CHAPTER 16
Quest Reward (2)
"Party Quest Assignment"
Quest Objective: Demonstrate Awakening Ability.
Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Strength Enhancement.
Failure Penalty: Sleeping in the Hallway.
[Would you like to assign this quest?]
[Yes / No]
"Hmm?"
Something unexpected popped up as soon as the experiment began.
'A party quest?'
Instead of assigning quests individually to Moon Byung-ho and Kang Deok-su, a system that allowed them to form a party and complete quests together had appeared.
'What does this mean?'
So far, no function had ever appeared in my ability without meaning.
There had to be some advantage to party quests over regular quests, but I couldn't tell what it was just yet.
'Let's proceed as is for now.'
By trying different things, I would eventually figure out the difference between regular and party quests.
'Assign quest.'
Kang Deok-su looked at the quest window in front of him with a bewildered expression.
"So, you're saying that I've awakened? Like Dong-geon?"
"That's right."
"A knight of steel? What kind of ability is that supposed to be?"
"The ability to summon steel armor and a halberd."
"Huh?"
Just then—
Whoosh!
"What the?!"
Moon Byung-ho suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room.
He had successfully used his awakened ability—teleportation.
Seeing it with his own eyes, Kang Deok-su froze in shock, his eyes wide like a rabbit's.
Meanwhile, Moon Byung-ho slowly surveyed his surroundings and soon realized that he had teleported.
At the same time, a pleasant notification rang out.
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's loyalty has increased.]
He bowed his head toward me in gratitude.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Then, he suddenly started heading toward the living room window.
It was obvious what he was thinking.
I called out to him.
"Stop."
"Huh?"
"You're planning to go straight to your grandmother's house, aren't you? That might be difficult."
"Why?"
"Your ability is fueled by mental energy. The farther you teleport, and the more people you bring along, the more mental energy is required."
"Ah…"
"Even if you can see your grandmother's house from here, you might not be able to reach it in one jump. In the worst case, you could end up teleporting into midair."
If he teleported into empty space, there would be only one outcome—
Falling to his death.
"That's why you should first figure out your own ability—test how far you can teleport in one go and how much mental energy each use consumes."
"…Understood."
While I was stopping Moon Byung-ho from acting impulsively, Kang Deok-su successfully activated his ability as well.
Woooong!
A bright white light burst from his body and quickly took shape.
A full-body suit of silver armor and a razor-sharp halberd appeared.
A knight of steel had materialized.
"It… it actually worked?"
[Citizen Kang Deok-su's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Kang Deok-su's loyalty has increased.]
At the same time—
[Citizens Moon Byung-ho and Kang Deok-su have completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 212,317 KRW deducted.]
With the quest completed, a little over 200,000 won was withdrawn.
'So, each Strength Enhancement costs around 100,000 won.'
It was a bit painful to spend that much, but considering it as an investment in the two main fighters of our group, it felt somewhat justifiable.
At least, this confirmed that quest rewards could be used to enhance specific stats.
***
"Quest Assignment"
Quest Objective: Use Teleportation
.Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Teleportation Proficiency Enhancement.
Failure Penalty: Sleeping in the Hallway.
[Would you like to assign this quest?]
[Yes / No]
***
'It works.'
It seemed like improving ability proficiency was also possible.
Moon Byung-ho immediately used his power and easily cleared the quest.
However—
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho has completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 70,133 KRW deducted.]
'Huh?'
I had expected it to cost around 100,000 won again, but the actual amount deducted was only 70,000 won.
A full 30% cheaper than expected.
"Could it be…?"
Instinctively, I realized something.
The quest cost was related to its content and rewards.
"I can adjust the cost by modifying the quest details!"
I immediately wanted to test this newfound discovery.
"Byung-ho."
"Yes?"
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine."
"Really?"
Pointing to the apartment building across from us through the living room window, I asked:
"Do you think you could teleport over there?"
Moon Byung-ho carefully measured the distance before nodding.
"I think it's possible."
"Alright."
This time, I increased the overall difficulty of the quest.
"Quest Assignment"
Quest Objective: Teleport to the rooftop of Apartment Building 113.
Time Limit: 3 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Increased teleportation proficiency.
Failure Penalty: Sleep outdoors.
A rooftop several dozen meters away, a short 3-minute time limit, and the penalty of sleeping outside.
Even though I had significantly reduced their numbers through prior hunting, goblins were still lurking everywhere outside.
Sleeping outdoors essentially meant not sleeping at all.
"This is…"
Recognizing the sudden spike in difficulty, Moon Byung-ho looked uneasy.
I spoke to him with sincerity.
"You have to succeed."
"…Understood."
With a tense expression, Moon Byung-ho focused on the rooftop of the apartment across the way.
"Absolute Vision."
Meanwhile, I prepared for an emergency.
If Moon Byung-ho's mental energy was insufficient and he ended up materializing in midair, I was ready to use my "Citizen Summon" skill to bring him back immediately.
"Please, succeed."
After about a minute—
Shwoosh!
Moon Byung-ho vanished from our apartment and reappeared on the edge of the rooftop across the street.
Immediately after—
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho has completed the quest.]
"Phew."
Thankfully, the quest was successful, and the outcome was even better than expected.
"No cost was deducted."
Perhaps because the quest difficulty was higher, strengthening teleportation proficiency didn't consume any money as a reward.
"I see, so that's how it works."
Just as I was about to relax—
"!!!"
Moon Byung-ho, standing on the rooftop railing, wobbled.
"Citizen Summon—Moon Byung-ho!"
Startled, I used my skill immediately.
Right before he fell, Moon Byung-ho was teleported back to safety.
Shwoosh—Thud!
"…That was close."
It was a good thing I had prepared in advance. If I had hesitated even slightly, things could have gone horribly wrong.
"He's unconscious."
Having consumed too much mental energy from the long-distance teleportation, Moon Byung-ho had passed out.
He must have pushed himself to his absolute limit.
I whispered softly in his ear.
"Good job."
Thanks to this experiment, I confirmed that by carefully adjusting quest details, rewards could be given without any cost.
Turning to Kang Deok-soo, who was still clad in silver armor and watching blankly, I spoke.
"Can you move Moon Byung-ho to the sofa?"
"Yes."
Kang Deok-soo, who had laid the unconscious Moon Byung-ho on the sofa, was asked,
"Deok-soo, are you good at exercising?"
"Huh?"
Kang Deok-soo tilted his head in confusion for a moment before nodding.
"I'm somewhat decent."
Though his face was hidden behind a full suit of armor, I couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling uneasy.
Smiling gently at him, I said,
"That's great. Please do 100 push-ups and 100 squats. Of course, while wearing the armor."
"..."
"Quest Assigned"
Quest Objective: Exercise while wearing armor.
Push-ups (0/100)Squats (0/100)
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Reward: Increased strength
Failure Penalty: Sleeping outdoors
Seeing him staring at me blankly, I kindly explained,
"You don't have much time. Goblins are roaming outside—do you think you can sleep out there?"
"...Huh?"
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Kang Deok-soo immediately began exercising.
As expected from a former athlete, he completed the task quickly, though he was left kneeling on the living room floor, gasping for air.
Even with enhanced strength and stamina from leveling up, exercising in heavy armor was no easy feat.
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo has completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 56,149 won deducted.]
'It's gotten much cheaper.'
Almost half the previous cost.
'Still, I guess I can't reduce it to zero.'
I wanted to increase the reps or intensity, but I had a feeling he might fail the quest if I did.
Looking at the panting Kang Deok-soo, I said,
"Let's do one more set."
Kang Deok-soo, upon receiving the same quest again, protested with a tearful face.
"Do I really have to sleep outside?"
"That does seem a bit too much. I'll modify it for you."
Updated Failure Penalty: 1,000 push-ups.
Seeing the revised penalty, Kang Deok-soo silently resumed his workout.
Though his body trembled, he steadily completed the reps.
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo's loyalty has increased.]
'Huh? Why is his loyalty going up?'
So this is why the military pushes people to their limits.
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo has completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 39,783 won deducted.]
The cost had decreased further, likely thanks to the penalty change.
"One more time."
"Aaagh!"
Fueled by sheer willpower, Kang Deok-soo completed yet another quest.
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo has completed the quest.]
[Quest cost: 35,249 won deducted.]
"It shrank again."
This time, despite the conditions being exactly the same as before, the cost decreased even further.
"No, that's not it."
There was one thing that was different.
"Because Kang Deok-soo's condition had changed."
After completing two previous quests, his body was utterly exhausted.
Trying to complete a quest in that state naturally made the difficulty feel higher.
"I think I get the gist of it."
In the end, it was a system where the greater the perceived difficulty for the person performing the quest, the better the efficiency.
When Kang Deok-soo finished all three sets, a new notification appeared.
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo has used up all available quest attempts for today.]
"So three is the limit, excluding party quests."
That explained why party quests existed separately.
"It was a system designed to grant additional quests."
It seemed that once all daily quest attempts were used up, party quests could be assigned as a way to provide extra quests.
Just as I was organizing my thoughts—
[Evaluating the quests completed by Citizen Kang Deok-soo.]
"Huh?"
[······ Evaluating ······]
"What is this now?"
It looked like a process that would take some time.
While it was underway, I turned to Kang Deok-soo.
"You did well. You can go rest now."
The man clad in a full suit of gleaming silver armor, holding a halberd, spoke in a weary voice.
"Thank you···."
Checking the clock, it was already past 1 AM.
Since we entered the house shortly after midnight, we had been continuously assigning and clearing quests for almost an hour.
When Kang Deok-soo removed his armor, the thick smell of sweat wafted over.
He spoke up.
"Sorry, but may I take a shower?"
"Of course. You can use that bathroom over there."
"Thank you."
The results of our various experiments were satisfying.
"I gained more than I expected."
First, both Moon Byung-ho and Kang Deok-soo had fully grasped their awakening abilities and learned to use them effectively.
That alone significantly boosted our combat strength.
The biggest gain, however, was Kang Deok-soo's ability.
"As long as he tanks at the front in his armor, we can execute our operations much more safely."
This was a positive development in many ways.
The stronger our party became, the more things we could accomplish.
"There's hope."
Perhaps, before long, I could send them to rescue my family.
"We can do this."
Just then—
[Evaluation complete.]
The evaluation of Kang Deok-soo's completed quests was finally done.
[Strength has slightly increased.]
"Huh?"
I suddenly felt my body become lighter.
"This is···."
It was clear.
My strength had increased.
It must have been because all three of Kang Deok-soo's daily quests focused on improving strength.
"This changes things."
Now, I had a legitimate reason to make the citizens work.