Chapter 253: Unprecedentedly Generous Rewards
Summary: Congratulations, you have completed a brilliant and dazzling life, and you have perfectly cleared this map! In this crossing, your life surpassed 100% of other travelers. Not only did you conquer the seas, becoming the Overlord of the Ocean and the Pirate Emperor, but you also uncovered every hidden element on this map.
More importantly, you accomplished what no other traveler ever could—you founded a nation of unmatched power in this world. Even many years after your death, that nation remained the strongest on the planet, representing the order of the world.
After your death, your son failed to complete the grand feat of conquering Europe, halting at Austria. But beyond being recognized by historians, strategists, and military researchers as the greatest commander and conqueror, you were also hailed as the greatest adventurer, navigator, and scientist. Your name even surpassed that of Alexander the Great, forever remembered by the world. Just as you said when facing the Fountain of Immortality—you were already ageless and deathless.
Evaluation: S. World exploration rate: 99.8%. Because your exploration exceeded 99%, you are rewarded with 80 Traversal Coins. For your unprecedented impact on world history, you are rewarded with 70 Traversal Coins. For your unprecedented impact on the history of science and technology, you are rewarded with 70 Traversal Coins. Because this is a BONUS random map, your total rewards are doubled. In total, you have received 440 Traversal Coins.
You have earned the milestone: Perfect Explorer.
[Perfect Explorer: A map-exclusive title. When simulating this map again, your exploration will be more fruitful, as though you were the chosen child of this world.]
Because you perfectly cleared Tempestuous Seas, you are granted the chance to retain one talent in the real world.
Because you received an S-rank evaluation and cleared the map, Pirate King Zhou Ning has been updated to Lord of the Seven Seas Zhou Ning, with a significant power increase. On particularly lucky draws, he may now appear as a selectable card. This upgrade will also apply to your Descension Cards.
[Congratulations, player. A new map has been unlocked.]
[Your current alignment: Chaotic Neutral → Lawful Neutral]
[Please select your reward.]
[1. Randomly obtain three skills or specialties acquired during your crossing.]
[2. Randomly obtain three items acquired during your crossing.]
[Because this was a BONUS map, whichever option you choose, you will receive one extra reward.]
One notification after another popped up. Only after reading them all did Zhou Ning finally exhale in relief.
Just as he expected, choosing the right template was like facing a Dragon-type Pokémon with a Fairy-type—twice the result with half the effort.
Perfect synergy had brought about a perfect outcome. For the first time in his life, he had cleared a map with 100% progress—and on top of that, it was a reward map.
The harvest was unprecedentedly rich: a one-time return of 440 Traversal Coins, enough to shock Zhou Ning for an entire year.
From now on, whenever he entered ocean-themed maps, Lord of the Seven Seas Zhou Ning would be a must-pick.
As for the reward options, it didn't matter much which he chose.
Option one offered temptations like the super black magic that could control weather—something Zhou Ning was practically drooling over. Perhaps it also included the third version of the Devil Fruit manufacturing method, jointly refined by Newton and Megan Hicks. Not to mention, Lord of the Seven Seas Zhou Ning himself had quite a few powerful skills available.
Option two's benefits were more straightforward, with treasures laid bare: several legendary warships, Sword of Cortés, that firearm named Ambition, and countless other gains.
After some difficult deliberation, Zhou Ning ultimately chose the second option. Since this was a reward map, there likely wouldn't be another chance to enter, nor would it appear in the prize pool again. In such a case, a transcendent relic like Cortés Sword was especially valuable.
[You have chosen option two.]
[You have obtained the Legendary Item: Sword of Cortés.]
Legendary Weapon: Sword of Cortés
Unknown Relic
Damage: 459–954
Attack Speed: 4.0
Attributes: +8 Strength, +9 Constitution, +9 Spirit.
Effect: Grants control over wind and rain within a certain range. Scope and scale increase with Spirit.
Requirement: Level 60. Required Skill: Elite Black Magic (Master Level).
Description: A weapon forged in the legendary land of Atlantis. Cortés once wielded this sword to conquer the Aztec Empire.
The hilt bears the inscription "Cruelty and Conquest."
[You have obtained the Epic Item: Nine Reales.]
Epic Item: Nine Reales
Effect: +2 Spirit. This set of reales functions like a set of talismans.
[You have obtained the Epic Item: Pirate Codex.]
Epic Item: Pirate Codex
Effect: Works passively when kept in inventory. +2 Charisma, +50% intimidation against pirates.
[You have obtained the Skill: Elite Black Magic (Beginner).]
To Zhou Ning's delight, though the item rewards were rather stingy—the Nine Reales and Pirate Codex were second-rate—the most important Sword of Cortés and Elite Black Magic had been secured. These alone would greatly enhance his power.
What pleased him even more was that acquiring both the Nine Reales and the Pirate Codex triggered a synergy in the Hall of Curiosities: Symbol of the Pirate Emperor.
[Symbol of the Pirate Emperor: Nine Reales + Pirate Codex. When activated, All Attributes +2, intimidation against pirates +50%, Legendary Rank +1.]
In total, there were ten items to collect. Zhou Ning had now gathered all nine Reales, allowing him to take them out at once. Though the difficulty was high, the reward was astonishing—an extra point of Legendary Rank!
With this, Zhou Ning now had three points of Legendary Rank within the Bryston Kingdom, making him more or less a widely celebrated figure of legend. He was curious how the game would reflect this status.
Beyond that synergy, the three epic items each refunded about 20 Traversal Coins, meaning the Hall of Curiosities alone rewarded him with 60. Adding that to the 440 coin refund from clearing, this crossing not only cost him nothing but actually netted him 320. Truly, an unprecedentedly generous reward.
Normally, that would have been enough. But thinking about how he had only managed it by exploiting the Lucky Clover bug card, Zhou Ning felt doubly pleased. His mood soared.
As for the talent carried into reality, Pirate King Zhou Ning had four in total: Tony Stark (Purple), Mermaid (Blue), Grandpa-in-a-Ring (Purple), and Medical Doctor (Purple).
Since he already had numbers 1 and 3, after the draw he obtained the Medical Doctor (Purple) talent. Not particularly critical, but it instantly filled his mind with a wealth of medical knowledge. He was now an expert in medicine—not a bad outcome.
...
After checking all his gains, Zhou Ning turned his gaze to the newly unlocked map.
The new map was called: Endless War (II). Sharing the name of the Marvel world, Zhou Ning strongly suspected it might be its sequel. Perhaps a parallel world plagued by the Joker's havoc or where the Hulk had fallen.
The price wasn't steep—just 120 Traversal Coins, one-third cheaper than before.