-Swish! Swish! Swish!

-Booooooooooom...!

-Oooooooooooong!

When the last of the wolves fell to one of Kaela's arrows, the cavern fell silent once more, the air thick with the coppery smell of blood, the acrid tang of burnt Mana, and the scent of spent magic.

"Haaaa..."

Borin turned to face his party, his heavy, measured breathing the only sign of exertion.

He looked over the field of carnage, then his gaze, heavy but considering, landed squarely on Aria.

"Good... haaa... work."

He simply grunted, a sound that in its economy conveyed more approval and acceptance than a flowery speech ever could.

"Haaaa..."

"Finally it's over..."

"Huuuuuu."

As the others took a moment to catch their breath and Finn began checking his remaining gear, Aria walked over to the two wolves she had killed with her first trap.

Without saying anything, she placed a hand on the cool, textured body of the wooden spike.

"Material Appraisal," she whispered, activating the skill with the wolves as her target.

[Ding!]

[Appraisal targets have been identified.]

[Lupine Stalkers (Dungeon creation) [Corpse] have been identified.]

===Status===

Race: Lupine Stalkers (Dungeon creation)

Strength: 15

Agility: 21

Stamina: 19

Intelligence: 14

Level: 12

Skills: Shadow claws, Darkness integration, Mana infusion, Pack loyalty.

[Note: Material collection available.]

============

"Hmm, they are different from the direwolves," she mused aloud. "Good for me, keke."

She waited for a moment and made sure the rest of her party was looking at her and focused her will once again."Material Collection."

[Ding!]

[You have obtained Dark Wolf Hide*3.]

[You have obtained Dark Wolf meat*3.]

[You have obtained Dark Fang*1.]

[You have obtained an (Energy Core) <Red> from the Lupine Stalkers (Dungeon creation).]

[You have obtained Darkness essence*1.]

[You have obtained EP:2.]

[You have obtained: 6 coins.]

"Dismantle." She didn't wait for the last part and took back the wooden spikes as well.

[Spike trap (Novice) has been dismantled.]

[You have obtained: Mana wood fragments*4.]

[You have obtained: 1CU.]

The two wolf carcasses dissolved into streams of shimmering, particulate light, leaving behind only the materials that gathered where corpses used to be.

The wooden spikes had also vanished, with the materials obtained from the dismantling going straight to her storage space.

Finn whistled at the extremely rare scene, genuinely impressed. "Well, that's disgustingly handy. No messy field dressing. You just... loot the highlights."

Collecting materials was one of the most boring parts throughout the whole process.

Many didn't like it but didn't have any choice since they needed all that they could get from them... but Aria had just made things much easier for them.

"Hmmm..."

Borin hefted his shield onto his back, the movement a defining sight to the team.

"Alright," he announced, his voice a low rumble that brooked no argument. "Seems like you can pull your weight." His eyes swept over both Aria and Cass. "Both of you, good work. The day's still young. Let's clean up and move forward."

The party leader did not mind Aria using her skills for the cleanup; she was happy.

And the recognition from someone he had been looking up to made Cass a little flustered as well.

This time, when the party fell into formation, Aria and Cass were no longer shepherded into the center as fragile cargo.

They were given their own space, their positions acknowledged as integral, functioning parts of the well-oiled machine that was the Steel Wind Party.

Aria allowed herself a small, private smile. Then... a new pink screen popped up before her.

[Ding!]

[You have obtained Architect EXP: (+5).]

[You have reached the EXP threshold. Your level will be increased.]

In any normal case, she would have been pretty happy.

But, this wasn't a blue screen before her right now.

It was a Pink one... which meant more than anything normal.

-Oooooooooooooooong!

A bright golden light, all too familiar to anyone who had progressed in their levels, appeared around Aria for the first time and washed a new strength over her entire being.

[Dungeon Architect (Level-1) >> Dungeon Architect (Level-2).]

[Status window has been updated.]

[Ding!]

===Status===

ID: Aria Cartethyia Solona (Otherworlder)

Job: Dungeon Architect (Novice)

Energy: 300/300

Creation Units (CU): 90

Essence Points (EP): 15

Intellect: 21

Domain: 12

Stability: 18

Creativity: 30

Architect EXP: 1 (Next level: 1000)

Level: 2

Possessed Coins: 15,213

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Innate Skills: Task Division (S), Pocket space (A), Mana affinity (E).

Job Skills: Creation (Beginner), Dismantle (Beginner), Material Collection (Beginner), Material Appraisal (Novice), Blueprint Mapping (Novice), Invisible hand (Novice).

Other skills: Assistance System (EX).

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Titles: The one who came from a different world (L), The one who met the Trignity (L).

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Available blueprints: Boundary (Novice), Safe Zone (Novice), Spike trap (Beginner), Material conduit (Novice).

============

She took one look at her new status window and then blinked with visible confusion.

A new level of powers she had not had just a moment ago now surged throughout her body.

She could feel the new physical strength, the enhanced mental strength to cast fifty of the spike traps at once, something she could never do until a moment ago.

Her mind felt unrestricted for some reason, the energy throughout her body a greater, more refined version of what it used to be until just now.

New creative thoughts, ways to use her skills that she had not even thought were possible, now overwhelmed the creative units of her mind.

Not only had her senses become sharper, but she felt like she had become a completely different person altogether.

'Is this normal?'

She looked at her companions, who did not have any special expressions, as if they had seen this scene countless times already.

Cass seemed happy that she had levered up, but even he was not surprised.

Nothing had changed about her physically, but only she knew how drastic the changes inside of her actually were.

"Since one of us has leveled up as well, we shall move forward with a bigger goal this time." The mountainous party leader made his announcement while taking his first step.

"Let's aim for the entire first floor today."

And just like that, he moved forward, leading the party with the same confidence he had when they entered the dungeon earlier...

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