Soul beast dungeon

Three months had passed since that meeting with Evan Cloud, but the old man's words echoed constantly in Adonis's mind like a carved mantra.

"There are countless talents in this world…""Your sword element is rare, even singular—but don't let it go over your head. "There's someone who reached aristocrat level at fourteen."

Those lines didn't discourage him—they lit a fire.

Since then, Adonis had pushed himself harder than ever. He no longer focused solely on precision and control. Instead, he returned to expanding his limits, training to summon more swords.

To his surprise, all that prior focus on control bore fruit: where once he struggled to maintain five blades, now he could manifest nine to ten golden swords simultaneously. The strain on his body and mana was immense—but bearable. He knew now that his current limit wasn't his will or technique…

…it was his mana core.

And until he broke through into Aristocrat-class, he was bottlenecked.

Tired of repetitive practice, Adonis decided it was time for something new. Something that would both test his skills and clear his head.

At the adventurer's guild, familiar laughter greeted him the moment he stepped inside.

"Well well, look who finally decided to show up," Miranda, the receptionist, grinned from behind the desk. "Been a while. Feeling the pressure now, aren't you?"

Adonis chuckled. "Yeah… I get it now. Elora used to act the same whenever she talked with the guild master."

"She always came back looking like she'd been hit with a truth spell. Guess he gave you one too." Miranda winked. "You looking for a mission?"

"Yeah. Anything interesting?"

Miranda handed him a quest scroll with a mischievous smirk."There's one… a little weird. Take a look."

Quest: "The Mischief of the Black & White Ghost"Location: Soul Beat DungeonReported Phenomenon: Adventurers being pranked or attacked by a mysterious black-and-white ghost.Confirmed Cases: Over a dozen. No fatalities. Objective: Find and resolve the ghost problem.Bonus: 50 gold bonus if ghost is captured alive.Reward: 20 gold base.

Then Miranda slowly whispered in his ear, "You know one B ranked adventurer actually wet his pant because of it"

Adonis blinked. "Wait. What is this? A joke? How shameful? I bet this B rank adventurer actually put up this quest."

Miranda burst out laughing. "Apparently, several others got teased by this ghost too, and they're supporting the quest. But hey, this is the highest-paying C-rank mission available right now. Can't complain."

Adonis grinned. "Fine, fine. I'll take it. Honestly, if Elora were here, she'd first prank that B-ranker back… then try to befriend the ghost."

"True!" Miranda giggled. "That girl had chaos in her blood."

Rolling the scroll and tucking it into his belt, Adonis nodded and turned toward the door.

"Time to meet this prankster ghost myself," he muttered, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

.....

The Soul Beat Dungeon was colder than Adonis expected.

As he descended the stone stairs wrapped in moss and faint luminescence, a strange pressure hung in the air—like laughter swallowed by the wind.

"Alright, ghost," Adonis muttered, brushing his fingers against the hilt of his sword. "Let's see if you're real, or just another illusion."

He ventured deep, torchlight flickering against the dungeon's jagged walls. Echoes bounced off every turn, and sometimes it felt like footsteps danced behind him—only to vanish when he looked back.

Then, all at once—nothing.

Silence.

Adonis entered a large circular chamber, walls cracked with age. That's when he saw it—floating midair like a specter of elegance.

Not a ghost.

A robe.

But not any ordinary robe.

It hovered midair, sleeves stretched as if worn by an invisible figure, gently swaying like it were breathing. Its high, straight collar immediately reminded Adonis of a nobleman's or a war hero's—exactly like the Fourth Hokage's cloak from his favorite anime… but twisted.

This one was black and white, flowing with sharp contrast between purity and shadow. Intricate golden threads danced across it, weaving arcane runes and swirling designs across the chest and cuffs. It was beautiful—and wrong.

Adonis narrowed his eyes. "So… you're the prankster."

As if answering, the robe spun once in the air—and vanished.

"Wha—?" Adonis didn't even finish.

Splat!

A cold, slimy jelly substance landed on his head.

"…Did it just… prank me?"

Before he could react, a sudden gust of air flipped his cape, and one of his swords vanished—stolen.

Then the robe reappeared, spinning midair, mock-bowing.

Adonis stared blankly, unimpressed. "This is really the ghost everyone's scared of?"

The robe twirled again and pointed one sleeve at him like a magician revealing a trick.

Suddenly, dozens of illusions—copies of the robe—appeared around the room. Each floated midair, laughing silently, circling Adonis.

"Illusions?" Adonis muttered. He raised his hand, focusing on support magic.

"Magic Sense: True Sight."

His eyes glowed faint gold, and one by one, the illusions shattered—except one.

The real robe hovered calmly at the edge of the room, as if amused.

"You're a sentient artifact… aren't you?" Adonis said, realization dawning. "An enchanted robe with a will of its own. No wonder you're hard to catch."

The robe spun slowly, and this time didn't vanish. Instead, it floated close to Adonis—like it was… inspecting him.

Adonis didn't move. "You're looking for a host."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the robe gently touched his shoulder.

It wasn't aggressive.

It was… curious.

Suddenly, a loud BOOM echoed through the dungeon—someone else had entered.

"Adonis!" a familiar voice called. A trio of adventurers ran in, weapons drawn.

"There it is!" the B-rank adventurer who filed the report pointed at the robe. "That cursed thing! Get away from it!"

The robe instantly backed off, defensive now, sleeves raised like a threatened animal.

"Stop!" Adonis shouted. "It's not hostile!"

But it was too late.

The adventurers launched an attack. The robe vanished again—then countered with a flurry of magical pranks: slime, tripping spells, and illusion traps that had two of them crashing into each other like clowns.

Adonis, frustrated, summoned two golden swords and slammed them down, sending a shockwave across the room.

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed.

The robe froze in place. The adventurers backed off.

Panting, Adonis turned to the floating cloak. "I'm not like them. I'm not here to hurt you. But if you keep doing this, they'll send more people."

The robe hesitated… then lowered itself slowly—resting gently in front of him.

Adonis reached out.

It didn't resist.

The cloak wrapped itself around his shoulders.

Perfect fit.

.....

At the guild later that evening…

Miranda nearly fainted.

"You—you—you tamed it?! You're wearing it?! That's insane!"

Adonis just smiled.

"Turns out, it wasn't a ghost… just a lonely, powerful relic that didn't want to be sealed again."

He looked down at the robe.

"I think it's called the Eclipse cloak or robe. And I think its a bonded artifact." 

In this world there are many artifacts but bonded artifacts are special, they can form bond with the user and grow stronger as their user grow stronger. Apparently there are very few bonded artifacts, plus bonding is two way thing so Miranda was shocked seeing the cloak bonded with Adonis.