Ed's vision swiftly returned. His sleep also felt quite brief. Nonetheless, he felt his condition had improved. The fact that he could tell was in itself proof.
In his periphery, there was a glowing envelope. This envelope was obviously familiar to him. Ed, therefore, opened it expectantly.
[The system has observed your actions up until this point, selecting a suitable reward...]
[<Crystalize lvl. 0> Acquired]
[Champion has leveled up]
Ed's gaze immediately landed on the middle message. A new skill!
'It looks like my level up didn't get me anything again though…' Ed lamented this fact but there wasn't anything he could do about it. The next level up would surely gain him one so he would have to be patient and grow stronger.
Which meant he should try to understand this new skill.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Level 7 Consciousness.
Health: 800/800
Bodies: Skeleton, Orc
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 6] -Show info-
[Assessment lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[???] -Show info-
[Eloquence lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Sixth Sense lvl. 0] -Show info-
[Crystalize lvl. 0]
Convert the mana in the air into a fist-sized crystal.
Ed nodded mentally seeing that his level and health had increase before quickly shifting his gaze towards the new skill.
'So... making mana crystals?' Ed asked himself curiously.
It was undoubtedly a useful skill he just thought it was a curious thing to get after 'Observing' him.
'Is it because of the trap?' That was the only moment he used a crystal so there could be no other reason. At least not logically. Or was the fact that he spawned it out of nowhere what netted him this?
'The dungeon should have long since realized I have some sort of inventory' If it hadn't it could only be blind which all things considered might be a possibility. I mean, a person can't look directly into their body. At least not without some sort of tool like a camera.
At most one could feel where things hurt or any other sort of uncomfortable sensation.
'That's assuming a dungeon can be compared to a human body' Ed scoffed inwardly, the thought seemed unlikely.
In the first place, thinking things through logically could only get him so far in a world of magic. Still, one could also argue that logical thinking could be one's saving grace in a foreign world. Even in a known world.
[10 minutes before respawning]
Even after seeing the message, Ed only continued to immerse himself in his thoughts. It was the best way to wait out the timer after all.
Thus, time quickly passed and Ed was ready to return.
[Summoning Dungeon Champion]
The iconic message appeared and his thoughts started to draw a blank as his vision faded. He then felt as though he hit an object and grew aware. His vision was regained and the creepy ambiance welcomed him.
'I feel the process is much smoother now' At the very least, he didn't feel groggy. Was that his new hidden skill? He joked inwardly before assessing the surroundings.
He was hearing sounds of fighting and wanted to pinpoint why. It didn't take long since the anti-skeletons were still near him and they were the source of the noise.
'It looks like they are sparring' Ed stopped leaning on the wall and was then noticed by the skeletons. Immediately, all actions came to an end.
Ed didn't mind this at all as he was going to assign them a new task.
'Gather the items on the ground. Split it based on type. Armor on one side and weapons on another' The main reason why he chose to level up first was that the dungeon would leave him all the loot. No need to undress anybody or lug dead bodies, the loot was just there waiting.
The anti-skeletons in the surroundings got to work upon receiving his command. They even dropped their own weapons into a pile.
'I guess they can think a bit too literally sometimes…' Ed really needed to teach them to think for themselves but for the time being, this was an alright attitude to have.
Ed watched from the sidelines as the equipment was arranged. There were also a couple of accessories that the skeletons didn't know how to handle. Ed told them to make a small pile for those too. He had forgotten about accessories, maybe he could wear a couple.
'It would probably be better than my armor' The thing was pure vanity in its current state.
'That reminds me, I still have that sword…' That thing looked like vanity but it was most definitely powerful. He didn't see it last time while scouring the storeroom so he had completely forgotten about it.
The thought of cleaning that mess up wasn't very exciting though…
'I wonder if upgrading it would get it closer to a game inventory' It was worth a shot. Although he wasn't sure how many consciousnesses he would have to sacrifice to get it to be nearly as convenient.
'Do your own things' Ed told them as soon as they finished. He now planned to assess the various items to find something of use. Afterward, he could try to teach the named ones some new tricks.
[Pink Bracelet]
[Cooling Necklace]
[Anklet of the Wind]
[Sword Gloves]
Some of the accessories were normal, some redundant, and others worth considering. The anklet for example was quite enticing.
'I should keep this one' After reading the system's assessment he learned that it could provide him three points in agility in his current body. He didn't know about the other one but for now, it was definitely a nice thing to wear.
He could try assimilating it but given that the effects were so nice it was best to share it between both bodies. He never thought about it before but having equipment was of definite use.
'I'll have to put my craftsperson skill to use when I get back to the orc plains' Ed suddenly felt like it was a good idea.
'I guess that makes my orc body support' Ed joked. If each body served a different function he would become a sort of one man multiple bodies army.
[Ring of Fire]
Boosts fire affinity and potency of fire element attack.
This ring was also a nice candidate for keeping but unfortunately, his current body was unable to use fire element spells. Not only that, his orc body only knew one fire element spell.
'I'll put it in the assimilation mental list' Ed didn't immediately send it into the storeroom since the place was still a mess. He only separated the piles between useful or not.
The whole process took less than half an hour since there were only 30 adventurers. If there were more Ed would surely give up. He had better things to do than cleaning.
'Upgrading my storage should be made a priority then' Ed decided before turning to his faithful minions. He didn't know which ones performed meritorious deeds so he didn't know who to name and gift things to.
He thus decided to do it at random.
'Come here' Ed transmitted to an anti-skeleton. This one's weapon was a bloodied sword but it wasn't one of the dungeon produced ones.
'You are now scavenger, stealer of my loot…' Ed grumbled inwardly after dismissing the skeleton. The name scavenger was fitting since it likely took it in the midst of battle. That alone proved its intellect.
In response, Scavenger knelt in reverence.
He observed the other skeletons and called up another of the 27.
'Sole, because of your… singularity…' He picked this one due to its missing arm. That could pass as a unique difference, right?
As thanks, Sole bowed with gratitude.
Ed continued to survey the group until he finally caught sight of a different one.
'Ah! You!' Ed called to a skeleton that was laying on the ground lazily.
'You are Settler. For… adapting so well.' Ed transmitted to the skeleton who had yet to get up.
Upon hearing this, Settler… settled back on the ground… It made Ed start to have second thoughts.
'Forget it' Ed dismissed the thoughts soon after. Settler had survived and that alone meant something for its skill. Who knew, perhaps it could really adapt well to changing combat circumstances.
Ed then handed each of them some of the armor they had just collected. Scavenger received a set of leather armor, he needed to be nimble.
Sole received a set of knightly armor. It just so happened one of the arms was damaged so without it, it fit perfectly.
'I'll fix his arm eventually…' Ed thought as he watched Sole equip the gray armor. It was somewhat similar to Iron's armor but since it was missing an arm, Ed wouldn't confuse them.
Finally, he gave Settler a set of light white armor. While adapting to changes could be done with any suit, it was much easier to do so when traveling light. Thus, Ed came upon this choice.
'Alright. That settles it' Ed nodded with satisfaction. The spoils from this battle were plentiful.
Now it was time to relocate and test out his new skill.. Making one's own crystal was bound to prove useful.