Zalanir raised a barrier in front while slowly retreating. Five arrows bumped into the barrier in quick succession, of which three broke immediately after contact while the other two bounced off intact.

  No more arrows? Were these misfired?

  He bent over and picked up one arrow. The arrowhead was unevenly shafted and made from a red stone rather than metal. The tip lacked the sharpness needed for a lethal attack. Four ruffled gray feathers were fletched to the other end of the brown shaft.

  “Josef, we’re here. I just got hit by five arrows at the border.” He projected inside the lantern again.

  “That’s the automatic trap we placed right outside of the oasis. If you’ve triggered it already, then just wait. The guards will come soon.” The gray soul floated up in an instant. “Don’t hurt them, please.”

  “Depends. What’s the next step?”

  “Ask to meet the chief. Tell them my name and condition.”

  “What about the one you want to avenge? You’re not afraid of waking the sleeping dog?”

  Josef’s soul flared up. Dimmed. Then flared up again. “You’re right. I’m not thinking through.” He paused for a few seconds. “You have to take him by surprise, else it won’t be good for the community.”

  “Who and how strong is he? It’s time for you to spill the beans. Tell me about the chief as well.”

  “His name is Diomed. A vice chief and a peak C-grade. The chief’s name is Adrielle, also a peak C-grade. Together, we are the leaders of this hidden community.” Josef paused for a few seconds. “I should’ve seen it coming. The backstab, that is. His ambition has been growing for a while, but I thought it was temporary only. Guess I was blinded. Diomed didn’t want to wait. He didn’t trust Adrielle to pull it off.”

  “Stop talking in fragments. Also, I’m not interested in your story. Peak C-grade, got it. But what’s he like? Also, his power.” Zalanir interrupted.

  “He’s a shapeshifter. Horse type. A big man. Long brown hair, resembling his transformation. His speed is the best in the community. Earth affinity. Be careful of his rear kick. That attack can crack a mountain. Let Adrielle handle him. Your soul is strong, but at the end of the day, you’re still an early C-grade. Support Adrielle if you can, but don’t risk yourself. Otherwise, I would feel bad for asking for help.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  Zalanir pulled his attention back to the outside. He wanted to ask more about the chief, but the footsteps were getting busier. He was still in the open. Better prepared himself in case there were surprises. He took another two steps back and reinstalled a bigger barrier, which covered the whole front this time.

  Footsteps kept drumming until they faded to soft taps and then vanished altogether somewhere ahead of his spot. The faint pink-blue light from the oasis webs of lines didn’t reveal anything. Whoever came had probably stayed right outside of the radius, demonstrating how familiar they were with the location.

  For five minutes, there was no other sound, except the occasional hissing wind blowing by.

  If they did nothing, then fine, he would take the initiative.

  “My name is Zalanir. I’m here to meet Adrielle, the chief of your force, on the request of an acquaintance.” He raised his voice a bit and projected the sound affinity forward, directing it like he had done with his finishing attack on the meahli. Just as he predicted, this method worked. More sound concentrated on the front toward the stalkers rather than spreading out in all directions. This would avoid alerting all the foxes in the area behind him. Better safe than sorry.

  It took a while before a response came through. “Wait there!”

  No discussion? He had expected to overhear some reaction to his claim about meeting the chief right off the bat, but looked like his attempt to cause chaos had failed. No free information then.

  So he waited. Someone had left the scene, but he had no doubt a barrage of attacks was waiting in front if he was to come in.

  Peak C-grade, huh? Nearly 100 levels higher than him. He would stand no chance against Diomed in a direct fight. But what if he used the soul lion? Part of him wanted to test the absolute limit of his trump card, but that would put the community in danger. He had met no one yet, but he wished them no harm and would avoid involving them if possible. Except the chief. He would need her.

  Everything would depend on her reaction to Josef’s story. If it was true, then he might get to watch a battle between two pinnacles of his current grade. Would be a great battle to learn from.

  This time, alongside footsteps came murmurs. Seemed like whoever left earlier had returned with quite a group.

  “Adrielle is speaking. What use do you have with me?” A clear female voice broke the silence.

  “How do I know if you’re Adrielle if you don’t show yourself? This is an important matter,” Zalanir responded.

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  “It should be me who says that. How can I know if you’re genuine and not here with some ulterior motives?”

  “By the fact that I know your name? I doubt anyone who comes here knows the name of the chief. In fact, how can I know if there’s a hidden community beyond this oasis if I don’t have a trustworthy source pointing me this way? If I come with bad intention, shouldn’t I bring an army with me? Do you think a level 58 like me can cause much trouble?”

  “True. However, there’s always a possibility of you hiding something. If you know about us, you know how much we detest those outside of this dungeon.”

  Detest? A strong word that he didn’t expect to hear. Josef hadn’t said anything about this.

  “What can I do to prove that I’m here in good faith? I will remain here, then you come out, and we can talk. In an open field like this, I doubt any tricks will work on a peak C-grade like you.”

  “What else do you know about me?”

  Zalanir was about to answer, but a white figure emerged from the darkness ahead. A pair of outward-curving black horns docked on her head. Under that were flaming red eyes of a predator that signaled no fun would be tolerated.

  “That’s all.” He tried to stay composed, though once again, Wind Rush was a thought away from activating. “My acquaintance believes you would settle the score for him.”

  While doing all of this, Zalanir also relayed what was happening to Josef. The man confirmed that the white figure was indeed Adrielle, which solved much of the headache. Only the persuasion for a 1-on-1 talk remained. The fact that she was here meant Diomed was likely as well.

  “You keep beating around the bush giving nothing concrete away, as if you are buying time. One last chance, young man.”

  The temperature around his spot dropped to that of an ice bath suddenly. The more extreme kind. Not a major problem yet—his trainer had occasionally forced him to take one after tournaments—but a worrying sight considering the intention behind this. Someone was getting impatient.

  “Xilka. This name should do.” Josef’s soul beamed up after a minute of staying silent.

  Right after the word escaped Zalanir’s mouth, the temperature snapped to below zero degrees. No, much lower than that, as even the ground under his feet was turning into ice in real time. Frost cropped up his ankles. Then knees. Injecting frostbite as they went up.

  Zalanir slapped Josef around inside his mind while in the real world, he jerked his feet out of the invading cold, imbued them with Wind Rush, and dashed out of the freezing area.

  “What are you doing?” He called out Adrielle. His hand turned black, releasing black smoke as he retreated.

  “How come you know that name?” The white woman was no longer stationary but chasing him.

  Not running, but gliding through the air.

  No wings, but she was somehow flying.

  “My source told me.” He fired off sound bolts, but that woman erected an ice barrier and blocked the attack with ease.

  His back slammed into something hard. What the—?

  He turned around, and for some reason, an ice wall had appeared out of nowhere behind him. No, not just a wall. An ice prison. His retreating route was sealed now.

  Adrielle landed inside the gleaming white cell, her hands shrouded in white fog. Except for the blazing eyes, everything about her was white—her loose-fitting toga, cross-shaped earrings, and clawed feet. From this close, she was at least a head taller on him, and that was excluding her black horns, which were even bigger than his biceps.

  “Here’s your private talk, young man. Now, spill everything,” she said, walking toward him in small steps.

  “As expected from someone of your power.” Zalanir laughed. Steam came out of his mouth and dissipated. “Well, I guess it’s time for your little reunion. Hopefully, this bastard wasn’t lying when he said I could trust you. Look!”

  His left hand turned gray as he cast Soul Collection. Together with his black right hand, he was like a kid messing around in the mud, while Adrielle was like an angry teacher judging his actions.

  Right after Adrielle landed here, he had briefed Josef of the situation outside. Even though Josef wasn’t aware of the lantern’s power yet, it was still the best to have the man demonstrate some of his powers to earn the trust of the chief. His hand couldn’t talk, though casting a signature skill shouldn’t be a problem.

  But what would come out? He had a sensation of an utility skill, but that was it. Soul Collection didn’t allow him to cast the skill out right as if said skill belonged to him. He was only the “tool” for the souls inside the lantern to express themselves.

  A black incense appeared between him and Adrielle, its height up to his knee and its based planted on the white floor. Its top burned on its own, releasing fragrant, cinnamon-scented smoke.

  While Zalanir had no idea what was going on—he didn’t feel anything different in his body, so likely this wasn’t a buff skill—Adrielle’s eyes widened. Her breath became heavy and started turning to steam. Similar to his.

  “Josef… where is he? How do you know this skill? Earlier you mentioned a reunion, what do you mean?” Her red eyes were no longer shooting fire at him.

  “Well, I met him at the Bone Hill, an area inside this dungeon. Technically, not him, since he was already dead. His soul was lingering on a broken sword. I caught it—him—and now he’s inside a soul container that I can’t take out to show you. I’m talking to him at the moment, relaying everything happened thus far, and he said ‘sorry’ for not being able to get back here.”

  The temperature became warmer as he explained things to Adrielle, including the tips for crossing over the oasis that earned him a nod from the ice woman. Somehow, he ended up acting like an intermediary for those two to talk through, but everything was for the reward that Josef had mentioned. Those two seemed close to each other, so that promise should be true. The only issue now was the killer.

  “Diomed? Why did he do that?” Adrielle asked.

  “I don’t want to disturb your work on the formation, so I haven’t told you this yet. Diomed had been showing increasing impatience, especially when he was getting closer to peak C-grade and evolution. He wanted to ambush the adventurers for those last few levels. I had been warning him about how dangerous that was to expose our community, but he didn’t care. I tagged along on one such attempt to make sure nothing was wrong, but after we had killed a group of three and injured ourselves in the process, when I wasn’t paying attention, he backstabbed, robbed, and killed me. That sneaky bastard has to die. Adrielle. Avenge me!” Zalanir relayed word for word, but he left out the emotion. The man’s soul was slamming nonstop into the cage when talking about this. Even if he could, no way he would mimic that.

  Right after he finished, Adrielle grabbed him in the arm, shot him a warning gaze that implied him to stay still, and dragged him into the air.

  He let it slide since it was clear what she was going to do based on the conversation.

  That anger needed a corpse to sate.