Unexpected Ascension Chapter 24

Adrian made his way through the streets of the City of Dorn. The evening crowd had come out in full force, and it wasn’t easy for him to navigate out of the Rasha District, which was now full of tired workers hoping to unwind for the day. 

Squeezing through the crowd was almost hellish for the human. Especially because everyone bustling about around him were dwarves, which meant that they were rather rotund, despite their short stature. There was not a single one of them who was thinner than him, and it wasn’t even because they were plump.

They were, quite literally, big-boned. Biologically-speaking, that was.

Adrian looked up, and he saw the sun beginning to set over the horizon. Once that happened, night would fall, and there would be no moons and no stars in the sky. Even if the city itself would be lit up by torches and magical lampposts, most of the crowd would disperse from the streets. They would either remain in taverns, hang out in brothels, or go back to their homes.

Very few folks wandered the streets of Dorn when the sun was gone. After all, that was when the crimelife of the city emerged, and merchants didn’t want their stalls to be robbed, nor did the ordinary folk want to be embroiled in any illegal activities.

According to Bhodan, the city guard would patrol the streets of Dorn at night. And they had the right to detain anyone under reasonable suspicion, which would often result in having to pay a hefty fine. It sounded like a broken system to Adrian— one that was susceptible to much corruption.

However, it allegedly worked out just fine.

Regardless, Adrian didn’t care about the city guards. He was more worried about what would happen once night fell, and criminals stalked the streets. With Madam Chanda coming after him, and with the resources she had behind her, it was going to be annoying to deal with.

Adrian waded his way through the crowd, before pausing when he caught a glimpse of a figure waving at him at the edge of an alleyway.

“Hey, you,” a boy called out. “You’re the human who everyone has been talking about, right? Where are you going?”

And upon hearing that, Adrian… ignored the boy. He continued onwards as the boy paused, staring in shock. It could’ve been a trap. There was also no point wasting any time.

So Adrian just marched on, heading for the Rhavin District in the distance.

However, the boy hurried after him.

“Hey, I was talking to you!” the boy said, squeezing through the crowd.

“I know. But I don’t know you,” Adrian replied, not even looking back. In all honestly, he shouldn’t have even engaged in the conversation. However, it was hard to ignore the dwarven boy when he was doing everything he could to get Adrian’s attention. “So leave me alone.”

“Look, I understand you’re probably on edge right now,” the boy said, still stalking Adrian. “But my name is Maha, and I can help you.”

Adrian raised a brow, craning his neck back fractionally. “And how can you help me?”

Despite the conversation the two were having, Adrian continued marching forward. Now, he was reaching the edge of the Rasha District. Maha tried to tug at Adrian’s arm to stop him.

Maha glanced around nervously, before leaning forward. He tried to speak in a whisper as he followed alongside Adrian. “I understand you’re being hunted down by Madam Chanda. However, you can’t just face her head-on. And you’re especially wasting your time if you try to approach the authorities for help.”

That made Adrian pause for a moment. He eyed the boy suspiciously. “Who exactly are you? And how do you know all that?”

Nobody should have known that Madam Chanda was coming after Adrian’s life. At the very least, he wasn’t informed of it until after he was attacked— and that was rather discreetly. So the fact that Maha knew that must have meant he had some times with at least some criminal activities in the City of Dorn.

Sighing, Maha drew back. “I see you still don’t trust me. Look, here’s my tip to you—”

He glanced around as Adrian narrowed his eyes. It almost looked like the boy was picking out a few figures in the crowd, across the street. Unfortunately, Adrian couldn’t make them out.

“There are seven men who are currently after you,” Mahia finally said in a hushed voice. “Thugs sent by Madam Chanda. And they’re going to wait for when you’re alone to strike. That’s my only advice for now.”

Maha slinked back into the crowd, meeting Adrian’s gaze.

“If you want to trust me after this… you can find me at Veer’s Antique Shop a few alleys away from the main street.”

And Adrian blinked as the boy disappeared. Looking around, he tried to make out these alleged thugs who were talking him through Rasha Street. However, it was hard to make out one dwarf face from another.

After all, he had only been here for a short period of time, and he had been underground for the most part of it. So because of that, he was still bad at discerning one dwarven face from another.

Shaking his head, he focused on his task at hand. For now, he just needed to get to the Palace of Dorn. And he could worry about these supposed seven thugs later.

***

Adrian arrived at the Palace of Dorn as the sun set over the horizon. Unfortunately for him—

“Sorry, we’re closed! No more visitors allowed until the morning!” a guard dressed in an enchanted armor said.

A special guard of sorts. Maybe a royal guard. Adrian hadn’t seen this type of a guard before in the City of Dorn. Not only that, but the guard was quite high-leveled.

[Dwarf - Level 65]

However, he didn’t focus on that. Instead, he pursed his lips as he tried to press the issue.

“Are you absolutely certain there is nothing you can do?” Adrian pleaded.

But the royal guard shook his head, refusing to budge. “Nope. No visitors allowed. No exceptions.”

“That’s—” Adrian started.

Then he caught himself. There was no use arguing. Not right now. It was already getting late. If what Maha— that boy— had said was true, then that meant that it was soon going to be the opportune moment for those thugs stalking the human to strike.

That was why Adrian drew back, deciding to return tomorrow. For now, he thought as he looked towards the Delvers HQ in the distance. I will shelter there for the night.

The Rhavin District was especially dark now that the sun had set. Most of the activity that was carried out in this region of the city had halted even before sundown, unlike the Rasha District which bustled with activity.

And the Hovik District— which was the area of the city where Madam Chanda mainly operated— was the most active at night. There were brothels and underground bars that remained open for all hours until dawn. Also, other illegal activities went on there.

Which implied something about drugs.

Adrian didn’t know for sure. All this was information he extracted from Bhodan earlier today. And currently, the dwarf was sheltering at the Delvers HQ. That was why Adrian thought he could do the same. He made his way away from the Palace of Dorn, circling around the edge of the vast crater that lay at the center of the city. 

At night, the crust of the Silk Mines were wreathed in darkness. There was nothing that could be seen down below, apart from a few tunnel entrances that were dimly lit by magical lanterns. Everything else was a pit of shadows. 

The barriers that surrounded the Silk Mines were thin, flimsy, and didn’t even entirely cover the perimeter of the crater. There were various cracks and places where anyone could very easily fall in if they weren’t careful. Adrian came to a halt and looked down into the Silk Mines.

He considered returning back down there. After all, he was being hunted down by a group of criminals anyway. It was probably safer for him down in that Dungeon, since he was more acclimated to surviving there. He could always avoid the most dangerous of monsters, and leave if necessary. 

Meanwhile, up here in the City of Dorn, Adrian highly doubted he was going to be able to do much against Madam Chanda. She would be actively hunting him down, waiting for him to lower his guard, before she struck. And she would strike with even more dangerous men than before, especially after he had already disposed of two of her thugs who were coming after him.

That was why Adrian put serious thought and consideration into sneaking back into the Silk Mines. Even if the entire area was closed off at the moment. But as he stood there, deliberating, still trying to come to the right decision to make, his [Savage Instincts] set off an alarm in his head.

Spinning around, Adrian ducked his head just in time to dodge a flurry of needles shooting straight for his head. The needles struck parts of the barrier near him, ripping it into shreds. Even though they were tiny, spindly projectiles.

Adrian’s brows snapped together as he looked up. And standing right before him, surrounding him from all sides, were seven hooded figures. They were evidently dwarves, based on their stature. And they had weapons drawn, aimed at him.

Drawing his dagger, Adrian took a step back warily as their leader, a man wielding a dozen needles between his fingers, drew closer.

“You are fast, I’ll give you that. I can see why those two idiots weren’t able to apprehend you. But unfortunately for you… Madam Chanda determined you were too big of a threat to leave alone, and she sent me.”

[Dwarf - Level 64]

The dwarf who spoke sneered as Adrian used [Basic Identification] on him. The results made Adrian’s eyes grow wide. 

Level 64, Adrian thought as he gritted his teeth. I can’t win against that.

But that was not the only assailant here. There were six others. And based on their levels, they would have already been a tough fight, without the Level 64 dwarf’s presence here.

[Dwarf - Level 36]

[Dwarf - Level 28]

[Dwarf - Level 23]

[Dwarf - Level 24]

[Dwarf - Level 26]

[Dwarf - Level 21]

Seven of them in total. Just like that boy said. Adrian eyed the figures surrounding him as they edged forward. Perhaps he could have won if it was just the six of them. After all, there was only a single Level 36 dwarf. As long as he was eliminated first, the rest of them would be far easier to defeat.

But with the Level 64 dwarf, winning this fight was impossible.

Because of that, Adrian was faced with two options. His eyes darted between the Palace of Dorn and the crater behind him. He could either try to get help from the royal guard there, or escape back down into the Silk Mines. 

If Adrian tried to run to the Palace of Dorn, he’d have to move quickly— somehow get through the seven figures surrounding him. After all, they were blocking his path. 

It was possible. Adrian would just have to target the lowest-leveled dwarf of the group, before running for his life. The distance to the Palace of Dorn would have been a minute’s sprint at most afterwards. However, this would have been incredibly risky, especially if the Level 64 dwarf intercepted Adrian.

Meanwhile, fleeing into the Silk Mines was easier, since it didn’t run the risk of charging straight at them, but then it would take longer for Adrian to lose these thugs if they gave chase. So it was not easy to consider. 

However, Adrian had to make a decision soon. Because…

“I have never killed a human before,” the Level 64 dwarf said as he stepped forward. “But I’m sure I’m going to enjoy it—”

And Adrian turned tails, before leaping into the darkness. The thugs surrounding him blinked, watching as he descended down into the Silk Mines. They couldn’t help but stare in disbelief as he landed at the bottom.

“What is he doing—”

“Is he going to escape into the Silk Mines?”

“Stop staring like idiots! Chase after him!”

Adrian heard their voices echoing up above. But he ignored them, making a break for it straight for the nearest tunnel, leading further down into the Dungeon.

And he returned back into the Silk Mines once again.