It's often said that having more friends opens more doors.

For Fang Zhen, this wasn't just about more doors; it was about a whole new world.

Fang Zhen guessed that the world Jilenna was from was either an Elite or Hero-tier setting. 'It should have plenty of good stuff. The only question is whether the Female Swordsman can get her hands on it.'

If it was feasible, he could have Jilenna help him procure items, allowing him to gain some benefits in advance.

Besides, he wasn't worried about Jilenna running off. The employment contract from the Instance Dungeon Life Game was likely more important to her than Gold Coins. Plus, the Female Swordsman needed a trading partner.

Jilenna was relatively naive, but she wasn't an idiot. She should know not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Fang Zhen was her golden goose. If Jilenna had any sense, she wouldn't choose to just take the money and run.

"You mentioned the Water Ice Cicadas. How much do they increase Strength or Constitution?" Fang Zhen asked.

"It's hard to say. It depends on the individual," Jilenna replied. "When I took one, my Strength increased by a little less than a tenth, I think. It's more for some people, less for others."

'A tenth?'

Fang Zhen thought for a moment. 'That's probably about 1 point of a base attribute.'

"How many did you take?" he asked.

"Just one. The first one is the most effective. There's still an effect after that, but it's very weak," Jilenna said. "Water Ice Cicadas are quite precious, so I only ate one to maximize the benefit. Eating more wouldn't have been worth it."

"Why not catch Water Ice Cicadas and sell them to merchants?" Fang Zhen pressed.

"The price is too low. I'm not an idiot. The price merchants offer doesn't match the effect of the Water Ice Cicadas at all. But I don't have a way to sell them to anyone else," Jilenna answered.

"Hmm... how much do you want to sell a Water Ice Cicada for?" Fang Zhen asked again.

"How about fifteen Gold Coins for one?" Jilenna's face reddened again, as if she was terrible at haggling. "I'm not making much of a profit off you. Besides, catching them is dangerous. You have to dive to the bottom of a frigid pool. People who aren't strong enough would freeze to death."

"Three for thirty-five Gold Coins," Fang Zhen countered immediately.

"Catch three for me, and I'll give you thirty-five Gold Coins. Selling them to me should be enough for you to pay off your debt," he said. "If they're effective, I'll buy more later."

He wasn't short on Gold Coins.

'If the Water Ice Cicadas are really effective, I'll just keep taking them until the effect is maxed out.'

Jilenna thought for a moment, then said decisively, "Deal!"

Fang Zhen raised his hand and bumped fists with Jilenna, sealing their agreement.

"If you get any other good stuff in the future, you can tell me. If it's something I need, we'll trade," he said.

"You got it."

After settling the agreement with Jilenna, Fang Zhen pushed his Jue Ying motorcycle into the Light Gate.

A wave of disorientation washed over him.

When his consciousness returned, he was already back in his living room at home.

In the new full-length mirror he had bought for the living room, he saw his current appearance.

He was clad in a full suit of Carved Plate Armor with a helmet, a Holy Garment case strapped to his back. His motorcycle and a long spear stood before him.

A truly eclectic look.

'I have to admit, the look is surprisingly harmonious.'

He chuckled and prepared to take off his armor.

...

「Twenty-odd minutes later.」

Fang Zhen had removed his armor. He opened a bottle of ice-cold coke and took a sip.

As everyone knows, the first sip of an ice-cold coke is always the best.

He let out a burp, followed by a long, contented sigh.

His current activity level was more than enough; he wasn't worried at all about gaining weight from drinking coke.

Fang Zhen walked into his computer room to check the Instance Dungeon Life Game.

As expected, a dungeon-clear notification popped up from the Instance Dungeon Life Game.

"Congratulations, you have cleared the 'Bloody Lord' dungeon on Hard difficulty in a Normal world setting."

"Proceed to the results screen now?"

Fang Zhen used the mouse to select 'Yes'.

"Congratulations on clearing the 'Bloody Lord' dungeon.

Dungeon World Setting: Normal

Dungeon Difficulty: Hard

Base Dungeon Clear Merit Reward: 200 Merit Points

Calculating performance-based rewards. Please wait, please wait..."

"Your performance in the dungeon: Excellent. Even among the excellent, your performance was outstanding. You are hitting your stride, beginning to explore beyond the mundane, and have started on the path to the Extraordinary.

Exploration Performance: Good

Key Item Acquisition: Excellent

Dungeon Development Completion: Good

Skill Acquisition and Development: Excellent

Other: Excellent

Calculating overall score, calculating...

Your total performance-based reward is: 1348 Merit Points

Congratulations, your final reward for clearing the 'Bloody Lord' dungeon on Hard difficulty in a Normal world setting is: 1548 Merit Points."

"Haha!" Fang Zhen laughed heartily.

'I had a feeling my Merit Points would break a thousand this time.'

And sure enough, not only did the total Merit Points break a thousand, they reached a high of 1548.

1548 Merit Points was enough for Fang Zhen to upgrade ten level 1 skills.

Fang Zhen felt he deserved it.

Ellick was the toughest dungeon boss he had ever faced. Not only were there two of them, but they had many bizarre skills and could summon soldiers and aberrant experimental subjects.

Just to get to the boss, he had to survive being set up by a traitor, fight through the Earl's Guards, and clear multiple layers of castle soldiers.

If Fang Zhen hadn't obtained the Desert Viper Handgun, a set of specialized Extraordinary Items, and high-level skills like Mechanical Heart and Extrasensory Prediction, killing Ellick would have been incredibly difficult. He might not have even made it through the door.

A weaker person would have probably been turned into one of Ellick's experimental specimens by now.

Ellick's power was undeniable. The only reason he could kill the Vampire Count was because Fang Zhen was stronger.

So, getting 1548 Merit Points for clearing this dungeon felt very reasonable to Fang Zhen.

The Instance Dungeon Life Game's dialogue box was still running, with new information constantly appearing.

"Detecting that character 'Fang Zhen' has activated elements exceeding the dungeon's world setting. Unlocking new features for the Instance Dungeon Life Game... Unlocking..."

"Generating unlocked content..."

"New content unlocked.

Character 'Fang Zhen' has unlocked the following new dungeon permissions.

New Permission 1: Free Attribute Points Reward Upon Dungeon Completion.

Starting from this dungeon, after each clear, character 'Fang Zhen' will be awarded a certain number of free attribute points based on in-dungeon performance and evaluation. These attribute points are free points that can be used to increase base attributes.

Important Reminder 1: Although base attributes can be increased with free attribute points, due to internal logical constraints, once certain attributes reach their limit, increasing other attributes will be required as a prerequisite for further enhancement.

Important Reminder 2: You will not receive free attribute points if your evaluation in a dungeon does not exceed the critical threshold.

Important Reminder 3: The dungeon's level and character 'Fang Zhen's' own performance are important factors in obtaining free attribute points. Clearing dungeons below the character's strength level will not yield free attribute points, or the reward will be severely diminished.

'Bloody Lord' Dungeon Clear Free Attribute Reward: 1 point."

"New Permission 2: Appraisal Function Unlocked

Starting with this dungeon's results screen, character 'Fang Zhen' can now use the Instance Dungeon Life Game's appraisal function. You can spend Merit Points to appraise acquired items.

Important Reminder 1: The minimum cost to appraise an item is 10 Merit Points. The total cost is a variable amount based on the appraisal difficulty, with no specific upper limit.

Important Reminder 2: The rarer and higher-level an item is, the higher the appraisal fee will be.

Important Reminder 3: The more character 'Fang Zhen' already knows about an item, the more the appraisal fee will be correspondingly reduced.

Important Reminder 4: An inventory tab option has been added. Appraised items will appear in the inventory within the Instance Dungeon Life Game and can be activated for use from the inventory."

"New Permission 3: Limited-Time Elite Realm Dungeon Unlock Reward

Because character 'Fang Zhen' has cleared a Hard difficulty dungeon in a Normal world setting for the first time, a limited-time reward for unlocking the Elite Realm setting has been activated.

Unlocking the Elite Realm setting normally costs 300 Merit Points. During the reward period, it can be unlocked for only 100 Merit Points. Time limit: fifteen days.

Clearing an Elite dungeon during the reward period will grant a limited-time buff.

Important Reminder 1: This reward is time-limited. It will be retracted after fifteen days, at which point unlocking the Elite Realm setting will once again cost 300 Merit Points.

Important Reminder 2: After unlocking the Elite Realm setting, the first time you clear an Elite Realm dungeon of any difficulty within fifteen days, your rewards will be increased by 20% to 50% based on your clear evaluation.

Important Reminder 3: Please act within your capabilities."

Fang Zhen's eyes lit up when he saw the three new system permissions.

'There are so many new permissions in this update.'