Taking a moment, Miles made sure nothing was coming down the tunnel before he sprinkled some scent neutralizer past the room’s entrance. It should be enough to confuse the ants if they showed up, and that’d give him a few minutes to both make sense of what took place and to wait out the respawn sickness.

  Sitting down against the packed earthen wall, Miles crossed his hands and hummed.

  Here are the facts. First, the Bishop of the Church of the Sacred Path isn’t acting alone. He finished me off with the dagger, but he’s not the one who’s done the most damage. There’s a spear in play, and… I’m pretty sure I got decapitated, which I barely felt. That means a pretty powerful cutting spell or a pretty high-ranked warrior. A Vanguard or a Rogue. Likely the former, Miles thought staring intently at the opposing wall and the glowing line of the growing mycelium.

  The issue here was, if this had been a Vanguard, how had they managed to sneak up on him?

  Someone with group-stealth skills. An intricate formation. Or I was affected by something without even realizing, he listed. There were likely more possibilities, but those were the first that came to mind. While Miles hadn’t sensed anything trying to affect his senses, the fact that even one high-tier individual managed to sneak up on him without him noticing—much less two—was pretty abnormal. Plus, he hadn’t really been paying attention, so something might have slipped his guard.

  “Perception Drift. That could explain it,” he muttered. That specific debuff could explain why he saw, heard, or sensed nothing. It would explain why he hadn’t felt anything through his core or through his aura. Even if he hadn’t had it deployed, it would have at least picked something up. Especially considering the tier of his opponents.

  Miles hummed as he scratched under his chin. He hadn’t been expecting an ambush of this level. But this wasn’t his first rodeo. He’d died plenty of times to this sort of crap. And while the fact that he’d already updated his respawn point to the start of the floor might not be ideal, it wasn’t the end of the world. He had plenty of wiggle room, still, and there were plenty of ways he could go about addressing matters.

  Miles poured himself a cup of coffee and got a couple of almond biscuits to snack on as the events replayed in his mind.

  The Bishop knew who he had been, even though Miles didn’t have his mask on. That told him he knew that The Wanderer was coming down. Which meant either the Inquisitor was double-crossing him, or Talon’s entourage had a leak. With how fast the ambush had put him down, the warrior had to be close if not higher than tier-30, which meant connections. So Miles was leaning toward the second scenario. A leak.

  So whoever’s behind this knew of Talon’s operation. And something might have happened on the surface, he thought, shoulders tensing up.

  That was concerning. But Miles hadn’t left without preparations.

  Throwing the last bit of biscuit in his mouth, he triggered [Field Agent Requisition] and catching the blue-bound book that fell out of thin air, he cracked it open. Miles eyed the two pages of Hazel and George for a moment, frowning, and he wished he had a way of communicating with them without calling them back. But he had to know if something happened, which didn’t leave him with a lot of options.

  “Maybe in a few more levels… or maybe I need to experiment with it,” he muttered, eyes flicking from one page to the next before settling on Hazel’s. If he were honest, Miles hadn’t spent as much time exploring the limits of his other soulbound items as he did with the cauldron, which was likely limiting him a little. But that was a matter for another time.

  With a flex of his will, he activated the witch’s page, summoning her. This wasn’t ideal, but if he interrupted her while she was busy, then he’d restart the loop. He might still do that anyway, but he’d reconsider and adapt once he got an update from her. Plus, with the potential of him walking into a trapped and prepped battlefield, having her expertise would help him discern what was taking place.

  The page shone brightly and out of the aether appeared Hazel, her green, sharp eyes blazing as she took in their surroundings, the jewels adorning her horns glimmering with the blue lights of the room. The disguise she had on was gone, standing tall, she glanced down at him, brow raised. “Well. I knew it was only a matter of time ever since my last five minutes started over. Plan B?” she asked.

  Miles nodded, getting up and brushing off the loamy soil from his pants. He was glad to see the witch primed and ready. The summon’s existence was tied to the book, and the book looped with him so it went without saying that she already knew trouble was brewing before she’d even been re-summoned.

  “Probably, yes,” Miles answered as he began rifling through his inventory of elixirs. “I got ambushed, and something tells me this was coordinated. Anything happened on your end?” he asked as retrieved a first vial, hesitated, then grabbed a second. He didn’t want to waste them, but he needed to approach unnoticed. And preferably, he’d have some improved senses as well. It was a little bit of an investment, but it was worth to dismantle the operation and know exactly what he was dealing with.

  “Something happening was a given, especially with the Registry getting involved, but I didn’t expect a death to come this quick,” she muttered. Then over the next minute or so, Hazel recounted what had taken place since he’d left, skimming over the training and the security left by Talon and focusing on the operation that seemed to be taking place, capping it all off with the encounter with the Custodian his two summons had encountered.

  That had Miles look up from the two vials, frowning as he tried to recall if he’d ever heard that name. “The Keepers?”

  He knew of the Exchange and had made sure to stay away from them, even if they’d been sent against him a couple of times. But the Keepers were new.

  “No… that doesn’t ring any bells. This Mera, what’s your read?”

  This would make her the first Custodian that finished the quest and exited the Dungeon. Which would mean she likely had a access to the Custodial Room as well as her own Dungeon Gate and depending on how long it has been since she was out, her key might be giving her access to quite a lot of floors to operate from.

  She also knows I’m a Torchbearer. Also… Keepers… is this some sort of Custodian group?

  Miles wasn’t sure what to feel about that. As for Hazel, she shook her head, glowering at the darkness as she looked down the tunnel. “Nothing. High-tier. Beyond me and Georgie. But I got nothing from her. No aura. No emotions. Nothing. Her eyes are slitted. Like a reptile’s, but she was trying to hide that. From the looks of it, she called off whatever was about to take place just because she suspected you were a Custodian. Could be she didn’t want to sour things with you. Could be it was all a play. She’s hard to read.”

  And wasn’t that a cause for concern, Miles thought as he raised a brow at the witch. Plus, now it looked like whatever this ambush was, there might be more strings being pulled behind it, making it unlikely that the church was acting alone. They wanted him dead or captured, but this Mera seemed to want to talk.

  Letting out a slow breath, Miles stretched his arms above his head and rolled his shoulders. There was only so much he could learn from here. It was time to go and ask some questions.

  “Alright. We got enough prep to get started. Next loop, let George know and bring everyone to the hotel.”

  “Everyone? The Inquisitor’s people as well?”

  Miles blinked, then shook his head. “Ah. No, not them,” he corrected. “I don’t need more eyes on what I’ve got going on. As for what this all would mean… We’ll deal with the fallout later. Let’s make sure everyone’s safe first, and then we’ll deal with the rest,” Miles said as he marched out of the room, summoning his mask as he did, with Hazel walking next to him.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  There would be fallout from all of this. But he’d think about that when this ambush was dealt with.

  ***

  Climbing up the hive’s network was much easier with Hazel around, even though Miles didn’t bother downing the Ghostshade Draught.

  As the tenth floor’s boss, she could command the local fauna to both spy and harass her challengers before they made their way to her hall. So it made sense for the sapient summoned version of her to be capable of doing the same. Still, her abilities were a little more stunted here. This wasn’t her territory, and the ants’ loyalty was a little harder to wrench away from the queens compared to more individualistic critters, which meant she could only affect the ants within her sight. But that was plenty. The two of them could walk in a straight line up the network until the site of the ambush was only minutes away, at which point they both slowed. Now was the time to layer the stealth spells so they wouldn’t run out mid-infiltration and unlike her image on the tenth, Hazel wasn’t as limited with her repertoire.

  Hazel cloaked them both with [Greater Invisibility] which would hide both their form, temperature, and scent. She also added [Shadowmeld], [Muffle], [Hide Presence], and [Mind Bridge] to be safe and finally, both made sure that their cores were retracted and as tightly veiled as possible.

  Then they stepped into the final tunnel.

  Within the minute, Miles noted the first oddity. Unlike his first pass, this time he had been watching for it. Suspecting it. So when he sensed his train of thoughts suddenly mellow, and his wariness subtly let in a sense of relief at reaching the end of the floor, he knew something was up almost instantaneously.

  “[Miles. There’s a Perception Drift effect going on. It’s… strong. I can’t tell where it started or where it’s coming from. And I think it’s being masked by a powerful Dream formation as well,]” quickly spoke Hazel, her voice echoing in his mind as the ants’ clicking echoed in the tunnel.

  That instantly sent a shiver down his back as he slowly turned to her, their eyes meeting for a moment before they turned their attention back to their surroundings. Miles had realized the relief was fake and he’d been considering that was the cause of his lack of attention. Dream Formations that nudged the targets’ mood in one direction or another were dangerous enough by themselves, especially when they’re this subtle. But a Perception Drift?

  “[Keep an eye out for Webbed Watchers, but I don’t think they have one of those on a leash. Much less manage to order it around,]” he sent back, immediately thinking of a potential Custodian-Beastmaster, but what were the odds of that? “[This… I think they got their hands on a formation that can imitate those bastards,” he sent back as he felt his own mind nudge him away from a mundane looking stretch of the wall. Mundane for all but the faint, barely perceptible higher-grade mana wafting off it, which he then pointed out to Hazel as he reached into his pocket.

  “[Yes, fake walls. Also, I just sensed something activate, but I can’t tell what exactly. Feels… intrusive. Might have been something with a hint of divination. Not sure. The mind-altering debuffs are hard enough to keep in check.]”

  Miles handed her the vial and grabbed himself another. Downing the Draught of Heightened Focus, he scanned the walls more intently as the distracting effects of the prepared terrain were reduced to the equivalent of a buzzing fly. The exit was now only a few steps away. Only a few yards from where he had been stabbed. “[I count four fake walls,]” he said, to which Hazel nodded. “[We’re coming up on where the attack took place in 3…2…1… here.]”

  The two stopped, and Miles looked down at the spot where he’d died less than an hour ago, then behind him. The mind-altering effects were stronger here, but he couldn’t detect anything else. Not that the ambushers needed anything else. There was a reason why mind-altering formations were so hard to source. As for the Perception Drift, that was a whole other matter.

  How had they done that? Was it a skill? It wasn’t gas. Miles could extract that effect with his cauldron, but he couldn’t affect a wide area with it. Not without making a gas out of it, and there was no gas he could detect around them.

  Maybe an ability to turn a monster’s innate magic into a formation?

  He doubted it was the latter. As far as he could tell, plenty of Seekers had tried to re-create the effect in their spells to no success. Perception Drift remained a rare ability, exclusive to a couple of dangerous monsters and some lucky Shadows, and neither of those could share their ability.

  Miles peered around, listening intently. Both he and Hazel were still hidden, but whatever had triggered a few moments ago should have outed them. Still, no spear came at his chest, and nothing seemed to be off as he looked around.

  The tunnel opened up in a somewhat large chamber, not too unlike the one he’d woke up in aside from the massive root that tore through the ceiling and under it, flush against the wall, two earth-colored stone doors stood shut, softly glowing with protective enchantments.

  “[Behind us,]” Hazel warned, and Miles turned, hands behind his back as he asked her to drop the spells cloaking them, all but their telepathy. He was utterly focused, and his weapons could be summoned in the blink of an eye, but he didn’t need to brandish them yet. In his experience, he’d learned that knowledge could be just as scary, and catching ambushers with their pants down was even better than holding them at the top of a spear.

  The first figure that walked out into the blue glowing lights of the chamber was a shorter woman in dark, form-fitting gear that blazed with magic to Miles’s senses. She wore a simple, white porcelain mask that’d make her part of the Shifting Exchange and in her right hand, a saber was held to the side.

  At the same time that she appeared, a second figure appeared. This one didn’t have the same sleek gear and instead, he wore a mishmash of metal and leather armor. Just like the swordswoman, he wore the white mask of the Exchange and behind it, Miles made a wild mess of red hair. The large man twirled his spear as the two stepped out of the entrance, but no third figure came out.

  “It’s true what they say, then. The Wanderer can never be ambushed. Color me surprised,” said the large man as he circled to the right, while the diminutive woman stepped to the left. Their movements were slow. Fluid. But at any moment, they could explode toward him. “And is that ol’ Haver’eth, right there? What is this, exactly? A summon? Illusion?”

  The two came to a stop when both were 45 degrees to the side while next to him, Hazel was grinning nastily at the two.

  “Who’re you calling old, lurch,” asked Hazel. “Didn’t your mom teach you manners?”

  The spearman tilted his head, and even the shorter woman seemed to still for a moment. “You really sound like her, too. And you killed her,” the man said, but before he could continue, Miles’s voice echoed.

  “Bishop. Join us, please,” Miles called out, dropping his veil as he did. He knew there had been a fourth wall, but he wasn’t about to address just yet. He wanted to see what’d happen as was. As for his veil, he didn’t remove it to intimidate the two, but to get a better idea of their level and with minimal obstacles around his core, he could sense his surroundings better. And so did his surroundings.

  The air warped around Miles as his aura spread out and as his unleashed core took control of the surrounding mana and instantly, the two mercenaries of the Exchange matched him. The air grew heavy and their own presence spread out and like a painting with its cover removed, their cores blared into existence as behind all three of them, three rings of nearly physical mana took shape.

  All three of them were masters. All three broke through tier-30.

  Well, that explains how they dispatch me so fast last time around, he thought as all three stood below the storms of swirling mana, casting their own shadows at their feet. Mile’s were like rings of liquid flame, while the swordsman’s was like thin, sharp rings of silvery metal. As for the spearman, his were like a jagged piece of ever-shifting metal, sharpening and smoothing with every second that went by. None of them spoke out, and none reacted to his call for the bishop. But it only took a few more seconds for the shuffle to reach Miles’s ears and a moment later, a shape detached from the darkness.

  The Bishop, with the cowl hiding his features, glided toward him, hands held in front of his stomach, hidden by his ample sleeves. A blood-red sash was wrapped around his waist, and a single long pendant ending in a single, deep-red crystal point hung in front of his chest, while two red epaulets draped his shoulders, each with a single black shining line that marked him a bishop.

  The man didn’t unveil his core, but as Miles shoved his flimsy Veil aside, it was easy to see why.

  “Barely tier 25, I’d say. Is that why you hired the Exchange? You couldn’t come after me by your lonesome?”

  The spearman snorted. “Ouf. Got ya there, priest.”

  Miles sensed the bishop’s feeble attempts at pushing his aura aside, but the man neither had the practice, levels, or resolve to do so. Still, Miles wasn’t just here to bully cowardly fanatics. With a snort, he pulled his aura back and erected a quick Veil around his core—which the others matched—while he mindfully kept an eye on his surroundings, lest the 4th individual made a move. Then Miles glanced from one hidden face to another, while Hazel stood ominously to his side, her green eyes glimmering in the twilight.

  It was time to ask some question and hopefully, he wouldn’t have to push things too far to get some answers.