Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Title: Perfectionism

It seems like a choice among three, but in reality, there’s only one option.

150,000 experience points and 500,000 Rotten Silver Coins; Wu Chang can’t afford it at all.

The game system helpfully offers a payment plan, but the interest is worse than a mortgage. Spread over twenty-four installments, the total payment amounts to 400,000 experience points and 1.33 million Rotten Silver Coins.

Even mortgage slaves don’t have this much pressure. Leman didn’t beat him in the dungeon, but ended up enslaving him with one eye outside the dungeon. What a joke.

Compensation option one is immediately ruled out.

Among the remaining selectable drops in the Moonlight Sanatorium, there’s nothing of comparable value to the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow, let alone the Eye of the Evil God.

Missing out on benefits means a loss, and for Wu Chang, compensation option three is even less acceptable than option one.

The only option left is compensation option two.

He took out the Erosion Core from his inventory and selected compensation option two.

Under the influence of an invisible force, the Mortal Poison passed through the shell of the Erosion Core and entered into its abyss-like deep darkness.

The optimization process took five minutes. As the Erosion Core vanished, the Mortal Poison returned to Wu Chang’s hands.

The Eye of the Evil God on the pendant remained tightly shut, but upon careful observation, its eyelids seemed to twitch slightly, as if about to open at any moment.

「Item Name: Mortal Poison」

「Artifact Level: S」

「Item Description: The Secret Magic Knight Order’s greatest masterpiece, combining black and white magic, the pinnacle of magical item craftsmanship. Its creator, old Anderson, intended to use this artifact to reverse-plunder the Evil God Leman’s essence, training the Secret Magic Knight Order with divine power to ensure the Kingdom would never be threatened by any evil god again.」

「Item Description: The repaired Mortal Poison requires a sufficient Energy Source to activate.」

「Energy can be stockpiled by clearing dungeons or absorbing Erosion Cores, with the amount varying based on the dungeon’s difficulty.」

「Current accumulated energy: 0/10.」

「Note: In the eyes of a god, mortals are like ants, but even an ant’s sting can make a god bleed.」

After reading the introduction of the Mortal Poison, Wu Chang didn’t know what to say.

The Secret Magic Knight Order truly consists of ruthless individuals. They didn’t just stop at gouging out Leman’s eyeball; they even wanted to drain him via the eyeball.

No wonder Leman cursed them and targeted their descendants.

Who wouldn’t be pissed?

Apart from the grand gestures of the Secret Magic Knight Order, what shocked him even more was the artifact level of the Mortal Poison.

Many veterans died in the Moonlight Sanatorium, including experts like ”Doctor” and ”Stalker.”

Even for them, their most valuable artifacts were only around C-Level.

The D-Level ”Silver Dawn” and C-Level ”Whisper of the Nameless” were already powerful enough in the dungeon. He couldn’t even imagine how strong an S-Level artifact would be.

Possessing wealth invites trouble.

The more precious it is, the more cautious he has to be. If someone discovers this artifact, it would undoubtedly bring disaster.

Getting an S-Level artifact was already a satisfying reward, but this wasn’t the end of the dungeon settlement.

Even though the value of the Mortal Poison was high, it was just the S-Level clearance rating reward.

「Player dungeon rating reaches perfect level. You can select one rare item from the current dungeon plane as a reward.」

After the notification, three items materialized in front of Wu Chang. They were:

「Demon Exorcism Array Explained.」

「Wolf’s Pharmaceutical Notes.」

「Secret Magic Knight Order Newcomer’s Guide.」

None of the three items were combat-oriented; their effects couldn’t be discerned from the names alone.

However, as rewards for a perfect-level rating, they definitely wouldn’t be trash.

Wu Chang asked, ”Can you display their item descriptions?”

「...」

Apparently not.

Judging by the names alone, these three items correspond to three fields of knowledge.

Magic Circle Construction, Alchemy, and Combat.

The power of the magic arrays in the Moonlight Sanatorium plane was formidable, but they were too cumbersome and complex to be practical.

He could still vividly recall Wolf’s pharmaceutical process, which was too advanced for humans, and he didn’t plan to learn it.

”I choose the Secret Magic Knight Order Newcomer’s Guide.”

The other two items disappeared, and a booklet imprinted with the insignia of the Secret Magic Knight Order fell into his hands.

「Item Name: Secret Magic Knight Order Newcomer’s Guide.」

「Item Effect: After the player’s attributes reach Power: 30; Agility: 20; Endurance: 20; Energy: 30; Inspiration: 20; Will: 20, they can unlock a reincarnation quest. Completing the quest will allow them to change to the hidden class: Secret Magic Knight.」

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow, his face showing excitement.

As a player, no one can resist a ”hidden” prefix before a class.

Even though he didn’t have much hope for this knight order that practically played themselves to extinction, but since it had defeated an evil god’s clone with mere mortal power and was a hidden class, it shouldn’t be too weak.

Just when he thought the settlement was over, the electronic voice sounded again.

「Player achieves perfect clearance in an out-of-control dungeon at or above their character level (dungeon corruption value ＞ 85), earning a random title box.」

「Only titles for which the player has met the requirements or have no acquisition requirements can be drawn.」

A circular wheel appeared before Wu Chang, divided into dozens of small sections, each glowing a different color: blue, green, red, and gold.

After Wu Chang clicked to draw, the wheel spun rapidly, slowing down after ten spins.

A treasure box dropped in front of Wu Chang, trembling slightly before violently bursting open, releasing a blinding light.

Wow! A golden legend!

When the light subsided, a colorful title appeared above his head.

「Title: Perfectionism」

「Title Requirement: Player achieves a perfect breakthrough on their first dungeon completion.」

「Title Effect: Wearing this title grants an extra hidden side quest in dungeons, increasing dungeon completion by 5% at settlement.」

「Note: Colorful titles can stack with other titles.」

This time, the dungeon settlement was truly over.

Accompanied by the familiar transition effect, Wu Chang found himself standing in front of Wanghai University.

He glanced at his phone, less than three hours had passed since he entered the dungeon.

Everything felt like a dream, only the attribute panel still floating in front of him proved that everything that happened in the Abyssal Game was real.

Player Nickname: Doesn’t Eat Beef.

Player Level: 8 (500/1900)

(6000/100) — (5900/300) — (5600/500) — (5100/700) — (4400/1000) — (3400/1300) — (2100/1600) — (500/1900)

Title: Perfectionism

Life: 9

Power: 9

Agility: 9

Endurance: 8

Energy: 0

Inspiration: 84

Will: 62

Free Attribute Points: 35

Rotten Silver Coins: 15,000

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Firearms Use (Proficient).

Items: Silver Dawn, Favor of the Goddess of Fortune, Whisperer’s Echo×1, Mortal Poison, Secret Magic Knight Order Newcomer’s Guide.

Talent: Exorcism.

The immense experience gain allowed him to level up 7 times, earning 35 free attribute points.

Deciding on the point allocation could wait until later. His time in the Moonlight Sanatorium had left his nerves taut, and he hadn’t slept well; his immediate priority was to get back to his dorm and have a good rest.

Walking through the campus, he quickly sensed something amiss.

The campus was too empty.

He didn’t see a single student along the way, even the usually crowded basketball courts were now eerily deserted.

What’s going on? Did he just leave the Moonlight Sanatorium only to get caught up in a new dungeon already?