Alaster quickly took stock of himself and his Undead. It was a quick battle, but it had been violent. By the time the Ghost Ape had fallen to the frozen ground dead, seven of the eight Apes were dead and scattered, one of the Night Children was missing an arm, and the Black Guard that was grabbed had numerous fractures.
However, while his second mind took note of the damages, and even automatically began to collect bones, Alaster was more focused on something else.
Moments after the Ghost Ape fell dead, the mist began to clear, revealing a small wooden chest in the center of a large arena, exposed to the sky. But that was not all, at the far end, a black rift appeared, almost like a zipper in reality. The rift seemed to absorb all light and sound, while emitting none of its own. To Alaster, it seemed very out of place, unnatural.
Alaster walked closer to the rift, temporarily ignoring the chest. However, getting closer revealed only one thing. The rift was growing smaller, almost as if the Dungeon itself was fighting against it. At the current rate, Alaster believed that it would take several hours before the rift properly closed, but that in an hour, it would be too small for him to get through.
The young man had been taught by Colius, the resident wizard of the Siphas Family in Onigas, that a rift such as this was normal and expected. Just as it was the entrance into the Dungeon, after defeating the Dungeon, it was also the exit. Colius was very stern in teaching Alaster that he needed to leave through the rift before it closed. The rift was the only exit, and no one that remained in the Dungeon was seen again.
Alaster turned away from the rift and returned to the corpse of the Ghost Ape. He sent all of his Black Guards to begin skinning the corpse. He then ordered the wounded Night Child to open the chest while the other began to collect the scattered bones of the Skeletal Apes.
The Night Child hopped over on three limbs and opened the chest. In truth, Alaster had not been expecting anything to happen. Occasionally the Loot was trapped, at least according to some of the guards of the Siphas Estate. However, they said they had only experienced it in the higher ranked Dungeons. But, it never hurt to be careful.
When nothing exploded or gas released, Alaster sent the Child away to help its twin and approached the chest. The chest itself was rough and old wood with a flat top and rusted hinges. It was only a foot tall and wide, but three feet long. Alaster looked in and pulled out the object.
It appeared to be a glass orb slightly too big to fit in the young man’s palm. The orb was pale white and emitted a very faint light of the same color. Alaster knew exactly what it was, though he had never seen one. It was a Mana Core.
Almost every living creature had one. It wasn’t a physical thing, but it could be perceived by those with the Ability or even raw talent. Being able to see the Mana Core would also reveal the relative strength and type of Magic the creature could use. When the creature died, the Core typically dissipated into nothingness, but rarely, they solidified into a physical form that could be used in numerous ways.
Every child had heard of the wonders Mana Cores could be used to create. And most had also heard of the fortunes that could be had from selling Mana Cores. Being able to use them was an art and skill in itself, as was identifying them. Both of which many would pay well for.
Alaster, did not know anything practical about physical Mana Cores. He was still figuring out his own Core. He could easily assume that the faint glow displayed that it was a weak Core. After all, it was a Mana Core from an F rank Dungeon. As for the color of the Core, it showed what sort of Mana was within, but if the creature the Core came from used multiple types of Mana, the colors would merge, in quantifies relative to the strength and regular use of the Mana.
If Alaster wanted to know what sort of Core it was, he would have to pay someone to identify it. Then another if he wanted to create something using the Core, unless of course Alaster figured out how to use it himself. Which Alaster doubted. He was still figuring out his own class.
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Alaster had no idea what he could do with this core, so he threw it into his Ring and dismissed it for now. He was thinking that the best thing would be to sell it, but he was hesitant to sell it when he could instead use it. Regardless, it would not help him. He had less than an hour to loot everything from the Dungeon and leave. Alaster looked down at the chest, only to see it sinking into the ground, as if being swallowed.
‘Guess I don’t get to keep it.’
Turning away, he looked at the Black Guards working. They were making good progress and would have the pelt of the Ghost Ape with plenty of time left. The Night Children, and the last remaining [Horde] Ape, were quickly building a pile of bones. Luckily, unlike the rest of the Dungeon, the ‘Boss Room’ had no snow, only frozen dirt with the occasional rock. The bones couldn’t hide in the snow.
Alaster walked over to the growing pile of bones and began to shove them into the Ring. He was working casually. He had plenty of time and while the Night Children and Ape was working quickly, Alaster could put the bones into his Ring faster than they could gather them. As the Undead were working, Alaster’s health was regenerating. It was an interesting process for Alaster. He was still used to healing when he didn’t have the benefits of the System.
He was used to taking weeks to heal from even simple injuries. What he had received during the battle with the Ghost Ape was much more than a simple injury. And yet, he could actually feel himself healing, the aches and pains gradually fading away every minute. Of course, as he leveled up and gained more health, his Health Regeneration would slow down, in relation to the Health Pool.
Those who could heal were always in demand, but as someone leveled, they became more and more necessary. Unfortunately, there was never enough. Healing Abilities were rare, Healing Classes even more so. And if someone used Healing Abilities, especially if they could heal others, in front of an enemy, and even some Monsters, they would be targeted. Of course, the rest of the Party would do their best to protect their healers, but sometimes they couldn’t.
Healers were the backbone of any combat force and when they were taken out, moral crashed, leading to more fleeing and defeats. They were always the target of any army, and many commanders would reward the soldiers who eliminated one.
Roughly half an hour later, Alaster had the rolled up fur of the massive Ghost Ape in his Ring, as well as the bones of the Snow Apes and Ghost Ape. Just as before, none of the Undead could enter the rift. To them, the rift might as well have been a solid wall midair. It only responded to a living creature, such as Alaster.
[Exit?]
“Yes.”
Just as before, his vision faded to black for several moments before returning. Except, he wasn’t standing in the Dungeon anymore, but outside it, in the forest of the Real World. But he wasn’t alone. His Undead had returned with him, appearing around him. Alaster quickly calculated the time he had spent. He had spent roughly four Real World days in the Dungeon. He opened his status as his second mind began the process of creating another arm for the Night Child. He had already planned how he would distribute the Free Points.
[Class: Death Mage
Level: 17<18
EXP: 1%< 32%
Health: 405/405<415/415
Health Regeneration: 10/min<11/min
Mana: 385/385<395/395<400/400
Mana Regeneration: 8/min<9/min
Spells: Necrotic Bolt, Raise Undead, Bone Crafting, Mana Manipulation, Death Touch, Skeleton Creation, Meditation, Necrotic Heal
Strength: 58<60
Dexterity: 50<52
Constitution*: 59<61
Wisdom*: 84<86<90
Intelligence*: 61<63<64
Free Points: 0<5<0]
After finishing the distribution, Alaster began to heal the Undead. There wasn’t much to heal. The Ghost Ape hadn’t dealt much damage without killing the Undead. It only took a few minutes to heal the Black Guard that had been grabbed, and another few minutes to reattach the Night Child’s arm.
Once his Undead was back in perfect repair, with the added [Horde] Snow Ape Skeleton, Alaster turned around and touched the rift once more. Disappearing from the world once more.