Chapter 26: Level Up.

Tess nodded once politely; without wasting any time, both of them pulled their badges and extended them forward.

The mana reactor sensed the badge and scanned it thoroughly. The colossal door opened, reflecting the inside of the summoner "Tower master, huh?" tower.

Both of them stepped inside the chamber, the door behind them shut by itself with a loud THUD.

The old lady who usually sat next to the mana sphere wasn’t here this time around.

It made multiple thoughts appear in Emil’s mind. ’She’s not here? Last time when I came here, she was sitting here only, so I thought that her job is to tend to works related to the mana sphere.’

But he didn’t pay any more attention to it; both of them made their way towards the alchemist’s chamber.

They passed through the connector, and just like the last time, two different kinds of mana waves were approaching them from both ends.

The mana was enough to send chills down their spines, but Emil was the first one to compose himself.

He looked at Tess; her expressions had darkened, and her shoulders were slightly hunched. After seeing Tess in this state, Emil asked, "Do you know to whom this mana belongs?" "Do you know to whom this mana belongs?"

Tess didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds but eventually gave a nod. "The one that is coming from our left belongs to our tower master, and on the right? I don’t know about that because I never got any chance to go and see." She said, her tone full of fear.

’Tower master, huh?’ Emil said inwardly.

Soon they both reached the front of the alchemist’s chamber, and when they finally stepped through the door,

Both Sara and Liya glanced at the door. But Liya returned her gaze back to the flask, which was kept in her firm grip.

On the other hand, Sara’s face brightened with unexpected happiness. She quickly covered the distance between them, her steps hurried.

Sara embraced Tess in a deep hug, ruffling her hair gently. "Oh my god!! Finally you’re back, Tess. Do you even know how worried I was?!" She asked, her tone filled with relief.

Emil took a step back, letting both of them have their moment. But a warm smile appeared on his face because he knew what Sara was going through.

Tess embraced her and slowly buried her head deep in her arms. Her eyes welled up, but she chose not to cry because if she did, Sara would overthink that she shouldn’t have sent her out there to fetch supplies.

After a few minutes they broke their hug, and Sara walked towards the slab on which she was performing the experiment.

"You came back with everything I asked you to, right?" She asked.

Tess gave a polite nod as she followed behind her trail. She placed the bag containing every required material and said. "I’m sorry that it took almost a whole week to get these materials to you, but I tried my best to return sooner."

A faint smile curled on Sara’s face; she took a few [Mana Petals] and added them in the flask, which already carried a purple liquid. "Don’t worry, I’m glad that you came back normally."

Emil stood in the corner of the room, watching the interaction between them. But then he let out a sigh as he muttered to himself. "I’ll be outside for the time being; call me if you want to assign me any other task." He said.

He turned toward the slightly open door, pushed it open as he stepped through, and quietly left the alchemist’s chamber.

A translucent screen generated in his vision, reflecting multiple entries that were related to the quest.

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◇ SYSTEM ◇

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[Quest Cleared]

└ The Missing Apprentice

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[Quest Result]

• Traveled to the City of Asteria

• Located Sara’s missing apprentice, Tess

• Ensured her safe return to the Alchemist Tower

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[Unexpected Occurrence]

Tess was originally destined to suffer severe injuries during the attack before rescue could arrive.

By intervening in time, you prevented her injuries and changed her fate.

Hidden Event Detected.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Quest Evaluation]

Perfect Completion

You not only completed the quest but rescued Tess before any harm could come to her.

Your swift actions have earned Sara’s complete trust, while Tess now regards you as the one who saved her life.

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[Rewards Obtained]

└ 15,000 EXP

└ 45 Copper Leaves

└ Sara’s Special Potion (Random Effect)

└ +15 Favorability with Sara

└ Hidden Reward Unlocked:

『Alchemist’s Gratitude』

All potions purchased from Sara are permanently discounted by 15%.

└ Bonus Reward:

+40 Favourability with Tess

└ Bonus Reward:

『Minor Healing Elixir ×3』

(Common)

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Emil read through all of them carefully; a faint smile crept on his face, but the sudden hike in rewards had caught him off guard.

’I got special rewards for this quest too? Is today my luckiest day on Earth or what?’ He said inwardly with unexpected enthusiasm.

Soon, another panel appeared, but this time reflecting a different context.

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◈ LEVEL UP ◈

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[Level Increased]

└ Level 12 → Level 15

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[Experience]

└ EXP Gained: 12,725

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└ Mana +180

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[Stat Points Gained]

└ +15 Stat Points Gained

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[Unallocated Stat Points]

└ +70 Stat Points

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He hadn’t come out of the previous confrontation, but now another shock hit him. He took a deep breath; he tried to contain his excitement because if he caused a scene here, someone might throw him out of the tower.

A pile of thoughts submerged in his mind. ’I have to visit the mind realm, and also I have to allocate stats to myself. Two tasks that I’ll do before I log out from the game.’

He looked around him once, trying to find a place where he could rest for the time being. Then, his gaze fell on a board that was placed next to the ceiling light.

Characters were written across it, and just below it was an arrow sign which directed towards the right direction.

’Perfect, now I can also rest and do my task with full capacity,’ Emil said inwardly.

He walked in the direction indicated on the board. His pace remained steady, but deep down, he wanted to reach his destination as soon as possible. The countless journeys over the past few days had left his body tired.