Chapter 406: Loot Goblins

The loot chest appeared again, and the system information flickered in front of Karl's eyes a bit more clearly.

[Gained 1 Skill Point] First Dungeon Clearance bonus.

So, he wouldn't be able to farm as many skill points as he wanted by simply returning here every time he was able. That was a bit sad, but he supposed that Skill Points shouldn't be too easy to get if they were a reward.

Inside the chest was a similar assortment of items to the first boss, but no book, and unfortunately no staff either.

However, there was a gem of Elemental Power that Remi was quite excited about when she took it in her mouth and sent it to her space.

[I need that for making a new Totem], she explained.

[Well, we won't refuse you the loot. You're the one most suited to it.]

None of the other items were something that they needed, so they were loaded into Thor's bags, and the Golems took over again as Ophelia transformed to talk to Karl.

"I think I'm really getting the hang of fighting on four feet. At first, it was strange, as I'm used to being upright in Werebear form, but with a bit of practice, I think this will be just as effective. I'm going to need to learn a few more ranged skills, though. Everything I specialized in applies to my weapons or body. But if I'm mostly using one paw at a time, it would be better to have some range when things try to run." She explained.

Karl nodded. "I will make you a [Rend] book later. As a bear, you are almost guaranteed to be able to use that. But you have [Rake] now, right? That's got a bit of range."

"Yeah, about three metres. It's good enough in melee combat, but chasing things that are running away is annoying." Rae laughed in Karl's mind. She also hated it when enemies ran away on her. Thor liked to chase them, and Hawk didn't have to, but she disliked all the extra effort when the target was just going to die anyhow.

It should at least have some dignity and not annoy her in the process.

Rend was a simple skill to make, as he knew it well enough. So, Karl made the book as they walked along after the Golems, who were showing off for the data man. Their enthusiasm brought the group to the final boss, a massive Ogre Lord in tarnished golden armour, the one that the Golems had brought out last night.

"Wait, Rae, don't send the Golems after that. The other group was hoping to recover the armour. I don't know if the body will stay, as this is now a dungeon. It likely won't, but some of it might be in the reward pile if we don't destroy it." Karl cautioned.

"You're going to deal with it personally?" The researcher asked as he prepared his recording devices.

"Yeah, I will sort it out." Karl agreed as he hefted his maul onto his shoulder.

The Ogre Lord sneered at Karl and hurled a boulder at him as Karl approached, but it simply shattered on [Refreshing Lightning], and Karl darted forward, swinging upward with five stacks of [Flaming Body] set to project out from his weapon.

The strike landed squarely between the beast's legs, and Karl saw the others flinch in sympathy as the Ogre Lord was lifted off the ground.

Then the flames of the ability came jetting out of his mouth as his body was cored by the skill.

The remains and the armour fell to the ground in a heap, then vanished to be replaced by a large golden chest, nearly a metre tall and three metres wide.

That was much larger than the others, but not so ridiculous as the reward chest in the trial.

[Gained 2 Skill Points] First Dungeon Clearance Bonus.

Karl had been looking forward to that, but the image in front of his eyes slowly cleared.

[System Rebooting. Interface Temporarily Unavailable.]

Karl took that as a good thing. Maybe he would be able to get additional information, or even more benefits, once the System was rebooted. If the system was fully active for him and the other Elites, the Golden Dragon Nation would gain the sort of benefit that hadn't been seen in generations.

Words appeared in the air above the boss. [Calculating Rewards.]

The researcher stared at them in shock. "Do you see that? What the hell is that? I've never seen anything like it."

Karl gave him a confused look for a moment before realizing that he wasn't an Elite.

"That is normal for Trials and other Instances. It's how the System informed people of important events and rewards. Give it a moment, and everyone here should get something." He explained.

[Updating rewards. Level 0 member detected.]

"Ooh, I can pick a random reward." The researcher mumbled, and before anyone could stop him, his uniform was gone, and he was standing in front of them in tight black leather pants and a pink floral shirt.

"What the ever-loving fuck?" He shouted, dropping his backpack full of expensive diagnostic equipment to check himself.

"Hey, calm down, it's a system reward. What did it say, and what did you pick?"

The researcher was clearly in shock as Karl grabbed him and shook him.

"Get yourself together. What did it say and what did you pick?"

The man blinked slowly as his brain stopped rattling in his head.

"It said 'would you like to randomize'? And I picked yes, and now it tells me that I am a Grand Sage, and I gain bonus starting power for every day that I remained a virgin."

The Clerics did their very best not to laugh, and Karl stared deep into the man's eyes, just to make sure that he wasn't joking.

"Thirty years, one day sixteen hours. Apparently, I'm Supposed to become an Awakened Rank Grand Sage?" The researcher continued.

Lotus burst into laughter. "It's real! Boys really can become a Sage if they remain a virgin to thirty."

"This is not funny, High Priestess." The Sage insisted.

"It is a little bit funny. I like the outfit, though. It's very... stylish." The little priestess added, not bothering to hide her amusement.

"What about the rest of you?" He demanded, unwilling to accept that he had been punked by the dungeon, but nobody else had.

Karl pointed to the message in the air.

[Level 0 Member condition solved. Calculating.]

[Reward Granted.]

Karl saw words appear in his vision again, the Interface he believed that the System called it.

Then there was a simple scroll in his hand.

Karl unrolled it and smiled at the fancy lettering on what appeared to be a coupon.

[Skill Master Rank 3 Single Use Token] Allows one bonded beast's skill to immediately evolve to a skill one Tier higher than their current Tier.

The full skill was in his Class Skills.

[Skill Master Rank 3 Available] 100 Points. Allows all bonded beasts' skills to evolve to a skill one tier higher than their current tier with practice. It might have been too much to ask for a hundred point skill from a Dungeon reward, but picking one skill to become a better version of itself was a huge bonus.

[Ooh, that is a good thing. Whose turn is it?] Rae asked as she sensed what Karl was reading.

[I just got a new book, so it's not my turn.] Remi sighed.

[I just advanced, and so did you, so I think it's Thor's turn.] Hawk reluctantly agreed. He really wanted to know what [Flaming Body] would evolve into, but Thor put in great effort every day without getting any special benefits. He deserved this one.

[Alright, big guy, are you ready?] Karl asked Thor, who had come over with Tessa still on his back.

She was also holding a scroll in her hand.

"What did you get?" Karl asked. She unrolled the scroll and smiled. "One Epic Grade, Commander Rank armour piece of my choice."

Tessa unrolled hers and then cheered and began a happy dance.

"We will get back to her. What did you get, Ophelia?" Karl laughed.

"I got [Toxic Claws] damage over time changed from one second per application to half a second."

They all turned to the researcher, who was looking grimly at the scroll in his hand. "I don't know if I even want to open this." He muttered.

Lotus stopped dancing and went to pat him on the shoulder. "Relax, these rewards are always good things. It's the random rewards that are more exciting."

"What did you get?" The newly promoted Sage demanded.

Lotus turned her scroll around with a huge smile.

[Skill Advance 1 Tier] Shock Heal ⇒ Revive

"Are you telling me that you can now bring the dead back to life?" The researcher demanded. "Yup. I am the perfect healing specialist now. I can do everything. Heal, area heal, long duration heal, revive."

Now Thor was excited. A Tier for a skill was a confusing concept, but it could be beyond anything he had been thinking. All you had to do was let Lotus pet someone, and they would come back to life now.

[I think she's got to cast a spell. She's not a healing ointment.] Rae corrected him.

[It's not a magic pat? That's sad.]

Remi giggled. [I think she can still pat you while she does it, she just doesn't need to.]

[Are you ready, Thor? I'm going to use the scroll.] Karl warned him.

[Do it. All my skills are worthy.]

[Skill Advance 1 Tier] Refreshing Lightning ⇒ Eternal Lightning [Eternal Lightning] Barrier type skill. Shields the target while increasing Defensive skill effectiveness. Regenerates health and stamina for affected targets.

The blue barrier of [Refreshing Lightning] changed blue to gold, and Karl felt the stress in his muscles fade away, as if he had just gotten up from a long night's rest.