NOVEL NEXT Chapter 159: Utter Disappointment
The club members and Rabst waited for Zach to return with Alzara in tow. The others didn't show much of a reaction when he returned. But it was the first time Rabst saw Alzara. The keen eyes and senses he had honed for years, hunting alongside his familiars told him that she was dangerous.
Rabst could see a light in her eyes when he met her gaze, and after that, it was like she didn't exist. If it weren't for the fact that he could still see her, he would have doubted his senses that had warned him.
Rabst looked at Zach for a moment. He realized that Yanael wasn't unique. He realized that Zach wasn't just a summoner with great potential because he summoned an S-rank familiar as his first familiar. He was already a step toward being a great summoner.
With Yanael and Alzara, Zach could probably stand toe-to-toe with most third-years and some fourth-years. Their years weren't anything special, certainly not on the same level as the current second-years. But they still had a year or two of experience up on Zach. And that was two years of experience of the Academy's curriculum.
Rabst looked forward to what Zach would become. So, he stopped wasting time and brought the club on a light jog to the city and the closest manhole. He knew the sewers so well by now that it didn't matter which dirty, grimy metal lid he popped open. He could easily find his way to where they encountered the underworlder the other night.
Rabst swiftly led the group through the sewers without even looking at a map. Nessa and the others who entered the sewers for the first time were amazed at how quickly he moved on the slippery stone, in the dim light, and through the sharp corners.
Before their amazement could cool down, they were at the palace where they had encountered the underworlder the other night. Together, they investigated the area to look for any traces.
The worst-case scenario would be if there were traps laid out, and they triggered them while separated. So, they sacrificed efficiency to maintain their safety. The club members and Rabst looked for physical traces of anyone passing through, and Julius and his Mannequin searched for remnants of underworld energy.
Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful on both fronts.
They weren't just unsuccessful. It was a complete failure. Slowly, they extended their search area. But throughout the entire night, the only thing they found that stood out was a rat with two tails. However, the rat didn't have so much as a drop of underworld energy in it, so it was unrelated to what they were looking for.
Despite coming out in full force with the entire club, they had to call it a night without any progress. It was an utter disappointment. But as if that wasn't enough, the result was the exact same when they tried again the following night.
For a week straight, the entire club dove into the sewers in search of the Underworld's traces. For a week straight, they left the sewers with disappointment and frustration dripping from their faces.
Nessa's theory about the underworlder they saw and the man he dropped being traps was losing weight. It looked like it had been a coincidence. Following that encounter, the Underworld had worked even harder to remain undiscovered.
For another two weeks, they rotated different groups of club members. But regardless of the combination, they came back empty-handed and untouched by any traps.
The sewers even felt emptier than before, and the club members decided that if nothing had been found or no traps had been sprung, they should slow down the sewer exploration. They had covered the sewer system in almost all of its entirety by now.
There was no need to continue wasting time and resources on something that wouldn't give them anything. Instead, they would make better use of their time with what they were actually supposed to be doing this year: Getting rid of the contamination in the forest.
They weren't making any progress with the sewers, and it didn't look like they would make any progress any time soon.
They didn't want to give up yet, but people had even stopped disappearing from Basilia. All the leads and possible traces they had were going cold.
They didn't like it. Rabst couldn't stop frowning, and his stomach felt heavy. All the people who had been taken from the city wouldn't see the light of day again. If they did, it would be as underworlders.
He wouldn't be able to save or avenge them before long.
Of course, Rabst wasn't a second-year, and he wasn't a member of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club, so he could continue looking if he wanted. But he had his own studies, tests, and objectives to finish, ace, and reach in order to graduate from the Academy. He also had his Student Council duties to perform. Continue reading at мѵʟ
He had let everything fall behind while he focused on chasing underworlders, but now, it was time to catch up.
As a third-year and a member of the Student Council, Liam naturally also had things to do outside chasing the foul stench of the Underworld. But he hadn't sacrificed the rest of his academic life for the hunt on underworlders, and he wasn't as involved in entering the forest, so he regularly stopped by the club room and helped out.
He didn't forget to ask Zach about joining the Student Council, either.
He even tried to persuade Zach by bringing up the fact that Anerias had joined the Student Council. However, that only served to drive Zach further away. Liam wasn't satisfied with that, but Anerias was. The fact that he was part of the Student Council when Zach wasn't was proof that he was better than Zach.
Anerias couldn't specify how, but he was sure of it.
Zach, on the other hand, hardly cared. He didn't even bother asking when or why Anerias' joined. Instead, he focused on his duties and progress with Material Extraction.
The club members were reluctant to leave the city and the underworlders beneath it alone, but they had to reprioritize.