While waiting for the door to appear, Monady called for Irja who became the storage for the loot we gathered inside that space.
Giving everyone their fair share of Energy Stones from the golden statues and a storage ring wherein the contents were emptied. Since everyone did their part, there's no point withholding some of our gains. Besides if some of them didn't cooperate, we wouldn't be able to leave that place alive.
Furthermore, the ring alone was already a haul for some of them. Most of us were freed Transcendents after all, who knows how long they were locked in their respective Irreverent Dungeons? This time, not only were they freed, they're now back on track on progressing in their Pathways.
It's just too bad for Faren and that other scout who died. But there's no point mulling over something that already happened.
Monady set aside for Faren's share that was to be given to his family back in their tribe while the one for the scout… it was shared by everyone.
Also, the ring that should have been for that dead scout was bought by the Dafirae Tribe using the currency of the Dark World. Dark Energy Stone. It was then distributed to all freed Transcendents including me.
It's a cheap change but hey, there's no way I will reject more resources for my Companions.
In the end, I got more than 30 pieces of the basketball-sized stones and some Output Enhancing Equipment. Unlike me, they didn't need an exaggerated amount of Energy to progress. Perhaps these Level 2 Source Energy-rich stones will be able to push most of them to complete their Mortal Pathways. Well, that's as long as I managed to get back to them and help them absorb it without wasting any.
There were also miscellaneous items such as books, herbs, medicinal pills that were lesser in potency than Alwyn's pills and other fairly useful items.
Other than that, the gathered energy on top of my head was still abundant and steadily increasing my progress towards the 5th stage of the 4th realm. There's also the supposed energy contained in that space that will be split with all of us. Perhaps reaching that stage wouldn't be far off now. There are still less than 3 days left before the week that I had to spend in this Dimensional Space will be over.
After that distribution, Irja went back to our side. She also had a great haul so the woman was somewhat in a good mood which led her to lessen her grumpy attitude towards me.
"Good for you, you got the best haul." She said, probably pertaining to that ice-blue rifle.
"Well, it's not that valuable if you consider its limited use. I have to look for alternate bullets for it."
The last three bullets can be a trump card. I can sparingly use one or save the three bullets so when the time comes, I can take down a Rank 5 Transcendent.
"Look at this guy… Give it to me if it's not valuable."
"Who said I don't want it? I can give this to you instead." I pulled out an empty Necklace and put it in her hand.
"What's this?" Although there's a necklace hanging on my neck, it's the Orb of Enhancement and Jayna's earring that I used as a pendant. The Necklace is hidden in my clothes so no one could really guess that I have higher quality storage equipment.
"Check it for yourself," I smirked before handing Udann the storage ring I got. It's already empty and I don't have any use for it.
I took advantage of the guy and for sure, he would think back to the times that I got most of the last hit during our hunt. He's now also aware of the last hit benefit after all so I guess it's my payment for that.
"What is this…" Irja became wide-eyed when she tried it and became aware of its use.
"It's part of my secret. Don't tell anyone about that. They will surely covet it." I sent her a telepathic message instead of answering directly.
Noticing that fluctuation of energy coming from me, Udann couldn't help but ask. "Are you sure you two aren't in a relationship?"
"No!" With a firm and resolute voice, Irja immediately denied it.
"You heard her."
-
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Around 10 minutes later, the supposed reward finally fell upon us.
Within that room, a ray of light composed of pure Level 2 Source Energy hit each of us.
It's unlike the gathered energy, it was instantly absorbed in our bodies, restoring the injuries we suffered before being added to our own progress.
Some of us directly broke through to their next stage in their Transcendent Pathway while some who had just broken through like me, Udann and Irja only felt an increase in our total progress.
Udann became invigorated that he declared that he's approaching another breakthrough.
Irja on the other hand was silent on the side and was lost in her thoughts. Nonetheless, I felt the Energy contained in her body increase.
Despite not breaking through, as soon as one made progress in their Pathways, it will always be reflected in their overall prowess.
Yatapa on the other hand was still lazily sitting on a corner. Perhaps he's about to become Exalted soon but his mindset will never change.
Another 5 minutes later, the door finally appeared. Grenol spearheaded it and became the first one to check the outside. After confirming that we didn't get transferred to another restricted space, he poked his head back from the door with a large grin on his face.
That's how overjoyed he was.
Monady and the other Dafirae Transcendent followed after him but before doing that, Monady handed me a personal communication crystal of hers and asked for mine. When I couldn't produce any, she handed me a handful of colorless crystals.
Apparently, those crystals were the base communication crystals used to create personal or those interconnected ones. She wanted me to create my own personal communication crystals and give her one. This just means she wanted to stay connected with me. My performance would possibly be reported and if I'm not wrong, that woman would recommend me to their higher-ups to be recruited to their tribe.
Because the crystal she handed to me could only be used by me to connect to her, she had no way of contacting me unless I contacted her first. But if she had my own personal communication crystal, she could contact me anytime she wanted.
Well, it's a bit complicated but that's the gist of it. Let's just say it's a one-way phone. You can call someone's recorded number but they can't call you back.
I did what she asked and gave her one. Most of the crystals were left untouched, I thought of giving them to my Companions and other important allies, that way we don't need to look for that Hermit at the World of Spirit anymore to have more means of communication.
I can also give one to Alwyn and Remilia. The former will possibly accept it while the latter will probably not. However, I will insist when I see her again.
The scene outside the door wasn't a castle town ruin but a desolate place where there's a huge open space in front and a sparse number of dilapidated houses. Even the house we're leaving from was a dilapidated one. Once we all left the room, the interior of the house turned back how it was supposed to be.
I looked around to determine which part of the Dimensional Space we're in right now. However, Irja answered that for me. As it turns out, we're halfway through the frontlines, the castle town ruin they entered from wasn't that far off from where we were and the camp made by the Dafirae Tribe was at the direction where Monady and the others from the tribe went off to.
Now that we're outside, everyone released a sigh of relief before going their separate ways. Perhaps they wanted to digest their gains or they just wanted to unwind after that life-or-death situation inside that restricted space.
Because there are less than three days left, I thought of farming more statues to firmly set me to the next stage and get more stones but Udann too wanted to rest for the meantime as well.
He gave me a crystal and asked for mine before leaving me alone with Irja and Yatapa.
I guess our deal of working together is already over. Nonetheless, I won't remove him from my ally list until I return to a Mortal World.
"Ember, don't tell me you're going to run away? You promised to answer my questions."
"Does it need to be answered now? Let's take a breath first. I won't run away. Besides, I will be leaving soon so…"
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"I'll tell you later. By the way, what will you do to that guy?" I pointed at Yatapa who's stuck staring at the horizon.
"Don't worry, he'll follow me back. We have to report to the guy who sent us cleaning a castle town ruin about what happened." Irja answered. She then went to Yatapa and pulled the guy with her by grabbing the back of his neck.
Their repayment task was cleaning a castle town ruins. Unexpectedly, they got transported to that restricted space. The other four in their group already went back and perhaps there's no need to report back as a group.
Since they will also leave, Irja also asked for a crystal. Telling me she will look for me after she drops Yatapa at the frontlines and meets with the old rug Klement.
Perhaps she will tell him what happened and also about me. After everything, she kept her suspicions to herself and well, we experienced the same things together. I am not against dealing with her again. I'm actually looking forward to seeing her again.
After giving her the crystal I also asked for hers. However, she couldn't produce one. Most of her items were destroyed or lost their effectiveness after 20 years in that place. Furthermore, she went straight to the Dafirae tribe after being released.
Because of that, I handed her a piece of colorless crystal I put aside for my Companions.
After giving her crystal, she immediately set off with Yatapa. Looking at her back, there's a trace of excitement in her every move. That woman… sometimes she's easily readable and sometimes she's too hard to understand.
Shaking my head, I took my eyes off her. Now that I'm alone, I guess it's time for me to test my prowess by hunting for more stones alone. As long as I don't casually enter a house or a highly suspicious manor, I will probably be fine. Hopefully.
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