Uh. Fuck.

  Ulrich almost narrowed his eyes, almost too close for his liking. Facing her scrutinizing gaze, he coughed and nodded.

  “I’m fine now. That knight was rotten in the brain, and already on the verge of death when I fell with it,” He paused, tapping his chest thrice. “Fortunately.”

  Immediately, Borik raised a brow, surprised by this simple gesture. “You’re… a believer of the Night Mother?”

  “Night Mother?” Snezana whispered, tilting her head.

  Ulrich's ear perked with great interest. Aside from Silas, that old priest, this was the first time that he’d heard of that reverend name from an outsider. Back in Helgan’s Keep, he’d spent a fair amount of time listening to hearsays and rumors, and none spoke of the Ministry nor the Mother. Truly, Ulrich's surprise cannot be underestimated.

  Wait a minute, why do I feel a little sad? I shouldn’t be!

  Immediately, Ulrich shook his head, afraid that he’d been too pious as of late like something had possessed him.

  A bit taken back by their sudden interest, Borik smiled and tapped his chest thrice, his glove rattling the metal chest-plate. “Yes, the Mother of Night, a benevolent goddess who blessed ‘her’ believers despite gender, age, and background. ‘She’ also holds great authority over certain aspects of the shadow land.”

  Saying so, he relaxed his shoulder; an expression of respect and admiration, before adding. “I heard of ‘her’ name in passing, specifically, during one of my past encounters with a certain woman. She showed me the grace of the Great Mother, and I started to believe.”

  Interesting. A woman who spread the grace of the Mother? Ulrich mused; his professional attitude of a Watchman took over. For a moment, he felt proud; not for himself, but for the organization, for the Ministry.

  He couldn’t explain it, but the watchman had a feeling he knew who this woman might be. Intuitively, Rosaline appeared in his mind, though that quickly disappeared. After all, she can’t be the only Shadowmancer who wanders the Shadow Realm. This realm was boundlessly large, and surely, there are others, many others.

  In that moment, Snezana jolted, unable to believe that Borik was a believer, a worshiper!

  “You never told us this.” She said, blinking her eyes in shock.

  “No one ever asks. And the Night Mother is quite an obscure name around this part.”

  Mason didn’t care to take part in the conversation. He was more annoyed that no one paid attention to the meat burning on the campfire, and with no other choice, he decided to take over the role of a ‘Chef’. If the FDA existed in the shadow land, they'd wailed and called these people barbaric, savages; fortunately, they did not exist. Goddess, there wasn't even any restaurant open!

  Once Bork finished his sentence, Ulrich gave it a thought and raised a question that startled Borik. “Did this woman wear a clean black dress, like that of a black rose you’d find at the edge of night, with traces of white?”

  “…”

  Ulrich took his silence as confusion and added one final detail. “She should wear a silky black glove.”

  Immediately, Borik's eyes flickered with astonishment. Sir Johan described that esteemed lady's appearance as though he was there personally on that fateful day. For a moment, he didn’t speak, but the storm was raging in his heart, coming and crashing against him like tidal waves. Once they settled, his reverence for Ulrich grew by another degree.

  “Sir Johan, you know this esteemed lady?”

  Indeed. It’s one of our members, a Keeper perhaps. Considering that the Ministry is not a common name, our identities are quite elusive and secretive!

  Ulrich smiled, not offering a direct answer. Without giving Borik any time to process this revelation, Ulrich steered the conversation back on topic and pointed at the Keep’s Castle.

  “I have some bad news.”

  Borik and Snezana leaned forward, worried and anxious at the mysterious master shift in tone.

  “Bad news?” They whispered, turning their head to the Keep’s Castle as well.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Well, now that he’d gotten their attention, Ulrich was stumped. He wanted to warn them about the Keep’s Castle danger; to prevent them from exploring further. At the same time, he wanted to visit the Eastern Tower, retrieve the higher-ranking Runes of Shadow formulas for himself. However, without knowing the truth behind the Keep’s latent danger, he didn’t trust anyone here; not a one.

  So how was he supposed to point out the danger without revealing his conversation with the Royal Knight?

  Wait a damn minute. He froze his thought, recalling his other identity.

  I’m a seer for Goddess’s sake, I can make things up as I go! How can I fail to live up to my legacy as a true seer? Wouldn’t my fellow seers mock me for not acting mysterious enough?!

  Ulrich coughed, mimicking an enigmatic tone as he said. “The Keep’s Castle has latent danger, my intuition warned me. I do not wish to explore the Keep’s Castle, at least not until we figure out the truth of this danger.”

  His tone was dubious and a bit too vague, speaking in a charlatan-like manner. Instantly, they wanted to rebuke his words, point out his pretentious attitude, yet they couldn’t. His feats, actions, and reliability have been proven time and time again since they entered Cadry’s Ruin.

  The appearance of the Great Fallen Knight was well past their expectation. From that moment, they’d felt something wrong, but couldn’t quite point their finger at the truth. Now that Sir Johan brought it up in this way, their worries intensified.

  “This… maybe we should avoid exploring further,” Borik sighed.

  He had a foreboding feeling when the Great Fallen Knight appeared. Fortunately, Sir Johan was powerful, possessing mystical means that allowed them to prevail. If not for that, they’d be buried six feet under by now, or turned into another wave of mindless undead.

  As for Snezana, she was conflicted. Anxiety was clear on her face, though Ulrich wasn’t entirely sure it was real. Either way, he suggested an alternative option.

  “Why don’t we return to Helgan’s Keep? It will be night soon. No doubt the undead will only get more crazed, and by then, traveling at night will become impossible.”

  As much as they’d like to disagree and express their intention to explore the ruin, the truth was before them. Previously, if Ulrich’s word was like a divine decreed, then after having killed the Great Fallen Knight, his words are now God’s spoken words!

  Praise the goddess! Borik tapped his chest thrice, reeling in his blasphemous thoughts, then expressed his approval. “Sir Johan is right, we should return now before it’s too late.”

  He turned to Snezana, patting her shoulder. “We can always come back later, the Keep’s Castle won’t grow legs and run away anytime soon!”

  Buddy, you don’t know that… Don't jinx it for me! Ulrich held back the urge to throw a remark.

  For a moment, there was silence stretching in the air.

  Mason, annoyed at their extended conversation, picked up an arrow and tapped the ground, producing loud taps. They all turned, looking at him with confusion. Now that he’d gotten their attention, Mason struck the almost burnt meat and vegetables with the tip of his arrow, not even willing to utter a word. Despite having ninety percent of his face covered, his emotion came through clearly.

  Immediately, everyone ran to the campfire, taking a piece for themselves. With that, the tension in the air cleared as they ate their filling. Ultimately, Snezana, Borik, and Mason followed Ulrich’s suggestion and returned to Helgan’s Keep.

  On their way back this time around, Ulrich displayed great strength, killing all the wild beasts and undead that stood in their way with relative ease.

  He didn’t want to waste any more time than needed, but that wasn’t the only reason:

  The runes are all mine, hahaha!

  Twisting his wrist, the spear smashed open a skeleton’s skull as easily as crushing fried chips. Even before killing Henrik and digesting a large number of lesser runes, Ulrich already possessed an abnormal capability incomparable to ordinary people.

  To him, killing a skeleton was easier than killing people.

  After all, aren’t they just trash mobs?

  …

  When they arrived back at the entrance of Helgan’s Keep, it was almost nightfall. Fortunately, the gate was still open, allowing them to enter without having to spend the night outside the Keep’s gate. Ulrich and the mercenaries split from there.

  Now that he’s back, Ulrich almost vomited.

  What a headache. The smell here was too clean compared to the ruins and the wilderness where he’d come from; it was nauseating. Rusted metal, clean dry stone, not that moldy one from the countless ruins in the wilderness, and a number of flowery scents.

  Ulrich held back the urge to stain the floor with his moist mouth and made his way to his quarters.

  Locking the door behind him, Ulrich relaxed his shoulder. The mercenary group was filled with ordinary people, yet he felt no less safe than facing the Great Fallen Knight face-to-face. Only after returning to Helgan’s Keep did he truly relax and lower his guard a little.

  The matter with Cadry Ruin is more dangerous than I thought… Before returning to the surface world, I’ll see if I can enter the Eastern Tower, take the formula, and leave it at that. If not, there’s always the next loo-

  He paused, almost saying ‘loop’, but remembered that this is reality, not his dream.

  Next time!

  Ulrich coughed and hid the rucksack under a locked compartment beneath his bed. The crystallized core, more formally, the Soul Core, was hidden.

  He didn’t dare to show it to anyone, not Borik, Snezana, or Mason, throughout their journey. It was too valuable, incomparable to the red crystal he’d shown during his first entry into Helgan’s Keep.

  Settled, Ulrich lay on the bed, placing the revolver under the stiff ‘pillow’. Closing his eyes, he greeted a familiar darkness, then woke up to the sight of a tall modern building and honking cars.

  “This is my fourth loop? Fifth?”