Contrary to his expectations, perhaps even his fears, Valentina made no appearance as Alarion opened his eyes and surveyed the damage he had done. The chair was ruined, either by accident or design, and his chest was covered in angry purple and yellow splotches from his spell failures. His HP, MP, and Stamina were all abysmally low, and his body ached.

But it didn't matter. The clock opposite him glowed with a victorious golden light.

00:00

He'd done it. And earned considerable rewards in the process:

Skill level increased. Introverted Mana Sense is now Level 3. INT +4. PER +4. WIL +4 Skill level increased. Unbound Spellcraft is now Level 3. INT +4. PER +4. WIL +4 Skill level increased. Fight Through the Pain is now Level 3. VIT +16.

He walked with a limp as he exited the small chamber and did his best not to scowl as Valentina greeted him with an all-too-pleasant smile from the opposite side of a polished wooden dining table set for two.

"So? How'd it go?"

Alarion met her gaze until she relented.

"Fine, fine. I know how it went. You are no fun. Sit." A chair slid out opposite the goddess, and it took him an instant to realize that no magic had been involved. She'd kicked it. "I'd still like to hear your thoughts."

"It was close," Alarion answered, already salivating at the smell of roasted… something. Both the meat and vegetables were distressingly unfamiliar, even by the standards of her cooking. "What is this?"

"Don't worry about it." When he didn't reply, Valentina sighed. "It is safe to eat, if that is what you are concerned about. Now sit."

The two spent the next twenty minutes discussing Alarion's success between bites. It was, without a doubt, the best meal he had ever eaten, though the first proper meal Elena had provided him had come close. Starvation had a way of making anything taste delicious. It was the surprise second course that sealed the deal in Valentina's favor.

"I don't give grades, but overall, I would say you have a good grasp of the fundamentals." Valentina laughed as Alarion beamed, then quickly added, "For a beginner."

The qualification didn't so much as budge his smile. He knew he'd done well.

"So what is next?"

"I'd recommend rest, given the strain you put yourself through. Then…" Valentina gestured to the singular door on the far end of the room.

Combat. At the hardest difficulty, no less.

"As your third challenge, this is a breakpoint. I'll warn you that most fail in the third, sixth, and eighth rooms. There is no shame in resigning, but you must fight if you wish to continue."

"Should I?" Alarion eyed the door as though the skull upon it could offer its guidance.

"That is up to you. But if you do, you should not go unprepared. If nothing else, an implement is in order." With a wave of her hand, an inkwell, a set of brushes, and stencils replaced his empty plate. "Speaking of which, these belong to you."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

He looked at Valentina, momentarily confused, then reached for the quill and focused on it.

Inscription Tools of the Third Council [Rare]

Description: Originally handcrafted for novice magi of the Third Council, these intricate tools have fallen out of favor over the last century. With golden ink and a steady hand, these tools should allow any competent mage to create or bind an implement in a manner of their choosing.

Requirements: Any 'Spellcraft' skill.

Type: Crafting resource.

Effects: This set provides all necessary raw materials for the user to prepare an implement for use in Spellcraft. This set includes enough material to bind a maximum of 40 known spells of Rank I or below to the implement before it will require replenishment. Failure in preparation or binding will still utilize resources.

"These rewards aren't random at all, are they?"

"Not really, no," Valentina confessed. "If the challenger is uninteresting or rude, I have some leeway to randomize it or punish them, but I rarely use it. The point of Mother's dungeons is to foster growth through difficulty. Awarding you some random item that might well be trash is not in keeping with that goal. Mother's rules still limit me on what I can give you, but the list is quite extensive."

"So you are telling me I should create my implement before I attempt the next challenge?"

"I'm not… not telling you that."

Alarion snorted a quick laugh. "How long would that take? For me."

"It can vary wildly, but with those tools? A day. Maybe less if you take to it well. Or longer if you're abysmal at it."

That was less than ideal. He'd already spent four of his thirteen days on the first two challenges. As much as he wanted to jump into the inscription process, the last challenge had drained him almost completely. Starting a complex task while mentally and physically exhausted was a disaster waiting to happen.

But waiting too long was also a terrible waste. Another day spent on inscription would have him starting the third challenge on his sixth day. Being halfway through his allotted time with only two completed challenges to his name seemed a terrible waste.

"Have you given any thought to my offer?" Valentina asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Apparently not," the once god pouted ever so slightly, "my offer about your… patrons."

"Oh."

He had given it a little thought, mostly during his downtime between failed attempts at the second challenge.

Not that it had helped.

Truthfully, Alarion didn't know where to start with the offer, or what to make of it. He believed implicitly, perhaps naively, that Valentina would do exactly what she said. That she would allow him to exit the dungeon anywhere else in the world. That all he had to do was ask. But he didn't know how he felt about that.

Valentina had all but called him a slave in her description of the Vitrians, and it was hard to argue with the logic. Induction seemed as polite a fiction as the various hosts he'd had over the years, a veneer over what was slavery in all but name. But it was still hard to shake the feeling of obligation. He'd been so malnourished when they'd found him that the act of eating itself had almost made him ill. They'd fed him, clothed him, and educated him. Alarion had no illusions that they would have done so for others, or that they would have even done so for him had his Aptitude not been so abnormally high.

Even so, that obligation lingered. Whether they would have done it for others, they had done it for him. The Numbered Empire was at the heart of his woes, but Elena had saved his life, and that was not a debt he was so quick to throw away. Not even with all the risks and requirements that came with it.

The situation was complicated. Too complicated when he was so tired.

"I am still thinking," he admitted. "I will make a decision. One way or the other. But I have not done so yet."

Valentina observed him with a slight cant to her head and smiled. "Understood. Go, get some rest, and I can show you the basics in the morning, assuming you'd like that?"

"Very much so."

"Then sleep well." Valentina turned away as Alarion started for his room, then looked over her shoulder to add one last thing. "Oh, and Alarion?"

"Mm?"

"Bring that mace of yours in the morning."

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