Terraforming (Epilogue)
Clicking the novel's completion didn't boot me out of Terraforming. I was still inside the novel. What greeted me were a flood of system notifications.
Terraforming has reached its conclusion!
New items have been unlocked in the shop due to completion!
* Tip: Novel Completion and the Shop *
Unlocking new items in the shop isn't just about owning novel items!
Completing a novel unlocks most items from that world in the shop. Not just weapons, armor, or sundries—skills too, if conditions are met!
However, some world-specific items won't register. And ultra-rare items stay locked until you find and register them yourself.
Due to first completion, hidden shop functions unlocked:
'Party Member Designation', 'Inventory Integration', 'Completed World Timeline Adjustment'
The tip was info I'd already heard from Baby Angel and Anzelli. The new bit was that not every item from a world unlocks on completion. I'd half-expected that, since Earth's shop already had some items—but nothing crazy like a supercollider or ISS modules.
So the inventory-sharing-with-other-dimensions feature was hidden until one completion. No wonder it wasn't in the function shop...
It was a top-priority unlock for its utility, but endless searches turned up nothing. I'd shrugged it off as "it'll show when it's time."
I shifted my gaze to the spinning loading screen. Notifications had paused after that last one.
> Completion Settlement in Progress...
Only five seconds in. Calculating my entire run? No wonder it might take a while.
I settled in to wait patiently—but soon, a welcome chime filled my vision with more system windows.
Novel Difficulty: Hard - Rewards UP
Novel Length: Mid-to-Long - No reward change
Completion Rate: 100%+ - Rewards MAJOR UP
Ending Type: HAPPY END - Rewards MINOR UP
Death Count: 0 - No reward reduction
Bonus: No Death (PERFECT CLEAR) - Rewards MAJOR UP
No Death + 100%+ Completion - Rewards EXTREME UP
First Novel Completion - Special Privilege
[Park Chanyoung's Final Evaluation] - Hero
"Hero? What the..."
The system was hyping me up. I hadn't done anything heroic, but whatever—no one saw, so no embarrassment. What mattered were the actual rewards.
And here came the completion rewards I'd been waiting for.
Rewards enhanced!
[30,000 Karma] → ['Party Member Designation Lv 1' unlocked]
[+25% Karma from normal quests] → [+50% Karma from normal quests]
[Random Trait] → [Trait Selection from Novel]
Chris Bennett - Compassion [Select]
Gerard Hoffman - Heavy Words [Select]
Lee Kangin - Resilience [Select]
Lee Kangin - All-Rounder [Select]
"Trait... selection?"
Way better than expected. Traits as rewards? After Natural Healing carried me so hard, my heart raced.
Compassion
Trusts people easily.
Sometimes sacrifices the few to save the many.
Not all profit—no pure gain trait.
Mental Attack Resistance +35%
Easily grants trust.
"...No way I'm picking Compassion."
The 35% mental resistance tempted, but I knew the drawback too well. Plus, Natural Healing already covered mental defense somewhat.
For the long game, Heavy Words pulls. Charm takes forever to grind, but I'd verified its power firsthand.
Editing my looks for approachability meant charm boosts might hurt charisma... but worth it. Heavy Words was that good.
Downsides? Plenty. Can't toggle like skills—situations I don't want could arise. And unlike base stats with hidden proficiency, charm doesn't grow naturally post-edit. Pure Karma investment only.
...Raising negative charm cost 150 Karma back then. Now at 42, how much for one point?
> [Charm] 42 → 43
> [Required Karma] 25,000
"Damn it, knew it!"
Insanely pricey for one stat. Probably more than pumping others to 40. Gerard-level? Astronomical Karma. Better spent elsewhere.
No rush—time limit? None. Still parsing Lee Kangin's traits. Check all, then pick.
Resilience
Mind doesn't shake easily.
Resists pain, not attacks.
Sharper judgment, but not always right.
Pain Resistance +15%
Mental Attack Resistance +10%
Charm/Stun/Fear/Confusion Resistance +5%
Slightly faster judgment.
Not bad. Faster judgment? Meh... Good, but less appealing than Heavy Words.
Even with Karma costs, Heavy Words has built-in +50 charm—instant 90 without investment. Beats Resilience.
Last one: All-Rounder. Sounded solid. Expectations up, I checked.
All-Rounder
Bonus talent in most things.
Easy to be second-rate, hard to be first-rate.
Shines more with effort.
+100% Proficiency Gain on All Skills
Skills Lv 5+ get half effect.
"?... What kind of broken cheat is this..."
No penalty in sight. I blanked for five seconds.
Lv 5+ half effect? Not a penalty—double for Lv 1-4 (50% extra proficiency x2).
Why the cope? Even base +50% I'd snatch instantly.
'Lv 5 skills are second-rate?...' Chris's Lv 3 Subspace was OP. Lv 5 seemed elite, but basic Swordsmanship Lv 5? Second-rate. Earth's martial arts Lv 5? Embarrassing. Fireball Lv 5? Second-rate in magic-heavy worlds.
But my skills hit absurd performance early. Thousand Fists One Kick, Immortal Spirit Daily Bay Rum Monthly, future fantasy skills... Lv 3+ monsters.
"...Answer's clear."
Proficiency grinds slow. In White Whale's Footsteps, ~300 hours on Thousand Fists One Kick burned 33,000 Karma for 65% to Lv 1.
Most with systems hoard Karma, skip proficiency. Not me. I train for real mastery.
No one exploits All-Rounder better. Heavy Words tempting, but sacrifices galore. All-Rounder? Zero downsides.
Decision made.
All-Rounder unlocked!
[Name] Park Chanyoung
[Job] -
[Strength] 28 | [Agility] 32 | [Vitality] 27 → 28
[Intelligence] 15 | [Dexterity] 26 → 27 | [Charm] 42
[Mana] 231 → 252
[Traits]Natural HealingAll-Rounder
Immortal Spirit Daily Bay Rum Monthly buff: All stats except Charm +6 (00:00:02)
Prum buff: Str/Agi/Vit growth +33% (00:31:03)
Mana Awakening: Str/Agi/Vit/Int/Dex growth +50% • Minor Mana Absorption
Currently in: 'Terraforming[Complete]' - Epilogue in progress.
Held Karma: 27,900
"In the world... Chanyoung, that's a feat worthy of a trait... Absolutely."
"Don't you get it? No deaths, 100%+ completion... Only a novel protagonist or hero pulls that off!"
"...Really?"
I'd popped out to Earth briefly to brag to Anzelli and Baby Angel about snagging the trait they'd hated handing over. Also had questions.
As expected, they were shocked—not at the trait, but the perfect clear.
"Hearing it like that, maybe you're right, Anzelli...?"
"When you're OP, sure—but you did it while weak! A legit achievement, trait-worthy!"
"W-Wow... You're way more amazing than I thought... No wonder Heaven had to rewind time so much..."
"Hm... All this praise is tickling."
With completion, Earth time flowed in Terraforming too—but I'd dive back soon, no biggie. Just Q&A, then in.
"From now on, time in Terraforming matches Earth?"
"Yup. It's complete—feels like an independent world now?"
"Then what about my empty spot??"
"That should be covered by the new function?"
"...Why not just freeze time on first completion? Why push Karma spending?"
"It's... dimensional law stuff, impossible. Affiliated vs. independent worlds have different rules. Don't worry! That's why the 'loophole' costs Karma..."
"Sorry... Short on time, can't hear the full explanation."
"Got it. Summary: Check the function shop—you'll get it! No worries at all?"
Her "no worries" puzzled me, but she was rambling, and Terraforming time ticked. I'd check the function shop as advised.
Terraforming - [END]
Current Status: Epilogue in progress
White Whale's Footsteps - Episode 51, serialization halted.
Author Pen Name: Pamatcheks
Current Status: Serializing - [Empty]
Current Status: -