Chapter 127 – 127. Encountering a Choice Obstacle

Joon was given three options.

First of all, the first option, ‘Guardian’s Mark’, was the most suitable reward for raising a dragon. Of course, there is a downside that only Kim Ye-won can use it, but being able not to die instantly from the dragon’s breath is a very meritorious ability.

‘Honestly, as Yewon raises dragons, it would be better to obtain a certificate and take safety… Even if dragons appear in the future, when fighting against them, Yewon can be used as a breath-only human shield… No, this is Am I right?’

Due to the nature of dragons with strong self-respect, who shoot and see the breath if they make a mistake, if their breath, which can be called their pride, is blocked by a small human, they will feel embarrassed and at the same time wonder, “What is that bastard?” I didn’t even know if I could ask for a conversation first or try to establish a friendly relationship with the fear coming from the unknown. However, it was an unknown aim as it was not listed in the unkind compensation description.

‘In the first place, if you have the dragon king’s bodyguard, you might be able to get help from the dragons without fighting… Moreover, if you have Ragal’s seal, you can turn into a dragon for a while and fight monsters. No, wait. If you use Ragal’s Seal to polymorph into a dragon… Isn’t it breath immunity? Isn’t that… Dragons can also breathe among themselves?’

In the end, the guardian’s mark was pushed back in priority. It was his idea that the ability to transform into a dragon itself or the ability to not be attacked first by the dragon was better than the ability to accept the dragon’s inhuman foolishness.

As he thought, there is a time limit, but if you use Ragal’s seal, which can transform into a dragon for a moment, you can engage in hand-to-hand combat with dragons. However, when this ability was used, it was an object that abnormally increased the probability of being attacked by creating an unpleasant valley for nearby dragons.

The last option, the Dragon King’s Amulet, was an item that already had its own implications of being entangled with the existence of the Dragon King from the fact that the name of the item contained the Dragon King. Obviously, the moment Jo Joon chose this, there was a possibility that he would be caught up in a chain quest of terrible difficulty that he could not escape due to his lucky 666 causality. Also, it was clear that the moment he chose the Dragon King’s Amulet, he would be at the crossroads of life and death with a high probability of getting involved with the dragon hunter.

Of course, Jo Joon, who did not know such a fact, excluded the certificate of the guardian, which was the safest reward among these three rewards. Then, not knowing which of the two remaining options to choose, he worked hard on his head.

“So I want to choose one of these two. What do you think of Yewon?”

“Um… If that’s what you think, then… It must be like that. I believe in my brother’s choice.. From my point of view.. My brother has always chosen the right answer.. I’m not confident in my choice..”

Receiving Kim Ye-won’s eyes full of trust, Jo Joon nodded her head.

Kim Ye-won was going to leave it to Jo Joon’s choice. Yewon, who had most of the things she chose to do in her life ended in failure, preferred to rely on others rather than act independently.

Especially if it was a man who decided to entrust his life to him, he could trust him even more. Even if the results were bad, she had no intention of blaming her.

In the end, with Yewon’s full support, Jo Joon pondered between Ragal’s seal and the dragon king’s amulet alone, examining the pros and cons of both rewards.

‘Ragal’s seal… The time it takes to transform into a dragon is highly likely to be extremely short. Maybe a penalty beyond imagination will be given. I don’t know the details until I select it, but… Until this point, I haven’t had any abilities that were just good, considering the difficulty of this damn game…’

High risk high return. That’s one of the essence of this game, Joon thought. This is because I personally experienced the fact that if a high reward is given, a reasonable level of difficulty follows.

As a simple example, all of his skills have deceptive effects, but when they are acquired, they are painful to the point of wandering around. Of course, because it was an aim with abnormally high pain tolerance, I was able to hold on with my mind intact.

In addition to the pain that accompanies his skill acquisition, his summons are also high risk high return. All of Joon’s summons have great performance, but they look disgusting enough to lower their mental strength, or they directly touch their owners, as in the case of the Anax incident.

It was natural in a way for Jo Joon, who had suffered close to terrorism on several occasions, that as much as the performance was good, there were risks and problems.

‘Then… It’s the Dragon King’s bodyguard…’

Assuming that Ragal’s seal was a dangerous item, even if they tried to choose the dragon king’s amulet, there was one problem with the dragon king’s amulet.

‘If you look around, there’s no place to use this right away… To be honest, in the case of Helgen, I can tame him with my slave brand when he grows up and becomes more intelligent.’

Even as Helgen was still a baby, he was fully following Kim Ye-won’s care and seemed highly likely to obey her words even when he grew up.

‘Then there’s nothing to look good to the dragons right now…’

Therefore, the dragon king’s amulet was a very difficult reward to take effect unless he went to an area full of dragons.

‘Moreover, I’m concerned about the phrase in the description that says that most dragons can be liked…’

Most of it means not all of it, so it was clear that some enemies, who were set to be hostile to the player from the beginning, would attack even if they had the Dragon King’s protection.

‘But it’s a bit difficult to rule out this… Since it’s a Dragon King related item, I feel like there will definitely be an additional quest or event related to it…’

As expected, if you have the dragon king’s amulet, you can meet a hidden NPC… Or you can get invited by the dragon king and get entangled with the dragons in earnest.

‘No.. I need to catch my breath now. Ran too far So, let’s choose Ragal’s seal… And get transportation. It’s time to move the base. And if you choose this, you can naturally ride a dragon…’

In the end, Jo Jun succumbed to the urge to transform himself into a dragon and the desire to ride a dragon. In his position, Ragal’s seal was indeed a reasonable choice.

“Let’s use Ragal’s seal.”

“Maybe?”

“Huh. That’s for the best.”

Above all, Jo Jun could not guess how much he would roll if he got involved with the dragons. He thought the rewards were huge, but he was more likely to die before he even touched them.

And at this point, where he had not reached level 30 as expected, getting involved with the dragons in earnest was definitely a matter of hasting the myeong. He stumbled out of danger this time too.

‘Even the dragons were definitely.. Belonging to the Mangwijeon. However, the fact that I do not belong to Manmajeon is a threat to me right now… If the dragons oppose me… The self-defense might be useless.’

Joon immediately remembered the gods belonging to Mangwijeon. The World Tree related to Kang Hee-sun and Garia of Cheongwol, which had a relationship with Seong Ha-rin, came to mind. Among them, the world tree was eager to kill Jojun Jang. But even though she warned her to take good care of Harin, she didn’t go on a rampage, saying that she would directly threaten or kill her like the World Tree. Through this, Jo Joon was able to infer that the opinions of Mangwijeon were different.

Unlike Manmajeon, which is unconditionally hostile to itself or Manmajeon, which pours excessive attention and affection unconditionally, Mangwijeon is full of neutral or hostile gods.

‘And from what I heard from Harin, Garia seems to be quite a conversationalist, but I don’t know what kind of dragons they are. Now is the time to slowly organize the group… While there are no updates, it’s time to be active in many ways. There’s no update, and now that I’ve got the god’s idol, it’s the right time to raise the group.’

Jo Jun wanted to stay quietly at the base, manage personnel, and move to another place. This is because as the number of people increases, ‘Woori Mart’, where Jo Joon is located, is getting more and more cramped, and due to frequent battles inside the mart, the building itself is getting weaker, with cracks or damages everywhere.

“Good. I decided on a name. I also chose a reward. Now let’s get some rest…”

“Brother! It was here!”

Joon hugged Kim Ye-won and was about to organize his thoughts for a moment when Lee Eun-ji came up to the roof.

“Uh? Were you with Yewon?”

“Huh. Eunji, come here. I’ll show you something interesting.”

“Yes?”

Eunji Lee looked at Helgen inside the cage and asked what it was. Until the explanation was given, it was difficult to identify the hatchling because it was a strange-looking creature that was neither a snake nor a lizard.

“He’s a child of a dragon.”

“Yes? Really? The dragon that just breathes fire through its mouth and flies around? To think this little guy could become a dragon..”

“It bites if you touch it, so be careful.”

“Oops, that would be dangerous…”

Eunji Lee was about to pet Helgen, but quickly stopped at Jo Joon’s warning. Her eyes seemed to be missing something.

“But looking at it, it’s kind of cute.”

“Right, sister.. Our Helgen is so cute..?”

“Huh. It’s so cute to hang around. By the way, Yewon… Is her name Helgen?”

“Yes.. My brother made it.. Isn’t it cool…?”

“Ah~ That’s right~ It’s cool..!”

“By the way, Eunji, what’s going on? Didn’t you come for something?”

“Ah, brother. We should be rewarded for our achievements.”

“Oh right. I forgot.”

There were as many as five compensations that had been delayed from the Forest of the Missing. Two aiming points and Lee Eun-ji were pushed back by three points.

“The reward that Eunji will receive is… Let’s see… First of all, there is ‘half-man, half-yoga’s karma’ and ‘a ghost that walks in the shadows’… And ‘the one who inherits the seal’.”

“It’s the first time I’ve achieved so many achievements.”

Jo Joon, who had an unusual level of luck and monopolized the inhuman attention of evil spirits, has achieved various achievements up to this point. However, general players didn’t have much to accomplish as much as Jang Jo-jun.

In that sense, Lee Eun-ji was very happy that as many as three achievements were achieved this time. The achievement reward is an increase in power.

For example, as Han Ah-ram’s fighting power increased exponentially after gaining ‘a great means of communication’. Lee Eun-ji was also hoping that she would be able to acquire such a dedicated weapon through the work of half-human and half-yo.

“First… Let’s reverse the order and look at everything starting with the ‘those who inherit the seal’.”

“Yes~!”

[Choose a reward.]

[0. Hannya’s Mask]

[Hannya’s Mask: An oni sealed in a shrine. It is proof that you inherited Hannya’s seal. If you call Hannya while wearing a mask, your personality will be briefly replaced with Hannya who is sealed in the shadows. You will be able to fully use the oni’s power.]

“This is a reward with no options.”

“Yeah… But a personality change…”

“I want to know that it is meant to be used in times of crisis.. As for the power of an oni, the oni himself will handle it best.

“Does that mean..? Membrane. Eunji’s personality is eventually sealed and Hannya takes her place…”

“Ah.. No way.. Oppa!! Don’t scare me!!”

“Heh heh… I’m sorry.”

Joon, who had been scaring Lee Eun-ji for no reason, laughed awkwardly at Eun-ji’s screams.

“Then… Shall we draw one for now?”

“Maybe?”

Jo Joon first pulled out Hannya’s mask. He had no choice anyway, so he had no choice but to draw.

For reference, there was no option for the mark of evil spirits, which is the reward obtained when Jo Joon faced evil spirits and became their minion.

‘Even when I achieved the [Skin Shedding] Achievement by drinking the juice of Nagaraja and Nathan of the Black Death, only one reward came out: [Sesha’s Serum]…’

It wasn’t often that there was only one achievement reward, but it did happen occasionally.

“Wow.. What a scary mask…”

Kim Ye-won, who was watching the selection of rewards while stroking Helgen’s hair, looked at Hannya’s mask and said as if she was horrified. As she said, Hannya’s mask was shaped like a very frightening woman’s face. In addition, ominous energy and eerie energy flowed from the mask.

As if it were an item of a cursed youkai.

It was the best item for Lee Eun-ji, who had awakened to half-man and half-yo.

“I sense something evil.”

“And I can feel the spirit. It must be something that increases your spirit power when worn.”

“Oh…”

Jo Joon and Eunji put Hannya’s mask aside and then continued to check the reward.

“This time as a yoma who walks in the shadows..”

“Yes!”

[Choose a reward.]

[One. Boogeyman’s Ring]
[2. Wanyudo’s wheel]
[3. [Gesundae’s earring]

[Boogeyman’s Ring: Consumes spirit energy to instantly melt the wearer into the shadows. You can’t notice it unless you have a detection skill. Makes people around you hear hallucinations.]

[Wanyudo’s Wheel: Summons a wheel that revolves around you when you consume spirit energy. Wheels can be thrown like boomerangs. If you cast a shadow on the wheel, the destructive power increases.]

[Gesundai Tortoise: When you consume spirit energy, summon a shadow tortoise. Tortoise shells increase in intensity in darker spaces. If you stealth while wearing the tortoiseshell, the presence disappears.]

“Uh… I don’t know what to choose.”

“I like tortoise shells.. I also have a throwing technique, so wheels are fine.. I think a ring means a ring.. This would be good for hiding.”

“Therefore. These are all things that go well with you, Eunji.”

As befits the achievement of ‘a yoma walking in the shadows’, all three options were suitable for Lee Eun-ji’s fighting style.

Jo Joon’s head started to hurt. No matter how much life is a series of choices, it is because he has made too many choices since the world was destroyed.

“Really… What should I choose? The ring is like a thing that allows you to hide right away, but it’s like a mental attack… The wheel is an automatic defense function and a boomerang with infinite magazines… The tortoise shell is a rare piece of armor..”

“Brother. Shall we check and choose the next reward?”

“Is that so..?”

In the end, Jo Jun and Eun-ji, who had a choice disability, decided to postpone the choice and check the reward for the achievement of ‘half-human, half-yo’.

[Choose a reward.]

[One. Hell yam too]
[2. Orb of Heavenly Demon]
[3. Perm’s Gakgung]

[Hell Yam Sword: A sword made by goblins. When infused with spirit energy, the yam sword emits ‘goblin fire’. Unless you are a yoma, your ego is stolen by the sword. It is the proof of the Goblin King.]

[Heavenly Demon’s Bead: A necklace with a purple bead. When infused with spirit energy, the orb glows and transforms into a ‘true witch’ for a while. Sometimes you may lose your temper. It is a treasure of the Heavenly Demon.]

[Pama’s Horn Bow: This is an old, old bow. When infusing spirit energy, it loads and shoots the ‘Armor of Waves’. A huge amount of spirit energy is consumed to create arrows. It is a keepsake of a priestess who hunted monsters.]

After seeing the list of rewards, Jo Joon sighed deeply. This is because there were items that made it difficult to choose just one.