After the last goblin falls, I sprint toward the makeshift cages imprisoning the rest of my party.
The girls are all alive. Miria and Lexi are still conscious, though clearly in pain, their faces twisted in exhaustion. Sylvia lies slumped against the back of her cage, unmoving but breathing.
The speed of my movement catches even me off guard. Not only is my body fully healed, but it's faster and lighter. More efficient. I'll investigate my status later. Right now, they come first.
Without a word, I reach Miria's cage and break the crude lock with my bare hands. Her eyes widen, but I don't stop to explain. I summon a minor healing potion from my [Item Box] and press it to her lips, forcing her to drink. Now is not the time to worry about cost or etiquette.
If her wounds were minor, I might have invoiced her later. But this? We nearly died. I did die. No charge.
She coughs as she swallows, her skin beginning to emit a faint, golden glow. I quickly repeat the process with Lexi and then Sylvia.
Lexi nods silently, her expression tight with gratitude. Sylvia wakes with a start, blinking rapidly before panicking. "What happened? Are we alive? Xavier? You .....you're alive?!"
"I'm here," I say quickly, trying to calm her. "It's over. The goblins are dead. You're safe now. Just focus on healing, we can talk later."
She nods, breathing heavily. The potions take effect rapidly. Within minutes, the three girls are able to stand, albeit shakily. The worst of their injuries, fractures, gashes and internal bleeding, are healed enough for movement.
After a moment to catch her breath, Miria steps closer. "What happened to you? I saw what that shaman did. You were dead. The ritual.....he cut your throat."
I shrug slightly. "He thought he was sacrificing me to his god, but he messed up. It wasn't a death ritual, it was an ascension. I reawakened."
She stares, stunned. Lexi joins us, brushing her hair from her face.
"That explains it," she says softly. "Your body, it disappeared. Then… reformed. Right in front of us."
"I don't know what it looked like from the outside," I reply. "But I feel better than ever. Stronger. Faster."
Sylvia, now standing, looks me up and down. Her voice trembles slightly. "Then it was a reawakening. That's what happens during one, the body is reforged. You gain entirely new strengths."
"I definitely unlocked new abilities. Without the golems, I wouldn't have stood a chance against the goblins."
I gesture toward the five stone figures standing in a loose circle, unmoving and silent. They had obeyed my commands without hesitation, smashing through goblin after goblin with ruthless efficiency.
"Pile the corpses," I say aloud.
Immediately, the golems begin collecting the goblin bodies into a heap. The girls watch in awe as the stone figures follow my orders with mechanical precision.
"Reawakenings are insanely rare," Lexi mutters. "You'll have to report this to the Association. They're going to want every detail. We'll probably all be called in for questioning!"
"I'll tell them everything," I say. "As long as they don't try to recreate the ritual on someone else." Despite now feeling terrific, I wouldn't want even my worst enemy to suffer like that.
Despite how traumatic an experience that should have been, I don't feel any lingering effects. That fact alone is enough to tell me that I can expect some kind of future psychological backlash from this, or that the reawakening also did something to my mental state.
Reawakenings have less than a 0.01% chance of happening after your first awakening. And for men, even awakening itself is rare: only 1% awaken at all. As far as I know, I'm the first male to ever reawaken.
Once the golems finish piling the corpses, I open my [Item Box] and begin storing them one by one. As I do, a notification flashes across my interface.
[Extract goblin genome? 50% chance – Y/N]
[Extract goblin shaman genome? 5% chance – Y/N]
Genome? Is that genetic data? Is this related to the "Genoforge Pillar" I saw earlier?
Curious, I confirm both prompts.
[Goblin Genome Extraction – Successful – Rank-E genome x8 acquired - ]
[Goblin Shaman Genome Extraction – Unsuccessful]
[Requirements Met – Genoforge Pillar Unlocked]
So that's what it meant. I've unlocked the Genoforge Pillar. What does that even do? I'll need time later to explore the interface in detail. For now, our priority is escaping this place.
We finish collecting loot, some mana crystals, tribal artifacts, and the goblin shaman's equipment, before heading for the tunnel leading out.
The golems follow silently behind me, their heavy footsteps echoing in the stone corridor. As we near the gate's exit, a thought occurs: what should I do with them? I don't even know how to deactivate a spell like this.
Then it hits me.
"[Item Box: Store All]"
Instantly, the golems vanish into storage, their weight and presence gone. Perfect. This synergy will be useful, now I only need to spend time summoning new golems when the old ones are destroyed.
There are still too many unknowns with my new abilities, but I'll have time to study everything later. For now, survival and escape come first.
We reach the gate's threshold, and the moment the last of us steps through, the green mist begins to dissolve.
When the gate's boss is defeated and no one remains inside, the gate collapses, disintegrating into the air like mist burning off under the sun.
If the goblin shaman had merely been a mid-boss or a strong elite, the gate would have stayed open. Its closure confirms that his death was the key to sealing this place.
It also means that anything left inside is now lost forever. Loot not collected vanishes with the gate.
Miria turns to the group, her voice tired but confident. "Let's head to the Association to cash in. After everything that happened… we'll need to talk about Xavier's share. I think it's time for a few adjustments."
I honestly want to argue that a deal is a deal and they just need to keep the original agreement, but seeing the look in her eyes, I hold myself back.