Later that day, Darien and Mirielle returned to the capital city, exhausted.

Their destination was the grand Queen's Reach Museum, a wide, mammoth structure of marble and stone spires at the heart of the city.

Despite its name, it was more than just a museum.

As a center of excellence for warriors, countless activities thrived within and around its vicinity.

Items and artefacts were displayed and sold there, guilds were registered there too, contracts were exchanged, alliances forged, and even rivalries born.

It was the right place for Darien and Mirielle to sell their haul to make a fortune, safe and reliable, unlike the undercity.

When they arrived, the imposing monument stared down at them, its magical doors glinting like portals to another realm.

Warriors of every kind moved in and out, dressed differently, ranked differently, but all carried purpose and conviction in their steps.

Being their first time there, Darien and Mirielle moved cautiously, attentiveness in their gazes.

They approached one of the three receptionists stationed beneath a floating placard.

Greeting them with a polite smile, the woman issued both warriors pass cards and gave directions to the retail sections where approved trades were made.

While on the walk, Darien knew it wouldn't be wise to sell everything he had at once.

Normally, no one would think twice about a warrior profiting tremendously from dungeon loot, but when it was a student warrior, a Spearman at that, it was enough to earn yellow eyes.

Yet, that didn't make the quantity he had prepared less staggering.

When Mirielle saw his assortment, she couldn't hold back her awe.

"Ahh! Jakob? This is unbelievable!" she exclaimed.

Darien, as Jakob, must've gathered every bit of loot from his dungeon since he'd been the sole survivor of his party. This was the logic for Mirielle.

Meanwhile, Darien found himself curious about her own dungeon trial.

On their way back, she narrated that she'd lost two party members, and the other two barely made it.

It turned out she was the adept one who had carried the team through.

In that case, Darien expected her to have a decent haul of her own, not just be here to watch him.

Scratching her neck, Mirielle admitted to herself that she hadn't gathered as much as Darien had. But she was confident she could make quite a lot with the legendary item she had managed to obtain!

As his friend, she thought it wouldn't hurt to show him, and even brag a little about her luck.

Darien's eyes widened the instant Mirielle revealed a very familiar parchment.

[Invitation to the Eclipsera Plane (Legendary)]

"Where did you get this...?" he demanded immediately.

As Darien reached for the parchment, Mirielle quickly snatched it back with a teasing grin.

"I had a gnoll dungeon," she said proudly. "Defeated the Gnoll King and had this drop. My biggest luck yet."

Slowly, but for what felt like an eternity, the disbelief and alarm scribbled on Darien's face softened.

He definitely didn't want Mirielle to think he was jealous or envious of her discovery, so he revealed his own parchment quickly.

"Look," he said, pointing at it, "I got the very same invitation."

Mirielle leaned closer to compare both parchments. Immediately, she realized they were identical.

Darien thought she would find this strange and concerning, but instead, the girl began leaping and bouncing in excitement, shouting that they were rich.

'What the heck?'

He thought as he caught her shoulders to calm her down.

"We are not selling this, Mirielle…!"

Blinking, Mirielle asked, "What will we use it for then? Latrine paper?"

"It is an invitation to a cursed destination," Darien articulated as if to a child. "The objective is to accept the invitation to the cursed destination and clear the trial. That's what it's for."

Mirielle pinched her lower lip, reflecting on his words.

This sounded dangerous.

She had always wanted to be a warrior but never expected this. Definitely, not everyone in this museum had ever received such an invitation.

But since "Jakob" too was invited, Mirielle thought it'd be okay to enter this trial. "Together, we can succeed, right?" she asked.

But Darien was long in thought. It was this "together" that disturbed him, in fact.

First Vynsera, now Mirielle. He hoped these were the only two.

His best guess was that they were, because this seemed prognostic, not systematic.

<1000% Drop Rate> definitely wasn't what had given him and Vynsera their invitations, because it was impossible for Mirielle to find a legendary-ranked item in a Rank 1 dungeon.

There were prescient events, and this could be one of them. And if that were the case, it meant Mirielle wasn't just a random friend, then.

'Darn it. I don't like prophecies,' Darien thought.

He believed it felt bad to realize that friendships and encounters were a chronology, not true engagements of fate or choice.

But he refused to feel sour about it, as he sought to break through all ranks of power and rewrite the story to his own liking.

In the end, he convinced Mirielle to keep her invitation, while he resolved to uncover the truth behind the Eclipsera Plane himself.

They then patronized the nearest retail stand, managed by a man dressed in flashy silver trims, his lips bent in a rapacious smirk.

From half his sale, Darien earned an impressive seven hundred platinum pieces, while Mirielle only managed ten.

With the money, he could purchase needed essentials like his own communicator and a rift compass, with Mirielle buying a communicator for herself as well.

The communicator was costly at eight platinum pieces, while the rift compass was a true luxury at four hundred and fifty platinum pieces.

After all, the communicator required frequent restoration to stay active, but the compass was more magical.

Mirielle also purchased a few low-ranked all-class skill books before they left the museum.

While she intended to return to the academy afterward, Darien didn't share the same plan. So, they promised to stay in contact with their communicators.

Darien's plan was to find a calm place to stay and carry out his objectives.

Using his rift compass for the first time, he activated the device and instantly transported himself back to Lanthold.

Whooom! WHOOSH!

This time, he appeared in the high district.

The place was tranquil, with well-paved streets, clean air, and graceful buildings stretching in neat lines.

The streets were nearly empty, so Darien drew no attention. Even if he did, such transportation wasn't uncommon in places like this, so many would trivialize it.

Immediately, he embarked on finding lodging in an inn.

After a short search, he located one, went through their demands and formalities, and soon, he was granted his own room.

'It's tidy and just right,' he thought.

Darien appreciated how he received far fewer stares than before. It made his operations feel easier.

Jakob was good-looking, yes, but in this world of handsome and nubile warriors, beauty was common.

For once, he was ordinary, and that feeling was kind of nice.

The boy spent the evening resting and eating, well-deserved. He also kept his ears open, listening for any ripple of murmur or discussion about Vincent's death.

Yet there was nothing. Either the incident was being handled quietly, or Vynsera hadn't told anyone yet.

On his way back to his room, he asked the attendant for a quill and paper.

Settling by the dim lamplight, he began to write everything on his mind down, ensuring he wouldn't forget anything.

When he was done and felt rested enough, Darien summoned the Creation Panel.

He had liked the skill he'd conceived during his dungeon trial. It could amplify both his physicality and mentality, snowballing his growth even further.

[Ding!]

[Skill frame established]

[Name: AP Multiplier]

[Type: Passive / Special]

[Level: (5-star)]

[Description: Passively grants attribute points every hour. When the user is in active combat, training, or spellcasting, the gain rate increases.]

[Cost: 6700 SP]

[Are you sure you want to spend 6700 Skill Points to create the skill: <AP Multiplier> ???]

With a grin, Darien answered yes.

[You have acquired new skill: <AP Multiplier>]

He didn't want to get too excited, but Darien knew he had just created a game-changer.

He realized he had missed the chance to make a 10x AP Multiplier skill, but considering that the system had stopped granting attribute points per kill, that would've been a waste anyway.

'This is wiser,' he thought.

He was also curious to see how efficient it was, so he opened his status to review his current stats.

[HP: 452]

<Stats>

[STR: 74]

[AGI: 24]

[DEF: 55]

[VIT: 86]

[STA: 85]

[INT: 83]

The description said the skill granted points hourly, yet no specific number had been mentioned.

It seemed the system automatically filled in unassigned parameters whenever his skill frame lacked precision.

To properly test the change, Darien decided to get some sleep and check again the next morning.

When dawn broke, the first thing he did was summon the system interface, eager to see the difference that one night had made.

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