"The Necklace of Enlightenment…" As Riekan gave the necklace to Valyr, the latter could not help but ponder over the name choice for a bit, nodding in agreement not long after. "Well, considering its ability, the name makes sense."
Receiving the necklace, Valyr went ahead and used [Analysis] on it to find out what other things the necklace did aside from its ability, such as what kind of stats it increased.
Ding!
Hearing the notification sound resound in his mind, Valyr read through the contents on the screen that appeared in front of him, his eyes instantly focusing on how much the necklace increased his stats.
[Necklace of Enlightenment] (Level 15)
Rarity: Uncommon
A necklace previously owned by the being known as the Enlightened One, the Enlightened One has imbued a part of their knowledge into the necklace, giving it properties and abilities it originally didn't have. This necklace is a gift personally made by the Enlightened One for the one that had cleared his dungeon, sealing most of its full potential in order to suit the recipient's current level.
This necklace increases all stats by 5 points.
<Innate Skill: Enlightenment - Allows the user to unlock a random Basic level advancement from their Technology Tree, or upgrade a random Basic level advancement already owned by the user by one level. Cooldown: 7 days. Cost: 10 MP.>
Remarks: It's far more precious than you'd think. Don't lose it.
In Valyr's mind, it would have already been great if the necklace increased a couple of his stats by a few points. After all, the accessories that were accessible to him at his current rank were able to do at least that much. However, not only did the necklace increase all of his stats, it even went so far to increase all of his stats by five points.
In short, he more or less obtained a copy of the [Basic Reinforced Body and Soul] skill in terms of stats!
Closing the screen before him, Valyr thanked Riekan for the necklace, instantly putting it on as he felt the marginal increase in stats brought by the accessory take effect not long after. In response, Riekan waved his hand in slight nonchalance as he let out a peal of laughter, replying to Valyr's words of gratitude with words of his own, thanking him once more for clearing the dungeon, as well as the problem regarding the inheritance.
"Well, now that I've given you a skill, as well as a necklace that you could upgrade later down the line, I think that's sufficient enough of a reward, no?" Riekan said not long after, looking at Valyr, who seemed to be pondering over something. After a while, Valyr nodded in agreement with Riekan's words, though he let out an awkward chuckle not long after as he opened his mouth to ask the latter something.
"Now that I think about it, could I get the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir from the pedestals for myself?" Valyr asked, an awkward smile adorning his face. In his mind, there was a high chance that he would be rejected. After all, he had already gained another skill and a special necklace from him.
"Oh, sure. I don't really have any other need for those anyway." Yet surprisingly, Riekan nodded in response to Valyr's words, leaving Valyr at a loss for words as he eventually smiled and thanked Riekan.
Smiling back, Riekan went ahead and conjured a small magic circle in front of him, causing a rift to open up between the two of them as the set of Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir on top of the pedestals from the previous room appeared before them. Using his mana to catch the vials in midair, Riekan carefully placed them in front of them, separating them into two portions by their colors.
"Now that I think about it, the only reason you'd ask for the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir is if you've already obtained the skill from consuming the Basic Reinforcement Elixir." After neatly arranging the vials in front of Valyr, Riekan looked at the man that sat before him as he opened his mouth.
In response to his words, Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah. I've already consumed 10 vials each of Basic Physical and Mental Reinforcement Elixir to obtain the skill. Though I would only be able to consume the Intermediate Reinforcement Elixir after I ascend to Rank 2, at the very least I wouldn't have to toil in procuring the materials and the alchemist that would concoct them."
"Oh, definitely." Riekan chuckled in response to Valyr's words. "I can't fault you for making such a choice, especially since I told you earlier that you could have any of the items on the pedestals for yourself if you so choose."
"Though, at this point, you've received more than enough of a reward from what you've done, no?" he asked not long after, to which Valyr nodded in agreement.
Seeing Valyr nod in response, Riekan nodded back. "Alright then. Since that's the case, if you don't have any other questions to ask me, I shall send you to the cave where you arrived from and dismantle this dungeon for good."
"Well, I do have a few questions to ask." Unsurprisingly, with Riekan before him being a treasure trove of information, it would be a wasted opportunity for Valyr to not ask the man a couple questions regarding what he had in mind. Though he already had his answers to these questions after experiencing them in his past life, he wanted to obtain answers from the perspective of an NPC.
"Ask away." In response, Riekan nodded as he changed into a more comfortable pose for him, lying down sideways as he used his arm to prop his head up.
"I've been wondering about this ever since I saw you fight against Riekan earlier," Valyr said soon after, with Riekan perking up his ears to listen. "How were you able to kill him without having to land a hit on him or use a weapon?"
"Well, the answer to that is quite complicated." After listening to Valyr's words, Riekan quickly understood what the former wanted to know, causing a bitter smile to appear on his face as he replied. "All I can say is that it's something you're still far away from being able to touch."
"I see…" Somewhat expecting to receive such an answer from Riekan, Valyr remained unperturbed as he decided to ask him a string of questions that were a bit more blunt, being closer to the true question he had in mind.
"Well, would it be possible to know what class rank you're currently at? Perhaps your current level? Surely you could tell me that, no?"
"I can, but what purpose would that serve you?" Riekan asked in response, a cunning smile adorning his face.
"To widen my horizons, naturally," Valyr replied, already expecting to receive such a question. "After all, you're the strongest being I've ever met so far."
"Well, I'm quite flattered to hear you say that, but I'll have to refrain from giving you such personal information." As he replied, Riekan lightly smiled. Though, not long after, a pondering expression appeared on his face as he rubbed his chin for a bit. "Then again, it wouldn't be a problem to tell you a bit about the level of power I've reached, though I'll be quite vague about it."
"I don't mind. It's only to widen my horizons, after all." Valyr smiled in response. "I'm all ears."
Nodding in response, Riekan went ahead and opened his mouth to tell Valyr what he wanted to know.
"Well…"
