Chapter 95
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Exclusive First Clear Rewards
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[Cleared dungeons will be deactivated and designated as safe zones.]
[It will take one week for the dungeon to reactivate.]
[Time remaining until dungeon activation: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]
So it takes a full week for the dungeon to reopen.
I definitely shouldn't forget to come back here and clear it again next time.
That aside, it mentioned rewards for clearing the dungeon, but honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
I figured it'd be something basic like coins, simple rations, or maybe some gear at best.
So when I got 500 coins as a reward, I just shrugged it off. But the next item that popped up? I never saw it coming.
A Trait Slot Expansion Ticket? What even is this?
The implications of an item like this are huge.
Even if you had a trait you wanted to add via an item, you couldn't slot it in unless you leveled up first—that's how things had been so far.
In other words, aside from Combat Specialists who could freely hunt and level up dynamically, Awakeners with other base traits were stuck with limited leveling options, making it tough for them to gain levels.
And since the experience required seems to balloon as levels rise, those other base trait Awakeners would struggle even more.
But with an item like this, you could add and use a new trait without needing to level up. That's way too good.
"For now, I shouldn't use this on myself. Better to save it and give it to someone at the base who needs a specific trait."
I could use it on myself, sure, but I still had an open slot, and handing it to someone else seemed more efficient than adding something I didn't desperately need.
Yejin or Miyoung would probably make the best recipients.
I haven't seen any extra traits tied to Medical Specialist yet, but if a healing-related one shows up, it'd be perfect for her. And for food-related traits, it'd go to Miyoung with her Farmer trait.
Those two can't venture out to hunt zombies, so their leveling pace is slower by comparison. Giving the Trait Slot Expansion Ticket to one of them just makes sense.
With a plan for the dungeon clear reward item in hand, I decided to head out.
There were a few things I needed to check with those guys I'd sent out of the dungeon earlier.
It hadn't taken me long to clear it, so they probably hadn't gone far.
I bolted outside, climbed a tall building for a better view, spotted a group that looked like them, and dashed over.
Leaping down from the building, I landed right in front of them.
Bam!
"Eek! W-what the hell?!"
Their shocked faces as they tumbled backward confirmed it—these were the guys I'd sent out earlier.
"Good thing you didn't go far."
"H-huh? You... why are you here? Does that mean you cleared that dungeon just now...?"
"Yeah. I cleared it solo."
The revelation that I'd cleared the dungeon alone left everyone here wearing the exact same stunned expression.
"N-no way..."
"You cleared that by yourself?"
"W-wait a sec. It's been less than 10 minutes since we bailed from the dungeon. And you cleared it alone in that time?"
I ignored their shock and got straight to the questions I wanted answered.
"Hey, quiet down. I need to ask you guys a few things—let's do this now."
"Y-yes...?"
"I just cleared the dungeon and got a reward. The system window said it was a 'First Clear Reward.' So, if I clear it again after it reopens, the reward changes, right?"
They all nodded at my words.
"Yes. If you re-enter and clear it after it's already been cleared once, the rewards are less than the first time."
"How much less?"
"Well... I don't know the exact numbers, but usually, it drops to half or less from what I remember."
Half or less...
Still, getting coins from the zombies inside and rewards from reclears sounds decent enough.
It's got a bit of a weekly quest vibe to it.
The dungeon stays closed for a week after clearing, after all.
I could treat these as weekly rotating dungeons and hit them all in a circuit.
For ones that seem too easy, I could just tell Sohee or Ha Dongseok to handle them instead.
"Next question. I remember the dungeon I just cleared being rated difficulty 3. How hard is that on the scale?"
From my perspective, I had no gauge for it.
It hadn't felt difficult at all.
But since I'm overwhelmingly stronger than other Awakeners, my sense of difficulty probably differs wildly from theirs.
Just like how a baseball genius isn't guaranteed to be a great manager—the everyday players who can't execute even simple strategies are a dime a dozen.
"Difficulty 3 was the toughest dungeon we've found so far..."
"Most have been level 1 or 2."
"That boss zombie was way too strong, so we retreated once and were gearing up for round two."
Difficulty 3 was their hardest dungeon?
That hit me a bit.
It was a total pushover by my standards, but if this was tough for them, yeah, I'm definitely built different.
Still, difficulty 3 is just the highest they've seen—not the absolute max.
If that's the pinnacle, it'd be kinda underwhelming.
Or maybe higher difficulties spawn over time. Thinking back to that Taker I took down recently, that's likely.
Makes me curious what the top difficulty even is.
"Rewards scale with difficulty, right?"
"Yes, exactly. We've never cleared a 3, but 2 definitely gave better rewards than 1."
If that's the case, I need to hunt down high-difficulty dungeons fast and clear them myself.
Can't have someone else snagging the first clear rewards.
"Alright, last question. What exactly does 'First Clear Reward' mean? Is it given to every individual who first-clears personally, or only to the literal very first person to ever clear that specific dungeon?"
This was crucial—I had to know.
If it's per person for their first clear, I could farm Trait Slot Expansion Tickets like crazy.
"It's only for the absolute first person to clear it. Once someone's cleared a dungeon, no one else gets the first clear reward from it."
"Got it. That's a relief. Big relief."
If this item started spreading to everyone else, I'd be pissed.
Better if it's all mine.
With my questions answered, I slowly drew my sword.
"H-huh?"
"Why the sword all of a sudden...?"
"W-why are you drawing your blade...?"
My sudden move had them all staring with eyes full of shock and fear.
"Your answers just gave me every reason to kill you."
The first clear rewards were even better than I'd hoped.
But if they're exclusive to whoever claims the 'first' clear on that dungeon, then letting these guys live means they could steal rewards that should've been mine.
No reason to keep them around when they know all the dungeon spots.
They'd run out of luck running into me.
It didn't take long to dispatch all the men.
"Oh, should I have asked about all the dungeon locations they knew before killing them?"
Searching blindly for dungeons sounded like a hassle.
They said the ones they'd cleared were only difficulty 1 or 2 anyway, so I could just order Ha Dongseok to scout and clear those.
Too annoying for me to bother with.
I've got a mountain of other stuff to handle—no time for low-level dungeon crawling.
I'll have him map out high-difficulty ones too.
Anything they can't clear, I'll handle personally.
Alright, time to head back to Yeouido—the so-called Paradise—my original destination.