The two returned to the location where the midnight shroud hung and noted three enemies stationed around the perimeter. Naturally, Elias had brought a few more men to guard the area, giving him the leeway to make the previous explosion not as painful. But that had left them without much coverage over the alleys, allowing Alta to simply sneak up behind their backs.

She dragged the three bodies behind loose debris and buried them underneath. Although the two could enter, they instead waited for her veil to recharge so that she could scout the situation first. Caesar kept his eyes and ears open for any intruders, yearning to have a Bone Elemental for this purpose. However, he had maintained his awareness. When a footstep came running, he struck, catching an invisible profile on the edge of his halberd.

More blood splattered onto the grass as Alta slashed at another. They quickly moved to hide the two bodies and continued to wait, but none came. Since her cooldown had already recovered for well over a minute, she thought it a good time to check the situation.

Caesar pulled off the thin lining on one of the invisible people, revealing a woman with eyes wide in terror. What happened? He grasped the smooth silk in his hands and marveled at the material.

[Item]: Shimmerwisp Spider Silk Robe – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: When worn, provides invisibility.

“So that’s what they used to hide during the black market meeting.” Alta nodded and took it into her hands. She put it on and went into the shroud – activating her ability briefly as a precaution – then stepped back out. “They’re still fighting.”

During those three seconds of sight, she had failed to spot the archer mercenary with the brute and the swordsman. He was likely dead. Most of the other group had also thinned out, with only three left standing. Currently, Elias held the upper hand with most his men still intact, although many had incurred heavy injuries from the combined assault of invisible attackers and the covenant’s followers.

“The Midnight Covenant will likely be destroyed. Their men are faltering, and their leader looks worse than before.”

Caesar smiled. “Good. With them gone, nobody else will have evidence of the dungeon. Killing the rest and covering the portal back up should give us sole access.”

Again, they waited. Another two covenant members had fled the shroud, only to die instantly. These two wore rank one robes instead.

He frowned. They must have gathered quite a bit of spider silk in order to gain such a large force of assassins. Some might not even be in the area, off to do another task for the covenant. It’d be risky to control this place for now, but quick visits shouldn’t pose much risk. Perhaps, I can leave my oak behind as a guard against any future visitors.

Caesar summoned his Kelpie and his Doppelganger disguised it as a normal horse, sitting at the exit to the alley. He guessed it would take some time before the fight reached a conclusion.

It took seven more minutes before one of the covenant’s followers ran out from the shroud, cradling their leader in her hands. She stopped and stared at the three beings waiting for her. Shadows whirled to life around her, bringing her to the exit and bypassing Caesar and Alta completely. But hate filled her expression, prompting her to lash out with a dagger towards their horse before fleeing into the night. Her mistake.

The horse morphed into a horrific monster and slammed the woman into the wall, gnashing its teeth onto her shoulders. She cried out in pain and struggled, but Caesar had caught up. He slammed the halberd’s shaft onto her skull and allowed his Kelpie to finish both off.

[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Kelpie has leveled up to Level 26! +2 Free Stat Points

Both points went into its Strength, bringing it up to thirty-two. He looked over at Alta, who had peered into the shroud again. She nodded at him to enter.

“Elias has won. The Covenant is finished, and their leader is dead.”

“What about our fellow mercenaries?”

“Only the two women remain alive, working with Elias and three of his men. They’re all fully healed though.”

Caesar understood how to approach this. He hadn’t used his instant summon for the day yet, meaning they had an ambush at the ready as long as they distracted their enemies. But first, he summoned Max to detect anybody still invisible.

He and Alta strode inside the midnight shroud and stepped towards Elias, who lay on the ground panting. Three of his men supported his back from touching the ground. Their two teammates remained standing, heads swiveling around the pavilion, and barked a warning once they saw the duo enter.

“To think there would be a dungeon here! What a great boon.” Elias smiled at Alta, mockingly. “A pity you picked the wrong side.”

His wolf sniffed the air, prodding this way and that, and shook its head. Nobody hidden? Good. It disappeared while the man continued to blab.

“Attacking with only the two of you?” He chuckled, trying to hide his exhaustion. “You must know, we have four Level 25 soldiers here. I suggest you simply surrender, and hand over your artifacts as well. Maybe then you can—.”

Suddenly, the woman with the wand jabbed forwards, cutting Elias off in an attempt to catch her competitors off guard. But Caesar was one step faster. A massive tree materialized into being right in front, searing the earth between his enemies with lightning bolts. It blasted them off their feet but didn’t kill – the attacks seemed much weaker.

Another barrage of bolts struck their fallen bodies, but a cracked shield rose to defend them from certain death. It pulsed, then surged with a greater intensity, arising momentarily to defend its inhabitants from the cascade of crackling wisps that fell onto their profiles like rain.

Six seconds had passed between the chaos. When a crystalline spear lanced through the air towards Caesar, primed to pierce his throat, it instead struck a barrier and rebounded back towards the woman with the wand. She gurgled, eyes wide at having her own throat unexpectedly pierced, then collapsed.

The earth rumbled under the hippo’s charge. Elias scrambled to his feet and tried to flee, leaving his men to face the incoming behemoth. But Caesar was already upon them with Alta, both blades sweeping low to kill as soon as possible. They finished one off before the other two managed to stand.

A body flew across the pavilion, her expression twisted in a grimace. The hippo blasted the corpse with a Withering Blast for good measure then turned to help. With only two followers left, Elias feared for his life and ran faster, almost tripping over his feet and allowing Alta to chase. Caesar’s halberd flashed, trapping the two men in place until his hippo came. Their blades shimmered with fire and light, drawing beautiful arcs in the air as they frantically tried to push past him, yet failed.

He watched the two scream and crash to the ground under the hippo’s bulk, then lunged to pierce their throats. Essence flowed to restore the light wounds that marred his skin.

Alta returned soon afterwards, dragging a kicking and screaming Elias back to him. She looked at him; he shook his head. Claws opened up to slit his throat, before throwing his body towards the hippo after pilfering the man of everything he had. She and Caesar then busied themselves around the pavilion, checking each body for life and searching through them for anything of value.

Most did not bring effective weaponry, only dangerous consumables already used during the first stage of the conflict. The remnants of these lay scattered around the grass. Although they weren’t needed, he gathered them into a pile to cover them with dirt. If more members of the Midnight Covenant returned, they needed to see a normal scene.

Unfortunately, the mercenary’s rank two wand had become broken after her spell. Perhaps her ability involved the use of wands, providing some sort of overdrive like his oak, as she had used it in a desperate attempt to end the fight. It was a shame; that crystal spear might’ve been a Rare spell.

They collected all relevant loot for the auction and looked through them. Although rank one artifacts were certainly special, they likely wouldn’t sell for much in the auction. Rank two artifacts should be the bare minimum. Caesar was unsure if he should even collect them, as there were too many parties involved in this skirmish today. If one contained a tracking spell and gave their owners word of his involvement, it could threaten his life.

He first checked the flower Elias had sent them to retrieve.

[Item]: Seven Weepings Bloom – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: A material imbued with frost, or a catalyst for rank 1 abilities. Further refinement grants Frost Resistance if consumed properly.

Even these talent-giving materials are still just Rare. What will an Epic item look like? He thought back to the hidden dungeon in the Forest From Before. Perhaps, it’d have another epic boss, guarding something important. He decided to take the flower with him because it seemed unmarked with Elias dead.

Rank two enchanted items were comparable in strength to rank one artifacts but did not have anything special like the Khopesh of Shattering. Still, they were generally better with simple attacks. Having three of these – a shield, a dagger, and an axe – helped cheer him up. Furthermore, the Midnight Covenant leader held artifacts of considerable strength, adding more to Caesar’s wealth.

[Item]: Umbral Shroud – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: The armor has self-repair, is lighter, and more durable. When worn, increases Agility by 3 up to the stat limit. Once a day, grants a shadowy profile, bolsters shadow abilities and facets, and muffles all sound made for the next three minutes when completely submerged in shadows.

Although heavily damaged during the explosion, the shadowy chainmail could gradually repair itself over time. And that made it priceless.

Where did those explosives come from? First Magnus, now this random mercenary. Caesar felt fear. Although the barrier could absorb a single hit guaranteed, two would spell doom.

The man also carried a long but thin dagger, with a comfortable grip. A carving of a pale face seemed to laugh at whoever wielded it.

[Item]: Umbral Drinker – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: The dagger has self-repair, is lighter, and sharper. Attacks reduce Strength by one point, up to three. Kills grant the wielder with extra strength, up to three points, for a day.

Since their owners had died, he believed these items safe for him to use. Alta equipped both but kept the khopesh at her side for the armor-breaking effect. Unfortunately, wearing the Umbral Shroud caused the Shimmerwisp Spider Silk Robe to stop functioning. It seemed the two effects were incompatible.

Fourteen other rank one artifacts lay on the ground at their feet: the gauntlets, the two swords, the bow, Elias’ staff, three random weapons, and each of the covenant followers’ weapons. But he wouldn’t take any of them yet. Not only did they not need any of them, they weren’t worth the risk, nor could his Skeleton Mage store them all into its backpack. Since he assumed the true owners of the items could track them even through dungeons, he and Alta instead buried them separately within secret hiding spots around the area, then walked to the dungeon entrance. Hopefully, this would preserve the secret of the Hidden Grotto. The only items they kept were the Seven Weepings Bloom, the Spider Silk Robes, and the Umbral armaments.

With everyone else dead, they stepped inside the dungeon portal and shivered. An abyss sat in the center, where monstrous red eyes peeked out from the darkness to stare back at him. They roamed around the bottomless pit, never appearing in the exact same place for long, before disappearing.

Circular walls and floors assured him safety, as long as he stayed a good distance away. Dim moonlight shone in from a hole above, providing a small amount of light to fight on the surface but not revealing anything in the pit.

Alta stepped beside him and readied her khopesh, but Caesar interrupted her.

“Wait,” he said. “Use your veil. Let’s try to avoid a fight.”

Under the cover of her Illusory Veil, the duo disappeared and the eyes within the abyss stopped looking their way. His breaths became ragged. He stared down at the floor, noting the little bumps, lumps, and holes present everywhere, before stepping forward. Suddenly, a horrific shriek sounded in the dungeon – like wailing children intermingling with monstrous roars – and spiders burst out immediately. From the darkness poured dozens of giant arachnids of varying types, including one more imposing than the rest.

A massive spider, larger than even his Rare Queensguard ant, scintillated with an ethereal glow in the darkness. His father had warned him about these. They posed a terrifying threat, able to appear in front of an adventurer at any time.

Phase Spider – Level 25

[Rarity]: Rare

It hadn’t noticed them. Caesar took a few moments to regain his nerves, then shook himself free of his stupor and knew not to descend too deep into the pit. Something dangerous was down there, likely an Epic. He made a mental note to not level too quickly or risk losing access to the dungeon entirely, as going over Level 30 would put him over the level limit.

A quick sweep through the room revealed many Rare spiders, all at least Level 25. Weaker ones existed, but most were lower leveled. He waited over half an hour for the bugs to scuttle away before he stepped out of the veil with Alta to walk into the pit, both dressed in Shimmer Spider Silk Robes.

His Doppelganger looked down and nodded. A ledge allowed them to land safely, where he groped along the sides of the wall and brushed into an invisible cobweb. Caesar pulled his hand away and tried to brush the stickiness off. Investigating the web revealed the type of spider roaming around this area.

[Item]: Shimmerwisp Spider Silk – Rank 1

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: A material imbued with illusions.

The source of the covenant’s clothes. Very good. They must not have descended too far, for this type of silk was the only one used by them.