It was rather unfortunate that the nightmarish ghoul didn't move over to his ridge.

Because if it had, it would be easier for Daru to track the horror. However, since it didn't, he decided to check the tracks the next day.

It wouldn't be wise to do it now that he was spent.

While it would be easy to switch ridges, that was for the four-armed, long-limbed horror.

It would take quite a lot out of Daru to do the same, and if he were forced to fight in such an exhausted state, he would more likely die than not.

He promised the folks of Egress that he would be prioritizing his safety first and his mission second.

So, he retrieved his sleeping bag, laid it down, and nestled himself in it.

The covers blocked the chilly winds, making the temperature inside the hollow perfect for him.

It didn't take Daru long to drift off.

He woke up almost exactly eight hours later, fully revitalized and ready to pick up where he left off.

Daru stretched for a while before retrieving a Limbo Celery, taking the time to munch on it properly before proceeding to clean up his little camp, though there wasn't much to do except to put away his sleeping bag and the questionable camouflage cover back into the inventory.

But then, just when he was about to reach out for the latter, he heard sniffing sounds some distance away from his hollow.

It was so faint that he would've missed it, had it not been for a split second of silence.

Daru's brows furrowed.

The sound seemed to come from his right — up the ridge.

Such sounds would've been relatively normal on the other side of the river, but on this side, there were barely any Swordspawns.

There was a mix of wariness and excitement in his heart as he peered from behind the trusty camouflage cover.

It seemed that the folks of Egress weren't lying about how effective it was.

He kept craning his head until finally, his eyes narrowed.

There the nightmarish ghoul was, sniffing the gray flower blooming on the rocky mountain walls.

It snarled in an annoyed manner from time to time, blowing off the ashes sullying its precious, and then it would continue sniffing.

==

Saphoros, Regal Thrall of the Sinful Blossom Lv. 61

HP: 55,100 / 57,420

==

Daru keenly observed the crawler.

'Saphoros…'

He had planned to allot this day to track the four-armed monstrosity, uncover its true identity among The Five based on its actions, and figure out where he could find it and at what specific time.

It seemed he had lucked out.

Or not, really.

He could've very well encountered it while he was resting yesterday, had it not been for Rocante battling the horror.

'Or maybe not?'

Daru wasn't sure.

After all, it was possible that Saphoros only transferred over to his ridge because Rocante occupied the one he was on, although there was also a chance that the monstrosity had always been on the way here and had just been unlucky to encounter his hulking adversary at that specific timing.

If so, then was this not a regular occurrence?

Somehow, Daru found it difficult to accept that conclusion, mainly because Rocante seemed to be on a strict schedule, always passing at almost exactly the same time in the same place.

Did the abominable duel happen only by chance this time?

In any case, this should've disrupted Rocante's schedule if this was an anomaly in the hulking horror's routine, and Daru would be able to find out as long as he stayed here.

Furthermore, he would also be able to observe the nightmarish ghoul's actions.

Daru didn't have to watch for long to identify that Saphoros was indeed one of The Five, though...

Clearly, the nightmarish ghoul was addicted to the strange flower.

'So this one's The Ivy, huh?' he pondered, continuing to watch the horror's actions, though there was nothing much to watch except for it sniffing its precious blossom enthusiastically.

The changes in Saphoros' facial expressions were all hideous, appalling, and unholy.

Daru felt a bit uncomfortable and…sad watching the fallen creature's actions, especially since The Ivy seemed to have been a prince once.

'Is he the son of The Crown?'

Still, Daru forced himself to watch the depravity, unwilling to let Saphoros off his vision for longer than three seconds.

Anything could change in mere seconds, after all.

But then, around half an hour later, his attention was snatched by another sound: heavy footsteps.

He recognized them — Rocante's.

However, its cadence was different from yesterday's. It was noticeably slower.

The sight of the hulking horror's depressed figure flashed in his mind.

Perhaps the horror had already been defeated, and from what he saw yesterday, the most likely candidate was The Crown…the king of the stone castle himself.

There was also a small chance that The Eye did it, but based on the hint on the said horror's page, it was highly unlikely that it would move until it was "too late" for its beloved.

Daru didn't have any idea about the beloved's identity, though.

Perhaps he would find out after locating The Eye, but for now, he shall focus on Rocante's cadence and Saphoros's actions.

Daru would've observed the depressed, hulking monstrosity, if it weren't so risky.

Either way, he was as certain as one in his situation could be that Rocante was in a depressed state based on the cadence of his steps.

It was more important to keep watching The Ivy.

But then, to his bewilderment, the trunk of the dead tree he was in suddenly shook, and a short, humanoid figure landed a few meters in front of his hollow.

A slim, demonic jester...it turned its head in an eerily slow one-eighty and looked at him with its sewn eyes on its white, frowning face.

Daru's heart skipped a beat, frozen in place and caught off guard by the unexpected entry of another horror.

==

Harlowe, The Jealous Jester Lv. 62

HP: 48,100 / 48,100

==

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