'Hmmm…' The interrogator mouthed while thinking to himself.
"As the leader of the trip, you have full authority over the details of what happened. Are you sure this is the story you want to tell?"
"…It's what happened."
"Very well, then. You can go downstairs to the exchange center to sell your goods. Barring anything similar popping up in the future, we'll let you be."
'Something similar will most definitely happen in the future.' Margarez thought to himself.
"Also, since you've become team leader registered with the Bagger's Commission, and not the Adventurer's Department, to get your spoils from the AD we'll need you to register your current address and details here in order to take your corresponding funds for clearing the dungeon."
"How much will I be getting?"
"Well, Mr. Anderson, it says here $28,300 additional funds for the successful clearing of a D-Rank Dungeon under duress."
"That sounds amazing to be honest sir. However, I'll refrain from doing so until if and any blowback ends regarding Goro and his family."
'Kid's smarter than he looks.' Margarez meandered.
'I'd give him my address in a heartbeat if it wasn't for Lia. Damn! The Bagging Commission isn't half this stringent.'
"…Well, I'll let you out. Have a great rest of the day."
"Goodbye." With a short bow, Shay left the room. Inside the adjacent corridor, he smiled at Kathy before leaving through the tight of the two giant doors. Pacing himself towards the Exhange, he smiled at the few people that crossed his path. While he wasn't neccesarily planning on selling his items, Emilio had given him his fair share of the cores…
Once he got to the Exchange, he pulled himself away from the hawkers and onto a wall and prepared to receive the long-suppressed System Messages.
[You've eaten the Orb of- ERROR! ERROR!]
[REBOOTING CLASS D SYSTEM: SOUL TREE SYSTEM]
[SYSTEM UNABLE TO REBOOT]
[CLASS EX-I SYSTEM: DRAGON SOUL SYSTEM FOUND]
[BOOTING DRAGON SOUL SYSTEM]
[ASSIMILATING SOUL TREE SYSTEM]
[WELCOME TO THE DRAGON SOUL SYSTEM]
[Congratulations! The Dragon Soul System has touched your soul. Your soul tree {F-Rank} 'Untouched Unique Soul' has been modified to {SSS-Rank} Untouchable Unique Soul.']
[Your soul type has changed from {Human} to {Dragon}. ]
[You can now view the system with your mind. Speaking aloud is no longer required.]
[You have been given a subsidiary quest system. You can now view the avilable quests by saying, 'Quest.' ]
[You have been given a Shop System.]
[You have been blessed by the Dragon Priestess. You have been given a small world space: Dragon Mountain.]
[Dragon Breeding subsystem unlocked.]
[Dragon Blood subsystem unlocked.]
[The Dragon Priestess has assimilated a portion of her soul into the system. Current status: Soul Shattered, in Healing Hibernation.]
[You've completed a quest: Leave the Dragon Realm. Title given: The Dragonbourne. +4 Charm, +1 Luck]
[Congratulations! Due to zero prior damage and fully attuned aggro, you've slain D-Rank Boss: Grinning Goblin Driver. Acquired D-rank skill scroll, Driving Proficiency. Acquired E-rank Skill Scroll Blowgun proficiency.]
[Converting Driving Proficiency -> Dragon Riding Proficiency]
[You've slain a goblin. +4 exp]
[You've slain a goblin. +3 exp]
[You've slain a …]
…..
[Reminder: Daily quest due in 1 hour.]
As he scrolled through the messages, Shay saw all of the monsters he had ever taken down finally register in the system. The "Untouched Unique Soul" had been the worst of the worst. How can you level up if the system can't even recognize your efforts? Astounded, Shay did the only thing he knew how to do.
"Status."
{Dragon System}
[Name: Shay Anderson]
[Soul Tree: {EX} Untouchable Unique Soul]
[Soul Type: Dragon]
[Soul World: Dragon Mountain]
[Title: The Dragonbourne]
[Skills: Blowgun Proficiency, Dragon Riding Profiency]
[Affinities: Dragon (F)]
[Health: 20]
[Strength: 20]
[Defense: 20]
[Agility: 20]
[Perception: 20]
[Soul: 20]
[Luck: 2]
[Charm: 6]
~~~~~
Shay woke up from his daze. From the outside viewer, he merely opened his eyes.
The Soul Tree system that humanity had been using to fight the dungeons was fairly simple. As you fight, you would gain exp. The exp could be used to level up your skills. As you leveled up your skills, you could unlock the next 'soul branch' or 'skill.'
Each skill would give you 5x the soul rank in attributes. For example, an awakened F-Rank Adventurer would get 5 points per skill, while an awakened A-rank Adventurer would receive 30 points per skill. This was one of the main reasons that the world was so biased towards higher-leveled awakenings.
Additionally, if you found a skill scroll you could use it to unlock a new skill- but only if it was compatible with your tree.
If you found the right skill, your tree could evolve to a higher rank. Formerly, this had been Shay's hope. However, he couldn't even take a boss, much less make enough money to buy the scroll.
But now his rank was SSS- but it was off. He should have unassigned attribute points, but instead they were linked equally to his attribute points. Also, they matched his Soul points? This was unheard of!
Soul was normally locked alongside Charm and Luck….
'Hey, I'll take it.' Shay thought as he tried to use the "Skill Scroll: Impact" he had taken off of the goblin boss.