New reward screens for defeating the last of the monsters popped up immediately after the final beast fell.
[You have gained +500xp]
[You have gained +500xp]
There were more notifications overlapping, but Aiden chose to examine them later as Alaric’s next proclamation drew his attention.
"Y’see that lads? Knew I was right bringin’ the posh fella along," Alaric said with a happy grin on his face.
Ingrid had just stood up from the ground and was trying to wipe the disgusting goo off her body, smiling despite the mess.
Rakan had a wry smile and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I barely got to do anything," he said.
Aiden also had a smile on his face as he tried to wipe the same goo off his body. He had taken the most of it, after all.
However, their moment of celebrating their victory was cut short when the walls of the dungeon began shaking intensively. That could only mean one thing...
"Dungeon’s closing," Alaric called out. "Hurry, grab what yer can!"
Immediately, Ingrid and Rakan spread out toward the bodies of the destroyed beasts. Rakan went toward the one destroyed by flames, but when he looked at it, it was mostly ashes.
"I’m not entirely sure monster dust makes any money," he said to himself, scratching his head briefly before trying to see if he could scrape anything valuable at all.
Ingrid was much luckier on her side. Since Aiden had pummeled the monster to pieces, all she had to do was hurriedly pick the parts she felt would be of some value.
The dungeon walls rumbled violently again, and once more Alaric called out, "Best we get off now!"
He started making his way out hurriedly as he carried his filled canvas bag, and slowly they all began heading toward the exit.
The translucent portal at the entrance waited ahead, and one by one they went through and emerged on the other side, through the doors leading out of the dungeon.
Not long after they left, the mausoleum-looking structure began sinking slowly into the ground, as if the earth itself had opened up to swallow it whole. Aiden turned around to watch this occur in full, and he was thoroughly astonished.
Alaric walked up to Aiden, whose attention was still caught by the descending dungeon. He placed his broad, heavy hand across Aiden’s shoulders, which made Aiden stagger from the weight.
"Yer the reason we’re walkin’ out in one piece. Thank you," Alaric said in a much calmer and lower tone, but he was genuinely happy. He also watched as the dungeon sank back down into the ground.
Aiden tilted his head to catch the look on Alaric’s face, then turned away with a smile and simply nodded at the praise. It was the first time since Grandal that anyone had truly commended his efforts as a result of his magic.
Eventually, they all turned and left the dungeon’s premises.
....
The party was on horseback riding back to the town of Rivendale. Aiden sat behind Alaric as usual as they moved, and he decided to examine the screens he had earlier blocked from sight.
[Side Quest: Complete the Dungeon Raid → Complete]
[+8 Available Stats Points]
[You have gained +1000xp]
[Bonus Reward +500xp granted]
[You have gained a passive skill: Dragon’s Sense]
[You have unlocked an Inventory skill: Collector]
[You have unlocked an Inventory skill: Forge]
[A wind magic technique has been copied]
Aiden stared at the screens in silence. Of course, he was somewhat excited to see them, but expressing his excitement right now would make the people he was currently riding with question his sanity.
Tam, who rode to the side, had noticed how Aiden stared down blankly with a facial expression that looked like he was reading something.
"Hmm..." Tam muttered, curious about what he was looking at.
Aiden continued exploring his skills. "Alright, let’s see what these are," he thought to himself, and somehow the system responded to those thoughts.
[Dragon’s Sense → You can hear and smell anything over a considerable distance. The more of a Dragon you become, the better your Dragon Sense passive becomes]
"Makes sense why the stench from the monster parts the big lady carries makes me want to puke," Aiden thought to himself. Ingrid was riding a few meters behind him, but the smell from those parts she carried made it feel like his nose was pressed directly into the bag itself.
[Collector → Your inventory is a limitless space, and skill this represents a dragon’s inclination to collect and hoard treasures, items, and resources of worth. The system will automatically show you when an item or material could be worth collecting]
"A dragon’s inclination to collect..." And then Aiden’s mind went to the day at Syra’s lair and the enormous amount of gold and items she had stored there.
[Forge → Collected materials or items can be forged into different items. This is useful in weapons and charms creation, which could carry special effects]
This one made Aiden widen his eyes slightly. "Materials to forge items?"
As if the system was answering his question to make it clearer, it pushed another prompt.
[Different materials when brought together can be made into very powerful items with terrifying effects]
"So when Syra offered me the opportunity to take items from her lair, I passed up the chance to pick powerful items..." Aiden sighed, now feeling really bad about his earlier decision.
Well, it wasn’t even a decision. He just hadn’t cared enough then to think this far ahead.