"You have too high of an expectation for me."
Julius looked a little helpless. "I'm not strong enough to let you enter and exit the sewers as you please … You should know that very well."
Julius did not become complacent because of Rei's flattery. He had been to some dangerous places with Rei before, and they had encountered many thrilling situations, such as groups of skeletons and cunning fangs. These were all troublesome things. Moreover, Rei was not a fighter at all. Every time, he had to fight alone and eliminate these dangers one by one.
The encounters and battles were not fatal. For Julius, they were scares but not dangerous. It was just a little tiring.
"Didn't I say that you still have to rely on my cleverness?"
Rei raised her right thumb and pointed at herself. "My nose and eyes are still quite sensitive. If there's any danger that we can't handle, I won't take you with me. Don't worry."
Since Rei had said so, Julius couldn't say anything more about this matter.
Moreover, he was not really worried about his own safety. He was just a little worried about Rei.
Even if there was danger, at least he had the ability to protect himself because he was tortured by Lulunaka.
As for Rei, other than her cleverness, she did not seem to have any other ability that could get her out of danger.
Julius was very worried about how he could protect Rei in this unfamiliar and dangerous environment, even though Rei had given him a lot of trust.
"Be careful, okay?" With that in mind, Julius could not help but remind her.
"Of course. I only have one life. I don't want to die like this." Rei smiled.
Julius looked at Rei's smiling face and wondered if she had heard what he said. She seemed to be too nonchalant, even though she was not the kind of person who would take others' words in one ear and out the other.
Was it because she was too confident?
Julius could not understand what Rei was thinking.
She was always careful in everything she did, but sometimes she was so bold that it was scary.
At this moment, the platform suddenly slowed down.
It seemed to be stuck by something, and suddenly stopped for a few seconds, which made Julius and Rei, who were standing on top of it, lose their balance. Although they wouldn't fall down just like that, the bumpy movement made them worry that it would suddenly break down and get stuck there. Or maybe it would directly fall down and turn the people on top into meat paste.
"What's going on?" Julius was so scared that he stretched out his hands and pressed against the surrounding walls to stabilize his body.
"We have to pass through a middle exit, so it will be a little uncomfortable when we stop."
Rei replied, "Don't worry. Since I can come back alive and bring you here, it shouldn't be a problem."
The platform slowly descended until it finally stopped.
In front of Julius and Rei, an exit appeared from the bottom to the top.
Just as Rei had said, this was an exit that allowed them to leave the platform. Looking out from the inside, it was a pitch-black space. It was very quiet, and only the sound of water dripping could be heard. There was neither the sound of bones rubbing against each other, nor the sound of small fangs breathing.
Julius held a torch in one hand and a long sword in the other as he walked out.
After entering this space, Julius found that it was quieter than he had imagined, and there wasn't even any wind.
Rei followed behind him. "I've been here before. Because it was very quiet, I didn't feel any danger, so I walked around and found that this is a closed space. Only the platform behind us is connected to this place."
Julius didn't dare to let his guard down. Rei didn't say that to make him less vigilant, but to make him less nervous.
"This is a closed space?
How big is it? "
"Not big, about half the size of Rat Tunnel. You'll reach the end after a few steps, and there doesn't seem to be any hidden spaces," Rei said.
"And there doesn't seem to be anything valuable … It seems like this place has been plundered a long time ago, but I don't know who did it."
Julius bumped into something near his feet. He lowered his head and saw a skull. The skull had no lower jaw, and it was stuck to the ground. The eye sockets without eyeballs were looking at Julius peacefully.
Julius wouldn't jump up in fright because of such a small surprise, but his heart still skipped a beat. The appearance of a skull meant that there was something called death here, no matter how long it had been since it disappeared, or if it still existed here.
Fortunately, the skull probably couldn't jump up to give Julius any more surprises. Even if it could move, without its lower jaw, it couldn't even bite.
"Did you have this when you came?" Julius picked up the skull and showed it to Rei.
Rei didn't seem surprised when she saw the skull in Julius's hand. "Yes, it was originally hanging on the wall, but I took it down. It's quite troublesome to hang it up, so …" Rei shrugged and stuck out her tongue, looking like a child who had just played a prank.
Julius put the skull aside.
There were many things that looked like tables in this space. The top was made of stone, and the bottom was supported by pillars.
The skull was placed on a table beside him that he didn't know what it was made of. It felt as hard as a rock, but it didn't feel like metal. With his knowledge, he couldn't figure out what material it was made of. However, it felt quite comfortable to the touch. When his fingers slid on it, it felt like they were glued to it. When he wanted to pull his hand back, it didn't stick to the surface.
The skull had a better place to rest, but it didn't seem to have any intention of thanking Julius. Its eyes were dark, and nothing could be seen.
If someone could see it, they would probably be treated as a lunatic, or a dangerous necromancer.
This place was just as Rei said. It wasn't big, and it looked like a place for people to live. However, no one lived here for a long time, and it was abandoned just like that. Until Julius and Rei came here.
The two walked around for a while. It didn't take long to walk around this place, so Julius roughly figured out the structure of this place.
It was a very ordinary square space. There were things that looked like furniture, but there was basically nothing that could be taken away, unless he was willing to take the skull with him.
It looked like this place had been ransacked, and he didn't know when it happened.
This place was also cool and damp, and it was difficult for dust to accumulate in this place. However, the damage caused by water vapor was no less than that caused by dust.
The corners of the walls were covered with dark green moss, and there was a moldy smell in the air that seemed to stick to the nose.
The two didn't waste too much time here, because there was really nothing to find here.
When they returned to the platform, Rei stepped on the raised brick on the ground. The platform moved again, and it continued to move downward.
This strange place disappeared in front of Julius's eyes.
"There's really nothing here, just a skull," said Julius.
"So we have to go deeper, and see if there's anything that others haven't found, but we can find it," said Rei. "It may be a little dangerous, but with risk comes reward, right?"
Julius couldn't deny Rei's words.