Chapter 10 – The Reward for Defeating Helkaiser
Cael looked with a mix of exhaustion and distrust at the floating panel that materialized in front of him. The system's voice, always upbeat, echoed in his mind.
"Congratulations, Cael! Mission 'Helkaiser's Destruction' successfully completed! Here are your rewards!"
Before Cael could protest, the system pressed on, ignoring any negative reaction.
"As a reward, you will receive:"
The panel displayed a bunch of items. The first was a pouch of gold, which appeared floating right in front of Cael. He grabbed it, though he didn't even seem to care much about it. After all, a handful of gold didn't make much of a difference at this point.
Next, a glowing scroll appeared, rolled up like a trophy. Cael picked it up without much enthusiasm, unrolled the edge, and saw the name of the spell written there.
"Spell: 'Hellfire'. A powerful spell for those who face dragons."
The system paused, waiting for Cael to comment.
He shook his head, visibly unimpressed.
"Don't you have anything more useful than this? Hellfire? I just faced a dragon, and you think I'm going to go around burning everything in sight? How about something that actually helps me?"
The system sounded as if it were trying to justify itself, though not very successfully.
"Well, Cael, this spell is genuinely strong. It could prove useful in other situations too, who knows?"
Cael stared at the scroll and grimaced.
"I don't know... Doesn't seem that great to me. What else do you have for me?"
The panel shifted again, bringing up a set of armor. Cael stepped closer to inspect the item, and his eyes lit up for a brief second upon seeing it, but his expression quickly turned to disappointment.
"Common armor?" he nearly groaned. "I faced a dragon and you give me this? Come on, system, you've got to be kidding me."
"Oh, Cael, but this armor is of excellent quality. It is designed to increase your defense..."
"I don't need more defense, I just need something useful. Seriously, system, is this really all you managed to give me after I defeated the Helkaiser? Some random spell and a set of armor I'll probably end up throwing away?"
The system hesitated for a moment.
"Well, the fight was... difficult, but Slimy had a very important role in the battle too. Perhaps the reward was... adjusted to reflect that?"
Cael closed his eyes, clearly frustrated.
"Ah, of course. Slimy. Can't forget my gelatinous partner. What would I ever do without him?" he said with heavy irony. "If it weren't for him exploding at the end there, I'd still be fighting the Helkaiser, no doubt about it. And you give me these mediocre rewards? Unbelievable."
The system seemed to try and defuse the situation.
"Cael, not every item can be a legendary weapon or something of the sort. Every reward has its value. Slimy was crucial to the victory. Perhaps next time you'll get a more interesting surprise!"
Cael huffed, putting his hands on his hips as he glared at the armor.
"Next time... Yeah, you always say that. We'll see what happens."
He stowed the items into his backpack, still grumbling about the lack of anything actually useful, and prepared to move out. There was nothing else there left to catch his attention.
Before leaving, he glanced at Slimy, who was sitting nearby, chewing on some kind of plant he had scavenged from the ground.
"Thanks for saving me, Slimy. But next time, maybe don't explode all over me. The system has already made enough of a fool out of me today."
The little purple creature, not understanding much of what was said, simply looked up at Cael and let out a sound like a satisfied grunt. He seemed completely content with everything, totally indifferent to the knight's frustration.
Cael sighed, throwing the backpack over his shoulders and heading forward, feeling that he still had a long way to go, and that no matter how much he complained, the journey was far from over.