Just then, a waiter approached Mike and Lily and bowed politely.

"Lord Mike, Lady Lily, please come with me. It is time to receive your rewards."

Mike and Lily exchanged a glance, then nodded.

They followed the waiter into a quieter side room, away from the noise of the banquet.

Inside stood John, the merchant they had met before, along with a few officials.

John burst out laughing the moment he saw Mike.

"Hahaha! I thought you were just a lucky kid," John said, slapping Mike on the back. "But you're something else entirely."

Mike nodded calmly. "Luck only gets you so far."

"Hahaha, that's the spirit," John said with approval.

He folded his arms and looked at both of them. "Now tell me—what are your choices?"

Lily spoke first. "I want a Death- or Undead-type dragon, and two summoning skills from the undead category."

John nodded without surprise. "We have those. What kind of summoning skills exactly?"

"Can I see the list?" Lily asked.

John nodded, picked up his tablet, typed rapidly, and then turned the screen toward her.

"These are all the undead summoning skills we have available."

Lily scanned the list carefully before pointing.

"I want Wraith Lord Summoning and Ghoul Lord Summoning."

John nodded again. "Understood."

Then his gaze shifted to Mike.

"And you?"

"I want a mask that can help me disguise myself—perfectly changing into another persona," Mike said. "As for skills, I want summoning skills that can summon elementals."

John smiled slightly. "We have the Mask of a Thousand Faces – Jester Edition. It will suit your needs well."

He paused, then asked, "What kind of elementals are you looking for?"

Mike thought for a moment. "Poison and other negative-status-based elementals. Ones that specialize in area debuffs."

John nodded. "Then how about a Miasma Elemental, along with a Poison Elemental?"

Mike nodded. "That will do."

John tapped his tablet again, finalizing the selections.

"Excellent choices," he said with a grin.

An attendant stepped into the room, quietly pushing a velvet-lined cart.

Everyone's attention shifted to it.

Resting atop the cart were the rewards themselves.

At the center lay a large, dark-purple egg, its surface veined with faint crimson lines that pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat. A cold, deathly aura leaked from it, heavy yet refined.

Lily's eyes widened slightly.

"An undead dragon egg…" she murmured.

John nodded. "A Graveborne Dragon. Death-aligned, intelligent, and extremely loyal once bonded. It will grow quickly under a summoner with sufficient mana."

Beside the egg were two thick skill tomes, their covers etched with spectral runes.

"Wraith Lord Summoning," John said, tapping the first book. "A high-tier undead commander-class summon. Intangible, fear-inducing, and capable of leading lesser undead."

His finger moved to the second.

"Ghoul Lord Summoning. A battlefield anchor—regeneration, corpse conversion, and mass reinforcement. Excellent synergy with prolonged engagements."

Lily nodded in excitement, even more as she thought what they will become after Mike uses Midas Touch on them.

Then John turned the cart slightly toward Mike's side.

A wooden mask rested there, pale and smooth, carved into a smiling jester's face. Its expression seemed to shift subtly when not stared at directly, as if it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.

"Mask of a Thousand Faces – Jester Edition," John said. "Advanced illusion artifact. Voice modulation, facial reconstruction, aura masking, and limited persona memory imprinting."

Mike lifted it slightly.

It felt warm.

Alive, almost.

Next to the mask were two more skill books, darker in tone, their pages faintly smoking.

"Poison Elemental Summoning," John continued. "Persistent toxin fields, corrosive attacks, and immunity to most antidotes."

"And finally," he added, tapping the last tome, "Miasma Elemental Summoning. Area denial, debuff stacking, mana corrosion, and mental interference."

"These are your rewards," John said.

Mike and Lily nodded, then stored the items into their inventories.

"Alright then," John continued. "You may return to the banquet. Also, the auction has not been delayed—it will proceed on the original schedule."

Mike and Lily nodded again and took their leave.

When they stepped back into the main hall, the atmosphere had fully shifted back to festive.

The little "lion match" was already over.

Misty and the other child—Drake—were sitting together at a low table, their earlier rivalry completely forgotten. Both had their cheeks puffed out as they happily stuffed themselves with sweets.

Empty plates and half-finished pastries were scattered around them.

Most likely, the adults had ended the match by bribing them with desserts.

Layala lay beside Misty, her tail flicking lazily, completely unbothered by the outcome.

Mike sighed in amusement. "That was fast."

Lily smiled. "Kids get distracted easily."

Misty noticed them and waved excitedly, nearly dropping a candy in the process.

"Brother! Sister Lily! Look!" she said, holding up a colorful sweet. "They gave us so many!"

Mike laughed softly as he walked over. "Don't eat too much, or you'll regret it later."

Misty nodded enthusiastically—then immediately popped another sweet into her mouth.

They enjoyed the banquet for a while longer before finally returning home.

As soon as they entered the house, Lily grabbed Mike by the arm and dragged him straight to his room.

"Okay," she said, placing several items on the bed. "Turn them into Myth rank."

Mike nodded as he already planned to that. "Alright."

He sat down, activated his ability, and began working.

One by one, he upgraded all four legendary skill books they got, pushing them all the way to Myth rank as Lily watched closely.

When he finished, Lily handed him another set of items—six empty skill books.

"Here," she said. "Copy them."

Lily then took the her own skill books as she learned them and begun to copy the skills into Empty skill books as Mike did the same.

First, he copied Poison Elemental Summoning.

Then Miasma Elemental Summoning.

The two completed skill books floated briefly before solidifying. Mike handed them to Lily.

In return, Lily passed him two other books.

"These are yours," she said. "Wraith Lord Summoning and Ghoul King Summoning."

Mike accepted them, feeling the dense, undead mana within.

"What about the two empty ones?" Mike asked pointing at the two extra Empty skill books she brought out.

"You can keep the extra empty skill books," Lily replied.

Mike nodded, stored the remaining empty books in his inventory, and leaned back slightly.

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