I am not sure how much time has passed, is it two days or three? Is it night or day right now? Not that it matters too much down here. So I act like it is morning and start my normal routine. After my morning workout I go and catch two fish to roast and eat, then I check my equipment and gear up.

Then I head back down to the sewers, right before stepping out of the tunnel I draw my sword then take a careful look inside to check for an ambush. After I see that it is clear I step into the sewers and turn to the left. I head towards the room where I found Ruby, I plan to continue exploring from there but I also want to check for a hidden forge.

Before I reach the room I spot two ratmen in the main tunnel, they also spot me at the same time. They charge at me recklessly and I just stand and wait for them, as the faster of the two reaches me and reaches out with its claws I calmly side step its attack and swing my sword. As the ratman's head is arching through the air I take two steps forward and cut down the second one as it is watching the flying head.

Kill Ratmen 3/30

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Sword Basics has progressed to level 4!

Sword Basics

Level 4

Str +4

You do 20% extra damage with swords.

I stand for a minute listening and watching for any more to attack. When no more show up I quickly cut the chests of the two ratmen open to retrieve their cores.

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

After absorbing the cores I pick up the two corpses and haul them back and toss them on the trash pile. Then I return to the sewers to continue exploring and hunting. When I reach the room where I found Ruby I take my time and carefully search the room but I find no illusions and nothing else to indicate the location of the forge.

'Guess I'll have to wait until I can ask Ruby.'

I head out of the room and take a left to continue following the main passage. After about forty feet I come to another tunnel on the left that is lit by a soft glow from within. I slowly go down the ten foot tunnel and it opens into a large cavern that has a glowing ceiling.

The entire cavern except for a path down the middle is covered with mushrooms of different types and sizes. The glowing ceiling makes the cavern about as dark as twilight, not dark enough to use my dark-sight but too dark to see well with normal vision. So I am extra cautious as I follow the path into the cavern, the path winds back and forth through the mushrooms but generally heads north.

The cavern itself is about forty feet wide and well over one hundred feet long. It takes me a few minutes of following the path before I see anything but mushrooms. About eighty feet down the cavern the path splits, one path continues north along the cavern the other path goes right towards the cavern wall.

I decide to continue straight first, I want to see what is in the cavern before checking the other path. As I continue down the path I start to hear the sound of running water and about thirty feet from where the path split I spot more ratmen. There are four of them this time, three seem unarmed and are gathering mushrooms, the forth has a sword sheathed across its back and it seems slightly larger than the others.

I draw my sword but the ratman hears it and spins to face me while drawing its own sword, the other three stop gathering and look around. As soon as the ratman sees me it charges me, again I wait for it to come to me and as it swings its sword down I raise my shield to meet it. As the sword meets my shield I thrust my sword at the ratman's stomach.

*THUD* *STAB*

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Shield Basics has progressed to level 3!

Shield Basics

Level 3

Str +3 End +3

You gain Defense +3 when using a shield.

*DING* *DING*

Congratulations! You have gained a new ability!

For having Endurance exceeding 50 you gain the ability Superior Endurance!

Superior Endurance

Base HP increases from 100 to 250.

I rip my sword to the side disemboweling the ratman then step aside and let him fall. As I step past the ratman I hit him in the neck with a backhand swing just to make sure of him then move towards the other three.

Kill Ratmen 4/30

The three unarmed ratmen rush at me, I sidestep the first, swing my sword at the second, and shield bash the third. Then I spin around and cut down the first as it is coming back at me.

Kill Ratmen 7/30

I turn a slow circle checking for other enemies before I kneel down and retrieve the three beast cores from the unarmed ratmen.

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

Then I move to the bigger one I killed first and remove its core.

*ITEM*

Beast Core

Quality: Inferior

Would you like to absorb it? Y/N

"Yes."

You have absorbed the Inferior Beast Core. HP +20 MP +20 Str +2 Agi +2 End +2

Then I clean and sheath my sword before picking up the ratman's sword to take a look at it.

*MAGIC ITEM*

Sword of the Imperial Knight

Hit +3 Damage +5

Durability: 96/100

'Wow nice sword! How did a ratman get it I wonder?'

Anyway this will be my main weapon from now on and I will keep the other as a backup. I take the sheath off the body and strap it to my waist then sheath my new sword. I now have two swords, a shield, a mace, and the Black Razor.

I am getting a little heavy, but I am of the opinion that it is better to be prepared. I take the corpses to the trash pile two at a time before returning to exploring the cavern.

Another twenty feet further down the path ends beside a river, the river is about ten feet wide and seems to be flowing fairly fast. I see plenty of fish in the water and that reminds me that I am getting hungry. The river cuts off the last section of the cavern, I want to go over and look but there is no bridge, meaning I will have to jump it.

The bank on this side is about a foot above the water while the other side looks to be three or four feet high, meaning I will have to cross ten feet while gaining a couple in height. So, I back up a bit to get a running start and jump as hard as I can. I realize very quickly I have underestimated my body as my head grazes the ceiling which is twenty feet up.

I land a good fifteen feet past the bank of the river which puts me fairly close to the middle of the area on this side of the river. The area is about thirty feet wide and thirty feet long but it narrows as it goes away from the river. Still looking around I figure it is fairly defensible, maybe not as good as an illusionary wall, but it will probably work as a new base.

After all there isn't much point in constantly returning to the pit when everything I have to do now is down here. After searching the area to make sure nothing is hidden I hop back across the river and head back to where the path split. Following the new path to my left brings me back to the main tunnel just through a different entrance.

I then backtrack and follow the original path back to the first entrance and head back up to the pit. I grab my spear and some firewood and a couple of torches and carry it all back down to the cavern and across the river. I set the wood down and then explore the area again under torchlight to make sure I haven't missed anything.

Then I take the spear and go fishing for my dinner, after I catch a couple of fish I pick the edible mushrooms I recognize and cook myself a decent meal. Once I am done eating I make several more trips back and forth hauling the stuff I have collected down to the new base.

I am not planning to finish moving it all right now, mainly because of the ore I have collected, but I want to do at least half of it before I meditate for my usual six hours.