"How did you die?"

"How did you die?"

"You say it first!"

"You say it quickly!"

"..."

"..."

A shrewd adventurer and a simple adventurer looked at each other, both falling into a strange silence.

"I was killed by adventurers."

"I was also killed by adventurers."

After saying this, another eerie silence followed.

Their expressions were not pleasant. Although they returned here one after the other, the difference was only a few seconds. Timing it, it had only been since their very first invasion attempt in life...

"Less than ten minutes..."

Upon realizing how quickly they died, their complexions turned from unpleasant to ashen.

"So the price of being a Soul-sucking Ghost is facing adventurers far stronger than yourself..." The simple adventurer almost sighed out his soul.

The other adventurer saw his partner's spirit sinking, and despite not feeling well himself, he consoled:

"Something must have gone wrong. I heard invasions and counter-invasions are supposed to be evenly matched tug-of-war battles. Us ending this quickly indicates a problem. Should we try again?"

"...Then I'll give it another try."

The simple adventurer accepted the Eye Orb his partner handed over, used it again, and once more his body became a red phantom gradually vanishing from the spot.

This time, he arrived at a familiar place: the Undead Town Outside the City not far from the Fire Transmission Ceremony, and it was on a path piled with Living Dead Soldiers. If someone initiated a battle here, they'd surely enjoy it.

Coincidentally, the adventurer ran straight into the owner of this world. He forcibly perked up and showed a fierce smile, swiftly turning to glare at the world's owner.

"Do you have any business?"

Hevi and several Starfire Knights stared at him with dead-fish eyes.

Sometimes, dead-fish eyes can be much more intimidating than a glare.

[Intruder has died]

"Three minutes!?"

The shrewd adventurer watched his returning partner and couldn't help but cover his face in amazement.

He quickly realized his reaction would only bring greater psychological harm to his partner, so he hurriedly covered his mouth and looked at him.

The simple adventurer could now be renamed the devastated adventurer, sitting there motionless like a wooden figure, cosplaying as Noriyuki Kashima from 'Rohan at the Louvre'.

"Hiss..."

The adventurer didn't know what to do.

The Sain Dungeon has a relatively balanced invasion matching mechanism.

However, this "relatively balanced" generally applies to stable-running areas.

Gong Qiying had placed regional restrictions on the Soul-sucking Ghost invasions in Scameroon, limiting them to Scameroon's area and prioritizing matching adventurers with invasion and counter-invasion experience.

So, who among the adventurers here had the richest experience? Naturally, those who had previously ventured into the Sain Dungeon.

This resulted in the misfortune of the two, far beyond common bad luck, a scenario only experienced by the first players of the Sain Dungeon in each country.

The adventurer thought perhaps they should just take his partner back to rest for now?

Upon second thought, their friendship seemed pretty solid, though.

Maybe find something fun for them to do? Oh, right, there's the Painting World left behind here before.

The adventurer previously kicked out of the Sain Dungeon called the Painting World the source of pain, but both present felt it was because the guy was incompetent. Surely they could do better — maybe going in there to relax was an option?

After much thought, the adventurer ultimately decided against it, prioritizing his partner's mental safety above all.

"Let's get out of here. There's nothing left to stick around for... Wait, where's the person?"

In the blink of an eye, his big partner just disappeared! Where did he go?

Just then, he saw the Painting World gently floating down...

It was clear his partner couldn't think straight and made a decision he would surely regret.

"Get out here quickly!!!"

————————————

The next day, while Tusi was reading the newspaper and drinking tea at the Dark Moon Sword base, he saw these three devastated adventurers.

Originally happy they came to find him so soon, the scene before him was not quite as he imagined.

"Are you all okay?"

Seeing the trio's haggard appearance, Tusi almost spit out his tea.

How did three young men overnight seem like they've been through a year-long ordeal with a sugar mommy spending spree!

Only the shrewd adventurer's mental state was still decent; he scratched his head awkwardly, handing over the Painting World. "Yesterday's events were complex."

"If it's complex, then I won't ask. Why not grab a chair and sit for a while?" Tusi feared they'd drop dead here.

"Thank you..." The adventurers remembered to thank him before sitting down.

After confirming the trio indeed came to request joining the Dark Moon Sword, Tusi generously brought them paper and pen to fill out some information. Then, on a chosen auspicious day, after paying respects to Gwendolin, they'd officially become members.