(Time left until next quest: 13:00 mins.)
All three of them stood near the car, waiting patiently for the timer to run out.
Veronica had already fallen asleep in the car, while Kara was standing at the side, waiting for Jayhan, who had gone to pee, to come back.
Or at least that was what he told her.
Standing in the dark alley, Jayhan scanned the cramped space for a while.
'This should be the place...'
Ding!
[17 gems have been successfully gathered.]
[Would you like to trade?]
The system notification popped up in front of him.
With one hand in his pocket, he tapped on the template and sold the gems.
[15 gems have been exchanged for Chess key ×1.]
A bright light shone in his hand, and there the golden key appeared.
[Chest key: This item can be used to open random chests around the world.]
'15 gems, huh? I didn't think it would be that cheap. Then again, considering you have to kill before getting one, it's understandable.'
Slowly, he began to take a few steps forward and then randomly stopped when he got to a point.
"Here you go..."
He threw the key to the ground.
"...Show me my reward."
(Chest key has been obtained.)
(5-star Chest of Rewards has been unlocked.)
Suddenly, a golden box appeared on the ground before him. Mana danced around it, its inside glowing as if leading to another world.
Normally, the Chest of Rewards was supposed to appear only after the fourth main quest had ended.
According to what he remembered from the story progression, the taskmaster issued it as a way for people to stand a chance against the upcoming fifth quest.
Each box was said to have different items depending on its rank, which ranged from 1 star to five stars.
Thankfully, Jayhan knew where each and every one of these chests was, or at least the important ones.
Reaching into the chest, he began to pull out the equipment he could find.
[Congratulations, you have obtained World Breaker.]
[World Breaker: A blade that can cut through anything depending on the user.
Grade: A
Buffs: Increased attack stats.]
Holding the blade, Jayhan wasn't too impressed as it looked like a regular katana.
'I'm sure Kara would love this. I'm not really a sword guy. I feel they are too overrated.'
He pulled out another item.
[Congratulations, you have obtained Dragon's Blood Dagger.]
[Dragon's Blood Dagger: A small blade that can inflict lasting damage, curse, and poison on victims.
Grade: S
Buffs: Boosts mana output by 120% and also increases attack ×1 every time you've taken damage.]
A smile formed on Jayhan's face as he held the dagger. It looked ancient, with drawings of monsters on its hilt.
While he was in the game, the main character, Sao Yuna, did not go for any of the chests; to her, artifacts were meaningless since she could just steal others' abilities.
As such, Jayhan couldn't exactly use her to find any of the chests or even know what was inside.
So he took it upon himself to explore the city with the little time he had left in the simulation.
It was how he knew where each chest was.
Although that was all he could do, unfortunately, there was no way for him to open them.
"I'll keep this for myself. Looks like there's still one more item here."
After dropping the dagger, he reached inside the chest to pull out the last glowing item he could see.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Eye of Slons.]
[Eye of Slons: This artifact allows you to see things from a far distance, ignoring the laws of direction.
Grade: C
Buffs: None.]
'I guess I'll give this to Veronica then.'
Once he had obtained the three pieces of equipment, the chest disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with.
With that out of the way, Jayhan held all three of the artifacts he got in his arms before storing them in his inventory.
While greed did play a part in why he went to look for the chest, it wasn't the whole reason.
After the third quest ends, a great deal of death and chaos will befall the people in Souel City.
It took him some time to make his way back to the plaza.
"What took you so long? Were you jerking off or something?" Kara uttered the moment she saw him walking toward them.
Even Veronica, who had been sleeping, suddenly woke up.
"It's amazing how you can say something like that with a straight face." Jayhan moved closer with one hand in his pocket.
Then he looked around him to be sure if they were still the only ones in the plaza.
"No one has shown up?" he asked.
"Is someone supposed to?"
'If no one has shown up here, then it should be safe to assume I am the only one who has access to the game. Anyone who knows what will happen here will definitely not miss the chance. It's the only way to actually grow strong without needing your stats.'
He then focused on Kara.
'Well, she's an exception. Most people gain unique abilities along with Sigma only after the third scenario. Somehow, this girlfriend of mine already has four without even doing a damn thing.'
[Inventory.]
"Here, take this—"
Jayhan threw the World Breaker blade at Kara.
She caught it, staring at the blade for a while.
"A katana..."
"Yeah, I found it on my way back from peeing. You like swords, don't you? This should work well."
Kara glared.
"You just found this? The system is telling me it's an A-grade weapon. A-grade is pretty high, isn't it?"
"Maybe it was a drop after someone killed a monster, who knows?"
Jayhan didn't plan on telling her he knew where the chests of rewards were located.
Knowing Kara, she would go hunting for every single one of them just so she could take them for herself. She had always been like that, even in games.
"...If you say so..."
Kara now gripped the hilt of the blade, ready to give it a test.
The moment she pulled it out, a brilliant red light glowed, matching that of a star.
[The character Kara has now received a buff.]
[Anything can be sliced with a swing.]
Jayhan simply stood there with an unimpressed look on his face.
'Is it strange that I'm getting jealous of how strong she's getting?'