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chapter 31
[You have cleared the Challenge Dungeon.]
[Final completion record: 19 minutes 24 seconds]
[The 1st place ranking has been updated.]
At the same moment the boss died, messages appeared one after another.
First place.
A record that hadn’t been broken for an entire year had been claimed in a single attempt.
The viewers’ reactions to that shocking result poured in like waves.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Rigged hate destroyed.
-This actually got broken. Holy shit lol
-Info) This guy started the game four days ago.
-Cleared first try with Plona. Insane.
-How the hell did he do it?
-Second-place Kim Hanseop crying right now.
-Yeah, can’t even retry, can you?
-Spent his life on it, must be pissed as hell. lol
Naturally, the former first-place holder’s name came up.
Considering it was a result achieved through immense time and effort, it wasn’t strange that he’d be shocked.
Ding—
[First-clear rewards based on ranking have been granted.]
[You have received 300,000 gold.]
[Goblin Spirit Necklace (Rank 3 – Unique) has been granted.]
[10 stat points have been awarded.]
[Experience has increased by 50,300.]
[You have leveled up by 5.]
[5 stat points have been awarded.]
A long list of reward messages followed.
Given the monster levels and dungeon difficulty, it was a natural outcome.
“Mission success, right? I’ll press it.”
Only now relaxing his body, Hanbit pressed the mission success button.
[You have succeeded in the challenge mission.]
[You have received 10,393,000 won in prize money.]
“Wow, they really gave a lot.”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Safe-asset believers destroyed.
-A lot of people must’ve aimed for the one-on-one lesson?
-That person was me.
-Burping ending.
Thinking it was a safe asset, the prize pool had grown enormous.
Including the shares from companies that donated normally, it had already surpassed 30 million won.
“Hah.”
A hollow laugh escaped him as memories of intern life crossed his mind again.
Would there ever come a day he’d grow accustomed to this unreal profit structure?
For now, such a future was hard to imagine.
“Plona, you can come.”
Turning his gaze to the entrance, Hanbit called out to Plona, who had been staring with her mouth open.
“Ah, yes!”
The girl snapped out of it and came trotting over.
“It was so pretty!”
“Pretty?”
“Yes! The green wind was fluttering…… it was warm and cool at the same time, it felt really nice!”
“…Ah.”
Realizing why, Hanbit raised his hand and extended a finger.
The wind gathered around the sword dispersed and began to gather atop his finger.
Chirp—!
Having finished its role, the wind spirit Sylph returned to its bird form.
Even the young girl could see it clearly.
“A bird!”
Chirp—!
As Plona raised her voice and held out both hands, Sylph lightly flew over and settled there.
Turning his gaze away from the two, Hanbit walked toward the area behind where the boss had died.
-Chest dopamine incoming.
-ㄷㄱㄷㄱ
-Please be trash loot.
-Don’t even pray, it’s trash anyway.
-Spoiler) Goblin Warrior’s Bone.
-Yeah, only garbage bones ever drop.
Another purpose of running the dungeon.
The treasure chest that could be opened after defeating the boss.
Judging by the chat, it was hard to expect anything decent, but even miscellaneous items had their uses.
Swoosh—
Approaching the wall, Hanbit stood before the wooden chest lying on the floor.
Extending his hand, he slowly opened the lid.
Creeeak—
With the sound of wood, the inside of the chest was revealed.
At that moment, a powerful golden light burst forth.
Flash—!
Caught off guard, Hanbit reflexively stepped back.
Fixing his gaze forward warily, he saw something floating above the open chest.
-Huh?
-Golden light?
-No way.
-Please, holy shit.
-Don’t. Seriously.
Sensing the likely outcome, the chat heated up.
‘That is…….’
A round object wrapped in golden light.
Seeing its shape, something surfaced in Hanbit’s mind.
He stepped closer and reached out to grab it.
Ding—
[You have obtained Essence of Earth (Rank 3 – Unique).]
[You have obtained Spirit Stone (Rank 3 – Epic).]
-Wow holy shit.
-Rank 3 Essence of Earth?
-Wait, why did a Spirit Stone drop?
-Epic is insane lol.
-Where did the Rank 2 high-grade bones go?
-This is nuts, seriously.
The two items that appeared from the treasure chest caused an uproar.
They were never things you’d expect as rewards from this dungeon.
Compared to the Rank 2 high-grade junk that 99 percent of players got, it was an overwhelming result.
‘Didn’t expect to get this here.’
Hanbit looked at the semi-transparent round gem in his hand.
A spirit stone, formed rarely when residues of spirit power accumulate.
Smaller than a palm, but judging by its transparency and shape, the quality was quite good.
While checking its condition, Hanbit casually spoke while glancing at the chat.
“Spirit stones are good, right?”
-?
-You’re asking because you don’t know?
-This guy’s flexing.
-I’m suing.
-You think elemental enhancement is a joke?
-That’s over 30 million.
-Epic grade goes for hundreds of millions;
-I’m insanely salty.
As expected, the answers came pouring in.
Spirit stones, used to more fully utilize spirit power.
Just like ordinary adventurers in the past, players had used them simply as elemental enhancement materials.
But they were far more valuable than that.
‘The Essence of Earth is good too.’
The Essence of Earth, a material used to craft armor.
Since he had no immediate use for it, selling it was worth considering.
After all, with the Unique grade attached, a minimum price was guaranteed.
Ding—
[뻐꾸기 has donated 1,000 won.]
[Challenge dungeon challengers suddenly exploding.]
-Wow, there are so many. lol
-Entry fee mats, nice.
At the news, Hanbit turned his attention to the RPG community.
Checking the latest posts, his dungeon run was already being relayed in all sorts of forms.
‘Three days left.’
The accumulated entry fees given to the challenge dungeon’s first place over the course of a week.
The settlement would happen next Monday.
Since this dungeon already had many challengers to begin with, the added attention would likely stack even more entry fees.
With that expectation, Hanbit walked over to where Plona was.
“Shall we go out now?”
“Ah, yes! And here, take this!”
Answering brightly, the girl rummaged through her bag and pulled something out.
“Thank you for saving me!”
A medicinal herb with a red leaf in her small hand.
As he took it, a message appeared.
[Quest completed.]
[You have obtained Red Herb (Rank 1 – Common).]
[Experience has increased by 500.]
The quest to clear the dungeon while protecting Plona.
Throughout the process, there wasn’t even a speck of injury on the girl.
And that perfect result manifested in another form.
Ding—
[Achievement: Perfect Protector achieved.]
[A linked quest has been unlocked.]
[Quest]
You have successfully rescued Plona.
Return to the Adventurers’ Guild with her.
Objective: Visit the Adventurers’ Guild
Reward: Sub-quest unlocked
“A sub-quest?”
-?
-Why is there a sub-quest?
-It links to the story?
-What is this now;
He’d read about the concept of sub-quests in the guidebook.
A unique element that enriched the main quest.
Though extremely rare, depending on the player’s actions, it could even change the storyline’s branches.
Most of the time, however, it had no impact at all.
‘They really designed this properly.’
Saving Plona and visiting the guild had been his intended path from the start.
It was a location that became an important branching point in the story to come.
If it appeared in the form of a quest, it must’ve been the direction the developers intended.
Or perhaps, the goddess’s will beyond that.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Shaking off his thoughts, Hanbit left the dungeon together with Plona.
***
“He’s out!”
“Is it really first place?”
“Look, it’s right there!”
The entrance was still crowded with players.
Many had already gone off into the dungeon, but quite a few remained waiting for the person called Black Dragon to emerge.
“Hyung!”
Yeonwoo, who had been watching the broadcast, rushed over as well.
Brimming with excitement, he pointed at the hologram screen in the air and spoke.
“This is seriously insane! How did you get first place?”
*Rankings
1st: Black Dragon (19 min 24 sec)
2nd: Kim Hanseop (19 min 25 sec)
3rd: Nowaki (19 min 38 sec)
…….
The updated rankings were applied correctly.
Seeing it like this directly felt strangely different.
-This guy’s actually insane.
-A talent monster beyond Odin;
-He even saved Plona. lol
-You could tell just from his skills that Black Dragon was on another level.
-Upvote if Kim Hanseop wants a rematch.
-Yeah, can’t. Level too high, right?
[딸깍 has donated 1,000 won.]
[First-try clear.]
After confirming the record with their own eyes, the viewers’ excitement rose even further.
Half the comments compared him to vanguard Odin.
The other half mocked Kim Hanseop, who’d dropped to second place.
“I told you I’d get first.”
“That’s not even the issue! Setting Kim Hanseop aside, you did what even Odin couldn’t! My messages and calls are about to explode!”
Yeonwoo added that contacts from major corporations and many others were flooding in.
Seeing Odin’s name come up so often, he must really be an exceptionally talented player.
“That’s for you to handle. Let’s go to Edlen for now. I’ll send a party invite.”
“Oh right, the sub-chapter came up too.”
Nodding, Yeonwoo accepted the party request.
Plona, who had exited the dungeon with them, disappeared outside.
It seemed to be a system where she reappeared upon returning to the city.
After checking the hologram screen once more, Hanbit turned toward the city.
“Let’s go.”
***
“Ugh…….”
Right after entering Edlen.
Plona naturally appeared beside Hanbit.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
The timid girl shook her head while tightly gripping her bag strap.
He knew all too well the reason for that anxious expression.
‘Discrimination’s pretty bad here too.’
People living in the slums were treated little better than serfs.
Not only nobles, but even ordinary citizens regarded slum dwellers as something close to livestock.
And the ones most aware of that fact were residents of the slums like Plona.
“It’s okay.”
With those words, Hanbit lightly took her hand.
Chirp—!
Reading the mood, Sylph fluttered its wings and played around.
Thankfully, Plona nodded quietly, her expression noticeably more relaxed.
“Hyung, is that some kind of gimmick too?”
Yeonwoo, who had been walking slightly behind, approached and asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve never seen anyone treat an NPC like that. Isn’t it some kind of hidden quest gimmick?”
-For real, feels like there’s something.
-Doubt everything.
-Basically a walking strategy guide.
-I just screamed and tore up my guidebook.
-Adventurer A crying.
-But seriously, what is this; isn’t the guidebook all wrong?
-You praised the guidebook earlier and now you flip, lol
The absurd suspicion even extended to doubting the guidebook’s creator.
Ever since Hanbit’s actions starting with Artsvel’s magic had completely diverged from the guidebook’s content.
And even the outcomes were drastically different, so it was only natural to feel something was off.
‘They’re not entirely wrong.’
Much of the information Adventurer A had written in the guidebook was incorrect.
The sheer volume of information was so vast it made one curious about the author’s true identity.
If he ever met them someday, Hanbit felt like he’d want to have a conversation.
“Why aren’t you answering? Is it really a gimmick?”
“Stop talking nonsense. We’re here.”
While they talked.
The three arrived at the entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Let’s go in.”
“…Okay.”
Plona, standing beside him, still wore a tense expression.
Holding her small hand tightly, Hanbit slowly stepped inside.
At that moment.
[Moving to cutscene.]
With the message, his vision faded to black.
