Reward Selection
***
The pouch's opening was tightly fastened and would not open no matter how much force he applied.
The longsword, strangely, had no edge at all; it wasn't that it had worn away with time, but seemed to have been made that way originally.
The moment he picked up the last gourd, a sloshing sound came from inside, greatly piquing Han Yu-jin's interest.
'There's still something inside after all this time?'
If the gourd wasn't damaged and was perfectly sealed, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Carefully opening the stopper, Han Yu-jin took a slight sniff and then frowned deeply.
It wasn't strong, but there was a distinct rotten smell, making it completely undrinkable.
'I was hoping I could quench my thirst…'
If he drank it, he would get an upset stomach and, on the contrary, end up losing even more fluids.
Disappointed, he made a rough guess about the purpose of the remaining two items.
One was, just by looking at it, undoubtedly a pouch for storing something. It could even be the famous 'storage pouch'. Like a subspace pouch, in fantasy terms.
The other, though its blade was dull, had to be a weapon made for fighting. It could probably only be used properly through the power of a cultivator, 'Dharma Power'.
Without much thought, he took all three items. They were useless for now, but it was because he hoped he could select them as rewards when this exploration was over.
'I might be able to use them all once I begin my cultivation.'
He didn't know how famous or powerful this faction called the Five Elements Sect was, but still, if these were items that an Inner Sect member of a faction kept by their side until the very end, they surely couldn't be trivial.
Somehow stuffing the rewards into the bag and his pockets, and carrying the rest in both hands, Han Yu-jin resumed his exploration.
If he found additional rewards here, he planned to take off his shirt and make a bundle.
But unfortunately.
After that, he had to leave the canyon without any other significant finds.
<><><>
The Inner Sect area was by no means small compared to the Outer Sect area where he had first attempted his exploration.
But surprisingly, he was able to finish exploring it quickly, not because Han Yu-jin was competent or lucky, but purely because the paths were blocked.
He shouldn't forget that this faction called the Five Elements Sect was a group of cultivators.
The Inner Sect area, in particular, must have been inhabited only by the most skilled among the Five Elements Sect members.
Perhaps for that very reason, they hadn't put much effort into connecting the paths, and even the ones that had been connected were worn down and had collapsed with the passage of time, leaving them all severed.
The buildings erected on top of steeply sloped rock walls were a prime example.
If the environment had been full of life, their placement and structure would have certainly added the scenic beauty of an immortal's realm, but now, they just looked treacherous, and Han Yu-jin couldn't even think of climbing them.
Also, one area seemed to lead into a large cave, but its entrance was blocked by a rock of a terrifying size, and it seemed there was absolutely no way forward without mobilizing heavy equipment.
In any case, that was why the exploration of the Inner Sect area came to an end so quickly.
'I'll have to come back later when I have the skills.'
Since it was a world where life had been annihilated anyway, he didn't have to worry about someone stealing the treasures.
Heading back to the Outer Sect area, he resumed his exploration while enduring the ever-worsening thirst and hunger.
In the middle of it, the day finally began to set, and he had to find a shelter to block the night's chill.
It was a truly agonizing and long night.
Having moved all day without a single sip of water, his thirst had now clearly risen to the level of pain. Furthermore, the night in this desolate world was much colder and darker than he had expected.
He was also afraid that an unknown danger might befall him, like in the 'Earth After the Apocalypse' world. Even though he thought there would be no such thing, and even though he knew he would just wake up in reality if he died, it was difficult to maintain his composure.
'Fuck…'
He didn't even have the strength to utter the curse that rose in his mind.
How long did he endure in a state where he felt like he would pass out, in a state where he wished he would just pass out?
When the day finally began to break, Han Yu-jin staggered to his feet and continued his exploration.
He felt like he was dying, but because he had accepted the fact that he would eventually die whether he moved or stood still, he was, paradoxically, able to move.
Fortunately, the results were great.
It turned out that the Outer Sect area was so vast that there wasn't just one Library Pavilion or Alchemy Hall. In the second Library Pavilion he found, he harvested quite a few new and helpful books.
They were mainly Dharma spells, not cultivation arts, and these too were in relatively good condition thanks to there being many copies and them being sturdily made, just like the Origin Reversion Art book.
He also got his hands on three or four books containing common knowledge of the cultivation world and information about this Five Elements Sect.
'This is where I'll die.'
Han Yu-jin made up his mind.
It would be nice if he could keep moving and find other, more important rewards, but even though only about a day had passed, he felt that he had become as weak as someone who had suffered from a serious illness for decades.
It could simply be because he had no experience like this. But there was also a possibility that the 'End of Dharma' disaster of this place was affecting him.
The first things he began to read were, of course, the Dharma spells.
There wasn't a single high-level Dharma spell; they all seemed to be basic spells that any cultivator should know, which made sense for them to be stocked in large numbers in the Library Pavilion of this Outer Sect area, and for that very reason, they were the most useful for the current Han Yu-jin.
In his situation, where he hadn't even begun to enter the path of cultivation, knowing high-level Dharma spells would just be pearls before swine.
In any case, there were a total of seven Dharma spells.
[The Fire Bullet Spell, which could attack an enemy, burn them, and cause an explosion.
The Jade Skin Spell, which could defend against external physical and spiritual impacts.
The Wind Cloud Spell, which enabled fast movement and short flights.
The Healing Spell, which could resolve injuries, illnesses, poisons, and the like.
The Object Control Spell, which could move objects remotely.
The Spirit Eye Spell, which enhanced vision and allowed one to see spiritual things.
The Shadow Hiding Spell, which could hide one's spiritual energy to avoid the notice of others.]
'Attack, defense, evasion, healing, utility… it has everything needed for survival.'
It would have been even better if there was a crowd-control type of Dharma spell that could interfere with an enemy's actions, but it seemed that kind of thing didn't fall under the basics.
Han Yu-jin became engrossed in the spellbooks, losing track of time. Even as his condition rapidly deteriorated, he maintained a level of concentration that surprised even himself.
If this had been real life, he would never have been able to do this. But because it wasn't, the thought that he was running out of time, paradoxically, allowed him to concentrate even more.
A long time later.
Having read through all the spellbooks once, he then picked up the books containing common knowledge of the cultivation world and various miscellaneous stories about this Five Elements Sect.
To him, this kind of information could sometimes be more important than other Dharma spells.
Indeed, that thought was not wrong, and Han Yu-jin soon obtained useful information. He had found out the identities of the items he had acquired in the Inner Sect area.
The pouch was indeed the famous storage pouch.
Its internal capacity didn't seem that large, but the fact that it was an item similar to a subspace pouch made it extremely valuable.
The sword was a mid-to-high-grade Dharma artifact called the Five Elements Sword; in game terms, it was a magic item. By imbuing it with Dharma Power, one could freely draw out the attributes of the five elements—Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth—and it could be used for both attack and defense.
A point worth noting here was that the five elements of this cultivation world were not the commonly known Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth from his world.
The five elements here—Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth—symbolized the five states of matter.
Or rather, they were natural phenomena that had a very deep connection to them, if not the states themselves.
The representation of Solid, Earth.
The representation of Liquid, Water.
The representation of Gas, Wind.
The representation of Plasma, Lightning.
And finally, the representation of the energy accompanying the annihilation of matter, Fire.
'This feels more intuitive.'
And it felt more rational. Though it might be a bit unfamiliar to people who liked the five elements of the East on his world.
Anyway,
The last gourd was a mid-grade Dharma artifact called the Spirit Liquid Gourd, and it was an item that could replace a day's worth of food with just a single sip of the liquid it produced.
It wasn't very popular because its benefits were small compared to consuming proper cultivator food like Spirit Rice, but it still had the effect of aiding cultivation by removing impurities accumulated in the body, and it also allowed one to endure for a long time in an emergency.
To Han Yu-jin, it was bound to be very useful. Of course, that would be under the premise that he could use it properly.
Having read through all the books he had harvested once, he suddenly felt an immense fatigue and agony and collapsed onto the floor.
He wanted to read them over and over again to commit them to memory as much as possible, but his body wouldn't follow.
Recalling how much he had suffered in the cold last night, it was a miracle he had lasted this long.
'Let's just rest for a moment.'
With that thought, Han Yu-jin closed his eyes.
And a moment later.
[You have died.]
In the darkness, the familiar silver letters floated up mysteriously.
[Please select your reward.]
<><><>
It should be said that it was fortunate, in a way.
It seemed he had fallen asleep as if he had fainted, then night came, and as the biting cold descended upon his already weakened state, he had died without even a chance to wake up.
'Was I… lucky?'
If he had woken up there, he would have just suffered more before dying, so in terms of results, it seemed to be a gain.
Dismissing his idle thoughts, he examined the abundant rewards floating before his eyes.
As Han Yu-jin checked the amount of Karma consumed by each one, his expression gradually brightened.
The amount of Karma required to select the books was much less than he had expected.
'Is it because the knowledge written in the books can be replaced by simple, repetitive experience?'
That probably seemed to be the case.
Considering that the cost of activating this ability in the first place wasn't much, it was reasonable that Karma would only be consumed to the extent of saving him that kind of effort.
Thanks to that, he selected all the books as rewards without any burden.
To be precise, just before he touched them to make his selection, he realized a function he hadn't known about and his eyes widened.
He could restore the condition of the rewards to their original state by consuming additional Karma!
'This is it…! This is how it should be…!'
Overcome with joy, he thrashed about passionately for a moment before selecting all the books.
Of course, it was while restoring their condition to be pristine.
Since the Karma consumed was low in the first place, the additional Karma consumed for restoration was also affordable.
The ancient Eastern-style books, now as good as new, moved to his side and stacked up neatly. Han Yu-jin instinctively knew that they would appear in reality as well.
Next, he examined the remaining three items he had not yet selected.
His deliberation did not last long.
These were very useful items that an Inner Sect member of the Five Elements Sect had kept with them until the very end.
Now that he could even restore them to their original state, they were worth obtaining, even as an investment for the future.
'Yes, this… this is an investment. I can't just let my money rot in a bank account.'
He was just at the beginning of his growth. Wasn't it common sense that the earlier you invest, the better the results?
And so, he boldly consumed over half of the Karma he possessed.
He obtained the essential survival Dharma artifacts: the storage pouch, the Five Elements Sword, and the Spirit Liquid Gourd. As he felt a sense of relief and finally found his composure.
"..."
He opened his eyes and woke up in his bed in reality.
As he sat up, he could see the rewards neatly placed around his bed. They looked the same as they had in that dark space.
'This awakened ability of mine… what in the world is it?'
Seeing the surreal sight, the question he had been putting off for a while reared its head.
He had never seen a Hunter with this kind of ability. There might be one somewhere, but it was clear that it was, at the very least, not common.
He could explore another world that matched his wish, no matter how he died, there were no negative effects, and he could even bring the rewards from that place into reality.
After a long silence, Han Yu-jin quickly shook his head and cleared his thoughts.
He knew too little to come to a conclusion right now, and above all, he was mentally exhausted after just finishing a difficult exploration.
He suddenly felt like drinking water and got out of bed.
It was time to shake off the feeling of having suffered from thirst and hunger.
---
[read the full novel on - noveldex.io]