After the conversation ended, Shadra turned his attention to the loot that had fallen from the defeated Soul Devourer.

D-grade Weapon: Soul Binding Wand. 【Unidentified Equipment】

D-rank Armor: Soul Binding Cloak. 【Unidentified Equipment】

And the items the Soul Devourer had used earlier to bribe Shadra.

E-grade Jewelry: Moon of Souls Necklace.【Unidentified Equipment】

E+ Tier Item: Book of Magic.【Unidentified Equipment】

Now, the issue was distribution. 'Ladies first, each of us can pick two items. How about that?'

Despite being the main force in the battle, Shadra politely made the suggestion.

"The outcome was settled, so it was only sensible to maintain good relations with those affiliated with the guild. He also believed that, without the indirect help of the mage and her companions, it would have been more difficult to get here."

Therefore, this was the fairest distribution.

"Eh?"Upon hearing Shadra's proposal, the mage raised an eyebrow, stunned, and didn’t respond immediately.

Shadra, thinking she was dissatisfied with the outcome, frowned.

"Is this request too much?"

The mage quickly shook her head.

"Ah? No, you misunderstood."She wanted to explain that she hadn’t done much in the battle—Shadra had done most of the fighting—but she didn’t want to give up some of the items.

After all, they were crucial for her as a mage.

"You know what? Sometimes, it’s okay to be a bit selfish."

"I... I understand."Blushing and nodding, the mage looked like a child being educated by an elder.

"Then I’ll take the Book of Magic and the Soul Binding Wand. How about that?"Her voice was earnest, showing just how badly she needed those items.

Surprisingly, Shadra agreed without hesitation and without any complaints.

After that, Shadra searched the cave for a while but couldn’t find the specific item mentioned in the commission—Luni’s stolen undergarments.

While it was possible he had missed them during his previous search, he didn’t think the small reward was worth wasting more time on. He was someone who hated searching for things without clear directions, at least the goblin extermination quest had been completed.

While searching, he noticed a piece of a badge hidden in the corner, looking like a broken fragment of a black bull's head.

"This is..."

Based on what he knew about the world, this was a blind spot. It radiated an ominous energy. Shadra picked it up and showed it to the mage, who looked at it and immediately darkened.

"This... It seems to be the symbol of the The Dark Ghost."

"The Dark Ghost?"

The mage nodded gravely.

"The Dark Ghost is one of the largest evil cults in the world. They're experts at spreading false beliefs and manipulating people's minds. On the surface, they treat their followers like allies, but in reality, they exploit their faith for inhumane experiments. The followers are brainwashed into blind loyalty, yet they don’t realize they’re being used as test subjects.

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"These self-sacrificial acts have never been judged as evil because the followers choose to join willingly and don’t show signs of being brainwashed. Since it’s mutual consent, even the national council can’t do anything about them."

"As the main underground intermediaries between the demon and human races, they employ genetic modification, torture, dark magic, and hybridization to achieve power. They’ll stop at nothing to get stronger, and they’ve earned a reputation so bad that even a newborn would cry for its mother at the mention of them."

"Goblins love to steal human things, especially things that smell nice or have intricate details. Perhaps they think they’re treasures, so they take them back."

"Seems like goblins are the same everywhere."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

As soon as the mage mentioned the Dark Ghost, a new task appeared in Shadra's quest panel, despite it not being directly relevant.

[Eradicate the Dark Ghost’s power from the World (Kingdom Chapter) Progress: 0% ]

It seemed like dealing with this cult was an important mission, but the task difficulty was rated S-tier, which left Shadra unsure of the exact details.

Usually, such quests would display more information.

"By the way, I didn’t notice it before, but you seem to have the Golden Feather. No wonder you’re leveling up so quickly." While healing her two companions, the mage casually commented to Shadra.

From the numbers, it didn’t seem like much—just a jump from level 20 to 22. But the mage knew how strict the world’s hierarchy was.

For F-grade adventurers like him, they start with a stat panel at level 1 when they awaken at age 5. After that, they must complete many normal dungeon quests and accept hundreds of commissions to reach level 15 and unlock the primary class.

Most F-grade adventurers either die in the process or end up leaving adventuring behind, shifting to the most menial work.

Not to mention reaching level 15 was just a threshold for those with other bloodlines.

But Shadra went from level 14 to 23 in one dungeon run. If word got out, he would be branded as an anomaly and likely executed.

Shadra raised an eyebrow and looked at her, confused.

"Golden feather? What's that?"

"It’s not surprising you haven’t heard of them. Golden feather are an extremely rare Unyielding Blessing. While it only gives a passive boost of 1 luck, it also increases experience gain by 200%, and the effect lasts for about three days."

At this point, the mage paused and then gave him a suspicious look.

"Usually, when someone receives such a blessing, they feel a warm sensation all over, like being bathed in holy light. How could you not have noticed?"

"Uh, I probably forgot." Shadra casually brushed it off, thinking it might have been there before he inherited the body.

The mage was stunned by his lack of awareness, but she didn’t dwell on it. She smiled and said, "Well, you’re lucky. You should definitely buy some rejuvenating potions from the potion shop in the east part of the town after leaving the dungeon. Do a few commissions with the word feyshadow forest in the title. Even if you don’t complete them, there are enough enemies in feyshadow forest to help you level up, and they won’t be too difficult."

The mage confidently raised three fingers."Do as I said, and within three days, you should level up at least three more levels."

Shadra nodded calmly, making a mental note of her advice.

Seeing his lack of excitement, the female mage thought he might not appreciate the value of these levels and added, "Don’t underestimate these numbers. Normally, an F-grade adventurer like you would need at least half a year of hard work to earn just one level."

"Of course, if you’re unsure of what to do, you can always ask me for help. Since you saved my life, I might consider giving you a 30% discount."

A 30% discount? Shadra couldn’t help but be inwardly speechless at how obsessed she was with money. But he wasn’t interested in her offer anyway.

"Well, thank you very much."

The mage, now thinking of herself as having a better relationship with him, turned the tables with a sly smile. "But with your potential, you might end up protecting me in the future. Maybe I should lower the discount to 50% to solidify our bond?"

Shadra raised an eyebrow in mild amusement.

"Really? I think your prediction might be a bit off."

The mage was puzzled and looked at him in surprise."Why do you say that?"

"First of all, without your buffs earlier, I wouldn’t have survived the fight. And secondly, you know that the Soul Devourer had incredibly high magical resistance, but almost no physical resistance, right? Not to mention the very first hit was mainly luck."

Shadra’s words were spot on. Without the mage’s buffs, he wouldn’t have lasted long.

Though the mage was grateful for his modesty, it also seemed to make her even more intrigued by him.

"Is that so?"

"Wasn’t it?"

The mage seemed confused, then shook her head, saying, "Well, let me tell you something you don’t know—the Soul Devourer has a hidden passive ability."