The rest of the dungeon goes relatively well. We manage to clear most of the buildings between the center and our exit point, bury the disruptor, and make our way back to the barrier. A few monsters stronger than the imps showed up in some areas of the dungeon, but they were still relatively easy to take care of. I can't tell how many levels I gained while doing this, but it was at least a few. The healer I saved opens the barrier, the party leader activates the disruptor, and we leave the dungeon at last.
The suns from both worlds hang low when I cross the barrier. As I expected, this took the entire day, but it was worthwhile. I have a better idea of how to fight back against the Architect now, on top of just generally being stronger.
As the barrier collapses behind us, large trucks with the Ouroboros logo on them approach our position. They're probably there to bring back the monster parts.
I place the bead on the ground and ask the adventurers to move away before unmaking my spell, causing the carcass of the Boss to appear. I see one of the truck drivers scratch his head in confusion as the adventurers start lifting the body to bring it within one of the transports. We then bring the smaller parts we were carrying on ourselves into a different truck.
This was my first time taking care of loot and monster parts, so I did my best to follow the lead of the rest of the company, but Jeremy had to answer a few of my questions nonetheless.
Once we're done, the trucks leave as the adventurers start making their way back home. I put my equipment back into their bead, which I then stuff into my pocket. As I'm about to jump away, an heavily armored gauntlet pats my shoulder. I turn back and see Jeremy who seems to have been in the process of removing his armor, who says:
"Hey, I'd like to talk to you about... Well, a lot of things. Do you think we can meet again?"
I can guess he wants to discuss the Architect, and maybe my powers. I'll probably need his help to defeat my current opponent, so I answer:
"Yes, of course! I don't have school on Fridays and I'm free on weekends, usually."
"Okay, I'll have to check my schedule. Let me add you to my contacts so I can confirm later."
I show him my phone number and he creates a new contact.
"There we go. I'll send you a message this week. See you soon!"
I wave him goodbye as I jump on the roof of the nearest building.
I enter the dormitory and let myself slump on the couch. Andrew is already sitting there, watching some animated show on the TV. Cal is sitting at the table, probably working on an assignment. Anthony is in his room, I can't see him from here but I can sense his magic.
I close my eyes and let myself rest for a bit. I did end up spending a ton of energy today, mostly on healing these two fatal wounds. I understand why healers try to avoid casting offensive spells as much as possible if that's how draining healing is. I didn't really notice the first time I did because energy was already violently leaking out of my body.
"Looks like you had a big day."
Andrew is looking at me, seemingly curious.
"That was my first high-level dungeon, and I had to heal some pretty serious wounds. Do we have any leftovers I can steal?"
"Yeah, there was too much of the takeout we ordered, you can get some from the fridge. But wait, you're a healer?"
"Not officially, no, but I can still do it."
Even ordinary people understand that adventurers need to stick to a limited number of techniques to get strong, so my comment surprises him. However, he doesn't pry further.
As I get up, I realize how much my accumulated fatigue is hitting now that the adrenaline dropped. I walk to the refrigerator while using the walls and furniture to support me, put some food in the microwave oven, wait for it to be hot, and then go sit at the table to eat.
As I'm eating, I grab the piece of shell I brought back with me and try sending some of my own energy through it. As expected, it creates a small anti-magic field around my hand. A whole armor made of that would be incredibly powerful, but turning this into a ring or bracelet might allow me to use the field as a small shield to protect myself from spells.
Cal gets distracted by the fragment I'm holding and asks:
"Did you bring that back from the dungeon?"
I nod, my mouth still full of noodles.
"Make sure not to bring anything dangerous, we're just civilians."
"Yeah, of course."
He seems to be wary of anything related to adventurers and dungeons. He asked me to keep my sword away when I moved in, and now this. Fortunately, I don't really intend on bringing dangerous things back here. This is still where I live after all.
As I'm eating, I get a notification on my phone indicating that my cut for today's dungeon has been transferred to my bank account. I open the app and drop my fork when I see just how much I've received.
With this much money, I could fully pay my tuition and move out into some apartment on my own and still have some leftover to buy expensive gear. Are high-level adventurers really paid that much?
I scroll down and open the "details" tab and see that a rather large bonus was added for my role in taking down the Boss and saving Jeremy and the Healer. Looks like I left a good impression. Hopefully that somehow helps in the fight against the Architect.
Should I buy some nice gifts to bring back home? We were never particularly rich, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with all of that money. My brother would probably like to get a game console of his own, now that I brought mine here. I could get him the smaller and more portable model. My sister is in high school, and I'll admit I don't quite understand what girls that age want. She might like to get some makeup, or maybe jewelry? It's probably safer to ask directly.
As for my parents, I know they've been talking about renovating the house for a while. Paying for that could be a nice gift to them. I'll have to call them so we can discuss it. Or I could wait for the winter vacations and talk with them in person. The other gifts I should buy before I go back, while I'm in the big city.
As I'm pondering these questions, my phone suddenly rings. I answer, and hear a familiar distorted voice:
"Hello, Matt. I was told that your performance in the dungeon was extremely impressive. Ouroboros said they would love to hire you. Well done! Now that the process of increasing your worth has started, I'm happy to let you know that I'll be contacting other companies to have you join them as an independent, so make good use of the invitations you receive. I also found some suitable candidates to have you fight in the arena, but it will take some time before they're all gathered here. Enjoy the dungeon clears until then."
Without giving me any time to respond, he hangs up. Just like last time, this doesn't show up in my list of recent calls.
I finish eating and head to bed early. I'll probably need more sleep than usual to recover from today.
