It took them a while to finish their discussions. During the talks, Nicholas showed the pair of magi around the camp. Though, to call it a camp was extremely disingenuous.

Camp Sebastian wasn't just a campsite full of tents. It was a full blown town with its own restaurants, inns, shops and more… They even hosted yearly events to commemorate the founding of their town.

In a way, many of the residents who were relatives or the children of previous dungeon explorers, saw themselves as independent of Celestine. The culture here was vastly different in some ways, while staying relatively similar in others.

Aside from that, the least surprising thing about the town was the influence the Church of Brilliance had here. After all, what kind of dungeon explorer would you be if you didn't pray once or twice to the Gold-Giver to be blessed with fortuitous encounters?

Nothing drives humans more than the desire for treasure and success.

"Here it is," Nicholas said warmly. "The Relic." He pointed at the large sign outside the wooden building. This was the inn he had been staying at. A wooden carriage sat before it, unloading barrels of beer for the new wave of customers arriving back from the dungeon.

Myrin nodded, "Let's head inside! We'll rest tonight and head our separate ways tomorrow morning."

"Agreed," Soren nodded and followed after him. Nicholas led them to the reception with Candice in tow. After they checked into separate rooms, they agreed to meet back at the lounge for dinner.

The moment Soren reached the room, he threw himself onto the bed.

"Comfy… Far better than what we had in the guild…"

Although he wasn't afraid of heights, being on that ship for so long really did drain him…

Myrin lit the candle then took off his robe. He chuckled, "Make the most out of it—tomorrow, we'll likely be sleeping on hard, cobblestone floor… This might even be our last meal!~"

"Ugh, don't remind me…" He rolled his eyes. "You know, if those explorers out there learned of our plans, they would certainly call us crazy, right?"

Myrin nodded with a faint smile. "Indeed. Two magi—both with abilities rather lacking on offense, exploring one of the top five dungeons in the continent alone… Suicide isn't an amp enough term."

He turned around—eyes locking with Myrin's. "But it isn't suicide—not for us. Maybe to someone else, this would seem foolish, but I believe we can do it." At that moment, Soren wasn't sure if he was reassuring himself or Myrin.

Hearing his words, the elven songster laughed. "Right you are."

After relaxing in their own rooms for a bit, the pair went downstairs for a final meal before resting for the night. They both decided to not wear most of their magi clothing to not catch any more attention than they already have.

Magi entering dungeons was a rarely seen thing, after all. Most opted to simply hire others for the task if it was ever demanded. The art of using magecraft in battle was not something most trained for nor was it seen as necessary.

To most, being classified as a magi was all it took for your life to change for the better. So it was perfectly reasonable for most to shy away from danger. After all, their skills, even in the 1st Circle, could be useful in countless other ways that didn't demand such a risk.

Making their way around countless drunks and other far more suspicious people, the pair found themselves in the dining hall past the lounge Nicholas spoke of. It didn't take long for them to find the right table.

After briefly exchanging greetings, they finally sat down to have their meal.

"So," Nicholas said while sipping his beer. "I heard about most of the occurrences that happened in Celestine while I was gone. To be honest, the news about the Crimson Ritual Incident did reach our town a while ago, but the details were hard to come by…

"To think our own guild was that involved in the incident…"

Soren nodded while dipping his bread in porridge. "The perpetrator was the same one behind the Nameless Mist Massacre in Yadria. He has been conspiring to do this for a while, no doubt."

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"Indeed…"

Myrin glanced at Candice while cutting his food. "So what do you guys plan to do now? The guild disbanding… It's unfortunate but it was still the only option we had—the mistress made the right decision. Both the Vynasians and the Whispering Dream seem to be aware of our Guild's existence, after all.

"Your options are to either stay here for a while longer, return to Celestine to man the library, or to follow after the mistress since she plans to take Tina and Joyce with her to Luvinica."

Nicholas stared at his cup of beer for a while before answering. "We don't know yet. To be honest, manning the library is probably the best option, but…"

Candice shook her head. "You don't have to think about it so hard, dear. If you wish to return to the academy, then do so…"

Their table went silent for a moment. Seeing this, Nicholas shook his head. "Let's leave that discussion up for later—what about you two? I heard you're planning on heading North through the dungeon?"

Soren nodded. "My Soul Weapon allows me to navigate dungeons fairly easily. We'll be able to find our way through—no doubt."

"That's not what I am worried about," he retorted. "How will you handle all the creatures roaming inside? Myrin might be strong, but he won't be able to protect you all the time—you should have waited until you reached the 1st Circle at least."

"I am already at the 1st Circle though." The words reached him swiftly. For a second, he almost lost his usual composure.

"W-what?..."

Myrin chuckled. "Shocking, I know. He's such a freak, isn't he?"

"Why would you use such an undesirable word…"

Nicholas, however, was honed in on the root of the issue. "Soren, be honest with me, you achieved this through a taboo method, right? That isn't saf—"

Suddenly, the door to the dining hall was slammed open with a thunderous crack. A rather old man in a patched up surcoat frantically rushed inside—his face growing pale by the second. The room instantly fell silent—all eyes were snapping toward him in alarm. Then, without an ounce of hesitation, he announced loudly for all to hear, leaving their blood run cold:

"Dungeon break! We have a dungeon break!

"The commissioner's orders: arm yourselves, now!"

They watched as men and women around them rose one by one. Soren could tell from their eyes—they were all afraid. But also, he could see sparks of hope, ambition, and even… excitement.

He slowly rested his spoon back into the bowl of porridge then glanced over at Myrin—his lips curling up into a rather grim smile.

"Remember how you said this might be our last meal? You jinxed it, asshole."

The world was unusually dark tonight. As the Silver-Eyed Moon remained covered beneath a sheet of clouds, the people below continued to fight for survival.

"Sunflower Wrap," Myrin announced in Scripted Runic as he turned to face the entity crawling on all fours before him. It was a strange creature—one beyond even the most lucid of his nightmares. Eyes that glowed white as the shadows sneaked across its skin. Its mouth—or rather, its jaw—was wide open. Inside was an ocean of darkness filled with the souls of the damned. Most likely—past explorers who fell victim to its vicious maw.

He grit his teeth as he witnessed the creature crawl faster to catch him, as if recognizing what he was planning to do. Fortunately, it was too late.

Plant-like tendrils rose from the earth and wrapped themselves tightly against the abomination, restricting its movement. It shrieked in anger, causing him to momentarily lose his vision.

"Focus!" Nicholas yelled as he cast another fireball. Without waiting to see whether Myrin's spell would hold, he threw the basic spell toward it, igniting it completely.

Myrin grinned, "Nice one." He turned to face the wave of darkness in front of him. Indeed, what they had just fought was just the beginning. Their efforts for the past two hours have truly been for naught…

Outside the wooden gate, a swarm of the creatures Soren called Soul Skinners writhed and hissed. According to his [Eyes of the Fairy], a single bite was enough to devour a person's soul. Countless Sentinels who had foolishly charged forward were instantly consumed.

But what horrified him most was what came next.

He had witnessed it himself—the Sentinel ahead of him which fought bravely as the vanguard immediately succumbed to the bite of one of these terrifying monsters. But death didn't come quickly. Instead, his body began to twist and convulse as shadows poured from his eyes, mouth, and ears, drowning him in darkness.

From within that writhing mass of flesh and shadow, something new emerged—another Soul Skinner, born from his suffering…

As he watched the army of the night marching swiftly upon them all, Myrin couldn't help but nervously smile. A part of him wanted to pull out his flute and play a few tunes just to calm his nerves. All around him, the sparks of battle were igniting as countless Dungeon Explorers succumbed and inevitably joined the side of the monsters.

Their numbers were rapidly growing by the second… It was becoming more and more clear that this was a losing battle.

"Seriously..." He chuckled as he glanced over at Nicholas who was busy channeling his next spellform. "That bastard, Soren... Don't you think his magecraft is a little unfair?

"How I wish I can turn invisible right now too..."

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