"Oh? There's a results screen for the dungeon?"
Fang Zhen's interest was immediately piqued.
From the content on the screen, Fang Zhen knew he had cleared the Dark Path dungeon.
He just hadn't expected there to be a results screen.
It was normal for other games to have one. Most games, even side-scrollers like Contra or Knights of Valour, would show a results screen after clearing a level. It gave players a score to let them know how they'd performed.
And that was to say nothing of level-based action online games, which had taken this mechanic and run with it.
He just never expected that the hardcore Dungeon Life game would also have a results screen.
Fang Zhen looked closely, then used the mouse to select "Yes."
The screen immediately erupted with effects, much like when you type a special keyword into a chat app on a holiday. Digital fireworks and confetti streamers exploded across the display, complete with sound effects.
Fang Zhen chuckled at the sight.
'This "cleared" screen is a little slapdash.'
Soon, the screen calmed down, and a dialog box popped up on the computer.
"Congratulations, you have cleared the 'Dark Path' dungeon.
Dungeon World Setting: Nameless
Dungeon Difficulty: Easy
Base Dungeon Clear Reward: 35 Merit Points
Calculating performance-based rewards. Please wait... Please wait...
After a short while, new text appeared below.
"Your combat performance in the dungeon: Excellent. As a newcomer, your performance was quite good.
Exploration Performance: Good
Key Item Acquisition: Excellent
Dungeon Completion Rate: Good
Skill Acquisition and Development: Excellent
Other: Good
Overall Score: Calculating... Calculating...
Your total performance-based reward is: 50 Merit Points
Congratulations, your final reward for the Easy difficulty 'Dark Path' dungeon in the Nameless World setting is: 85 Merit Points."
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow, his eyes widening slightly.
'85 Merit Points...'
Merit Points. Fang Zhen had seen an introduction to them in the Dungeon Life game before entering the dungeon world.
Simply put, Merit Points were the universal internal currency of the Dungeon Life game. They could be used for many things, such as viewing in-dungeon information, customizing specific dungeons, or unlocking many value-added services.
None of this was free; it all required Merit Points.
And this was the first time Fang Zhen had ever obtained Merit Points.
He felt he'd achieved a very high completion rate in the Dark Path dungeon, yet the final tally was only 85 Merit Points. The total didn't seem very high.
Fang Zhen stroked his chin with interest. He loved to study game mechanics, figuring out what the on-screen numbers represented to reverse-engineer the developers' design philosophy. He could then use that knowledge to strategically improve his character's abilities.
Of course, not every game was worth playing this way.
The games that managed to do a good job with balance, gameplay, mechanics, and stats were all major productions.
That was one of the joys of gaming.
The benefits from the Dungeon Life game were clearly much greater. They could even be brought into the real world and exchanged for more tangible things, like money. 'If I can figure out its mechanics, I can truly get anything I want.'
'The results screen... the base reward was 35 Merit Points. The elements it mentioned were the world setting, the dungeon difficulty, and the base reward for clearing it.'
'It seems all dungeons have a basic clear condition. It might not be stated outright, but it's definitely there. Completing it grants a guaranteed base reward, which is those 35 Merit Points. I don't know if there's a penalty for failing to complete it; I'll have to explore that later when I get the chance.'
'The base reward is 35 Merit Points, but my final total was 85. That means the Dungeon Life game encourages me to do things beyond the main objective.'
'I probably don't have to brute-force my way through every dungeon like I did this time. I could use other methods, figure out the mechanics, and just meet the minimum clear conditions. I might not get an "Excellent" rating, but at least I'd guarantee the base reward.'
'That's fine for an Easy difficulty dungeon in the Nameless World, but if I encounter a dungeon from a high-level world that's too difficult, I can choose to take a shortcut—or, in other words, just focus on the main objective.'
'Meeting the most basic clear conditions is definitely easier than getting a high rating.'
'Also, there's the world setting and the dungeon difficulty.'
'It's obvious. Since these two factors were listed with the base reward, I can basically confirm that the world setting and dungeon difficulty affect the base reward for clearing a dungeon.'
There was an unopened can of Diet Coke on Fang Zhen's computer desk. He casually picked it up, popped the tab, and continued his analysis while sipping the soda.
'Another factor is the in-dungeon performance.'
'The base clear reward for the Dark Path was only 35 Merit Points, while my performance gave me a total of 50 Merit Points.'
'This shows that the Dungeon Life game encourages exploration—going beyond just the basic clear conditions. After all, the bonus rewards were greater than the base reward.'
'The Dungeon Life game expects and encourages me to try various things.'
Fang Zhen took a sip of his Coke.
'The in-dungeon performance evaluation mentioned five elements: combat, exploration, development, items, and skills. These can be seen as five dimensions. If I focus on improving in these five dimensions, I should theoretically be able to raise my overall performance score and get more Merit Points.'
'Then there's the 'Other' category. I don't know if I haven't unlocked its specific content yet, or if it's just there to make the evaluation system feel complete. Not enough information, so I'll ignore it for now.'
'What the weight of each of the five dimensions is, and how they're rated, is a black box. It's not explicitly stated. But I can slowly figure it out through more dungeon experience. It'll get clearer over time.'
'Once I get the hang of it, I can try to aim for high-scoring dungeon results.'
Having analyzed it to this point, Fang Zhen felt that was about enough.
He had thought it all through. The conclusion was clear, simple, and effective.
This would give him an advantage in future dungeons.
With his thoughts clear, Fang Zhen clicked the mouse.
The dungeon results dialog box didn't disappear, but the text on it refreshed and changed.
"Detected that character 'Fang Zhen' has obtained multiple abilities and traits within the dungeon.
Detecting... Detecting...
The abilities and traits you obtained during the game will be displayed after this results screen.
You can choose to use Merit Points to either solidify or remove them.
The abilities and traits you obtained in the 'Dark Path' are as follows:
..."