Chapter 28: The Unlucky One Opens the Box

Clearing a hidden instance turned out to be a necessary condition for maintenance and upgrades? No one knew whether, if the hidden instance could not be cleared, maintenance and upgrades would be delayed indefinitely. Well, some did know—for example, the Digimon Corporation...

At this moment, Yibeast paid no attention to what others might be thinking. He was standing at the very place where the Metalmon had fallen. Before him lay ten attribute crystals, and beside them, a heavy golden chest that looked especially imposing.

Yibeast first put away the attribute crystals without using them immediately. If he were to use them now and later discovered that an item inside the golden chest required fixed attributes to activate, and he hadn’t met the requirements, he’d have no choice but to regret it.

Having exited Burst Mode, Yibeast now appeared somewhat fatigued, his condition poor. His overall combat power had dropped directly from five hundred points back down to one hundred forty.

Originally, before entering Burst Mode, his combat power was two hundred sixty-three, but that included the bonuses from external items. Removing those, his normal combat power should have been one hundred fifty-five. In fact, having defeated Metalmon, his attributes should have increased, meaning his combat power ought to be at least one hundred fifty-five. The fact that it had fallen to one hundred forty was due to his poor state.

Entering Burst Mode was not without consequences. As has been mentioned before, if a Digimon is likened to a reservoir, Burst Mode is akin to opening the floodgates. Even after closing the gate, the lost water does not return simply because the gate is shut. Restoration takes time.

Yet Yibeast did not concern himself with the Digimon’s condition—after all, the final boss of the hidden instance had already been defeated. His current state was less than ideal, yes, but so what?

Since he was the only one in the instance, there was no need to calculate contribution. As the one who had taken down the dungeon boss, Yibeast was instantly promoted from level nine to level thirteen. This was not just a leap of three levels, but four in succession.

This was mainly because, although he was level nine before, his experience bar was already more than halfway filled. Perhaps it was a matter of rounding, or perhaps the experience from clearing the instance and the rewards combined to push him to level thirteen. Whatever the reason, it was certainly to his advantage.

Furthermore, Yibeast had previously seen that clearing the instance would grant a golden Digiegg capable of hatching an Agumon at the Growth stage. However, it was nowhere to be seen at the moment—likely hidden within the golden chest.

Yet, these things were not what Yibeast truly cared about. What mattered most was ZeroBeast’s data. He didn’t know whether the golden chest contained the data of ZeroBeast—if it did, that would be ideal. If it didn’t, he had no idea where else to search.

Although his watch could confirm that ZeroBeast’s data was within the instance, the instance was not as small as he had imagined. Searching inch by inch would be futile without ample time.

But Yibeast had just heard the server-wide announcement and knew that maintenance was imminent. Once the servers went down, he’d have to log out as well. So, if the golden chest didn’t contain ZeroBeast’s data, the chances of finding it would be slim indeed.

[Hello, you have discovered a treasure chest. Would you like to open it?] Another perfunctory system prompt appeared, and Yibeast had no choice but to open it.

Upon opening it, he saw nothing but darkness inside. Not a thing was visible. After a moment of silence, Yibeast reached both hands into the darkness and began to feel around.

Soon, his hands found something large. Pulling it out, he discovered it was none other than the promised reward: a golden Digiegg of Agumon. Placing it to the side, he resumed rummaging through the chest for other items. To call it searching would be generous—it was more like fishing for goods.

“Got something...” Yibeast muttered as he extracted a large sword from within.

Metalmon’s Fist (Excellent · Rare)
Type: Gauntlet
Required Attributes: Strength of at least 200 or a Mature-stage Digimon
Overall Combat Power: +30–40
Strength: +10
Stamina: +10
Power Strike: This is Metalmon’s skill; has a one percent chance to trigger. Upon activation, unleashes damage equal to double the wielder’s combat power, up to a maximum of two thousand.
Durability: 20/20
This weapon, forged by Digimon who revere Vulcanusmon, was crafted from Metalmon’s data. It can be directly fused into a Digimon’s body without additional requirements. Undoubtedly, it is meant for Digimon use.

“Another one...” Yibeast murmured, drawing out yet another item.

Metalmon’s Resentment (Excellent · Rare)
Type: Accessory
Required Attributes: Intelligence of at least 200 or a Mature-stage Digimon
Overall Combat Power: +20–30
Intelligence: +10
Stamina: +10
Metalmon Puppet: In each instance, can summon one Metalmon Puppet to command.

Durability: 20/20
Digimon: Metalmon Puppet
Type: Beastman
Attribute: Data
Strength: 500
Agility: 200
Intelligence: 100
Stamina: 1000
Attack Power: 1000
HP: 1000/1000
Skill Points: 100/100
This accessory, forged by Digimon in admiration of Vulcanusmon, was crafted using Metalmon’s data. It can be worn directly by a Digimon or player, and its skill can be activated manually.

Clearly, the Metalmon Puppet was more of a tank-type summon, capable of taking a few hits, but if one expected it to deal effective damage, even a stationary opponent might not feel it.

In any case, these items were quite useful, but none were what Yibeast truly desired. Helpless, he continued to search through the chest, hoping to find what he was looking for.

“There’s something…” Yibeast soon felt another item and, full of hope, pulled it out. It turned out to be a purse containing eight hundred gold coins—a substantial sum, yet still not what he sought.

“Another one…” He touched yet another object, but this time, he no longer cared if it was what he wanted. With a sigh, he drew it out.