All in all, seven of the ten captured villagers survived their incarceration at the hands of the undead to return to Lysara. Two of them had been so weakened by the draining magic the cultists inflicted on them that they'd been unable to recover, and another had been slain in an escape attempt before Jade and her companions even arrived. The two dozen members of the expedition fared better, losing only Taraes, the young elf who had tried to fight the bone titan along with his friend.

According to Aylin, now that the boss monster of the stronghold had been defeated no more Labyrinth spirits would manifest within the dungeon, whether humanoid or undead. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that all the monsters it had already created disappeared. The expedition spent the rest of the day clearing the stronghold chambers and the surrounding area of any stragglers, none of which posed any real threat to the large teams tasked with cleaning up. By the time Fenrin called a halt the sun was hanging low in the sky, plunging the land beneath the forest canopy into a world of dancing shadows.

The expedition regrouped near the now-empty pyramid and, after a quick headcount, began the hike back to town. The long day of fighting had left Jade exhausted, but neither she nor her friends voiced any complaints. The last thing any of them wanted was to spend the night near the stronghold. So, they pushed on, breaking out lanterns and torches to light the way as evening shifted to twilight.

Jade's mood had finally stabilized, but it had taken hours for the latent lust for emotional energy to fade. She didn't want to think about how much worse it would've been if she hadn't fed so recently. The experience had her reconsidering the frequency at which she needed to drain people, whether they were volunteers, as Aylin suggested, or enemies.

The group had only just set off for Lysara when Aylin approached Jade, moving to join her towards the back of the procession.

"You took down that boss almost singlehandedly." The mage said without preamble. Jade couldn't tell if the remark was meant as praise or a reproach and was too tired to care.

"I got lucky." She replied with a shrug. "My plan was to slow it down so the rest of you could catch up."

There hadn't been much time to talk after the battle, Fenrin had roped everyone into securing the surrounding area after only the briefest of rests. It had been the right call, as the woods near the stronghold were teaming with monsters that, left to their own devices, would have been a lingering menace to the region.

Aylin didn't reply for several moments. When she finally did, her expression was thoughtful.

"I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I felt your aura during the fight. You manifested it, didn't you?"

Jade thought back to how her mana had solidified around her dagger, sheathing it in sizzling energy. She'd tried to replicate the effect a couple of times during the day, without success.

"I'm not sure what that was." Jade admitted. Aylin was by far the most knowledgeable person she knew when it came to magic, so Jade took a minute to explain what had happened. Nearby, Luis, Naomi, and Fenrin listened with interest.

"I thought so." Aylin said after Jade had finished. She shook her head slowly. "Less than a month of using magic, and you're already manifesting aura blades… What kind of life did you live on your world?"

"What's an aura blade?" Luis asked before Jade replied.

"A term used for your aura, your personal mana field, given physical form and used as a weapon." Aylin explained, holding one of her hands palm up in front of them. She furrowed her brow in concentration, summoning a small sphere of crackling blue energy that hovered just above her hand. "It's a relatively advanced technique in aura control. Raw mana of any grade has a very high energy density, which makes it quite destructive. They aren't without their downsides, though. Manifesting your aura directly rapidly drains mana, and even the slightest lapse of focus will cause them to dissipate. Anyone can learn to do it, with enough practice, but it comes much easier to some people than others."

"I haven't been able to do it again." Jade admitted. "I'm not really sure how it happened to begin with."

"I'm far from an expert in that field." Aylin shrugged. "Someone like Serrethis Rhysten would be a better source of information. You should talk to him before leaving town."

Jade nodded. She'd already been planning on asking Lysara's resident veteran wayfarer for some real combat instruction. The more battles she fought in, the more Jade realized that the basic weapon proficiencies and magical enhancements the Labyrinth granted were useless if you didn't know how to employ them properly.

"Still…" Aylin continued softly. "You must have an impressive level of unity in your mind and body to instinctively exert that kind of control over your aura."

Naomi and Luis chimed in as well, complimenting her on her victory over the boss. Jade waved them away, embarrassed at the attention. 'Unity' of body and mind, Aylin had said? That description resonated with Jade, who had spent the better part of the last decade training the ability to precisely control every aspect of her body, down to the smallest movements.

Until last year… she thought, bitterly. Memories of pain, frustration, and seething injustice flashed through her mind. Even now, weeks after her transformation had restored her ankle, the scars lingered. Jade would never regain the opportunity she'd lost. Despite everything that had happened to her since arriving in the Labyrinth, events that made her old life seem meaningless and mundane, that pain persisted.

The conversation lapsed, and Jade finally turned her attention to the mass of notifications blinking in the corner of her vision. Judging by the focused looks on her companion's faces, they were doing the same.

* Quest Complete: The Tide of Bone.

* You have defeated the stronghold boss! For future reference, boss battles usually take place inside the dungeon with the support of your team.

* Objective: Conquer the 'Moonlit Meadow Quadrant' stronghold.

* Bonus objective: Rescue the abducted townspeople (7/10).

* Reward: Large experience gain.

* Bonus Reward: 1 additional stat point.

The next notification was practically the same, as Jade also had a generic quest for conquering any stronghold. This second one came with more experience points and 1,000 crescent coins, which Jade scooped into her dimensional pouch. She helped Naomi and Luis gather their rewards too. Those rewards, combined with the coins the bone titan had yielded when she'd looted its remains to obtain the floor key, came to a tidy sum. Jade wasn't quite sure how the economy worked in the Labyrinth but, judging by the prices she'd seen in Lysara, she suspected they'd just gone from destitute to being fairly well off in one fell swoop.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Adventuring is lucrative… She mused, clicking past a follow-up quest to conquer another two strongholds. At least we get something for risking our lives.

The floor key fragment she'd obtained was much the same as the one generated by the giant spider they'd fought on the first floor, with one noteworthy difference. The Voice of the Labyrinth now indicated that forging the key fragment into an actual floor key that could unlock a stairway to the third floor required two fragments, instead of the one the first floor required. That advancing further into the Labyrinth got progressively more difficult wasn't especially surprising, but details were good. It looked like they'd have to defeat another boss before being able to proceed to the third floor.

The next pair of notices concerned her Bag of Mystery, which she had gingerly collected after returning to the pyramid.

* System Notice

* Your 'Bag of Mystery' has rejected the active, volatile source of death essence you are attempting to place inside it. Please select a more stable item.

Jade didn't remember seeing that one. She must have dismissed it instinctively when rushing to try and dispose of the strange, glowing crystal. The message left her a little confused, though, since the bag had taken the item. The next message cleared up her misunderstanding.

* System Warning

* You have elected to override the safety enchantments placed on your 'Bag of Mystery'. It has accepted the 'Unstable Death Nexus'. Please note that the Labyrinth assumes no responsibility for consequences resulting from unsanctioned tampering with its generated magical items.

Jade looked suspiciously down at the blackened, skull-marked bag cinched to her belt alongside her dimensional pouch. Before proceeding through the rest of her notifications, she examined its properties.

* Summoning Pouch (Undead)

* Rarity: Epic

* This special summoning pouch was created when a Bag of Mystery absorbed the magic of an Unstable Death Nexus. Reaching into this pouch will summon an undead of random strength for a random duration. The duration of the summoned creature is inversely proportional to its power level, but the exact timing varies. Upon summoning, there is an 80% chance that the creature will obey your commands. Otherwise, it acts according to its nature.

Once a creature has been summoned, this bag cannot be used again for the next 25 hours. Depositing corpses into the pouch may reduce this timer.

* Note: Corpses placed inside the bag cannot be retrieved.

Oops… Jade thought, reading the description again. The Bag of Mystery had been entertaining, and she was sad to see it go. This new item could prove to be an asset, though, depending on the strength of the creatures it tended to summon. And if they would listen to her… And if she could convince the rest of her companions to let her use it to begin with…

On further reflection, maybe it wasn't so helpful. Jade still wasn't sure what else she could've done with the 'Unstable Death Nexus' though, so she considered this result preferable to all of their souls being absorbed into the necromantic gem, or whatever it had been about to do to them. With a mental shrug, she moved on to the next message. This one made her smile with satisfaction.

* System Message

* You have been awarded a new title!

Tabbing over to her 'title' page, Jade quickly found the new entry.

* Title: Indomitable

* Awarded for defeating a boss monster more than 10 levels higher than your own, while dealing more than half of its total health in damage.

* In addition to the standard upgrade point, a bonus reward has been granted for greatly surpassing the requirements of this title. Someone's an overachiever.

* Reward: One upgrade point.

* Bonus Reward: One additional stat point.

Jade had been hoping to obtain another title on this expedition. Now, she had three of the four required to progress her 'Path to Power' quest, which would get her one step closer to obtaining an advanced class. Based on what Aylin had told her about the additional boons they offered, they were worth the effort to acquire. The next series of messages was also good news.

* Level Up!

* You have reached Level 11.

* Reward: +2 stat points.

Two more identical prompts followed the first, sending her level all the way to 13. Multiple completed quests, the numerous monsters they'd felled, and defeating such a high-level boss had resulted in a massive influx of experience. A quick check-in with Luis and Naomi revealed that her companions had each gained two levels themselves. Jade guessed the discrepancy had to do with the fact that she'd basically taken down the boss herself. As always, the Labyrinth rewarded those who took risks.

Between the level ups and the bonus stat points, Jade was left with a bank of 8 unattributed points to assign. It was the most she'd ever obtained at once, and she was almost glad that none of the levels had come with any features to choose from. She already had enough to consider. After some discussion with her companions, she allocated one point each to strength, fortitude, and intelligence, two points to agility, and three points to her long-neglected willpower score. The sudden influx of power sent a jolt down Jade's spine, and her entire body buzzed with newfound energy.

After the assignments were complete, her new summary page read:

* Base Stat Scores (Succubus)

* Strength: 10

* Agility: 23

* Fortitude: 13

* Intelligence: 18

* Willpower: 7

Due to whatever background math the system used to factor in her racial bonuses and penalties when she transformed, the changes to her stats didn't always match up one to one with the points she put into them. Jade was relieved to finally be raising her willpower stat, but it was going to take a lot of investment to overcome her 40% racial penalty.

She didn't think the cost would be worth putting a large focus on that score but knew it would be a bad idea to neglect it entirely. As usual, she didn’t feel much of a difference in her mental acuity, but the increase in mana regeneration rate and heightened resistance to spell effects were certainly helpful. If the points also helped her decision-making abilities in any way, well, that would just be a bonus.

The last notification was the one she'd been waiting for.

* System Notice

* Congratulations! You have conquered a stronghold.

* Claim your reward? (Y/N)

After a moment's hesitation, Jade clicked 'yes'. There was a soft flash of blue light, and a dagger materialized in the air in front of her. She snatched it before it could fall to the forest floor and held it up for a closer look in the deepening gloom. It was slightly longer than her current weapons, with an ornate hilt made of polished black metal. The blade was semi-translucent and surprisingly light, giving the elegant weapon an ethereal feel. The leather-wrapped grip fit perfectly in Jade's palm.

* Phantom

* Rarity: Rare

* This enchanted dagger is imbued with dimensional power. After being thrown, you may summon it back to your hand with a gesture. Alternatively, if Phantom successfully penetrates a surface, you may instead teleport yourself to its location. There must be enough space for you to occupy at the destination to use this ability. Phantom may be used to teleport in this way three times, and recovers one use every ten minutes.

* Available upgrade slots: Three.

A weapon that enhanced her battlefield mobility and gave her a reliable ranged attack? Jade's smile broadened. She slipped the blade into its accompanying sheath, affixing it to her belt. Beside her Luis and Naomi were both marveling at their newly acquired gear as well, but she was too preoccupied with the flood of options Phantom opened up for her to notice.

The Labyrinth had its bizarre idiosyncrasies but this time, the system had come through for her.

Time to hone my throwing skills.