Alex sat in the Hunter’s Workshop and carefully read the book about how to use Blood Stone Shards to upgrade weapons. As he read this book, written by one of the Hunters who had decided not to reveal his name, Alex turned page after page, trying to understand better how everything worked.

After all, this was the first time he had encountered such a method of creating and upgrading weapons, and it was completely new to him. Tapping his finger on the table, Alex turned the next page and fell into thought. He could have used magic or runes to upgrade any Hunter weapon in this world and simply not waste time on something like this.

But Alex considered that option too boring and too quick. Reading dozens of notes, Alex quickly memorized the entire process of using Blood Stone Shards. While Alex was busy reading, the Doll watched his face attentively and did not blink once from the moment he started reading.

The Doll carefully followed every change in Alex’s facial expression and every gesture he made. The Doll herself did not understand why, but she felt so calm being next to Alex, even though it was her presence that was supposed to bring calm to the Hunters who found themselves in this place.

More than an hour had passed since Alex began reading the book and the Doll started watching him. After that time, Alex closed the book and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had memorized all the processes for using Blood Stone Shards to upgrade both melee weapons and firearms.

Alex realized that the process was not as complicated as it seemed at first glance. And his very first thought was to conduct a small experiment on upgrading a weapon. Fortunately, he had several Blood Stone Shards to perform the initial upgrade. Alex already knew that Blood Stone Shard was the lowest-tier item for upgrading weapons and that there were others.

But since he only had Blood Stone Shards at the moment, he had no choice. For his first experiment, Alex wanted to use the Kirkhammer, which was a neatly carved piece of stone with prayers engraved on it, a silver handle, and a silver sword that connected to the hammer. Lifting the Kirkhammer with one hand and placing it on the workbench, Alex began rummaging through the drawers.

“Doll, if it’s not too much trouble, could you get the mortar from the cabinet and a vessel?” Alex said, turning his head toward the Doll.

“Of course, good Hunter. It is not difficult for me to provide you with everything you need so that in the future you can hunt even better,” the Doll said, standing up from the chair and nodding her head slightly.

Alex only nodded, fully understanding that the Doll was used to helping all the Hunters who ended up in this place, which was why she behaved this way. Stretching slightly, Alex decided to get to work. First, he separated the stone hammer from the silver sword and carefully placed them on the workbench.

Alex looked at the stone hammer and ran his finger over the inscriptions carved into the stone surface. After carefully reading the inscriptions on the stone surface, Alex realized that this was the creed of the Church Hunters, engraved on their weapons. While Alex was busy reading, the Doll returned, holding a black stone mortar in her hands that was soaked with old dried blood.

After examining the mortar from all sides, Alex threw one Blood Stone Shard into it and began grinding it, turning it into fine powder. Once the Blood Stone Shard had turned into fine powder, Alex glanced at the book to see what needed to be done next. Seeing the next step, Alex began rummaging through the pockets of his hunter’s coat.

“What are you looking for, good Hunter?” the Doll asked, watching Alex’s actions.

“I’m looking for Blood Echoes. To complete the process, you need to mix Blood Echoes with the Blood Stone Shard powder so it turns into a paste… But it seems I don’t have any Blood Echoes left… I used them all,” Alex said with a strained smile on his face.

“You can go hunting and obtain Blood Echoes,” the Doll said in a quiet and calm voice.

“Let me guess, you don’t have any Blood Echoes so I don’t have to leave this place,” Alex said, sighing tiredly.

“Unfortunately, you are correct. But I will pray that your hunt goes successfully and that you find what you are looking for,” the Doll said quietly, nodding her head slightly with a faint expression of sadness on her face.

Alex looked at the Doll and sighed heavily. At that very moment, the last thing he wanted to do was go to Yharnam to obtain a few Blood Echoes just to conduct a weapon upgrade experiment. Lighting a cigarette, Alex quickly realized that this was his chance to explore Central Yharnam and find some items for his collection.

Tapping his finger on the workbench, Alex made the decision to return to Central Yharnam and quickly deal with everything. Alex’s gaze shifted to the coffin where Alucard was sleeping. He understood that he had more than enough time to explore the city. Smiling slightly, Alex put on his Hunter’s hat and stood up from the chair.

“Alright… So, hunting it is. Doll, while I’m gone, keep an eye on Carmilla,” Alex said, preparing to leave the Hunter’s Workshop.

“I will await your return, good Hunter… Please return safely, and may the echoes of blood guide your path,” the Doll said, folding her palms together and looking at Alex.

Hearing the Doll’s words, Alex smiled and waved goodbye, putting on his Hunter’s mask that covered half of his face. Slipping the Kirkhammer over his shoulder, Alex left the workshop to return to Central Yharnam. When Alex left the Hunter’s Workshop, the Doll’s gaze lingered on the door longer than usual, as if she was seeing him off until he left this Dream.

Sensing that Alex’s presence had disappeared, the Doll shifted her gaze to the black coffin where Alucard was sleeping. The Doll sat quietly on the chair by the workbench, with her palms resting on her knees and continuing to hold the Moonflower in her hands, waiting for Alex’s return.

At that moment, Alex was once again traveling through dimensions with the help of the Messengers. Alex found himself back in Central Yharnam, specifically on the Cathedral Bridge. Returning to the Cathedral Bridge, Alex looked around. He once again noticed that all the environmental destruction was resetting in reverse, and all the consequences of Alucard and the Cleric Beast’s battle had been undone.

The stone railings of the bridge and the stone statues were intact, and even the iron gates in which the Cleric Beast had gotten tangled were whole and still closed. After looking around, Alex began thinking about where to start first.

“I’ll get Blood Echoes anyway. So all that remains is searching for people…” Alex muttered, stroking his chin.

Alex had many options for where to begin. After a short reflection, he decided to start with the most unpleasant place in Central Yharnam. Gripping the Kirkhammer in his hand, Alex inserted the silver sword into the hammer’s handle to use the hammer mode of the weapon.

Placing the Kirkhammer on the floor, Alex took out his notebook to check his notes, recalling what he needed to do in Central Yharnam before moving on and how much time it would take.

While Alex was busy scanning the compiled list with his eyes, the Black Cat jumped out of his shadow, leaped onto his shoulder, and gently rubbed her muzzle against his cheek.

“Alright, little one. We’ll start with the sewers and move in a circle… We need to finish before Carmilla wakes up,” Alex said, putting the notebook back in the pocket of his hunter’s coat and lightly scratching the Black Cat’s chin with his finger.

The Black Cat meowed softly and jumped off Alex’s shoulder, running ahead. Alex stretched a little, grabbed the Kirkhammer with one hand, and ran after the cat. As soon as Alex ran through the arch, his first opponent was a mini-giant with a brick.

Without stopping, Alex swung the Kirkhammer, and the stone hammer struck the mini-giant directly in the face. The mini-giant’s head burst with a nauseating pop, and his body flew over the stone railings of the bridge. Without stopping, Alex ran further and crushed the crows lying in his path with his feet.

Continuing to run, Alex saw two werewolves ahead fighting over the body of a dead person, pulling it between themselves. Jumping up, Alex landed on the back of one of the werewolves and struck its head with the stone hammer. The werewolf’s body instantly went limp, and the second werewolf sensed new living prey.

Alex sharply pulled the Kirkhammer’s handle, releasing the silver blade. Before the second werewolf could attack, Alex plunged the tip of the silver sword into the werewolf’s eye socket.

“Where to next… To the end of the bridge and right, then down, and then straight to the end,” Alex muttered, recalling the route.

Alex quickly inserted the silver sword blade back into the stone hammer and ran further, to the end of the bridge. After running a little ahead, Alex saw stone steps leading down. Turning, Alex quickly descended the steps. Once downstairs, Alex found himself on a platform above the buildings near the main street of Central Yharnam, from where the voices of the maddened Yharnam residents wandering the streets in search of monsters to kill could be heard.

After a quick look around, Alex saw what he always did: abandoned luggage, dozens of coffins, and empty crates. Recalling the path, Alex saw an alley and immediately ran into it, remembering that there was a descent into the Yharnam sewers in that alley. The Black Cat followed Alex, collecting everything related to blood from the corpses of monsters and Yharnam residents.

Reaching the end of the alley, Alex saw a drop leading downward. Looking down, Alex saw a deep sewer shaft. Without thinking long, Alex took a step forward and began to fall. Alex landed on the head of a Yharnam resident who was almost fully turned into a beast, crushing him into a bloody pulp.

Hearing the squelching sound beneath him, Alex lowered his gaze and saw pieces of flesh, fur, and bones mixed with blood. Realizing that he hadn’t imagined crushing someone, Alex stepped aside and began wiping the blood off his boots on the floor.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you. In the next cycle, walk more carefully… You never know what might fall on your head — for example, me,” Alex said with a blank look on his face, continuing to wipe the blood off his boots.

Alex understood that the corpse was unlikely to answer him. After all, in any case, during the next reset, this almost beast-turned resident of Yharnam would come back to life and continue aimlessly wandering the sewer shaft like a programmed mad puppet.

After wiping all the remaining blood from his soles, Alex looked around and gave a slight whistle. Alex had seen this place in the game, but seeing it in real life evoked completely different impressions. Even the sewer shaft looked quite gloomy and refined.

Small stone bridges with elegant railings connecting both sides of the sewer, the dim light of lanterns that barely illuminated the place, and, as always, a strong atmosphere of abandonment — not counting the strange sounds coming from the very bottom of the sewer shaft. And completing this gloomy picture was the smell that hung in the place — the smell of rot and sewer waste mixing to form a unique palette of odors.

“But the smell here is just awful… Even the mask doesn’t help. I hope this smell disappears when I return to the Dream. The last thing I want is to stink like a sewer rat,” Alex said, covering his nose through the mask.

After looking around, Alex slung the Kirkhammer behind his back and took out the Repeating Pistol from under his coat. Holding the Repeating Pistol in one hand and covering his nose with the other, Alex moved further through the sewer shaft. Alex remembered that in these sewers there was a Hunter’s corpse from which he could take the Saw Hunter Badge.

And unfortunately for Alex himself, all he remembered were the approximate landmarks on how to reach that hunter’s body. Moving along the upper part of the sewer shaft, Alex saw the light of torches carried by Yharnam residents who were almost fully turned into beasts.

After walking a little further, Alex raised the Repeating Pistol and fired the first shot. The quicksilver bullet flew out of the barrel and hit the beast-like Yharnam resident directly in the back of the head. Alex watched as the resident’s body fell off the edge and flew to the very bottom. The next moment, the sound of splashing water rang out.

Continuing forward, Alex heard a sound as if someone was being eaten. Looking down, Alex saw huge rats the size of large dogs devouring the body of the killed Yharnam resident.

“In real life they look much bigger… But they’re still just as disgusting…” Alex muttered, looking at the huge rats.

Alex knew that these rats had mutated because they fed on the corpses of people who had used blood as medicine. As a result, the rats had grown to such sizes. Shaking his head, Alex continued walking forward, occasionally shooting from the Repeating Pistol and killing the wandering beast-like Yharnam residents.

The Black Cat following Alex continued to perform her purpose, collecting everything she came across. This included Blood Stone Shards from corpses hanging on the wooden beams below.

While collecting another Blood Stone Shard from the corpse of a Yharnam resident lying on a beam, the Black Cat slightly hooked the corpse, causing it to fall down and attract the attention of the huge rats nearby. The Black Cat only cast a short glance at those rats and jumped back up to Alex.

“Hmm, seems like a dead end… Now it should be downward,” Alex said after reaching the end of the path.

Realizing that he would have to jump down directly into this filth consisting of sewage water and who knows what, Alex grimaced slightly. Approaching the edge, Alex took a step and fell downward. Alex landed below with a characteristic splash of water that immediately spread in all directions.

At the same moment, two huge rats lunged at Alex. With one quick movement, Alex detached the silver sword from the stone hammer’s handle while grabbing the stone hammer’s handle with his other hand. Alex instantly plunged the silver sword into the body of the first rat. Taking a step to the side, Alex avoided the second rat’s lunge and immediately crushed its head with the massive stone hammer.

“I never liked places like this with such huge rats. You always stink so badly,” Alex said, shaking the blood and brains off the stone hammer.

Slipping the stone hammer behind his back, Alex approached the first rat that he had pierced with the silver sword. At that moment, the huge rat let out a loud squeak that echoed throughout the entire sewer shaft. Grimacing slightly at the loud squeak in such a place, Alex grabbed the silver sword’s handle and plunged the tip into the rat’s head, twisting it slightly.

The huge rat’s body twitched slightly and then finally went limp. Pulling the silver sword out of the rat’s head, Alex shook his hand lightly to fling the blood off the blade and put the sword behind his back, reconnecting it with the stone hammer. As he was about to leave, Alex heard a strange loud noise behind him.

Alex turned his head back to see what was making the noise. The moment he turned his head, his eyelid began to twitch strongly. He saw an entire horde of huge rats rushing toward him. The huge rats were running toward Alex, trampling their own kind, running along the walls, falling from above, and merging with the main wave.

“Well, fuck…” Alex said in a tired tone.

Alex had once again ignored the most obvious fact of his life. In worlds like this, his luck simply became terrible. Before Alex could grab the handle of his stone hammer, he was swept away by the horde of huge rats and carried forward.

The huge rats did not stop, and the entire horde continued rushing forward, piling onto Alex in a massive mountain of flesh. Finding himself under an entire horde of huge rats, Alex exhaled irritably from the stench of the rats surrounding him. Drawing the silver sword, Alex began cutting his way to freedom.

With every swing of the silver sword, Alex killed dozens of huge rats, and their numbers only grew with every moment. Alex used only the silver sword and the stone hammer to kill the huge rats, without resorting to magic. At that moment, Alex wanted only one thing — to slash and crush the huge rats.

“When will you finally end!” Alex shouted, swinging the stone hammer and sending several huge rats flying.

From Alex’s blow, the rats scattered in all directions and crashed into the stone walls. The huge rats continued to attack Alex as if he were the most dangerous predator in this sewer shaft and it was their duty to devour him. The rats that Alex killed were devoured by their own kind at tremendous speed.

After eating their dead comrades, the huge rats threw themselves at Alex with even greater fury. The huge rats kept coming, and Alex kept killing them. With every moment, the number of huge rat corpses around Alex grew, but the number attacking him did not decrease.

Alex did not know how much time had passed since the horde of huge rats had attacked him. But after killing the last huge rat, Alex sighed heavily. The entire hunter’s clothing on Alex’s body was covered in small cuts and completely soaked with the blood of the huge rats.

Pulling the silver sword out of the head of the last huge rat, Alex wearily raised his gaze to the ceiling of the sewer shaft. Once again, the greatest difficulty for Alex in such a battle was the narrow passage where the rats kept pressing on him. Exhaling once more, Alex lowered his gaze and looked at the mountain of huge rat corpses.

“Now I really feel like a true Hunter… Or rather, a petty adventurer who has to hunt rats,” Alex said, lowering the cloth mask from his face to smoke.

“Meow…” came the cat’s meow from above.

Hearing the meow, Alex raised his gaze and saw the black cat with red eyes sitting on a wooden beam directly above him. Alex lit a cigarette and wiped the remaining blood from his face. He didn’t even try to clean all the blood that had stained his hunter’s clothing.

Exhaling cigarette smoke, Alex looked at the black cat again. He knew that she had been sitting on the wooden beam the entire time, simply watching as the endless stream of huge rats attacked him. In response to Alex’s gaze, the black cat calmly raised her paw, licked it slightly, and ran it behind her ear, showing that she was resting.

“You could at least help instead of just sitting up there,” Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, continuing to sit on the wooden beam.

“What do you mean you’re not going to help because you weren’t created for that?” Alex asked, looking at the black cat with a blank expression.

“Meow…” the black cat replied, slowly swinging her tail.

“Just because I created you to collect blood doesn’t mean you can’t fight. You have claws and teeth,” Alex said, pointing his cigarette at the black cat.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed lazily, jumping down onto the mountain of huge rat corpses.

“Since when have you been such a spoiled lady?” Alex asked, shaking his head tiredly.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, raising her front paw.

“Just because you’re a cat doesn’t mean you have to be spoiled,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.

In response to Alex’s words, the black cat opened her mouth and began absorbing Blood Echoes from all the huge rats. Shaking the ash from his cigarette, Alex turned away and slung the Kirkhammer behind his back. After walking a little further, Alex reached a drop that led to another part of the sewer shaft.

Looking down, Alex saw dozens of disgusting Rotted Corpses lying on the surface of the sewer water. These vile creatures, thrown into the sewers during the beast-hunting, continued to hunt people, lying in wait for them in the water or near bodies of water.

Like all blood-infected Yharnam residents, they had beastly features but with rotting bodies and scraps of decayed clothing. Looking at all this filth below, Alex reached for the satchel behind his back and took out a Molotov cocktail.

“I think one won’t be enough,” Alex said, holding the Molotov cocktail in his hands and looking down.

Tossing the Molotov cocktail in his hands, Alex was well aware that one bottle would not be enough to burn such a number of Rotted Corpses. Therefore, Alex decided to slightly enhance this flammable mixture. Smiling slightly, Alex drew a small rune on the Molotov cocktail.

Grinning widely, Alex lit the Molotov cocktail and casually threw it downward. The burning mixture flew down and landed right in the center among the Rotted Corpses. In the same instant, bright and extremely hot flames flared up. Following the burst of flame came a loud scream of pain that spread in all directions.

Alex watched with a smile on his face as the Rotted Corpses writhed, engulfed in flames. Still smiling, Alex shifted his gaze to the side and saw a corpse dressed in hunter’s clothing with an iron rod sticking out of its chest.

“Lucky, a dead hunter,” Alex said with a smile, turning toward the impaled hunter’s corpse.

Alex approached the impaled hunter’s corpse and pulled the rod out of its chest. Folding his hands in a short prayer, Alex began rummaging through the hunter’s pockets in search of a Hunter Badge. All Alex found were a couple of empty Blood Vial bottles and a bundle of quicksilver bullets.

Putting the quicksilver bullets in his pocket, Alex pulled back the collar of the dead hunter’s clothing hoping to find a Hunter Badge. But all Alex found was a broken Hunter Badge that the Messengers definitely would not accept. Sighing, Alex lowered the collar of the dead hunter.

Looking at the hunter’s corpse, Alex snapped his fingers and burned the body. After burning the hunter’s corpse, Alex approached the edge and jumped down to continue his path through the Yharnam sewer shaft. The moment Alex jumped down, the Black Cat immediately leaped onto his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his neck.

“Now you’re using me as transportation, young lady,” Alex said, scratching the black cat’s chin with his finger.

“Meow…” the cat meowed, purring slightly from Alex scratching her chin.

“Yeah, I know girls don’t like getting dirty. But you could have hidden in my shadow,” Alex said, sighing slightly.

The black cat only looked at Alex with her red eyes and simply lay down on his shoulder, slowly swinging her tail. Continuing forward, Alex raised his gaze upward and saw only the towering buildings above. Shaking his head, Alex walked on, because his goal lay further ahead.

Alex walked forward, slowly moving his legs and stepping through water that reached his ankles. The black cat lightly tapped her tail on Alex’s shoulder, looking at the huge crows sitting on the wooden beams above. Taking out the Repeating Pistol from under his coat, Alex fired several shots, hitting the huge crows directly in the eyes with quicksilver bullets.

The huge crows fell from the wooden beams with a characteristic splash of water. Stepping over the crow corpses, Alex continued on. Descending the wooden steps, Alex saw several Rotted Corpses lying at his feet and pretending to be dead. Raising his foot, Alex crushed the head of the first Rotted Corpse and repeated the action with the other two.

“It really stinks,” Alex said, covering his nose so as not to smell the rotting corpses.

Suppressing his disgust at the revolting smell, Alex saw a long tunnel at the end from which a strange sound resembling the grunting of a huge pig was coming. Next to the entrance to the tunnel was a ladder leading upward. Hearing this sound, Alex instantly shifted his gaze to the tunnel and perked up slightly, because that was exactly the pig he needed.

Approaching the tunnel, Alex saw the outline of a huge pig hidden behind a light mist hanging in the tunnel. Grinning, Alex took the Kirkhammer off his back and walked forward. The closer Alex got, the clearer the outline of the huge pig’s backside became.

Beginning to sneak quietly, Alex moved closer and noticed that the giant pig was finishing eating someone’s corpse. Slightly loosening his shoulders, Alex gripped the Kirkhammer’s handle with both hands and assumed a baseball player’s stance.

“I hated you even back then… Now I can finally get my revenge,” Alex said with a wide grin.

Before the giant pig could turn around, Alex swung the Kirkhammer, and the stone hammer struck the giant pig’s backside with perfect accuracy. From Alex’s blow, the giant pig flew forward with a disgusting squeal, as if it had received a booster in its ass. Alex watched as the giant pig flew forward, followed by the disgusting sound of flesh colliding with a hard surface.

Having killed the giant pig in this manner, Alex could not hide his smile, because this was the giant pig he hated the most in this world full of madness. And killing this pig instantly lifted Alex’s mood, which he could not hide due to the wide smile on his face.

“Ugh… I feel so much better. I really feel like it was worth going down into the sewers,” Alex said, in a good mood.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, looking at her master with a blank feline gaze.

“You just don’t understand… This is the most disgusting pig in this world. I had to kill it,” Alex said, poking the black cat’s nose with his finger.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, swatting at Alex’s finger with her paw.

“You’re a cat, you have no right to judge me,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.

The black cat demonstratively closed her eyes and laid her head on Alex’s shoulder. Seeing the behavior of his familiar that he had created, Alex could not understand why she was exactly like this. The only reason Alex could come up with was that his familiar’s behavior was connected to the fact that she was a cat.

Shaking his head to drive away unnecessary thoughts, Alex looked around, and his gaze fell on another hunter’s corpse, who unfortunately had not been lucky enough to become a snack for the giant pig.

Approaching the corpse of yet another hunter, Alex squatted down and immediately pulled back the collar of the dead hunter’s clothing. Seeing a thin leather cord, Alex grabbed it and pulled it toward himself. Tearing off the cord, Alex pulled out an iron badge resembling a saw.

“That’s the second one. Eight more to go,” Alex said with a grin on his face, holding the Saw Hunter Badge in his hands.

Having obtained what he had descended into the sewers for, Alex walked forward until he reached the end of the sewer tunnel, where there was a drop leading somewhere very deep, and on the wall above this drop was a huge red stain and pieces of flesh. After all, this was the wall the giant pig had crashed into, and all its remains had fallen into the abyss.

Grinning, Alex turned left and stepped out onto a small spacious balcony. Turning his head to the right, Alex saw stairs leading upward. Raising his gaze upward, Alex quickly shook his head, not intending to climb such a long staircase. Squatting slightly, Alex pushed off the floor and immediately jumped.

From such a sharp jump, the Black Cat sleeping on Alex’s shoulder instantly woke up and opened her red eyes wide, digging her claws into Alex’s coat. Jumping to the very top, Alex saw a mini-giant and a Yharnam resident with a torch in his hands standing in front of a huge woven ball.

“Good evening… Are we interrupting?” Alex asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

In response to Alex’s words, the Yharnam resident with the torch set the huge straw ball on fire, and the mini-giant lifted it above his head despite the fact that it was burning. Seeing this, Alex drew the Repeating Pistol from under his coat and fired several quick shots at the mini-giant’s hands.

The quicksilver bullets hit the mini-giant’s elbows precisely, and he could no longer hold the burning straw ball above his head. The burning straw ball fell onto the mini-giant’s body, setting it on fire. The Yharnam resident with the torch in his hands lunged at Alex, swinging the burning torch. Alex smiled slightly, stepped aside, and tripped him.

The Yharnam resident tripped over Alex’s leg and fell downward with a scream, continuing to swing the torch. Alex looked down and saw how the Yharnam resident turned into a red smear on the stone floor.

“You need to be more careful in places like this, or you might fall,” Alex said, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

Lowering the cloth mask from his face, Alex lit a cigarette and approached the burning straw ball. Walking around the burning ball, Alex lightly kicked it with his foot, and it began rolling along the bridge, hitting unsuspecting Yharnam residents.

Looking at the bridge he had ended up near, Alex tried to remember where he was now. Glancing around in search of familiar landmarks, Alex stroked his chin slightly. A moment later he remembered where he was and what this place was.

“If I’m not mistaken, if I go that way, I’ll come out at the graveyard behind Oedon’s Chapel… And if I cross the bridge, I’ll return to Central Yharnam,” Alex said, nodding his head.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, sitting on Alex’s shoulder.

“No, it’s still too early to go to Father Gascoigne… I haven’t met the Crow yet. She has a Badge I need,” Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke.

“Meow…” the cat meowed, jumping off Alex’s shoulder and leaping onto a stone pillar.

“I don’t remember which way to go to find that girl. I know where to find the Crow, but I don’t remember where this child is,” Alex said, shaking the ash from his cigarette and looking at the black cat.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, pointing with her tail at the bridge.

“Wait… I’m an idiot, she was right nearby… Oh… Alright, you’re right, I’m an idiot,” Alex said, staring at the cat in shock.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed, smiling in a cat-like way.

“What do you mean you told me?… When did you ever say anything besides meowing?” Alex said, pointing his finger at the black cat.

“Meow…” the black cat meowed lazily, jumping down from the pillar and starting to run along the long bridge.

“What do you mean I’m the one talking to you, not you to me. Come back and let’s talk like civilized man and cat!” Alex shouted after the running black cat.

In response, Alex heard only silence. Sighing in disappointment, Alex extinguished his cigarette and followed the black cat. Thanks to the conversation with the black cat, he remembered that all the people he needed were relatively close to each other near the Cathedral Bridge.

And now he had to return to the bridge to complete his list of plans for Central Yharnam. Quickly catching up with the black cat at the end of the stone bridge, Alex followed her to the elevator. Entering the elevator, Alex stepped onto the platform, and the elevator began to rise. While the elevator was ascending, Alex sighed at his forgetfulness and at the fact that he had gotten lost once again, even though he knew the way.

To be continued…

(So, this was Alex’s solo journey, through places Alucard would definitely refuse to go. Next on the list is another boss, rescuing Loli, talking to the hunter of hunters, and Oedon’s chapel. I’ll try to speed things up so as not to describe those long wanderings through labyrinths, because worlds like these are damn labyrinths, and it’s hard to figure out how and where to go. If I remember any key or slightly important places, I’ll mention them too. For now, I’ll go get something to eat. Peace, love, and why there are so many of them.)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep