With the sword piercing one of its tender places, its arms suddenly give way, causing it to fall face-first onto the ground. Looking at the sword and its mess, I don't hesitate to drop the weapon and grab my wand again. Pointing it point blank at the abomination, I quickly cast my spells before it had time to get up. Aiming my first spell at it just to deal damage, I shot an arcane bolt right in the opening I had just used. While I couldn't harm it with my lesser strength with the sword, the arcane bolt that proceeds to enter burns a hole straight inside it.

I know this because the damage caused isn't leaving my memory for now. The abominations twitch on the ground and start to howl in pain. They sound more like a bunch of trees groaning from the wind but far louder. Unable to get up, they continue to lay there. Xelyphe steps up, and instead of continuing to torture it via this method, it starts to hack at its legs, so even if it wants to get up, it won't be able to.

With its health dwindling to less than 2%, it thrashes about more viciously, trying to get us away from it. Taking one last look at Xelyphe, who has stepped back, I aim my wand at it and cast one more spell. Thankfully, that final spell finishes the abomination, and we can finally relax.

- Congratulations, you have slain a Level 7 Abomination (Journeyman Boss). You have received ten experience. -

Not two seconds later, my vision becomes clustered with skill level-up notifications.

- Congratulations, your skill, Shield, has leveled up. Current level 7.

Congratulations, your skill, Nature's Grasp, has leveled up. Current level 7.

Congratulations, your skill, Barkskin, has leveled up. Current level 4.

Congratulations, your skill, Arcane Shot, has leveled up. Current level 10. -

Another notification manifests with the level-up of my arcane shot to level 10.

- Congratulations, your skill, Arcane Shot, is ready to evolve. Please proceed to a safe location before initiating skill evolution. -

The quest was completed, and we didn't have to worry about an abomination rampaging through the settlement. The one thing that piqued my interest now that the battle was over was that the failure of this quest was a rampaging abomination and not our deaths. But I figured that if we were to back out from fighting it here, it would appear at the settlement, and then we would have to fight it there. Granted, it would have been easier to fight it there, but based on the ritual, maybe it would have been a stronger monster.

Looking over the quest and the rewards we have been given, I am interested in what they provide.

- Party Quest: Black Thumb (Completed)

Your party has failed to stop the summoning ritual from starting. While you managed to prevent any more captives from being sacrificed, the death of the gnolls inside the circle was just the ritual to start. With the final sacrifices completed, the ritual began to empower those who remained inside the fort and were part of the gnoll's faction.

Due to some tampering with the ritual, the three remaining members of the gnolls faction were sucked inside the vortex causing the three of them to fuse into a brand new monster! Congratulations, you have created something that should never exist on this plane of existence. It is up to you to destroy this abomination.

Tasks:

Slay the abomination: 1/1

Rewards: Crystal of Corruption-attuned mana X 1, Chest of the Fog X 10, Large Bag of Experience X 5 -

With the quest completed, we gather as a family over where Dad was launched. Looking at his scorched chest, I pull out the healing potions I had brought with me and hand them over to him. They don't heal for much, but by the time he has finished drinking them, he has most of his health back and doesn't require any immediate medical attention. Xelyphe starts to wrap bandages they made around his torso and the other minor cuts he got from smashing into the wall. Looking at our final health and mana pools, I am shocked at how well we did.

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- Drake:

HP: 80/80

MP: 14/300

Xelyphe:

HP: 93/100

MP: 0/0

Madoka:

HP: 40/40

MP: 0/0

Ilpheus:

HP: 48/160

MP: 0/0 -

I am happy that I checked everyone's health. Dad is recovering but could use more healing, and Xelyphe is in the same position. Gathering my mana points, I start chugging them down individually. With seven potions, I could bring my mana back up 28 points.

While I was doing that, Mom scolded Dad for being reckless for taking such a big hit from the monster and stubborn about not wanting to dodge it. "You're giving Drake a bad example of what you can do!" She wanted to continue that train, but Dad put his hands up.

"Enough, I get it. I need to be better, but this was a great example of something different," he grins up at her from his seated position. "I was able to show him how strong someone with a dragon bloodline can handle hits."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT." She shrieks, "I just had to talk with him not two days ago about not doing anything stupid, and now here you are, showing him exactly what he can do!"

Dad looks at me grimly, shaking my head like he did to me a few days ago. I grab Xelyphe, and we walk away so I can start to heal their wounds. The look of betrayal he gives me makes me feel justified for what he did. I don't plan on healing him until Mother is done with him, just in case there is a need for more healing. Starting healing, I brought Xelyphe to 93 health using only four casts of my minor healing spell. Another skill level-up notification appears after casting the spell for the fourth time.

- Congratulations, your skill, Minor Healing, has leveled up. Current level 7. -

Happy with all of my gains so far, I look over at my mother, who is still scolding my father but with less enthusiasm than she was, and more tears are involved. I approach, not wanting to intrude but knowing we must keep moving. "Mom, we need to either head back to the settlement now that we are gathered together or start looking around. I would like to look around to ensure there aren't any chests to be had."

Looking at me, she stares deeply into my eyes before giving a crisp, wet nod, "You are your father's son." With that, she tried to help my father stand up.

Before looking to loot, I ask Mom one more question, "Do you want me to heal Dad?"

Looking at him, me, and then back to him, she shakes her head, "Nah, I think he will be fine right here." With that, I can see she increased the grip on his waist as she helped him move.

Giving me a wide-eyed look, I can tell he is begging me to help him. Again, I just turned around and started to look for loot. They can't be interrupted during their time together since they don't get enough of it. Sprinting away so I don't hear his pleas, I start looking around. There are a couple of buildings inside the fort that we never deemed to enter; now, with everyone either dead or having fled, we open the buildings one at a time.

In the first building, there is a storeroom filled with different foods, and a chest is buried in one of the room's corners. Quickly going to gather it, I find some fresh fruits and start eating one. While eating it, I can feel my mana filling up ever so slowly. Shrugging and thinking it is like the berriesI found when I arrived, I continue eating. Heading to the next building, there aren't many chests to send back to the settlement, but I think some clothing would be worth grabbing so we don't wear the same clothes in and out.

Once I had gathered what clothing was available, I found the rest of my family just resting near the tree line, not wanting to be in that fort for a second longer. "Is there anything else you want to look for, or are you done with what you have come here for?" My mother asks.

"I am done. There was only one chest in the two buildings inside the fort, but I grabbed a lot of clothing to have some spares when we returned to the settlement. Shall we leave then?"

"Yes, please," Xelyphe is the first to volunteer so that we can leave.

Pulling open my menus, I find options different from what I expected.

- Would you like to exit the Dungeon? Yes/No -

Seeing my confused face, Dad asks, "What is wrong, Drake?"The first building

Scratching my head, trying to think of the reason for the difference, and being unable to think of anything, I reply, "It is asking if we want to leave the dungeon, not go back to the settlement."

"Since that is the only option, you might as well select it. There's nothing we can do about it now." He responds, knowing that we have no other choice.

Selecting to exit the dungeon, we appear right in front of an archway to a fort that looks precisely like the fort we were just in. After arriving outside of the dungeon, I received a set of notifications.

- Congratulations, you have completed your first dungeon. You will receive a 1 X Tier 1 Personal Evolution Box to complete your first dungeon.

Congratulations, you have completed a dungeon with one less person than is recommended. For achieving this feat, you have been awarded 2 X Tier 1 Personal Evolution Box and 1 X Large Experience Bag. -

"Did anyone else get Evolution boxes and a large bag of experience?" I asked the rest of my family.

Nodding their heads, everyone knows what these boxes are, as one of them brought me back from the brink. The difference in tier might be the only difference. They might even get an achievement for having a different-tiered box, rewarding them with another box.

When I turn around, there is a swirling red color. Upon closer inspection, I was able to find the name in a notification that appeared.

- Would you like to enter the Sacrificial Gnoll Dungeon? Yes/No

You are unable to enter this dungeon again today. Please try again later. -

"We cannot enter the dungeon again today, even if we wanted to, which I don't, so let us look around our surroundings.

"No need, Drake," my father says, "I know where we are. I remember running into this place when I went exploring right before the event. There is a unique building that I would like to take a look at further if everyone is okay with that.

Seeing no one else disagreeing with him, he leads the way from where we are currently. It doesn't take long before we are in front of a flashy building.