Chapter 21: Dungeon-Wide Announcement
Meanwhile, in the restoration chamber after the Bridge of Death, Martin rested on the ground, and Harley stood above him while her group was slightly behind, not hearing their conversation.
"Martin, I could swear I saw you join Leonard’s party. Where is he?" She asked, her gaze scanning the crowd of awakeners.
"Miss Harley, I don’t see the point in concerning yourself with such trivial matters." Martin shrugged nonchalantly. "You said it yourself, the man you’re looking for is simply in a different world than ours. Let it go."
Harley’s eyes darkened. "You didn’t answer my question. Where is he?"
At that moment, a man who had heard rumors about Winston leaping into the Death Zone threw a casual remark.
"Hey, aren’t you the guy whose teammates jumped from the bridge?"
Martin’s expression darkened. "I can’t believe a passerby had to throw a wrench into my plan." He murmured.
"W—What? Leonard is..." Harley’s confident demeanor shattered in an instant. Slowly backing away, she peeked over the edge into the darkness below.
"Why didn’t you listen to me... I was just worried for you." She murmured somberly, biting her lower lip in regret.
"Miss Harley, I assure you it was a simple accident." Martin said, calmly deflecting the blame. "They had become too exhausted from our journey and, regrettably, tripped—"
His words fell on deaf ears as a dungeon-wide announcement rang out, causing the world to slow to a crawl.
[The Haunted Catacombs have been sealed. Initiating a dungeon-wide teleportation...]
Chaos spread among the awakeners.
"Impossible! The dungeon has been sealed after decades?!"
"Who did it?! What changed?!"
"No! Don’t teleport me yet. There is still loot I haven’t picked up from the ground!"
Martin’s eyes grew cold. Getting a bad feeling. "Don’t tell me..."
Harley clenched her fists. "Could it be him? Is he still alive after all?"
Nobody had an answer. Everyone was teleported away from the Haunted Catacombs.
***
Leonard’s eyes sprang open. He was back at the wide plaza from which he had entered the dungeon. The entrance had faded away, and everyone who had been within the depths of the Haunted Catacombs had been forcibly expelled.
He first examined the many notifications that had appeared over a short period of time.
Level: 3 [Experience: 300/300]
[You have risen to Level 4!]
[You have gained 5 Attribute Points and 10 Evolution Points!]
Level: 4 [Experience: 400/400]
[You have risen to Level 5!]
[You have gained 5 Attribute Points and 10 Evolution Points!]
Level: 5 [Experience: 480/500]
One single kill had pushed him straight into Level 5, almost reaching Level 6. This must have been one of the most successful dungeon expeditions ever conducted!
Naturally, he didn’t let it get to his head. His life had been endangered many times, and without his luck, his teammates, and his Primordial Bloodline, he would have fallen along the way.
Possessing 1,530 evolution points, he upgraded Accelerated Manaflow to the next level. The restoration of his mana had been crucial and was bound to become even more important in the future.
[Upgrade Accelerated Manaflow to the next Level: 1,000 Evolution Points]
[Accelerated Manaflow - Level 2 → 3]
[Increases the absorption rate of your mana pathways, passively restores 1 mana every 8 seconds.]
[Upgrade Accelerated Manaflow to the next Level: 6,000 Evolution Points]
Leonard nodded with a content smile. He proceeded to redistribute the attribute points he had gained.
Name: Leonard
Level: 5 [Experience: 480/500]
Bloodline: Primordial
Vitality: 15 → 18
Strength: 20
Agility: 16 → 17
Endurance: 18 → 20
Magic: 14 → 18
Mana: 140 → 180
Skills: Lightning Strike
Attribute Points: 10 → 0
Evolution Points: 1,530 → 530
Traits: Accelerated Manaflow, Hardened Physique, Devoted Summons
Titles: Lumberjack, Inquisitor, One Man Army
From what he had observed, the time for specialization would eventually come, probably when he obtained a class. Currently, he believed it was better to ensure that none of his attributes were lagging behind, as any imbalance could potentially create a weakness others might exploit.
His attention shifted to his new titles.
[Inquisitor]
[Whispers of a vampire hunter now echo across the land. Vampires targeted by your bloodlust suffer a 10% reduction to all attributes.]
[One Man Army]
[When two or more of your summons are active at the same time, your mana regeneration is increased by 20%.]
Leonard was astonished. These two titles were incredibly powerful. Not only did they scale with him, but he could imagine countless situations where they would be applicable.
A smile tugged at his lips as he felt the weight of his gathered loot on his back. In just a little over a day, he had managed to earn enough funds to pay for a month’s rent, maybe even two. The benefits of awakening were crystal clear.
"We’re alive!" Winston said, patting Leonard on the back. "Without you, I wouldn’t have had the courage to enter the dungeon. Know that you’re always welcome to visit our bakery!"
Leonard laughed out loud. They exchanged contact information to stay in touch in case they decided to challenge another dungeon together.
It was then that Arabella’s voice echoed behind them.
"I must thank you."
Turning around, they saw that the beautiful elf had once again covered her face with a hood, hiding her features.
"You saved my life and didn’t change the way you treated me when you learned what I am. That is a rare trait among you humans, and I shall remember it."
She paused briefly.
"Farewell."
Not waiting for them to speak, she turned to leave. Until Leonard caught her hand.
"Wait! Let’s at least exchange contact information. You never know when we might need to get in touch."
Arabella hesitated. It wasn’t forbidden for elves to become familiar with humans, but it was certainly not a common occurrence.
Nevertheless, after everything they had gone through together, she agreed to exchange contact information before departing.
"I can’t believe we got to know an elf..." Winston murmured quietly. "Do you think she has a prestigious background? It’s not easy for an elf to travel in human territory and remain undetected."
"Most certainly." Leonard replied. "Let’s not forget that she carries a Legendary Bloodline."
Winston nodded thoughtfully, only to abruptly turn around, a frown etched on his face.
"I saw him... Martin." He said, gritting his teeth in silent hate. "He... pushed you, right? Attempted murder. Do we report it? How do we go about it? Or... do we try to make him pay ourselves?"
Winston’s harmless nature evaporated, replaced by a man who wanted to inflict suffering on the person who had almost killed his friend.
Leonard shook his head with a faint smile. "I appreciate the sentiment, but apparently the man is connected to the Royal Trade, an organization that operates even in the Upper Sector of the city. Our word against his would not stand a chance, even if we report it."
"But... he hurt you, tried to kill you for a reason unknown." Winston said, his eyes dimming. "Is it not right for Martin to be prepared to lose his life when he tried to take another?"
"Don’t misunderstand, I’m not planning to forget or forgive his deeds. This will not go unpunished." Leonard declared coldly.
"Considering we didn’t know him beforehand, at worst he is just a lesser-known heir with limited influence and cannot openly harm us. However, if we go after him now, we risk antagonizing the entire Royal Trade organization, which could crush us without giving us a chance to retaliate. We stand to gain little and lose everything."
"You’re right, we must be calm and act rationally. Going after him may play into another one of his plans..." Winston exhaled deeply. "I’m going to go ahead and check on my parents. I have a lot to think about regarding the unfairness of the world."
Bidding farewell, Leonard didn’t linger either. He immediately went to sell the loot he had gained from the dungeon, all to pay the rent of his home.
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