Screech—the screeching of wheels echoed from the dark tunnel. The sound continued getting louder and louder until it was deafening, along with a certain scream.
A minecart, occupied by a screaming young man, shot out of the tunnel and careened down the tracks. The wheels then lit up in fire as the brakes kicked in and plunged the speed from over 200 km/h to below 100 in a matter of seconds.
The minecart then slowly came to a stop, smoke billowing from the screeching wheels.
“Haah… haaah…” Ambrose covered his mouth and felt like vomiting his lunch. The intense deceleration had taken a toll on his stomach, leaving him queasy and nauseous.
He stumbled out of the vehicle, grateful to be on solid ground once again.
“Shit… how far did I travel?” Ambrose opened his interface while leaning against the minecart; otherwise, he would fall down as the dizziness hadn’t disappeared yet.
He checked the time on the interface and then closed it.
“Nearly thirty minutes. I had easily crossed over a hundred kilometers.” Ambrose touched his bald head and sighed with fear and relief—fear because he was very far from safety and relief that the danger was very far from Yatagarasu, where his little sister was.
After checking the condition of the minecart to determine whether it was fit to do the return trip, he pulled the lever and it began moving backwards into the tunnel.
He didn’t have to use the minecart for another thirty minutes trip, or even longer because now it was moving up. He only had to log off and when he logged back in, he would be back in Honorable Zhen’s house.
After the minecart entered the dark tunnel, he suddenly heard voices echoing from distance. He couldn’t see where they came from as he stood in a twisty-looking alleyway.
The minecart took him directly to one of Warhaven’s many alleyways. It was quite hidden behind several dozen buildings, but the residents of this evil place clearly knew about the mine tunnels. There were hundreds of them, spread across the city.
‘I better hide my face.’ Ambrose took his worn-out black cloak from the inventory and put it over his beige-colored robe. He then covered his bald head with the hood of the cloak.
‘Let’s see what kind of place this is.’ He hid his sheathed Black Sword under his cloak and then began trekking down the twisty alleyways. The alleyways were like a maze, and it was easy to get lost there, but he followed the voices and stepped into one of the many public streets.
Ambrose lifted his gaze at the second floor of a nearby building. The window was wide open, and there was a woman with her upper body naked, smoking with a cigarette on her lips. She looked at the people on the street, her perky breasts swaying with each puff of smoke.
‘Jesus…’ He looked away from there with a shake of his head and then began following the street, going wherever it led him.
A short moment later, he saw the atmosphere of the street shift rapidly. The light from nearby buildings turned from a golden hue to red. Unknowingly, he ventured to the Street of Sex.
‘What am I seeing?’ Ambrose kept his face hidden, but he couldn’t contain his curiosity and slightly revealed some of his face to catch a glimpse of the ongoings of the street.
“Hey, young man!” A depraved-sounding voice came from one of the alleyways. Ambrose turned his eyes and saw a naked woman with a disheveled appearance and a lazy-looking smile. She looked like a drunkard and smelled like one.
“100 silvers, and I will fulfill your wildest fantasies.” Her voice slurred as, in a drunken stupor, she tried to keep standing.
‘The fuck.’ Ambrose looked away and picked up his pace. He looked around and smelled a heavy stench of depravity. The brothels were in full swing, with each floor overflowing with moans and laughter.
‘Martial Company is bold to add something like this!’ Ambrose thought with a flushed face. ‘When news about this place enters the public’s ears, I wonder how they will react.
‘I am sure that there will be players coming in search of cheap alcohol and sex. This might be a dream place for some, but I am sure there is a reason why the Wisdom King called it the City of Evil. This place cannot only be sex and alcohol.’
With wandering thoughts, he left the Street of Sex and entered the infamous Street of Alcohol. The smell turned from body odors to alcohol and piss.
‘Bartenders often have answers for wanderers, don’t they?’ Ambrose thought as he stopped in front of one of the bars and peered inside. The same scene of debauchery unfolded before his eyes. ‘At least in movies.’
The clinking of glasses and raucous laughter filled the air as he stepped inside the messy bar. He carefully avoided the drunken patrons and walked past the public board without catching a sight of it.
After reaching the bar counter, he sat down on the stool and curiously looked around with his finger pressed against his cheek.
“You new?” The bartender asked while wiping down the counter with a rag.
“What gave it away?” Ambrose curiously asked as he moved his legs forward and sat properly on the stool.
“That.” The bartender replied, gesturing towards his sitting position. “No one sits here normally. Everyone has the tough guy mentality, because if you show weakness, your corpse will be discovered several weeks later in one of the alleys.” 𝐎𝗏xt.𝗰𝑶𝔪
“Oh.” Ambrose loosened his sitting posture and sat more like a delinquent. “Thanks.”
“Never thank me.” The bartender said and poured Ambrose a drink. “Don’t thank anyone here. Next time, they might try to kill you. Here, have a drink; it’s on me.”
Ambrose nodded and looked at the drink, its surface filled with foam. He pressed the glass against his lips and took a small sip before putting the glass back on the counter and acting like he was only looking around.
However, in reality, he resisted spitting out the drink. This was the first time he drank alcohol, and it tasted like horse piss. The disgusting taste filled every crevice of his mouth, making him want to gag.
‘I hate this place already.’ Ambrose thought and turned to the bartender. “What do people do here that doesn’t include visiting brothels or getting shitfaced?”
The bartender smirked. “Lots of things. You have only scratched the surface if you think Warhaven is only the Street of Sex and Alcohol.”
“Oh, any recommendations?” Ambrose curiously asked while taking another sip of the alcohol. The taste seemed to only get worse.
“Depends what you prefer, honestly.” The bartender then nudged his chin towards the public board. “One of the main attractions of Warhaven includes that public board filled with bounty posters.”
“Huh?” Ambrose looked over his shoulder at the public board. He was stunned to see so many brown-ranked posters. “So, citizens of Warhaven participate in bounty hunting?”
“Hahaha, no.” The bartender grinned. “The higher the bounty and rank, the more prestige you have in the city. The ones with the lowest bounties are servants, and the ones with the highest are kings.
“That’s why many try to increase their bounties so they won’t be stepped over.”
Ambrose’s eyes widened in shock. “They intentionally try to increase their bounties?”
“Haha, yes.” The bartender smirked. “I, myself, have a brown-ranked bounty of 24,500 silvers.”
“Is that good or bad?” Ambrose asked, bewildered.
“Decent enough.” The bartender shrugged his shoulders. “That bounty at least ensures that I won’t get robbed. The brown-ranked bounty poster also helps.”
“The difference in ranks has a big difference?” Ambrose asked.
“Yeah, vast.” The bartender hung the wet rag over the edge of the bar. “White-ranked are the servants and whores of this place.
“The brown-ranked are soldiers, and the red-ranked are the kings and queens of Warhaven.”
“I see…” Ambrose nodded and then frowned. “Soldiers? What is their purpose in Warhaven?”
“Heh.” The bartender smirked. “Their duty is to be on the front lines, fighting against the enemies of Warhaven—Sanctorioum of the Inquisitorious.”
“Inquisitors?!” Ambrose’s eyes widened in shock. “They are in here?”
“Not exactly.” The bartender said. “When you leave the bar, look to the south. You will see large gates. They are the so-called Gates of Freedom. It leads outside this place, but outside awaits an army from Sanctorioum of the Inquisitorious.
“Most of them are disciples of the Inquisitors, but they are still incredibly strong.
“That is also the only place where you can prove your worth and increase your bounty. Thus, death is also very frequent there, and the survival rate is low.”
“Unbelievable…” Ambrose left the alcohol behind and ran out of the bar. He then turned towards the south, and just like the bartender said, there were large gates that even reached the ceiling.
‘Inquisitors!’