Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 48 The World Beneath the Ruins

Chiba's intelligence from the black market was accurate; the Gear Brotherhood's "employee passage" was located in the southeast corner of the junkyard.

This industrial elevator is large enough to swallow two heavy-duty freight wagons. The surface of the iron cage is covered with a rough oxide layer, like congealed blood scabs, and it hangs on four load-bearing steel cables as thick as a wrist.

The winch overhead started spinning, and the loud metallic clanging made one's teeth ache.

As the vibrations of meshing gears traveled from the soles of my feet throughout my body, the light on the ground was quickly swallowed up, and my senses were forcibly reset.

The sliver of light overhead shrank into a pale crack, then dissipated, filling my vision with boundless darkness.

It was dark and crowded.

As the roaring elevator pierced through layers of thick rock and concrete, Rod adjusted the focus of his goggles, his eyes slightly narrowed.

What lies before us is the corpse of a city.

Within the vast underground cavity, the ruins of countless eras are stacked layer upon layer, forming geological sedimentary rock layers, like the limbs and fragments of an old era, randomly piled up by some irresistible force.

In this dim underground world, time seems to be sliced ​​into pieces.

Two hundred and thirty years ago, this land was not called "Rust Harbour," but an independent city-state known as the "Duchy of Carlton."

At that time, Grand Duke Carlton was ambitious and refused the guild's technical assistance, attempting to unravel the secrets of the stranded demigod warship on his own.

They built a magnificent steam city around the keel of the giant ship, where countless towering brass towers once spewed out white smoke, a symbol of industrial progress.

However, greed angered the dormant heritage.

A reckless dismantling of the giant ship's power core triggered an unprecedented "massive subsidence".

Overnight, the once-prosperous capital city collapsed as the earth's crust fractured, sinking into a hollow rock formation hundreds of meters underground.

Three hundred thousand people, along with their ambitions, instantly became fossils underground.

The chaotic and frenzied "Rust Harbor" on the surface of the earth today is nothing more than a makeshift shack built by a group of newcomers on the grave of a long-dead kingdom.

The ancient parts that the scavengers unearthed day and night were often the last supper that the Carlton nobles hadn't had a chance to enjoy back then.

The broken viaduct lies suspended in mid-air, like the pale ribs left behind by the city after its death, its surface covered with moss that emits a faint blue light.

The collapsed spire hangs upside down on the rock face, forming dying stone fangs.

Huge ventilation ducts meander through the ruins, resembling petrified giant pythons with peeling metal scales, occasionally spewing out plumes of murky hot air.

The air here is thick and humid, and every breath carries the rotten smell of fermenting spores, sticking deep in the throat.

"What kind of place is this?"

Chiba gripped the iron railing of the elevator, his previously restless tail now tightly tucked between his legs.

She stared at the bottomless dark abyss outside the iron cage, and the occasional crimson compound eyes of unknown creatures that flashed within it, her voice trembling slightly.

"The intelligence reports call this hellhole the 'employee passage'? What company's employees have to pass through hell on their way to work every day?! Those bastards who sold the intelligence definitely omitted ten pages of risk warnings!"

"To be precise, this is at best a gateway to hell."

Rhodes stood at the edge of the iron cage, his gaze wandering among the ruins.

In his [Analysis Vision], which he occasionally opened and then quickly closed for fear of contamination, gray light clusters kept jumping out on the chaotic ruins.

[Structural collapse], [Magic leakage], [Residual whispers of the ancient gods (weak)]...

"This is the industrial drainage area of ​​the Duchy of Carlton two hundred years ago, now named 'Basement Level' in the guild archives." Rhodes' voice echoed in the empty shaft. "Below that is the ruins of the old capital's lower city—the former civilian and factory district. If you don't want to fall down and become the midnight snack for those mutated rats, you'd better hold on tight."

Avira stood beside Rhodes, her left hand on the hilt of her sword and her right hand holding a shield, maintaining a tactical stance.

"A nation destroyed by greed." She looked at the twisted ruins, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. "This kind of underground environment not only breeds monsters, but those automated defense structures that went out of control two hundred years ago may still be functioning. We must remain vigilant."

Rhodes patted the bulging alchemical pouch at his waist: "That's why we need that equipment..."

"Clang—"

Before he could finish speaking, accompanied by a tooth-grinding metallic clang, the elevator suddenly jolted, its inertia pulling the three of them to a stop.

Before them stood a massive gate covered in verdigris, its warning signs painted in red paint long since blurred into a bloody stain by the erosion of time.

This is the entrance to "Basement Level - Sewer Relics".

Rod stepped forward, gripped the gate's rotating wheel with both hands, and tensed the muscles in his arms.

With a screeching sound from the bearings, the gate slowly opened, and a stench of rotting algae and stagnant water wafted out.

Rhodes pushed open the gate and stepped onto the slippery, greasy metal floor: "Welcome to the ruins."

He turned his head, and the vertical pupils behind his goggles reflected the faces of the two women behind him, each with a different expression.

"There are no laws here. Apart from monsters, anyone you encounter is very likely an enemy... Stay close to me and be alert to any movement around you."

The passage was wider than expected, with thick pipes on both sides, and a layer of viscous black water on the ground, with oil floating on the surface.

"Damn it, my boots..." Chiba lifted the hem of her cloak, tiptoed, and tried to avoid the nauseating, unidentified fluffy substances on the water's surface. "I just bought these last month! Could the water be poisonous?"

"You should be more worried about what's lurking underwater than the poison."

Rhodes raised the lantern in his hand, and the halo of light pierced the darkness ahead.

At the corner of the passage, clusters of translucent, viscous substances emitting a ghostly green glow were wriggling, completely blocking the way.

It was a gel-like substance made of strong acid and organic matter. With each movement, it left a trail of corrosion on the ground, emitting white smoke, and the stone slabs sizzled and moaned.

【Acidic Slime (Mutant)】

Status: Hungry

Entry:

[Strong Acid Fluid (Green)]: Corrodes upon contact and has devastating destructive power on metal equipment.

[Physical Immunity (White)]: Non-Newtonian fluid structures can absorb 90% of blunt and slashing kinetic energy.

[Divide and Proliferate (White)]: Physical cutting will cause it to split into two independent individuals.

……

"This is... a slime?" Avira frowned. "But its size completely defies normal ecology."

The swarm of slimy monsters, each as tall as a person, was slowly pressing towards them, making gurgling digestive sounds from their bodies.

"Avira, probe with your attack." Rhodes quickly took a half step back and adjusted his position. "Remember, only use shield bash, not the blade. Your sword can't withstand that level of acid corrosion."

"clear."