Mission Rewards

After logging in, Su Jiang appeared at the resurrection point in No. 13 Novice Village.

It was as bustling as ever.

The dark anomaly he had seen on the forums had already dissipated, and No. 13 Novice Village had returned to peace.

Su Jiang also saw that a handful of players had already reached level ten. Some had learned new skills, while others had put on new equipment and left the Novice Village for the main city.

Generally, after reaching level ten, most players chose to head to the main city, except for those who had accepted the Prelude to the Anomaly quest.

In fact, even players who had not accepted the quest could help those who had complete it. They could still share in the rewards and even had a chance of obtaining a Talent Enhancement Chest.

Still, it depended on the individual.

Leveling up was also extremely important. If Prelude to the Anomaly held them back and they failed to complete it, that would be a poor trade-off.

If they were not confident in clearing the dungeon, going to the main city to level up was also a wise choice.

"Ding—"

A notification from the game system suddenly rang out.

Why was there a notification the moment I logged in?

Su Jiang frowned and opened the system information panel.

System Prompt: The Fear Deity knows that you are immortal, so it has left a curse within your body. You have obtained a debuff: Gaze of Fear!

Damn it!

Killing me once was not enough, and now it had to slap me with a debuff too?!

Su Jiang quickly saw an additional status icon shaped like a little ghost in his passive status bar.

Gaze of Fear (Negative Status)

Quality: Legendary

Level: Lv.1

Effect: Your body has been eroded by the power of fear. Your four basic attributes will decrease by 3% each day until all attributes reach 0. Before that happens, if you do not submit to the Fear Deity, you will die. If you submit, this status will instead increase your four basic attributes by 3% each day, up to a maximum of 1000%, and your race will become a ghost.

Fuck you, Fear Deity...

Did it insist on making me submit and become a ghost?

Su Jiang frowned. This thing was a devastating blow to his game life, which had only just begun. In one month, when his four basic attributes dropped to zero, he might as well delete his account and quit the game.

Although the buff after submitting to fear was tempting, the ghost race alone was enough to make Su Jiang hesitate.

Becoming a ghost did mean immortality, but he would not be able to smell or taste anything. What meaning was there in immortality then?

Su Jiang opened his attribute panel.

His main body's four basic attributes had indeed decreased by 3%.

He was currently level 10. Based on the growth rate of an ordinary Life Level, each attribute should have increased by 10 points per level, so every base attribute should now have been 100.

However...

Attributes (Balanced Development): Strength 97, Intelligence 97, Constitution 97, Spirit 97. (Affected by the Gaze of Fear buff, attributes reduced by 3%.)

What a scam...

Su Jiang wailed inwardly, then glanced at Kurumi Incarnation's attribute panel.

Huh?

Attributes (Balanced Development): Strength 209, Intelligence 209, Constitution 209, Spirit 209. (Third Bullet passive +10%)

Su Jiang rubbed his eyes. Kurumi Incarnation's panel was actually unaffected by the debuff!

Kurumi Incarnation was level 10, with 19 attribute points gained in every category per level. That made all four basic attributes 190, and with Third Bullet's passive, they were indeed 209!

Awesome!

Su Jiang felt a wave of relief, then could not help complaining, "Looks like this deity isn't all that impressive. It only nerfs the main body's attributes."

Nerf away. Do whatever you wanted.

As long as it did not affect the incarnation's attributes, Su Jiang did not care. At worst, he would simply not transform into his main body in the future. Besides, he had barely used his main body in his previous life.

Moreover, Su Jiang had never intended to develop his main body's attributes. If he did not use his incarnation to fight others, would that not be like losing a talent for nothing? He was not stupid.

Let that deity mess around however it pleased.

Su Jiang headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.

The moment the Adventurer's Guild receptionist saw Su Jiang, she delightedly walked toward him.

"Great adventurer Su, the Adventurer's Guild welcomes your arrival. Would you like to claim your quest reward now?"

The players still crowded around the quest board, accepting quests, were dumbfounded. This NPC had been so cold toward them that they had thought it was simply part of her settings. Who knew she had just never met the right person!

They had never seen her leave the service counter before. Yet the moment this player arrived, she eagerly ran over to greet him.

This difference in treatment was way too obvious!

"Damn, this NPC is a bootlicker!"

"What quest did he even do to raise his reputation with the Adventurer's Guild?"

"Too realistic..."

"Did he donate a huge amount of copper coins to the Adventurer's Guild? The server had only just opened. It should be impossible to raise reputation to the point where an NPC would grovel like this, right?"

Seeing the NPC act this way, the players could not help complaining in the chat channel. They were all curious about what this player had done.

The NPC led Su Jiang into the guild's interior, and they could no longer see him.

Su Jiang arrived at the meeting room inside the guild.

The Adventurer's Guild president and several members of the Holy Grace Divine Cult were all there.

Sister Allison jogged over with a delighted expression and said, "I knew it. The Holy One would surely protect His brave warrior. Su, I prayed for you for an entire day. You have finally returned safely!"

"Hehe, we are immortal. There was no need to worry, Sister Allison."

Hearing that, Sister Allison let out a huge sigh of relief, then looked at him with starry, worshipful eyes.

The Adventurer's Guild president was a short, fat man with white hair and beard. He wore the uniform of a high-ranking Adventurer's Guild member. If Su Jiang had not learned from the information that he was human, he would have suspected him of being a dwarf.

His round body hopped down from the chair.

"Ever since you became an Elite Adventurer, this old man had wanted to meet you. I never expected that by the time I did, you would have outstandingly completed another quest. The young truly are formidable!"

"This is merely my duty as a guild member," Su Jiang said humbly.

Ding, the Adventurer's Guild's favorability toward you has increased by 5. Current total favorability: 10.

The Adventurer's Guild president came to Su Jiang's side and said, "No need to be modest. No one can ignore what you have accomplished. These are the rewards our guild has prepared for you..."

"Ding—"

Congratulations, you have completed the rare quest Prelude to the Anomaly and successfully killed the evil boss hidden underground. Reward calculation (Elite Badge +20%): Gold Coin x6, Experience x, Talent Enhancement Chest x2 (one additional reward for the first clear), one set of Adventurer's Guild rare standard equipment (Lv.10). For subsequent quests, please explore the main city.

System Prompt: Congratulations on completing the rare quest Prelude to the Anomaly. The Adventurer's Guild's trust in your strength has increased, and your name has spread throughout the guild. Reputation +1000. Current total Adventurer's Guild reputation: 1300 (Somewhat Famous).

System Prompt: You killed the ancient ghost hidden underground and survived at the hands of the Fear Deity. Your name has spread throughout the Carron Empire. Reputation +200. Current total Carron Empire reputation: 300 (Slightly Known).