The third Easter egg in the first stage of Ghouls 'n Ghosts was another full set of Knight Armor.
To trigger it, one had to go to the first river island near the graveyard. While wearing no armor--only boxers--standing at the edge of the island and crouching would cause the armor to fall from the sky.
Although Chris already had a set, that didn't stop him from stripping down to trigger a fresh one for his inventory.
The fourth Easter egg was located near the graveyard entrance where the Red Arremer had been stationed. There was a specific tombstone tilted at almost a forty five degree angle. Attacking this tombstone fifteen times would summon a Vampire Magician.
It was the exact same model as the one the student had triggered previously, but this one specialized in a different transformation, "Frog."
Having prepared for this, Chris wasn't caught off guard. He had already pre charged his Hexagram Missile. The moment the magician appeared, before it could even unfurl its cloak, the missile slammed into it, instantly turning it into a duck.
Chris then calmly wrapped the Vampire Killer whip around the duck's neck. Once it reverted to its true form, he snapped its neck with a single, brutal yank.
Unfortunately, the magician didn't drop a chest, but it did progress an achievement related to defeating mimic type enemies.
It seemed that in the world of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Vampire Magicians filled the role of mimic encounters.
The final Easter egg was located back at the mission's starting point, on the small hill with a dozen tombstones.
After finding another noticeably tilted headstone, Chris stepped on it and then jumped off. An instant later, a massive, radiant King Statue emerged from a nearby cracked tombstone.
While a standard King Statue was worth fifty coins, this large version was worth twenty times that, exchangable for exactly 1,000 Heaven's Selection Coins!
Having cleared his inventory earlier, Chris was able to bag the 30 second "bug" Yashichi Pinwheel, the second set of Knight Armor, and the large King Statue.
This brought him to the second matter: the final settlement of his unique talent.
[You have completed and departed the "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" dungeon.]
[S Rank Talent "Game Master" Settlement Commencing--]
[Mission Completion: 100%. Exploration Rate: 100% (Bonus for all Easter eggs found). Settlement Rank: A+.
You participated in and slew an Elite Red Arremer and a Champion Cyclops.
You triggered all 5 hidden Easter eggs within the stage.
You obtained the Map, a limited and essential item for slaying the Demon King.]
[You have obtained a derivative extra skill from the "Vampire Hunter/Simon" template, "Soul Rescue". This skill does not occupy a fixed skill slot and can be used in all dungeons.]
[Soul Rescue: Grade D / Lv-. Passive Skill. Description omitted. Effect is identical to the previous version, but the drop rate for small Innocent Souls is reduced to 20%, and large Innocent Souls to 5%. Currently unable to be leveled up.]
Extracting a skill from a loaded template to keep as a permanent extra was one of the highest possible rewards from the "Game Master" settlement.
Even though it couldn't be upgraded yet, the fact that it didn't take up a valuable skill slot or an equipment slot made it an incredibly practical gain within the limited resources of a new player.
Following the settlement, a supplementary notification appeared.
[Based on your near perfect completion of the mission while using the "Vampire Hunter/Simon Belmont" template, you may trigger the "Game Master" effect again upon entering future dungeons based on the "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" world. However, the available templates will be restricted to "Vampire Hunter" related characters.]
Under normal circumstances, once a talent settlement was finalized, a player couldn't load a template for the same world again. However, because Chris had systematically stripped the first stage of every secret and non randomized item, the system had granted him this exceptional bonus.
It seemed the Space was encouraging him to repeat his scorched earth exploration style in future stages.
Clearly, the system rewarded players who dug deep into a dungeon's lore and mechanics. Chris, being the type of gamer who couldn't leave a map until every corner was explored, was perfectly suited for this style.
At the same time, Chris was aware that this might be a "newbie benefit." Now that he was an official player, he likely wouldn't be grouped with pure beginners again, and given the unpredictable nature of dungeon origins, replicating this level of success wouldn't be easy.
On a side note, while his boxers still featured the "manly strawberry" pattern, the spirit of Arthur's heritage no longer granted him any bonuses outside of the Ghouls 'n Ghosts world.
Chris wasn't in a hurry to sell off his findings from the free exploration phase. Aside from the glitched Yashichi Pinwheel, which he definitely wanted to keep for future schemes, he had his Polymorph cane for control and the Cyclops head for defense and offense. Everything else could be sold later as needed.
After confirming his loot, Chris looked around the pure white room, which reminded him of a minimalist version of the "Cube" from that old sci fi movie, and began to navigate his interface.
Generally, most Selection Players would instinctively modify their personal space to look like their real world homes. After the high stakes intensity of a trial, the human mind needed a familiar place to decompress.
However, Chris was quickly met with a bill. Stating that if he wanted to turn his room into the graveyard from Ghouls 'n Ghosts, he would be charged a maintenance fee of one coin per square meter...
Instead of being annoyed, Chris looked thoughtful.
He then tried to turn his space into a level from Super Mario Bros, complete with floating bricks. This time, there was no fee, but he was told he lacked the necessary permissions.
He was starting to understand the rules.
As a moderate fan of games like Minecraft, Terraria, The Sims, and Palworld, Chris knew that once he started down the rabbit hole of home customization, he'd lose track of time. He decisively abandoned the idea of elaborate decorations and instead summoned a simple double bed identical to the one he had at home. He placed two storage boxes next to it to serve as nightstands and partitioned off a small area for a bathroom, complete with a toilet, sink, and shower.
Satisfied with his "prison cell chic" masterpiece, Chris confirmed the toilet flushed correctly before sitting down and letting out a long, relieved sigh.
Ten minutes later, dressed in a Deadpool mask but in a complete Western cowboy outfit, Chris stood in the central plaza of Space Island.
But before he could even take a breath of the Space's air, he was surrounded.
Just as he thought he was about to be attacked, a voice shouted in his ear.
"Hey friend! Interested in a gym membership and some swimming lessons?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]