Claiming the Rewards
It had been a long time since he'd last set foot in the real world. He had returned only after bringing the conquest of the Kairan Kingdom to a close — and after hearing, from Yuria's own lips, that she was pregnant.
The moment he came back to settle the quest, Serién was already there to greet him.
"You actually pulled it off? Not bad."
She had appeared as if she'd sensed the quest's completion by some supernatural instinct.
"Yeah. It was pretty rough, but I got it done. Why the hell is a tutorial quest this hard, though?"
"It was hard? Hmm... I wouldn't have called it that difficult. Beating the Kairan Kingdom with the Krantz Empire's power shouldn't have been a problem on its own. And capturing Adrian shouldn't have been hard either."
"You're not wrong. That part was fine. But making Adrian submit? That was a different story."
"Huh? Peterson, the warden of the underground dungeon, should've been there. Couldn't you just commission him?"
Dong-hyun stared at her, momentarily speechless.
"I was allowed to do that?"
"Why wouldn't you be? All that matters is that she submits to you. Don't tell me... you did it yourself?"
"Yeah. I did."
This time it was Serién who looked stunned.
"Holy shit... Check your quest rewards. Right now."
As she suddenly started making a fuss, Dong-hyun flicked his fingers and pulled up the quest rewards.
Completing the tutorial quest was supposed to grant three rewards: the protagonist, Ailes; the subjugation target, Adrian; and one additional prize drawn from that world.
Dong-hyun opened the rewards and looked over at Serién.
"What? It's still just three rewards."
"Doesn't it say something next to them?"
"Huh? Hold on... SSS-rank rewards...? What's this?"
"It means you completed the tutorial perfectly. I've commissioned this quest to countless people, but you're the first one who's ever earned SSS-rank rewards."
Just as Serién said, even a tutorial's reward quality varied depending on how thoroughly it was completed. Only by earning SSS-rank rewards could one select an SSS-rank trait from among those the protagonist possessed. Had the rewards come back as SS-rank or A-rank, Dong-hyun would only have been able to take traits of that corresponding grade from Ailes.
"That was a thing? You should've explained that properly."
"I used to explain it, but nobody could actually pull it off, so I stopped bothering... But seriously, how did you do it?"
Never underestimate a Korean's talent for games. No people on earth took their quests more seriously.
"I just tried to genuinely become part of that world. That's all. More importantly — how do I claim the rewards?"
"Tap the reward window on the quest. You can pick one trait each from the protagonist and the subjugation target. For the remaining reward, swipe over and tap additional rewards. A list matching the SSS-rank grade will pop up."
"Got it."
Following Serién's instructions, Dong-hyun worked through them one by one, starting with Ailes's reward.
As expected, the one he'd had his eye on from the start was Emperor's Charisma (SSS).
There was a separate list of rewards beside the traits as well — the Krantz Treasure Sword, Ailes's appearance, his cock, and more, each assigned its own rank. The Krantz Treasure Sword was S-rank, his looks were SS-rank, and his manhood was A-rank.
He'd thought that thing was enormous — and it was only A-rank? Just how massive would an SSS-rank one be?
Since the best reward he could take from Ailes was Emperor's Charisma (SSS), that was what he selected.
Next was Adrian.
Adrian had two SSS-rank abilities. He checked Heavenly Body and War God — and only then did he understand how she had been so overwhelmingly powerful.
It was an extraordinary trait. He had watched Adrian spar with Sirian, and he had seen firsthand just how monstrous Adrian's physical capabilities were.
Multiplies Charm and Intelligence by three times their base values.
Increases the morale and capabilities of troops under the user's command by 1.5 times.
Occasionally grants inspiration for the optimal strategy and tactics.
It was because of the War God skill that even with such a massive troop advantage, winning the war hadn't come easily.
Dong-hyun deliberated between Heavenly Body and War God, and in the end he chose Heavenly Body. He had no idea what kind of quests lay ahead, but boosting his personal combat power would give him a clearer advantage no matter what came.
Now, for the final reward, he pulled up the list — and a smile spread across his face. Quite a few names were on it.
Not only Yuria and Sirian, but Teresa and Arisa as well, and even Count Schmalz and Marquis Metz were included. Duke Balanos hadn't made the list, unfortunately, but the sheer number of people who had was proof enough of how well Dong-hyun had ruled as emperor.
As he reviewed the reward list and checked their abilities, one figure stood out above the rest. None other than Sirian.
Among Sirian's abilities was Martial God (SSS).
Sirian's raw stats were slightly higher than Adrian's. But looking at the description of Adrian's Heavenly Body (SSS), Adrian should have completely overwhelmed her. And yet their spars had been evenly matched, and more often than not, Sirian had been the one to win.
That was the power of Martial God (SSS).
Even when facing an opponent with a significant stat gap, the user will not be greatly overwhelmed.
Possesses an innate talent for bodily movement and for reading an opponent's combat patterns.
Setting everything else aside, the ability to close a stat gap meant she wouldn't be overwhelmed no matter who she faced. On top of that, when the abilities were comparable, a Martial God — with their innate gift for superior movement — would have a significantly higher chance of winning.
If Adrian's Heavenly Body and Martial God were combined, the synergy would be staggering.
The moment he claimed the rewards, message windows materialized before his eyes.
Upon acquiring Emperor's Charisma (SSS), the user's Low Self-Esteem (F) has been removed.
Upon acquiring Heavenly Body (SSS), the user's Frailty (F) has been removed.
Upon acquiring Martial God (SSS), the user's Clumsiness (F) has been removed.
Just how much junk was I carrying around on this body?
Once all the quest completion rewards had been claimed, Dong-hyun pulled up his own status window.
After looking at Adrian's and Sirian's status windows, his own was a pathetic sight. Even Ailes, at least, had possessed reasonably solid numbers.
"How do I raise my stats?"
"Huh? You work out or study, obviously."
"So I have to do it the honest way?"
"Or preview the rewards in the quest window in advance. There should be some that can raise your stats."
"Oh! Thanks."
Dong-hyun checked the newly unlocked quests and broke into a wide grin.
"Whoa... These aren't as tough as I thought."
Three new quests had been unlocked: one A-rank, one B-rank, and one D-rank.
With the traits he now possessed, he figured he had more than enough ability to handle them.
"Heading out right now?"
"Huh? No. I've been in another world so long I've lost my sense of this one. I want to live here a while, get my body used to things, then go."
"That's not a bad idea. Tomorrow you start at the new company, right?"
"Ah. Right. That..."
Dong-hyun clutched his head. After enjoying everything an emperor could want, the thought of groveling under Kang Su-yeon made his skull throb.
"Eh... I've done a stint as emperor. I'll figure something out."
The night was already late, and exhaustion came crashing in.
"I'll think about it after I sleep."