Chapter 309: The Giant's Reward (2)

“With all this stuff, it was totally worth getting played with! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Shore grinned and laughed out loud, completely shameless.

Then he excitedly rushed forward to check out the treasures one by one.

[Erello Full Face Helmet (Excellence)][Erello Heavy Chain Armor (Excellence)]…

[West Sea Wanderer’s Fire Gun (Superior)][Demon Slayer Warrior Crossbow (Excellence)][Iron Centipede Rapier (Ordinary)]…

[Transforming Finger (Superior)][Fire Snail Enchanted Tongue (Superior)]…

[Fire Seed·Demon Slayer Warrior (Initial Stage)][Fire Seed·Funeral Heavy Cavalry (Initial Stage)]…

This was practically a Treasure Vault!

“We’re rich! We’re rich!”

“No more wearing mismatched gear! I’m gonna get myself the coolest-looking full set!”

“So many treasures!”

Seeing this, the group’s lingering boredom from not getting any drops on the chessboard instantly vanished, replaced by immense, pleasant surprise.

Even Niuniu couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement, joining in on their moment of harvest.

After looking through everything, they discovered that the quality of the items in the Treasure Vault—be it weapons, armor, Special Items, or consumables—was all top-notch and quite impressive.

For some reason, however, there were no Skill Books.

But Niuniu found a peculiar item.

[Curse Master’s Teaching Manual]

[Type: Quest Item]

[Explanation: Turning this text in to the Candlekeeper for the first time will grant a corresponding reward.]

…

What’s the first thing you do after clearing a dungeon and getting loot?

Show it off, of course!

World Chat Channel.

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: “Sigh, this dungeon was pretty boring. The rewards are just barely okay, I guess.”

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: “[Item Info] [Item Info] [Item Info]”

Baka Cat: “Holy crap! Bowing down to the master!”

Cocoa Powder: “Whoa, where’d you get such strong weapons and armor, master? (Envy.jpg)”

I Cry, Jackal Laughs: “Master Shore already cleared the Box in the House Dungeon?”

Old Dice: “AHHHH, that Kingdom Giant on the other side is such a bastard! He cheated and secretly used an Enhancement on his Chess Pieces! We can’t beat him!”

Lightning Puppy: “Bros, Box in the House has an NPC storyline!”

“…”

By now, a ton of newbies had entered the Spirit Candle, and their numbers were still growing. As a result, the world chat was full of them.

After seeing the good gear posted by Shore, one of the Prison Players, they were all dying of envy.

The other Prison Players, however, weren’t about to compliment him.

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: “? You didn’t reply to your daddy first, and instead came to the world channel to show off? Fine, fine. You’d better be wearing a helmet. (Smile)”

Crafty Frog: “Ohh~ I was wondering where our team’s squishy Mage ran off to. Turns out he’s busy showing off.”

It’s Time to Eat Mushrooms: “Shore, you little punk, come get your ass beat.”

As time went on, the group had become incredibly familiar with each other. In the beginning, they were polite and demure, but now they usually skipped straight to the insults with zero preamble.

Shore, on the receiving end of the group’s condemnation, was completely unfazed. ‘Those guys are just jealous.’

With Storyteller’s appearance, the direction of the group chat inevitably shifted to the game’s plot.

Storyteller: “…Okay, let me quickly summarize what you’ve all said. See if there are any mistakes and help me correct them.”

Storyteller: “These two powerful Giants went around pillaging, and they literally moved a Kingdom and a Demon Nest to make their boxes.”

Storyteller: “Then, many adventurers and scholars broke into the House of Giants, but they were all turned into Chess Pieces by the Giants. We players are also playing that role…”

He synthesized the information revealed so far about the [Box in the House] and outlined the main storyline.

Having left the dungeon, the group thought about it for a moment but couldn’t find anything to correct. The story of the Box in the House seemed to be just that.

However, there were a few details they could add.

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: “Before we arrived, adventurer groups like the Demon Slayer Warriors and Erello must have tried to take down the Giants.”

Storyteller: “How do you know?”

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: “It’s in the equipment explanations.”

Guagua chimed in at this moment, affirming what Shore said and adding more details: “Right, right! And when the Giant was leading us to the Treasure Vault at the end, besides the boxes, I also saw some ships that looked like miniature models. The two Giants must have captured them.”

Hearing this, Storyteller’s eyes lit up. A rush of new ideas flooded his mind; he already had the material for his next video.

Overall, though, the Box in the House didn’t have much of a plot, so the group’s topic of conversation soon returned to the dungeon itself.

After all, as Prison Players, they were responsible for writing guides, and many other players were eagerly awaiting their updates.

First was the matter of faction choice.

There were quite a few other teams that had entered the game at the same time, and they had all tried to bet on both sides, but it didn’t work.

Judging from the chat logs of other players, you could only choose one faction: Demon or Kingdom.

Both factions had their pros and cons, with the specific differences coming down to the two Giants.

The Kingdom Faction’s Chess Pieces were weaker and would lose to their counterparts in a fair fight, but the Kingdom Giant loved to cheat, frequently pulling annoying tricks.

The Demon faction’s Chess Pieces, on the other hand, were stronger overall. The Monster Giant rarely cheated, but his skill at the game was extremely high, so you didn’t have to worry about being screwed over.

The two factions were distinct, and players on the board encountered many different situations. Even as they were chatting, new scenarios were constantly popping up in the public chat.

Furthermore, although the five-person team had cleared the dungeon, they had chosen the Kingdom Faction and received the Kingdom Giant’s reward.

So what about the Monster Giant?

Presumably, he would give a different reward, but players would need more time to test that.

This made Storyteller temporarily shelve his idea of grinding out a video. He decided to find time to experience it once himself and then wait a while longer.

Niuniu popped up at this moment, first posting an item’s information.

[Rusted Craftsman’s Travel Bag (Fine)]

[Type: Special Item]

[Effect: Activating this item in different ways can transform it into various useful tools, such as a grappling hook, a ladder, a mask, a lockpick… ]

[Explanation: A well-crafted travel bag that can freely switch between being firm and flexible, yet even it could not escape the ravages of time.]

I do Bull’s Push-ups: “@everyone, bros, this thing will definitely be useful. I suggest we try to get one for everyone.”

Niuniu meant well, of course.

But Mushroom couldn’t help but complain.

It’s Time to Eat Mushrooms: “You… I mean, that’s easy for you to say, but the Box in the House isn’t exactly easy to clear…”

To this, Niuniu gave a slight cough and typed, “Well, I’ve warned you, anyway.”

After typing, he headed toward the Milestone Spirit Candle. The five-person team had entrusted him with collecting the quest reward.

…

[Quest Item Delivered]

[You have received the Candlekeeper’s reward.]

After casually picking a decent item as a reward to send the player on his way, Luo Ge looked down at the Curse Master’s Teaching Manual in his hand and smiled faintly.

He had previously obtained a copy of the [Curse Master’s Insights]. However, although he had successfully analyzed it with Noxia’s help, it was still a bit lacking for fusing with the Spirit Candle Power to influence the Candle Spirits. There were some loopholes, so out of caution, Luo Ge had not made it available to the players.

But now, with this [Curse Master’s Teaching Manual], the two would complement each other. The “Curse Master” class would surely be going live soon…

After putting the item away, Luo Ge couldn’t help but think about the main point of the players’ focus this time.

‘The House of Giants…’

In this dungeon, the two terrifyingly powerful Giants the players faced were real.

Their Power was so immense that not even the Power of the Spirit Candle could place a Milestone Spirit Candle inside their boxes.

It wasn’t because the Giants were aware of the Milestone Spirit Candle’s existence, but because their own Power was strong enough to create a powerful repulsive force.

This was also the reason why the Chess Pieces in the box didn’t have any drops.

The [Giant Leeches] that the Giants casually released were of a Tier higher than Scorching Charcoal, possessing terrifying strength.

But even such powerful beings had been shattered into countless pieces by the catastrophe, each one of them muddle-headed, having lost its original self.

‘Perhaps, from a certain perspective, the Giants… are also Chess Pieces…’