Chapter 42: Gradient Rewards

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Gradient Rewards

The moment the trade was confirmed, Seraphina Sinclair tapped the virtual screen and five bottles of mineral water vanished from her inventory.

At the same time, a bottle of herbal juice, shimmering with a faint green luster, appeared in her palm.

"Trade complete," Seraphina Sinclair murmured, raising the herbal juice to her eyes to examine it.

The bottle was cool to the touch. In the sunshine, the liquid inside had a translucent, jade-like hue, and she could faintly see tiny plant fibers suspended within it.

Even though the cap was sealed, she could smell a fresh, herbal fragrance, telling her the item’s quality was quite good.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Thanks, boss! I found this herbal juice in a special building. It looked like a ruined traditional pharmacy. There was a plaque hanging over the door that said "To Practice Medicine and Save the World," but it was snapped in two. The place was totally abandoned.

Seraphina Sinclair’s pupils narrowed slightly.

’A special building?’

’This is important information, but a description of the building isn’t what I want to hear!’

[Blacktiger Ford]: How’d you get in?

[Miller’s Hardware]: I was just on the move when the system suddenly notified me I was passing a special building and asked if I wanted to enter. I figured I might find something, so I went in. There were no monsters, but the atmosphere was terrifying. I searched for a long time before I found a small chest, and this herbal juice was inside. I saw you asking about it in the Zone channel, so I came to find you right away.

’He just passed by a special building?’

’It’s that simple? You can get in just by passing it on the road.’

’This kind of place is obviously different from a special Zone.’

Seraphina Sinclair asked again:

[Blacktiger Ford]: But you said there were no monsters. What was so scary?

Miller seemed a little speechless, but out of consideration for the water he’d received, he still did his best to answer:

[Miller’s Hardware]: It was really dark inside, and it felt so gloomy... like something was staring at me. Oh, right, the walls were covered in these weird drawings, like talismans, but they were all tattered. You didn’t see it, so my description won’t do it justice, but let me put it this way: I had this feeling those rune papers were sealing something away. And it felt like they were about to fail, like at any second, the thing was going to burst out and eat me! It was seriously terrifying!

He’d sent this message as a voice note. It was a gruff male voice, but it had started to tremble by the end.

’You could just imagine the Mental Pressure that environment put on him.’

’Okay, that was plenty detailed.’

Seraphina Sinclair casually sent him another bottle of mineral water. He had been quite specific, after all. She considered it a tip.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Boss, you’re too generous!

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the message for a moment before closing their private chat.

’He seems a bit older,’ she thought. ’And he talks a little funny.’

’But... I finally have the herbal juice!’

Excited, Seraphina Sinclair took out a blank piece of rune paper. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself before finally gripping the rune pen.

The rune for the Blood Stopping Talisman was entirely different from that of the Fire Drawing Rune, and to Seraphina Sinclair, it was completely unfamiliar.

She had been drawing them a lot lately and had started to figure a few things out.

Although there was no explicit proficiency stat for drawing runes, it was just like anything else in life: the more you practiced, the more skilled you became, and the more skilled you became, the higher your success rate.

When Seraphina Sinclair first started Drawing Fire Runes, her success rate was well below fifty percent! But now, that number was approaching fifty percent!

That’s what familiarity could do!

Perhaps her mind was wandering, or perhaps she just wasn’t familiar with this new rune.

In any case, this attempt was a failure.

Seraphina Sinclair pursed her lips and even recited a few lines of the Heart Clarity Spell before beginning the second attempt.

Failure.

A third attempt!

Failure.

...

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

She pinched the single, precious success—the one that had taken eight failures to create—and fell into deep thought.

’The Fire Drawing Rune is an F+ rune, and this Blood Stopping Talisman is also an F+ rune. So where’s the problem?’

’Why is this Blood Stopping Talisman so hard to draw?’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned. Just as she gripped her rune pen, ready to get back to work, the system’s reward announcement finally arrived!

[This instance was a novice instance! Therefore, regardless of whether it was cleared, all participants will receive a reward!]

This message appeared before every survivor, whether they had participated or not.

The people who had been relentlessly mocked in the Zone channel were finally vindicated!

"Who said participating was useless? Who said the only reward would be ’sunshine’? Who said it?! Feeling that slap in the face?! Hear that SMACK! Hahaha!"

"Yes, I’d like to thank my family and friends for their constant support, I’d like to thank the people in the Zone channel who kept goading me into joining the instance, I’d like to thank the system for hosting this novice instance, thank..."

"What’s the guy above blabbering on about?"

"Hey, guy above! You forgot to thank the most important person: yourself! Thank your own courage for letting you join this instance!"

"Well said! We who participated deserve this! We’re better than those rats who just hide and run their mouths!"

"Who the hell are you calling a rat?"

"If the shoe fits, wear it."

"What’s there to be so smug about? All it says is there’s a reward. They haven’t even announced what it is yet. Nothing to get cocky over."

"Exactly. Unbelievable. For all you know, it’s just talk. Or maybe they’ll reward you with two packs of compressed biscuits, and you’re all celebrating already! What a bunch of idiots!"

"And that guy giving a thank-you speech... did the Mental Pressure finally make you snap? Go eat something decent; this is just pitiful to watch."

"Heh, we’ll just wait and see."

’Yes, we’ll wait and see.’

Seraphina Sinclair was looking forward to it, too.

’What would the rewards for clearing it be?’

[This instance will use a tiered reward system!]

[Based on each survivor’s performance and achievements in the instance, rewards are divided into ten tiers.]

[First Tier: Survivors who did not defeat the first wave of monsters. Reward: Basic Survival Pack x1 (Contains: 500ml Drinking Water, Compressed Biscuits x3, regular Bandage x2). Note: Thank you for your courage. This is the minimum provision for novices. Survivors in this tier in the current Zone: 3,623!]

[Second Tier: Survivors who defeated the first wave but not the second. Reward: Basic Survival Pack x1, F-level Random Weapon x1. Note: You have taken the first step into battle. Keep up the good work. Survivors in this tier in the current Zone: 624!]

[Third Tier: Survivors who defeated the second wave but not the third. Reward: Basic Survival Pack x2, F-level Random Weapon x1, Simple Medical Bag x1. Note: Your combat skills are improving, and your chance of survival has increased significantly. Survivors in this tier in the current Zone: 32!]