endis) " Alright. Let's get going... This should only take an hour. "

(Mina and Reina) " Ugh. "

(Endis) " Take it up with whoever made this damned place not me. "

We started following the path towards the junk area but the smell was still getting to me. We had gotten atleast 5 minutes in when we found the first slime. It looked to be a clear blue blob of water the size of a small childs head with a white crystal in the middle. It was just treading along the walkway without a care in the world. It seemed to... Turn? Towards us and started coming over.

(Reina) " Do we do something about that or... "

(Mina) " Slimes are harmless... This might actually be a good thing. "

Mina walked up and met the slime halfway and picked it up. The slime didn't go through her fingers but instead just wiggled. The slime seemed to be a bunch of living jelly with how it looked. Mina let the slime wad over her arm and as it did it looked like it was cleaning the dirt and grime off of it.

(Mina) " If you find a slime pick it up. Other then being life savers down here, my mom wants slime fluid and cores. We can kill a bunch of birds with a stone. If we're lucky we'll run into an Ooze and get its core for my mom. "

(Endis) " That looks... Weird but sure. "

(Reina) " How does it feel? "

(Mina) " ... Do you know that feeling you get randomly where it feels like you have bugs crawling on you? "

(Reina) " Eww. " 

(Mina) " Yea. It's like that but it actually feels nice. Kind of relaxing if i'd say. "

(Reina) " Huh? How could that feeling ever feel relaxing? "

Mina just shrugged her shoulders and held her arm out.

(Mina) " Try it for yourself. "

I was a bit hesitent to do it but after a moment of hesitation, i took the flame from my finger and pushed it infront of me and reached out to grab the slime. Holding it in my hands felt weird but it was kind of like jelly. The slime jiggled for a bit but then it started to move up my arm just like it did for Mina's. As it did i got the feeling that Mina described. It felt weird but it actually felt nice.

(Reina) " Do we get to keep the slimes we find? "

(Mina) " Not sure. But we can just ask Alice when we get back. Do you want to keep holding onto the slime or do you want to give it back? "

I looked down at the slime that was making its way on my arm and Siellas and thought that i didn't mind carrying it.

(Reina) " I'll carry it. I think i want to keep it. "

(Mina) " Then make sure it doesn't end up on your face. "

(Endis) " Uhhh, if you two are done talking about slimes we can keep going forward. We've got a turn to take in like another five minutes. "

(Mina) " You're right. Anyway just watch where it goes, ok Reina? "

(Reina) " Got it... I'm going to name you Jelly. "

(Mina) " Hmm? "

(Reina) " Nothing! "

(Endis) " Haaah. Let's just keep going. "

We kept going and found the turn that Endis mentioned. We kept walking for a while and eventually found another three slimes which Mina started carrying. She had two of them in her arms and made a water cage for the other. Endis had tried the slime cleaning and agreed that it actually felt nice. He even took out one of his daggers and watched as the slime cleaned the blades. Mina did the same with her rapier and i followed suit with my Siellas. The slimes cleaned off any specks of dust or dirt that had gotten on our weapons. 

We kept walking for a while and eventually came across our first Ooze. It seemed like a bigger slime as it was the size of a ball you'd kick around, instead of the clear water of a normal slime, the Ooze had murky water that made finding the crystal inside of its body harder. It didn't seem that threatening since despit the growth, it was still way smaller then all of us and definetly way weaker.

(Endis) " How does something like that have a rank? I could just kick it and it would die. "

(Mina) " Could you not? I'd prefer the core intact for mom. "

(Endis) " Fine. Then how're you going to get the core out? "

(Mina) " It's just water. Watch. "

Mina walked ahead of Endis and extended her hand towards the Ooze. It froze in place and started shaking. Mina raised her hand and the murky water that made up the body of the Ooze started to rise with it. The water from the Ooze's body eventually all turned into a ball of water controlled by Mina as the core that made the Ooze itself fell out. As soon as it did, Mina dropped the murky body of the Ooze into the sewer water. Endis walked over to the core and picked it up. 

(Endis) " Not as dirty as i thought it would be. Anyway catch. "

(Mina) " Huh? Wait a mi- "

Endis tossed the core over to Mina who almost didn't get it but quickly used her free hand to grab it. She scrounged for a small bag that she had in the shirt pocket under her breastplate and put the core inside of it.

(Mina) " Could you have given me a bit of a warning first! "

(Endis) " I kinda did though? "

(Mina) " Endis... "

(Endis) " Sorry ma'am. "

(Mina) " Keep leading the way so we can get out quicker. "

Endis sighed and started leading the way. We came across a few more slimes but we just left them be. There was even another Ooze in the way but Mina dealt with it again just like she dealt with the first Ooze. Eventually, after what felt like hours, we found the area that was the junksite. And it looked like a nightmare. It seemed to just be massive piles of junk that ranged from things like wood, toys, trash, and the occasional weapon. There were even a bunch of slimes just going around and eating trash and whatever garbage that they could digest. 

(Mina) " Oh hells... This is going to take forever. " 

(Endis) " ...I think i hate that old man..."

(Reina) " I think i want to go home... "