The dark tunnel welcomed me once more as I jumped down from the ladder.

I clutched my phone as I used the flashlight to look around the place. But the tunnel looked just as it had the last time.

I had taken the manhole that was closest to the city's center, and weirdly enough, it was near my shop. I had only two ways to go from here, and I headed toward the direction that would take me to the center.

Soon, I arrived at a crossroad, and I had to make a decision… but there was only one problem.

"Huh-! Is this not the center of the city? I am quite sure this is the place. Then? Where am I supposed to go?"

I asked, and I even opened the system to check. But there were no clues anywhere.

At times like these, I really missed Fenrir. The puppy would likely have been able to track something down using its sharp nose.

But for now, I needed to find a way out of here.

"Think-! Brain, think-! Last time, the secret passage was hidden behind a secret passage. So surely, this time as well. Hmm, should I try jabbing the ground?"

I asked myself as I took out my staff and tried to make small jabs on the ground.

But there was no reaction.

"Tsk, of course things are not going to be that easy. Just what was I thinking-?"

I questioned, accidentally pressing the button to use the sting gun. My heart leapt in my throat as I quickly checked the other end of my staff.

"Shit-! Did I chip my staff? I paid so much for this shit. Don't tell me I accidentally broke it. I don't even have enough to get it repaired-"

As I worried about my staff, I felt a sudden vibration in the ground. The next thing I knew, the ground split apart, giving me a way to go down.

"Huh-! There is a passage here? Since when… did shocking the ground open it? How-?"

A lot of possibilities jumped into my mind at my question.

It was possible that the ground had split open when I used the shock feature because it was run on a metallic mechanism. Or maybe there was another reason behind it.

But I wasted no time thinking about it as I walked toward the opening.

It was a spiral staircase that went deeper into the hole, and I decided to walk down to check where it reached.

I tried shining the light from my phone, but it looked to be far too deep.

"Alright, here goes nothing. Let's check what we have down there."

I told myself as I traveled down. Each step was measured and soft. The lack of railing made it hard for me to trust my steps, and I pushed myself against the wall.

The descending stairs were worth four stories at least before I felt my foot slip. The stairs were wet, and I had not noticed until it was too late.

"Ah, fuck-!"

I cried out as my body met water. But because of that, I was not hurt. The water slowly descended, and my body touched the ground finally.

"My phone-! Fuck-! Is it alright?"

I took out my phone to check on it. After all, water was a phone's worst enemy.

But unlike my clothes, my phone was dry and did not look like it had taken a bath in water. That caused one of my worries to calm down.

I shined the light around my current place once I picked myself up, and I looked around the area.

The circle I was standing in was a small 4'x4'. But from my current position, I could not see what was drawn on the ground.

So I climbed a few stairs and shined my light on the ground.

There was a beautiful circle drawn on the ground, and something crimson was slowly filling the carvings between the cracks.

There was something hypnotic about the way that crimson filled the place, and I wanted to reach out and touch it…

"Fuck-! Now is not the time to be thinking all this. I need to take care of the situation at hand. W-What can I do-"

I asked myself as I looked around, but there truly was not much to see here. The only thing of interest was the small notch in the wall from where the crimson liquid was flowing into the room.

And that was where my hands took me. I pulled the small unit out of the wall and picked it up.

"What's this? Ah-! One second-! Where is my phone?"

I looked around, only to notice that my phone was in my hand and currently being used as a torch by me. I quickly took a snap of the item in front of me and waited for it to get registered.

[Item registered: Cursed liquid box. Once the cursed liquid fills the mold of sacrifice, the preparations to call forth a god would be complete.]

[User is advised to drink the liquid to break the curse and strengthen his body.]

"Hey system, you are joking with me, right? There is no way in hell you want me to drink this, right?"

I asked the system, but there was no answer from it. The more I looked at the screen, the more I felt like it was fucking with me.

"Ugh, is the system actually serious? What if I got sick drinking this or something? Is it not worried for my health?"

I asked, but once again, there was no answer.

But the fact that the system had told me to drink the red liquid likely meant that it was safe for me to consume. The system had not led me astray until now.

"Fuck-! Here goes nothing."

I told myself as I took the vial that had been in the wall all this time in the closed box. It shined without a single dust particle on it.

I took off my mask, and it was time for me to start drinking.

As soon as it touched my lips, I felt the cherry-like flavor envelop my taste buds. But it was not the sweet kind of cherry.

'Fuck-! It's so sour… but I cannot stop now. I need to keep going, no matter what.'

I reminded myself as I kept drinking the red liquid until none of it was left.

My stomach felt warm and tingly once I finished drinking, and I felt a little surprised that I was able to finish all of the liquid in one go.

[Ding! Stamina and Strength increased. Resistance to Curse updated.]

"Oh wow-! That was… not as bad as I thought. I should hurry up and get out of here now. But what about the curse? Is it gone?"

I looked at the system and took another photo of the scene.

[Information updated: the curse has been lifted, but cleanup will be needed. User can leave the cleanup to the believers.]

The system told me, and I nodded.

I did not know what the system meant by the believers, but I had a feeling it referred to the police… which likely meant that they were on their way here as well.

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