God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 188: Episode _Name Your Price (1)
1.
A flood of messages arrived through the community forums and his private Fantastic World mailbox. Most were inquiries about purchasing the Bloody Grudge, along with requests for box and equipment enhancement. The number of messages Simin actually read and replied to could be counted on one hand.
“I’ve always felt this, but there are a lot of shameless bastards out there,” he muttered. It had taken him more than half a day just to read through the messages, even though he filtered out most of them by their subject lines alone. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
It was a situation that made him realize anew just how popular Fantastic World was. As a result, Simin had some time for self-reflection.
“If they had any conscience, they wouldn’t think of ripping people off like this.”
It’s only wrong when other people do it. He conveniently forgot all the times he had ripped people off and was busy criticizing others.
“I guess since the players are the same ones from the old PC games, it doesn’t matter that it’s a VR game.”
Of course, his complaints weren’t entirely unwarranted. As always, a valuable item was bound to attract flies. There were messages trying to lowball him with ridiculous prices and others that were clearly phishing attempts. Seasoned merchants don’t bother with every single message, and Simin was no different. He just clicked his tongue once and set aside only the messages that felt sincere.
“I’ll think about it and get back to them.”
He had no intention of selling. Selling it now would be foolish. Just as fine wine improves with age, an item’s value increases the longer you hold onto it. A true merchant would never easily part with a one-of-a-kind item with options that everyone coveted. You show it just once, to make them yearn for it. The one with the power isn’t the buyer willing to pay billions; it’s Han Simin, the owner of the necklace!
“Heh heh. They must be dying for it.”
And they would be. It would be on their minds when they closed their eyes to sleep, appear in their dreams, pop into their heads while eating, and haunt them even on the toilet. They would rewatch the broadcast every day, checking the options, imagining and reimagining what changes it would bring if they equipped it. ’I could hunt more efficiently. Wouldn’t I be able to level up faster? I could be more aggressive in PK, too.’
Then there was the value of it being an accessory. No one who had played Fantastic World for more than a month would bother comparing the utility of an accessory to armor. It was an endgame item. The fact that it was a pendant, which you couldn’t stack many of, was a minor drawback completely overshadowed by its options. Then they would think of the countless competitors who were thinking the exact same thing. And they would calculate: ’How much am I willing to pay for this? How much will my rivals offer?’
And so, the price would climb through a bout of shadow boxing. Of course, they all overlooked the most fundamental possibility: the assumption that Han Simin had no intention of selling the pendant.
“I should raise the price a bit, enhance it, and then sell it.”
Or rather, that he had no intention of selling an unenhanced pendant.
*
The moment the broadcast ended, the news had already spread to not only the twenty million players but also the countless fans who only watched Fantastic World from the real world. That’s how rare Special-grade items were. Even a Unique item was enough to make the front page of the community forums, so there was no need to say more. The video of the Legendary item being pulled still held the number one spot with an overwhelming number of views.
Naturally, the news reached the Specialists. And people who were second to none when it comes to money weren’t about to just sit there feeling envious.
“I’ll buy it.”
“I’ll buy it.”
“I’m buying it.”
The fourth Specialist remained silent.
“Simin,” Seolah began, her voice sweet, “if you sell it to me, I’ll never forget your kindness for the rest of my life. I’ll serve you with all my heart like a maid serving her master, and I’ll do anything you ask. School uniform, maid outfit, nurse, military uniform—whatever you prefer is possible.”
“I’ll give you $2 million. Sell it,” Hyeonsu offered bluntly.
“I’ll do anything you want,” Yeseul chimed in.
They haggled shamelessly, as if this was the very reason they’d built a friendship. But Han Simin refused firmly.
“I have no intention of selling it yet.”
Seolah’s last words had swayed him a little, but he was a man of money who knew how to separate business from pleasure. For the sake of money, he could rein in his wavering heart. He then climbed onto Squeaker’s back. He possessed the skill to not just let the rice steam, but to sprinkle it with gold dust. There was no reason to sell it after merely letting it sit.
“It’s not like I have much use for it myself. I should sell it for a good price.”
After getting it to +15, that is. As he set off to find a place to enhance it, he enjoyed reading the posts on the community forums. There were threads debating the value of the Bloody Grudge. He should have been annoyed by people arbitrarily setting its value, but Simin’s expression was anything but. It was the composure that came from long experience.
He knew that these people were just desperately trying to devalue it because they couldn’t afford it, and that the real buyers, while they might try to negotiate using those posts as a basis, would ultimately have to pay the proper price. The sale of an item like this was a battle of who was more desperate.
In the past, he probably would have caved and sold it at or below its value. But not anymore. He had become the building owner he had so longed to be, with enough rental income coming in every month to live lavishly even if he threw money away, and enough cash in his bank account to buy another building. In such a situation, there was no need to be hasty just to make more money. It wasn’t like Fantastic World was going to shut down tomorrow. He was so relaxed he was practically overflowing with leisure.
“Lululu~”
He hummed a happy tune. No matter what anyone said, the true flavor of Fantastic World was enhancement and the fun of making money from it. Was he disappointed that enhancement stones now cost $150 each? He had built up such a tolerance for money that he no longer cared about such things.
“I’m running low on enhancement stones. I should stop by the Imperial Palace.”
$100 or $150, what was the difference? It was all free for him anyway.
*
“Your Majesty, your son-in-law requested enhancement stones, so I provided them,” a servant reported.
“I see,” the Emperor acknowledged, barely looking up from the mountain of documents he was buried under. A tic had developed where he would get a headache whenever Simin was mentioned, so he flinched for a moment, but it was about a matter that had already been settled.
“If we can enhance the symbols of the Empire with just a few enhancement stones, it’s a decent trade.”
For the first time in a long while, Simin almost seemed likable. ’Yes, no matter how wild an adventurer he is, he has the skill to be worthy of my trust and the princess’s hand, and he knows where to draw the line.’ He was annoying, but seeing him do what was needed without even being asked was occasionally satisfying. With a slight increase in favorability came a spark of interest.
“So, how many did he take?”
He already knew the man was talented at enhancement. Pushing aside the thought that it might fail, he asked. How many would Simin need? Could he enhance the symbols of the Empire to +15, just like his own items? If he could... if the symbols of the Empire could achieve the glory of becoming Myth-grade items, the Empire’s prestige would be more solid and unshakable than ever before.
The servant bowed his head to the expectant Emperor. “Twenty thousand, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor was speechless.
“He took all but one hundred.”
With that answer, the Emperor’s expectations vanished as if they had never been there. ’Of course.’ There was a reason he had only asked for permission without specifying the number. A sigh escaped him. He wasn’t upset about the 20,000 stones. If Simin could bring back a +15 Symbol of the Empire with them, he was willing to offer an even greater reward. At most, 20,000 stones were 20,000 gold. It was a lot of money, but not for an emperor. The problem was, the Emperor had come to understand Han Simin all too well.
“That damn bastard.”
For now, he decided to endure it.
2.
Han Simin might be wicked, but he wasn’t so vile as to tease people with an item he had no intention of selling. He didn’t have that kind of time to waste. If he hadn’t planned to sell it, he would have announced it wasn’t for sale right after revealing the item. It certainly had good options, and he wouldn’t mind wearing it, but it would be difficult to get more value out of it than by selling it. This was especially true now that his combat style as a Tamer was drastically changing.
He would rather die than wear a multi-billion won item like this, enhanced to +15.
“A better one will come along someday.”
Besides, the penalty for death was less severe for Simin than for others. He rarely died in the first place, and he had the Necklace of Resurrection. He also had more than enough money, but he decided to sell it anyway. So, he recorded a video. With the rabbits and all his other pets dismissed, it was just him and Kardian, who was there simply to attract viewers.
In the video, Han Simin wore the Bloody Grudge around his neck—a ruby of crimson that emanated a gloomy demonic energy. He was in a battle against a monster so tough that even he would struggle to face it alone. His hammer swung, and in the tense standoff, blood finally flowed from the monster’s body. As if on cue, the ruby sucked in the blood. At the same time, a change began.
It wasn’t a grand transformation; it was so natural and quiet that one might not even notice it had happened. But at the end of it, there was a faint, red shield. A shield surrounding Han Simin.
The monster’s incoming attack struck the shield before it could reach his body. Since it hadn’t absorbed much blood, the shield shattered easily, but it was enough to give the viewers a fresh shock. A shield that automatically generates during combat! What a convenient feature. No mana needed. No activation word. Cooldown? No need to wait for that either. A shield that lacked so many common restrictions was a passive skill that players of Fantastic World would welcome with open arms.
And that wasn’t all. His attack power also increased. It was only a slight boost, but it was enough to break the stalemate. The true terror of the item was revealed from that point on. Once the balance was tipped, the monster inevitably sustained more wounds, and more blood was continuously absorbed. The shield grew stronger, and his attack power rose. And he got faster. The longer the fight dragged on, the more energetic he became. Health recovery! As long as he managed his mental fatigue, he could fight indefinitely.
The video spread rapidly through the community and across the world. Since it was one of the first videos he had distributed for free in a long time, everyone could watch it without difficulty. Numerous debates ensued. Of course, no one could deny that it was a video and likely showcased the best-case scenario. Everyone knew that in a real fight, it probably wouldn’t work out so perfectly. But they also had to admit the truth after watching the bonus footage that followed the one-on-one fight, which demonstrated the principles and effectiveness of the Bloody Grudge’s options.
A 23-minute full-length video. Han Simin, diving alone into a massive horde of monsters and eventually walking out alone, covered in blood, with a thick, bloody shield enveloping his body.
—I have to buy that.
—It’s the ultimate PK item.
With all the effects turned off, Han Simin’s item set looked shabby. Among it all, only the shining ruby was visible. Within a day, the number of messages he received had more than tripled. And the enhancement level of the Bloody Grudge continued to climb, day by day.
*
