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"Yes, I certainly do! I had put the things here somewhere, Patris!" Dani complained angrily to her friend. "But where the bloody hell did they disappear to???"
Dani had just joined Patris in searching the edge of the small clearing with the mound of earth that was the entrance to the natural dungeon for her remaining camping items. Before they entered the dungeon, Linob had insisted that they leave any superfluous camping gear outside so that it would not be a hindrance to fighting and exploring the dungeon. They had enough stuff with them to be able to sleep comfortably in the dungeon, but Jen's guard had insisted that even soldiers did not fight with heavy luggage.
And so Dani had searched for the tents and camping equipment for the wilderness, but so far in vain. They had hidden the things behind some dense bushes, so that they could not actually be found. However, everything had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Avan himself took the opportunity, since he could not find or see anything in his sphere of influence that pointed to the remaining, and took a closer look at all his stats and skills. After the fight against the two elite soldiers in particular, since he had made three whole levelups, which brought him over the threshold of silver to gold!
He had simply packed the 15 stat points into strength for the time being, as his previous distribution seemed somewhat unbalanced to him.
Avan Leaf
Level: 201
Free Stat Points: 0
Element: Celestial
Class: [Gold] Dungeonarchitect (Human)
Subclass: [Gold] Healer of Akkalon
Stats
Strength: 165
Dexterity: 230
Vitality: 150
Intelligence: 310
Wisdom: 370
Spirit: 267
?̴̡̝̖͙͍̫̮̭͕̬̠̖̺̙͓̖͉͊̌̀͑ͅ ̸̢̜̦̪̳̗̻̙̭̠̜͚̘̽̓͋̇̈́̅͊̎̒̽̽̀́͘ͅ?̴̧̬͓͔͖͖͇͂̍͊̄͒ ̵̧̢̛͇̦͈͒̊͛̋͒?̴̛̬͙̜͙̦̳̭̫̭̭̫͔̣̗͈̗̭̄͛̿͊͆̾͐̀̉̂̆̆̚͜
[Origin of Runes]
[The will of the origin - 42/?]
[Part of the origin.]
Effect: Not yet known
Active Skills [3/8]
[Silver] Akkalons Touch
[Silver] Akkalon's Form
[Silver] Celestial Storage
[Bronze] Spark
Passive Skills
Pain Resistance: [Silver] 9
Steady: [Silver] 1
Potential: [Unlocked]
Celestial Affinity: [Bronze] 9
Identify: [Silver] 9
Celestial Sphere: [Silver] 9
First Aid: [Silver] 9
Tracking: [Bronze] 9
Meditation: [Silver] 9
Pain Expert: [Bronze] 7
Sneak: [Bronze] 1
Titles
[Reign of Might]: Boss monsters or other powerful creatures are no challenge for you. You live to challenge yourself. +100% damage for each first attack you deal to a superior or unique opponent in a fight.
[Bane of the Undead]: Any damage you deal to the undead is increased by 50%. This title is not upgradeable.
Perks
Cycle of Death and Life
Primary Resources
Health: 800/800
Stamina: 725/725
Ambient Mana: 8600
Souls: 498/1000
Celestial Storage
[Bronze Coin]: 8
[Silver Coin]: 60
[Gold Coin]: 2
1 [Staff of ???]
2 [Cups of steaming unending ??? Tea]
5 [Golden Meaples]
2 [Water Flask]
3 [Mana infused Water Flask]
3 [Blanket]
1 [Tent]
3 [Small Stacks of Berries]
122 [Lymia Herbs]
3 [Cups]
113 [Hound Fangs]
9 [Small Rune Engraved Stones]*
3 [Wooden Logs]
33 [Small Rune Engraved Wooden sticks]*
2678 [Small Purple Mana Crystal]
313 [Unique Purple Mana Crystal]
1 [Slave bracelet]
8L [Human Blood]
4 [Blood steal Swords]
1 [Blood steal Spear]
2 sets of [Blood steal Skirmisher Armor]
1 [Corpse of Linob ?????]
Adventurer
Name: Avan Leaf
Rank: Silver
Tokens: 0
His skills had not yet found an opportunity to be used after reaching the threshold of gold, so they continued to sit on the silver peak. As he went through his stats and skills, he thought about what he would do next once they had made the feedback in the city.
*The first thing I should think about is the vision... Although I don't know what exactly I saw. Or WHO. And after that... Linob's body and belongings given to Jen.... And then? Does the group stay together? Either way, I really need to take care of runes. What I had learned on the way here was just too overwhelming to leave aside.* Avan inwardly enumerated the most important points.
*And when I recall the reactions, these runes are known and masterfully used by runesmiths for enchantments of all kinds, but what I did here with spells is apparently not known on this continent. I wonder if that is the case on the other continents here on Aorus? Or only here? If I remember correctly, from Akkalon's dungeon and the books there, then Eos should be the second continent on this planet. And the further you advance towards the celestial dungeon in the middle, the more powerful the monsters, and the denser and richer the flora and fauna, as well as the mana available in the surrounding area. All continents are arranged in an inward spiral, while the outermost continent has almost no mana at all, and the innermost part of this world belongs to the deities or demi-gods and their retinue...-*
"-belong? Hello, Avan, are you there?" Patris interrupted him at that moment, tapping his head with the knuckle of his middle finger just above the temples.
Avan blinked briefly and put down his arm, with which he had been fiddling thoughtfully with his chin, and turned to Patris, who was looking at him curiously but also very amused.
"Oh, you were saying?" Avan asked, slightly surprised to have been so lost in thought. *Sleep deprivation, perhaps? After the fights and the stress... not surprising.*
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"And yet I'm constantly accused of being the blockhead here, hahaha!" The young warrior shook his head and held a hand in front of his mouth while laughing.
"Dani and Jen were just talking to the women and you said something about having tents or something in your spatial storage, right?"
Avan blinked again, and finally looked at Patris fully awake again as he remembered actually talking about it while handing out his food supplies and weapons. "Yep, I did. Hold on."
He let his gaze slide over his inventory, dropping some of the likely needed things on the floor next to the two.
"2 filled water bottles, 1 medium tent, 3 blankets. But that's about it, I'm afraid.... Sorry. But maybe that's enough for the kids at least? Until we get to the city." Avan counted and felt kind of bad when he couldn't help more. *I should urgently stock up after the quest in the city and maybe even... Ohhhhh!*
"Just a moment, Patris! I have an idea to at least maybe for the moment get more cover for all of us! I'll be right back, you guys go ahead and take care of everything else." Avan explained to his teammate, who just glared at him with an oddly lopsided raised eyebrow.
Without waiting for a reply, Avan grabbed one of the three blankets and quickly scurried into the forest behind him to pursue his idea unseen and undisturbed. Jen looked after him at that very moment with a questioning look, which he no longer saw as he disappeared between the trees, only a blanket on his arm.
"Is everything okay with him...? If I didn't know better, Avan just looked a little crazy, disappearing into the forest with a blanket in his hand and glittering eyes." Smiled Jen, as Patris had just approached her and the other women with the other items to hand out Avan's camping stuff.
In the meantime, Avan himself had stopped out of sight of the others behind a healthy and sturdy tree and sat down on the ground with his back leaning against it without further thought. *Then let's go!*
30 minutes later...
A slightly chuckling to himself Avan marched back to the others, while he looked at his achievement in a good mood.
[Mana creation] learned!
Congratulations! You have successfully used ambient mana to materialize objects permanently in the world.
Mana is the substance of all things. Mana is the fabric from which the world is woven. And you have taken the first step toward creation.
Allows you, according to the object to be created and the composition, to create it from mana. Works only with items and materials that you have previously broken down into mana and learned through this process.
In contrast to his own robe, which consisted only of celestial forms, in other words his skill, and could only retain its structure within his sphere of influence as a dungeon, Avan had gone the way of a real dungeon this time.
He had taken the third blanket with him to decompose and learn it, so that he could then create as many blankets as he wanted from his dungeon mana!
Jen was the first to spot Avan among the trees, and smiled at him as he came back out of the forest looking slightly mischievous. She stepped toward him. "Thanks for the stuff, Avan! Every little bit helps, especially now that our own belongings are nowhere to be found. But why did you go into the forest looking like a demented madman with another blanket? And where is that blanket now?" She asked Avan.
Jen suddenly didn't know what to say when Avan simply put his hand on her head and lightly patted her. "I had an idea, but unfortunately I can't say more. But; I was able to get more covers!" He explained kindly with a slight smile as he saw her standing there with a pout on her face as he lightly patted her on the head. When Avan told her that he had "gotten" more blankets, Jen's eyes lit up briefly as she sensed a secret, but didn't ask a question and just looked at him with a look that said, "Then let's see it".
Avan followed the silent instruction and suddenly more exactly identical blankets fell to the floor under his right outstretched hand, soon piling higher and higher.
"That should be enough for anyone, right?" He asked the obvious question with a slight smirk on his lips as Jen looked at the more than 30 blankets. Immediately, all the blankets were handed out, and even if they weren't made of the most comfortable fabric and were slightly scratchy, it was more than the captive women and their daughters had owned in recent times. Avan was gratefully swarmed by the smaller girls, while the older girls with the women simply thanked him repeatedly.
Since it was unfortunately getting close to dusk, Dani had built a large campfire with the help of Patris, and the tent stood in the flickering firelight further into the center of the clearing, while everyone gathered around the fire and roasted three rabbits over it, which Dani had been able to hunt with the bow Avan had provided.
The women finally had some color back in their faces, and hope filled the eyes of the freed captives as they all whispered together. Only a few lone women, all without relatives or daughters and who had probably been involved for more or longer, were quiet and simply listened as they themselves pursued their thoughts.
So the evening wore on, and Avan's group talked about Tria, the quest that had led them to the dungeon, and how they finally came to rescue the women in the first place. In the middle of the narrative itself, Avan had to step in when his three teammates finished their side of the story. Avan described how he had searched for them after his team disappeared, how he had dodged the guards, and then, after the fight in the crevice below, had made it to the castle.
By the time he got to the story of the blood devices, many of the women who had lost sons and husbands to the vampires had begun to cry softly. The younger daughters themselves had their ears stopped at certain parts of the story, even though the tears had come from the mothers themselves.
It had long been clear to all of them that their husbands were not coming back, especially since the vampire guards had told them in detail several times while mocking them.
And so the evening slowly drew to a close, while the younger children slept together in the tent and all the others settled down on the ground with their blankets. Avan himself had offered to take over the watch, even though he was dead tired and could have slept for several days himself after so many hours on his feet. Dani, however, would not hear anything of it and insisted on taking over at least the second half of the watch, so that Avan could at least rest a little.
Just as Dani said goodbye and was about to go to sleep, it suddenly and abruptly became pitch dark, and only the crackling campfire still provided light. The moon and the twinkling stars in the sky were covered by something gigantic. A huge shadow flew across the night sky, and only a massive and mighty flapping of wings could be heard, while all those not yet asleep began to tremble as they looked up.
"Dragon!" Came a whisper from Dani, who stood frozen in a half crouch next to Avan, and the women also whispered the same word like a fear-filled prayer. "Dragon!" they all whispered in awe and fear, while no one else dared to move. *Although it's pretty lame, if we're going to make such an easy and obvious target with the campfire here!* Avan inwardly sarcastically thought, as he too felt the powerful aura that the creature emitted in the night sky, covering hundreds of meters in all directions with its aura. All forest sounds were silenced, and only the wind generated by the mighty leathery wing beats of the dragon could be heard.
[Dragon - ????]
Was all he could see as the dragon flew through the dome of his sphere of influence above. Suddenly, Avan broke out in a sweat of fear as he felt an ancient and slightly angry look from the creature above him, right after he identified it! " Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He muttered in a whisper, and caught a startled look from Dani next to him, who somehow also felt the monster's gaze, but knew that she was not its target, but apparently Avan.
Despite all the scenarios that flashed through Avan's mind, the dragon flew on and did not stop to feast on him in a midnight snack.
As the stars slowly returned, as did the moonlight, the women all whispered to each other, and Dani gave Avan a murderous look. "I hope that was at least stats worth it, you idiot. Whatever you did to get a damn dragon's attention!" She whispered to him as she shakily marched towards her sleeping place.
Avan himself ran a hand through his surprisingly wet sweaty silvery hair, and let out a sigh. "How was I supposed to know...?"
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