A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 272 Dive

How is it utter nonsense? Rorschach thought the two commissions were quite clever. For those who didn't know or didn't believe in the existence of the Shadow City, they would only feel confused, but for those who knew what they really meant, they could immediately understand Rorschach and Singh's intentions.

A missing person notice without the name of the missing person naturally refers to someone who has disappeared in the shadow city. Familiarity with urban legends and a good memory suggest that they are people who can cross between reality and shadows. They will not forget the name of the missing person and have a certain resistance to curses.

"Since I guessed your true commission correctly, let's talk about the payment. Is the commission fee a combined sum of two?" The commission fee was a total of two pounds, which was quite substantial.

"It'll cost one pound to take us in. We do need to find someone, and we're willing to pay a second coin if you can help us while we're looking." As he spoke, Rorschach extended his clenched fist, opening his fingers to let the poet see the gold coin in his palm.

"Alright. But before I take you in, I need to confirm one thing." Freddy stared at Rorschach: "You don't seem to know much about entering the Shadowlands. Are you confident you can come back?"

Rorschach paused for a moment: "You don't need to consider that."

"Great!" the poet gave a thumbs-up. "Then it's a deal!"

Freddie first led the two to buy several jugs of wine and several pounds of sugar. Sugar prices in Istani were significantly lower than on the mainland; it didn't produce these beautiful and delicious crystals itself, but rather they were brought in continuously by large ships from the sea. The sugar was wrapped in several layers of parchment and carried by dwarves. Singh and Rorschach followed the poet through the streets and alleys, until they reached an abandoned well surrounded by layers of residential buildings.

"Are we going to jump into the water?" The dwarf's expression changed. The water was probably used by residents to dump their trash; it was piled high with garbage and emitted a foul stench. There was no water at all.

"A child drowned in this well before, and the residents thought it was unlucky, so they sealed it up." Freddy shook his head. "An unfortunate event. We used to have a better environment."

"Can't we take another route?" Singhrev peered into the well, and when he stepped back, he realized that his hands were also filthy.

"Of course, if you're willing to find a suitable bed in the cemetery and sleep with the original owner until you wake up at some point, you'll also end up in the Shadow City." The poet shrugged: "I haven't tried it, I've only heard about it. There are many other strange and similar methods, which are slowly discovered by people in the cracks. If you ask any owner of a shabby tavern, he might be able to offer one or two methods, but none of them have tried it themselves like I have."

The poet took out a flask of wine, and while singing a murmured song praising an unknown being, he poured the wine into the well.

The dwarf's large nose twitched, and he suddenly roared, "Oh dear, this is the wine of the elves!" He quickly wiped his hands on his body, as if trying to cup the wine in his hands.

However, the poet poured it all into the well. Although there was only one pot, it overflowed when poured into the well. The previous filth could not be seen, only clear wine. Looking into the transparent wine, there was an abyss that seemed to lead to an unknown place.

"Is this the entrance?"

"Jump! You'll be there in the blink of an eye."

Rorschach cast a full-body "filtered air bubble" on himself and used "telecommunications" to ask Singh if he wanted to apply protection as well, but the dwarf firmly shook his head and refused.

The poet picked up his zither and played a little tune: "Farewell, everyone, I am about to depart. I came in haste, and I will leave in haste. Please let me go."

When Rorschach plunged into the liquor, he couldn't smell any "special aroma" because of the filtered bubbles. He only saw the waves and eddies he created enveloping him, followed by a cold sensation, as if his consciousness and body temperature were being swept away.

Just as everything went dark, Rorschach suddenly felt a force pulling him. It was Freddie. He was playing the piano and singing when Rorschach jumped into the well, but now he arrived before Rorschach.

"Is this real life? Or just a nightmare? Open your eyes and look up at the sky!" The singing continued unabated, and Luo Xia subconsciously looked up at the sky, but couldn't see the sky at all.

They stood atop a mountain of garbage, surrounded by thin, patchwork-fur-clad scavengers, their curiosity tinged with fear, wanting to approach yet hesitant to do so. The sky, or rather, the area above Rorschach's head, was merely a low, thick fog; the entire space was dim and yellowish, barely revealing silhouettes of people and objects.

They emerged from the well behind them, before Singrev could even arrive. While Rorschach was still looking up, a deafening roar ripped through the darkness. The well became a mortar, and the dwarves were launched like cannonballs, hurtling through the low, thick fog.

By the time the boy gazing at the sky reacted, the dwarf had already flown out of the range of [Mage's Hand]. Rorschach quickly cast a spell, [Featherfall], which struck the dwarf, successfully bringing him to a slow landing. The small scavengers immediately cheered and shouted with joy.

Is this a cheer for my superb spellcasting? Rorschach hadn't expected that the little guys were "experts" too.

"So you're a spellcaster. No wonder you dared to trespass into the Shadowlands." Freddy shook his head. "But you must approach it with reverence. In the Shadowlands, the brave are not greeted with flowers and wine, but only with coffins and ridicule."

"That disobedient dwarf must have secretly drunk some wine while traveling between the two worlds, and the Dead Well gave him a small punishment! What a forgiving well!"

It turns out that the poet was praising this well at the beginning. Presumably, the garbage mountain was also thrown over by the residents of the upper realm, feeding a bunch of people. Rorschach activated [Dark Vision] and saw clearly the residents of these shadow cities. They were very thin, hunched over and almost crawling on the garbage heap. The fur they wore was gray, pieced together, and likely came from rodents.

The dwarf who had stolen a sip of Gujinggong wine stumbled and met up with Rorschach and Freddy, but he was surrounded by a group of short scavengers.

"What's going on?" Singhlev was puzzled. He wasn't nervous because he could sense that the people surrounding him meant no harm; instead, they were sobbing and trying to communicate with him.

"Sorry, I can't hear you."

After the dwarf finished speaking, the scavengers fell silent. One of the older ones uttered a single, understandable word: "Wang Wang."

At first, Rorschach thought they were just like ordinary animals, but now he saw they were intelligent and organized. The poet clapped his hands: "I understand, Singrev, these ratmen have elected you as their king!"

Then Freddy whispered to Rorschach, "They're rat whisperers. They probably thought Mr. Singlev could fly, and since he's about the same size as the rat whisperers, they guessed..."

So you have to offer your loyalty? The loyalty of these little things is worthless! Rorschach was speechless at the Rat Whisperer's hasty actions. It turned out the cheers weren't for his spellcasting, but because Singlev had descended from the sky, wanting the King of Garbage Mountain!

The dwarf hurriedly ran to the two, trying to shake off the natives of the Shadow City, but they were much more agile than the dwarfs on the garbage mountain. Now the three of them were surrounded and, led by an individual who appeared to be an elder, kowtowed and knelt before the newly appointed king.

Freddy laughed heartily at the bewildered Singrev, then said, "Weren't you looking for someone in the Shadowlands? Rats are everywhere in Shadow Cities and even Storm City in the Upper Realms, and Rat Whisperers who can communicate with rats are extremely useful!"

(End of this chapter)