adventurers in the sewers

The moment this man opened his mouth, the bombshell revelation he dropped left Louis completely bewildered.

Half an hour ago, he was listening to Andre boast about the heroic deeds of the heroes of the past at the Warriors' Association, and then he heard that the heroes were dead.

Such a strong contrast would be hard for anyone to handle.

Fortunately, Louis was vigilant enough that he didn't make a sound even when he was shocked—one of the newcomers was a highly skilled assassin, and any slip-up would be noticed.

As that steady voice fell, another voice, as silent as withered wood, rang out:

"We'll know whether it's real or fake once we find the body."

"According to the employer, the critically injured and dying new warrior has been in the sewers for more than half a month."

"Although the new hero has fused with the class-specific secrets, his physical attributes and magical adaptability have not yet met the requirements for class change. He is just an ordinary person... His death is inevitable. The only difference is where in the sewers he dies."

"Find him and take the class-specific tome from him. Only then can we get the rest of the bounty."

After that, the sewers fell silent again, with only the sound of hurried footsteps echoing as people left.

Louis remained motionless, mentally analyzing the information he had just obtained.

Compared to this news, whether the Black Scorpion Gang is hunting down Dai Na is completely insignificant.

The hero died! And he died right there in the sewers of Blackrock City.

Although the leader of the Black Scorpion Gang did not explicitly state which of the contemporary heroes the deceased hero was, Louis guessed from the word "new" that the other party should be the fourth hero who has not yet appeared in the world.

It's tragic that it died in the filthy sewers before it could even make a name for itself.

Perhaps this is the kind of hardship one must endure to become a hero.

According to Andrei, although the heroes of each generation were protected by various countries before they could grow up, the probability of them dying was not low.

The fourth hero of our time is the new one who dies young.

What surprised Louis even more was the information related to the Hero's Class Codex.

Judging from the appearance, the Class Rank Manual is not some kind of martial arts manual or secret technique, but rather some kind of extraordinary treasure that can be integrated with the professional.

Once a professional dies, the class-specific secret manual will be re-extracted and made available to the next person.

So here's the question: As chosen ones, can the secret codes of the heroes be used by others?

Louis wasn't quite sure, but the fact that someone was specifically hiring people to search for the Hero's Codex meant that even if others couldn't use it, it still had extremely high value.

"By the way, that warrior apprentice named Ethan, who was eaten by the flesh slime, was also hired by someone about half a month ago to search for something in the sewers, right?"

"Could it be that what he's looking for is the same thing the Black Scorpion Gang is looking for? Is their employer the same person?"

Louis suddenly remembered a certain "old acquaintance".

The timing and motives matched, and Louis felt he was almost certain he had guessed correctly.

This conjecture naturally led to another question on his mind.

Who is the employer who knew about the hero's near death and hired all sorts of people to search for the hero's secret manual?

The one who severely injured the Fourth Hero?

To commit such a heinous act against a future hero who will save humanity, and then not run away but instead calmly direct mercenaries to search for the body—he seems like a very powerful and influential figure.

It's best for a lowly adventurer like myself not to know the true identity of such an important figure.

Knowing this will only become a source of disaster.

Suppressing all the thoughts in his mind, Louis was left with only one choice.

Option A: Follow the Black Scorpion Gang leader, find and steal the Hero's Tome.

Option B: Pretend you didn't hear anything, quickly slip away, and never come to this lousy sewer again.

Of the two options, the latter is clearly the safest and most reliable path.

What about the former? Not only is it dangerous, but the chances of success are also extremely slim. Even if one manages to succeed by sheer luck, they may still face pursuit by unknown powerful figures.

A normal person can tell which option to choose at a glance.

Louis always considered himself a normal person.

What? A cheat code?

The cheat code only gave him a way to become stronger, but it didn't change his mindset.

To be honest, as his power grew, Louis sometimes did get a little carried away with his ideas, but he was always able to reflect on them and correct them before putting them into action.

This time is no different.

"Let's retreat."

In the end, Louis chose to follow his heart.

Almost at the same time that he had this thought, a chilling aura came from the direction where the three members of the Black Scorpion Gang had left, causing Louis to freeze.

"Boss, nobody's following us. You're just overthinking it."

That dull voice rang out.

A deathly silence, like that of a withered tree, coldly said:

"Be careful in everything, and you won't go wrong."

Alright, alright! You're trying to play dirty tricks on me, aren't you?

Louis held his breath, feeling a sense of relief.

Fortunately, I acted on my conscience at the last moment, otherwise I would definitely have been caught red-handed by the Black Scorpion Gang leader's counterattack.

Although his current stats are far superior to those of an ordinary person, and he does possess combat skills, there are three people on the other side.

Leaving aside the assassin apprentice, the other two are also highly likely to be professional apprentices.

Once you face them, even if you manage to escape unscathed, you certainly won't be able to silence them and will be hunted down and killed badly.

The footsteps of the three men faded into the distance again, leaving only a faint sound of complaint reaching Louis's ears:

"Boss, this sewer stinks so badly! We don't have a single clue. When will this ever end...?"

Louis, who was quietly retreating, was suddenly struck by these words.

Yup!

We all make a living in the sewers, so who is more noble than whom?

With such complex terrain, without intelligence, who can be sure that the chosen route for searching the body is correct?

As the saying goes, "You may plant flowers with care but they may not bloom, while you may plant willows without care and they may thrive." Why should you be so anxious and fearful in tracking down the enemy? Why not just do your job normally?

Who knows, you might just stumble upon the hero's corpse while tirelessly scavenging corpses every day.

Who can say for sure about such things?

If Louis happens to obtain the Hero's Manual and can use it for his own purposes, he wouldn't mind embarking on the path of a hero.

What God does not take, is to be blamed.

After figuring all this out, Louis returned to his normal state of mind, went back to the area where he usually worked, and leisurely opened the map as usual.

Before I knew it, seven or eight hours had passed.

After a day of hard work, Louis found five more corpses, and was lucky enough to find the corpse of a shield guard apprentice, from which he obtained attribute points of +1 Stamina, +2 Basic Swordsmanship, and +0.5 Extraordinary.

All I can say is that the Warriors Guild's three starting classes are way too overpowered.

Any family that is relatively well-off can afford to feed their children meat and allow them to train full-time from a young age, which will result in good training outcomes.

During the training, everyone will definitely receive a basic swordsmanship manual, which will allow Louis to practice to his heart's content.