Chapter 35: Dungeon Rewards and Trading

Ron opened his eyes and found himself back in his familiar room.

He let out a slight sigh of relief. It was indeed the right choice to stay vigilant against the Shadow Boy; otherwise, he would have undoubtedly been forcibly detained in the Spirit Realm. He didn't feel particularly flustered by the situation, though. Even if his sanity supplements proved ineffective, he could always resort to using the item card [Heart Worm] to forcibly unlock all of Demon King Meow's abilities.

Wiegfart had used her skill to transport Vivian back to her bed. This ability had also been recorded in the "Gospel of Suffering," and by using this [Defeat CG] skill, he was still able to teleport back to reality.

Just as he was thinking about this, text appeared before him once more. This was the narrator settling the dungeon rewards. It seemed that only recommended dungeons offered such a settlement. Ron thought to himself as he began to review his gains from this dungeon run.

[Dungeon "Ghost Hospital" cleared!]
[Your contribution rate: 100%!]
[Calculating rewards...]
[You have received Dungeon Monthly Tickets *800.]
[Ding! As your contribution rate exceeded 90%, you have received an additional reward.]
[You have received Protagonist’s Encounter *1.]
[Dungeon items are being settled...]

Following this, the items Ron had acquired in the dungeon popped up.

[Painkillers] *3, [Vanilla Mint] *5, [High-Grade Hospital Gown] *1, [Sanity Supplement] *1, [Miracle Chewing Gum] *6, [Children’s Cookies] *10.

This was what he had obtained after burning through the three hundred thousand in his smart card. Aside from the [High-Grade Hospital Gown], everything else was a consumable. The most useful among them were undoubtedly the [Sanity Supplement] and the [Miracle Chewing Gum]. The former could eliminate negative mental effects, while the latter allowed the user to gain a boost in combat power for a short duration.

[Vanilla Mint] and [Children’s Cookies] could be used in specific dungeons to gain the assistance of natives, much like the Shadow Boy in the Ghost Hospital. As for the [Painkillers], their effect was straightforward: while the medicine was in effect, the user would not suffer negative impacts from injuries; it did not affect the upper limit of combat power, but it could be used to secure a minimum threshold for combat performance.

Ron set aside a portion of these, planning to list them for trade in the group. As for the rewards granted by clearing the dungeon, Ron still had some questions. The Dungeon Monthly Tickets were not an issue; recommended dungeons of corresponding levels always had associated ticket rewards. One round of recommendations yielded 800 tickets. Since Ron’s contribution rate for this clear was 100%, he received all the tickets for the entire dungeon. But the additional reward…

What on earth was this "Protagonist’s Encounter"?

With this question in mind, Ron opened the chat group. The group was still heatedly discussing who had dropped their series, whether they had died, or if they had simply bailed.

[Salmon: Big shots, may I ask what this "Protagonist’s Encounter" is?]
[Keyboard Milk-Spiller: Holy crap, you got a "Protagonist’s Encounter"? Didn't you just release a new book?]
[Salmon: Uh… they said it was an additional reward.]
[Keyboard Milk-Spiller: Damn! Are all newcomers monsters? You know you need over 90% contribution to get that reward, right?]
[White Jade Tower: This item allows you to transfer cards you possess, other than character cards, to people within the Resonant Spirit Realm.]
[White Jade Tower: Usually, these are used to provide items to the protagonist of a novel, hence why it’s called a Protagonist’s Encounter.]

It was actually a way to send item cards to his own protagonist? Ron’s eyes lit up.

Because the plots created by creators were essentially reality-based, many creators were unable to fully control the direction of their stories. Sometimes it wasn't that they wanted to torture their protagonists, but that the characters were at the bottom of the Spirit Realm and could see no hope whatsoever. Many readers read novels to relieve the bitterness of reality, and if they opened a book only to see such a plot, they would likely start cursing.

However, a "Protagonist’s Encounter" allowed creators to gift items they obtained in reality to the protagonists of their works, helping them gain combat power better and faster.

[Octopus Grilled in Phlegm: Though, it’s best if the arrangement of the encounter is reasonable, and the items provided should fit the world-building. If it’s too jarring, it will affect the reader’s immersion.]

That made sense. If a protagonist in a Western fantasy setting pulled out a pill furnace from a Xianxia novel, the readers would certainly be full of question marks.

[White Jade Tower: If you’re writing a System-style novel, it’s easier—you can just distribute the items as system rewards.]
[White Jade Tower: Though traditional reward-based system novels and check-in novels are the exclusive domain of the wealthy.]
[Keyboard Milk-Spiller: Damn it, don't even talk about it. Who would have thought this profession could have pay-to-win whales?]

Ron had heard about this. A certain wealthy individual, upon discovering they had become a Resonator, had actively become a creator because they enjoyed adventure. They then spent a fortune buying various item cards. Although creators were all Transcendants, they still had to live in reality, and quite a few were truly swayed by money. Some even sold their so-called "Protagonist’s Encounters." That wealthy individual had then generously used the encounter to give their protagonist an "Ancient Sacred Body" right from the start, leaving everyone stunned. They couldn't even be bothered to arrange system missions for the protagonist, just having them "check in" to get cheats, thereby pioneering the "Check-in" genre.

He wondered how much money he could get if he sold his own "Protagonist’s Encounter" to someone like that. Of course, Ron quickly discarded the thought; his main priority now was improving Vivian’s combat power. Fortunately, he now had plenty of bargaining chips in his hands.

Ron quickly posted a thread in the group looking to trade for Western fantasy-style magic items. Acquiring and trading such items was perfectly normal in the group.

Ron’s post received a reply shortly after. After a series of exchanges, Ron quickly traded two bottles of painkillers and a piece of [Miracle Chewing Gum] for a ring.

******
Name: [Ring of the Deep Blue]
Category: Permanent Item Card
Effect: When you consume mana, 10% of the mana cost is refunded.
******

Although the stats were a bit low, it would still provide a decent boost to Vivian’s sustainability. It was a pity that he didn't know where his own set from five thousand years ago had ended up; otherwise, he wouldn't need such low-level items to provide mana recovery. Fiddling with the card in his hand, Ron pondered how to get this ring into Vivian’s hands smoothly.

Just as he was thinking, someone sent him a private message. Clicking it open, he saw it was White Jade Tower.

[White Jade Tower: Big shot! Do you still have those painkillers?]

Ron was about to reply when he saw the other person immediately add:

[White Jade Tower: This stuff is effective for all kinds of wounds, right?]

Wait! What are you planning to use it for?

If it were someone else, Ron wouldn't have any strange thoughts. But if it were White Jade Tower… this was a big shot who had created a massive harem in his novel! Come to think of it, in the recent chapters, he seemed to have been pinched/injured by a powerful witch.

*Cough, cough*, I only read his book to learn writing techniques!

Thinking this, Ron replied to him.

[White Jade Tower: Yes! What are you planning to offer?]

As he spoke, he took a screenshot of a list of various cards he could use for trading.

[Salmon: A chapter recommendation from you would be enough.]
[White Jade Tower: Sure, sure, but I can't take it for free. Let’s trade with this card.]

With that, White Jade Tower sent a screenshot of a card—it was a bottle of pills for enhancing physical constitution.

[White Jade Tower: This stuff works well, though you’ll develop a drug tolerance if you take too much.]

Why are you… so experienced at this…

Recalling his experiences from ten years ago, Ron felt a strange sense of empathy and shared misery.