Loy stepped away from Seth and went to talk to Grant, leaving Joshua and him at the rear.

“Prey? I see… So that's how adventurers view their enemies," Joshua muttered.

‘Yeah, we are their prey,’ Seth replied inwardly with sarcasm.

They traveled by caravan until they reached the outskirts of the Black Mist Forest. A short, two-minute walk led them to their destination—an abandoned church.

The walls were covered in withered vines. Debris and dead grass were all over the church. The cold mist made the light from the sun dim slightly and darkened the surrounding area.

Joshua approached Seth’s right side, his voice hushed. “Have you heard about the fire at Moonlit Manor a month ago? It was caused by a merchant's daughter, who was sold by her father to settle his debts. The family came from the West with dreams of prosperity as they were enticed by the promises of a better life and job opportunities in the capital. However, the harsh reality of the competitive and often nepotistic business environment made it difficult for newcomers to succeed. Without the right connections, many of them found themselves struggling, and eventually, their businesses went bankrupt.”

It was not as easy as people think to secure a job or start a business in the capital, given the high costs involved in tax, rent, and daily necessities. However, accumulating wealth in the capital could indeed be considered a symbol of prosperity when one returns to their hometown.

Seth took a glance at Joshua and asked, “So, what happened to her?”

“She perished in the fire, but I feel like her spirit still lingers here, and she will come to take revenge.”

“You know a lot.” He thought Joshua would be an airhead since he had a goofy smile.

“Yes, absolutely! This is my first mission, so I must make meticulous preparations.” Joshua responded proudly. “Speaking of which, I heard that some ghosts escaped from the church and caused disturbances for the people living nearby. They reported hearing the sound of marbles rolling on the floor, footsteps on the rooftop, and even candles that were lit in their houses at night suddenly getting extinguished. I wonder why the priests weren't the ones who came to exorcize this place instead.”

The priests in the church revered the Sun Sovereign and possessed the ability to harness the power of light, which proved effective in combating wraiths and demons.

Seth explained to Joshua patiently, "There are no casualties yet, and the situation isn't dire enough that the church has to get involved. Besides, specters are also considered monsters. There are many weapons and artifacts imbued with light magic that can be used against them."

Joshua acted as though he had received a divination and nodded his head in understanding. "I see. As expected, it’s a good idea to take on quests with veterans. I learned a lot of things today."

‘No, it's just basic knowledge,’ Seth replied in his thought.

Amelia came to their side and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

Joshua responded with enthusiasm, rubbing his sweaty palms. "We're discussing this place and the monsters we'll face. I'm really nervous."

"Don’t be nervous. We’ve already made enough preparations for this quest. Besides, I can heal you guys if any of you get hurt," she said, flashing a charming smile. Joshua seemed to immediately calm down under her influence.

The entrance to the stone chamber was hidden beneath the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. They stood at the back, with Grant and his friends leading the way. Darkness greeted them as they stepped inside the entrance.

Enid moved the staff in her hand and chanted an incantation, "By the flame that dances in the night, ignite within my grasp a fiery light." A ball of fire lit up the area, revealing a hallway where an eerie twilight glow emanated from luminescent crystals embedded in the walls. It revealed glimpses of shadowy figures that vanished upon closer inspection.

Seth also followed suit and created his own light. It wasn’t convenient for him to use light magic, as only the priests who worshipped the Sun Sovereign were able to use it. It was also a strange thing that he was able to use light magic despite not being a priest or believer of the Sun Sovereign.

"Did you just say something?" Joshua gave him a startled, scared look.

Seth quirked his eyebrows. "I didn’t."

“Are you sure? I heard someone whisper in my ear. Maybe I’m mistaken," Joshua mumbled as he examined the surroundings. “Anyways. Where are the specters? I heard that they usually lurked in the shadows.”

Karles had also given me information about the quest, a map, and the monsters that Seth would encounter in the crypt.

The whispers that Joshua was talking about should be the D-rank phantoms that they were facing.

As soon as Seth looked at his shadow, he saw that it had glowing, blood-red eyes and was grinning.

“Our shadows are moving!” Joshua also noticed the same thing and screamed.

“Our shadows?!”

The group scrambled and became frightened.

Shadowbound Phantoms were shadowy beings that blended into the shadows and had glowing, evil eyes. The phantoms could manipulate nearby shadows to create haunting whispers, causing fear and confusion among adventurers.

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The phantoms were undoubtedly successful because the "prepared" group behaved rashly and experienced confusion and fear all at once.

“I thought we had already used light all the way?!”

It was the moment they were greeted by darkness earlier that the Shadowbound Phantoms immediately snuck in and hid in their shadows to launch a sneak attack.

Loy immediately hacked his own shadow with his light yellow dagger. The Shadowbound Phantom let out a cry as it vanished back into the shadows.

The other Shadowbound Phantoms that had been hidden in the shadows flew in their direction as though unaffected by the light from the fireballs in the atmosphere. Should they get possessed, their lives' energy and vigor would be depleted, resulting in exhaustion and eventually death.

Amelia screamed as she fell to the ground and her leg was grabbed by the Shadowbound Phantom that hid in her own shadow.

Joshua cradled the lyre in his arms and plucked the strings with his right hand. The chords were aimed at Amelia. She quickly gained strength and was able to move her feet away from the Shadowbound Phantom and run towards Grant.

Following that, Joshua engaged in combat, using his sword to slay the phantoms. However, the ghosts continued to appear and were not getting smaller in number.

The light-blessed Soul Cleaver glowed as Seth pretended to whisper some incantation. Swinging it like a baseball bat, he struck the Shadowbound Phantoms in the air.

In the midst of the confusion, Joshua turned to face him and said, “Are you not a mage? You can use your staff like that?”

Seth grinned while hitting one of the phantoms. “This is how veterans fight.”

Grant quickly uncapped the bottle of a pale-yellow potion and poured it over their shield and sword. He used the shield to block the Shadowbound Phantoms, and as soon as they came into contact with it, they shrieked and vanished.

“Grant, where’s the artifact?” Loy yelled as he hacked the Shadowbound Phantoms. But the ones that got past him slowed down his movements and made him unusually tired more quickly.

Grant scowled while he cut down the ghosts and exclaimed, "Enid, use the artifact now!”

Enid summoned a radiant shield with intricate light-emitting runes. She closed her eyes and whispered the incantation, "Let your brilliance shine by the radiant light, aegis of the divine, in a luminous embrace."

Upon activation, the Luminescent Aegis released a powerful burst of pure light, creating an intense luminosity that enveloped the whole place.

Seth had no choice but to close his eyes and heighten his senses. His hand was readily conjuring up magic. ‘ If the Birds of a Feather used this opportunity to kill Joshua and me-’

All around him, there were screams and shrieks, and when he opened their eyes once more, the Shadowbound Phantoms in the hallway had vanished.

“Is everyone alright?” Amelia asked as she checked each of them.

Seth nodded his head silently, and the rest also said that they were unharmed. ‘ I was hoping one of them would get significantly injured here.’ He thought in disappointment.

“Wow! What kind of artifact is that?” Joshua rubbed his eyes as he looked at the artifact with shining eyes.

“It’s an S-grade artifact called Luminescent Aegis. When triggered, it releases a flash of pure light that envelops the surrounding space, drives out darkness, and has the power to exorcise specters and even wraiths of rank B and lower. As for the higher-ranking monsters, it can temporarily blind them. ” Enid proudly displayed the artifact, then promptly put it away again.

“I see. It’s my first time seeing an S-grade artifact.” Joshua commented as he was lost in thought when he observed his own lyre, which paled in comparison to the artifact.

‘No, the thing is, how did they get it? Nobles would have a difficult time obtaining an S-grade artifact due to its high cost, let alone commoners who were not wealthy enough to profit greatly from their adventurer quests.’ Seth surmised that they either got it from the Silver Skull Guild or they took it from a victim they killed, much like they nearly did to him in Tudela Village.

He set the issue aside for the time being as everyone gathered up the pieces of a crystallized shadow, smooth black stones, dark gemstones, and vials filled with a dark liquid that had been dropped on the ground after defeating the Shadowbound Phantoms.

Joshua looked glad as he picked a few of the dark gemstones. “Are those all of the monsters that we needed to kill?”

Grant checked his shield and sword before he turned to the door. “There is still the chamber in front. Our mission will be accomplished when we have examined and eliminated every specter in this area.”

“That’s true. The exploration of a dungeon quest can take anywhere from an hour to several days." Amelia continued.

“Let’s go ahead.”

Enid made a fireball to light the way, so everyone pulled themselves together and moved on down the hallway.

As they were talking, Seth whispered in a low voice next to Joshua. “Listen, Joshua. Keep your voice down and stick with me no matter what happens next.”

In the dim light, Joshua's worried expression changed as he whispered, "What’s wrong, Cain?"

“I’ll explain to you later. But remember my words, no matter what. That is if you want to leave this place.”

Seth continued in his thoughts. ‘But I also have to remain vigilant against him because I’m not entirely certain that he’s not an accomplice of the Silver Skull Guild in murdering and robbing people. Birds of a Feather may not be the only group that would murder people, after all.’

As Enid glanced at the two of them, Seth immediately pretended to be nervous and worried as he held the staff in his hands tightly.

The end of the hallway revealed a chamber illuminated by lanterns on the walls.

“Lanterns? The place is abandoned, so why are the lanterns still lit here?”

“The homeless people probably hang out here and make it their shelter.”

“But there were phantoms in the hallway. They wouldn’t be able to fight against them.”

To the left, there was an altar with lit candles facing a wall featuring an emblem of a sun with golden rays that stretched outward to form a perfect circle. It was the symbol of the Sun Sovereign. Meanwhile, there was another opening ahead of them that led to yet another chamber.

They proceeded forward, surveying their surroundings, but they saw nothing noteworthy.

"Nothin' interesting here," Enid spoke with indifference.

Loy made a mess while inspecting every last detail on the altar. The candles and flower vases were overturned. “Damn, I knew it. Anything important was already taken from here.” His voice was monotonous, as though he weren’t genuinely disappointed.

Amelia muttered from near them with her hand on her chin. “It seems like we can’t find anything valuable here.”

Grant suddenly looked at Seth and Joshua with an uncharacteristic small smile on his face. “Cain, why don’t you move ahead and check the other chamber first? We will investigate this location further. We should divide up to save time.”

‘Are you planning to separate Joshua and me to kill one of us first?’ Of course, Seth did not trust Grant’s reason the slightest bit.

Remembering that Seth said he should always be with him, Joshua felt troubled. “I think it’ll be dangerous for him. What if there are other monsters like the ones earlier?”

“It's fine. He has his own B-grade staff to attack any monsters that appear.”

Joshua looked at Seth with hesitation and worry.

Grant turned his attention to him. “You should be alright; I heard you have completed other quests before.”

Seth took a glance at Joshua as though it were unintentional. He wondered if Joshua would trust him or the Birds of a Feather.

“Yeah, I can go alone.”

“I’ll go with Cain! I’m also curious about what’s ahead.”

Thankfully, Joshua trusted him more.

Grant seemed to be contemplating for three seconds before he agreed. “Yeah, sure. You guys go ahead.”

Seth and Joshua proceeded straight to the opposite room. With his back to them, he was alert and focused. Although he was nervous, he had to act as though he had no idea what their original plan was.

Upon entering, the two of them noticed that the chamber was larger than the previous one and that a coffin was present. As if their very existence had triggered some sort of mechanism, an imposing armored figure with a tattered, hooded cloak appeared in front of us.

“W-what? A monster?! We have to get out of here quickly!” Joshua’s first instinct was to flee and regroup with the rest of the team. But upon looking at the entrance, he found out that it was blocked by a magic barrier.

Seth turned his body to face them and saw that the four people in the opposite room were smiling.