Chapter 118

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 118: Transition (1)

“Wait, you’re saying there will be differentiated rewards?”

Ricardo uttered the words bluntly, almost involuntarily.

Then, as if realizing his abruptness, he glanced at Yeongwoo, who had taken on the role of the leader.

Although all three had risked their lives in the struggle, they wouldn’t have made it to this moment without Yeongwoo’s peculiar performance.

“Well, there certainly were differences in contributions. I don’t think there’s anything to be upset about.”

As Ottavio expressed his thoughts on the ‘individual score calculation,’ Ricardo nodded in agreement.

“Y-yes, that’s true. I don’t have any complaints about the differentiation…”

Ricardo couldn’t continue his thought.

Yeongwoo had already learned from past experiences that Ricardo tended to speak before thinking, so he wasn’t too bothered by it.

In fact, he felt grateful that the system seemed to be taking care of something extra.

‘They were keeping track of individual scores too… It’s much more meticulous than it appears.’

However, Yeongwoo couldn’t help but wonder what the ‘reward’ would be.

‘If it weren’t for Dogo’s support, we probably wouldn’t have made it out of the dungeon. It’s undoubtedly a place designed for at least one person to die inside. But we managed to break through… What kind of reward will they give us?’

From the moment he received the first golden coin, his suspicion about this world, which had already been deep, had now turned into a valley.

Drurrur!

Eventually, as they ascended the corridor, a familiar sight appeared before their eyes.

“Oh!”

“Finally.”

The walls and ceiling of the ruins themed area.

They had finally returned to the starting point of this dungeon.

It seemed like the stone floor had no intention of moving anymore, as they heard something locking below.

Clank, clang!

Almost simultaneously, the torches announced the individual scores of the three.

「The individual score calculation is complete.」

[1st place] Yeongwoo – Total 172/100

– Excellent dodging skills.

– Very high equipment score.

– Deceiver.

[2nd place] Ottavio – Total 84/100

– Excellent supporter.

– High equipment score.

– Divine presence.

[3rd place] Ricardo – Total 62/100

– Excellent combatant.

– Great courage.

– Slightly obtuse.

“What? 62 points? These bastards!”

Sure enough, as soon as the scores were revealed, Ricardo cursed.

Meanwhile, Ottavio noticed something strange in Yeongwoo’s score.

“Yeongwoo, isn’t your score exceeding the maximum?”

“Yes, it is.”

Yeongwoo nodded.

He had been paying attention since it was his own score.

He had scored a whopping 172 out of a possible 100 points.

But even Ottavio, who had shown exemplary behavior throughout the dungeon, only managed to score 84 points.

Which meant…

‘Normally, the maximum score is 100. That’s how the system is designed.’

So why did Yeongwoo get 172 points?

‘Well, it’s probably because of Dogo. He performed at a level that was originally impossible.’

As Yeongwoo looked at the Dice of Fate still in his hand, the Dogo quest hanging in the corner of his vision was marked as completed right on time.

[Dogo] “Almost Sold Out”

[Reward Granted]

|Survival Assurance

Nothing was actually given, but from Yeongwoo’s perspective, it was definitely a strange situation where he received a reward.

‘Well, thanks to that, I definitely survived.’

Next, as Yeongwoo glanced at the weapon he had named the “Dimension Bomb,” it disappeared into thin air as if melting away.

Shirling.

“Huh.”

As Yeongwoo chuckled, this time the dungeon system brought a ‘real reward.’

「Rewards are paid differentially according to the confirmed ranking.」

[1st place] Yeongwoo – Accessory Encyclopaedia

[2nd place] Ottavio – Random Epic Equipment

[3rd place] Ricardo – Random Unique Equipment

“Oh…!”

“Damn, Unique?”

Ottavio and Ricardo’s reactions were mixed.

But soon, both of their gazes shifted to Yeongwoo’s reward.

Because only the 1st place received a completely different type of reward.

“What’s an Accessory Encyclopaedia? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

At Ottavio’s question, Yeongwoo shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know either.

“Well, I’ve encountered various pieces of equipment, but… I’ve never seen anything like a encyclopaedia before.”

“Then you’ll have to receive it and see for yourself.”

Before Ottavio could finish his sentence, a flash appeared in front of each of the three.

Grab!

Instantly, Ottavio received a silver-white box, while Ricardo received an orange box.

So, this is…

“…Random boxes.”

As Yeongwoo muttered to himself, Ottavio asked him.

“What about the encyclopaedia? Did you get it?”

In response, Yeongwoo realized that although there was a flash in front of him, no physical item was given.

Because…

「Accessory Encyclopaedia’ has been added to user Jeong Yeongwoo’s data.」

Immediately after the flash, Yeongwoo realized that it was not a box but a notification message.

‘’Accessory Encyclopaedia’ has been added to my data?’

Understanding that the ‘Accessory Encyclopaedia,’ which was the 1st place prize of this dungeon, was some kind of system, Yeongwoo immediately attempted to view the encyclopaedia.

“Encyclopaedia open?”

Though he said it as a rhetorical question, when Yeongwoo wished to see the encyclopaedia, something really happened.

Whoosh!

A large rectangular window suddenly appeared in front of him, with numbers engraved inside.

〔13〕

“13…?”

After a moment of thought, Yeongwoo realized that this was the number of registered items in the encyclopaedia.

And shortly after, the following guidance confirmed Yeongwoo’s guess.

「Welcome to the encyclopedia, Jeong Yeongwoo07!」

「The encyclopaedia is a support system for adventurers who explore this world.」

「The Accessory Encyclopaedia can store all types of accessories, and once registered, you can use the functions without wearing them directly.」

In other words, even if you didn’t wear equipment all over your body, you could still receive item effects.

Yeongwoo was already reaching the point where he would soon run out of fingers to wear rings, and there was no more space for bracelets either.

In addition, the number of items like compasses or talismans that needed to be carried on the body was increasing.

Ignoring storage issues, the biggest risk was the probability of losing items during intense combat.

‘Well, now I can endlessly purchase items. Even if I have 100 rings, I can wear them all.’

This was probably the true value of the ‘Encyclopaedia’ system.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

So, it was likely provided only to the contributor ranked 1st in the extremely harsh dungeon.

‘This means that encyclopaedias for weapons and armor would be the most useful. Even if you want to carry many weapons, you can’t have more than four.’

Moreover, since Yeongwoo could remotely retrieve weapons, even weapons worn at the waist could be effective equipment.

The same applied to armor; it wasn’t significantly different.

Currently, even if you obtained excellent equipment, if it was a helmet, top, or pants, you had to discard one.

However, with such an encyclopaedia, you could easily collect equipment of the same type without any worries, just by comparing their performance.

‘In essence, there’s no limit to combat power.’

As someone who had hosted gaming broadcasts, Yeongwoo quickly grasped the potential of the new system.

‘Then maybe there are collection rewards in the encyclopaedia?’

As Yeongwoo inwardly asked this question, the next guidance followed.

「Each encyclopaedia has its unique collection effects. If the encyclopaedia completeness exceeds a certain threshold, you can obtain astonishing blessings or techniques.」

‘Oh, I see.’

Finally, satisfaction appeared on Yeongwoo’s face.

This was exactly what he had hoped for.

‘Perhaps blessings are like permanent buffs.’

The inclusion of terms like ‘astonishing’ in the system’s description was also intriguing.

[Collection Effect: 10]

|Usage count of all accessories +1

Finally, as indicated earlier, the collection effect of the encyclopaedia was displayed.

‘So, effects are added in units of 10? Hmm, wait a moment.’

Yeongwoo took out an item from his pouch.

Whoosh.

It was the doping drug ‘Blue Blood.’

「Blue Blood」 – Mutation Drug

【Strength increased by 30% for 10 minutes.】

【Number of uses: 2】

‘It’s still the same. Drugs aren’t considered accessories, huh. Well…’

On the other hand, the flask he had been wearing around his neck seemed to be affected by the encyclopaedia.

「Pumpkin-Colored Whistle」 – Legendary Necklace

【Summon friends.】

|Youngtae, Taejoon.

Because there was a book-shaped icon on the right side of the tooltip that appeared when he held the item.

‘Previously, it could be used twice a day… Now, can it be used three times?’

As Yeongwoo pondered over the whistle, Ottavio and Ricardo, who had been watching him blankly, couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.

“Can you please enlighten us a bit?”

It was only then that Yeongwoo realized.

Those two couldn’t see the encyclopaedia they had laid out.

“It’s similar to the encyclopaedia system in games. So, this means…”

Yeongwoo tried to give a brief explanation, but the dungeon system didn’t allow it.

「In 10 seconds, the dungeon will be closed.」

「Please use the portal to exit.」

“Huh?”

“What…?”

They hadn’t even properly said goodbye, yet they were being torn apart like this.

「9」

Meanwhile, a countdown was underway above the fireplace.

「8」

As Ottavio opened the portal by tapping on the wall, he asked Yeongwoo.

“If you could come back to the dungeon tonight, would you participate again?”

Yeongwoo interpreted it as a question implying that if he were to participate, Ottavio would also bet his life again tonight.

「7」

In fact, until a moment ago, Yeongwoo had been considering participating in the second dungeon, but after confirming the power of the encyclopaedia, he had made up his mind somewhat.

「6」

“Yes. I don’t know if it will be tonight, but if the opportunity arises again, I will return to the dungeon.”

「5」

In response to Yeongwoo’s answer, Ottavio nodded.

“Understood. If fate allows, let’s meet again.”

「4」

Then, instead of exiting through the portal, Ottavio hastily turned back.

“Yeongwoo! South Korea right? Just to make sure.”

「3」

“Yes, I’m from South Korea. I’m currently in Seoul.”

“I see.”

Ottavio finally made a face indicating that everything was settled, and with his last words, he stepped into the portal.

“Even meeting outside the dungeon might not be impossible. If we could cross Eurasia very quickly!”

「1」

And as the final second approached, just as Yeongwoo was about to step into the portal, Ricardo’s rough voice reached his ears.

“See you alive again! Yeongwoo!”

Shhhaaah!

Ignoring the South American’s farewell, Yeongwoo passed through the portal and immediately felt his vision darken.

Then.

Crunch!

Along with loud thunder, he could see black obsidian rain pounding the ground.

He had returned to Paju, where the dungeon had first opened.

“Ah, I’m back.”

As Yeongwoo blinked, he was greeted by a golden goblin and Negwig waiting for him at the dungeon entrance.

– Kwiiiik!

– Kikkit!

Yeongwoo checked the time while covering the goblin with his cloak on top of the Negwig.

‘It’s 7:52 AM.’

It should have been the time when the sun rose, but the sky was still dark due to the abnormal weather.

‘The dungeon has disappeared without a trace. It feels like a dream.’

However, when he summoned the encyclopaedia, the interface for the accessory encyclopaedia he had seen before appeared unchanged.

Everything that happened in the dungeon was definitely not a dream.

Then, Ottavio and Ricardo, who had gone through the opposite portal, must have returned to their respective homelands.

“…”

Thinking about the two spending the end of the night in Italy and Brazil, Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to the north.

At this point, the closest foreign country, North Korea, was worth a visit.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]