Chapter 163

Chapter 163: The Bar

In a dark and cold alley in Igewent during the morning, sunlight filtered through a narrow gap between buildings, barely illuminating the dim environment of the alley. Ragged and filthy vagrants huddled against the walls, either sleeping or resting. In one particularly remote corner, a man who was not as disheveled as the others lay there unconscious.

This man was in his thirties or forties, slightly short, with a stubbly face and a fierce appearance. Though his clothes were decent, they were covered in dust. His eyes were closed, and he was unconscious, leaning against the dark corner of the wall. He had recently arrived in Igewent with his companions to execute a task for their group. Igewent was a “Stone” pathway, and he was a Bone Craftsman at the Black Earth Tier. Now, for unknown reasons, he had fallen unconscious in this alley.

At that moment, Goerfi remained unconscious in the corner. It was unclear how long he had been unconscious, but there was no sign of him regaining consciousness. Just as he seemed destined to remain unconscious forever, a splash of cold water was poured over him from above.

The sudden drenching made Goerfi shiver violently and wake up. He held his still foggy head and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Ah… Where am I? What happened?”

Goerfi muttered, puzzled. In his memory, before he lost consciousness, he was executing a mission given by Mr. Lu Ke, battling extraordinary beings to destroy a stone statue at the school.

Goerfi recalled that in the final moments of the battle, he used a hearing sigil to sense the surroundings, confident he could handle all the enemies sneaking up on them. However, after sensing something fall near his feet, he instinctively felt something was wrong and was knocked out by a loud explosion while trying to escape.

‘At that time, that thing was indeed dangerous. Luckily, I escaped; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable…’

As he thought about it, Goerfi struggled to stand up and looked around more bewildered.

‘The problem now is… How did I end up here? Where is Mr. Lu Ke? Where is Oswan? Did we succeed or fail in the mission? If we failed and I passed out, why didn’t the enemy dispose of me and leave me here?’

Looking around, Goerfi puzzledly wondered. Just as he was about to ponder further, he suddenly felt a pang of hunger and an intense thirst.

‘I’m so hungry… so thirsty… No, now is not the time to think about these things. I need to find something to eat and drink…’

As he thought, Goerfi scanned his surroundings, searching for any food or water. Of course, there was nothing in this dark alley unless he wanted to rummage through trash like the other homeless people or drink dirty water.

After looking around, Goerfi decided to leave this alley. After a few glances, he realized he was at the end of the alley, and the only way out was through a single path.

Without much thought, Goerfi took a few unsteady steps forward, walking along the only path. After turning a few corners, he finally saw the exit where the alley connected to the main road. More importantly, he noticed a bar that was still in operation next to the exit.

Seeing the bar, the hungry and thirsty Goerfi sighed in relief and stepped forward without hesitation.

…

Igewent’s upper and lower districts were roughly divided by the Iron Mud River, with the north shore being the upper district and the south shore the lower district. However, this was not entirely accurate. The lower district was much larger than the upper district. On the north shore downstream, there was also a significant area designated as the lower district. The boundary between the two was vague, and thefts were rampant.

The Night Song Bar was located in the blurry intersection of the upper and lower districts, operating 24 hours a day. Thus, customers came in a steady stream. During the day, it was mainly frequented by people from the upper district, while at night, it was mostly visited by those from the lower district. Many people also came here for meals during dusk.

If one had to say when the bar was least crowded, it would be in the morning. However, this didn’t mean there were no customers. Some people preferred coming early in the morning, like now.

Early in the morning, Gregor, who had just finished work, sat on a bench in front of the chilly counter at the Night Song Bar. In front of him was a glass of wine, and in his hand was a cigarette. Dark circles under his eyes indicated his exhaustion.

Yes, Gregor was a regular customer of this bar. Whenever he finished work and put away his equipment, he usually didn’t go straight home but instead came here to drink a couple of glasses and smoke a bit to relieve stress before returning home.

When Gregor first came to Igewent, he was already a regular at this bar. Even when he lived in the lower district south of the river and earned only a meager salary from working in a factory, he came here because he could interact with people from the upper district. At that time, he enjoyed drinking the cheapest wine available and gazing at the well-dressed gentlemen and ladies on the streets during his brief moments of leisure after his nearly 12-hour workdays.

When Gregor first came to Igewent, he hoped to achieve that kind of life through hard work. But after seeing many old workers who had worked for five or ten years still struggling with their health while doing the same jobs as him, he became increasingly despondent.

Amidst his growing despair and heavy workload, Gregor spent his first year in Igewent. He often thought about leaving this place and going back to his village. But he realized that most of the farmland in his village had been taken over, leaving little land for cultivation. The hunting forest that his father once relied on for survival had been bought by nearby land merchants and turned into exclusive hunting grounds for the wealthy and nobles. Returning to his village would only burden Aunt Hannah’s family, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue on.

A turning point occurred two years ago. One night, after finishing his drink at the bar and preparing to return to his large dormitory room shared with thirty others, Gregor heard a sharp cry for help.

He followed the sound to a small alley where he fought three kidnappers bare-handed and rescued two girls. Initially, he thought they were just common thugs, but one of the leaders, after being defeated, stuck a piece of paper on his head and went mad, lunging at Gregor.

The speed and madness of the thug were unprecedented. Anyone else might have been easily killed, but fortunately, Gregor was not ordinary. He was naturally agile, able to maneuver with beasts during hunts with his father and even outmaneuver five other children from his village in fights.

After sustaining eight wounds, he killed the crazed and strong thug with a broken bottle.

Later, Gregor witnessed an incredible scene: the thug turned into a withered corpse within seconds.

In the hospital, he met unexpected visitors—black-clothed individuals who claimed to be from an organization called the An Yin Bureau, which he had never heard of. They were interested in Gregor’s talents and invited him to join the Hunter team. Later, he learned that the three kidnappers were part of a group called the Crimson Eucharist, and inviting him to the bureau was to protect him.

After joining the bureau, Gregor’s life changed dramatically. His workload was lighter, and he received a salary he never dared dream of—eight pounds a month. With this money, he moved from a cramped living situation to a decent apartment in the lower district.

In the bureau in Igewent, Gregor thrived and became the leader of one of the four Hunter teams in Igewent County in just two years. He was also officially recognized as an extraordinary being and received a monthly salary of twenty-three pounds.

With such high income, Gregor immediately moved again, renting an apartment from the lower district to the upper district, which was larger, more spacious, and brighter. He fulfilled his dream of bringing his only sister from the countryside, giving her the best education in the city and paving the way for her so she would never have to walk the dark path he had once experienced.

Gregor knew very well that his escape from that path was due to a fortunate combination of his innate talent and luck, something not everyone possessed. Moreover, during this process, he had narrowly avoided d*ath several times.

Thus, Gregor understood that his case was special, and his sister Dorothy could not follow the same path. Therefore, he prepared a smoother, brighter path for her, one named education.

Now, Gregor was content. His sister Dorothy seemed to be on the right track as he had envisioned. However, his recent work had encountered unexpected difficulties.

Despite the continuous events and overtime, Gregor was not significantly affected. For him, this was merely returning to his previous work routine, which was not permanent.

However, in a recent incident, Gregor suffered a severe blow.

It was during a guard duty assignment on Knight Road in the upper district. His team was unexpectedly attacked by extraordinary beings, resulting in three deaths and five injuries, with two severely injured. Over half of the team was either dead or wounded, the first time such heavy losses occurred since Gregor became the leader of the Hunter team.

Although the investigation concluded that the attacker was likely a Black Tier due to the vast disparity in strength, Gregor, despite suffering heavy losses, was not held responsible. Instead, he was commended for forcing back the mysterious Black Tier extraordinary being with just a Hunter team.

However, the sudden incapacitation and d*ath of most of his teammates, whom he had worked closely with every day, left Gregor unable to accept the situation. He began to blame himself and sank into depression, visiting the bar more frequently.

Because of the incident on Knight Road, Gregor’s mood had become unstable. He almost always needed to come here to drink and relieve stress before going home. This wasn’t because he had given up, but because he feared that if he returned home in a bad mood, it might affect his sister Dorothy.

Sitting at the counter, Gregor shook the ash off his cigarette, his expression serious as he drank another glass of wine. His mind was filled with memories of that night on Knight Road, vividly recalling the scene of his injured comrades struggling. He couldn’t forget the figure of the extraordinary being who had escaped after being caught.

That night, Gregor found him and noted his face. Gregor swore he would uncover the truth behind the individual and catch him, even if he was a Black Tier.

Just as Gregor was drowning in sorrow and drinking, the door to the bar opened, and a man in his thirties or forties, short and stubbly, with a fierce face, walked in.