Viers was thinking about the nature of helping.

Before Orca-Viers' touchdown on the closest coast to Valkut city, he saved a ship in the process. The ship was contending with a sea monster and things looked bleak for the sailors. As a mighty predator of the seas, Viers who had evolved his Devadom Orca to Rank 3 simply needed to flex his hostility for a bit and the sea monster ran away panicking.

He kept himself underwater and the sailors didn't know what happened. There was no loss in the travel time either.

This was the situation that made Viers inclined to help others.

Doing good was not as lucrative as it seemed.

Almost in every video game, side quests usually involve helping people. Doing those side activities would give EXP, equipment, money, or other useful things so there was an incentive to do it. In the real world, that was not the case. Victa needed to be spent. Time was also spent, time that Viers could use to grow stronger. A high reward meant higher danger which meant a higher chance of death.

Great gear? EXP points? This wasn't a universe where those doing quests were rewarded by the world. Viers also didn't have the almighty System like other reincarnators.

The Adventurer’s Guild was a business. The quest’s reward was set by the quest giver. The majority of people issuing the quest were common folk. As with all societies, the poor were more common than the wealthy so the reward was not great. In a very common quest of helping a village from a monster attack, would ordinary villagers be able to give hefty rewards that satisfy the adventurers?

Unlikely.

Although Arsène did a lot of adventurer quests to restore Avel’s reputation, Viers didn't benefit much. More often than not, the gain was not worth the effort. Killing an enemy Pathseeker and then looting their wealth was far more lucrative in the cost-benefit ratio.

If doing side quests was not worth the time, how many people would do it? Receiving something precious like helping the unfortunate man and getting the elf token was a very rare case. The quest's reward was very meager to Viers; it might as well be a charity.

If it was for charity it must be something that wouldn't cost him a pound of flesh to do.

In Candice Chevry’s case, her five assailants were strong. Viers was exceptional but they were older than Viers by a decade, maybe more. Viers might match them if he went all out but for what? Why would he do that?

Pretty face? Not a chance.

But by not putting myself in danger, I made an enemy instead. What a bitch.

Viers was irked because those five cloaked men left without finishing Candice off… But if they had a ‘no witness’ policy, they would have attacked Viers too and he would have to fight for his life.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Sometimes, life gives you this.

The sound of Viers’ sigh spread throughout the barred room. He was in a cell in the city guard’s place, shackled with a Victa-restricting handcuff. There were several other people in the neighboring prison cell. It was very late in the night and they were sleeping. Tomorrow, they would start investigating him.

But Viers was not worried. He was as calm as a rock in a river.

But in this world, I just need power to subvert that rule. Life gives you lemons. Some people just swallow it sour, some people make nice lemonade from it. But me? I’ll invade life's lemon farm, take it over, and become the Lemon King! Ha! Take that, lemons!

“Lord V,” Farley materialized with blue particles and kneeled before Viers from outside of the bars. “Apologies for the delay.”

With one hand, she gave Viers the key to his ‘seastone’ handcuffs. Viers smiled.

A moment later, the handcuff fell on the ground and Viers felt his blocked magic return. Viers went out of the front door to his cell. Farley gladly welcomed her lord’s release.

Before he was locked up, Viers stealthily released Farley. As a ghost, a normal Pathseeker wouldn't be able to see her but she trained herself to be even more imperceivable. She could go through walls and become invisible. Invaluable trait as an infiltrator. Being a ghost was unplanned but not making use of her advantages was not Farley’s way of doing things.

Although the two never met, she also secretly taught herself Sakuya’s ninja stealth techniques during Stage 5. Farley thought she might need it.

It was radio silence after Viers’ Victa was blocked but Farley knew what she had to do.

“Good job, Agent F. Rise.”

“Yes, my lord,” Farley did just that. “I believe this is yours,” Viers’ Thousand Treasures Casket was offered next.

Now that was more than Viers expected. The guards took it earlier at his arrest. Even though they weren’t able to open it, they wouldn't leave the prisoners with their storage items. Viers thought he needed to recover this next but Farley already did that.

“Umu,” Viers nodded. “How’s the situation?”

“The alarm and surveillance have been disabled. The-”

“Using Arte is fine?”

“It is so.”

After Farley’s confirmation, Viers spread his soul to every corner of the room, silencing the eyewitness that pretended to be sleeping.

“No, wait! Aaa…”

All six of his fellow prisoners lost their souls. One was a Level 3 same as him but since he couldn't use Victa, death came easily. Viers put them all into his storage item and erased the residue of his soul Arte. The handcuffs that were able to restrict Victa naturally went into his inventory. If he had these when he captured Oscar, it would be easier to make him behave. Viers finished it all in eight seconds.

“No evidence,” Viers said. The investigation later would be even harder.

“Flawlessly executed. As expected of Lord Viers,” Farley didn't even raise an eyebrow. “There’s one more thing.”

Viers looked at the enchanted key in Farley’s hand and gave a questioning look.

“I can lead you to the exit but should you wish to visit the evidence room…”

Once again, Farley went above and beyond in her service. Viers took a mental note to give her an exceptional service medal in the future.

“Hehehe… Well, let's clean them out.” Viers grinned.

“But the exit window might close in the meantime,” Farley warned.

“It’s fine. I’ll use the back door.”

Viers and Farley went to the evidence room Mission Impossible-style, evading the lazily patrolling guards. Viers took the wealth and everything else inside, leaving only dust. Viers was only eyeballing it but there were some high-value items here, such as drugs.

This is not stealing. This is a compensation fee for my troubles. A pleasure to be doing business with you all.

Since it was in the way, Viers put a timed firebomb in the archive room for the heck of it, just so he could make the city guards even more miserable. Imagining them losing their precious paperwork which would in turn make them do even more paperwork, made the villain’s smile grow a little bit wider.

To complete his Houdini disappearing act, Viers transformed into Toxicell Slime and escaped to the sewers using floor drainage. The Thousand Treasures Casket couldn't go through like his gel body so he reduced its size with Size Down Arte, making it smaller.

Slime-Viers slid to the sewer as smoothly as a cocktail passing down into a parched throat. When the bomb went off, Viers was nowhere close to the premises.

Viers came out of the prison wiser and richer.

His transformation to become the Lemon King was going swimmingly.

***

Slime-Viers moved forward just like a snail would.

As a slime without sensory organs, Viers sensed his surroundings with mana sense. He’d seen a certain slime isekai story to learn from what he did and applied the same thing to himself.

It was dark but he didn't need light to ‘see’. The downside of his mana sense was its pretty short range. He was grateful he didn't need to smell the filth all around him though.

“This should be far enough. Where should we go from here?” Viers asked his confidants.

“Shall I go upwards to scout, Lord Viers?” Farley volunteered.

“Hmm. The water is flowing quite strongly. There’s that sound too. Is it raining upstairs?” Viers was thinking. “All right, go.”

Farley passed through the solid ceiling and the slime waited for the scout to return. He was sure he was going deeper into the city but he didn't know where he was in said city. Not that it mattered since he was a new kid in Valkut. He waited near a medieval grating, the rainwater fell from the streets above like a small waterfall. It was an exit for slime Viers if he wanted it to be.

“But this is a pretty big sewer, isn't it? Do all cities have sewers like this?” Paina asked.

Abnormally big sewers are quite common in video games though, Viers thought.

“If a city's population is big enough, sewerage is indispensable,” Clarissa said. “In the ratling-besieged lamia cities, we had to build tall, not wide, and our sewers were well maintained. There were guards patrolling the sewers and regular armed patrols to make sure no ratlings were sneaking in.”

“Rats, cockroaches, slimes, these three are the usual residents of sewers,” Viers recalled the sewer-dwelling enemy types.

“Yeah, we passed by many of Viers’ slime friends along the way,” Paina stifled a laugh.

“Slime monsters can be beneficial for the environment. They are natural cleaners,” the lamia said.

“Poop-eater, ehehe,” Paina very slightly looked at Viers’ avatar in the White Flowers Meadow.

“Oh you find it funny do you?” Viers grinned back. “Do I need to make your ghost body have a month-long diarrhea before you stop with the poop joke?”

“...I’m sorry, please don't.” Paina was cowed with the bowel crisis threat.

I’m not gonna be the Loathsome Dung Eater. He’s kinda insane. Then again, in a crapsack world of the souls universes, it’s not a stretch to find people like him. Insane world makes insane people.

“Lord Viers, I… What did I miss?” Farley returned.

“Nothing. Report, Agent F.”

“Above is a residential district. The rain has fewer people out and about. You can go above if you choose. But I found something unusual. There are people walking in the sewer not far from here, Lord Viers. They don't seem to be plumbers.”

Viers was intrigued. Farley would mention those people only if they were a little bit odd.

“Let’s investigate. Lead the way.”

“Right this way,” Farley flew. Viers kept up despite the slime body.

It didn't take long before Viers was close enough to the objective. He tailed the two Pathseekers. Those two’s garments showed they were quite wealthy.

“Father, are we there yet?” The male voice asked.

“Soon… This way.”

After some twists and turns, they reached a dead end. The son opened his mouth but the father tapped the wall at specific points and the wall opened.

Oh? Well, well. What do we have here?

“...Whoa,” the son sounded amazed.

“Yeah, great view,” Farley was the same.

“What, what are they seeing?” Clarissa asked.

Viers’ mana sense didn't extend that far, he couldn't see anything. Naturally, the V-Stream was dark too.

“This is the Valkut Underbelly,” the father said. “A city under a city. The outlawed people and products congregate here. It is an open secret of Valkut city. A sanctuary where only those tied to the dark side of the city can enter. The Governor’s authority does not reach here. There are many entrances but the closest to our place is through the sewer. My father brought me here when I was your age. You’ve done well with the task I gave you. Now I'll introduce you to my favorite brothel. It is an elite place that only accepts high-status clientele.”

“Really father? You’re the best!”

…Taking your son to a brothel? That's messed up.

After the dirty-minded father and son duo left, Slime-Viers sneaked in before the stonewall closed.

“Farley, any eyes on us?” Viers asked.

“The coast is clear, Lord Viers.”

He sought and strayed behind a rocky place and waited for a while. Before transforming back into his human form. With his new enchanted clothes from Izabella, he didn't need to be naked every time he did a monster transformation.

“Oooh, look at the view.”

Viers saw the Underbelly in all of its glory. Viers likened it to the mix of the Mines of Moria with the Grand Bazaar. It looked like an inverted tower that was built straight into the crust of the earth. Orange lights from the hundreds or thousands of stores illuminated the subterranean place. Hanging bridges connected outside entrances like the one Viers was into the tower. Almost all of the people here were Pathseekers. Exotic and bizarre products were on sale like fish in a common fish market.

“Pretty,” Clarissa was wowed.

“Indeed. First things first, Futon, Faiya.”

“Fuu!”

“Yaa!”

“Futon, give me rain. I need a wash after walking in the sewers. Faiya, give me light from that angle. A bit more, a bit more... Perfect.”

He wasn't actually dirty and the path that the father-son duo traveled was kept pretty clean but it was a matter of feeling.

And for his Horizon.

As Futon rained down rain upon his body, Viers spread his arms wide; unconsciously, he smiled. Faiya gave a focused light from behind Futon from a perfect angle to recreate the iconic scene.

“Viers crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can't even imagine. Or maybe I just don't want to.”

Viers imagined his voice was Morgan Freeman's.

“Five hundred yards. That's the length of five football fields. Just shy of half a mile.”

Viers was sure it was just a placebo effect but he felt he was inhaling the sweet air of freedom.

“Viers Isuel: the man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Viers Isuel… headed for the Underbelly.”

His tenants were watching Viers doing his thing, waiting. They were pretty used to it by now.

“Alright, gang. Let’s go!” Viers dried himself easily by moving away the water wetting his clothes and body. A hundred times more efficient than a dog’s body shake.