[Wings of Malaikat (???, Lv.1)]
[Essence of an ancient being. Great undisputable power lays dormant within.]
[Effect: ???]
[Exclusive Skill: ???]
[Note: The rank and attributes of the seal depends on the engraving process on the targeted hero.]
The Being said the seal would be engraved within me the moment I touched this orb.
Although I was very eager to obtain a seal, it was probably best that I did it in the lobby instead of here in the dungeon.
So I procured a handkerchief from my dress, enchanted the fabric with simple barrier spell, and wrapped the orb with it.
While carrying the concealed seal, I stepped through the portal behind me and returned to the mirrored chamber.
[Prove your strength!]
[Advent Dungeon]
[Difficulty - ???]
The Advent Dungeon mirror had returned to its former state.
It no longer shined with the bright silver light. Instead it radiated with the same bluish-white glow like the other mirrors.
[Serafina! You're back! I knew you could easily clear the dungeon!]
Alam brightly welcomed me the moment I stepped out of the rift.
"I faced some formidable opponents in there. It was definitely not easy."
[Don't be so hard on yourself! Normally you would need to be at least level 40 to challenge an Advent Dungeon.]
The fairy said nonchalantly to me whom was still level 17.
"Why didn't you tell me that before I entered the dungeon?"
[Would it stop you if I warned you?]
Alam said while raising a teasing eyebrow.
I could not help but chuckle at her words.
This warden apparently had understood me to an extent.
"At any rate, I've brought the seal."
I said while showing the concealed orb.
The fairy's eyes glimmered upon the sight of the seal.
[Ooohh! An undetermined seal! We might get a really high grade one with this!]
"You've been talking about getting me a high-grade seal. Just how much stronger a seal can make a hero be exactly?"
I asked the fairy.
[It still depends on how the seal synergizes with the hero's abilities. But if you've got a really powerful seal, you might be able to clear a boss stage all by yourself.]
Now that would be something we needed.
Had I possessed a seal that significantly increases my mana supply and greatly enhances my spells, I could probably clear the fifth floor, our first Quintal Trial, all by myself.
I might even be able to annihilate the goblin army on the tenth floor and fulfilled our objective right at the start of the mission.
Or instantly teleported His Highness Radjah out of Tsuchi on the fifteenth floor.
Indeed.
A powerful seal would open up many avenues that would lead us to the top of the tower. Leading us to the salvation of our world.
"If I could obtain a high grade seal, then the Main Forces might immediately try the twentieth floor."
I stated.
[Definitely! With four 4-star heroes that had their own seals in the squad, the Main Forces should be able to clear that boss stage easily.]
The Raid Team had managed to send four out of the required five parties to the twentieth floor.
Master should had gathered sufficient information to eliminate most of the risk in that Quintal Trial.
It might not be necessary to send the Fourth Advanced Scouts to observe the mission.
Moreover, that particular scouting squad was partially composed of talented 3-star heroes.
We would likely need them in the higher floors that might require ten parties or more for their missions.
Indeed.
If I obtained powerful abilities from my new seal, then I would recommend Master to let the Main Forces attempt the fourth Quintal Trial.
It must be done for the sake of our climb effort.
I was certain Master would agree, as that was probably the reason Master ordered me to obtain a seal after the failed attempt by the Third Advanced Scouts.
[Will you engrave the seal right away?]
Alam asked.
"Is there some risk to the engraving process?"
I asked her back.
There was a system message notifying me about it. So I had to confirm.
[There might be instances when a hero could not handle the power of the seal. When that happened, the hero would get corrupted during the engraving process.]
"And by 'corrupted' you mean 'died'?"
Alam nodded.
[Basically, yeah. They would go mad and become despondent. Eventually such heroes would wither away and perish.]
I supposed there was always such risk in the effort of obtaining greater power.
We would need to keep this in mind when obtaining seals had become a necessity for all the raiders.
"Then I would like to delay the engraving process till tomorrow. I want to be in my best condition for the ritual."
I stated.
At that moment, notification windows appeared before me.
[Gifting 'Manis Winter Dessert Collection' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
[Gifting 'Manis Exclusive Tower Cake' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
[Gifting 'Manis Special Anniversary Candy Box' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
Alam suddenly looked up to the rainbow-colored sky of the forged land.
[Well, it seems like Master is happy with your work in the Advent Dungeon. You should get some really nice rest with all these gifts Master is giving you.]
After spending so much mana earlier, I would need at least all of those desserts just to recover myself.
I perhaps should ask the cooks to make more sweets for dinner and my midnight snacks.
Spell-casting required much energy and I wanted to be in top condition for tomorrow's engraving process.
"Warden, please set all the gifts in the Tactical Post."
I told the fairy.
She frowned at my request.
[The Tactical Post? Not your room?]
"Other than obtaining a seal, we also scouted the twentieth floor today, remember? I still want to know what Master learned through the Third Advanced Scouts."
It simply would not be productive to spend the rest of my day by sleeping.
Discussing raid tactics with Master would be a better way to spend my recovery time.
And learning more about the Quintal Trial would actually relieve some of the stress that was caused by my dread of the unknown mission.
It was practically resting in a way.
[Goodness! When do you ever sleep?]
Alam said before vanishing.
With the concealed seal still in my hand, I walked into the Tactical Post and began my rest.
['Serafina (★★★★)' is proposing a mock battle to Master.]
[Accept?]
[Yes (selected)/ No]
While enjoying the desserts Master gifted me, I did mock battles with them until they left.
At dinner I returned to the Main Forces lodging and relayed to my comrades of what happened in the Advent Dungeon.
The process of obtaining a seal was new in the lobby and quite an important one.
So I explained to them regarding all matters regarding the Advent Stone, the Advent Dungeon, and about seals themselves. Or what I learned so far of them, at least.
We did not have many 4-star heroes yet that could obtain a seal.
But there would eventually come a time in the climb where we could promote heroes to a 4-star rank and enabled them to possess a seal of their own.
Indeed. Eventually.
We would certainly climb over the twentieth floor.
The fourth Quintal Trial would not prevent us from reaching the top of the tower.
My party comrades, as expected, were quite shocked when I told them about the Advent Dungeon.
Jonah in particular was furious.
They rapidly scolded me throughout dinner that I should had informed them before entering such a dangerous place.
How it was simply too reckless of me to attempt an unknown trial like that alone.
I already explained that even if I had told them, they likely would not be able to enter the dungeon with me.
The system message stated it could only admit one hero. So it was a useless debate.
Granted, I did not actually know only one hero could enter the dungeon when I went into the rift.
But the point still stood.
And as I predicted, it was quite cold at the first half of that night.
It took a bit of an effort to have Jonah joined me in my bedroom. And much more persuasion to have him actually joined me in bed.
The shepherd apparently was really mad that I went to the Advent Dungeon alone.
I told him countless times he would not be able to accompany me there.
But the man simply refused to let go of his anger.
Even so, he spent the rest of the night hugging me tightly almost to the point of smothering.
I knew Jonah was just worried for my safety.
That was why my fondness of him only grew after seeing his behavior today.
I would probably act the same if Jonah suddenly did something dangerous without warning me.
Especially if I could had helped him or taken his place.
Indeed.
We both just could not help but to worry for each other's sake.
The fourth Quintal Trial awaited us.
It might turn into our greatest challenge yet, possibly even more than the Advent Dungeon I went to.
And I was glad that I had Jonah by my side to face it.
"Stay with me always, my shepherd."
I whispered to the sleeping man by me.