“What— “
Then it hit him.
The familiar custom grip on the tools. The carved walls and half-finished sculptures. The faint scent of freshly treated wood in the air.
This was his workshop.
“The fuck am I doing back here?” He muttered, squinting at the room in suspicion. “I thought the goddess already fixed this…”
He lowered his tools on the nearest table and walked around. The walls were just as he remembered—etched with carvings that bore his father’s influence. Every stroke, every detail, brimming with passion for the beauty of life.
It made his chest tighten.
But he felt it. Something was missing.
“Why am I dreaming again?” He asked to no one in particular.
But there was only silence.
He turned back to where he just came from—the sculpture that was a third of the way done. It was one of the commissions he received from a relatively new guild.
A sculpture that buffed the recovery rate when at rest.
He examined it closer, running his fingers across its grooves, trying to piece together when this happened.
Images flashed in his mind of that time when he remembered.
“Right. If this is here, then—"
Elias turned and walked out of the workshop, already knowing what he would find behind the far door.
A separate room. A familiar space.
And inside—
Tobias Stone. His father.
His broad frame was hunched over a block of darkwood, carving knife in hand, gently working the grain with the kind of patient, deliberate care that he’d spent years trying to imitate. His sleeves were rolled up, his usually neat hair slightly disheveled.
He swallowed hard. ‘I remember.’
Tobias didn’t look up immediately, too focused on the piece in front of him. The steady flow of his knife, along with his casual way of shaping the wood was captivating.
Then he paused.
"You’re holding your breath again." He said without looking up.
Elias blinked.
He hadn’t even realized he was.
He let out a slow exhale. "Am I?"
His father huffed in amusement, finally turning to him. The familiar sharpness of his gaze softened with something knowing. "You always do when you’re thinking too hard."
Elias scoffed but didn’t argue. Instead, he glanced at the piece his father was working on—a simple, elegant carving of a crest.
"You always make it look so easy." He said.
Tobias smirked. "That’s because I’ve had a few more years of practice than you." He set his knife down, stretching his fingers. “Besides, you’re getting better at a much faster pace than I was.”
Elias snorted. "Could’ve fooled me."
His father leaned back in his chair, studying him for a moment. “How’s the sculpture for the uhhh… what was that guild called again?”
“…The Shadow Blood Dragon Reapers of Eternal Doom.”
“…”
“…”
“…that’s certainly… something.”
Elias held Tobias’s gaze for a moment before his lips twitched.
It started as a quiet chuckle from his father, a restrained amusement that quickly grew into a full, rumbling laugh. He couldn’t help it and lost it too, his own laughter spilling out, shaking his shoulders as he leaned against the doorframe.
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"The Shadow Blood Dragon Reapers of Eternal Doom?" Tobias wheezed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Who names these things?"
Elias gasped for air between laughs. "I—I don’t know! But they paid well, so I wasn’t about to question it!"
His father snorted, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair, eyes crinkling with amusement. The laughter faded, but the warmth remained, settling into something quieter.
Comfortable. Familiar.
Home.
Elias wiped the tears in his eyes as he calmed down. “I missed th—"
But as he finished and looked to his father, he’d disappeared.
Slowly, everything else started to fade. The edges of the room began to blur. The scent of the wood started fading. Tools on the nearest work bench disappearing one by one.
‘No. Not yet!’
His breath hitched as he frantically tried to look for his father. He knew what this was. He knew what had to happen.
“Just a bit more time!”
The world unraveled.
Elias gasped, his eyes snapping open.
The workshop was gone.
The scent of wood replaced by the cold, heavy air of the cavern. The weight of his body sinking into rough and damp ground.
He was back.
Alone.
His chest ached, his fingers curling into the dirt beneath him. He forced a slow breath, steadying himself.
“Fuck.” He muttered.
He sat there for a long moment, staring at nothing. Trying to process what he’d just experienced.
A quick glance at his status told him that the blessing from the goddess was still there. There was also no change in the status of his corruption.
‘How?’
He tried to make sense of it all, but the only thing he could think of was the merging of essences—which would make some sense—but he wondered how it worked.
Elias shook his head, and tried not to think about it. He had rewards to claim after all.
He first checked his body out and made sure that he was fully healed, then took stock of all his level ups.
|Ding! You have slain [Windswept Broodmother (II) – Level 197]!|
|Ding! You have absorbed 1% of the enemy’s essence!|
|Ding! [Material Shaping] (R) has leveled up!|
|38 => 42|
|Ding! [Focus] (R) has leveled up!|
|39 => 44|
|Ding! [Journeyman Sculptor (R)] has leveled up!|
|1 => 3|
|Dex +6, Will +6, Int +4|
|Ding! [Mana Manipulation] (UC) has leveled up!|
|22 => 29|
|Ding! [Mana Sight] (UC)has leveled up!|
|23 => 30|
|Ding! [Mana Efficiency] (UC) has leveled up!|
|2 => 6|
|Ding! [Quick Reflexes] (C) has leveled up!|
|11 => 26|
|Ding! [Apprentice Enchanter (UC)] has leveled up!|
|5 => 11|
|Wis +12, Will +12, Int +6|
|Ding! You have leveled up!|
|60 => 78|
|90 free stat points gained!|
Elias exhaled, letting the flood of notifications wash over him.
‘1% essence absorption.’ Not much in the grand scheme of things, but with the amount of spiders he’d killed directly and indirectly through Primus—not to mention the Broodmother herself, it was still a massive amount.
‘Which might explain the weird shit with my memory skill…’ He thought, but then refocused.
The skill gains were significant. Material Shaping, Mana Manipulation, Mana Sight—all vital tools, all pushing him further. Quick Reflexes had more than doubled, and his crafting-related abilities had surged.
But the biggest gain?
Eighteen levels.
His hands flexed instinctively. Ninety free stat points at once was a massive windfall that he had to think carefully on where to allocate.
He didn’t know when he’d get so much at once after all.
With a deep, and calming breath, he pondered.
With the seven main stats, what he didn’t need were Wisdom and Constitution. His passive mana absorption skill effectively doubled his mana regeneration and any addition he could make to his Constitution was negligible at best.
What he needed was everything else. Strength for more power, Will for more control, Intelligence for more mana, and some Dexterity for better reflexes.
Elias exhaled as he looked at the screen.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Stats
- Strength (4th): 53 + 27
- Vitality (10th): -
- Dexterity (8th): 166 + 14
- Constitution (5th): 54
- Will (10th): 228 + 22
- Intelligence (7th): 153 + 27
- Wisdom (8th): 122
- Free Points: 0
|Finalize distribution?|
|Yes/No|
“Yes.”
Power surged through his body the moment he confirmed the allocation. His muscles burned for a second, then settled in the next, like they’d been reforged into something denser. His mind sharpened as if a section of fog was cleared in his mind.
He flexed his fingers, feeling their improved nimbleness.
“Yeah. That’s the stuff…”
He almost shook in pleasure when the residual energy left his body. But he wasn’t done yet.
His eyes flicked over to the notifications that were left.
|Ding! You have completed the Dungeon [Windswept Nest (II++)]!|
|Rewards ready to be claimed!|
|Ding! Achievement! You have cleared your first Dungeon! Bonus rewards available!|
|Ding! Achievement! You have cleared your first Anomaly! Bonus rewards available!|
His lips twitched. “These better be good with all the shit I went through…”
First things first—completion reward.
Select Your Reward:
- [Windswept Spear (R)] - A weapon forged from the fractured remains of the Windswept Broodmother’s exoskeleton. Light as the breeze, yet sharp enough to carve through stone.
- [Broodmother’s Fang (R)] – A dagger carved from the elongated fang of the Windswept Broodmother. Its edge is unnaturally sharp, while a faint venomous glow lingers on its edge.
- [Chitinous Bracers (R)] - Crafted from the resilient exoskeleton of the Windswept Broodmother, these bracers provide a balance of defense and agility. Their lightweight yet unyielding design absorbs impact with ease, while faint remnants of the Broodmother’s instincts sharpen the wearer’s reflexes.
“Hmmm…”