For some reason, I thought killing the Trial Guardian would magically warp us outside the dungeon. Maybe with a pile of rewards and a whole page of level-up notifications to go with it.

I didn’t even get a single System Message. And I was just as deaf and injured as I had been moments earlier. This was odd. Beyond odd. It made me wonder if we weren’t out of the woods yet.

Wearily, I sat up and looked at the headless dragon, which was quickly disappearing into small black motes. Like it was decomposing in real time.

By the time I’d gotten to my feet, there was little left.

The dragon finished dissolving, leaving behind a black orb, twice the size of a marble. I picked it up.

Soul Crystal (Obsidian Dragon) [Uncommon]

A Soul Crystal from an Obsidian Dragon. A valuable trinket! Good luck finding a use for it. May have additional, unknown uses.

Grade: Emergence

Abilities:

— Obsidian Dragonfire: Imbues the strength of the black flames of a Trial Guardian. Caution: VERY HOT!

Stats:

— Vigor: + 5

— Wisdom: + 30

— Grace: + 20

— Cunning: + 5

— Dominion: + 35

 

My eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets at those numbers. If I found a way to use this, it’d give me more stats than my current stat total! Not to mention that ability! What did that even mean? The ability had no rank, for one. Did that mean it only took effect when I worked the crystal into something? So many questions.

On a hunch, I tried Initializing the soul crystal, despite having no Essence left, but got an error that Soul Crystals weren't Initializable. Oh well.

I pocketed the precious reward before picking up my shield. Only then did my adrenaline-addled brain register that I hadn't seen Aerion. I scanned the area and after a few moments of frantic searching, I finally found her lying face down in the mud. My heart caught in my throat.

“No...” I sprinted to her side and turned her over. “No no no no no! Please, no.”

She looked lifeless. I touched her neck feeling for a pulse...

And felt one. She was warm too, and the rhythmic rising and falling of her back told me she was still alive. She'd simply passed out from the side effects of using [Reave].

I sat back, heaving a breath.

“Oooi! Aerion? Miss-ter elf!” I said, feeling a bit drunk on endorphins and euphoria. “We won. It’s time to celebrate. Might wanna wake up.”

Talking without being able to hear myself made for a strange experience. I couldn’t tell how loud I was.

Aerion didn’t reply. Blood leaked out of her ears, but she was otherwise in good shape. The dragon’s body had shielded her from the worst of the impact.

She mumbled something in her sleep, and a bit of drool leaked out of her mouth onto the ground.

“Well, I hope you’re having a nice dream.”

At least she didn’t look obviously injured, though I was pretty sure she was as deaf as I was.

Looking at Aerion sleeping, I wanted nothing more than to lie down and do the same. The adrenaline from the fight was starting to wear off, and it took everything I had to keep my eyes open.

Except, the meadow was now encircled by fire. If we stayed here any longer, we’d be trapped. And then we'd burn to death.

So instead of sleeping, I unslung the waterskin around Aerion’s neck and took a swig. Energy flooded into me, making me feel refreshed.

I tilted my head and poured a bit into my ears. It hurt like hell, but more importantly, I could hear again.

I did the same for Aerion’s ears, though I didn’t try to force her to drink any.

Since she was still asleep, I sheathed her sword and scooped her up, throwing her light frame over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I held my shield in my free hand, and took several deep breaths before walking into the smoke. The same way we’d come. Back to the clearing.

I got about ten steps in before my lungs forced me to take a breath, bringing in a mouthful of smoke, despite the cloth I’d torn off of my shirt and tied around my face.

It struck me as deeply ironic that I’d just spectacularly killed a massive dragon, only to asphyxiate after. I mean, when did that ever happen? When did the hero die of some natural cause immediately after the final boss fight?

I felt like my life had turned into a sick satire, with me as the punchline.

These thoughts kept my mind off the carbon monoxide filling my lungs as I plunged deeper into the burning forest. The path to the clearing wasn’t even that long, but every step felt like a mile. The only reason I didn’t get lost was thanks to the foliage I’d trampled on the way in.

I finally broke through the smoke and gulped in lungfuls of slightly cleaner air.

I’d gotten past the burning forest. Now came the hard part—descending a harrowing ravine. Dangerous enough on its own. Except this time, I was carrying an unconscious elf.

The strangest thought struck me at that moment. That dungeons being so much fun in games had misled me. They weren't fun. They weren't exciting. They were fucking miserable.

“Screw you and your high-level starter dungeons, Cosmo. I am never setting foot in another one of these again.”

---

Rappelling down a wall with an elf sounded like an excellent way to die, so I shook Aerion awake near the top and gave her a bit of the miracle water.

Going down was a bit easier the second time around, but no less scary. I noted I didn’t get any stat increase notifications on the way down, so something was definitely off. It was almost like killing the Trial Guardian had broken the dungeon somehow. I asked Aerion about it, but she knew as little as me.

Heaving and sweating, I finally arrived at the bottom of the ravine.

We walked in silence into the dragon’s lair. Not out of fear, but anticipation.

“I’ve dreamt of this moment for so long,” Aerion muttered. “Now that it’s actually here… I don’t know what to feel. I entered the Trial powerless. I’ll be leaving this Trial with not one, but two Blessings. I entered with Emma. And I’ll be leaving alone.”

“Not quite alone,” I corrected gently.

Aerion smiled. “You’re right. I apologize.”

“None required. I know what you’ve been through,” I said, thinking of all the craziness we’d been through over the past days.

They’d been such a whirlwind that I hadn’t had the time to think about what happened next. There was a whole new world on the other side, just waiting to be explored.

To think that other worlds really existed… That deities existed! What did this mean for humankind? What did it mean for the laws of the universe? Just thinking about it made me giddy with excitement.

Delving into the dragon’s lair wasn’t nearly as bad this time, and without a time crunch, Aerion and I took our time picking through the bones to see if we could find anything salvageable.

Our haul was quite impressive, ranging from swords to polearms to maces of various designs and qualities. No armor, though. I supposed those got swallowed along with the dragon’s victims, so it was just the weapons they’d dropped that lay behind.

Which posed a problem. We didn’t have any way of carrying this stuff out with us. As was proven when Aerion tried to haul out a half-dozen weapons, dropping half in the process.

“Select one you want to keep. For the rest, take whatever will get us the most money,” I said, watching her struggle. I’d normally shy away from anything overly pretty, but I figured those would fetch us the most.

Aerion shot me a look of horror. Like I’d just asked her to kill her mother or something. “Must we?”

I raised a brow and pointed at the trail of weapons she’d left behind her. Aerion looked at them with longing, before sighing heavily. “Fine.”

While I always appreciated a good hoarder, even I had to admit Aerion was taking it too far.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of cash when this is all over.”

Aerion frowned, as if she disagreed, but said nothing. She picked a nice-looking dagger and a couple of excessively shiny shortswords.

I took what looked to be a serviceable poleaxe, a gilded longsword, and a mace. Even carrying that much was a pain, since my shield was so big and heavy.

“Well? You ready?” I stood side by side with Aerion in front of the portal, wearing a grin.

“Absolutely,” Aerion replied, giving me a genuine smile in return.

“Then, on the count of three. One, two… three!”

We stepped through at the same time… And all of a sudden, Aerion disappeared.

The weapons I carried clanged onto the ground as I whirled.

The portal was gone. The dragon’s magma lair was gone.

I stood in an empty white room devoid of any features.

A System Message popped up in front of me.

Rejoice, delver. For your contributions, Dominion smiles upon you foremost among your peers.

Do you wish to enter Blessing Bestowal with your party? All party members must agree.

“Er, yes?” I said. It was interesting that the System gave us the option to do this in private—it made sense, especially if you didn’t trust your party—but I had nothing to hide from Aerion.

I suspected she’d make the same decision.

My hunch was proven right a moment later when the elf materialized beside me, a few feet away.

“Greg! Are you alright?” Her eyes had so much worry in them that I forgot to respond for a moment.

“What’s wrong!”

“Nothing, nothing,” I said, holding my hands up. “I’m alright. I don’t think we’re in danger here.”

Aerion nodded. “This should be the Bestowal of the Gods. To reward us for triumphing over the Trial. I did not expect to be taken to such a place, though. Have you seen anything like this?”

“Only in books,” I muttered, too softly for Aerion to hear. Or so I thought.

“Which books?” Aerion asked. “And how do you remember that?”

I was once again reminded that the elf’s ears weren’t just for show. I was saved from having to reply by a deep voice that sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

“Delvers, rejoice! You have vanquished vile foes and conquered my Trial. For this great feat, be rewarded with the Blessing of Dominion.”

“Is that… Dominion?” I muttered.

“Shhh!” Aerion hissed. “It’s disrespectful!”

I was about to roll my eyes when I remembered that gods did exist in this world. And who knew? Dominion might not be as cavalier as Cosmo.

A message popped up on my HUD.

Do you wish to share Blessing rewards?Options:

— Retain 100% for self.

— Equal split among party members.

— Donate 100% to party members.

Not quite the message I’d been expecting. I glanced at Aerion, awaiting her Blessing with star-struck eyes. She’d contributed easily as much to clearing the Trial as I had. I’d have to be an ass to choose anything other than an even split.

I made my selection.

“The Trial of Dominion shall now grant your Blessings…”

We waited. Nothing happened.

“Er, do you think we pissed him off?” I asked. Aerion’s face went completely white, and I regretted mentioning it.

“Relax. I don’t think—”

Notification: Champion Detected. Patron Deity: Order. Champions may not accept Blessings… Converting Blessing into experience.

Uh, sorry? Order? And what was this about being a champion? Cosmo, you mother–

Calculating… Experience Assigned.

Congratulations! [Initializer] has leveled up to Foundation - MAX.

Congratulations! [Initializer] has ranked up from Foundation to Emergence.

Congratulations! [Initializer] has leveled up to Emergence - 1.

Congratulations! [Initializer] has leveled up to Emergence - 2.

Max Essence Increased from 100 to 170. Essence Utilization: 112/170.

Pending Stat gains released.

Congratulations! Active Vigor has increased from 14 to 18.

Congratulations! Active Dominion has increased from 9 to 12.

I struggled to keep up with the deluge of System Messages, but there was no denying the additional strength I felt from those stat boosts. This wasn’t just increasing my maximum limit, either—my muscles tightened and I breathed more easily. What a rush!

This couldn’t have all been from the converted Blessing experience. I bet it was including the deferred gains from killing the dragon, though I wondered where my rank-up ability was. I’d gotten [Armor Bestowal] at F - 5, after all. It only made sense I’d gain another.

I brought up my status screen.

Name: Gregory Samuel Wills

Essence Utilization: 112/170

Blessing: Initializer [Epic] (Emergence - 2)

Stats [LOCKED]: Total: 84

— Vigor: 18

— Order: 2

— Wisdom: 13

— Passion: 12

— Grace: 12

— Cunning: 15

— Dominion: 12

 

Not a bad haul at all.

“Greg? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

I looked at Aerion, confused. Had she not gotten the same messages?

Before I could ask, another popped up.

Error: Anomaly: Soulbound weapon of champion detected. Champions may not obtain more than one Blessing… Converting Blessing… Error.

Native species detected. Species type: Elf. Status: Non-Champion extension of Champion… Error.

Insufficient Compute Resources. Consulting Covenant Core…

Success. Treat as a Native. Blessing Bestowed. Your patron deity will bestow your Blessing’s Emergence Ability shortly.

“Greg! A Blessing! I’ve received a Blessing! By Dominion!!”

“That’s, er, really good,” I replied, so distracted that I barely even heard her. What the hell was all that? Did the System just glitch out? Those messages didn’t look anything like the snarky ones Cosmo came up with. Was I considered an anomaly? And this mention of Champions…

If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say those sounded suspiciously like heroes. Heroes summoned by gods from other worlds. But what did that mean, exactly? And why hadn’t Cosmo said anything about it? Assuming, of course, Cosmo was Order. It was very possible he wasn’t. He could very well be an underling—Cosmo did give off those kinds of vibes, after all.

A sudden thought struck me, and a shiver crept up my spine.

I glanced at Aerion, who was busily reading her status screen.

Does she know?

Did Aerion know I was a champion? Specifically, the Champion of Order?

My heart pumped faster and faster. Aerion hated Order. If she learned I was his champion… Would she treat me the same way? Or would she leave, wanting nothing to do with me?

I’d only known her a short while, and yet the thought of separating gutted me.

“Greg! It’s wonderful! It’s a Blessing of Lightning!”

“That’s uh… That’s great, Aerion. Listen, I think we should talk—”

Would you like to reclaim Initialized equipment?

My Reclaim menu popped up out of the blue. Possibly because I’d ranked up? It’d been a while since I’d taken a look at it, so I scanned the list. I wasn’t planning on reclaiming anything just yet, especially with my newfound Essence pool, but there wasn’t any harm in—!?

My eyes froze on one line.

“What the hell, Cosmo,” I whispered. “What kind of sick joke is this?”

Would you like to Reclaim Equipment?

Weapon: [Aerion] has a soul. Reclaiming equipment will result in its destruction. You will be granted a [Foundation] Rank Soul Crystal. Proceed?

END OF ARC 1: THE TRIAL OF DOMINION