Chapter Nineteen: The Necklace, the Treasure Chest, and the Prize Wheel

This round of rewards left Wang Ling somewhat dizzy and lightheaded. He had expected quite a few prizes for clearing the stage, but he never imagined they would be so lavish!

Actually, this was understandable. After all, the first Mario game was essentially a novice quest—an E-rank beginner mission that was meant to be completed with ease, yet Wang Ling had forced it up to D-rank through his actions.

In this scenario, by rushing alone into the final stage and facing Bowser, Wang Ling had truly unlocked the highest possible difficulty for this world. What he had done, if on a game console, would be akin to “beating the game” to its limits!

A novice quest that could have ended after the very first level was driven by him to the point of “game completion.” No wonder his final rating was S-rank.

As for why it wasn’t the highest X—Perfect rank—Wang Ling guessed it was because he had defeated Bowser using a mechanism, rather than his own strength. Of course, even if his power were increased tenfold, defeating this D-rank final boss head-on would have been impossible.

The truth was, for a novice mission, he had already achieved the theoretically best result possible.

Why theoretically? Because in normal circumstances, this outcome was impossible. In a novice quest, the Dreamer hadn’t undergone any enhancements, possessing only one E-rank random exchange item, an E-rank Refresh Stone, and a potion each of health and mind. With such meager resources, how much stronger could one possibly get?

But after Wang Ling acquired the “Troublemaker” skill and used the Refresh Stone, two mighty sneezes caused Mario, the protagonist, to sprain his ankle. After learning skills from Mario, Wang Ling relied on his understanding of the game—including knowledge of hidden passages, the locations of treasures, and the design of the final maze—along with a desperate effort in the last stage and a fair bit of luck, to accomplish this otherwise impossible feat.

Thus, the final evaluation was S-rank—just one step below X, the Perfect!

What surprised Wang Ling was not only the generous rewards for clearing the novice quest, but also the additional note from the Dream Badge: “The next time you enter a Super Mario series scenario, you will automatically return to the world you previously experienced.”

“So, as long as I take on Mario World quests in the future, I’ll be able to see that adorable little princess again. And I won’t have to worry about her forgetting me…”

Wang Ling’s mood lifted entirely. He began to examine his spoils. He didn’t open the Black Iron Flash Chest, nor did he concern himself with the crystal prize wheel, but instead lowered his head to study the gemstone necklace in his hand.

This was the necklace Princess Peach had pressed into his palm before leaving. Its design was simple yet beautiful—a pink, heart-shaped gemstone roughly the size of a coin, crystal clear and shimmering with iridescent hues, strung on a red silken thread.

“Peach’s Heart: Type: Necklace; Rating: E; Attribute: Rainbow Dream Equipment; Effect: Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence +1. Health and Mind, +10 points each. Enhancement Level: LV1. Skill: Pink Heart—Consumes 10 Mind points to spit a pink heart from your mouth at the target. The heart’s damage matches your physical attack power but is classified as an energy attack.”

“Equipment requirements: Strength 10, Agility 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10. Rainbow Dream Equipment must be soulbound with currency points before its effects activate.”

“Once soulbound, equipment cannot be traded, dropped, or damaged. If the owner dies, the equipment disappears. Soulbinding can be undone by paying currency points through the mainframe terminal.”

“Note: This is Princess Peach’s most treasured necklace. The heart-shaped gemstone not only conceals certain secrets, but also contains her deep affection.”

Wang Ling gazed at the gemstone necklace in amazement. The E-rank didn’t surprise him much, but the fact that it was Rainbow Dream Equipment—what kind of equipment was that?

After consulting the Dream Badge, he learned about equipment rankings and attributes.

Equipment ratings were: X, S, A, B, C, D, and E.

As for attributes, they were divided as follows: White—Common; Gray—Socketed; Blue—Attribute; Red—Elite; Green—Set; Purple—Growth; Dark Gold—Top-tier; Rainbow—Dream.

The rating didn’t directly determine the quality of equipment, but rather its base stats. For example, a white E-rank kitchen knife might have only 1–1 attack, with no additional attributes or skills. If this same white kitchen knife were X-rank, its base attack might reach 1000–1000, but it would still have no skills or bonus attributes.

Conversely, if a kitchen knife were E-rank but the best Rainbow Dream Equipment, it would not only have higher base attack but also additional attributes and perhaps extra skills.

So, the rating set a range of stats, while the color attribute determined the quality within that range.

That’s not to say the rating isn’t important—it determines the base power. For instance, an E-rank Rainbow Dream kitchen knife might have 10–10 base attack. But an X-rank white kitchen knife could have 1000–1000 attack, making it more threatening than any fancy attribute or skill.

Each color held a particular meaning:

White—Common: Only base stats, no extra abilities.
Gray—Socketed: 1 to 6 sockets for inlays, otherwise same as white.
Blue—Attribute: Higher base stats than white, no skills, but 1 to 3 bonus attributes.
Red—Elite: An upgraded blue, higher stats, 1 to 3 attributes, plus 1 to 3 extra skills.
Green—Set: Similar stats to blue, but as part of a set, each additional piece provides more attributes or skills.
Purple—Growth: Like blue in stats, but upgrades increase numbers greatly; at LV4, LV7, and LV10, gain extra attributes or skills.
Dark Gold—Top-tier: Combines all the merits of red and purple equipment.
Rainbow—Dream: Has all the advantages of dark gold, and each piece is unique (no two Dreamers can own the same Rainbow Dream Equipment). Each also conceals a secret, only revealed under certain conditions.

Having learned all this, Wang Ling studied Peach’s Heart in his hand. This necklace was actually top-tier Rainbow Dream Equipment! Although only E-rank, it was undeniably precious: all attributes +1, health and mind +10, and an additional ranged attack skill.

At this point, Wang Ling lacked both offensive skills and ranged attacks.

Moreover, Rainbow Dream Equipment, when enhanced to LV4, LV7, and LV10, would gain extra attributes or skills. Peach’s Heart could thus gain three more bonuses. Imagine how valuable this necklace was! As for the hidden secret, he had no idea what it could be, and the Dream Badge refused to answer.

As he gazed at the pink heart-shaped gemstone, Wang Ling seemed to see again Princess Peach’s rosy, adorable face…

Since it needed to be soulbound before use, Wang Ling clutched Peach’s Heart in his palm, then turned to examine the other two rewards: the stage-clear chest and the prize wheel.

The Black Iron Chest was a perfectly square box, its surface plain, without any patterns, but the black metal gleamed faintly, hinting at its unusual nature.

Wang Ling opened the chest, and the Dream Badge promptly notified him, “You’ve received 3,000 currency points.”

With that short message, the chest vanished on its own.

“Uh, just currency points?” Wang Ling had no idea how unlucky he’d been this time.

Every time a mission was completed and assessed in the private room, a stage-clear chest would appear as a reward. Inside, there was a 1% chance of drawing a rare item, 4% for a skill book, 5% for weapons or equipment, and 30% each for skill points, attribute points, and currency.

For S or X difficulty, the chest would shine, and the odds for rare items, skill books, and equipment would double; the chance for skill points and attribute points stayed the same; the chance for currency points dropped to only 20%.

Rare items aside, skill books and equipment drawn could come from any character encountered in the mission world—for instance, Bowser’s “Lava Beam” skill or that massive white iron hammer could be won!

Skill points and attribute points were also more valuable than currency—Wang Ling had been unfortunate enough to hit the mere 20% chance for currency points. His luck was abysmal!

After claiming the chest reward, Wang Ling turned to his final prize: the prize wheel, which only appeared after an S or X rating or for clearing S-rank scenarios.

A 100% guaranteed chance at a rare and precious item!

The wheel was made of crystal, sparkling and translucent. Under the light of the mainframe’s floating orb, it shimmered with a mesmerizing glow. The wheel was about the size of a checkers board, with ten radiant orbs spaced around its edge, and a spinning crystal pointer at its center.

To spin the wheel, all Wang Ling had to do was press the button at the pointer’s base.

Since the prize orbs were opaque, there was no way to tell which were good or bad, so without much pressure, Wang Ling pressed the button.

As his finger came down, the pointer spun, gradually slowing, and finally stopped at one of the glowing orbs.

With a soft “pop,” the orb burst, scattering countless motes of light through the room, making it seem dreamlike and otherworldly.

An object emerged from the glow, floating in midair: a card, the size of a poker card, decorated with simple, elegant lines on its surface. Wang Ling saw that the card’s front bore two bold, powerful characters, brimming with spirit:

“Kung Fu!”