God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 13: Episode 3 _ The Enhancement Master Born of Capitalism (1)
1.
Those who understand enhancement know how great its advantages are, but players who don’t would rather use that money to get a better item. It couldn’t be helped, whether they were rich or poor. Unless you experience it firsthand, you can’t feel the difference that only appears as numbers. This was especially true in online games. Even though the difference in attack power was more tangible than in virtual reality, the cost and risk involved were intimidating, and that fear became a fixed stereotype. Jeong Hyeonsu was no different.
“It’s just a small difference in attack power!”
In Fantastic World, exceeding a certain enhancement level added an aura effect. Even though Jeong Seolah had explained this to her brother, he had just snorted.
“Think of how much money that costs! For that tiny difference? What a waste.”
He was rich, but he wasn’t one to waste money. So he had little interest—that is, until they encountered a pack of wolves on their way back.
“Experience points!”
For the level 14 Jeong Hyeonsu, killing level 10 wolves wasn’t a difficult task. Kang Yeseul and Jeong Seolah were also level 14. For a team that had been coordinating for so long, five mere wolves were just a passing bundle of EXP. He pulled out his axe and charged forward with gusto.
“I’ll brother will protect you! Hahaha!”
Unfortunately, Jeong Hyeonsu, who had rushed out to show off his dependable older brother side, failed to achieve his goal.
Swoosh.
Jeong Seolah shot forward at an incredible speed, fearlessly diving into the pack of wolves and wreaking havoc. Stunned by her sudden increase in specs, Jeong Hyeonsu could only stammer as one of the wolves fell dead. It had only taken two stabs. It was incredible attack power.
‘W-What the.’
Was Seolah always that strong? They had been hunting together just a few hours ago. She wasn’t this powerful then. Of course, he had to consider that the opponent was a level 10 wolf, but even so, something was clearly different. After a moment of thought, Jeong Hyeonsu realized what had changed. The only difference was that the longsword she held was now emitting a golden aura.
‘That difference...’
Is that what brought on this result? Just from a few enhancements? As he stood there dumbfounded, the hunt was over.
“Wow! Unni, that was amazing!” Kang Yeseul clapped her hands in pure admiration. Han Simin, who had been watching from the back, nodded with a proud expression. Jeong Seolah was truly on another level. No matter how good your weapon was, you still took damage when hit, yet she had defeated five wolves by herself without allowing a single attack to land.
‘With that kind of skill, she could go pro in an esports league and crush the competition. Why is she playing this?’ He didn’t dwell on it for long, figuring it was her personal preference. More importantly, he was pleased with the expression on Jeong Hyeonsu’s face. It must be a shock. Perhaps his pride was wounded, having been unable to do anything as a tank for Jeong Seolah, and she was saving her stat points to become a mage at level 15.
“Mwahaha.”
A sinister laugh escaped Simin. He wasn’t an expert in human psychology, but he could easily read Jeong Hyeonsu’s expression.
‘He’ll be coming to me soon.’
When you’re sick, the first person you look for is a doctor. He felt a sense of satisfaction at the sales opportunity that would be arriving sooner than expected.
* * *
“Hey, punk.”
“Yes?”
“I need to talk to you.”
So it begins. As soon as they arrived at the castle, Jeong Hyeonsu grabbed Simin and pulled him aside. Han Simin smiled.
“What is it?”
“It’s about... that enhancement thing.” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
“Yes.”
“Ahem. Well, Seolah has been pestering me about it since yesterday, and now that we’ve killed the polar bear, we qualify for the main quest, so I figured I should upgrade my specs a bit.”
The main quest? So that’s why they were so fixated on the polar bear? Simin was curious, but it didn’t concern him, so he didn’t ask. The important thing right now was to fleece the valued customer standing right in front of him.
“Okay.”
“This shield, make it like Seolah’s.”
“...You want me to make it +13?”
“+13 or whatever. Just make it so I can be stronger than Seolah!”
This guy was saying some dangerous things. His pride must have really been hurt.
“Understood.”
“Here.”
It wasn’t Simin’s problem, so he readily nodded. A customer’s passion for enhancement was sure to translate into money. As Jeong Hyeonsu held out a steel shield, Han Simin explained the precautions.
“First, a normal enhancement at the forge costs 50 silver per attempt. The probability for that doesn’t change, no matter what you do, so if you want to do it cheaply at the start, go with that. Of course, don’t forget that there’s always a chance of failure.”
“Just do what you think is best.”
“There’s also a special enhancement, which utilizes my job’s characteristics and know-how. It basically gives a random probability increase from ten to twenty percent. Up to +5 costs two gold coins per attempt, from +6 to +7 is five gold coins, and from +8 to +11 is ten gold coins. For +12 and above, I can give you a separate quote if you’d like.”
For Jeong Seolah, he had charged a flat rate of five gold coins per attempt, but he couldn’t do that for everyone. It was profitable in the lower stages, but from the point where the success rate dropped below thirty percent, like at +10, failure could result in the item being destroyed or downgraded. The risk for the client increased, and so did the cost of his services. It was like a fee for a blessing. It was a reasonable system, but Jeong Hyeonsu, who had already seen Jeong Seolah’s enhancement, couldn’t help but feel it was strange.
“Seolah’s was five gold coins per attempt.”
“Seolah is a special case. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it. There’s one other enhancement master in the castle, so you can go to them.”
Of course, that doubt couldn’t penetrate Han Simin’s audacity. His already incredible ability was given an extra layer of scarcity by Fantastic World. Although he was shackled by the Legendary job, for him, who had no interest in being number-one in the rankings, it was more like a badge of honor.
“Fine. Do it.” After a moment of thought, the memory of earlier seemed to resurface, and Jeong Hyeonsu nodded, taking out his gold coins.
The small leather pouch, filled to the brim with gold coins, once again left Han Simin speechless.
‘Seriously, what do these siblings do for a living?’
Should he ask? He had wanted to ask ever since joining the team. What on earth did they do in real life to be able to casually invest $10,000 into a game? Fantastic World was incredibly popular, and if you got ahead at the start, there was potential to make that money back later, but this was on another level.
“Here. I’ll give you one hundred gold coins, so take care of it. Getting those enhancement stones is a real pain.”
“...Alright.”
And on top of that, this kind of generosity... Simin was dumbfounded by the sight of Hyeonsu casually handing over a huge sum of $10,000. What if he just took the money and ran? He glanced at Jeong Hyeonsu’s face, but his expression was unchanged. It was simply the face of someone who wanted to forget his earlier humiliation and be reborn as Jeong Seolah’s dependable tank. There was no trace of worry about losing the money. This meant only one thing.
‘He’s so rich that ten thousand dollars is just pocket change to him.’
You could see the kind of life he had lived. In front of someone like this, you didn’t even feel the urge to steal. Han Simin shook his head and started walking. He had no intention of stealing, anyway.
‘Let’s get this thing started.’
When everything was in place to legally fleece him, why would he resort to theft? For the first time since his accident, Han Simin decided to test luck instead of relying on his ability.
* * *
2.
Han Simin’s entire fortune currently consisted of 58 gold coins and 14 enhancement stones. In cash, that was a little over $7,000. For a player who had been playing for just over 10 days, he had made an absurd amount of money. And the game was still in its early stages. He couldn’t even imagine how much he could earn once his level increased and he got a piece of the money flowing through the continent. Especially since Han Simin had a special job that allowed him to speak on equal terms not just with other players, but with NPCs as well, the advantage was even greater.
‘I need to be even more frugal at times like this.’
But Han Simin didn’t get complacent. He had earned a lot of money, but it was just starting capital. A job like his required a proportional investment. To enhance his own items or to sell them, Han Simin also had to buy enhancement stones from an NPC for one gold coin each, and there might be days ahead when he would have to invest without expecting any profit. No, that was a certainty. He had been lucky enough to meet a bunch of rich kids who valued their character’s growth more than the money they spent, but if not for them, ninety-nine percent of the players in the castle wouldn’t spend a whopping hundred dollars on a single enhancement attempt, especially one that might fail.
So he hardened his resolve. This situation was just a stroke of luck. Whether he seized that luck or let it slip away was entirely up to his own actions.
“Master, thirty enhancement stones, please.”
“Enhancement stones? You used them all already?”
“Here’s thirty gold coins.”
He could have used the enhancement stones he already had and pocketed the gold coins, but he decided against it and chose to work within the one hundred gold coins he had received.
“Here.”
“Thanks, Master.”
Seeing his determined expression, Khan handed over the enhancement stones without a word, and Han Simin immediately left the forge.
“I’ll start now, Hyeonsu.”
“...Don’t act like we’re close.”
Ignoring Jeong Hyeonsu’s scowl, Simin wandered around the castle. He wasn’t looking for a 100% success spot, just one that would give him a 10% boost. There was no need to go far. After a few steps, he set down his anvil and began hammering the shield.
The level 13 required steel shield glowed. Even without the extra 10% probability, it was a stage where failure was impossible unless you had terrible luck like Khan. He immediately hammered it again right there. +2, +3. As soon as it reached +4, the spot’s effectiveness wore off.
‘Should I just do it here?’ Hyeonsu wouldn’t know the difference anyway. Simin considered it for a moment but then stood up and started looking for another spot. Even if he wasn’t going to use a prime spot with a 100% success rate for the enhancement, he didn’t want to sell his conscience. There would come a point where it would fail even without him trying.
He enhanced it to +5, then +6.
“I’ll deduct fifteen gold coins.”
“Why isn’t this thing glowing?” Hyeonsu asked.
“The glow starts to appear around +8.”
“Hurry up and do it, then.”
After settling the interim payment, he immediately moved to another spot. +7. The probability was fifty percent. This was the stage where failures started to become noticeable. Climbing onto the roof of an inn, Han Simin began to hammer.
‘+7 is on the house.’
It was a spot that gave a 20% bonus, not 10%. The hammer, now with a 70% chance of success, struck the shield with a cheerful sound. And then.
Clank.
[Enhancement has failed.]
[The stage has dropped to ‘6’.]
[You have acquired the title ‘First Failure’.]
He fell silent.
The gates of enhancement hell had opened.
* * *
