Daru's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the nameplate of the Swordspawn that had just arrived:

==

(Elite) Accursed Soulcatcher Lv. 50

HP: 25,000 / 25,000

MP: 200 / 200

==

'Hoh…an elite, huh? Also, MP? Is that some kind of external energy?' he pondered, watching the actions of the armored wraith.

It stopped near the crater his Azure Swordfall had created, seemingly looking around.

The Accursed Soulcatcher easily noticed the mangled bits of gray flesh and bone scattered everywhere.

Daru prepared himself for a battle, knowing that he would have no choice but to engage the elite if it decided to search for him.

A mere dead tree is not a good enough hiding spot.

To his astonishment and slight disappointment, it merely proceeded on its way, ignoring the carnage and shifting its focus back to the Lost Damnedling grasped in its bony hands.

Daru then heard a grating cackle from the wraith as it disappeared into the distance with wide strides.

"Well, I guess he's a busy wretch…" he muttered, quickly following the Soulcatcher.

He was curious about what it would do to the Lost Damnedling in its hands.

Unfortunately, the armored wraith was too excited and enthusiastic, its brisk pace impossible to keep up with if one was sneaking around.

Daru could only drop his curiosity for now, proceeding to hide behind a gravestone.

He jumped, unwilling to step over whoever's body it was that was buried, if there even was a body.

In any case, Daru kept to his manners as he finally checked the notifications.

His eyes widened for a moment at the amount of experience points he got from the Ashen Cleaner.

[You've slain an Ashen Cleaner Lv.50]

[You've obtained 6,031 Experience Points.]

[You've obtained (3) Purge Tickets.]

[You've obtained a Wretched Soulslip.]

Daru's brows rose at the new item.

This was the first time he had acquired a Wretched Soulslip, and naturally, he was curious to know what it was, quickly accessing his inventory.

==

Name: Wretched Soulslip

Type: Consumable

Tier: N/A

Level Requirement: None

Description: A scrap of damned paper that knows something you don't, left behind by wretched souls who never — and would never — find the way out.

==

To his surprise, the item was a consumable.

[Would you like to use the Wretched Soulslip? Y/N]

The moment Daru pressed [Y], a cold stream of information entered his mind:

"...Mama Mia had done nothing wrong…or so she believed…"

Daru was fascinated by the way he heard the unholy whisper in his head, and no matter how hard he tried, the useless knowledge it brought him seemed impossible to forget.

'Who is Mama Mia, though?'

He shrugged in indifference, knowing that he wouldn't be able to discern anything from such vague information.

Still, Daru was delighted to find that there was a chance of obtaining such an item, as he was just as lost as the Damnedlings.

Maybe he would stumble upon useful information while grinding levels?

Unfortunately, his body — physical, spiritual, or whatever type it was — was beginning to feel fatigue.

Daru had already done a lot today, fighting Lost Damnedlings for more than half a day, stocking up on sustenance, following Rocante, discovering the cemetery, and fighting a new type of Swordspawn.

He had to find a safe resting location soon...

Unlike in the Ancient Settlement, there was not a single abode in this cemetery. At least none within sight.

What was numerous here, though, were gravestones and dead trees.

Perhaps there's a tree hollow he could use?

He scanned the area the moment he entered through the black metal arch, and there were a lot of dead trees on the opposite side of where he was headed.

Thus, Daru returned, eyes narrowing at the sight of three Ashen Cleaners cleaning up the remains scattered across the floor.

Not only that, the crater he formed, too, was gone with a few sweeps of their stick broom.

It was quite the fascinating sight.

The moment the three pallid wraiths left, Daru walked closer, examining the area and appreciating the Ashen Cleaners' competence.

'They certainly deserve the title of cleaners…' he mused before moving on, moving a good distance behind the three before the pallid wraiths went their own ways.

Now, he trailed behind only one Ashen Cleaner, and so far, he hadn't been detected, despite not making too much of an effort to hide himself.

The wraiths were simply too focused on their tasks, patrolling the cemetery and ensuring cleanliness and order.

Another five minutes later, the Ashen Cleaner he was following turned onto another path.

Daru only followed it with his gaze before continuing on his way.

He arrived at the concentration of dead trees after another dozen minutes. Roaming the area, he checked the dead trees.

It would be best if he could find a high hollow, but one on the massive roots is fine, too.

Daru did find a root hollow after some time, by whatever mercy of the divine was allowed in this god-forsaken realm.

Only, it was too exposed for his liking.

'Hmm…I need something to cover it…'

In any case, he decided to roam the area a bit more, temporarily avoiding conflict to ensure that he could go all out tomorrow in a well-rested state.

He planned to stay in this area for quite some time, anyway, as not only do the spawns here offer a good amount of experience points, but they also drop Wretched Soulslips.

This was his only source of information right now.

Since he was not strong enough to fight everything in this ashen domain yet, it was better to gather bits and pieces of information while grinding levels.

'But first, my resting area…'

Daru continued looking around, but unfortunately, he couldn't find any other hollows nearby.

Exhaustion was also settling in quite deeply, and he didn't feel like moving to another area.

At least not now.

'Hmm…' he pondered as he returned to the root hollow. 'What can I use to…'

It was then that he spotted something: gravestones with nothing written on them and are resting in piles at the side, seemingly ready for use.

'Ah…but those are for the dead…'

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