The panel regarding ’Leaving the Dungeon’ still hovered in front of him; his gaze swept across the area once more just to confirm if he left something important behind. When he confirmed there was nothing, he pressed [YES].
The moment he confirmed the prompt, brilliant purple waves of system energy surged around his body, swallowing him whole. Tiny cracks spread across his figure like fractured glass before his entire body disintegrated into countless glowing particles.
Atlas was engulfed by the same phenomenon, his massive form breaking apart into shimmering atoms. In the blink of an eye, both of them rematerialized outside the dungeon, standing before the towering gates alongside the other players who had already exited.
But the green dungeon Emil just cleared had a board next to it; characters were written across it:
[Dungeon Cleared]
[Working on the renewal.]
[Time left: 10 minutes]
Emil raised his brow when he read it, but then an amused smile flickered over his face. ’So clearing a dungeon doesn’t erase it from existence. Instead, it enters a cooldown period before refreshing itself... Huh. That’s actually a brilliant feature for beginners.’
People present there noticed Emil and Atlas walk out through the dungeon; all of them had confused expressions on their faces because no one had ever completed this dungeon under ten minutes, but three? That’s some kind of feat in itself.
Murmurs erupted through the surroundings; some were impressed, and some were filled with jealousy.
"A summoner did all this? That’s something we don’t get to see every day."
"What?! A summoner set up a new record?! How in the world did a useless person like him do such a thing..."
Emil overheard them, but he didn’t care because he thought that there was no point in staying here any longer. He knew exactly what would happen next. In a world where Summoners were considered the weakest and most insignificant class.
Someone clearing a dungeon at such an unbelievable speed was guaranteed to send shockwaves through the city. Judging by the current situation, everyone around him would clearly have gotten a glimpse of it.
He didn’t waste any more time; he knew that his clear goal was to get the subspace pouch. He followed the same route from which he came here and made his way towards the heart of the city once again.
The building there on which the boards regarding the directions were placed now had people standing in front of it; a person wearing a white top was followed by pants of the same color. He had a curled moustache, and a welcoming smile lingered over his face. Some other customers, who definitely seemed to be ’players,’ were standing around him, but the man’s attention was fixed on Emil.
He stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Emil, silently expressing his admiration. And this unexpected gesture made Emil lift his brow in sheer confusion. ’Huh? Why’s he showing me respect?! He didn’t think about this any further because he knew he would not receive any answers and that it would only lead to more unnecessary arguments in his mind. If I recall correctly, the shop was closed the first time I came here.’
But he didn’t think more about this because he knew that he would not get any answers and would just create more unnecessary arguments inside his mind.
Emil raised his hand and waved it off gently, and while he did that, he also gave a soft nod just to pay his respects back. He walked off from there towards the main plaza, where he entered the city of Lumina.
When he reached the area where shops were located last time he entered the city, everyone present there ignored Emil completely, but this time? It was completely different because their behaviour was overly friendly.
Some were giving random smiles, some were bowing, and some were gesturing towards their shops to make Emil come and purchase something.
Even the players present there felt kind of suspicious about why the NPCs were acting in such a manner towards another player. But even Emil didn’t know why.
Emil returned the gesture calmly and didn’t try to make it awkward between him and the NPCs. When he walked away from there and reached the outskirts of the city, something clicked inside his mind.
He remembered that the title he received before gave him a special effect, which was ’Reputation increase in the City of Lumina.’ A faint chuckle left him; he gently scratched the back of his head. "Ah... so that’s the reason why everyone in there is behaving like this to me."
He started scratching the bridge of his chin as he continued softly. "I’d like to visit these shops when I purchase some goods because I do think that the prices would be slightly lower than usual."
Now that he had finally left the city behind, the only thing that remained in front was the forest in which the summoner’s tower was. He continued his journey; Atlas had already left his side way before he even walked out of the city.
Because summoning your summon wasn’t that easy, such summoners usually had to spend their mana just to materialize their summons, and for Emil?
He had way too little mana when compared to other players because he had just started. Although he had levelled up multiple times with just a single dungeon, he also made Atlas grow stronger than before, which means he’d have to spend more mana just to summon him.
He walked for a couple more minutes until he reached the front of the tower’s main entry. A wooden door stood in front of him, which was cast by multiple magic circles to prevent unknown people from entering through it. A fine outer lining of golden coating was done at the edges, reflecting that the summoner’s tower had enough wealth.
He grabbed the handle and tried to push it forward, but the door didn’t budge. He tried it multiple times, but failed like before. Then he remembered that the old woman had given him a badge, so why shouldn’t he try to open the door with it?
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge before holding it up to the door. The magic circles engraved across its surface immediately lit to life, radiating a brilliant glow as threads of mana circled the badge.
They meticulously scanned every inch of it, verifying whether it was genuine or nothing more than a cleverly crafted mimic.
A moment later, the glow faded, and with a low mechanical hum, the massive door slowly swung open on its own. A faint smile tugged at Emil’s lips. It made him sure that he didn’t have to rely on brute force but on the authority of the badge.