He then took a flashlight out of his Inventory, turned it on, and shone it into the dark room.
Inside the room, there turned out to be a stone staircase leading underground, and the flashlight's beam managed to illuminate the stone floor below.
Ash pulled out a torch and lit it with a match. As a member of the object-seeking team, items like these were essential for them to carry at all times.
"Come on, buddy," he said to Jagu, and together they descended the stone staircase.
Then they came across a corridor, where several extinguished torches were mounted on the walls.
He lit all the torches to make it easier to see the path in case something happened, even though he could also see through Jagu's perspective.
The corridor ended at a fragile wooden door, which forced Ash to kick it down again.
Pieces of the rotting wooden door fell into the adjoining room, revealing a bedroom at the end of the corridor.
One by one, he stepped through the broken doorway, now standing inside a windowless bedroom.
The room smelled extremely damp, with moss growing across various parts of the walls and floor.
Jagu busied himself sniffing around the room, but then lifted his head with his nose wrinkled. Apparently, he wasn't fond of the damp smell.
While Ash searched here and there, among tables and chairs that collapsed at his touch and inside chests, he couldn't find the Item they were looking for.
He then moved to the bed and pulled back its fragile blanket, which disintegrated as soon as he touched it.
He froze slightly, startled, as he discovered a skull lying atop the bed, with a short sword lodged between its ribs.
On the skeleton's tattered clothing lay a necklace, featuring a dark reddish gemstone that emitted a faint glow.
Ash pulled out a pair of cloth gloves from his Inventory and carefully picked up the gemstone.
The necklace's chain crumbled as he tugged on it, but the gemstone, encased in its silver frame as a pendant, remained intact.
He examined it closely and felt certain that this gemstone was the Item they had been searching for.
He couldn't hold the gemstone with his gloved hands to identify it, as the System would automatically add points to his Extra Points.
However, the color of the stone closely resembled the spirit hovering outside the castle, convincing him that this was indeed the Item they had been searching for.
He placed it in a small box that all object-seeking team members carried specifically for such purposes, then stored the box in his Inventory.
He then scanned the entire room once more, searching for any other items he could collect.
His eyes landed on the small sword lodged in the skeleton's chest. Without using gloves, he reached out and took the sword.
[You have found Soul Piercer.]
[Rank: Rare Item.]
[Points: 20 points.]
"Wow, a rare item," he muttered, flipping the small sword back and forth in his hands, inspecting the runes etched onto the blade.
He opened his Inventory and checked the sword's description.
[Soul Piercer.]
[Description: A small sword that absorbs residual magical energy from a fallen mage leader, found lodged in its skull. This sword has the ability to increase the attack power of a Player using black magic. However, prolonged use can damage the Player's soul due to the black magic energy it contains.]
Ash read the description and blinked.
"It's a good item. But the description is terrifying," he muttered again, though he still held onto it.
He paused to think, then muttered again as he placed the small sword into his Inventory, "Whatever. I have a feeling this will be useful someday. And it's better I don't tell the rest of the team about it."
He stepped out of the room with Jagu, who seemed delighted to leave the damp space. Standing in the middle of the courtyard near a broken fountain, he paused.
His eyes wandered to the statue perched on the fountain, and he sat down, waiting for the rest of his team to return. Meanwhile, Jagu roamed around, sniffing at everything in sight.
He stared blankly at the statue, lost in thought, wondering what would happen when he returned and had to join Drogo in fighting against the other castles.
If that came to pass, would there be any chance for him to face the Warriors of Shadowmoor and still come out alive? Or would it all end there?
Suddenly, Jagu's perspective caught his attention. He spotted a small chest beneath a chunk of wood that resembled a cabinet, though its upper part had been destroyed by the collapsing roof debris.
The chest wasn't far from the fountain where Ash was sitting.
Without overthinking, he walked toward the structure where Jagu was.
Seeing him approach, Jagu snorted softly and stepped aside from under the cabinet, allowing Ash to reach for the chest with his hands.
Once retrieved, he examined the small bronze chest before carefully opening its lid.
What he saw was a necklace with a small pendant that could be opened to reveal a portrait of someone.
However, shortly after he opened the pendant, the portrait inside began to change, and in shock, he dropped it.
The pendant hit the stone floor with a faint clinking sound. Thankfully, Ash was kneeling, so the pendant wasn't too damaged.
With trembling hands, he picked the pendant back up and, mustering his courage, dared to look at the portrait inside once more.
Tears began to well up in his eyes as he saw the face of his mother within the pendant.
[You have found the Memory Pendant.]
[Rank: Special Item.]
[Points: 10 points.]
Along with the notification on the screen, his tears fell onto the stone floor.
***
After regaining his composure, he put on the necklace and hid it under his clothes.
His emotions were a whirlwind, he felt joy at finding the item and being able to see his mother's face again, even though he knew it was merely a projection of his own memories.
Taking a deep breath, he walked back to the fountain, where Hank and Dwayne were already waiting.
"Hi, Ash. Did you find the gemstone? We weren't so lucky," Hank greeted as he spotted him.
"Yes. It was Jagu who helped to find it," Ash replied, pulling out the small box containing the pendant with its dark reddish gemstone.
The stone glowed faintly under the sunlight, its dim light intensifying. Ash frowned slightly, puzzled by the strange nature of the gemstone.
"Nice. Let's wait for Milo and the others to return before we leave," Hank added.
Dwayne interrupted, "And how exactly are we going to leave with those abominations still waiting for us at the door?"
The team sat silently around the fountain, their weariness evident. Before long, all members returned, and Milo confirmed that the pendant Ash had found was indeed the mission's target Item.
Ash couldn't fathom how Milo was able to verify the item without even touching it, but he chose not to probe further.
The team then made their way back to the castle's front entrance, grumbling at the sight of the abominations still crowded along the hidden walls outside.
"They're persistent," Xion remarked, scratching his nose despite it not itching.
Suddenly, Ash retrieved the small box containing The Energy Crystal and carefully held the pendant with gloved hands.
He grew suspicious because the gemstone's color matched that of the spirits residing within the abominations.
And sure enough, the moment the stone was in his hands, the abominations began to retreat as if in fear, causing those behind them to also step back and even collapse.
He grinned at the rest of the team, who were staring in disbelief as the abominations retreated.
"I think now we'll be able to pass through them without being attacked," he said, startling the team. They all turned to look at him.
Seeing him holding the pendant with its dark reddish gemstone, they finally understood why the abominations were retreating in fear.
"You are smart, Ash..." Milo murmured softly.
Ash simply smirked and strode out of the castle toward the hidden wall.
The abominations immediately retreated, scrambling away from the gemstone in panic.
As he walked through the path that had opened up, none of the abominations dared to come close to him.
He turned to the rest of the team and called out, "Let's go. It's time to head home."
All the team members exchanged glances, then quietly walked behind him, following his lead. And so, they walked along the path opened up by the abominations.
Ash took the lead, holding the pendant with the dark reddish gemstone tightly in his hand. The rest of the team followed behind him, their weapons drawn, watching the abominations nervously in case they decided to attack.
Eventually, they reached the border between the forest and the open field in front of the castle. As they did, the abominations began to collapse to the ground one by one...and they did not rise again.