GILF Hunter

Chapter 248: 248 Take it off

Glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness of the underground sewer.

”Throw it now!”

”Yes!”

Following Ian’s command, Tanya threw an orb. It shattered against the wall, releasing a burst of light that brightly illuminated the corridor.

As the darkness lifted, a swarm of rats hidden within was revealed. These were no ordinary rats; larger than rabbits, they were categorized as monsters—the ’Scavengers’ of the underground sewers.

Along with Slimes, they were the primary monsters active in the sewers.

”Six... no, seven of them!”

While each individual was not particularly strong, these rat swarms were characterized by their unpredictable numbers. Sometimes only one or two would attack, while other times a pack of over ten would roam together, requiring constant vigilance.

Seeing that the number of rats was higher than expected, Rin pulled an orb from her pouch. Having fought many battles alongside Ian, Rin could now gauge the appropriate response based on the enemy’s numbers even without his direct orders.

”I’ll use a ’Frost Bomb’!”

The orb Rin threw flew toward the swarm. Thanks to Rin’s [Throwing] skill, which had recently reached B-rank, the orb landed precisely in the center of the pack.

A pure white light erupted from the broken sphere, and every rat was accurately caught in the wave of cold. Their bodies froze and became coated in frost, their movements stiffening instantly.

”All of them are hit! Both of you, move in!”

Rat swarms could bring a mercenary to the brink of death in an instant if not handled quickly, but individually, they were weak. Their high speed usually made them difficult to hit, but in their current state—feet frozen—their combat power was lower than that of a goblin.

”Let’s go, Mika!”

”Right!”

Rin charged in first, swinging her blade at a rat, and Mika followed close behind to attack. Unlike Slimes, these were opponents vulnerable to physical attacks; with Rin joining the fray, the swarm was cleared out in no time.

”...Phew.”

After finishing off the group of Scavengers, Rin wiped away her sweat and kept a cautious eye on the surroundings. Once she was sure no more monsters were approaching, she lowered her sword and caught her breath with a weary face.

Where did they keep coming from? No matter how many times they patrolled, these rat swarms reappeared endlessly. Moreover, for some reason today, they had already encountered two packs before lunch.

After the intense physical exertion, Rin suddenly felt a strong wave of hunger. Sensing that lunchtime had surely passed while they were fighting, Rin spoke to Ian with an expectant look.

”Captain, hasn’t lunchtime passed already?”

A little while after lunch, and today’s work would be over. Rin nodded to herself and peeked at Ian for an answer.

Hearing her question, Ian quietly opened his system window. Since schedule management was a core system of this game, the current time could be easily checked from any UI.

[10:48 AM]

After checking the time, Ian shook his head and replied.

”There’s still over an hour left until lunch.”

”Th-that can’t be...”

A shocked Rin hung her head. If he were a malicious captain, she might think he was lying to squeeze more work out of her, but knowing Ian’s meticulous sense of time, Rin was genuinely stunned and disappointed.

”...Let’s take a short break then.”

”Really!”

After checking the remaining sectors and confirming the schedule was quite flexible, Ian granted them a rest period.

”Tanya. Some water, please.”

”Sure, just a second...”

While everyone else prepared to sit and rest, Tanya quickly set down her backpack and began rummaging through the gear. Besides minor errands like fetching water, it was also Tanya’s job to check and restock the consumables used in battle.

Perhaps because she was in too much of a hurry, or perhaps she wasn’t yet used to organizing items, Tanya accidentally dropped a pouch on the floor.

The fallen pouch opened, and the round orbs inside began rolling along the sewer floor with a clattering sound.

”Ah...”

A flustered Tanya tried to grab them, but several escaped her reach and rolled far away along the slight incline of the floor.

”I-I’m sorry. I’ll go get them.”

Tanya dashed forward, picking up the orbs one by one. Meanwhile, a few orbs continued to roll further away from her.

”Wait, Tanya. It’s dangerous to go out that far.”

Tanya had run toward the path ahead that hadn’t been scouted yet. She knew she shouldn’t go there first, but panicked by the thought of losing expensive orbs due to her mistake, she had moved instinctively.

She managed to find and pick up the very last bead, finally letting out a sigh of relief. But at that moment, Tanya heard a sound—not the sound of sewer water, but a foreign, liquid noise.

From a gap in a small side path next to the corridor, the squelching sound of a sticky, viscous substance echoed.

”Ah...”

From her past experience, Tanya knew this was the sound a Slime made when it was about to attack. As she turned her head, she saw a hidden Slime quivering, preparing to pounce.

Should she dodge? Could she block it? Or should she use the emergency tools in her pouch? They were expensive. Was it okay to use one for this?

Before she could even decide, the Slime lunged at her.

”Tanya!”

Ian, who had noticed first and rushed over, urgently pulled the frozen Tanya away. Just as Ian pulled her into his embrace to protect her, the Slime leaped toward the two of them.

Fortunately, the Slime was blocked and bounced off Ian’s thick cloak. However, staggered by the impact of the fast-moving Slime, Ian lost his footing.

”Ah...!”

Tanya desperately tried to reach out her arm, but her hand didn’t make it in time. Ian’s body fell below into the sewer channel.

With a splashing sound, Ian vanished beneath the water.

”Captain!”

Urgent voices calling for him echoed from a distance. Then, another splash followed. It was the sound of Rin jumping into the sewer after Ian.

In the short span of a few blinks, Rin and Ian had disappeared into the water, leaving only Tanya and Mika in the corridor. As Ian and Rin were swept away by the current and vanished from sight in an instant, a panicked Mika and Tanya locked eyes.

”Let’s follow them!”

”Wait, Tanya.”

Tanya tried to regain her composure and run after them, but Mika stopped her by grabbing her in a hug. The direction the two had been swept was a sector that hadn’t been patrolled yet.

”If monsters show up, we won’t be able to handle them on our own.”

”Then you’re saying we should just stand here...!”

Tanya was about to snap at Mika’s words. But... Mika was right. Even if she forced her way through to follow them, there was nothing she could do. Furthermore, Tanya herself was useless if a monster appeared. Tanya finally stopped trying to chase them and hung her head.

Looking around with an anxious face, Tanya discovered a few items dropped where Ian had been resting. Realizing what they were, a thought struck her like lightning.

”The map...!”

Tanya spread out Ian’s map and hurriedly looked for their current location. Ian’s map was detailed, showing the types and names of each corridor as well as the flow direction of the water.

”Right now, we’re at C-5... so if they were swept away this way.”

By comparing the current location with the patrol route, Tanya was able to identify which sector the two had been swept toward. Following the direction of the current, Tanya found the destination at its end.

Reservoir No. 3.

”Mika! Let’s go out and call for help!”

Holding the map, Tanya stood up.

***

Regaining consciousness in the water, Ian realized he was being swept away by the current, rapidly distancing himself from his companions. He tried to think if there was anything he could use among his emergency items, but before he could, he felt someone grab his body.

Soon, Ian was pulled up to the surface.

”Rin?”

”Hold on tight!”

Rin swam through the water while holding Ian firmly. She tried to climb up by grabbing the wall, but her hands slipped several times on the moss-covered surface. Eventually, she and Ian were swept further into the depths of the underground sewer.

Soon, they reached a place where the current weakened, and the two were finally able to crawl out of the water.

”Haah... Captain. Are you alright?”

”Yeah... I think so.”

Rin and Ian barely managed to crawl up and breathed heavily. Their water-logged clothes clung to their skin like shackles, and the biting chill of the underground sewer seeped into their flesh through the dampness.

As Rin checked on Ian, she suddenly snapped to her senses as her own body began to shiver from the cold.

”Now, take off your clothes.”

”Huh? Wait...”

”If this keeps up, we could die!”

Ian was flustered and tried to stop her, but it wasn’t a situation to argue about. Embarrassment was something to worry about later. Rin knew that if left alone, Ian would surely try to endure without undressing.

Grabbing Ian, Rin forcibly stripped off his soaked, clinging clothes. Soon after, the sound of Rin throwing off her own wet clothes could be heard.