Mike and Synthia were under the city and in the sewer systems that reeked and smelled terrible that Mike wanted to cut off his nose in the vain hope of getting rid of the smell that was in the air. This was terrible for the both of them that Synthia was asking herself if she could leave Mike without hurting his feelings. They both had entered in through a sewer grate that was located in the slums just because Mike believed that the individual named Two that kidnapped Mike and then escaped may be there once again and hiding out in the sewers since the last time their target was Daniel but they wanted to use Mike to get to him. However, Mike could not say whether or not the sewers was where Daniel was being held.
They could be down here for nothing and if so Mike was gonna break something including Synthia if she finds that Mike's master was perfectly alright. She would do nothing to harm him because he had already helped her so much so she knew that he would not pull anything funny... hopefully. So begrudgingly they both begin their search through the filth of the sewers with Synthia leading the way while Mike followed behind.
Orion was not with them cause after he got one whiff of the sewers he almost threw up the ham he just ate, so Mike had to leave him out for this one, and right now he was in Mike's room at the inn.
Synthia was leading the way because she could use magic to light the way since they could not use any torches for fear of igniting anything flammable and then dying of smoke inhalation or being burned alive. So she was leading while Mike followed behind and double-checking everything that they passed so that they did not miss anything that may be important. Mike also was tasked with guarding the rear of them as there might be monsters or other creatures waiting for a free and easy meal.
Sarenthia was not unsheathed as she would only come out once the battle was over or if they truly needed help with dealing with something. So Mike had his other blade and Iron shield out and at the ready just in case something decided to attack them.
Synthia did have darkvision but darkvision is not something that allows creatures to see in the dark like it was day time. Darkvision only allowed them to see things but there was no color and less detail to them making it look as if you were on another realm or planet entirely which is how Synthia put it as Mike never really had darkvision before.
They move throughout the sewers avoiding mold and fungus that grew on the wall as it may have poisonous fumes or spores in the air lingering around causing them to backtrack and mark their way through the various paths available to them. As for how they marked them it was quite simple with some wooden sticks that they had brought from the surface that were sharpened and then stuck into anything that held them to mark where they had been. Two stacks meant to go back while one stake meant explored. As for how they would know the way back Mike had attached a bit of cut rope to certain sticks to act as markers for them to back the way they came.
They continued with nothing interesting going on as they went down almost every new path that was available to them while passing by all sorts of things. The most common would be rotting bodies floating in the sewage that they were wading through which defiantly not helping the smell in the least. The sewage was up to their ankles but it had long been absorbed by their shoes and making them both shiver from time to time as they thought about what they were steeping in.
As Mike was moving forward though something happened that he had never expected to be here.
'Ding!'
[The system has recovered enough mana from its surroundings and is now available for the user to access now that it has left lockdown mode]
"Yes!" Mike cannot help but shout out in join seeing that his system is back
This startled Synthia who quickly turns around to see Mike smiling and grinning like an idiot about the system which she has no idea about.
"Why are you so happy?" Synthia asks confused at why he could be so happy in such a stinky and godforsaken place
"Look!" Mike says excitedly as he opens his palm and casts his trusty [Ice Blast] into the air
"Your magic recovered?" Synthia asks delighted to see that Mike had now recovered after she accidentally drained too much of his mana
"Yeah it did"
'Abbey you there?' Mike calls out in his mind
"Brother!!!"
'Ack not so loud, not so loud!' Mike says as he gets a scream inside his mind causing him a headache
"Hey what am I chopped liver?" Another voice rings out along Abbey's
'Gary?'
"Yep in the flesh, well you know what I mean," Gary responds
'Glad to see you both are alright' Mike tells them
"You too brother," Abbey says
"What happened though?" Gary asks not paying attention to Mikes relief
So Mike tells them both what happened up from when he woke up in the brothel until now in the sewers of the dead. While telling them he also moved with Synthia as she was still moving so Mike had to keep up to not be left behind and stumble around in the darkness on accident.
'So that was it,' Mike says after finishing his recount of what had happened over the past week
"Well then seems like you have been busy, to say the least," Gary says
"Yeah what he said," Abbey affirms
'So Gary you alright? Did the system lockdown make things harder for you?' Mike asks
"Actually, the lockdown seemed to help me a lot instead as this thing stopped trying to eradicate me I finally had some room to breathe and gain back my strength before she found me," Gary said
'You found Gary, Abbey?' Mike asks her
"Yep it was not that hard and once I did I brought him here to this safe space in your mind where I am so Gary should be fine now," Abbey answers
'Well at least I don't need to worry about you accidentally being killed,' Mike says
"Yeah but this will not fix anything as this thing that you call a system won't let me out," Gary says
'Well at least now you don't have to worry about being destroyed anytime soon,' Mike says
"That is a plus but still I don't think I can forcibly leave this thing even if I used all my powers"
'Well... then anyone got any ideas?' Mike asks
"Not right now as I was busy running and defending for my life so I did not have a chance to think much on the matter"
'Well then I guess I am going to be talking to you more often than' Mike says
"Yeah, I guess so..." Was his response
'Abbey I am kind of busy right now so I don't want to check my status but can you tell me something' Mike asks her
"Sure what is it?"
'Well first off what is that place that I was sent after the system went into lockdown mode?'
"Well that is supposed to be the kill zone"
'Lovely name' Mike says
"Yeah well, it works exactly as it sounds. The system only goes into lockdown mode if something is attacking it directly which then pulls the entities conscious inside before destroying it over time and countless battles through those shadows you saw" Abbey said
'Well, why was I pulled in then?'
"Well it found that you were the only conscious that was nearby and probably assumed that you were the perpetrator so it sucked you in to destroy you"
'How come then I am still here then?'
"Well you are the host and the system cannot actively harm you so as a result it was changed into what you experienced instead of killing your conscious"
'For a system, it seems to really have a lot of faults and get me into trouble' Mike says thinking back to what had happened so far with the system involved
"Well everything is fine now alright so just leave it be," Abbey tells him
'Yeah of and Abbey what exactly is this?' Mike asks as he blinks his eyes and activates his mana sense
"Hm... I don't know" Abbey responds as she takes a look through Mike's eyes to see what he is seeing
'You don't know?' Mike asks a bit dumbfounded
"Yes I don't know this is a completely different version of the mana seeing eyes that other beings have," Abbey says
'Different how?' Mike asks
"They can only associate the type of spell being used by a person that the user concentrates on and even then the user gets knowledge of the spell that is being used by the magic-user"
'So they can tell what spell someone is using by looking at them?' Mike says dumbing it down
"Yes but your's are different in that you can actually see mana around you and this does not call for any form of energy from your mana just your concentration and will"
'I got that already but if I can't use them to find out what spell someone is using what use is this then?' Mike asks hoping that she has a few ideas
"Well... I don't know either as you have not been able to test anything with your mana being locked from leaving your body" Abbey tells him
'Alright then I guess I will test a few things when I get up on the surface again' Mike says as he draws his full attention back to the sewers in front of him
Mike trusted Synthia enough to tell him if anything was happening and he also trusted her observation skills so he was able to focus on the conversation with Abbey and Gary for a bit as they moved about the underground. Plus Mike's thoughts were taken away from the horrid smell that assaulted his nostrils for a bit.
...
Abbey was currently looking around her own space making sure that everything was the way she left it before the system shutdown and was locked out. Abbey in a sense lived in Mike's mind and helped him with certain questions with anything he asked about anything she was given access to. Now however it seemed like her room now had another occupant as well with the addition of none other than Gary.
Gary was a tall strong-looking man with well-developed muscles, a chiseled chin, and breathtaking features that would make anyone want to fall in love with him instantly. He was wearing robes that looked like a Roman toga that was worn by the people of the time with nothing fancy just a regular robe with a white shirt underneath.
Right now he was sitting on a couch in this place and it was one of the comfiest things he had ever sat on, unlike the one he had back at his place. The room he was in was a modern-looking room from Earth that had everything that anyone could need or want from a TV to a mini-fridge in this room.
When Abbey found him she had said that this was her room and that he could make himself at home which just confused him as he had never seen anything like this in his entire life as a minor God. So Abbey naturally had to tell him how a few things worked and answer some questions that he had about everything the biggest one being where they were.
Abbey told him that she is an assistant to Mike and that she had been helping him up until now with most things. She told him that this was her domain and now that he was here she finally had a reason to make use of it and so she made this room out of all sorts of things that she found in Mike's memory. Also, everything worked and was in a sense real so Gary could watch movies and TV, but it was only limited to what he had watched. Gary did not care for mortal things and was more intrigued about the other items like this sofa he was sitting on.
'What material was used to make this masterpiece?' He thinks to himself as Abbey enters the room
Abbey did not have a body but she could take any form she wished which was how Mike was able to see her when his body was hijacked as he just saw her as something his mind could comprehend. Right now though she was just an orb of light that moved in front of Gary.
"So any ideas on how to get you out of here?" Abbey asks
"No, but I guess we better start thinking," Gary says as he gets up