My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 148 - 123: With Merits, I Can Be Extravagant Too

"What else could I mean?" Fang Zhen said. "I just think we might cooperate in the future. I feel like we work well together, so I want to boost your strength a bit."

"Of course, if you feel indebted to me, you can save up some Gold Coins or Extraordinary Items to trade with me. I'll even give you a discount."

Jilenna stared at Fang Zhen for a good while, as if trying to see if he really meant it.

Fang Zhen thought Jilenna's reaction was a bit odd, but he didn't dwell on it.

He just remembered the prompt from the dungeon life game.

That prompt suggested he treat his hired combat partners well, as it could improve the game experience and might even have future benefits.

After hiring Jilenna this time and going through actual combat, Fang Zhen had his own interpretation of the prompt.

The general idea was that some dungeon scenarios were hard to clear alone, but much easier with a hired combat partner. Therefore, improving his partner's equipment was a logical next step. While it seemed the partner was the direct beneficiary, ultimately, Fang Zhen himself would reap the rewards.

He was already planning to order a custom suit of full plate armor and thought, 'Maybe I should get one for Jilenna too, to boost her combat power and increase her favorability.'

Jilenna watched him for a moment longer. Seemingly convinced that Fang Zhen wasn't lying, her expression gradually softened.

"Alright, perhaps I misunderstood," Jilenna said. "I don't need it for now."

"However, my practical combat skills have grown after this battle. Once I get back and polish them for a while, I might see some improvement. If I really need it in the future, we can talk about it then."

"Okay, just let me know when you need it," Fang Zhen said.

"Heh, you're actually a pretty strange person," Jilenna said with a laugh. "Sometimes I think you're very focused on personal gain—I heard you haggling with that Gwendolyn, and you were quite loud about it. But other times, you can be quite friendly."

"You can haggle with someone you fight alongside until you're red in the face, yet in battle, you take on all the responsibility you're supposed to. I find it quite contradictory."

"What kind of person are you, really?"

"They're two different things. You can't lump them together," Fang Zhen said, shaking his head slightly.

He had a classmate he was on good terms with. His family used to be well-off, and his father held a position of some power. This classmate lived a happy life, doing nothing but playing all day.

Then one day, a former comrade-in-arms of his classmate's father came looking for him. He said he was in a tight spot and needed money—just for a week to tide him over until his bank loan came through. This was a comrade with whom his classmate's father had a life-and-death bond. So, after agonizing over it for a while, the father went ahead and embezzled three million in public funds to lend to him.

But his classmate's father's comrade never appeared again. He took the money and ran.

His classmate's father lost his public office, sold the family home to pay back the money, and ended up in prison. Meanwhile, that once-cheerful classmate's fate was changed forever. His life took a sharp downturn, and from then on, he became gloomy and distrustful of everyone.

This classmate's experience taught Fang Zhen another lesson, besides not to break the law: money is a monster-revealing mirror. When it comes to benefits, be cautious. Never mix business with personal feelings.

Business is business. A deal is a deal.

Of course, Fang Zhen didn't feel the need to explain all this to Jilenna.

"You really are an interesting person," Jilenna said, glancing at him.

"Well, if that's all, I'm leaving. How are you getting back?" Fang Zhen asked.

"No need to worry about me. That mysterious voice will send me back," Jilenna replied.

"Alright. See you around," Fang Zhen said with a wave. He pushed his motorcycle forward and entered the Light Gate.

After a moment of slight dizziness, Fang Zhen found himself back in his living room.

He parked the motorcycle, took off his gear, and went into the computer room.

As expected, a dialog box appeared on the computer screen.

"Congratulations, you have cleared the Normal-difficulty dungeon 'Ancient Castle Caverns' in a Normal world setting."

"Proceed to the results screen now?"

Fang Zhen used the mouse to select 'Yes'.

"Congratulations on clearing the 'Ancient Castle Caverns' dungeon.

Dungeon World Setting: Normal

Dungeon Difficulty: Normal

Base Dungeon Completion Merit Points: 135

Calculating performance-based rewards from the dungeon. Please wait, please wait..."

"Your performance in the dungeon: Excellent. Your performance was quite outstanding. You have also discovered some key tricks of the dungeon life game. From now on, you are no longer a rookie and are gradually starting on the path of a veteran player.

Exploration Performance: Excellent

Key Item Acquisition: Excellent

Dungeon Development Completion: Good

Skill Acquisition and Development: Excellent

Other: Excellent

Comprehensive Score: Calculating, calculating...

Your Comprehensive Performance Reward is: 583 Merit Points

Congratulations, your final reward for the Normal-difficulty dungeon 'Ancient Castle Caverns' in a Normal world setting is: 718 Merit Points."

"Oho?" Fang Zhen's eyes lit up.

'718 Merit Points! That's the highest amount of Merit Points I've ever gotten from clearing a dungeon.'

Of course, Fang Zhen's performance was worthy of that many Merit Points.

Compared to the Redstone Mine dungeon, neither the monsters nor the final boss, Maticvia, in the Ancient Castle Caverns could compare in terms of strength and the pressure they exerted.

Fang Zhen could still recall the experience. When he saw Maticvia, wreathed in flames, charging at him, he had truly felt his skin crawl.

But, it was all worth it.

'718 Merit Points. This will definitely relieve some of the pressure from being short on them.'

"Detected that character 'Fang Zhen' has acquired multiple abilities and traits within the dungeon.

Detecting, detecting...

The abilities and traits you acquired in the game can be displayed after the dungeon results screen.

You can choose to use Merit Points to solidify or remove them.

The abilities and traits you acquired in the 'Ancient Castle Caverns' are as follows:

Basic Spearmanship (Block) (Basic methods for using a spear, increases blocking chance, increases flexibility when using long weapons.)

Solidify: 15 Merit Points 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Intuitive Blind Fire (An advanced shooting method. Relies on experience and feeling to fire without aiming while maintaining a high level of accuracy. This technique can be applied to various shooting tools.)

Solidify: 30 Merit Points

Gang Zan Seal (One of the basic curse seals from the Curse Seal World. Possesses the ability to convert seal power into a defensive force field, equivalent to a simple defensive Magic. The defensive capability varies based on seal power and mastery.)

Solidify: 80 Merit Points

Kun Sha Seal (One of the basic curse seals from the Curse Seal World. Possesses the ability to convert seal power into a spiritual shock that directly affects an opponent's Spirit, bypassing the body. The force of the spiritual shock varies depending on the target's willpower and spiritual strength.)

Solidify: 80 Merit Points

Power Mountain Seal (One of the basic curse seals from the Curse Seal World. Possesses the ability to temporarily convert seal power into physical strength, briefly enhancing one's power. The degree of enhancement varies based on the amount of seal power and mastery.)

Solidify: 80 Merit Points

Chong Ang Seal (One of the basic curse seals from the Curse Seal World. Possesses the ability to temporarily convert seal power into a shockwave-like force. The destructive power of the shockwave varies based on the amount of seal power and mastery.)

Solidify: 80 Merit Points

Basic Curse Seal Cultivation (A Meditation method that guides the sublimation of Spiritual Power and physical stamina. It can generate seal power and construct curse seal structures. It is the fundamental cultivation method for a Curse Sealer.)

Solidify: 100 Merit Points

Traits You Have Comprehended:

Courage (A mental trait. Can effectively counteract a portion of fear, allowing one to maintain fighting spirit when facing enemies and difficulties stronger than oneself.)

Solidify: 50 Merit Points

Heart of Flames (A mental trait. A fondness for fire developed after repeatedly using fire for attacks. Allows one to instinctively use fire-related items and skills to their optimal effect and grants a special inspiration bonus in flame-filled environments.)

Solidify: 100 Merit Points"

Fang Zhen couldn't help but smile when he saw the list of skills he could solidify.

He had expected the other skills, but the two mental traits were a bit of a surprise.

The Courage trait had appeared during his first dungeon, but he didn't have enough Merit Points at the time and had to pass on it. He didn't expect it to show up again. It was probably triggered when he kept his composure while facing Maticvia.

As for Heart of Flames, he really hadn't expected that trait at all.

It was probably because he had been playing with fire a lot lately—Molotov cocktails, Flaming Arrows, he even blew up a liquefied gas tank. It must have appeared without him even noticing.

"Hehehe, in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, it's said that Zhuge Liang's favorite tactic was fire attacks. Have I developed the same kind of interest and hobby as him?" Fang Zhen chuckled, teasing himself.

He did a quick calculation. All these skills and mental traits added up to 615 Merit Points.

'No need to agonize over it then.'

'Now that I have Merit Points, I don't have to pinch pennies. For once, I can be extravagant. No need to choose—I'll take them all.'

He selected 'Solidify' for all of the skills and traits.

Instantly, he felt a wave of heat wash over him, and his entire body felt suffused with energy.

The sensation lasted for about ten seconds.

When it was over, Fang Zhen knew that all the skills had been solidified.

He let out a long breath, feeling like he could release a curse seal at any moment.

In his last three-plus hours in the Curse Seal World, Fang Zhen had learned the Kun Sha Seal, the Power Mountain Seal, and the Chong Ang Seal from Gwendolyn.

According to Gwendolyn, these four curse seals were the basic ones that every Curse Sealer should know.

All other curse seals were expansions, derivations, and developments of the basic seals by different schools.

For instance, that ring of fiery shockwave Maticvia released was actually the Chong Ang Seal. However, the school from which Madici learned that curse seal had developed it further, incorporating fire-related elements, which resulted in the move it used.

But fundamentally, all curse seals were developed from the four basic ones.

When Fang Zhen used the Chong Ang Seal, there would be no flames, but it would unleash a powerful, concussive shockwave.

According to Gwendolyn, if the shockwave were unleashed in an enclosed space, it could just about demolish an ordinary wooden house.

'I'd really like to test out the Chong Ang Seal,' Fang Zhen thought.

Just then, a dialog box popped up on the screen.

"This dungeon's battle report has been generated. Spend 5 Merit Points to read the report?"

'Oh, right, the battle report,' Fang Zhen remembered.

It was a new feature from the last dungeon's results screen. For 5 Merit Points, he could unlock a battle report that would provide a summary of his combat, development, and other aspects within the dungeon, along with analysis and directional suggestions.

Fang Zhen thought for a moment and clicked 'Yes'.

Instantly, a battle report appeared in the dialog box.