"Congratulations," I hear echoing all around this vast room. My focus immediately shifts to the seven-headed hydra, but I don't believe it was the one speaking. My gaze travels upwards to the massive dungeon core, which is as large as my sauna.

"You're a quick one. Some who have made it this far never even consider that someone else might be speaking besides the intimidating hydra in front of them," the voice comments. I have to agree about the intimidating part, as I'm quite certain this monster is of rank 4.

"I admit, I'm surprised you made it here. In all my time as a dungeon core, your party is the weakest to ever reach my grand hall," the dungeon core stated in a mostly monotone voice, but I thought I detected a hint of excitement.

"I never would have guessed that you could make it this far, which made watching your party all the more intriguing. You'd be surprised how much something like this can enhance my mood," the dungeon core continued.

For the first time since arriving in this world, I felt truly unnerved. This being was unlike anything I've encountered before. Its morality seemed entirely different, and to it, our lives were as insignificant as stalks of wheat are to me.

"But look at me, rambling on. It's time for your rewards. However, we seem to have a problem. Your party members are completely exhausted, and nothing you do will rouse them. You might not be aware, but you all performed well enough that they can request almost any reward they desire. If I can grant it, I will. If I can't, or if you ask for too much, the nature of your reward will be up to me. But you're in luck; I'm in quite a good mood."

This was a problem. I tried to wake them up, but the dungeon core was correct; they were completely out. "They will need quite the rest after you pushed them so hard. It's impressive that they are alive at all," the dungeon core commented.

"Just give me a few more seconds, please. I'm looking for the paper where we all wrote down what we wanted, just in case someone was knocked out when we reached here," I said. It was something I was skeptical about when Horus brought this up, but who would have guessed that he would be completely correct about such a contingency?

One thing I was certain about: none of us knew about the, ask for too great a reward and you might get screwed, part of the reward process. "Well, I don’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed. I was kind of hoping you would have to come up with all the rewards yourself or perhaps take them all for yourself," the dungeon core said.

The last words were spoken in a sweeter voice that made my back shiver. I only contemplated that choice for a moment before rejecting even the thought of taking up its offer. I felt that if I made the wrong choice, I would be losing more than just potential connections to powerful people in the future.

"I think I will stick with what they have written on this paper," I said, to which the dungeon core hummed in delight. I pointed towards Horus. "He wants a skill called 'Light of the Embers Reach'." The dungeon core laughed so loudly that everything shook, and even the hydra seemed amused.

"A bold and large claim, but truly, this one pushed himself past so many limits to reach this far. You might not know this, Rich, but all of them pushed well past their limits while trying to keep up with you. Delvers of your strength and with your level of equipment have made it here before, but none of them were accompanied by four who were so weak."

There was a momentary pause, and then I felt the power level in the room rise, subsequently sinking into Horus. "It is done. Let's move on to the next person," the dungeon core said, and I complied. I pointed towards Luana. "She asked for a trait called 'Elemental Awakening'," I mentioned. After my words, there was a brief silence.

"Unfortunately, she could have gotten something better with her performance. I can't change it completely, but I can enhance it a bit." Following that, the room pulsated with power, which then flowed into Luana. "Next?" the dungeon core inquired.

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I pointed towards Arabella. "She's asking for a trait related to a true connection with a sacred tree. That's all she wrote," I conveyed, sensing the dungeon core's disappointment. "Even with her performance, I can't grant her that. It's not mine to give. Truly disappointing.”

“However, now I get to choose her reward. Hmmm, what to pick? Well, I guess there's an interesting connection available. I like the idea, but someone else might not. Why should I care?" After that, the room surged with power, which then settled into Arabella.

I didn’t like the dungeon core's words and hoped it hadn't done anything too bad. Next, I pointed towards Adam. "His note says he wants something offensive that would complement his type of magic," I relayed.

The dungeon core seemed deep in thought about this reward request. Eventually, it spoke, but I realized we had long surpassed our two-month time limit. "An intriguing request. I can see your influence on this young man. He could be truly great or someone truly scary. I'll leave that choice to him." After those words, the room brimmed with more power than before, all of which flowed into Adam.

"But now it’s your turn, Rich Dirt. Let me warn you, though: you don't have the merit to receive as grand rewards as they did. For you, this dungeon was much easier, and that sword of yours bordered on cheating. While I do encourage that as much as possible, it will still affect your end reward.”

“I will give you some time to think. You will have up to three days. That’s about how much I can manipulate the flow of time in my seat of power. I recommend you think long and hard; this might be a unique opportunity for you." After those words, I felt the dungeon core's presence lessen, but it was replaced by the hydras.

I did as much for the others as possible, but their bodies were just too exhausted, as was mine. I woke up about a day and a half later, but now I was quite close to being back to a normally functioning person. My muscles were incredibly strained, and I felt my energy control was quite weak, but that was expected given how much I had pushed myself. I opened up my achievement page to see all the notifications before I started to think about what my reward might be.

I found that I had leveled up quite a lot, with my classes pushing 40 or above. The last floors provided a significant amount of experience. I quickly went through my adventurer class levels, but unfortunately, there wasn’t anything noteworthy, so I opted for stat point increases.

My strength was now over 3000, well above what was needed for a new trait. Surprisingly, my dexterity also surpassed the needed stat points for a new trait. But before I delved into those, I looked at what my regular class levels offered, as level 40 was a milestone.

I had the standard 3x stat points, but I also received a decent number of free points: 50 for my first homesteader class and 40 for the two others. The first homesteader class granted an ability called Land's Heart, which felt incredibly potent, though not in combat. The Heroic Commander ability was named Banner's Presence, likely meant to help with leading armies. I'll need to test this one out later.

Renowned True Archer provided a skill named Beginner Equipment Bond. This sounded intriguing. From my brief interaction with this skill, it seemed to suggest that I could form a connection with my equipment, adapting it to my needs. This will likely require extensive testing. Since it's a skill, there's a good chance I might acquire abilities that enhance the equipment I wear, which is an exciting prospect.

There were also skill and ability improvements, though nothing groundbreaking. Saving the best for last, I turned to the traits I had acquired. For reaching the strength milestone, I received a trait named Pressure Resilience. While I didn’t know exactly what it will do, the name was quite descriptive. For the dexterity milestone, I got a trait called Reflexive Precision. This one seemed more intricate, but I sensed significant potential in it. Now, it was time to contemplate the reward.

Looking at my achievement page my mind short-circuited. There was so much to process, and many things were left sitting and unused. I pondered whether I could get a duplication ability to create a version of myself to handle tasks the way I envisioned. However, given my desired outcome, I doubted I could ask for such an ability.

It took me quite a while to think about this but in the end, there was only one answer. “I would like a trait or skill that would enhance my energy control and manipulation that I wouldn’t be able to get by just learning and training.”

The dungeon core’s presence immediately filled the room again, and I could hear its laughter. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint. It's your greatest asset, except perhaps for your sword. But from what I can tell, you were the one who made it, so I think it still falls under your expertise in energy manipulation.”

“I don't know if you're aware, but you're an absolute genius at manipulating energy. So much so that there's only been one other who could rival you. He conquered this dungeon four centuries ago. But now, for your reward. You're a unique one. He didn't ask for a similar reward, nor would he have been given one as strong, he was with a stronger party and overall, he was more powerful."

The history lesson was quite intriguing, but I felt like a child waiting to open his Christmas presents. Eventually, the dungeon core continued, "I'll admit, you're challenging to reward simply because you could learn so much on your own. From your achievement page, I sense you already have your future secured in a direction that would've been easy for me to assist with. But I guess I'll need to think outside the box." Time continued to pass, but the dungeon core kept pondering, and I didn't dare interrupt.

"I've got it! It was difficult, but I think this will work beautifully." Power filled the room, but this time it sank into me, and I could feel a new skill appear on my achievement page. I checked it: 'Beginner Kinetic Energy'.

"Now, don't be disappointed that it's a skill. I assure you, you couldn't have learned it on your own. But unfortunately, our time here has come to an end. Goodbye." And as soon as the last word was spoken, I felt the world around me twist, and we were all outside the dungeon.