The curtains were majorly drawn on the party as it came to a close.
However, some dwarves still lingered to chatter with friends, laughing and making jokes.
Some even continued to dance without any music while struggling to keep their balance because of how drunk they were.
Some others performed an orchestra of the half-elf's song.
The sound of their voices were off-putting and croaked, not as melodious as Rey's and this made some of the lady dwarves still hanging around almost burst a blood vessel.
"Shut up, guys! You are just ruining it!"
"...You are ruining it!" another beautiful female dwarf supported her friend.
The males just looked at them and burst out laughing, drowning themselves in more ale as they continued to murder the song further, even adding funny, slow steps to it in the name of dancing.
At a different spot, Rey was watching all these events happen and shook his head.
He found the drunk dwarves funny, and laughed as they littered his rendition. It was a fun sight for him.
Rey looked around for a bit and exhaled, relieving himself of the social pressure that had been built up.
He liked that he came around. It was a breath of fresh air for him; an avenue to forget his troubles and lessen the burden on his heart.
Looking at Uncas, who was snoring by his side, Rey felt a sense of gratitude to the dwarf for making him come.
Seeing how passed out Uncas was and how the dwarf was constantly muttering gibberish from his dream, Rey laughed.
"He's done for today," Rey commented, adjusting the small pile of clothes that Uncas had turned into a comfortable pillow for his head.
"Ah, yes!" the half-elf's mind snapped and his eyes glinted as he recalled something important.
Immediately, he prompted the screen of his system to float in front of his as he read through the latest notification he had gotten.
Rey rubbed his chin in thought. 'Seems like my actions activate milestones and certain rewards.'
< You have acquired a new class >
[ Class: Bard ]
It was obvious to Rey how he got this class, something easy for him to deduce.
Evidently, he acquired [Alcohol Immunity] and [Toxin Resistance] from consuming something that was toxic to his body — alcohol. That was his action, and the effect was the manifestation of these two skills.
Now, he has acquired a class just after singing. Rey didn't need some high level of knowledge to know that his performance had earned him the [Bard] class.
'This is impressive,' he thought. 'If that's the case with this system, then the prospects are nearly boundless.'
He was very elated thinking about this.
It didn't end there, seeing how Rey's eyes widened after he equipped the [Bard] class into his profile.
< Ding! >
< You have acquired the class-specific skill [Golden Voice] >
[ Golden Voice ]
[ Status: Active ]
[ Description:- Able to win the hearts of those who listen to you when you sing ]
[ Condition:- Only works when the [Bard] class is active ]
"Hmm," Rey rubbed his chin even more as he read through.
"It's a good skill. But it says only when the Bard Class is active. Does it mean I can acquire other classes?"
As he was muttering to himself, Rey had been carried away in thoughts and consideration of his system that he didn't notice he had company.
"Are you trying out a spell?" a sweet, feminine voice inquired of him, prompting Rey to turn in that direction.
"Huh?" he blurted out, surprised by the sudden presence of this person and how her face was just some centimetres away from pressing against his.
She shut her eyes and smiled cutely. "Eyes Always Shut, right?"
Radiant blue eyes like the oceans under the sunlight. A freckled face and long, orange hair that reached down to her bust.
"Princess…" Rey muttered, inching backwards to avoid a head-on collision with the princess of the Brownbeard Clan.
"...Citrea," she replied with a grin. "Princess Citrea, kekeke!"
Rey nodded and extended his hand for a shake as he smiled back. "The name's Rey though. Rey Avalon."
Princess Citrea blinked a few times. "Your name sounds very nice. Thought you were going to say—"
"Eyes Always Shut?" Rey interrupted her.
Seeing that Rey's face changed as he called out his dwarven-bestowed name, the princess shook her head in denial.
"Nope. In fact, never mind," she responded.
She looked at Rey's hands, focusing on his extended right index finger.
In truth, she had caught him moving that finger in the air and this made her falsely assume that the half-elf wanted to cast a spell.
"Soooo…?" Princess Citrea dragged her voice for a little bit too long, "...What spell did you want to cast? Seems like you are having trouble with it."
Rey's eyelids flickered. "Huh? Spell?"
He then looked at his hands and immediately understood what prompted the dwarven princess to think this way.
"Oh, no. Not at all. It's just an exercise to relax my fingers, much like cracking your knuckles."
Princess Citrea's eyes furrowed as she looked at Rey lie through his teeth but she couldn't object.
It's like he succeeded in casting any spells anyway like she presumed.
Clap-!
The princess clapped loudly, enough for Uncas to startle and momentarily sit up, causing Rey and Princess Citrea to keep it down.
Uncas looked around with his half-shut eyes and chewed his empty mouth before spilling more gibberish and then going back to sleep.
Rey made a "We Almost Got Into Trouble" face at the orange-haired princess, while the latter shrugged.
"Oops…!" she let out, her eyes widened a few times the size.
"Shhh!" Rey hushed her as the two of them let out muffled laughs, trying their best to not wake Uncas up again.
Rey hopped down from the stony stool he was seated on, placed his right palm over his chest and bowed.
"Thank you and your father, the King, for having me, Princess Citrea."
The dwarven princess' face blushed slightly as Rey became very formal with her.
Formality wasn't extremely strict within the Brownbeard Dwarven Clan like in other places.
Although the authority of their king was recognised and respected by every member of the clan, they were all still down to earth and friendly with each other.
"Y-You… don't have to," Princess Citrea moved forward and held Rey by the shoulders, urging him to stand straight.
"We should be the ones thanking you for blessing our ears with such a voice."
The princess took the half-elf's right hand into hers, her eyes bubbling cutely as she looked at Rey.
"I have to go now but I have something I wanted to ask you personally."
Rey's brows lifted.
'That's unusual,' he thought, playing it cool however.
"And what might that be?"
It seemed like the words were stuck in Princess Citrea's throat for a moment but she managed to let it out.
"Can you…"