As Alex looked at the system message in mesmerization and glee, he waited for the reward.
Minutes passed, and Alex grew frustrated. He moved his right thumb towards his mouth, holding it like a microphone, and whispered to the ring.
"Ahem, testing, testing, hello Mr. or Misses Ring, care to explain what my reward is?" Not daring to offend his benefactor, he spoke softly.
In response, the ring sent an emotionally charged message back to Alex, as if telling him to rotate it. Alex immediately turned it clockwise, and another message appeared.
-–System Message–-
'Instant Level Up'
Teleporting back to original location
Time left: 30:00'
————
"Yes, Yes, Yes! This is the best reward I could have asked for. Wait, does this mean I don't need to enter the dream phase this time? If this is true, then this is the greatest thing that could have happened! Penalty Quest? More like Best Quest!" Alex shouted in excitement.
'But why am I being given thirty minutes and not being teleported immediately? Is there something else I'm supposed to do here? Like a hidden objective?' As a gamer at heart, Alex couldn't help but think about these things. His experience taught him to always question "why."
'Let's think about this logically. The timer is 30 minutes, which isn't enough for me to go back to the waterfall area. But it is enough for me to explore the arena. First, I should check the boss's remains for any valuable loot.'
Walking briskly, he approached the Skeletal Giant's remains.
'Man, I'm awesome... How did I beat this thing? If I were to guess, this would be a level 4 or even a level 5. I've grown so much since the school year ended.'
Despite his thorough search, he found nothing of value or interest. He then decided to explore the balcony area where he fought the archers, hoping to find a secret lever or a hidden passageway. But after almost 20 minutes, he found nothing.
'Maybe the timer is just for me to rest up? I don't know… I feel like I'm missing something..' Alex pondered.
Just as he was about to descend back to the platform, he looked down from his balcony vantage point and noticed something intriguing, visible only because of the way the light refracted off it from his angle.
'Oh man! I'm such an idiot! Of course! It would be this!' Alex excitedly thought as he leaped from the balcony, landing on the floor, causing a small shockwave.
He glanced at the system timer:
--System Message--
Time Left: 03:00
—---
Without wasting a moment, Alex sprinted to the location and, using both hands, yanked the tiny protruding object.
It was the Skeletal Giant's Pirate Hat!
Instantly, a system message appeared:
–System Message–
Time Left: 00:00
Teleportation in progress
————
Alex hugged the hat with all his might, scared it might not be teleported with him, and within a fraction of a second, his body, along with the hat, started to fade into nothingness.