Chapter 16: Quest Reward (2)

Chapter 16: Quest Reward (2)

[Episode 04] Quest Reward (2)

《Party Quest Assignment》

Quest Content: Showcase awakened abilities.

Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds.

Reward: Reinforcement of physical strength.

Failure Penalty: Sleep in the corridor.

[Do you want to bestow this quest?]

[Yes / No]

“Hmm?”

As soon as I started the experiment, something unexpected came up.

‘A party quest?’

It was a system that allowed forming a party and performing quests, rather than bestowing quests individually to Moon Byeong-ho and Kang Deok-su.

‘What could this mean?’

Based on my experience so far, there has never been a feature that appeared without any meaning in my abilities.

There must be something better about party quests than regular quests, but I don’t know what those are yet.

‘Let’s proceed like this for now.’

By trying various things, I might eventually learn about the differences between regular quests and party quests.

‘Bestow quest.’

Kang Deok-soo looked at the quest window that appeared in front of him and made a puzzled expression.

“So, what you’re saying, Mr. Jae-hyun, is that I awakened, like Dong-geon?”

“That’s correct.”

“Steel Knight. What kind of ability is that exactly?”

“It’s the ability to summon a suit of steel armor and a halberd.”

“Really?”

That’s when it happened.

Swoosh!

“Huh?!”

Moon Byeong-ho suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room.

He had successfully used his awakened ability, Teleport.

Seeing this with his own eyes, Kang Deok-su froze in astonishment.

Moon Byeong-ho slowly surveyed the surroundings, and soon realized that he had teleported.

At the same time, a pleasant notification sounded.

[Citizen Moon Byeong-ho’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Moon Byeong-ho’s loyalty has increased.]

He bowed his head towards me, expressing gratitude.

“Thank you, thank you!”

Then, unexpectedly, he approached the living room window.

It was easy to see what he was thinking by such behavior.

Addressing him, who was visibly excited.

“Stop.”

“Yes?”

“It seems like you’re trying to go to Grandma’s house directly, but it’s probably going to be difficult.”

“Why is that?”

“Mr. Moon Byeong-ho’s ability is powered by mental strength. However, the farther you want to move, and the more people you want to move together, the more mental strength it requires.”

“Ah...”

“Even if you can see Grandma’s house from here, there’s a high chance you won’t be able to teleport there all at once. In the worst case, you might end up teleporting into thin air.”

If you teleported into empty space, there was only one outcome.

Falling.

“So, for now, it’s crucial to understand your own abilities. Start by figuring out the maximum distance you can travel and how much mental strength is consumed when using the ability.”

“Got it.”

While I was restraining Moon Byeong-ho’s sudden advance, Kang Deok-su also succeeded in using his ability.

Wooong!

Pure white light emanated from his body and quickly took shape.

Silver armor enveloping his entire body and a halberd poised menacingly.

The Steel Knight appeared there.

“I-Is this for real?”

[Citizen Kang Deok-su’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Kang Deok-su’s loyalty has increased.]

Simultaneously.

[Citizens Moon Byeong-ho and Kang Deok-su have completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 212,317 won.]

With the completion of the quest, a little over 200,000 won was deducted.

‘About 100,000 won per strength enhancement, huh.’

It was regrettable, but it was a little comforting to think we had invested in the strength of two people who would be our main force.

In any case, this confirmed that quest rewards could be used to enhance specific attributes.

‘Endurance and stamina seem to be at a similar level. Then, could something like this work?’

This time, I decided to give a quest only to Moon Byeong-ho.

《Quest Assignment》

Quest Content: Use Teleport.

Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds

Reward: Teleport Mastery Enhancement.

Failure Penalty: Sleeping in the hallway.

[Do you want to bestow the quest as it is?]

[Yes / No]

‘It seems possible.’

It looked like it was possible to increase proficiency in abilities as well.

Moon Byeong-ho, who received the quest, immediately used his ability and easily cleared the quest.

However.

[Citizen Moon Byeong-ho has completed the quest.]

[Quest Cost: 70,133 won.]

‘Huh?’

This time, too, I expected to spend around 100,000 won, but the actual cost was only about 70,000 won.

No matter how much he had leveled up, and his strength and stamina had increased, exercising while wearing heavy armor was not easy.

[Citizen Kang Deok-su has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 56,149 won.]

‘It’s much cheaper.’

It was almost half the price.

‘Still, it seems difficult to completely eliminate the cost.’

As much as I wanted to increase the number of repetitions and intensity, it seemed that doing so would only lead to Kang Deok-su failing the quest.

I spoke to Kang Deok-su, who was panting heavily.

“Let’s go for one more set.”

Kang Deok-su, receiving the same quest as before, protested with a tearful expression.

“Do I really have to go outside and sleep?”

“That does seem a bit excessive, doesn’t it? I’ll make a modification.”

Failure Penalty: 1000 push-ups.

Seeing the newly updated failure penalty, Kang Deok-su started exercising without a word.

Trembling, he steadily filled the required repetitions.

[Citizen Kang Deok-su’s loyalty has increased.]

‘Huh? Why is this going up?’

Loyalty was increasing.

Is this why they push people to their limits in the military?

[Citizen Kang Deok-su has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 39,783 won.]

Changing the failure penalty proved effective and the quest cost was further reduced.

“Let’s go for one more time.”

“Ah!”

Kang Deok-su persevered through the quest with sheer determination.

[Citizen Kang Deok-su has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 35,249 won.]

“It decreased again.”

This time, even though the conditions were exactly the same as before, the cost decreased further.

‘Wait.’

There was something different.

‘Kang Deok-su’s condition was different.’

After the previous two quests, his body was already exhausted.

Attempting the quest in such a fatigued state inevitably raised the relative difficulty.

‘I roughly understand how this works.’

Ultimately, the higher the level of difficulty perceived by the person performing the quest, the more efficient the system becomes.

When Kang Deok-su finished all three sets, a new notification appeared.

[Citizen Kang Deok-su has used up all available quest attempts for today.]

‘Except for party quests, three times is the maximum, then.’

This made sense, and I could now understand why there were separate party quests.

‘It was a system for additional quests.’

It seemed that when you used up all daily quest limits, party quests could be assigned for additional quest opportunities.

As I was organizing my thoughts, another notification appeared.

[Citizen Kang Deok-su’s completed quests are being evaluated.]

‘Huh?’

[······ Evaluation in progress ······]

‘What’s this again?’

It seemed like a task that took a little time.

While the evaluation was underway, I spoke to Kang Deok-su.

“You’ve worked hard. You can go get some rest now.”

Kang Deok-su, with his shining full-body armor and halberd, spoke with a tired voice.

“Thank you...”

Checking the time, it was already past 1 AM.

Considering they had entered the house just past midnight, it had been almost an hour of repeating quests and clears.

When Kang Deok-su removed his armor, the strong scent of sweat reached even here.

He said, “I’m sorry, but can I take a shower?”

“Of course. You can use the bathroom over there.”

“Thank you.”

The results of the various experiments were satisfying.

‘I gained more than I expected.’

First of all, Moon Byeong-ho and Kang Deok-su became more aware of their awakening abilities and could use them effectively.

This significantly increased our overall power.

Especially notable was Kang Deok-su’s newfound abilities.

‘Just tanking in front while wearing armor will make our operations much more stable.’

It was positive in many ways.

The fact that the party was getting stronger meant they could do more.

‘There’s hope.’

Perhaps soon, I would be able to send them and save my family.

‘I can do it.’

That’s when it happened.

[Evaluation complete.]

It seemed like the evaluation for Kang Deok-su’s performed quests had finally concluded.

[Strength slightly increased.]

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, there was a feeling of lightness in my body.

‘This is...’

It was clear.

My strength had increased.

This probably happened because all three of Kang Deok-su’s daily quests were focused on increasing strength.

‘With this, the story changes a bit.’

Now there was a justification for mobilizing the citizens.

Still sick this week so going to keep releases at 3/week this and next week (next week to catch up on chapters).