Chapter 215

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 215

Chapter Title: Perfect Scorer

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Even seeing it with my own eyes and feeling it on my skin, it was hard to believe.

That I'd cleared this trial with a perfect score.

But the score was weird. Wasn't 9,000 the maximum?

"Well, everyone's wondering! Why the score hit 10,000! Allow me, Acatos, to explain!"

Suddenly, massive numbers appeared above the arena and started shifting around.

"This trial hides four secret pieces. Anything over 9,000 points can only come from those secrets. You all know at least one of them!"

Ah, right—first place gets an extra 100 points. That's why some challengers started by smashing the shadow monsters right at the beginning.

With a total of 100 participants, no less.

Just suppressing them well was like grabbing opportunities from all 100. Not a bad deal at all.

"Ooh, first place is confirmed. Right, everyone?"

"And this time, three more bonuses on top!"

Aha, got it. I'd heard of the Continuous Success Bonus before. Though it was just rumors that anyone had ever pulled it off.

The other two were new to me, though.

'Non-violence and shortest time... Who knew they gave bonuses for that too.'

"Aang? Acatos, non-violence? That's ridiculous! Putting in something so boring—too much! You know folks like me could never get it."

"Hmm, seems perfectly reasonable to me. I get it. Yeah, you can't solve everything with violence."

"Old man, drunk in the middle of the day? What's with the whining?"

"……."

"Come on, does that matter? What matters is this: the first-ever 10,000 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠points in the history of the Divine Revelry Arena! Those four bonuses add up to 1,000 extra points, for a grand total of 10,000!"

Woooooo!

The cheers exploded through the colosseum.

I could hear Liriel's flippant seal-clap too.

"Well, we got to see a dogfight! I'm satisfied!"

Clap clap clap clap clap!

Amid the chaos, subtle changes began creeping into the colosseum arena.

The dead shadow monsters and the ones that had charged at me slithered away into the ground, as if sucked right in.

"Haha, don't be too bummed if you dropped out. Plenty more chances next time."

"But yeah, if you can't fight, know when to bail smartly, got it?"

"Alright, time to put the regrets behind us. Our thanks to the gracious ■■■■ Administration Bureau for sponsoring. And with that, today's Leave It to the Veggies! challenge comes to a close. To all who watched till the end..."

Suddenly, the lights started winking out one by one from the colosseum's edges.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The world was slowly swallowed by darkness. The blue sky visible just moments ago was gone, leaving only pitch-black void.

Ding.

Once the last spectator seat light went out, even the stands vanished into the gloom.

The noisy host and panel chatter fell silent. The display racks that had dotted the area as objects were all gone.

Only the torches hanging sporadically along the arena's edge, right below the stands, flickered in the breeze.

Standing alone in that vast, dark arena, I felt a lonely... wistful emotion stirring.

"Impressive."

A voice came from behind.

"To snag all four hidden pieces. Honestly, I thought non-violence would be impossible. Everyone's been buzzing about some fun newcomer in this selection process—I was skeptical, but this is shocking."

I turned to see a sharply dressed gentleman standing there. The tuxedo suited the black-haired man perfectly; he had a really likable vibe.

Except for those perpetually narrowed eyes.

Of course, no need to be too wary. This guy was just a prankster kid at heart.

I lightly clasped the hand he offered and asked,

"Acatos, are you an ancient god?"

He grinned.

"Why ask when you already know?"

"I'm asking if you're the real Acatos. Your epithet's been nagging at me."

"Hahaha."

Among the ancient gods, some were real headaches. Tricky ones you ran into often, making them a huge pain.

The two most annoying? Delusion and Oblivion.

Acatos wielded Delusion.

So this whole stage was a fake built on his delusion powers. No clue if the rowdy panel was fake too.

"Who knows? Am I real or fake? Even I don't know. The illusions are so lifelike."

"……."

...He just wanted to play word games.

"And why bother dressing it up as an illusion anyway?"

"?"

"The stage is provided by the Administration Bureau, and everyone's dying to attend."

"That doesn't add up."

Arseina and Bersia always seemed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be watching me.

'If other ancient gods can watch me too, why show up as spectators to this lame, ridiculous variety show game?'

Acatos looked like he had something to say at my question, but his mouth just twitched without opening.

I could instinctively tell there was some ancient god drama there, but no clue what exactly.

After twitching a while, Acatos drew his signature eye-smile and spoke.

"Haha, from a participant's view, it wouldn't make sense. But once you're a resident and head to proper Elysia, you'll learn everything. How the system here works."

"……."

"Honestly, how's an ant on the lawn supposed to know the sky, the sea, or the universe? What you see is limited from your spot."

I nodded. Fair point.

"Anyway, here's your reward. Isn't this what you came for?"

Acatos held out both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hands, fists clenched downward, hiding whatever was inside.

"The left hand holds a stable item, proven in countless selection processes. A transcendent-grade item that'll wow you on sight."

Transcendent grade? Impressive.

Naturally, that drew my eye to the other option. If one was that great, the opposite had to match it.

"Conversely, the right is unstable. Same transcendent grade, but no verified data yet. Its performance, though? I guarantee it. You've cleared the trial brilliantly, so now... fun choice time. Which will it be?"

Ha, exciting. Wonder what'll pop up.

Both transcendent? No matter what, it's better than average.

But I picked right without hesitation. Acatos widened his narrowed eyes at my quick decision.

"Mind sharing your reasoning?"

"You said it's unverified."

"True."

Unverified meant it hadn't been nerfed by the Administration Bureau yet. Endless potential right there.

"No regrets?"

Acatos smiled meaningfully.

Ha... Suddenly uneasy with Acatos holding out the choices. Like Loki from Norse myth. But my pick stood firm.

Acatos grinned and opened his left hand—the one I didn't choose.

"Ah..."

A pang of regret slipped out.

A transcendent-grade item worthy of the name. No need to explain its value.

Considering how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠regret is inseparable from humanity, this was priceless.

One chance to redo a choice in a crucial moment.

Definitely earned its proven status through countless processes.

But the die was cast. I took a deep breath and looked at my choice. Acatos chuckled like he was enjoying it.

"No need to be too disappointed. This suits the first perfect scorer too. Honestly, handing this out for the first time has me excited."

A miniature?

<Item>

A moment of speechlessness.

"Simple to use. Activate it, and the miniature floats in midair, expanding the entrance to full size. Step through, and you can shop at the exact store from today."

Hah?

"Can I use this in trial zones?"

"Of course."

Made sense. Transcendent grade, after all. It'd work.

'Still, this is insane.'

With my Summoner's Letter Envelope, did I even need a summonable shop? Fair point.

But think about it. One big gripe from my party in trial zones? Comfortable beds. With this...?

'Remodel it into a dorm? Portable lodging jackpot.'

That was just the start.

Now I could stash trial-farmed items here by the truckload.

Basically a superior sub-space pouch—a mobile vault.

'And that's not all.'

Before pet system unlocks, I could freely transport monsters to my lodging.

Capture useful mobs from trials as a baseline. Pre-trial, tuck Varkus or Rang inside and pull 'em out later? Maybe possible.

"Doesn't reset or anything, right?"

"Of course. Bound the moment you get it—treated like your personal lodging. Nothing inside vanishes until you die, Kang Min-jun."

Absolutely busted. A 300-pyeong mobile home.

Second item after the Summoner's Letter Envelope with infinite potential.

"They won't confiscate it for balance issues?"

"Haha, it's already made. As long as it's not excessive, they won't meddle. You know they're mostly hands-off."

Nod.

I knew. They always cleaned up after messes.

'Speaking of, Taladrass again.'

Records say the Mountain Giant Dragon was made by a bored Taladrass. She's the god who crafts stuff when idle.

This time, a collab with prankster ancient god Acatos.

Seemed aimed at screwing over the higher-ups, but I loved it.

Satisfied, I tucked it away—

"Ah!"

Acatos looked like he remembered something. Prank on the item? Nah.

"Oh yeah, Silbane asked me to pass a message."

"Silbane?"

Why her?

"No connection with her yet."

"Heard you got a Whispering Silver Grass as a gift before."

"Ah."

Crimson Sea Cliffside. That lonely shrine atop the dizzying cliff, Grave of the Stars.

The Exile Buried in the Night Sky was Silbane?

News to everyone.

"But she has words for me?"

"Yeah. Wants you pounding rice cakes more often. Says it's been too sparse lately—such a shame."

"What...?"

"Well, I'm off. Had fun today!"

He split with a split-eyed grin. I stood there, dumbfounded, mouth flapping.

"...Pound more rice cakes? What the hell."

Seriously, what?

"Guess I'll head back..."