Rewards

"Cough— Haah, don't worry. I'm just tired." Hans held his chest, pounding in adrenaline. The seemingly colossal aura enveloping him began to dissipate with time. 

[... Your hand.] 

"No, it's alright…" He lifted his left hand above his chin, before putting it down back, "... This might be hallucinations."

He glanced once again at his hand, observing every detail change. It wasn't like this before, but now, it's pure black with a mixture of red. His left hand was engulfed in this seemingly goo-like thing. 

'It doesn't feel like wearing gloves.'

… but rather, this thing felt natural. 

Shortly, the black and red thing wrapped in his hand, began to dissipate, turning into mana lines as it shot through his chest. Hans placed his hand towards his chest, finding any abnormalities but to his dismay, he found nothing. 

[Do you know what that is?] 

"... Uh, a glove? I guess?" Hans tilted his head. Truthfully, he had no idea what just transpired, "Do you know perhaps?" 

[That's why I asked you. But from what I see, that seems like a manifestation of something. You're also very different from them.]

"Oh, your previous mast—?" 

[No, from ordinary humans. You're boring as hell.]

"..."

He stretched his back, cracking all those stiff bones as he trotted before the lifeless beast. A gleaming light flickered on its abdomen, prompting Hans to take a closer look. 

"Wait, don't tell me, this is the same with that orb thingy?" He spoke with a hoarse voice, recalling that orb he swallowed yesterday. 

Hearing no response, Hans turned his head and reached for the monster's weapon. 

"It's heavy."

Approximately, it's about 700 kilograms if it's scaled into a weight machine. Even though he's tall, the spear was still much higher than his height. Hans twisted it around before aiming at the Naga's abdomen. 

Tsak—

The spear plunged into its stomach. Hans maneuvered it skillfully, slicing through its skin like a professional surgeon. 

'... There you go.' 

With his tongue puckered in his lips, Hans licked the sweats falling to his mouth. Shortly, the Naga's abdomen was cut open, exposing its insides which smelled rather awful. 

"Cough—, what's with this smell? Cough—" 

Hans swiped his nose, trying to cover it with the back of his palm. But the horrible scent still lingered.

'Damn, is my sense of smell enhanced too?' 

It seems like all his five senses were also enhanced by his high stats. 

'Is that why the burrito tasted strange?' 

Shaking his thoughts, Hans threw the spear to the floor. His eyes shifted at the glowing light somewhere in between the Naga's organs. He held his breath before approaching the monster. 

Shclick—

The insides were slippery. Hans dug out through its body until he grasped a hard object. With a delighted face, Hans pulled his hand out. 

Splat—

Not bothered by the blood splattering on his face, Hans slinked away from the bad odor. It led him to the now destroyed platform. 

'This is…' Hans observed the object eye to eye, "... a key?" 

It's not the key like the [Cover of the Ruined King], but instead a literal key. 

'Speaking of which, I forgot I have the cover…' 

Hans facepalmed in his stupidity. It could have blocked that tail swing earlier which broke one of his fingers.

"Forget it, the most important thing is that I survived." Shifting his attention back at the key, Hans peeked in its description. 

Fortunately, it wasn't blocked so he didn't need to appraise it. 

Tri-ring 

[Trial Dungeon Key (A) 

— A key to the trial dungeon. 

Requirement: Level 50.

Description: It was said that the trial dungeon contains treasures.] 

Hans nodded as he read the key's description. 

'Simple explanation and easy to understand. Seems like I wouldn't need to hunt monsters every time I hit a 'wall'. '

Some level 50s were given 'Hunt Quest' depending on their strength, unlike the level 20s who needed to pass the trial dungeon. 

'But with this, I have an advantage.'

Hans wiped the blood from the keys before he shoved it in his pocket. He stared at the blood in his hand before he hesitantly swallowed it. 

'Blegh—' 

It tastes horrible. 

[You have consumed the blood of a 'Naga'] 

[Strength +15, Agility +15, Stamina +15]

'Sigh—, what a pity, there's no mana.'

Next, he scanned another message from his floating screen. 

[You have killed the Boss Monster Naga.]

[You have cleared the final test of the Dungeon of Trials.]

[Rewards will be distributed shortly.]

It's still crazy to think that his trial ended in just 3 layers. Imagine if it has 4th and 5th.

'I'll probably die on the 5th.'

Thinking about an A-class monster slamming him to the ground mercilessly, Hans's fingers fidgeted in fright. 

[Reward: [Random Rune-skill (B)], Level Unlock, [Mana Controlling Technique], All stats +5.]

'Mana Controlling!!' 

Of all the rewards except the level unlock, Mana Controlling Technique is definitely the most precious of them all. 

[You hit a bingo huh.]

With a delighted face, Hans received all those rewards. First was the level unlocking. It feels like water being freed from a dam. The shackles binding him from leveling were finally lifted. 

'This is addicting.'

Next was the stat improvement. Although he couldn't tell the difference from earlier, a rise is still a rise. He could also have consumed the blood of the gnolls earlier but he didn't, because he thought there was a stronger Gnoll from the upper layers.

'What a pity.'

Hans groaned in regret. Out of nowhere, a stone carved with glowing ink text appeared in his palm, interrupting him from his thoughts. The text was written in some random strokes as if it was done in a rush. 

'Runestone.'

Skills acquired inside dungeons were stored in this stone. Once crushed, the skill will be granted to the owner, simple as that. 

'It's random. That's the problem.'

What if he got a hairstyling skill? Or any of the livelihood skills?

'Well, a cooking skill would be good too.'

Because it's random, It would take a huge chunk of luck just to draw excellent combat or auxiliary skills. Hans sat down on the platform stairs, his hand rested on his knee. 

'I heard there's an Awakened that can increase luck but…' Hans' shoulders dropped, '...but I'm sure the fee would be huge.'

"Fuu—" 

Hans groaned reflexively. 

'It's not worth it.' 

For a B-class skill, it's not worth it. He'll plunder more and more skills as time goes by, and he might just forget his low-level skills on the way. 

[Heh, in the end, you rely on me.]

As if seeing a smug face in his head, Hans subconsciously slapped his cheeks. 

"Bruh, you're a skill. You're supposed to be used."

[...] 

"Let's leave it to fate."

Hans held the stone up and crushed it with his hands. It wasn't hard but rather soft like cotton. Bits of stone and dust fell from his hand before he immediately closed his eyes in anticipation and anxiety. 

'Buddha, Godkings, Saints, Gods, Goddesses… please bless me with your luck!' 

Hans repeated the word in his mind as if he was chanting mantras. At the same time, a familiar electronic voice echoed in his head once again. 

[You have gained the skill, 'Mirror Clone (B)'.] 

[Mirror Clone (B) 

— Summon a physical duplicate of yourself with 20% of your overall attribute, skills not included. 

—Last for an hour. 

— When duration is up or it's killed, the clone's memories will be fed back to the user. 

Mana Cost: 25 mana

Cooldown: 5 hours.] 

Hans's brow fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes. After reading the new skill he got, Hans jumped out in joy. 

"Yes! Ha, haha!" 

The skill didn't disappoint him. A perfect ability for someone like him who upgrades with more stats than others. This skill was also suitable for stalling time or for escaping. Using this as a decoy or scout would be good as well. 

"Sigh—, if only I could decrease the cooldown…" 

Well, considering the usefulness of this skill, the cooldown wasn't bad, or else this would be a broken ability. 

After he calmed down, Hans moved his gaze down and inspected the newly appearing book in his hand.

[Mana Controlling Technique

— A technique for controlling mana.] 

It has no description other than that simple explanation. Hans didn't even need those as this technique's usefulness and how it works were advertised all over the world. In fact, counting from all the Awakeners in the world, only about 0.5% of them possessed this technique. 

The users said that this technique helps to control mana more efficiently. But the most useful thing about this is… 

'Skill creation.'

Though it was easy to say, in reality, it's hard. Even the users who had years of experience learning this technique, only managed to make 2 to 3 skills. 

[Do you want to learn, 'Mana Controlling Technique'?] 

[Yes / No.] 

Hans tapped 'yes'. He would explore more about it on his way. With a tired expression, Hans stood up and stretched his hip left and right. Now that the dungeon is cleared and his leveling unlocked, it's time to leave this place. 

[Dungeon Cleared!] 

[You will be forced to exit in 2 minutes 11 seconds.]

[You can ignore this command by saying 'Exit Now'.] 

'Alright.' 

Hans circled his aching neck, "Exit now."

A good rest would be good after this tiring day. 

...…..

"S-someone cleared the dungeon!!!" 

"Huh? The heck this guy's saying?" 

"Dungeon cleared?" 

Everyone's attention focused on the guy who muttered those words. 

"It's said that once the trial dungeon collapsed means someone cleared it solo."

Hearing the guy's explanation, others held their chin while a few already had their eyes bugging out. 

"It's been 20 since the trial dungeon was cleared right?" 

"N-no way!" 

"Could it be an Awakened with SS-class potential? 

"It might be."

The growing arguments began escalating further. Henry stood by the side, his eyes darted around the crowd, trying to find suspicious Awakeners. 

'Since we're all ejected at the same time…' Henry held his chin, '... that guy should be someone here.'

Unfortunately, he had no clue how he would find him. Even if he did, that guy might have already fled from this place. Additionally, he wasn't sure if the one who cleared the trial dungeon was a male or a female. 

'Forget it, the association would be on the move too. It's better to stay out of it.'

Although Henry's family could be said to be very rich, it's not enough to challenge the association rule. 

At the same time, while everyone was busy chattering around, Hans silently appeared inside a broken building. Looking around, he was standing 20 meters away from the now collapsed dungeon. The dimly lit cave was gone; the sunlight shone brightly on the open spaces. 

His ears caught the people's conversation as he slinked outside the building. Fortunately, it seems like his spawned place was a little far apart from the crowd.

"Seems like they're talking about me."

Gurgle—

Hans' stomach grumbled before he held it with his hand. Wondering why he was hungry when he just ate breakfast, Hans checked his watch. The digital was pointing at 11:47 pm. 

'I spent that much time in the 3rd layer?' 

He had entered the dungeon before 8 am. Considering he cleared the 1st and 2nd layer in an hour, Hans stayed at the 3rd layer for almost three hours. 

'A lot of time has passed.'

After thinking for a while, Hans decided to leave the place now. The thought of the association suddenly popping out here to find him made his skin crawl. 

'Not yet.' 

He's too weak to protect himself. Although the association might offer him protection, what if some bastards inside were a spy for those intelligent beasts? What's more, envy is one of the 7 deadly sins. 

Sigh—

'Hang on.'

Hans' foot came to a halt. 

'Should I use that?' 

This would be a good place for a test run. He looked side by side and seeing no one around, Hans activated the skill for the first time. 

[Mirror Clone] 

As if a mirror suddenly popped up from his sight, an identical copy of himself appeared in front of him. The clothes, the features, everything. 

"Cough—, hello."

Hans greeted him nicely. 

"Hello, boss."

The clone Hans nodded with a smile. Hans did a few stretching movements which the clone Hans also did.

"Man, this is awesome."

After tweaking some commands a little bit, they both exited the building. Clone Hans had his hoodie on while Hans didn't. As they walked through the dense crowd, seemingly growing in numbers as time passed, Hans decided to separately walk while his clone went another way. 

Walking away from the place, Hans stopped by the fast-food restaurant. Due to the commotion caused by the sudden clearance of the dungeon, there are little to no people inside. Even those staff were peeking at the glass windows. After ordering his food for lunch, Hans quickly grabbed a taxi for himself. 

... 

There was an old and antique-like studio apartment on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The neighborhood wasn't much different as well. Streetlights were somewhat broken with gangs of teens galloping on the streets. Hans arrived at his house at around 12, carrying a bag of meals as he entered. 

Entering the apartment, Hans turned the lights on. 

"Ahh! I'm hungry."

He took off his shoes and brought his meal to the table. Having finished his trial dungeon today, he was very tired. Hans groaned deeply and sat down on the chair. But before he eats, he needs to check something first. 

'Status' 

Tr-tring—

[Name: Hans Luther

Age: 23                 Level: 20       

Race: Human (91%), ??? (9%)

Potential: ??? 

Strength: 104             

Agility: 75

Stamina: 70

Mana: 68

Unused stats: 0

Talent: Unlock at Level 100

Innate Skill: [Endless Plunder (D)] 

Plundered Skill: [Body Enhancement (B)], [Mind's Eye (E)], [Acrobat (D)], [Hide (C)], [Berserk (C)], [Lurk (E)].

Skill: [Mirror Clone (B)] 

Mana Property: Evil.] 

All of his stats had risen significantly except for the Mana attribute which only added 5. His strength finally breaks through the 100 mark. Additionally, his agility and stamina had greatly increased as well. Aside from that, he was also able to learn the slow-mo effect of the agility stat. 

'I also got 2 skills… not bad."

And the biggest gain of them all was the Mana Controlling Technique and the level unlock. 

'I'm getting stronger at a fast pace. I would need stronger skills too.'

Putting aside his race that seemed to be getting weirder as time went by, the dungeon trial raid was a complete success. 

But… 

'My left hand seems aching though.'

A strange thing happened to his left hand and he didn't even know what it was. 

'I'm gonna go crazy at this point.'

[Yeah, crazy enough to activate red form and berserk at the same time.]

"Uhh?" Hans' ears perked up, "At least it worked. That's all that matters. Why complain?" 

[...]

Hearing no response, Hans crossed his hand on his chest. 

"I see… do you also have a mute function or something?" 

[Alright, you don't have to do that.]

Looks like there really was a mute function. 

..... 

While Hans was dealing with Plundy at home, on the other hand, the outside world became quiet.

A breaking news was being broadcast on their televisions.