"King!"

  As the adrenaline rush subsided, a sharp pain immediately followed. Thorian's comrades rushed to his side, eyes wide with worry. His right hand, from palm to wrist, was a mangled mess, the unfortunate consequence of thrusting his flesh into Ventus's Gale Slash.

  "Moon's Healing," the priest uttered swiftly, not daring to waste another second as the gravity of the situation became apparent. Thorian's wounds began to mend, skin and flesh knitting together to once again conceal the underlying bones. However, even as the priest's spell concluded, there remained deep scars on Thorian's hand, a stark testament to the high price of his necessary sacrifice.

  "King, we were so worried," Saxum voiced, his voice heavy with concern. "Why would you risk yourself like that?"

  Ventus too nodded in agreement, his expression mirroring Saxum's worry. "Yeah, King. I couldn't have lived with myself if my skill had crippled you. That was far too dangerous!"

  "It was a necessary sacrifice," Thorian replied, shaking his head. "If that creature simply had a robust shell, we would have gradually weakened it and eventually brought it down with repeated uses of Gale Slash and Combustion Touch. But its rapid regeneration made any strategy that didn't lead to instant death futile."

  While they comprehended Thorian's logic, the group couldn't shake off their sense of guilt and helplessness. The image of their leader having to injure himself for their victory filled them with a mixture of remorse and frustration.

  "Is your hand going to be alright?" Nox asked, concern evident in his voice.

  "Don’t worry. I can move it just fine; it merely throbs a bit," replied Thorian, giving a rueful smile. "Once I evolve further, these scars will vanish."

  As their conversation reached its conclusion, Thorian's gaze drifted towards the twisted and shattered corpse of the Guilded Spiketail. Its form flickered, dissolving into golden particles of light. These particles gathered in the heart of the grotto, merging into a large, luminous chest. At the same moment, an ethereal, system-like voice resounded, its echo reverberating throughout the grotto.

  "Congratulations, adventurers," the voice intones, "You have vanquished the Guardian of the Second Layer, the Gilded Spiketail. You've shown strength, courage, and exceptional teamwork. The treasure of this layer is yours to claim."

  Upon hearing the nearly otherworldly voice, Thorian couldn't help but smile. Accustomed to this voice from a decade of traversing dungeons, spending even a few days without its familiar sound felt strange to him.

  "Well, brighten up," Thorian said, his voice buoyant as he began to stride toward the chest. "Let's reap the rewards of our hard work."

  "Wow, that's quite a pile of coins!" Ventus couldn't help exclaiming, his words breaking the heavy silence. "How many skills can I buy with a thousand, King?"

  "You can afford two," Thorian responded. "However, bear in mind there are other purchases you might need to make later that aren't skills. Having a reserve of Arcane Coins is never a poor decision; one never knows when a chance to buy something of great value might present itself."

  "A chance?" the priest questioned. "What kind of chance?"

  With a sigh, Thorian explained, "They aren't available at the moment, but once our territory progresses a few levels, we'll gain access to certain vendors and merchants who offer exotic and scarce items."

  "Ah, I understand," the priest's eyes widened in realization. "You are indeed very wise, my king."

  Before Thorian could respond, Nox tugged at his arm. "Hey, Thorian. Let's open the chest, I want to see what's inside."

  "Oh, me too! Me too!" Ventus chimed in enthusiastically.

  Observing their typically youthful excitement, Thorian couldn't help but grin. Without further ado, he guided the group toward the chest and proceeded to open it.

  As he opened the lid of the chest, a brilliant golden light spilled out, making the Thorian’s lips perk up. A golden glow? Some good rewards await us.

  Items in this world were classified by various levels of rarity: White Mist, Green Breeze, Blue Gale, Yellow Storm, Purple Cloud, Crimson Sun, and the legendary Black Star. Thorian could only hope that his rewards would include some items of the Blue Gale grade – that alone would exceed his expectations.

  When the light subsided, they peered into the chest. Nestled inside, an array of items lay waiting to be claimed. Thorian’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he picked up the first item. As he touched it, a screen window popped up in front of him.

  A robe with cultivation affinity? I didn’t expect to find an item like this already. And it's a Blue Gale too...

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  Thorian placed the rich, leaf-green robe back in the chest and picked up the next item, triggering another information window.

  A soft whistle echoed around the cave. "A formidable piece of armor," Thorian said, eyes wide as he admired the shimmering exoskeleton plate. “Our warriors would kill to have it.”

  "Oh, what does it do?" Ventus asked, curiosity lighting up his features, while the others waited patiently for the explanation.

  "See for yourself," Thorian replied, passing the Plate to the wind kobold.

  Ventus's expression shifted from interest to astonishment as he read through the information screen, "Forlune would kill to have this piece of equipment."

  "Why? What's special about it?" Nox, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, snatched the item from Ventus's grasp. As he too read through the details, his eyebrows shot up in surprise, "It grants fifteen points in stats? It’s like leveling up five times."

  "That's... a significant number of levels," the priest murmured from the sidelines.

  Meanwhile, Saxum turned his attention to Thorian, "King, I've been meaning to ask you. What are your plans for these rewards?"

  Thorian's brow furrowed in thought before he finally settled on a balanced solution. "The items that each group retrieves from the dungeon belong to them. When distributing within the team, we first review all the items. If someone desires a specific one, they may have it. If two individuals covet the same item, the one who needs it most shall receive it. If both have an equal need, we leave it to chance. Each person can only claim one item until everyone else has received something, and then they can request a second item."

  "That's a remarkably fair system, my king," the priest nodded, impressed. "As always, your wisdom astounds me."

  Thorian responded to the priest's compliment with a warm smile before taking the Verdant Robe and handing it to him, "Pass it around once you've had a look."

  While the group took turns examining the two pieces of equipment, Thorian progressed to the next items in the chest, each one triggering a fresh information window.

  A skill scroll? This one is good.

  Silently, Thorian handed the parchment to Saxum. Upon reading the item's description, the earth magus's eyes widened, and he wordlessly expressed his gratitude to the king.

  Meanwhile, Thorian's attention was fixated on the final two items in the chest. He swiftly retrieved them, inspecting the information screen that accompanied each.

  While the last item was nothing to write home about, the first one made Thorian pause. This one should go to Nox. It fits him perfectly.

  Once all the items had been examined and their information shared, the group distributed them according to individual desires and necessities. The Earth Tremor skill scroll and the Thorned Cloak found their rightful owners in Saxum and Nox respectively, and with little deliberation. Thorian claimed the Verdant Robe, as no one else had embarked on their cultivation journey. The wind magus Ventus selected the Guilded Spiketail Plate, with the intention of exchanging it for other items once the other kobolds also had an opportunity to conquer the dungeon. Since the priest didn't express a specific preference, he ended up with both the Flask and the pendant. While he planned to utilize the Flask in a precarious situation, the pendant would serve as a future bartering item.

  With everyone satisfied with their new acquisitions, the group began their trek out of the dungeon.

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