The morning mist of Silver Star Academy always brought an unyielding, damp cold, adhering to the cast-iron frame of the Aetheric Bulletin Board. Pale blue Mission Runes flowed within the crystal, projecting the words "Investigate Missing Livestock in the South Sewer Network" onto the white fog. The Steam Conduits puffed white mist every ten seconds, blurring the text into spectral images, ready to be swallowed by the dark. Elara Thorne stood at the edge of the crowd, frost clinging to her gray uniform collar. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed her cuff—beneath it, the Academy-issued Tier-One Aetheric Sensing Paste released a faint gray haze upon contact with the air, as if anticipating danger.
"Group 3! We're Group 3!" Gideon Valerius's voice rang out near the bulletin board. His dark brown hair was beaded with mist, and his Vigil sheathed sword gleamed coldly. He squeezed through the crowd, followed by Lionel Evans. The sleeves of Lionel's Serfdom coat were machine-oil stained; he clutched a hand-drawn map detailed with charcoal marks for 'Access Points,''Flooded Zones,' and minute notes like 'Main Conduit Steam Valve Pressure Release at 9:00 AM.' He had compiled it by studying old schematics late into the night.
"The Serfdom said they needed someone who understood the pipes. I helped my mentor fix the South Sector, so they assigned me," Lionel Evans whispered to Elara Thorne, his voice tight with anxiety. He trembled slightly—he feared being useless, knowing a commoner serf had little right to speak in the Academy.
The trio descended the rusted iron ladder, each rung groaning a plaintive screech, threatening to drag them into the dark. The main sewer pipe was a forgotten metal behemoth, its walls covered in ink-green moss. Icy water, mixed with feces, rot, and a sickly, sweet stench—unnatural, like decayed honey mixed with rust—sloshed over their ankles. Elara's Aetheric Sensing Paste grew hot; the gray mist thickened.
"Someone is following us," Lionel Evans suddenly stopped. His gaslight swung back, catching a flash of gray uniform in the shadows—Letti, Cecilia Frostborne's retainer, who had been mocking Gideon just yesterday. Gideon Valerius's hand went to his hilt. Before he could finish, the iron plate of a derelict access point burst open with a CLANG. Several black Bone-Gnawer Rats scuttled out, their claws slick with a dark violet slime that writhed under the lamp and left faint purple trails in the standing water.
"Watch out for the slime!" Elara grabbed Gideon before he could charge. The Aetheric Sensing Paste's gray haze reached her knuckles. This was not just 'Low-Tier Abyssal Taint' as the manual claimed; she felt a more unsettling energy within the slime, chillingly similar to the 'Shadowmoon Rune Residue' described in The Rotting Earth Codex, but laced with a profound cold.
Gideon Valerius swung his sword, his pale red Aetheric Fluctuation covering the blade, cleaving a few rats in half. The slime hissed as it splashed onto the pipe wall. Lionel Evans jammed a pry bar against the access point to stop more rats from emerging, but behind him, a short, sharp scream cut through the stench.
The three turned back to see Letti, who had been following them, fallen in the water. The corrosive dark violet slime had instantly eaten a large hole through his trouser leg and was snaking up his calf, burrowing into his pores. More slime dripped onto his neck—the skin disintegrated on contact. Letti's eyes widened, and a choked, gurgling sound escaped his throat. He slumped, his skin turning a rapid gray-violet. Lionel Evans checked Letti's face. "He's gone… The slime got into an artery. The old artisan said that kind of corruption is fatal within minutes."
Elara Thorne quickly produced her charcoal and parchment. Her palm, where the sensing paste was, burned like a hot iron. She swiftly sketched Letti's position and the slime trails. Letti was a retainer of the Frostborne House; his death would be a political weapon. Cecilia Frostborne's family would seize this to accuse them.
"We need to leave now," Elara said, the rank sulfurous rot suddenly growing much stronger, as if something vast was moving in the depths. "We leave the scene untouched. We take this record back to Examiner Mason immediately."
Gideon Valerius nodded, clutching his sword. They climbed back up the ladder. The sulfurous smell followed them as they exited the sewer. The Aetheric Shield above cast a filtered, cold-white light. Elara Thorne immediately noticed two figures in silver-gray uniforms approaching—Investigation Corps Guards, their sleeves embroidered with the crest of a gear and an Aetheric Crystal. The one leading them, Instructor Glynn, a Tier-Three Heart-speaker, held a metal box—a Tier-Three Aetheric Recorder—its runes pulsing faintly blue.
"Students Thorne, Valerius, and Serf Evans," Instructor Glynn stopped, his eyes like frozen iron behind his spectacles. "You are being summoned by the Academy Council. Letti's mother, a distant kin of the Frostborne House, has filed a formal complaint with the Noble Representative, accusing you of willfully leading Letti into a dangerous zone, resulting in his death."
Gideon Valerius surged forward, his Aetheric Fluctuation spiking. "We didn't! He was following us!"
"The Council will decide intent," Glynn cut him off, gesturing to the Recorder. "The Mentor Representatives and the Arcanum Association Specialist are waiting for you. You will comply. Do not attempt to mask any Aetheric Fluctuation; the Recorder is uploading data to the Council in real-time." Elara jammed her hand into her pocket, the gray haze still active. Any anomaly would be flagged.
Lionel Evans gripped his tool bag, terrified of having any residual slime detected. Elara tugged at Gideon. "We go with them. Resistance will only make it worse. We have our mission record."
As they were escorted away, the Aetheric Recorder clicking softly, Elara Thorne glanced back at the sewer entrance. The white mist had thickened, and the sulfurous rot wafted over. She knew Letti's death was merely a prologue. The Frostborne House would use the Academy Council as a weapon, and the aberrant energy lurking in the deep pipes suggested a much greater danger.