Although those have been helping Ryan a lot lately, Ryan couldn't help but feel thankful when he noticed that his stock of dragon hearts was almost over. While those tasted good in all ways one could think to cook them, Ryan was already sick of it. It was no surprise. Not even the craziest human could withstand eating something like pizza for one month without taking a break.

Congratulations! You have cleared the dungeon and obtained its treasure! As a reward for your achievement, you can obtain one of the three following classes: Crusader, Combat Archer, and Sorcerer.

Please be aware that clearing this dungeon again won't give you the chance to unlock the other remaining classes. If you want to obtain them, you will have to search for those in other dungeons.

Congratulations! You have become a Level one Crusader!

You obtained the following skills: Holy Cross, Indomitable Spirit, and Boomerang Shield.

Your strength and health will increase by four points. Your mana, stamina, endurance, and mentality will increase by two points whenever you level up your class.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Holy Cross.

Effect: A quick double slash in the shape of a cross that causes explosive damage and even more damage against demons and undead.

Cost: 50 mana.

You obtained 01 status point.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Indomitable Spirit.

Effect: It casts around the user a magic barrier that will protect him against negative effects. The power of the negative effects will decrease according to the level of the skill.

Cost: 30 mana per second

You obtained 01 status point.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Boomerang Shield.

Effect: A skill that can only be used when a shield is equipped. The heavier the shield, the more damage the skill will cause.

Cost: 50 stamina.

You obtained 01 status point.

After another day of hard work, Ryan teleported back to his domain to check things and relax for an hour or two before he left to search for another dungeon to clear. However, instead of relaxing, he was bothered by Alissa.

"Ryan… you won't believe what I just heard," Alissa said while she apparently was having a hard time controlling her laughter. "A lot of people here in the base think that you have gone mad and your actions might put the whole country at risk."

"That isn't surprising," Ryan said. "Rather than that, it is surprising that you haven't been caught hearing other people's conversations or reading their minds."

"Unlike what you might be thinking, I only did that to make sure I know what is happening and seems out of place," Alissa explained. "This certainly is a good motive."

"I don't really care if you don't have a motive or not, but if you were caught doing that it might cause some issues," Ryan said. "Besides, you don't owe me anything."

"You worry too much, I just found it funny that the people here think you are plotting world domination," Alissa said. "Anyway, you shouldn't drop your guard since everyone here is wary of you."

After saying that, Alissa ended the telepathic link. In the end, it really looked like she just tried to share a funny story and that she wasn't even a little bit worried about the severity of that situation.

Before Ryan could think a little more about the results of his actions regarding the people in the secret base, he noticed that another telepathic link between someone and him was being forcefully created. Alissa was the only one who usually would do that, but since she just did, what would be the point of doing again? Much to Ryan's surprise, Gustavo was the one who did it.

"Hello again, Ryan," Gustavo said, and he sounded too tired for any more greetings.

"What's up? You sound tired," Ryan said.

"Just facing a troublesome situation with underwater dungeons lately," Gustavo replied. "I wanted to talk about that, have you people in your country having problems with those types of dungeons?"

"Not that I am aware," Ryan replied. "As far as I know, all the survivor camps are pretty far from the sea. That being said, I would know if monsters from the sea started to invade the land."

Ryan was using Clairvoyance pretty much whenever possible to find new dungeons, so he would have noticed such a problem if his country was facing such a problem. However, maybe even if there are some underwater dungeons near his country, would the monsters leave the ocean and lose the terrain where they have such an advantage?

"I am glad to hear it," Gustavo said while smiling. "Anyway, but you should stay cautious of possible attacks. Another type of monster has been causing several problems to us lately, to the point where we are even considering the idea to move away from the coast."

"That sounds like one hell of a monster…" Ryan furrowed his eyebrows in surprise. "Didn't Alissa share the knowledge about the domain stones with you guys? I would bet that would help."

"We tried to use that, but it didn't work," Gustavo said. "Since the center of the domain was in the center of our city, the border of the domain quickly reached the ocean, but that only worked for the barrier to become a target for the Hydras."

"Hydras…" Ryan frowned when he heard that name. "Are they those dragon-like serpents that I heard in Greek mythology?"

"Indeed, they are," Gustavo said while nodding. "As far as we know here, it looked like they kept a low-profile until now in order to build up their forces. Thanks to that, they now control a good part of the area of the Atlantic Ocean we monitor."

Ryan didn't like what he heard… to think that a single species of monsters managed to defeat all the others and now was causing problems for humans. That was something beyond troublesome. Ryan couldn't help but wonder if he should increase his investigation scope…