Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Failed Game's Generous Rewards (2)
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The helper kept trying to talk to me, so I asked her not to disturb me.
“Ah… I understand. Please call me if you need anything.”
With that, the helper vanished.
She seemed a little hurt, but the helper wasn't my priority right now.
After a moment's thought, I picked out the gleaming golden parchment first.
[Guaranteed Legendary Weapon Summon Scroll]
[Tear this parchment to obtain one legendary weapon.]
The description was simple enough. I tore it without hesitation.
[You have acquired the legendary weapon, Kalisina’s Fang.]
A flash of golden light revealed an ornate, antique-looking red dagger, which settled into my hand.
During the orientation, they said longswords were the most standard, easy to use, and valuable…
It was a little disappointing, but it was still a legendary weapon. I clicked the system window, my hopes high.
[Kalisina’s Fang (Legendary)]
[A dagger crafted from the fang of Kalisina, the vile dragon who once drove the world to the brink of destruction.]
[Attack Power 94, All Stats +10%, Agility +100, Damage Increase 200%, Indestructible.]
[Special Abilities]
[50% chance to inflict Bleed on target.]
[20% chance to inflict Paralysis on target.]
[10% chance to activate Dragon’s Curse on target.]
[(Dragon’s Curse: Reduces all of the target’s stats by 20% and sets their defense to 0. Duration: 30 seconds.)]
I was so stunned I couldn't speak.
The Magic-grade longsword the instructor had proudly shown off during orientation only had a 10% Bleed chance and 10 attack power.
This was no time to be disappointed about getting a dagger.
Next, I took out a similar-looking yellow parchment and tore it.
[You have acquired the unique mount, Red Hare.]
A large horse with a flowing red mane appeared, looking almost one and a half times the size of the one the vice guild master had been riding.
Red Hare. A very familiar name.
It was the horse from the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, so it often appeared in those mass-produced Chinese games.
[Red Hare (Unique)]
[Among men, Lu Bu; among horses, Red Hare.]
[The beloved steed of the legendary ancient warlord, Lu Bu.]
[Movement Speed +500, All Stats +20.]
[Special Skill: Thousand-Mile Horse available]
[(Thousand-Mile Horse: Instantly teleports to any location the owner has previously visited. Cooldown: 1 day.)]
Maybe it was because I'd just seen a legendary weapon, but for a unique-grade item, it seemed a bit lackluster. That is, until I saw the skill.
The name was different, but it was basically teleportation.
Its large size was a bit intimidating, but as I got closer, it blinked its big eyes, looking somewhat cute… Oof!
The rascal suddenly licked my cheek, startling me.
“You know a handsome face when you see one, huh!”
Hee-hee-hing—
[Red Hare expresses strong denial.]
Strong denial?
A strong denial is just an affirmation.
You're just shy, aren't you.
I wondered if I'd ever need to ride a horse in the labyrinth, but hey, it was better than nothing.
Just possessing it gave me a +20 boost to all stats, after all.
I gave it a few more pats, a promise of a good partnership to come, and then dismissed the summon.
Next was the blue parchment.
[You have acquired the rare wings, Form of Fire.]
This time, a blue light flashed, but nothing appeared. Huh?
Then, reddish flames began to flicker near my lower back.
Are these the wings?
They looked just like the wings from those Chinese games. When I reached out to touch them, they weren't hot.
[Form of Fire (Rare)]
[Wings imbued with the power of fire.]
[Bound, Fire Resistance 70%, All Stats +10, EXP Gain +20%.]
It was a rare item, so I wasn't expecting much, but a 20% EXP boost? That was a huge win.
Still, walking around like this would make me stand out like a sore thumb…
I hoped the stats might apply just by possessing them, but when I unequipped them, the bonus disappeared.
Even if I only wore them in the labyrinth, they'd be incredibly conspicuous. I frantically fiddled with the settings and thankfully found a 'hide visual effect' option.
Now, only one purple parchment remained.
This must be the 1,000 free companion summon ticket.
Not just in mass-produced Chinese games, but most mobile games have a gacha system.
Transformations, classes, dolls, equipment, mounts—the forms vary, but the concept is the same.
Here in Elsia, there were three types of summons: companions, equipment, and mounts.
The instructor had described companions as the most trustworthy, family-like friends one could have in this unfamiliar world.
But he also said the 'friendship fee' was quite steep.
Summoned companions didn't have any upkeep costs, but the summoning process itself was absurdly expensive.
A single summon cost 110 Juels.
A ten-pull cost 1,000 Juels.
Juels were the premium currency used in the Summoner's Shop, basically the cash shop currency in a game.
You obtained them by exchanging Contribution Points earned from completing quests, like requests from residents or commissions from public offices. The exchange rate was a wicked 10:1.
The reward for a typical resident's request was in the tens of points, and while commissions from public offices increased on lower floors, they started in the hundreds.
All summoners were given 1,000 Juels at the start, but earning more after that was incredibly difficult.
During the orientation, they advised us to join a guild and consult with our seniors before using them.
Of course, that didn't apply to me at all.
[Juels Owned: 100,001,000]
It was a nine-digit number next to the orange Juel icon attached to my inventory.
Just looking at it was incredibly reassuring.
My mind had wandered long enough. I tore the purple parchment.
A purple light burst from the parchment, spreading through the air as countless cards materialized before me.
Most were a dull gray, but a few cards emitted faint, colorful glows.
I'd heard that the gray cards with no glow were common grade, green was uncommon, blue was rare, and red was epic.
But among the glowing cards before me, there was a color I hadn't been told about during orientation.
Right in the center of the countless cards, one in particular was shining with a brilliant purple light.
Usually, legendary came after epic, right?
[1,000 Companion Summon Ticket has been used. Open all at once? Y/N]
I heard you had to touch them to check, but I guess there's a feature like this too.
I clicked 'Y' without a second thought.
If I were streaming this, I would have dragged it out for suspense, but there was no need for that here.
[You have acquired 703 Common companion summon cards, including Drunkard Hank.]
[You have acquired 242 Uncommon companion summon cards, including Dwarf of Altea.]
[You have acquired 49 Rare companion summon cards, including Knight Alima of the Holy Land.]
[You have acquired 5 Epic companion summon cards, including Karkas, Lord of the Frozen Castle.]
Huh?
It ends at epic?
I was sure I saw a card glowing purple, not red.
I wondered if I'd imagined it, but unlike the other cards, the purple one hadn't disappeared.
I was about to be disappointed.
It seemed I had to check that card manually.
I approached the card, which was still emitting its beautiful purple glow, and the moment my hand touched it, my vision shifted.
An impossibly vast plain.
One side of the plain was a black mass, a menacing army of monsters of all shapes and sizes.
There were creatures the size of small villas with terrifying faces I didn't recognize, and in the center stood a crimson-black dragon as large as several apartment buildings combined.
Facing this monstrous army was a single man.
He held a worn iron sword and wore simple clothes, not even a suit of armor.
Despite facing a horde that easily numbered over a hundred thousand, the man's expression was utterly serene.
The dragon at the forefront let out a roar, and the entire monster army began its charge.
It was a dire situation by any measure, but when the man swung his sword once, the charging army… vanished. No, it was more like they evaporated.
Half of the monster army, which had been stampeding forward with terrifying roars and momentum, was gone.
As if they had never existed in the first place.
The dragon roared again, breathing fire, while shamans and liches hurled flames and ice, but another swing of the sword erased it all.
“How lonely.”
As he uttered those words, as if nothing had happened, his eyes met mine.
I flinched slightly, but the man just gave me a wide grin, as if to say there was nothing to fear. Then the world crumbled, and my vision shifted again.
I was back in the Summoner's Shop.
The purple card was gone, but a new notification window had appeared.
[You have acquired the Mythic-grade companion summon card: Bio Rein, Master of the Forgotten Space.]
M-Mythic?
Does Elsia even have a Mythic grade?
During orientation, they told us there was a Legendary grade above Epic, but Mythic was never even mentioned.
Even if it did exist, in most games, you couldn't get Mythic-grade items or companions from a gacha.
You could only get them by collecting and combining duplicate Legendary-grade items, and even then, it wasn't guaranteed—there was a chance of failure. I was beyond happy; I was completely bewildered.
My 'Failed Game Master' trait was definitely not trash.
Now that I'd received everything, I was about to look around the Summoner's Shop, but the world suddenly started to shake.
The person who explained the Summoner's Shop during orientation had warned us that only our consciousness entered the shop, leaving our physical bodies defenseless in the real world, so we should only access it in a safe place.
For the background to be shaking this much meant something was happening outside. I hurriedly exited the world of the Summoner's Shop.
Bang, bang—
“Seriously! Did you rent the whole damn bathroom?!”
It seemed I had been in there for too long.
It was a shame I couldn't look around the shop, but I had received all my perks, so my objective was complete.
When I opened the door, a huge guy who looked to be about 190 cm tall glared at me with a scowl.
“It’s not like you’re the only one who uses it.”
He must have been in a hurry, because he rushed inside without waiting for a reply.
Brrrt— Pfft—
As a thunderous noise echoed out, followed by a foul stench, I quickly washed my hands and returned to my room.
Ju Yeon-seong was back too; his interview must have ended early.
He was in the middle of a conversation with the other two. They paused when they saw me but soon resumed talking.
“Hyung, does that mean everyone who had an interview today got offers like you did?”
What kind of offers were they talking about?
“Of course not. There were only three people, including me, who received offers from every guild. Though the others I interviewed with got offers from at least five places.”
I had a feeling, but it seemed the interviews were just a way for guilds to scout out the people with good traits.
“So, have you made a choice?”
“I’ve heard all the conditions, and they all promised to treat me well. They said the final decision will be made on the last day anyway.”
“I see. It must be a tough decision.”
“At first, I was thinking of starting with an acquaintance, but after hearing them out, joining a guild seems like a good option too. Plus, the vice guild master here keeps telling me to join theirs.”
He boasted about it as if it were a hassle. In the past, I would have found him obnoxious, but now, he just seemed pathetic.
“I’m so jealous. I wonder if we’ll get interviews?”
“What if no guild wants me…?”
“Your traits aren’t that bad, so they’ll probably call you tomorrow or the day after. Though, I guess there are some people they won't call at all. Pfft.”
It was obvious he was talking about me.
And here I thought he was going to let it slide.
Should I teach him a lesson?
I wouldn't even need to summon my legendary weapon or companion. The stats I gained from the perks alone would be enough to crush him.
I hesitated for a moment but decided to ignore him as usual.
Beating him up here would be satisfying, and it might even get the guilds' attention, but was it really necessary?
After receiving my perks, I couldn't help but feel skeptical about joining a guild.
Of course, humans are social creatures, and two heads are better than one, and three are better than two, but my perks were just too good.
Someone would definitely get greedy.
Just like lottery winners don't announce their winnings, I figured there was no need to reveal my perks.
I still lacked information and needed to see how things would play out, but for now, I decided to go solo. I closed my eyes.
Tomorrow's orientation was scheduled to start early in the morning.
I tried to force myself to sleep, but another notification window popped up.
[VIP1 Benefit: You have not claimed your Day 1 login reward. Would you like to claim it? Y/N]
There's a login reward too?
Just how much were they giving away? I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
“Huh? Did Oh Hyeon-ung hyung just laugh?”
“Must be having a good dream. His mental fortitude is something else.”
“Isn’t it pathetic? He has no idea his life is in the gutter.”
Yeon-seong, isn't it your life that's in the gutter, not mine?