"It’s... asking me to choose one of the rewards," Catherine said.
The confusion on her face was obvious because the System had never done something like this before.
Normally, the System never gave people multiple rewards to choose from. The closest thing to a choice was selecting the difficulty of a Trial or dungeon, with higher difficulties offering better rewards after completion.
"So, what rewards are you getting?" Isaac asked as he walked over.
"I received the normal Gold Coins, equipment, and the Boss Core. But for my last reward, I have three choices. Soul Strengthening Potion, Solo Conqueror Title, and a Random Beast Egg. I have five minutes to decide, or the System will choose one for me," Catherine replied.
Isaac frowned as he heard the first option. "Soul Strengthening Potion... Doesn’t that mean people who couldn’t awaken a Talent might finally have a chance?"
"Yes. It should strengthen the soul of someone who couldn’t awaken a Talent. If their soul becomes strong enough, they should be able to awaken one. If we can give this potion to Master, her research on helping everyone awaken a Talent might finally make a breakthrough," Catherine answered.
Neither of them believed that was what the System actually intended. More likely, it expected Catherine to consume the potion herself instead of handing it over for research.
Isaac honestly wasn’t sure how much benefit it would give her. Aside from making her Aura stronger and improving abilities that relied on soul power, he couldn’t think of many uses. Catherine didn’t possess any soul-based skills, and while stronger Aura was certainly valuable, he hadn’t encountered any Aura Art that completely changed someone’s strength by itself.
"I think you should choose the second reward," Isaac said after thinking for a while.
"The Title instead of the potion or the Beast Egg?" Catherine asked.
Isaac nodded. "For the potion, I don’t think this is our only opportunity to obtain one. This boss wasn’t a First Clear, and these reward options still appeared. If I help someone else solo the First Area later, they should receive the same choices, and they can select the Soul Strengthening Potion instead. So, you should focus on making yourself stronger. There’s no reason for you to give up your own growth if we can simply obtain another potion later."
"What about the Beast Egg?" Catherine asked.
"It says it’s an egg. That means we’ll have to wait for it to hatch, and we don’t know whether that’ll take weeks, months, or even years. We also have no idea what kind of beast we’ll get, so it’s a huge gamble," Isaac replied.
He paused before continuing. "On the other hand, if you choose the Title now, there’s a chance it will upgrade later. Emily’s Title evolved previously, and the improvement was significant. If future Areas offer similar rewards, an upgraded Title could easily become more valuable than a random beast."
"What if it doesn’t upgrade? What if I simply receive another Title instead?" Catherine looked at him thoughtfully.
"That’s possible. Even then, I still think the Title is the better investment. The Beast Egg has too many unknowns, while Titles have already proven how useful they can become," Isaac replied.
Catherine nodded slowly. In truth, she had already decided what she was going to choose before asking him. She simply wanted to hear how Isaac would analyze the situation, and whether his reasoning had improved.
She was still his teacher, after all. Every now and then, that habit resurfaced without her even realizing it.
"I’ll choose the reward," Catherine said.
As soon as she confirmed her choice, Isaac’s clones spread across the battlefield and began collecting everything the boss had dropped. Isaac himself walked around with an unusually cheerful expression as piles of rewards accumulated before him.
The loot included a massive amount of Gold Coins, several pieces of Mortal-rank equipment, the Boss Core, and one complete legendary-grade equipment set. Isaac inspected the legendary equipment first, and his grin widened almost immediately.
"A swordsman set. This is perfect for Master," he said happily. He got to other loots.
Catherine smiled helplessly as she watched him. She was the one whose strength had just increased, yet Isaac looked far happier than she did.
Isaac carefully picked up every single piece of Mortal-rank equipment before storing it away. He even wiped the dirt off each item with a cloth before placing it inside his storage ring, treating ordinary equipment with the same care most people reserved for legendary treasures.
At some point, he had become surprisingly materialistic.
"So, what changed? Do you feel any different?" Isaac asked after finishing.
Catherine checked her status before closing the screen again. "Not really. Maybe it’s one of those Titles whose effects only activate against Boss Monsters. We’ll probably find out once we reach the next Area."
Isaac nodded before speaking silently inside his mind.
’System, share Sis’ new Title!’
Solo Conqueror Title gained.
The System only displayed the name of the Title. Its effects remained hidden, leaving Isaac no choice but to wait until they discovered them naturally.
"Well. I suppose we’ll learn what it does soon enough," he said with a shrug,
The two of them walked toward the portal that had appeared after the boss’s defeat. Without hesitation, they stepped through together.
A brief flash of light surrounded them before they arrived inside the Second Area of the Great Dungeon. The surroundings had changed completely, with shallow swamp water stretching across the landscape while thick mist drifted between patches of dead trees.
Now that they had reached the Second Area, they had unlocked its checkpoint. If they exited the Great Dungeon now, they could return directly to this Area during their next visit instead of starting from the entrance.
At the same time, the System still allowed challengers to begin from the First Area whenever they wanted. Both options remained available permanently after an Area had been cleared by the awakener.
Isaac and Catherine each equipped a legendary-grade item that possessed the ability to see through magical fog. As the equipment activated, the dense fog became much easier to see through, allowing them to spot the terrain far ahead.