"Say, you wouldn't happen to have found any mana cores would you?" Aria asked seemingly out of the blue, jarring Argo out his thoughts. He was deeply disappointed in his failure at obtaining his real parent's names. He had only gained the moniker of his mother, but who knew if that title had disappeared under the sands of time.

"Now that you mention it, we didn't find any." Argo responded, realization dawning on him. He found it strange that none of the undead they had killed yielded any cores. All Abhorrents possessed a mana core just like humans. This allowed them to access to a variety of skills and traits.

"I thought so," she confirmed. Deep in thought, Aria examined the blade of her sword, nestled on her knees. Argo believed the type of sword was called a 'katana,' characterized by its curved single-edged blade.

Its creator hailed from a distant land, nearing the outer reaches of the world. Their land was famed for beautiful sword arts, and scenery. Or, that's what he had read in a book. He didn't know the actual name of the land or if it existed.

The book painted pictures of snowy mountains that pierced the heavens, and sprawling plains populated by white trees with pink flowers. Mythical creatures such as a draconic serpent, or a bird wreathed in flames roamed the land in search of powerful foes.

Maybe it really existed, if Aria wielded such a blade.

"Don't you think its strange? All monsters possess a mana core, and when they're slain, drop it. After slaying creature after creature in the catacombs none of them dropped a single one."

Argo frowned, acknowledging her suspicions. There was definitely something more at play.

"Do you think the corruption deep below is controlling all of the undead inside the catacombs?"

Aria nodded, sheathing her blade as her gazed turned toward the dark corridor. Argo didn't bother using [Eye of Gleneus] to peer into the darkness, even moving left him reeling in pain. With his constitution, he could recover in a week's time. But looking around him at their dire circumstances, he didn't have a week.

'Too bad we don't have a healer,' he inwardly complained. Having a healer would increase a party's strength drastically. The difference between having one and not having one was like night and day.

"What do you think we should do? We're all injured and have no methods of healing. I have some food and water for a couple of days but that's about it," he reported. He was thankful Faye was adamant on packing rations to last a week.

He had thought she was being overly cautious. They were originally supposed to only delve into the catacombs for a day, so her preparations felt exaggerated. Little did he know, her meticulousness would end up saving his life.

Argo acknowledged Aria as the de-facto leader, finding her calmness and combat prowess frightening. Her youthful exterior betrayed a wealth of experience, as she calmly deduced the many problems filling the catacombs. He wondered if she was a member of a powerful group.

"I'll explore the corridor ahead, it seems to be our only path at the moment. I'll let you stay here and guard your girlfriend," she remarked, rising from the ground.

"Huh?!" Caught off guard, Argo took a moment to register her words. "What are you talking about?"

With a mischievous grin, Aria rose to her feet and trudged along the stone path toward the gaping corridor. Argo took it back, she really was their age. Now that there wasn't an immediate danger her true personality started shining.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

He shouted, watching her back disappear into the darkness of the corridor. Argo debated over calling her back and revealing Faye's shadow summon. Using it as a scout, they could avoid confrontations with lurking monsters and minimize any risks. But that was something Faye would have to approve of, Argo didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

Argo deduced Aria's stats lay around maybe E range, judging by her nonchalant performance against Chloe. He shivered, she was able to overwhelm an opponent reinforced with mana with pure technique. If anyone deserved to be a hero, she should've been selected not him.

Noticing it was quickly approaching dinner time, Argo ate some of his rations stored in the Records. Would he have starved to death if he had continued to stay inside that dream? What would happen to his body if his mind was imprisoned? Was that what happened to Darrel and Chloe? Argo shuddered, figuring he had reached a breakthrough.

'Does that make Faye a ticking time bomb? If she succumbs to the nightmares she could turn into one of those killing machines. With my current state I wouldn't even put up a fight, even so if I was in perfect condition!'

Argo shook his head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts plaguing his mind. He hoped Aria would discover something down the corridor that would be of use to them.

His thoughts finally drifted to the matter that lurked at the back of his mind. The strange world he was imprisoned in, was a beautiful dream. Argo wasn't sure if it was constructed based on his memories, or lack thereof. If they used his lost memories, they were accurate representations of his real parents. But he also couldn't disregard the fact it was all conjured based on his inner feelings; for all he knew the people in his dream didn't exist at all.

But Argo vehemently denied the latter option. The emotions felt too real within the dream, like he had experienced them before. He couldn't tell if he simply didn't want to believe it was all a lie. Whatever the thing responsible for this was, it was truly cunning and dangerous.

But at least it gave him one clue regarding his mother. It must've been her epithet, 'The Scarlet Angel.' If he had a chance, he would ask Faye about it when she woke up. If she knew about the Cult of Chaos, maybe she would know about such an enigmatic epithet.

After another heart-wrenching hour of listening to the occasional falling pebble, and whisperings of the cold wind, she returned. Argo nearly jumped out of her skin when she crept out of the shadows. She had been moving strangely, trying to mimic a zombie to scare him.

Promptly sitting next to the lantern, she summoned a sandwich before taking a half-hearted bite. "Are you trying to scare me or something," he complained.

"I was just having a bit of fun, it's no fun seeing someone all mopey," she replied nonchalantly. "I went down the corridor for a bit. We're in some large, collapsed temple or something."

Argo's brows knitted in confusion, "Temple? There is one below the catacombs?"

Aria nodded, "The architecture is vastly different then the bones that make up the catacombs. The walls are crafted of a different stone, decorated with murals. There are stone columns lining the sides, and empty torch stands. There are multiple hallways and rooms, but most are buried or have been abandoned for a while. I couldn't really get a good look at the murals, using the lantern would give away my location."

"My armor can help me see through the dark, I'll take a look. Could help alleviate the boredom," he offered. Exploring a potentially dangerous underground temple was much more interesting then sitting around, and wasting time.

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Argo opened the floodgates of his core, allowing mana to circulate through his body. Letting out a sigh, a dim white light hovered around his body. Using mana reinforcement as a crutch, he could get by without suffering too much pain. A fight would be beyond him unfortunately.

He purposefully tried to control his mana inefficiently. He didn't want Aria to catch on to the peculiar way mana behaved around him. With her skill, he wouldn't put it past her to notice such a discrepancy.

The [Embrace of Gleneus] manifested itself from the Records, its shining metal covering his body. Argo began taking weary steps toward the corridor. Activating the skill, the darkness retreated before him, allowing his eyes to scan the hallway without obstruction.

"Here, I'll lead you. I know some of the way already," Aria called out to him from behind.

Noticing his frown, she continued. "She'll be fine without us, we'll be gone for a couple of minutes."

From the short moment he had met her, he knew she was probably pretty stubborn. Attempting to argue with her would be fruitless. Argo could only relent as he followed Aria.

Once an underground temple dedicated to honoring a deity, was now left in a state of disarray. The once sturdy pillars supporting magnificent arches and elaborate tapestries were crumbling, on their last legs. Murals carved into the walls depicting splendor and tales of heroism were marred with dirty and fissures, ancient history buried under the sands of time.

Rooms that had once sheltered pious believers were empty, their belongings unmoved as if the inhabitants and left without warning. Dark stains marred the floors and walls, evidence from a slaughter years ago. Yet there were no remains of corpses, or skeletons to tell of the events that had transpired.

The pair eventually reached a grand hall, capable of holding multiple large galleons side by side. Lengthwise, Argo couldn't see the end of the hall even with his night vision. A large staircase descended to meet the floor of the hall, which was marred with craters and large fissures. Elaborately carved columns lined the walls, holding up a ceiling showcasing a wonderous tapestry.

At one point this hall should've held large scale sermons or feasts, but was now a shell of its former glory. Gazing at the walls in relatively intact condition, Argo's eyes froze upon further inspecting the room. There were humans.

Populating the large hall like ants, dozens of adventurers meandered about without a care in the world. They acted like mindless corpses, hollow eyes devoid of light, their movements lacking any semblance of a living soul.

Argo felt cold water pouring into his veins, and he could feel his heartbeat speeding up. He prayed that they wouldn't hear the pounding of his heart against his rib cage.

"What the-."

Aria's hand covered his mouth, as she could make out moving figures below the staircase without night vision. She quickly pulled him back into the wall, distancing themselves from the grand hall that reeked of horror.

When they were a safe distance away, she shot him a questioning glance.

"There- there is an army of humans in there. They all look like empty husks, like Chloe and Darrel," he choked out. How could they ever hope of getting past that? There definitely had to be another way out of here that they had missed.

Aria froze, unconsciously playing with a lock of her hair. "There has to be a way out of here. If Darrel and Chloe were originally part of that army then there has to be an exit somewhere. The only concerning thing is... are all of those people from the City of Selene?"

"That's enough scouting for the day, let's head back," she remarked. Argo was grateful she had decided to postpone any further exploration. The view of such a grand army left him shaken.

After retracing their steps, they returned to the familiar cavern where Faye remained unconscious next to the small lamp. Their situation wasn't looking great.

Releasing his mana reinforcement, Argo took a seat contemplating their next move. Noticing the oil was low, he switched the lamps ensuring light remained in the dark cave. Being surrounded by darkness would not be good for his mind.

His injuries from before started hurting the moment mana left his body, and it took all of his effort to maintain an indifferent expression. Despite his outward disposition, a creeping darkness covered his heart. Whatever was controlling those adventurers wouldn't station them there for no reason. They must be protecting their master, or an exit.

Argo could deduce the being's intelligence from the ordeal he had suffered above. The two traitors only made a move when they heard about the map. They waited patiently for Faye to regain consciousness, ensure its existence, before taking it by force. Their plan foiled due to Aria's overwhelming strength, but Argo predicted the being wanted to move those that he had corrupted to the surface.

But out of that huge crowd of adventurers none of them had a map? Argo was missing a crucial point, rendering his previous conjectures faulty. Or maybe their intent wasn't the map at all. It was to bring the three of them deeper into its clutches? But that particular intersection was too coincidental.

Or was the catacombs filled with perilous pitfalls designed to bring humans closer to its enigmatic embrace? The deluge of questions continued flooding, causing his head to spin. He wondered why the duo didn't immediately take care of Aria.

But what about the three of them did the being covet? Or was there nothing special about them, and its intentions were to corrupt any human that stepped into the deeper parts of the catacombs?

Full of questions, Argo massaged his forehead. Understanding the logic of such an insidious being gave him a headache. Its ability to manipulate dreams, and remotely control humans made it a harrowing adversary.

"What are you thinking about?" Aria called out to him from across the room. He hoped his expression wasn't as miserable as his thoughts were.

Aria was observing him with a smirk.

"Everything. It's all really confusing, and I'm pretty terrified," he replied. "If I'm being honest, I don't feel too great about all of this."

"Hoh, you're pretty honest," she said cheekily. Despite their dire conditions, she seemed rather fine. Which was very strange.

Argo was barely holding it together, he could feel his sanity was walking along a tightrope. With one slip he would follow into a the abyss of madness. Guess the only thing keeping it together were the two girls around him. Well one of them was useless at the moment.

His worry only grew as he opened a canteen of water and brought it to Faye's lips. It was taking her awhile to wake up, Argo couldn't shake the feeling she had already failed. Succumbed to the powerful hex placed upon them by the enigmatic entity.

"Are you sure you're not dating?"

"Hardly," he retorted.

Aria's expression hardened, "Back to the important stuff. At this moment, you're far too weak. If you lost against Darrel then its only going to get harder from here. You must've just entered the Tower, right?"

Despite being of the same age, Argo felt unnerved about her change in demeanor. It exuded an air of authority, and pragmatism. With her elegant bearing and looks, she looked like royalty.

"Yes, I've only been in here for a week."

Humans didn't require braving the trials of the Tower to raise their stats. They wouldn't be able to view their progress without the Record, but they would still exist. The average human would have G stats across the board, but with only being sixteen years old Argo had started at the very bottom. Outside training prior to the Tower would allow one to enter with sufficient strength, such as Faye.

But, there was a significant difference between training in the regular world and in the Tower. Essence. Monsters ran rampant in the Tower, an endless trove of essence. This would allow one to surpass people on the outside by slaying monsters endlessly.

Argo accessed the records, glancing at his stats.

Stats: [Strength: F-], [Endurance: F-], [Dexterity: F], [Agility: G+], [Mana: G+]

Most of his stats had increased across the board by a sub-tier, most likely a result of the earlier battle. He was knocked unconscious at the time, but he must've reaped essence from Darrel's death. Even with [Hero of Finality] propelling his growth, he was still falling short.

With the earlier stages being the easiest, Argo was disappointed with his progress. He would have to start seriously training if he wanted to return to the surface.

With Aria reaching the peaks of E, he was still far from being useful. Excluding the army in the grand hall, if they met a small party of corrupted humans like before he would die.

"Could you train me?" Argo asked, a little shamelessly. With their current situation, he had no choice but to appeal for help. He would make little progress attempting to better himself with his own efforts.

"Never thought you'd ask." Contrary to her thoughts, Aria responded rather easily. It was like she was poking and prodding him to do what she wanted.

Grinning, she suddenly stepped toward him and placed her hand on his chest. Before Argo could react, the energy in the air wavered before funneling itself into his body. A soft green glow emanated from her arm, as he felt his injuries rapidly healing.

An itchy feeling pervaded his body as his bruises faded, cuts sealed, and his bones reknitted themselves. He let out a pained groan as she released her hand, cutting the energy off.

"You have healing abilities?" He asked in shock. Argo was stunned, healers and healing abilities were some of the most vital things sought by all major clans and the Central Guild. While healing potions existed, their price and efficiency paled when compared to someone capable of wielding healing spells.

Suspicion crept into his mind, "Why didn't you heal me before. I was suffering for quite a bit."

"We just got betrayed and almost killed by corrupted humans who looked perfectly normal," she countered. "Always good to be cautious."

Argo should've taken a page out of both Faye and Aria's books. He definitely had to exercise restraint, and plan ahead.

He couldn't help but acknowledge her logic. Now that he had recovered from his injuries, he could feel the days ahead would be filled with pain.