For the first time, I didn’t enter the sewers alone in pursuit of my quarry, and the darkness that surrounded us wasn’t as suffocating in the presence of company. It didn’t last long as I activated my mage light, creating a large enough radius of light where we could walk comfortably beside the raging river of mulch.

  I looked back to find both my friends scrunching their noses, on the verge of gagging. I kinda wanted to laugh at them, but I knew better than most that the sewers were anything but merciful to the sinuses.

  And we weren’t exactly on a field trip, they were here to hunt something that could rival a bear for strength and had a modicum of intelligence. The plan was to have the both of them fight one while I kept back and watched, ready to interfere if anything dangerous were to happen. I didn’t think it would be necessary, they were strong enough that both of them being careful should be able to kill the thing without accruing injuries that couldn’t be seen to by Healer Ken.

  Yeah, I was going a little spartan, but these fucks didn’t need coddling.

  “Okay,” Gar said, one hand resting on his spiffy new blades pommel while the other hovered over his nose. I was more than a little proud of how the weapons turned out. Not perfect, but better than the mass produced dogshit I’d found on store shelves. “So do we just…walk around and hope to find a Muri-Ursi?”

  “Yeah, shouldn’t take too long,” I said.

  Riri raised a brow at me. “How would you know that? You’ve only hunted three.”

  “The mysteries of elven intuition are not for you to know.”

  “Great,” Gar grumbled. “So we’re just going to wander blindly through this place? You’re surprisingly cruel for introducing us to heaven before having us come down here.”

  “You’re the ones that wanted this.” I shrugged.

  “Because you suggested it. I just wanted to make sure Riri didn’t get herself killed.”

  “Hey! I can take care of myself.” Riri gave a light punch to his shoulder.

  I nodded. “Your wisdom is beyond your years, boy.”

  “What!” Riri exclaimed. “Thanks,” Gar drawled at the same time.

  Riri scowled at the both of us in an entirely too cute fashion. “The both of you are jackasses. This’ll be great and I won’t let you two ruin it for me!”

  I let out a snort as I turned to guide us through the sewers. “My first fight with one of these things got me drenched in piss and shit, so I sincerely doubt it’ll be as glamorous as you’re thinking.”

  “I don’t know what glamour means, and I don’t need it.” Riri’s eyes sparkled. “After this the hunters guild’ll have to take us on! Right?”

  “More likely than not, but even if they don’t the pay’ll be enough for the two of you won’t need to rely on me for food…and if we do this consistently? Well, Gar can get proper tools for his woodworking and you…I don’t know, we’ll figure it out.”

  “How often is ‘consistently’?” Gar said.

  “‘Bout once a week, occasionally twice,” I said. “Which is a lot nicer than it sounds, this hunt’ll probably only last an hour tops.”

  “How are you so confident? Isn’t finding a Muri-Ursi hard?” Gar said.

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  I shrugged as I walked. “I have my methods, they do call me the rat slayer after all.”

  “That was for killing one.”

  “One more than you’ve got to your name. Besides, I solidified the title with a few more kills”

  “She has a point,” Riri said.

  “It’s a stupid point,” Gar grumbled. “That kill might’ve been luck for all you know. Bet the thing just ran itself through your sword.”

  I scoffed. “Then you’d lose that bet, they’re actually pretty smart. The first thing it did was try and break my sword. Which it managed eventually”

  “How’d you kill it then?” Riri asked, eyes sparkling.

  “A lot of stabbing.”

  “With a broken sword?” Gar raised a brow.

  I nodded.

  Gar didn’t look convinced, but he kept his doubts to himself. Fair enough, it isn’t how I killed the thing, but advertising that I was a mage isn’t the smartest of ideas…though that prospects kinda already sailed however many seas this Earth has.

  Besides, I lived and the fat ass rat didn’t. That alone should solidify my claim. Sure I would’ve undoubtedly died without my demon, but unpleasant thoughts are for unpleasant times. Though I’d have to confront that reality eventually, what with my new conviction to actually face the shit that hurts rather than push it aside.

  Mental health may not be a big thing here, but I knew well enough how the machinations of the mind could fuck up a person. It was practically advertised through the entirety of my first childhood. Though peasant life wasn’t as stressful as most historians would have you believe. It was hard as fuck, but not necessarily stressful.

  Most didn’t even work eight hours on average. I say on average because a farmers life consisted of seasons with fuck all to do interspersed with heavy labour alongside long hours. Still, stress existed, and the priest acted as a kind of therapist for my whole village, poor bastard.

  So I’d deal, eventually, if only to keep focus on what’s important. But back then? Hunting was what mattered. I had to give those two a taste of combat and hopefully they wouldn’t balk at the flavour. They’d need to be strong to survive the End, even if this would only increase their chances marginally.

  Would’ve been much easier if they were mages…or witches.

  That was a conversation for another time though, when I could trust them unconditionally. As it stood, they were close friends, but not that close.

  But it would be mighty convenient if extremely suspicious to have the two of them practicing magic. I could even guide them into learning words and have them go through the regular gambit of my training parade! Finding ways to progress together in the mysteries of magic. All they had to do was merge their soul with a demon. Not nearly an easy ask but if I could convince them of the coming End, it won’t be much of a choice.

  That was for the future, a future where I could admit to my condition to someone other than a horrifying self proclaimed rat-king and a strangely tolerant mentor. Wouldn’t that be nice? For right then though I had to focus on the hunt, focus on the coming violence, focus on-

  “Hey,” Gar whispered. “You hear that?”

  I broke out of my brooding and turned to look at Gar with a raised brow. He looked slightly pale and was sweating something fierce, hand shaking on his pommel. Riri gave him a similar glance which morphed into worry as she looked to find whatever it was he heard.

  My eyes sharpened and I focused on the sensations invading my ears, taking in the flow of the sewers alongside…chittering? The noise wasn’t coming from one place. A subtle song that surrounded us.

  I took a deep breath in, held it for a few seconds, then let it out slowly.

  I shouldn’t have expected for Alvir to make this easy, that was foolish…but it only sounded like there were perhaps three. Just enough to match our numbers, so not impossible. Just meant I had to participate rather than enjoy the view.

  Slowly, I unsheathed my blade, letting the sound of steel sliding on leather echo throughout the sewers to overtake the chittering as my friends followed my example. I unclasped the magelight around my neck and tossed it between us so it wouldn’t become a burden in the fight to come.

  If I focused on my senses, there was more mana coming from ahead than behind. Barely noticeable with my capabilities, but I didn’t need an accurate measurement of strength, just a sign on where I should focus.

  I gestured with my eyes for them to take the back while I focused on the front. It didn’t take much hinting for them to figure it out and do as they were told, standing back to back, facing the two directions from which the noise emanated.

  Then, all we could do was wait with only each other as comfort.