Chapter 43

Chapter 4: Eyelid (16)

***

The professor hid in the darkness of the city, recalling the characteristics of World 3's Tovrun that he had learned from the community.

'The basic structure is a forward base to defend the capital. Therefore, the lord's castle is almost attached to the south gate, which faces the capital, and there is another wall between the north and south gates. It was said that this wall divides the slum area from the general residential area... Since I came from Turan, which is directly north of Tovrun, I must be in the northern part of Tovrun, the most underdeveloped area.

The first thing that caught his eye after leaving the prison was a tall wall that seemed to divide the area and well-maintained roads. He had noticed earlier that there were two entrances to Tovrun's city gate. One led beyond that wall, and the other led to the path he was currently on.

'This area must be a designated section for using the north gate for external purposes. Well, then... let's go see the true face of Tovrun.'

The professor easily leaped over the tall wall.

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

As he entered the dark alley, the first thing he felt was a terrible stench and dampness. The central mage tower in the city. The eight rivers that branched out from the mage tower crossed the city, transporting many people and goods, and at their ends, they became a river of sewage and waste from the upper reaches.

- SoySauceGuy: Ugh, I thought Tovrun was a city of magic, so with the water mage tower, I imagined something like Venice.

- SpeedWagon: The upper reaches inside the inner city are much more beautiful. The Lead Flow school is also famous for making and selling many cheap magic items. The entire city is covered with mana, and the boats floating on the river are all magical crafts.

'The wealth gap is terribly severe. The people living at the end... are they surviving by scavenging the byproducts from this sewage?'

Everywhere he went, the tangible stench clung to him, sticky and oppressive. It was not a place for humans. Among the floating debris in the sewage, it was not uncommon to see objects shaped like humans.

[Oof, Shell, let's get out of here quickly. I can't stand it.]

'Huh?'

What is this? After being quiet for a while, why is this thing suddenly popping up again?

[Of course, I feel what you feel! Mute is designed to make humans feel hunger. It helps in collecting genes. Here... it smells like rotten food mixed with trash and diluted in water.]

You monster. Disgusting thing.

[Don't be so harsh. It's a physiological reaction.]

Damn. I need to find a way to get rid of this thing quickly.

The professor ignored the thing in his head that kept whining to leave and continued resolutely toward the deeper slums. His goal was the thief guild, located in the most remote part of the slums.

***

Creak - Thud, thud.

Pushing open the half-broken swinging door, he saw a bar where people who seemed to have given up all hope were drinking.

- Professor: Hey, is this the right place? It doesn't look like it. Look at their eyes. If I set this place on fire, they'd just say, 'Oh, it's warm,' and burn to death.

- Jokass: Trust me. I watched every broadcast when Levit Princess was pushing World 3. Levit is always a thief, so he often visited the thief guild in Tovrun.

- NutriaJina: Wow, it's been a while. You've made quite some progress? Is this the Tovrun Thief Guild?

- SoySauceGuy: Oh, you're one of the early viewers who joined during the professor's early broadcasts? I thought you had died when you stopped showing up.

- NutriaJina: Not at all. Last night, my shield malfunctioned, and I had to rely on the shelter's defenses. A week ago, a mutant got stuck in the ventilation shaft, causing chaos. Without the shield, sand kept pouring in, and a half-severed mutant was struggling in the ventilation shaft. My roommates all ran out to block the mutants drawn by the noise, while I was pulling out the mutant's severed parts from between the vents... It was like a war.

- Mukaba: Still, you managed to survive.

- NutriaJina: Yeah. Our shelter is military-built, so the defense is solid. After things calmed down, I came here to relax. But why did you come to the Tovrun Thief Guild?

'Hmm. I thought you were dead too.'

Anyway, from the conversation, it seems this is indeed the thief guild. Let's see... then the password is...

The professor passed through the narrow door and sat at the counter. He could feel the others glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes.

Tap, tap.

When he tapped the bar, the bartender finally turned his head.

"Order."

"Moonshine. Two bottles."

"Sorry, but we don't sell that anymore. What kind of old moonshine are you looking for?"

"Then six bottles. I'll pay double the price."

The exact order he read in the community. The professor didn't choose World 4, which is at the forefront of the game, but rather the already cleared World 3. Of course, if he had started with World 4, the number of viewers would have increased a bit. But World 4 is truly uncharted territory, with no information available. In contrast, World 3, which was forcefully pushed through by the third-ranked player, Thousand Streams, is still enjoyed by many players, and a lot of information is available. This means there are many ways to get help outside the game.

'Of course, in my case, the game's progress has already gone off the rails...'

But there's still a lot of useful information. For example, the access password for such a secretive group.

The bartender frowned, examined his face, and then, with a look of annoyance, took out six bottles of different shapes.

"Owner, what's the date today?"

"Jokman's month, 17th."

Ding!

[Information update. Jokman's month, 17th. Around 11 PM]

'Let's see... Jokman is the saint of October, so October 17th... '

- SpeedWagon: It's a new moon. The GG calendar is consistent regardless of the play direction, so it's a new moon.

The professor, hearing it was a new moon, picked up the fourth bottle from the six, a bottle with a slender belly on the left.

'The largest thief guild in Rodric, [Moon Shadow]. The method of contact is to find the designated bar, order moonshine, be refused, order six bottles again, and then choose a bottle with a shape similar to the moon of that day and drink it in one go. It's ridiculously complicated.'

I can't even imagine how much effort the first person to discover this went through. They probably had to clear tedious faction quests for months.

The professor shook the bottle slightly. The liquid inside was slightly opaque and silver, with quite a bit of debris floating in it.

- Professor: Hey, do I really have to drink this? It doesn't look like something to drink. Come to think of it, if it's moonshine, didn't they make it themselves? If they used this water, it would be completely poisonous.

- SoySauceGuy: It looks like something you'd see at a freshman welcome party at a university. I really want you to drink it.

- SpeedWagon: If you don't drink it, you're out. It's probably not just alcohol. They probably mixed in various things to gain the upper hand over visitors. Poisons, drugs, etc. Moon Shadow treats everyone as an enemy first.

Damn. I shouldn't have asked. Now I don't want to drink it even more.

Of course, he wasn't going to refuse. An ally was essential for this plan, and the only group that could help him in his current situation was a guild like this.

The professor closed his eyes tightly and poured the 'moonshine' down his throat.

Gulp, gulp.

The silvery liquid slid down his throat. It was very bitter, and the alcohol smell shot up his nose from his throat. And after the shock, a faint watermelon scent followed...

'This is actually pretty good?'

Just as the professor was savoring the unexpectedly good taste, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Ugh!"

As he staggered, the bartender quickly came out from behind the counter to support him.

"Oh, you drank so much of that strong stuff. You can't handle it. Rest inside for a bit."

The bartender, trying to support him, almost fell over from the unexpected weight. Two customers sitting nearby quickly got up and helped move him to the back of the bar.

Creak - Thud!

As the shabby wooden door closed, the two men supporting him grumbled.

"Ugh, damn. He's heavier than he looks."

"Yeah, I know. I've never seen this guy around here. He must be from out of town."

"Professor. Unknown identity. He was confirmed to be arrested by the guards and taken to prison around noon today. According to the guy we planted in the guard, he seems to have been tormented by a mage. From the looks of it, he managed to escape."

This was the bartender's voice. As expected, the thief guild has fast information. They already knew about his escape and