"Matriarch, we…"
Liam had just began to speak when Evraina waved him off.
"I know, I know. You are here for our Dragontear, right? Don't worry, you helped us, so a reward is in order. We shall grant you the most precious treasure in the world. And for defeating the demon, assisted by the blessing of Nexkra'nar I will even grant each of you a single Dragontear. This will be our sign of friendship. I hope you appreciate it."
"What? Mother…", exclaimed Phenia in protest.
"Don't worry my child. I know what I am doing. Adventurers. There is one thing I have to ask of you…"
The matriarch's voice was heavy, clearly preparing to speak of a difficult request. But Cyclone's eyes were shining knowing she would receive a Dragontear. Without hesitation she immediately urged the matriarch:
"Sure, anything, don't hold back!"
"Thank you, adventurer. Listen, should you ever manage to reach the Path of Wisdom, please seek out Nexkra'nar. The benevolent dragon might need your assistance."
"A dragon needs our help?"
"Path of Wisdom?"
"Yeah, where is this?"
The friends only felt puzzled upon listening to the matriarch. Since entering the game, they had heard about dragons multiple times but apparently dragons left Crunaboul. Now, one was said to live in a place called the Path of Wisdom? Where was this? Why had they never heard of it?
Evraina noticed the confusion in everyone's eyes. But she only smiled lightly, saying:
"Don't worry about it. When you are eligible to know, you will naturally find out."
"Eligible? And how can we be eligible? I thought we already gained the dragon's favour. Is it still not enough?"
Balm tried to press for answers, but Evraina only responded by shaking her head with a smile. Annoyed, the healer turned towards Liam. But the veteran chuckled and gave the same response, causing his friends to grit their teeth.
The matriarch clearly didn't want to harp on the topic much longer. She turned towards her daughter, saying gently:
"Phenia, please retrieve the Dragontears."
Phenia's fair and beautiful face scrunched faintly. She was clearly reluctant. Seeing her like this the friends couldn't help but feel a hint of guilt. Originally, they were fully prepared to win those Dragontears by force. If it weren't for the invasion of infernals, it would have been them who would have beaten up the cultists.
Thus, receiving the incredibly precious Dragontears now as a reward felt somewhat wrong. After all, according to Therim these were rare treasures, nearly extinct in the world. Perhaps these eleven Dragontears were all the cultists had left…
Yet, obviously, the friends didn't speak up. They watched as Phenia flapped her wings and slowly approached a door to the side. The crowd of cultists made way with mixed feelings. Phenia approached a tall gate looking just like all the others. She closed her eyes and spoke words of an incomprehensible language. Suddenly the gate transformed into a portal of swirling green light, extremely mysterious, leading to another space entirely.
Under the party's amazed eyes Phenia stepped into the portal. As the dragon daughter disappeared, an awe-inspiring breath leaked from the portal, the mythical aura calming the mana of the world. Just from a light touch everyone felt their bodies recovering to their peak, directly feeling a few years younger. An incomparable vitality blessed everything.
A few silent seconds later Phenia returned. In her open palms rested eleven tiny beads. Gleaming with the azure light of the open sea these beads were like the most precious gemstones in the world. The vitality in the room instantly skyrocketed.
Phenia's face was solemn as she brought the Dragontears to her mother. Matriarch Evraina grabbed them and waved her hands above the Dragontears, sealing their awe-inspiring but too conspicuous aura.
At this moment the atmosphere in the room was supposed to return to normal but the friends were surprised to realise that this wasn't the case. More and more vitality continued to leak from the portal.
The party's eyes turned away from the matriarch, falling onto the portal. Their expression turned strange. Cyclone felt a strong urge to rush at the portal and take a look inside, as, judging by the aura, there should still be a lot of Dragontears left. Easily dozens, perhaps hundreds. Cyclone's fingers itched and she was almost unable to hold back.
Phenia suddenly noticed her blunder. She smiled awkwardly and signalled aunty Bafra. The mature tree-woman understood, hastily coming before the portal, and urgently closing it with a few words.
The portal disappeared and the vitality was cut off.
"What a pity…", sighed Cyclone. She was already thinking. What if they entered the dungeon a second time? If they moved fast enough, could they enter the portal and perhaps… appreciate the treasures within?
Perhaps this was something to discuss with the expert after they got out. For now, Cyclone's eyes moved back to the matriarch who was about to hand out the Dragontears.
"Adventurers, please, take good care of them. Don't let them fall into the wrong hands."
With those words Evraina gave the eleven Dragontears a light push. The small, azure beads scattered, one for each, only Silver Blade was handed two. Everyone caught their Dragontear and checked its information. The room abruptly turned silent. Ragged breath slowly rose. Everyone felt as if their arms suddenly became weighed down by lead as they stared at the precious treasure in their hands.
[Nexkra'nar's Dragontear
Category: Legendary
Effect: Cleanses all negative status effects upon use. Instantly recover 100% HP. Enter a state of invulnerability for LVL*1 seconds.
Restrictions: Bound to Bleary Mirage; Can't be used inside dungeons
Cooldown: 7 days
A legendary Dragontear. Produced during a dragon's healing process. Imbued with the incredible vitality of a dragon. One of the most famous treasures in the world. Can be used for healing, alchemy, blacksmithing, and more.]
"Legendary…"
Cyclone's voice quivered as she beheld the treasure in her hands, which wouldn't stop trembling. The others showed more composure, however their expressions still beamed with joy. Finally, they held their first legendary item in hand! It was as mighty as one would expect. Recovery, invulnerability, truly a Dragontear of extraordinary vitality. Only the long cooldown was somewhat of a bummer.
But the surprise didn't end there.
[Congratulations on being the first to receive a legendary item.]
[Your accomplishment is worthy of being remembered.]
[You can choose to name your team or remain anonymous.]
[You can add the names of your benefactors to the announcement.]
When the notification popped up, everyone stared at it wide-eyed. The first legendary item. Was it worth a server announcement?
"Haha, two announcements back-to-back. We are so awesome!", exclaimed Cyclone joyfully.
"Truly, hard work pays of."
"Our might conquers even the server."
"We're the best."
The friends couldn't help but vent their joy, sharing high-fives all around. However, after a few seconds they calmed down and discussed the matter seriously. Luckily they were all of the same opinion. Everyone decided not to parade their legendary item.
C respected the party's decision. When the announcement hit the server, the identities were kept anonymous. Even the sponsors were left out. The friends hoped their sponsors would show understanding should the topic ever arise between them.
For a moment it was as if all the players had frozen before the global chat fiercely erupted. Even the topic of the dungeon's first clear was suppressed for a moment.
"Legendary?!"
"Who is it?!"
"Buying legendary items! 200 gold each!"
"250!"
"300!"
"Who would be stupid enough to sell their legendary item?"
"Damn, I'm so curious. What effects could a legendary item have?"
"Who got the legendary item? Could it be Hotpot? Was this their reward?"
"It must me!"
"Don't slander us! I wish we received a few legendary items!"
Cyclone suddenly appeared in the global chat. But her attempt at pretending backfired. Her appearance drew too much attention and the idea that Hotpot had to be the one receiving the legendary item spread even faster. Cyclone discussed back and forth but she couldn't win against so many people.
"Hey, guys! Don't you want to help me?"
Cyclone turned towards her friends and was only met with exasperated expressions. She snorted and gave up, withdrawing from the global chat. These people were too unreasonable.
"Do we still have anything left to do?"
"No, we are done here."
The friends looked at each other and nodded, some relief in their eyes. Their arduous journey through the dungeon was coming to a close. Satisfied with their rich rewards the friends thought about it and an invisible force teleported them out of the dungeon. They appeared high in their air above a sprawling forest. An ancient gate was behind their bodies, slowly disappearing. Everyone took deep breaths, enjoying the outside air.
"Hotpot!"
"They are out! They are out!"
"My heroes!"
"Haha, I always knew you would be first!"
Suddenly the tranquillity was violently disturbed. The party was not granted rest yet. While hundreds of fans cheered, a white light engulfed the party. Massive EXP were granted and everyone directly advanced by two levels. And before the friends could deal with their level-ups, players appeared in front of them clamouring and cheering.