Chapter 149 – Unexpected Rewards for Their Effort
Chapter 149
Unexpected Rewards for Their Effort
Date : Day 30 of Grimleaf 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.
For the next hour, the narrow corridor became a scene of relentless, methodical slaughter.
It was grinding in its purest form. No complicated maneuvers anymore. No sudden surprises. Only endless repetition against an endless horde—the same motions repeated hundreds of times until they carved themselves into muscle memory.
Hyoren, Elise, and Jackey gradually moved almost entirely on instinct. Their bodies operated through sheer reflex while their minds drifted into a state of detached focus. Strike. Kill. Reset. Repeat.
BANG.
Hyoren absorbed another crude club strike with his shield. The impact traveled through his already aching arm, sending a fresh pulse of fatigue through his shoulder socket. His muscles screamed in protest.
But before the goblin could recover.
SQUELCH.
Hyoren's glowing sword thrust forward and pierced directly through its throat. The enchanted blade punched through flesh and gristle with enhanced sharpness.
The corpse dissolved instantly—its form breaking apart into shimmering particles that scattered across the growing pile of loot beneath their feet.
On his right side.
SCREEECK.
Jackey's Bloody Axe decapitated another goblin trying to push through the corridor. The head spun away, its snarling expression frozen in mindless rage before both it and the body dissolved into nothingness.
Then immediately after.
SWOOSH.
The white Flying Kite Axe spun through the air again, its pale surface catching the dim blue light of the magic lamps as it rotated end over end.
CRACK.
It split open another goblin's skull further in the backline, the impact sending bone fragments and grey matter spraying across the creatures behind it. The thrown axe curved through the air, its space-time runes activating as it returned to Jackey's waiting hand.
At the rear.
TWANG.
Elise released another arrow calmly, her movements as composed and deliberate as they had been at the battle's start. Her emerald eyes remained sharp despite the exhaustion that must have been weighing on her.
SWOOSH.
The projectile streaked through the corridor and struck a goblin attempting to swing toward Hyoren's exposed side. The arrow punched through its ribcage with enough force to spin it halfway around, its crude weapon slipping from lifeless fingers.
THUMP.
The creature collapsed before dissolving into particles that drifted lazily toward the ground.
Their methodical slaughter continued endlessly—each kill blending into the next until individual moments became indistinguishable.
Hyoren still held the line firmly. Shield raised. Sword ready. His muscles burned with accumulated fatigue that seemed to penetrate down to his very bones. Sweat soaked his body beneath the armor, making the leather cling uncomfortably to his skin.
But his focus never wavered. Could not waver. One moment of inattention would mean death—for himself or for his companions behind him.
He had become a dam holding back a flood of green filth. An unyielding barrier between the endless horde and the two people he cared about most.
Meanwhile, Elise and Jackey managed the flow beside and behind him, efficiently eliminating any goblin that slipped past or attempted to pressure the line too heavily. Their coordination had become seamless—wordless communication built through shared danger and mutual trust. A glance. A shift in stance. A slight adjustment in positioning. All conveyed meaning without the need for speech.
Individually, the goblins were weak. Pathetically weak even. A single solid strike could end them without much effort. But the endless tide itself was exhausting. The constant pressure. The unrelenting assault. The knowledge that for every creature killed, another would immediately take its place.
But it was changed during the latter half of the battle.
By then, the narrow passage had become almost completely clogged with accumulated loot. Magic stones rolled everywhere beneath scrambling feet, their surfaces creating treacherous footing. Crude weapons piled across the floor in tangled heaps of rusted iron and splintered wood. Crude armor scraps created additional obstacles that shifted unpredictably underfoot. The goblins kept tripping over the growing mound of their fallen companions' equipment.
Many could no longer even properly swing their weapons before losing balance.
Their clawed feet slipped on loose stones. Their arms windmilled desperately as they struggled to remain upright amid the chaos. What initially felt like a desperate chokepoint defense slowly turned into one-sided slaughter.
The goblins could barely approach anymore without stumbling into Hyoren's waiting blade or presenting easy targets for Jackey's axes and Elise's arrows. The corridor had transformed from a defensive position into a killing ground where death came swiftly and inevitably for anything that entered.
Finally—after what felt like an eternity—the flow suddenly stopped.
The pulsating runic array inside the Monster Room, which had continuously flashed every time a goblin died to spawn another replacement, suddenly lost its glow. The pale blue light faded completely. The runes became dark and inert. No more goblins appeared at the center of the chamber.
The final goblin fell moments later, Jackey's axe splitting its skull before it could even register that reinforcements would never come again. Its body dissolved into particles that drifted down to join the rest of the accumulated loot.
And at last—silence.
The corridor was now completely littered with magic stones, crude weapons, crude armor scraps, and goblin gear. The accumulated loot formed a thick carpet across the narrow passage, making the original stone floor virtually invisible beneath the pile.
Traversing through it had become genuinely difficult. No wonder the goblins eventually could not attack properly anymore. The accumulated loot itself had turned into an environmental hazard. Something Hyoren had not even fully accounted for in his original strategy.
Hyoren slowly lowered both his shield and sword afterward.
His arms felt like lead weights, trembling slightly from the prolonged exertion as the adrenaline finally began to fade. His chest heaved heavily with each ragged breath. His entire body was drenched in sweat that dripped steadily onto the pile of loot below.
"Is… is that it?"
His voice came out rough and hoarse, scraped raw by hours of labored breathing and the cold dungeon air.
At the backline, Elise still maintained sharp vigilance for several more seconds. Her emerald eyes scanned the now-silent Monster Room, searching for any sign of movement or threat. Her bow remained half-raised, an arrow still nocked and ready to fly at the slightest provocation.
But eventually, even she slowly lowered her bow. The tension drained from her shoulders, replaced by weary relief that softened her features.
"I think so…"
She looked toward the now inert Runic Array deep inside the chamber. The runes sat lifeless against the stone floor.
"The Runic Array spawn rate must have finally reached its limit."
Jackey immediately raised both of his axes high into the air, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten in the face of anticipated reward. His tabby cat tail spiraled behind him with barely contained excitement.
"WOHOO! Time for treasure chest!"
His booming voice echoed throughout the now silent corridor.
Hyoren let out a tired chuckle while wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
Even Elise could not help smiling softly at Jackey's overflowing excitement. Her pointed ears twitched with amusement despite her fatigue.
After surviving an endless horde for over an hour, the promise of treasure definitely sounded satisfying.
***
But before Jackey could rush toward the Monster Room—a barrage of notification sounds suddenly assaulted Hyoren's mind.
The familiar mechanical voice of the Voice of Aethell echoed repeatedly inside his head, one after another, each announcement overlapping with the next in a dizzying cascade.
"Level Up to Level 10!"
Hyoren's eyes widened slightly. The sensation was unmistakable—a surge of warmth spreading through his core as his body responded to the sudden influx of growth.
Then another notification immediately followed.
"Level Up to Level 11!"
He froze. He couldn’t even process another influx of growth.
"…What?"
But it did not stop there. More notifications continued pouring in rapidly, each one accompanied by that strange internal resonance that made his very being vibrate with recognition.
"Magic Manipulation — Level up to 4."
"Magic Blade — Level up to 3."
"Sword Mastery — Level up to 2."
"Sword Mastery — Active Skill acquired — Quick Slash."
"Shield Mastery — Level up to 2."
"Shield Mastery — Active Skill acquired — Provoke."
The flood of announcements kept ringing inside his head continuously, one after another in an endless stream that left him momentarily dizzy. His hand rose to his temple, pressing against the throbbing pulse that accompanied each notification.
The experience gained from clearing the Monster Room was simply immense. Hundreds of goblins slaughtered over the course of an hour. Each kill contributing its small portion of experience. The cumulative total had reached staggering proportions.
It had pushed him over multiple thresholds at once. Two level increases. Several skill level ups. And even two newly acquired active skills—the kind of growth that normally took weeks or months of dedicated training.
Hyoren's jaw slowly dropped. The sheer amount of growth from a single battle was absurd—unprecedented even by the standards of this world where rapid advancement was already possible through combat.
Then he quickly looked toward the others. Elise and Jackey both seemed equally stunned.
Elise's emerald eyes widened in surprise while her pointed ears twitched rapidly. Jackey repeatedly blinked as if trying to process multiple notifications at once, his mouth opening and closing without sound.
Then Hyoren slowly grinned. The exhaustion from battle faded slightly, replaced by the heady rush of unexpected growth.
"Did you guys also get many Voice of Aethell announcements too?"
Jackey jumped, his body jerking as if startled from a dream.
"My level increased to 13, Big Bro! And I thought I was stagnating! I figured I would need way more experience before leveling again! This dungeon is the best!"
Then he grinned widely, his fangs gleaming in the pale dungeon light.
"And my Axe Mastery, Throwing, Dual Wielding, and Keen Instinct all leveled up too!"
He swung one axe proudly through the air, the blade whistling as it cut through the stale atmosphere.
"I even got a new active skill! Rotating Slash! Axe Mastery reached level 4!"
Elise chuckled softly, the sound light and musical against the oppressive silence of the corridor.
"My turn then…"
She brushed a strand of silver hair behind her ear and smiled, her emerald eyes still carrying traces of wonder from the notifications.
"I didn't level up. But my Bow Mastery and Magic Manipulation both increased."
Her fingers traced along the curve of her bow, as if acknowledging the weapon's role in her growth.
Hyoren then told them about his own gains. The words came steadily, but his expression still carried traces of disbelief at the sheer magnitude of what had occurred.
Elise's emerald eyes widened further when she heard the full extent of his advancement.
"Two levels at once…? That's unreal."
Hyoren scratched his cheek awkwardly, his fingers brushing against the dried sweat that had accumulated there.
"Maybe because there were just too many goblins. They were around level 10 too, so the experience gain was pretty high…"
He paused before adding, his tone slightly more subdued.
"And my Divine Protection gives me a twenty-five percent growth bonus."
Elise finally nodded in understanding, her brow clearing as the pieces fell into place.
"Right… Why do I keep forgetting about your blessing… That explains it… otherwise that kind of growth would be absurd."
Elise tucked a strand of silver hair behind her pointed ears, the gesture thoughtful.
"And that might explain Jackey's explosive growth too…"
Jackey tilted his head in confusion, his golden eyes blinking with genuine puzzlement.
"Huh?"
Hyoren scratched his cheek awkwardly before explaining, suddenly aware that he was revealing information that could have significant implications.
"My Divine Protection also affects my party members, Jackey. So… that probably explains your explosive growth as well."
Jackey blinked once. Then twice. His tail stopped swishing behind him entirely.
Then his eyes widened dramatically, the realization crashing over him like a wave.
"Wait… seriously?"
Hyoren nodded, his expression serious despite the absurdity of the situation.
"Yes. Goddess Luminara said so to me."
For a moment, Jackey stared at him in silence. His mouth hung slightly open, his axes dangling forgotten at his sides.
Then he suddenly burst out laughing, the sound booming through the corridor with unrestrained glee.
"Big Bro, that blessing is completely broken! HAHA!"
His whole body shook with laughter, his tail resuming their energetic spiraling as the implications sank in.
Elise sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose, though a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips despite her exasperation.
"A growth-type Divine Protection that can even affect allies… If the noble families learned about this, they would go insane trying to recruit him."
Her expression grew more serious, her emerald eyes narrowing slightly with concern.
"Some might even try more forceful methods."
Hyoren smiled wryly, the gesture carrying a hint of nervousness beneath its surface.
"I'd rather they didn't. Haha."
***
Hyoren then looked toward the corridor. The wave of excitement from the many level-ups slowly settled, replaced by the practical awareness of what still needed to be done. Now it was time for practicality.
Hyoren sheathed his sword and relaxed his posture, the blade sliding into its scabbard with a soft metallic whisper. Jackey also put away his twin axes, the weapons strapped to his belt with practiced ease. Elise slung her bow over her shoulder, the movement graceful despite her obvious fatigue.
The tension from the battle slowly faded.
Hyoren rolled his shoulders with a quiet groan, feeling the joints pop and crack in protest. The sound echoed faintly through the corridor. Jackey stretched his torso until several cracks echoed from his back, his spine releasing the accumulated tension from hours of combat. Beside them, Elise languidly stretched her arms upward, her silver hair swaying softly as she let out a small sigh of relief.
After fighting nonstop for so long, exhaustion was finally beginning to catch up to them. The adrenaline that had sustained them through the endless horde was fading rapidly.
Hyoren then looked toward Elise and Jackey, his expression shifting from weary satisfaction to businesslike focus.
"Okay… time to gather the loot. As usual, only collect the magic stones and rusted weapons…"
He glanced at the scattered pile covering the corridor floor, his eyes scanning the mess of accumulated drops.
"And don't forget to count the magic stones. I want to know the actual number of goblins we fought."
Elise and Jackey nodded without hesitation. The three of them immediately began gathering the loot, their movements methodical despite their fatigue.
One by one, the magic stones and rusted weapons disappeared into their storage bags—the void receiving the loot with practiced ease.
Slowly, they continued collecting everything scattered throughout the narrow corridor until they finally reached the Monster Room. The going was tedious—the sheer volume of drops required constant bending and reaching, each movement sending fresh aches through their already battered bodies.
The massive Runic Array was already inert. The pulsating blue light had completely vanished, leaving behind only geometric pattern carved into the ancient stone. The intricate runes sat lifeless and cold. The chamber that had once teemed with endless goblins now stood empty and silent.
Meanwhile, the passage now free of magic stones and rusted weapons, only crude rags and broken clubs remained scattered across the floor—worthless things nobody would bother collecting.
Hyoren looked around before speaking, his hand resting against his hip.
"Okay… I gathered 121 magic stones…"
Jackey jumped excitedly, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
"I got 87, Big Bro!"
His tail swished behind him with barely contained energy.
Elise tucked a strand of silver hair behind her pointed ear, her expression thoughtful.
"And I got 92…"
Hyoren did the mental calculation, his brow furrowing slightly as he added the numbers together.
"Exactly 300… so this Monster Room was going to spawn three hundred goblins before it cleared…"
Elise gasped softly, her emerald eyes widening with the implications.
"That's around the same amount as the goblins we defeated at the Goblin Settlement… But back then, we killed those three hundred over several days…"
Her voice carried a note of disbelief, the comparison highlighting just how extraordinary their achievement had been.
"And now we killed the same number in about an hour…"
Hyoren grinned, the expression tired but genuine.
"This is why dungeons are efficient grinding places, right?"
He crossed his arms over his chest, his armor creaking softly with the motion.
"So many monsters for experience… as long as we stay careful…"
Jackey's booming voice echoed through the room, his enthusiasm filling the empty chamber.
"YEAH! Dungeons are the best!"
Elise smiled wryly, amusement glittering in her emerald eyes despite her lingering caution.
"You two are right. But don't get complacent. We still need to be careful."
Hyoren scratched his cheek with a bitter smile, remembering the goblin horde that could have overwhelmed them instantly if they had lost focus for even a moment. The memory of those desperate minutes—when the press of bodies had seemed endless and his shield arm had burned with fatigue—served as a stark reminder of how close they had come to disaster.
Despite being the perfect grinding place, a dungeon was still a dangerous place. The rewards came with risks that could not be ignored.
"Right… we still need to be careful."
Then his gaze shifted deeper into the room, drawn toward something that had been hidden from view during the battle.
At the far back stood a small pedestal. And on top of it rested a golden chest.
It was not very large—perhaps only around thirty or forty centimeters wide—but its polished golden surface immediately drew attention. The metal gleamed softly in the pale dungeon light, its ornate decorations catching the illumination and scattering it in delicate patterns across the surrounding floor. The craftsmanship was exquisite.
Jackey noticed it too and instantly jumped in excitement before rushing toward it, his heavy boots thundering against the stone floor.
"WOHOO! Treasure chest! We going to be rich!!!"
Hyoren and Elise exchanged glances before following after him, their footsteps more measured as they approached the pedestal.
They arrived at the pedestal and quickly examined the chest with interest.
The shape of the chest. The ornate golden decorations. The plain stone pedestal beneath it. There was no keyhole, no lock, no complicated mechanism visible from the outside. Just a simple treasure chest waiting to be opened.
The sight felt strangely familiar to Hyoren, who had played countless RPG games back on Earth. The design was almost painfully generic—the kind of reward container that appeared in every fantasy game he had ever touched.
He then looked toward Elise, his expression cautious.
"Is the chest safe to open, Elise?"
He remembered that in many games, treasure chests could be trapped. Mimics. Poison needles. Explosive traps. The possibilities were endless. He knew not every gaming trope applied to this world, but this dungeon had already proven itself to be absurdly game-like in its mechanics.
Elise tapped her chin thoughtfully, her pointed ears twitching as she considered the question.
"Based on my knowledge, some treasure chests are indeed booby-trapped. But reward chests usually aren't."
She looked at Hyoren, her emerald irises meeting his dark eyes with steady confidence.
"Monster Room reward chests and Floor Guardian reward chests are generally safe…"
A small smile appeared on her lips, softening her serious expression.
"Though this is only secondhand knowledge from books Ina gave me."
Jackey gave a confident thumbs-up, his golden eyes gleaming with certainty.
"Elise is right, Big Bro! I've already dived into a few dungeons and cleared several floors before! Random treasure chests hidden inside mazes or labyrinth corners can definitely have traps."
He pointed toward the golden chest dramatically, his finger hovering inches from the polished surface.
"But reward chests are safe!"
Hyoren nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"I see. Still… please check it anyway, Elise… With your Trap Dismantling Skill."
Elise giggled softly, her silver hair swaying with the motion.
"I told you not to be complacent, Hyoren. But now you're being overly careful. Fufu."
Her expression softened, the teasing giving way to genuine warmth.
"But you're right. We can't be too careful inside a dangerous place like a dungeon."
Elise crouched beside the pedestal and carefully examined both the chest and the surrounding area.
Her slender fingers lightly traced the edges of the golden container as she searched for hidden wires, springs, runes, or any mechanism that might trigger a trap. Her emerald eyes moved with methodical precision, missing nothing as they scanned every inch of the chest and its resting place.
After a while, she stood up and dusted off her armor, the motion casual and unhurried.
"No traps. This chest is safe."
Hyoren nodded, satisfied with her assessment.
Then he slowly opened the golden chest, his fingers curling beneath the lid.
The moment the lid lifted—Poof. The chest instantly vanished into particles of light, dissolving into shimmering motes that scattered through the air like golden dust. Only a single green pendant remained resting atop the pedestal, its teardrop-shaped gemstone catching the pale dungeon light.
Hyoren blinked in surprise, his hand still hovering where the lid had been.
Jackey burst into loud laughter, the sound echoing off the chamber walls.
"AHAHA! Big Bro spooked!"
He held his stomach while laughing, his tail swishing wildly behind him.
"Big Bro! All dungeon chests are like that! They disappear after opening and leave only the treasure behind! HAHA"
Jackey pointed at the pendant, his finger tracing its outline in the air.
"The chest size doesn't matter either! It’s always the same size! Sometimes the reward is tiny like a ring, but sometimes it can be something huge like a two-meter great axe! You never know what's inside until you open it!"
Hyoren finally nodded in understanding, the initial shock fading into wry acceptance.
The mechanic truly was game-like. There was no way to determine the contents of reward chest beforehand.
This dungeon kept proving itself to be as if it had ripped mechanics straight out of famous RPG games back on Earth. Random monster spawns. Loot drops. Reward chests. Safe rooms. The parallels were impossible to ignore. He didn't know whether it was an intentional design by Gidol or not.
But the resemblance was far too uncanny to simply call it coincidence.
He picked up the pendant and examined it closely, turning the jewelry over in his fingers. The metal was cool against his skin, the chain surprisingly heavy for its delicate appearance.
It was a simple teardrop-shaped green pendant hanging from a sturdy silver chain. Inside the gemstone, faint runic inscriptions glimmered softly beneath the surface—their patterns shifting subtly as he angled the pendant toward the light. The runes seemed to pulse with faint inner energy, suggesting magical properties that went beyond mere decoration.
"This definitely has some kind of magical effect… We should appraise it."
Elise nodded, her emerald eyes studying the pendant with professional interest.
"Yeah… You are right, Hyoren. We should bring it to the Gilded Scale later."
Hyoren then placed the pendant into his storage bag. The void swallowed the pendant with practiced ease, the jewelry disappearing into the dimensional space without a trace.
The Monster Room had truly proven itself to be a challenge for Freedom Party. Even with Hyoren's strategy, they still needed absolute focus, teamwork, and careful coordination. A single mistake could have easily become fatal for them. The endless horde had tested their endurance, their discipline, and their trust in one another.
But the rewards were equally fitting. Loot. A magical green pendant. Experience points. Level-ups. New Skills. Everything they had earned through blood and sweat and determination.
The three of them stood amidst the now-inert Runic Array with deep satisfaction lingering on their faces. Exhausted—but accomplished.