The apothecary's blood still crusted under Izuku's nails as he crouched in the shadows of the sewer tunnel. Hana sat across from him, her split cheek swollen into a purple knot. The stolen antidote vial lay empty between them, its faint blue shimmer long faded.
[Quest Complete: Survive Infection]
[Reward: +0.01 Vitality (Suppressed to +0.001)]
[Vitality: 0.22 | Pain Resistance: 0.19%]
Hana spat into the sludge-water trickling past their feet. "Two silver crowns for our corpses. Cheap bastards."
Izuku didn't answer. His collarbone ached where the bone had knit itself crookedly, a permanent reminder of the guard's cudgel. The system's golden text flickered again:
[Black Lotus Vendetta: Active]
[Warning: Hostile encounter likelihood +50%]
"We need to ditch the East Sector," Hana said, tightening the rag around her bruised ribs. "Head north. The pickpocket guilds there might—"
Footsteps echoed above them.
Izuku froze. Not the heavy thud of gang enforcers—this was a limping gait. The grate above their heads creaked open, and a familiar face peered down: the guard from the apothecary, his leg bandaged and eyes hollow.
Hana lunged for her knife, but Izuku caught her wrist.
"Don't," he muttered.
The guard dropped a cloth bundle into the sewer. It landed with a metallic clink. "Food. Medicine. No poison."
Hana snarled. "Why?"
"They demoted me to corpse-duty after you crippled my leg," the guard said, voice bitter. "Figured I'd return the favor."
Izuku unwrapped the bundle—dried meat, a handful of bitterleaf pills, and a rusted key.
"Storage cellar beneath the Silk Lotus Brothel," the guard said. "Black Lotus stashes their tribute gold there every fifth day. Guards are lazy. Drunk."
Hana laughed, sharp and brittle. "And you're just… helping us?"
"Burn them," the guard said, "and we're even."
He vanished, the grate clanging shut.
The system pulsed, its text cold and urgent:
[Quest: Raid the Silk Lotus Cellar]
[Risk: 92% Fatality | Reward: +0.1 Strength (Suppressed to +0.01)]
[Optional: Kill the Guard. Reward: +0.05% Pain Resistance]
Izuku stared at the key. Memory: His son Haruto, trembling as he nocked the arrow. "The heavens demanded balance, Father."
Hana snatched the key. "Trap."
"Yes," Izuku said.
"So we ignore it."
"No." He met her glare. "We use it."
They waited until moonhigh. The Silk Lotus Brothel's cellar door was unguarded, just as the man promised. Inside, crates of gold ingots gleamed in the lamplight.
[Hidden Quest Updated: Steal Black Lotus Gold (0/10 ingots)]
Hana stuffed ingots into her shirt. "This'll buy us a year's worth of food. Maybe a bribe to the city guard."
Izuku said nothing. His eyes were fixed on the cellar's back wall—a tapestry embroidered with the Black Lotus sigil. Behind it, a door.
"Don't," Hana warned.
He pulled the tapestry down. The door was iron, its lock scarred by fire. The key fit.
Inside, a nobleman in silk robes gagged and bound, his face bloodied. A ransom victim.
[Optional Quest: Free the Noble]
[Reward: Noble Favor (Unlocks Imperial Connections)]
[Risk: Black Lotus Retribution +100%]
Hana grabbed Izuku's arm. "Leave him. Take the gold and run."
The noble's eyes widened, pleading.
Memory: Woon Seolhyun, the saintess, binding him with divine chains. "Mercy is a luxury, Izuku."
He slit the noble's bonds.
The brothel erupted into chaos. Shouts, clanging steel. Izuku and Hana fled through alleys, the noble stumbling behind.
"Idiot!" Hana hissed as they ducked into a tannery. "He's dead weight!"
The noble wheezed, clutching a gold pendant. "M-my family… will reward you—"
[Noble Favor: 5%]
[Quest Reward Delayed: Pending Noble Survival]
Izuku ignored him, peering through the tannery's cracks. Black Lotus enforcers swarmed the streets, torches blazing.
"You owe me," Hana said, her voice trembling. "We could've been rich."
"No," Izuku said. "We'd be dead."
He pressed the antidote vial into her hand—the last of the stolen medicine. "For the ribs."
By dawn, the noble was gone, vanished into the slum's labyrinth. The Black Lotus burned three blocks hunting them, but found only ash.
[Quest Partial Success: 3/10 Gold Ingots Stolen]
[Strength: 0.16 | Pain Resistance: 0.19%]
Hana stared at the gold, her voice hollow. "Worthless. Can't spend it without getting caught."
Izuku pried up a floorboard in their hideout, burying the ingots beneath rot and rat bones. "Not yet."
The system flickered, a rare moment of clarity:
[Adaptive Resistance: 0.19%]
[Effect: Pain Duration Reduced by 0.5 Seconds]
To Be Continued in Chapter 9 – The Price of a Spark