5.
The sewers beneath Ninyaru’s upper city were divided into two sections.
The old sewers, which had existed since the city's foundation.
And the new sewers, built after renovations to modernize the city's infrastructure.
Currently, only the new sewers were in use. The old sewers had been abandoned, rarely visited, and left unmaintained.
In contrast to Ninyaru’s vibrant and dazzling appearance, the old sewers were the city’s darkest and most sinister location.
And this was exactly where Seong had arrived.
A massive sewer entrance, at least ten meters in diameter, loomed before him.
Seeing it, Seong smiled.
"This is the place."
He had found the right location.
Paul’s memories had shown him the sewers, so he had expected a foul stench and unhygienic conditions.
Fortunately, since this sewer system had long been abandoned, it wasn’t as bad as he had feared.
Serpina, who had been worrying about the same thing, let out a sigh of relief.
After surveying the surroundings, Seong prepared to step forward.
But Helena shot him a curious look and asked,
“What kind of master goes in ahead of his subordinates?”
“Hm? Is that so?” Seong tilted his head.
“It is proper that we take the lead,” Fiora affirmed.
“Hmmm, placing the vanguard up front is more efficient,” Serpina admitted.
—Kahahaha! I shall go first!
—M-Me too!
His minions all voiced their insistence.
If Seong had stubbornly insisted on going first, they would have obeyed, albeit reluctantly.
But there was no need to be difficult.
Acknowledging their concerns, he gave a slight nod.
With that, Valtar, the tank, took the lead, alongside the versatile Fiora.
Noctrynium followed close behind, with Seong, Helena, and Serpina forming the rear guard.
A perfectly balanced formation.
Satisfied, the group entered the old sewers.
The tunnel was structured like a massive underground cavern, where sounds should have echoed endlessly.
But strangely, their footsteps made no noise at all.
Seong found it «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» odd.
“That would be my skill,” Serpina said.
Her explanation revealed that it was a wind-based sound suppression ability.
It seemed incredibly useful.
As Seong contemplated its applications, he suddenly halted.
Sensing his movement, his minions immediately stopped as well, eyes fixed on him.
The reason for his sudden pause?
[You have completed the hidden chain quest, 『Basilica’s Spy』!]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]
[Level up!] ×2
[You have reached Level 139.]
[Before the next chain quest is generated, an Event Scene will be played.]
An unexpected event scene.
Seong had no choice but to remain still as the system forcibly triggered it.
Like other event scenes, he couldn’t move a single finger.
However, something was different this time.
His vision shifted upward—
Until he was looking down from the ceiling, as if he were an invisible observer.
"Ohho."
This was a type of event scene he had encountered before.
Unlike the ones introducing raid bosses, this one was showing past events that had occurred in this location.
Just like when he had seen Fiora and Noctrynium’s pasts.
As he settled in to observe, a faint echo of footsteps filled the sewer.
The sound was extremely subtle.
A true assassin.
A barely audible scuffling, followed by a shadowy figure appearing from the darkness.
Ssssss...
Apparently, they no longer felt the need to hide.
Dragging a bleeding Paul along the ground—
Was a beastman with a snake’s head.
They must have believed that no one would track them down this far.
With no sign of caution, the snake-headed figure acted boldly.
After reaching a secluded part of the sewer, the snake beastman set Paul down and began interrogating him.
Through torture.
The scene was gruesome.
But Seong had already seen this.
So instead of looking away, he observed carefully.
There might still be clues he hadn’t caught before.
As he analyzed the situation, the enemy’s true objective became clear.
“How strong is the knight order protecting this city?” the snake beastman asked.
“Khhhk... Ho... Hohoho... Y-you think I’d tell you...?”
Despite the repeated torture, Paul refused to answer.
The beastman should have been frustrated.
But it remained as emotionless as a machine.
The same pattern repeated.
Torture. Then questions.
Again. And again.
Paul endured as long as he could.
Until—he died.
“...Another failure.”
The beastman sounded disappointed.
But there was no emotion in its voice.
Then, it murmured to itself.
“I need to find a new source of information.”
With that, the snake-headed figure vanished into the darkness.
And the event scene ended.
From this, Seong learned several things.
First, the enemy’s goal was information.
They wanted to gauge the strength of Ninyaru’s Black Knights.
Likely in preparation for a future invasion.
And secondly—
The spy had already left and had not yet returned.
Meaning...
"I can set up an ambush."
He was in a favorable position.
With his silent approach and erased traces, he was completely undetected.
If he struck now, he could catch the enemy off guard.
As Seong came to this conclusion, a system prompt appeared.
[You are at a crossroads.]
[You must make a choice!]
[1. Wait here for Basilica’s spy to return and ambush them.]
[2. Contact the Black Knights before the spy returns.]
[Your choice will determine the quest’s direction, events, and rewards.]
Warning
A hidden raid boss?
Seong’s lips curled into a grin.
A boss fight labeled as extremely difficult to solo.
But from everything he had experienced in Eternal World so far—
He had noticed a pattern.
The harder the challenge—
The better the rewards.
Even the system message had hinted at it.
"Your choice will determine the rewards."
If he chose the harder path and won—
He would reap even greater rewards.
There was only one option.
“I choose Option 1.”
Immediately, the system responded.
[You have chosen Option 1.]
[The next quest, 『Basilica’s Spy, Shivren』, has been generated.]
A new chain quest.
The objective was simple.
→ Lure out the Hidden Raid Boss, Shivren, to Phase 2—but do not kill him. Capture him instead.
Capturing a Hidden Raid Boss was one thing.
But subduing one without killing it?
That was a whole different challenge.
Yet, wasn't that what made it fun?
Seong nodded to himself before turning to his subordinates.
"Can you restrain him without killing him?"
A difficult question.
But his subordinates merely tilted their heads.
—Kahahaha!!! Restraining an enemy is harder than killing one, but do not worry, Lord. It will be effortless!
—Huh? I-It’s easy.
“If that is your command, we shall accomplish it.”
“Hmmm~ Restraining might actually be easier than outright killing.”
“Seong, are you underestimating us right now?”
His subordinates all responded with unshakable confidence.
Seong smirked.
Of course.
With the power they had, failing to capture an opponent would be more absurd than succeeding.
Contrary to what the Black Puma had expected—
Seong saw this task as trivial.
But just as he settled into that thought—
"Seong?" Helena blinked.
"Hm?"
Did she have something to say?
When Seong turned to listen, Helena casually explained one of her abilities.
After hearing it—
“Wait... You can do that?”
For the first time in a while, Seong looked genuinely shocked.
Helena had mentioned it so nonchalantly.
But to him—
"This is insane."
With that ability, capturing Shivren would be laughably easy.
Convinced, Seong made his decision.
He would wait.
It didn’t take long.
Hissssss...
Tap, tap...
A faint dragging noise echoed through the sewer.
Accompanied by the soft, deliberate footsteps of an approaching figure.
Hearing it, Seong's lips curled into a smile.
"Alright, let's begin."
And just to test Helena’s skill—
6.
Shivren, the Basilica Spy.
A seasoned assassin and infiltrator, raised in the shadows of Basilica for decades.
He had spent years assassinating merchants, outsiders, and even locals in the labyrinth.
Yet, despite all his experience—
Espionage in Ninyaru was far more difficult than expected.
Infiltrating the city was already an ordeal.
Erasing his traces while abducting Merchant Overseers was even harder.
But even so—
Shivren carried out his missions flawlessly.
Because that was his purpose.
This time was no different.
“B-Basilica...”
The Merchant Overseer he had captured groaned as he regained consciousness.
Shivren, however, said nothing.
With cold, mechanical efficiency, he continued dragging the Overseer toward the interrogation chamber.
At least, that was the plan.
Until he felt something off.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Shivren's sharp eyes scanned the sewer.
It was too clean.
There were no footprints, no disturbances in the dust.
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At first glance, there were no signs of an intruder.
However—
"The heat... is too high."
The ambient temperature had increased.
By a single degree.
Perhaps less.
But for a cold-blooded snake beastman—
Even the slightest temperature shift was enough to trigger his instincts.
"Did someone enter?"
No.
There were no physical traces.
Was it some environmental change?
Either way—
Shivren was too much of a professional to ignore it.
Just as he raised his guard—
Sssshhhhhh—
Beneath him—
The shadows darkened.
A void emerged from the depths, consuming the space around his feet.
Darker than shadow.
Deeper than night.
A chasm of pure abyss.
And from within—
A hand reached out.
Shivren reacted instantly.
But he couldn’t move.
[You have been caught by Abyssal Grasp.]
[Your movements are sealed for 3 seconds.]
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Basilica’s Spy, Shivren』 is resisting.]
[This ability cannot be resisted.]
Unavoidable.
No matter how hard he tried to writhe free, the abyss held him tight.
At the same time—
A small girl with a semi-liquid body darted toward him.
An enemy?
Shivren instantly judged her as hostile.
He struggled against the abyss, trying to break free.
But before he could—
Fwoosh!
The slime-like girl, Fiora, snatched the Merchant Overseer from his grasp and retreated.
Simultaneously—
A massive, crimson demon charged at him.
Valtar.
Wielding his greatsword, he swung with the force of an avalanche.
BOOOOOM!!!
The sheer impact of the attack ripped through the sewer.
Had Shivren not been trapped, he might have dodged.
But in his current state—
He had no choice but to take the attack head-on.
Yet—
Even as the blow landed—
His scales absorbed most of the damage.
Shreds of his cloak and armor were obliterated, exposing his upper body.
Scattered across the floor—
Were pieces of his tough, plated scales.
—Hooh? Tough one, aren’t you? Valtar mused.
Despite the force of the attack, Shivren remained standing.
His sharp mind instantly analyzed the situation.
These opponents—
They were nothing like Ninyaru’s residents.
"They are not from this city."
He didn’t recognize them.
A demon.
A slime.
Neither of them belonged in this world.
Which meant—
"Outsiders."
Either outsiders themselves.
Or creatures summoned by an outsider.
Shivren quickly scanned his surroundings.
But even his heat vision failed to detect anything.
"Stealth? No... Suppressed presence?"
As he calculated his next move—
BOOM!
Valtar launched himself forward again.
The force of his step sent cracks through the sewer floor.
A quake rumbled through the tunnel.
The entire structure threatened to collapse.
Like a cannonball, Valtar hurled himself toward Shivren.
This time—
His greatsword carried a dark crimson aura.
With blinding speed—
He slashed.
Schlunk!
Shivren deflected the attack.
With two daggers drawn from his waist, he intercepted Valtar’s attack head-on.
KZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT!!!
The greatsword clashed against the daggers.
A violent shockwave erupted.
Sparks scattered in all directions.
The ground beneath them shattered from the sheer force.
Valtar grinned.
—You’re more durable than I thought!
Shivren’s eyes narrowed.
This was no ordinary battle.
He had encountered dangerous foes before.
But these opponents—
They were something else entirely.
And yet—
They were holding back.
"They aren’t trying to kill me."
Which meant—
They were after something else.
Shivren gritted his fangs.
He needed to escape.
Now.
But just as he began to move—
A voice echoed through the sewer.
One laced with amusement.
“You’re not getting away.”
And with those words—
The real hunt began.