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You have cleared “The Heart of the Beast”
* You have earned bonus experience for your current class
* You have earned a dungeon reward chest
You have completed bonus objective “Trial of Resolve”
* You have earned a secondary dungeon reward chest
* You have earned the Title “Resolute”
You have earned a “First Clear” of dungeon “The Heart of the Beast”
* You have earned a bonus reward, tailored to you by the dungeon spirit, Thorgar’mirous.
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Gregory stared at the information. He didn’t even know how to process it.
“Did you earn a Title too? What is it?”
“I did, but I have no idea. I’ve never heard of it before.”
As though he had requested the information, it came clear to him.
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Title “Resolute”
* Equipping this as your current title will grant you a small bonus to constitution and willpower, and subtly make others less likely to try to manipulate you.
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“Wow, are you seeing that? I don’t know how it’s even possible.”
“I can help answer that,” another, familiar, voice said.
Gregory and Cooper turned to find the dungeon spirit in front of them. He was no longer hazy and ambiguous, but clear and well defined. He was still slightly translucent, but they could make out all of his features.
“I am Thorgar’mirous. I am the dungeon spirit in charge of this dungeon. We dungeon spirits don’t normally appear outside of trial rooms, but a 'First Clear' is a special occasion. To answer your question, young Gregory, Titles grant inherent power to the person they belong to. This power is bestowed by the world itself, and cannot be altered or removed.”
“The world can grant me power?”
“The world works constantly, this is but one of a myriad ways in which it influences you.”
“How do I equip it?”
“Just tell the world. Say “I am Resolute!” and the world will recognize your claim.”
“I am Resolute!” Gregory said.
He felt a power settle over him.
“I am Resolute!” Cooper said, mentally. When nothing happened, he let out a few barks. Then he too felt a power settle around him. “I guess the world can’t read my mind.”
Gregory had no idea how any of this worked, even Cooper’s telepathy, so he just shrugged.
“Now, boys, step through the doors behind me and receive your rewards. Once you do, you will be removed from the dungeon. I appeared before you to say ‘Congratulations,’ and so I have. I will watch your paths with great interest.”
Before they could say anything else, the spirit vanished.
“He was alright!”
Cooper nodded.
“I leveled up again!”
“Ding!”
“Dang, I thought I was going to get ahead of you.”
“You were already ahead of me.”
“I guess so.”
Gregory started to glow with a soft light.
“Oh! I think I unlocked a class!”
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You have unlocked the combat class “Magician’s Apprentice”.
* You now have multiple combat classes. You can equip your second combat class by mental command.
* Classes level independently, but stats gained by any class level-up are permanent.
* Skills and spells are innately tied to specific classes. When changing classes, you will not be able to use skills belonging to another class unless you have gained proficiency in the skill.
You have unlocked the "Magician's Apprentice" spell “Mana Bolt”
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Mana Bolt
* Spell
* Cost: 10 mana
* You can condense mana into a projectile with physical properties similar to a crossbow bolt.
* This spell does both physical and magical damage
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“I got a spell!”
“Can you conjure a ball yet?”
“What? No, I can shoot a mana bolt!”
Cooper didn’t look impressed.
Excited to test out his power, Gregory tried to shoot a mana bolt, only for it to fizzle out and fail.
“What happened? Out of mana?”
“No, I got more mana when I unlocked the class. Oh! Duh, I never changed classes.”
He made the mental switch from “Coward” to “Magician’s Apprentice.”
This time, when he cast the spell, a blob of blue mana condensed into a white rod before his hand. He could feel it wasn’t quite right. He needed a catalyst to finish the spell.
“Mana Bolt!”
The magic bolt shot away into the darkness. A moment later they heard stone breaking in the distance.
“Wow, that has some range.”
“Very nice. I didn’t get any new abilities.”
“Well, hold that thought! I think we have some treasure to open.”
They went to the door and pushed it open. Inside was a wide, simple room, once again made from sandy stone blocks.
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There were six conveniently labeled chests inside.
They stepped up and found they each had three chests, as expected.
“Save the best for last?”
“That is a very human thing. I always do the best thing first. Why wait?”
Gregory couldn’t argue with that, and he opened the greenish chest that was labeled “First Clear Reward.”
Inside of Gregory’s chest, there was a glowing green orb, as soon as he saw it, it moved on its own, plunging into his chest.
He jumped back in shock, rubbing his chest, but there wasn’t anything wrong. Just a tingling sensation where it had been absorbed.
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You have been blessed with the special ability “Will of the Sculptor”
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Will of the Sculptor
* Ability - Passive
* You can manually assign stat points as you earn them. You cannot reassign already spent stat points.
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“That’s ridiculous.”
Cooper’s chest did not have the same reward. Inside there was a small black orb. It was solid and had no other visible characteristics.
"What is it?" Gregory asked, leaning over.
Cooper pulled up the details with a touch of his nose. He did not understand them.
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Eye of the Dark Magus
* Equipment - Eye modification (permanent)
* Rarity: Legendary
* An eye from the ?????. This permanently binds with one of the user’s eyes, allowing them to see into ?????.
* ??????
* ??????
* ??????
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“Okay…I think we should ask Olivander about that one. Unless a friendly dungeon spirit wants to elaborate on why he’s giving this to Cooper?” Gregory asked the air.
There was no response.
“I agree. I don’t want a new eye. I like my eyes. Can you carry it for me?”
Gregory nodded, grabbing the small glass eye. It was cool to the touch and didn’t have any other properties that he noticed. He slipped it into the small dimensional pouch at his waist.
“I don’t know if I like that one yet. Next chest!”
They opened the chest labeled “Bonus Dungeon chest: Trial of Resolve.”
Gregory’s had some chainmail armor that he was very excited to see, and a small translucent orb that glowed with a soft white light.
Cooper’s chest contained a similar prize. There was another orb, and a what looked like leather armor that would fit on his canine form.
They went to examine their treasure. As soon as they touched the orbs, they were absorbed.
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You have gained 1 Skill point.
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“Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes! This is awesome. Ok, usually you earn a free skill point over time, as you level your class. You’ll unlock one or two skills naturally, but the rest you get to choose! You usually have to wait until you get a skill point after a level up though.”
“I want a spell, how do I get one?”
“There’s a way to access a skill menu, but I’ve never done it, so I’m not sure. We should wait until we have everything else though. We can ask Olivander.”
Cooper nodded and nosed his armor.
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Agile Striker’s Leather Armor
* Armor: Body (Canine)
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Basic enchanted leather armor, designed for an agile striker.
* +2 Dexterity
* Moderate damage resistance in the covered areas.
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With a little help from Gregory, he got the armor equipped. It was flexible and open enough that it didn't restrict him. It covered his entire back and around his chest area, but was open over the stomach.
“You look like more of an adventurer than I do!”
“Try on your armor!”
Gregory picked up his chainmail shirt.
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Magic Chainmail
* Armor: Body
* Rarity: Uncommon
* Enchanted chainmail designed to enhance the magical abilities of melee combatants, though it does restrict movement slightly.
* +1 Wisdom
* +1 Intelligence
* +10 Mana
* -1 Dexterity
* High damage resistance in the covered areas.
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Gregory put it on, it fit him perfectly, as expected of enchanted gear. He stretched out and felt how the rings binding together as he moved would restrict him ever so slightly.
“Very nice. You look ready for battle now!”
“Yeah, too bad we already had all the battles. I like this though. Losing the dexterity isn’t my favorite, but that ten mana bonus is really good for me right now.”
They opened up the final chest, labeled “Dungeon chest.”
Inside Gregory’s was another orb, though it didn’t glow as brightly as the skill orb, and a small pile of silver and copper coins.
Cooper also received an orb, but instead of money there was a mask shaped like a dogs face.
“Oooh, what’s that mask?”
Cooper nosed it.
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Trickster’s Mask
* Armor: Helm (Canine)
* Rarity: Uncommon
* A mask that pays homage to the Trickster’s God
* Makes the wearer harder to detect when attempting to be stealthy.
* Provides low damage resistance in the covered areas.
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“Very nice, that should help with sneak attacks.”
The mask could be equipped with a thought, unlike the leather armor that had real straps to buckle. Cooper put it on.
“You look really cool with that on. Like you’re on a secret mission to save the mayor’s daughter from a band of thieves deep in the desert, it's just you against them, a fight for the life of the woman you love, and an epic climactic battle with the bastard that took her away…just awesome.”
“That was…very specific.”
“Sorry. Olivander let me read a book from his library, and I got really into it.”
Cooper quirked an eyebrow, which was obstructed now by the mask, but didn’t say anything.
“We shouldn’t waste anymore time. What else did we get?” Gregory asked, clearly changing the subject.
Cooper nosed his orb. Like the other, it dissolved and he absorbed it.
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You have gained one free stat point. Free stat points can be assigned manually to any stat.
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Gregory absorbed his orb and then picked up the coins. A message let him know how many coins there were, which he was glad for. He didn’t want to count them all out.
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You have picked up 55 silver coins and 76 copper coins.
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It was a lot of money for him. Ollivander threw around gold coins like he hadn’t thought about money in years, and Gregory’s own parents were wealthy by Demering standards, but they were practical, humble people. Gregory had hardly ever held more than ten silver at a time before this. He tucked it away into a pouch on his waist.
As soon as they picked up the last of their treasures, all of the chests faded away. They began to glow with a soft white light, and then they vanished.
* * *
Outside the dungeon. Olivander was explaining to the extremely befuddled junior constable, Darren, just how he could go about making the perfect charcuterie board.
“Now, as we discussed just a few short minutes ago, the cheese is both the pinnacle, and the cornerstone of the perfect board. But you might be asking yourself, what about wine pairings? While it’s not strictly necessary to pair a charcuterie board with wine, you’d be a bad host — and, frankly, a bad person — if you didn’t include at least one well paired vintage.”
Just as Darren was wishing he had never joined the constables, a pair of glowing lights interrupted Olivander. In moments, the lights resolved into a tall man in chainmail armor, and a dog wearing a dark mask and some armor of its own. They looked like any adventuring pair he’d see around town, though he hadn’t ever seen a dog adventurer. Maybe the man had a Ranger class?
“My, my! Darren, my humble apologies, but we’ll have to continue our discussion another time. My students have returned, victorious!”
Darren closed his eyes and prayed a silent prayer to whatever god had blessed him with the reprieve.
“You two certainly look more like adventurers now. Come, tell me everything!”