SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 147: Back to the Stronghold

Arthur closed the interface and took a deep breath.

Even after everything that had happened today, the new skill made him feel strangely energized.

Arthur glanced toward the explorers.

They had finished gathering most of the materials from the boss corpse.

The huge ogre core had already been dug out and wrapped carefully in cloth.

Looks like they were almost done.

Arthur started walking back toward them.

His steps were relaxed, but the smile on his face refused to disappear.

Ryn noticed him first.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"What’s with that face?"

Arthur tilted his head.

"What face?"

"The one that says you just got away with something."

Arthur laughed.

"Maybe I did."

The captain looked over as well.

"So, how did your investigation go?"

Arthur shrugged casually.

"I checked the markings around the throne. Same ritual pattern i saw in previous mission."

The captain’s expression turned serious.

"Another ritual..."

Arthur nodded.

"Yeah. The tainted mana source was already used up though. Nothing active left."

He reached into his pouch and pulled out the dark core he had found earlier.

"I did find this though."

The captain leaned closer.

"A core?"

Arthur nodded.

"Looks like part of the ritual setup."

He hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Mind if I keep it?"

The captain didn’t even answer immediately.

Instead he walked toward the pile of materials they had gathered.

Among them sat the boss core.

A large one.

Bright and valuable.

The captain picked it up and tossed it toward Arthur.

Arthur caught it instinctively.

"...huh?"

"You can take that one too," the captain said.

Arthur blinked.

"You’re serious?"

The captain sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"You killed the boss. You saved the squad. If anyone deserves the main reward, it’s you."

Several explorers nodded behind him.

One of them muttered quietly,

"Yeah... that seems fair."

Arthur didn’t argue.

He slipped both cores into his storage pouch without hesitation.

"Thanks."

The captain forced a smile, though the slight twitch on his face made it clear that giving away a boss core hurt a little.

Ryn snorted.

"Look at him. Not even pretending to refuse."

Arthur shrugged.

"Hey, you offered."

A few explorers laughed.

The tension that had hung over them earlier finally began to fade.

The captain clapped his hands once.

"Alright. Enough standing around."

Everyone turned toward him.

"The dungeon boss is dead. The mission is complete."

He glanced once more at the cavern.

Then he nodded firmly.

"Time to head back to the stronghold."

The walk back to the stronghold didn’t take long.

The dungeon entrance slowly faded behind them as the group moved through the rocky trail that led toward the outer walls of the stronghold.

The atmosphere was completely different from when they first arrived.

Although there had been less tension earlier.

Now tension felt miles apart.

Laughter filled the path as the explorers talked loudly among themselves. The energy that came after surviving a dangerous mission was always the same. Relief mixed with excitement.

One of the explorers slapped another on the shoulder.

"Did you see the captain’s face when that ogre tried to slam Arthur?"

The captain groaned immediately.

"Don’t start."

Too late.

Another explorer burst out laughing.

"No seriously! I thought you were about to jump in and wrestle the boss yourself."

"Shut up."

More laughter followed.

Someone else spoke up.

"And what about the scout we found earlier? Knocked out cold before we even reached the dungeon."

Everyone turned toward the unlucky scout walking near the back of the group.

The man rolled his eyes.

"Oh here we go again."

One of the others nudged him.

"You’re supposed to be the eyes of the squad. How do you get knocked out before the fight even starts?"

The scout raised both hands defensively.

"Hey! That wasn’t my fault."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. I ran into something weird out there."

"Yeah," another explorer said with a grin. "The ground."

More laughter exploded.

The scout clicked his tongue.

"You people are unbelievable. I get ambushed and all you do is bully me."

"Ambushed by what? Air?"

"Next time we’re sending you ahead with a helmet."

The scout sighed dramatically.

"I risk my life for this squad and this is how you treat me."

Arthur listened to the back and forth while walking beside them.

He found himself smiling without even realizing it.

The mood was good.

Really good.

And he enjoyed it more than he expected.

This was what squads were supposed to feel like.

During the mission everyone fought seriously. They trusted each other with their lives.

After the mission they laughed like this.

Arthur thought back to how quiet the group had been when they first approached the dungeon earlier today.

The difference was almost funny.

Now they were relaxed. Loud. Alive.

He found himself joining the conversation more than before.

One of the explorers glanced at him.

"Arthur, you saw the scout lying there first right?"

Arthur nodded.

"Yeah."

The scout pointed at him immediately.

"See? Even Arthur knows I didn’t just trip."

Arthur thought for a moment.

"Hmm."

The scout waited.

Then Arthur shrugged.

"I mean... it did kind of look like you tripped."

The group burst out laughing again.

The scout stared at him in betrayal.

"You too, Arthur?"

Arthur chuckled.

"Sorry."

Ryn walked beside him and shook his head.

"You just made a lifelong enemy."

"I’ll survive."

The walk continued like that for a while.

Stories from the fight were repeated again and again, each version sounding more exaggerated than the last.

One explorer demonstrated how the boss swung its fists.

Another tried to imitate Arthur dodging the attacks, which earned more laughter.

Arthur didn’t stop them.

They were blowing off steam.

After what they went through in that dungeon, they deserved it.

Soon the tall outer walls of the stronghold came into view.

The guards at the gate recognized the squad immediately as they waved them through.

"Back already?"

"Dungeon cleared," the captain replied.

"Nice."

And within a few minutes they were back in the stronghold.