Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of Arin, displaying a congratulatory message:
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Congratulations, Arin! You have defeated the Goblin Blademaster!
* Random Ability Unlocked
* Skill Book Unlocked
* Crystal Obtained: Goblin Blademaster’s Essence (Larger than typical crystals)
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Arin blinked in surprise, glancing between the floating notification screen and the items on the ground. “What the hell… this is different. A random ability?”
Kai, who had been recovering from the barrage of floating knives, walked over cautiously. His eyes widened when he saw the skill books and the larger crystal. “Looks like we hit the jackpot, huh? What’s this about a random ability?”
Arin knelt to inspect the items. He reached down and picked up the Random Ability Book first, feeling a strange warmth radiate from it as it landed in his palm. He opened it, revealing a single page filled with cryptic writing. The ability inside was labeled:
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Telekinetic Empowerment Allows the user to control and amplify the effects of telekinetic powers. This ability enhances the force and range of any telekinetic attacks and can be used to manipulate multiple objects simultaneously with greater precision.
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Arin’s eyes widened as he read through the ability’s description. "Telekinetic Empowerment," he muttered, thinking about how useful this could be. “Looks like it’s a power to manipulate objects more efficiently… but I don’t know if I could even use it.”
He glanced up at Kai. “I think it’s more suited for you, buddy. If you ever find a way to harness telekinesis, this could come in handy.”
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Huh, I suppose I could give it a try. You know, telekinetically moving my shield could be useful."
Next, Arin picked up the Skill Book, the worn pages feeling cool to the touch as he flipped it open. It was titled:
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Blade Flurry Skill: Blade Mastery (Level 3)A rapid series of high-speed strikes, designed to overwhelm and confuse the target with precision and speed. Increases attack speed by 25% for a short duration.*
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Arin’s heart raced with excitement. "This could be a game-changer for me," he said with a grin. “More speed and precision with my sword.”
He quickly opened his Skill Screen and saw that he could now learn Blade Flurry in place of Blade Mastery Level 2, which would give him access to faster, more devastating strikes. He hesitated for a moment, but the temptation was too great. Blade Flurry seemed like the perfect complement to his already lightning-fast attacks, especially when paired with his Enhanced Reflexes.
He swapped out Blade Mastery Level 2 for Blade Flurry, and the change felt almost instantaneous. He could feel the speed of his movements improve even just by thinking about it.
Arin looked up at Kai, his excitement barely contained. “This could really give me the edge I need. We should keep moving. I have a feeling these dungeons have a lot more surprises in store.”
Kai nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and we still have that big crystal to check out. Maybe it’s got something to do with unlocking new abilities or something.”
Arin stood and picked up the Goblin Blademaster’s Essence Crystal, marveling at its size. The faint glow it emitted seemed more powerful, more concentrated. It was unlike the smaller crystals they’d collected from the goblins earlier.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I think we’re going to find out soon enough,” Arin said, his voice filled with a sense of determination. “Let’s move on.”
They then suddenly where transported to the entrance of the dungeon.
its an area between the outside and the true entrance of the dungeon.
"Thats neat" Kai said "after you defeat the boss at the end of the dungeon your teleported here with somesort of magic."
The scene cut to a bustling Awakener Association headquarters, a modern, sleek building filled with busy clerks and officers handling the influx of paperwork, reports, and registrants. In one particular corner of the office, a young clerk sat at her desk, her eyes scanning through the latest reports and logs from the Dungeon Zones.
Her attention, however, was drawn to something unexpected—a system notification flashed across her terminal screen, indicating a new drop report from a dungeon monster that had been defeated.
She blinked in surprise and clicked on the notification. Her eyes widened as she read the details:
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Dungeon Report:Goblin Blademaster Defeated by Awakeners Arin and KaiItems Dropped:
* Skill Book: Blade Flurry
* Ability Book: Telekinetic Empowerment
* Crystal: Goblin Blademaster’s Essence
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The clerk stared at the screen, her hands trembling slightly as she processed the information. Skill Books were rare enough, with many awakeners only encountering them after grueling battles against formidable monsters, but Ability Books—those were nearly unheard of. To see both dropped from a single monster? That was almost unprecedented.
She quickly turned to her colleague, a seasoned clerk who had been working in the association for that last few weeks since the association started “Hannah!” she called, her voice a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
The older woman looked up from her own desk, clearly busy, but noticing the urgency in her voice, she rose and walked over. “What’s going on, Amara?”
Amara pointed at the screen, barely able to contain her excitement. “This... this just came through. A Goblin Blademaster—defeated by two Level 3 awakeners—dropped both a skill book and an ability book! Not only that, the books came from the same monster!”
Hannah’s eyes widened in shock. She had heard the rumors, the whispers from senior members of the Awakener Association, about how the rarest monsters could sometimes drop these prized books, but in all her years of experience, she had never seen it happen so… quickly, or so conveniently.
“Wait, both?” Hannah’s voice was quiet with disbelief. “I knew they were rare, but I never thought we'd see them in the hands of two young awakeners. It usually takes years of experience for anything like that to happen. Did they report any other drops?”
Amara nodded, still visibly stunned. “They also got a larger crystal, Goblin Blademaster’s Essence. It's bigger than the usual monster drops. You know what that means, right?”
Hannah took a moment, clearly deep in thought. “Yes. That means they didn’t just defeat a regular goblin. This was a rare variant, with enhanced abilities or a special trait. I’ve heard whispers about these stronger goblins being able to drop both types of books, but I didn’t think they were this common.”
Amara frowned as she looked at the screen again. “This… this is huge, Hannah. If they managed to get both an ability book and a skill book from this single monster, their potential as awakeners just skyrocketed. Do we know who these two are?”
Hannah shook her head, still processing the information. “I’ll check their IDs and send a report to higher-ups. But we may have just witnessed something important here.”
Both women stood in silence for a moment, the weight of the discovery settling in. This was more than just an ordinary drop report. If Arin and Kai were truly as powerful as the drop indicated, they could very well change the future of awakeners—and the world itself.
“Get a hold of their contact information,” Hannah said, her voice now steady with purpose. “We need to track these two down and bring them in for a formal assessment. If they’re capable of this, they may be pivotal to our future operations.”
Amara quickly nodded, already working on retrieving their information from the report logs. “Right away. But Hannah, if they’re really as special as it seems… there’s no telling what might happen next.”
Hannah’s gaze darkened slightly, her eyes narrowing. “Exactly. That’s why we need to keep a close watch on them. These types of awakeners don’t come around often.”
And with that, the wheels of a new chapter in Arin and Kai's journey began to turn, one that could bring about both opportunity and danger—depending on how they wield their newfound power.