My eyes snapped opened, and I took in a gulp of air. I winced slightly from the bright blue light of my status window practically blinding me.

[Congratulations! Skill “Aesthesia” has leveled up! Rank E -> D]

[Congratulations! You have defeated the boss of “Old Adamant Mines”!]

---

Boss Contribution:

Adeline Cirix: 63%

Sybil Sagecrest: 37%

---

My body was aching a bit, but I seemed to be without injuries. I was just exhausted after expending all of my mana. I sat up, clutching my head as a sharp throb ran through it. The throne room had been completely cleared of enemies, and only a stone chest remained. Adeline was sitting beside it, eyes downcast and lost in thought.

After a moment, she looked up towards me, a small smile parting her lips. “How’d you sleep?”

“Well.. I think..?” I stood up, which may have been a mistake. I gripped even harder at my head as even more intense pain shocked through it. I clenched my teeth to try and stifle a groan, and Adeline gave me a concerned look. “I-I’m fine, I just.. Ran out of mana..”

“If you say so. But you look like you could use a meal, at least.”

I made my way over, laughing a little. I couldn’t argue with her on that. I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. But those things could wait for after we had left this place.

---

Aesthesia

While concentrating, your senses extend beyond your body, allowing you to become keenly aware of your surroundings within 4 meters.

(3%)

---

I leaned down, giving the chest a tap with my finger.

 [Congratulations! You have cleared “Old Adamant Mines”!]

[Tallying rewards…]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up! 13 -> 14]

I called out an order under my breath flatly, “Agility, 2 points.” Reaching into the chest, I pulled out the bag filled with my rewards for completing the dungeon.

My status window appeared, giving me a convenient inventory of everything within the bag.

---

Reward Overview:

1. Boots of Levitation (1)
2. Potion of Healing (2)

---

There was a smaller quantity of rewards than the last time, but I had a feeling that wasn’t without a good reason. For one, I hadn’t fought the boss alone. On top of that, it seemed to me that this batch of rewards was going more for quality.

“Get anything good?” Adeline smiled, standing up.

“Just some healing potions.. And ‘Boots of Levitation’, which.. Must do what I think they do, right?”

“Names are usually good at telling you what something is at the lower ranks. But, we can go back and have Cairbre identify it anyways.” She finished tying up her bag of treasure to her hip, and then glanced towards the way we came. “Do you think we’ll have to go all the way back..?”

I raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“The quest. Had you forgotten about it? I can’t blame you there..” She sighed, “It didn’t alert us to the fact that we completed the dungeon with a surprise challenge active. That must mean that we need to interact with the kobolds agai-”

“P-precisely, Miss Adeline!”

I turned to see the five kobolds behind us, smiling proudly. Two dining tables with enough chairs for the whole group were arranged beside them, lined with food -- all sweets. Luxurious cakes, tarts, and puddings were scattered about on plates. They had set this all up while we were looking away? The fey were frightening creatures.

Charlie beckoned us over, and I tentatively approached.

Aubrey stared up at me, excitedly bobbing up and down, “Madame Sybil, you fought ever-so valiantly against those fiends!” I just smiled. I had done well. I fought valiantly. There was meaning to this.

Best not to delve deeper.

Charlie grinned happily, “Take a seat, Madame Sybil, you as well, Miss Adeline, if you please!” 

I nodded, and then took a seat at the table, looking around at the spread. Adeline took a seat next to me. She looked confused, certainly, but also rather pleased. She leaned over to me, speaking quietly, “It’s a nice thing to be appreciated every once in a while. And these kobolds certainly know how to show their appreciation.”

She laughed a little, and I did as well.

Charlie dragged one of the chairs over in full view of the group. Still smiling happily, they clambered on top of it, and faced us all as they addressed the crowd. “Kobolds, and friends to the kobolds, I am glad that this day has come!” Jordan and Aubrey covered their mouths as they giggled quietly, as if Charlie did this sort of thing a lot.

“Madame Sybil and Miss Adeline have defeated the king of the fiends, and brought peace to our humble mines!” Beside the chair, Alex began throwing out brightly colored strips of paper, and all of the kobolds clapped loudly. “We are gratefully gathered to celebrate these two heroes to our people.”

“Jordan, Aubrey, if you please!” The two kobolds presented us with conical, brightly colored hats. We both leaned down, and they reached up on their tippy-toes in order to plant them on our heads. “From this day forth, you both shall be known as friends to the fey folk of the mountains!” The rest of the kobolds began clapping and cheering.

“Now, present our heroes with their rewards!”

[Surprise challenge complete: ‘Quest: The Adamant Fiends’]

[Tallying rewards…]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the title “Friend to the Mountain Fey”]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up! 14 -> 15]

[Congratu-]

The status window flickered for a moment, and then switched to something else.

[You can no longer level up. Excess rewards refactoring…]

[Excess experience redistributed to random skill proficiency!]

[Congratulations! Skill “Telekinesis” has leveled up! Rank D -> C]

“F-four points, agility..” I muttered under my breath, quickly navigating to the description of [Telekinesis]. It was now my highest-ranked skill.

---

Telekinesis [3/minute]

Manipulate objects with your mana. More force can be exerted upon an object the lighter that it is. Can manipulate up to 150lb.

(15%)

---

“H-hundred and fifty..” It had gone up fifty pounds, and the cost had been reduced to top things off. I sighed, much to the confusion of Jordan, who was still standing there. As it turned out, they were holding something out to me. A simple leather wristlet with a black opal set in it.

I gingerly took it from the kobold, who seemed quite pleased with that, and then put it on. Adeline had already done the same.

Seeing that, Charlie spoke up again, “These bracelets will allow you to bring about light in any place of darkness!” Conjuring light? That was something I was already capable of, but I didn’t have the heart to tell them. Adeline seemed happy with the prize, though.

“Now! Let us celebrate!” Charlie plopped back down onto their chair, and happily pulled a plate with a slice of cake on it towards themself.

I decided to follow suit, going for a dark, chocolate cake slathered in white frosting. I had read about cakes, seen them, even. But I had never had the good luxury of eating one. I ran the side of a fork down from the top of the slice, cutting off a nice bite for myself. I thought I may have died and passed on after having a taste.

The cake was soft, moist, and fluffy. The chocolate tasted even more wonderful than it smelled, and the frosting tied it all together. The sweetness of it all was almost overwhelming.

I looked to my side, where Adeline was eating some sort of lemon tart. She was smiling and nodding, but she didn’t seem entirely surprised by the taste. Right -- she was a noble, after all. She looked over at the kobolds, “You guys are pretty good at baking.. Better than anything I’ve had at home.”

Some sort of blush came to Rowan’s cheeks, and they bowed deeply.

We spent a great deal of time lost in the merrymaking. Eating sweets, listening to the kobolds playing music, and telling stories about our adventures. The kobolds seemed particularly interested in our journey so far, which Adeline was more than happy to tell them all about.

But after it all, we still had to be on our way. The two of us stood at the exit gate beside the throne, and waved goodbye to the kobolds.

“Thank you for everything, my friends!” Charlie waved, and the rest of the kobolds did as well, cheering out variations of “Thank you” as they did. We both touched the exit gate, and left the dungeon once and for all.

We were once again whisked away through the portal, finally appearing back at the entrance where it had all began. I rolled my shoulders, rather exhausted after an incredibly long day. I was eager to sleep, particularly after all of those sweets. I-

A sound cracked out from behind us, and I turned to face it. The portal into the dungeon was the source. Crackling energy began sputtering out of it, prompting us both to step back.

“W-what in the hells is-” Adeline shouted, and then a bright light washed over us. When it faded, the portal that once filled the entrance into the mineshaft was no more. Instead, it continued on as if it never existed.

Adeline just stared at it, with a mixture of bafflement and horror.