Nearly 20 minutes had passed, and now, Raelis was in the heart of the city. Technically, he was in the alleyway right beside the city center.
Raelis took a deep breath, put on the Black Lotus mask, and confidently walked deeper into the alleyway.
That was when he stopped and glanced down at the manhole cover.
A shiver ran down his spine, but even so, he reached for the manhole cover and pushed it aside.
Then, he jumped down, making sure to close the opening behind him.
Unlike regular sewers, the drop lasted nearly ten seconds before he began sliding. Eventually, he even saw some light.
And along with that light came a sight he could’ve only imagined from his father’s vivid diary.
It was an underground city, literally.
This city had gone unnoticed by the emperor, or anyone from the Varekan family, for that matter.
It was secretive and, had Raelis not put on the Black Lotus mask, he would’ve plunged straight into a human grinder because of the security system that was in place.
Only a few types of people can reach this city... Raelis thought with a slight smile. Drug lords, information barons, and lastly, the Black Lotus organization.
But that didn’t mean the people were all bad. Heck, they weren’t even selling actual drugs.
Instead, they sold drugs that enhanced performance or gave temporary power boosts.
Hotter fire, colder frost. These were just the basics.
But of course, if someone overused the basics, their natural fire would weaken, and their ice wouldn’t be as cold.
In the end, they’d need to rely on the drugs just to function normally.
Raelis clicked his tongue. But eventually, even that would run out, and they’d no longer be able to wield mana... but I don’t care much about those people. They brought it on themselves.
With that in mind, he strolled through the underground city.
Dozens of Magitek lights lit the ceiling, acting like stars in this underground place.
As for the buildings themselves, they were mostly scraps, with only very few having some sort of semblance to a regular building.
But there was one luxurious building in the midst of this slum, and it had a single Black Lotus logo on the door.
Raelis didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside and walked over to the lone receptionist, who also wore a Black Lotus mask.
The receptionist was browsing a newspaper, but when they noticed Raelis, they turned their attention to him.
"I’d like a mission." Raelis cut straight to the chase.
The receptionist nodded and pulled out a note from under the desk, then pushed it toward Raelis.
It wasn’t the mission. Instead, he had to choose which mission he wanted to start.
There were 3 types of missions he could go on right away.
Since Recovery and Espionage would take too long, Raelis circled the Elimination mission type and handed the note over to the receptionist, who confirmed it and stood up, walking to the back room.
Moments later, the receptionist came back with a single file, which was tossed across the desk toward Raelis.
The silence was a bit uncomfortable, but Raelis knew that this organization was definitely not a joke. If they were lax with their security and methods, then they would’ve been found out decades ago.
Raelis nodded at the receptionist and walked over to the lounge area, then sat down and opened the file.
It detailed an assassination request on a noble.
Location: Ingram Estate, second floor. Northern side large window.
Appearance: Short brown hair, brown eyes. Freckle on his cheek. Mole below his right eye.
Known crimes: Human trafficking, slave auctioning, murder, embezzlement.
Request details: Kill the fucking bastard and leave his head on the city center’s fountain. If you do that, then I’m going to double your reward.
Reward upon completion: 5 Silver coins.
5 silver coins for such an odd job was definitely a lot.
100 copper coins equaled 1 Silver coin
100 Silver coins equaled 1 Gold coin
100 Gold coins equaled 1 Platinum coin
You could feed a family of four with just 3 Silvers per month, so getting 5 off this mission, plus a bonus of 5 if he did what he was instructed, was definitely much more than he needed.
No... I do need it. I still need to finish my knife collection, so the more money the better.
Now that Raelis was done reviewing the information, he handed the request form back to the receptionist and prepared to make his way out.
But that was when the receptionist suddenly tapped the desk, getting his attention.
They pushed over the same file but tapped the very bottom bit.
He had forgotten to sign his name.
A faint smile appeared on Raelis’s face as he grabbed the quill beside the receptionist, dipped it in ink, then signed his name.
He had initially thought of not using the same name he had used last time, but there were more benefits to doing so.
After all, there was the mythical Grade 3 potion he had wanted to request, the Phoenix Tear potion.
It was a potion that greatly increased his flame capabilities, and it was said to drastically improve Bloodline Purity as well as mana circulation.
For that, he needed to be recommended to the Divine Alchemist.
Since he couldn’t fully trust Blue’s words, he was going to improve his reputation as ’Amon’ in the meantime so he’d have some trustworthy leverage when it came down to it.
I also need to get the materials... but that’ll probably take me a few months.
The Furnace Academy believed in sending students off to get practical experience and did so by assigning them to different territories.
Whether near the front lines or in a conflict zone, it was experience all the same.
So when I go on one of those excursions, I’ll take a detour to gather the materials for the potion, and come back.
Anyhow, he was done here, so he finally stepped out of the Black Lotus mission building, then walked back the way he came from.
Along the way, he heard several people snickering, and even witnessed a few conflicts that broke out into fights.
It really was a lawless place, but despite that, there was one universal rule here.
When that rule is broken... then this entire place is going to be compromised.
He finally came back to the start, and now, he stared at the giant curved tube ahead.
This was the way he had dropped down from, and beside it was another manhole cover.
Raelis took a deep breath and stepped onto the manhole cover.
Nothing happened at first, but that was when a fuzzy feeling washed over his body, followed by his vision distorting.
Moments later, his vision came back, and he once again found himself in the familiar alleyway, standing beside the manhole cover that he had come through earlier.
Raelis tapped the wall, then leaned down slightly.
Unlike the headmaster’s teleportation, this one felt like his guts had been rearranged.
After a few minutes, he finally stopped vomiting.
He straightened his back and recalled the mission information.
Location: Ingram Estate, second floor. Northern side large window.
Ingram Estate... Raelis smiled, finally remembering. It’s near the outskirts of the city, basically in a blind spot for the law.
With that information in mind, Raelis ran toward the estate, ready to get this mission going.