Leaving the dungeon, Sol took in the fresh air and basked in the evening sunlight.
"Ahhh... The sun feels so nice."
Having spent three whole days inside the dungeon, Sol was feeling a bit gloomy by the end of it. Sol wasn’t used to spending so much time without the warmth and light of the sun, and while he didn’t notice it at first, each consecutive day felt slightly more depressing, with him almost losing motivation to stay down there.
While walking back to the city, Sol opened his status page.
’It was worth it in the end.’
Name: Sol
Race: Human
Talents: [Siphoner]
Level: 35
Exp: 14,380/165,000
HP: 900
MP: 400
Str: 45 (+60)
Vit: 30 (+60)
Agi: 30 (+15)
Int: 30
Wis: 40
Available Stats: 0
Talent Skills:
[Siphon] Lv 3, [Analysis] Lv 3
Passive Skills:
[Intermediate Swordsmanship] Lv 4, [Basic Trapmaking] Lv 4, [Silent Steps] Lv 6, [Parry] Lv 5, [Quick Cast] Lv 4, [Agility Up] Lv 3, [Foraging] Lv 8, [Basic Throwing] Lv 9, [Intermediate Unarmed Mastery] Lv 1, [Gargantuan Strength] Lv 1, [Basic Bowmanship] Lv 7, [Basic Axemanship] Lv 7, [Iron Stomach] Lv 2, [Tracking] Lv 5, [Endless Vitality] Lv 1, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX, [Physical Resistance] Lv MAX, [Mana Perception] Lv 6, [Natural Armor] Lv MAX
Active Skills:
[Cross Slash] Lv 2, [Leap] Lv 8, [Basic Wind Magic] Lv 1, [Intermediate Fire Magic] Lv 4, [Snap Punch] Lv 2, [Sprint] Lv 7, [Harden] Lv 9, [Power Shot] Lv 2, [Concealment] Lv 4, [Wide Swing] Lv 4, [Basic Water Magic] Lv 5, [Intermediate Earth Magic] Lv 1, [Earth Hammer] Lv 5, [Rock Throw] Lv 4, [Burrow] Lv MAX
’With a higher mana pool and max level [Increased Mana Regeneration], I will definitely be able to pass as a healer. I also maxed out the armor, strength, and vitality skills, and luckily, the two attribute skills evolved.’
[Gargantuan Strength] Lv 1: After rigorously training your body, your base strength has increased by 60.
[Endless Vitality] Lv 1: After rigorously training your body, your base vitality has increased by 60.
He also gained three new active skills, but they weren’t that useful. [Earth Hammer] could only be used with a hammer, which he was not proficient in nor had. [Rock Throw] paired well with [Basic Throwing], but it only empowered attacks made with rocks. It was powerful for the Earth Elemental because of its size, essentially acting like a catapult, but Sol isn’t going to start carrying around giant rocks just for this skill. The only useful skill he gained was [Burrow].
[Burrow] Lv MAX: Travel underground unimpeded by dirt, rocks, and metals. While underground, travel at half movement speed. Mana cost: 5 mana per second.
A situational but nonetheless great skill for escaping or moving past obstacles. That’s why Sol focused on maxing it out over the other two skills.
Sol made his way through the city, watching how people went about their lives, and eventually arrived at the Adventurers Guild.
Like usual, Sol walked towards Trevor’s counter.
"Hey Trevor, I’m back!"
"Hey man! How was the dungeon?"
"I gained way more than I could imagine."
Trevor’s expression showed his sincere happiness.
"Glad it helped. Does that mean you are ready to join the border defense?"
Sol shook his head, "Mostly, I just have to buy some supplies before heading out."
"Of course, make sure you prepare as much as you can. War can get very messy." Trevor then realized something and asked Sol with a smirk on his face, "By the way, did you come to visit little old me? I don’t recall you taking any quests after you turned in the last ones."
"Yeah, that’s true, but is the quest for glowing rocks repeatable?"
"It is. Did you bring some back to turn in?"
Sol nodded. On his way back from the dungeon he had to pass by floors 9 to 6 to use the teleport sigil to leave, Sol decided to gather the glowing rocks on the way back to make the most of the trip.
Handing over the glowing rocks, which were no longer glowing after being removed from the mana source which was the dungeon, looking like normal rocks. Trevor then took them all and with a magnifying glass, he inspected each one.
The magnifying glass Trevor was using is a common tool used by any business related to items. While it is a common grade item, it has one skill which is a level 1 [Item Analysis]. It is a weaker version of Sol’s [Analysis], but it can be used easily by anyone to see the details of any unique and below rarity item.
"Woah Sol, the quality of all of these is high. Did you go past the 5th floor?"
Not knowing there was a difference in quality of the glowing rocks, he used [Analysis].
Glowing Rock
Common
Quality: High
"I did, but does the quality go up the deeper you go?"
"Yes, while it’s not confirmed as there are some exceptions, it is generally believed that the quality increases the closer one is to the dungeon core. I don’t know much about it, but I heard it had something to do with mana purity."
As Trevor explained, he had some questions regarding Sol’s status page as some things didn’t add up. With his initial talent being recorded as a common talent in swords, he was also proficient in water magic and could delve deep into the dungeon alone where it normally took a party of C-Rankers. He kept these doubts to himself as it was rude to ask about an adventurer’s talents, and he didn’t want to make things awkward between them.
"Alright, with the quality and amount you brought, the reward is 5 gold and 50 silver. Here you go."
Not knowing Trevor’s thoughts, Sol simply thanked him and took the money.
"By the way, where is the meeting place to leave for the fort?"
"It’s by the north gate; there is an open courtyard normally used for guards to train their skills. Can’t miss it. They are heading out tomorrow at dawn, so wake up early."
"Thanks for the heads up."
"No problem, stay safe out there."
Not too worried as he would stay back in the fort, Sol confidently assured Trevor he would be fine and headed out to make some last-minute preparations.