God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 21: Episode 4 _ A 0.00003_ Probability (4)

5.

Han Simin, having ended the chat, furrowed his brow.

‘Of all the times...’

To get a call that would bring him bad luck at such an important moment and from Kang Yeseul, of all people, who had been overly familiar from the moment they met. He had only answered because it would have been a disaster if she called again while he was hammering; otherwise, he would have kept ignoring her.

"What is the matter?" the King asked.

"It’s nothing."

Having prepared for the worst, Han Simin took a deep breath at the king’s words and steeled himself. This was a crossroads between life and death. The atmosphere wasn’t quite that grim, but from the moment Simin told the king to move, a truly life-or-death enhancement had begun. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand.

‘I have to succeed. No matter what.’

Of course, he had to understand. He would have nothing to say even if the king had dismissed him for his nonsense. In military terms, it was as if a newly transferred private had walked up to a four-star general and said, ‘The energy here is good, so if I sit in your chair, my health will improve. Please move.’ Who would be happy about that? If it were him, he would have kicked the guy on the spot. But King Ain didn’t seem to be that kind of person, judging by the fact that he was giving him a chance—albeit with the power of the ridiculous name ‘Ultimate Legendary Enhancement Master.’

He was vaguely aware of this, so he planned to seize the opportunity no matter what.

"Alright. Then..."

Simin carefully took a shabby anvil from his magic pouch and placed it on the golden throne. The throne was so ornate that he wondered if he was even allowed to place such a humble object upon it, and he could feel the king’s sharp gaze prickling his back, but he did his best to ignore it.

‘+15. Just think about getting +15.’

He would enhance it, and with its overwhelming options and attack power, he would quickly raise his lagging level. Then, he would find a good weapon through farming and enhance it to +15 again. The +15 Beginner’s Dagger, which would naturally fall out of use, would be sold at a high price to some rich kid who started the game late. A perfect plan. The tension naturally eased. A new Chapter of his life was just a few proper hammer swings away.

"Haah."

He focused his mind. He was bothered by the bad luck from his conversation with Kang Yeseul, but...

‘I can do it.’

He carefully placed the light green dagger on the anvil and prepared his hammer beside it. And then...

He spat on the throne.

The onlookers gasped in shock.

"Wh-what is he doing?!"

Of course, he heard sounds of astonishment from behind him, but he couldn’t stop. The moment he stopped, he would die. He would probably die even if he didn’t. Since he was going to die anyway, it was a hundred times better to succeed at the enhancement first, so he continued with the ritual. A +15 enhancement required many poses. To execute them precisely, Han Simin stepped right onto the throne.

He kicked the backrest, did twenty jumping jacks on the spot, and then grabbed the armrests and did a handstand.

‘That’s it.’

It was enough. His insane ability demanded a sufficient ritual to raise the enhancement probability in exchange for his future life, but he didn’t complain.

‘73%!’

It was higher than he expected. Considering that the +15 enhancement in The World had barely reached 70% despite having a higher base probability, he couldn’t help but feel that the game was being generous. Of course, it wasn’t a guaranteed success. The word ‘guaranteed’ couldn’t be used unless it was 100%. So, he didn’t let his guard down. He had boasted to Jeong Seolah that a positive mindset was important, but it wasn’t easy to think that way when standing at the crossroads of a +15 enhancement. The moment he failed, he would die. He wasn’t afraid of that. But if he failed, his equipment would be destroyed. That was what was terrifying. It made him tremble and gave him goosebumps.

‘I’ll just think of it as a 99% chance of destruction.’

If he wanted to hope for good luck, he had to hope for the opposite: a downgrade. The best-case scenario upon failure. Of course, there was a probability that neither would apply, but he didn’t bother thinking about that. That probability was lower than the chance of succeeding at a +15 by just hammering away without his ability. Miracles existed, but they wouldn’t find their way to Han Simin.

"Hah."

He took a breath and timed it. His increased strength was a great help in holding a one-handed handstand while lifting the hammer. Even if he failed, he had to strike. He couldn’t back out now.

‘Now!’

His hand, having let go of all hesitation, struck the dagger.

Once, strongly, twice, quickly, and once more on the hilt.

‘Please...’

Then he brought down the final hammer blow with a desperate prayer.

Clang.

He was too stunned to speak.

The gods answered his prayer with a sound. Before the hologram appeared, a chilling sensation swept over his entire body.

"You son of a..."

[Enhancement has failed.]

"...bitch."

The worst possible result greeted him. His heart sank.

* * *

Everyone stumbles at least once in their life. When that stumble happens at the peak of success, the despair that follows is immense. It’s an unavoidable part of being human. The important thing is how quickly one overcomes that despair. Fortunately, Han Simin was someone who had already felt such despair in his twenty-five years.

‘Son of a bitch!’

He quickly came to his senses. He had only considered that he might fail; he hadn’t imagined that probability would betray him at such a crucial moment. The memory of having nearly died a year ago was what jolted his mind awake.

‘This is no time for this!’

His returning senses first made him grasp reality. A +15 failure. That was an unchangeable fact. But an unbelievable stroke of luck had also come his way.

‘There’s no hologram for a downgrade or destruction.’

This was not the time to wonder why. A miracle had occurred. His head instinctively turned.

"What is it? Did it fail?" the king asked.

"Of course not! Haha," Simin bluffed.

The light green dagger was safe. The fact that the aura hadn’t turned golden and the dagger hadn’t cracked and shattered despite the failure meant only one thing.

‘One more time.’

Strength returned to the hand gripping the hammer. Usually, after a failure, one hesitates before the next attempt, worried about failing again. The same went for Han Simin. Under normal circumstances, he would have hesitated. He might have wondered if it was because of the bad luck from his conversation with Kang Yeseul and wandered around to cleanse himself of it. But there was no time for that now. Not only was there no time, but he felt that if he didn’t succeed now, he would never succeed. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

‘Here I go again.’

A venomous look entered his eyes. The determined hammering began once more.

Clang. Clang.

He burned with determination, forgetting he was essentially in someone else’s living room. ‘I will succeed, no matter what!’ His mindset had changed completely. The feeling of his heart dropping was still vivid. In that hell, he had been given another chance. ‘How?’ He cast such questions aside. Right now, it felt like he could do anything.

‘If I fail...’

Of course, the probability of failure was still around 30%. If he failed this time, it would be really the end. There would be no second chance.

Clang! Clang!

The moment was a hundred times more tense than before, but he didn’t close his eyes. He believed. He recalled the moment he had succeeded at the +15 enhancement in The World. He pictured the moment he would become rich.

‘Succeed. Succeed. Succeed.’

Clang!

His desperate belief was imbued in the hammer blows and delivered straight to the dagger. At the same time...

Flash.

A crimson light, more intense than the flames of hell, erupted from the weapon.

6.

The +14 Beginner’s Dagger that Han Simin posted on the FW Forum naturally found its rightful place, claiming the number one spot on the best posts list. While there was certainly other good information and an overflowing number of players, the reason it could do so was that the forums were divided by grade for high-level information. In the best posts section, which was mostly filled with tips for beginners, a screenshot that offered vicarious pleasure was enough to draw the players’ interest. Most of the comments were jealous, but the steadily rising view and recommendation counts proved the post’s value.

—Wow. It’s only been out for a short while and already a +14? Did this guy start the game just to enhance things?

—I wonder how much it would sell for.

—It’s just a level 1 dagger, GG.

—This guy knows nothing about FW. Look at the attack power and stats. There probably won’t be a better weapon than that until at least level 20. And look at the aura. That thing should honestly be nerfed.

—What the hell do you have to do to break through 0.1%?

—Someone who saved a country in their past life is playing a game.

Countless players remembered the ID ‘Simin,’ and at the same time, they were reminded of how amazing the effects of enhanced items were.

—Still, that’s all just a money dump. It costs 1 gold coin and 50 silver to enhance once, which is $150 in cash. Who would pay that much to enhance something they’ll use for two weeks and then throw away? In my opinion, it’s best not to even think about it unless you’re a whale.

—So does that mean this person is a whale?

—Can’t you tell just by looking? He’s probably one of the rankers.

Of course, most players couldn’t overcome the price barrier. A highly enhanced item was good, but as the comments said, you had to switch it out after a while, which could only be seen as a waste in the early game. In addition, below the screenshot Han Simin had posted, the cost of his services was written.

—2 gold coins per attempt? That’s crazy.

—An additional 20% enhancement probability for 5 gold coins. It seems like it would be worth it to start from around +5?

—Even for low enhancements, considering the cost of enhancement stones, it might be more profitable to use this.

—Of course, that’s a story for when you hit max level.

Since the FW Forum could be checked even while playing, comments continued to pour in on Han Simin’s post. Then, suddenly, someone threw out a question.

—By the way, is this person the same Simin from The World?

In a game played by over ten million players, a question from someone who had played The World until recently and remembered the incident! A small spark began to grow.

—I saw that. The Sword of Primordial Immortality or something? The guy who tried to sell the +14 for $20,000, and when everyone was hesitant, he immediately made it +15 and sold it?

—Holy shit. I got goosebumps back then. Is this person really that person?

—Wow. Then this is seriously huge. Seeing him do this here, too, doesn’t it mean there’s something special about his enhancements?

—What’s so special? It’s all just probability in the end.

—Is that why you’re carrying around a cheap dagger, because you can’t beat those odds?

The spark flared, stoking the players’ curiosity.

—Will he go for +15 this time too?

—No way.

—The +15 probability in The World was insane, but the +15 here is on another level. It’s 0.001%. Honestly, did they even make that for people to succeed?

—I read a lot of books in the FW’s library, and according to the history books, not even the NPCs in the game have ever made a +15.

—Still, I hope he goes for it.

—I second that. I want to see it break.

—For real, if this guy films it and uploads it, it’ll be epic.

—Live would be even more epic.

—If he fails, he’s gonna jump into the Han River, right?

—He’d have to.

Where attention is focused, those who wish to feed on that attention are bound to appear.

—No one would go for it unless they were a psycho. If this person goes for it and gets a +15, I’ll give him my entire fortune.

It was a comment openly asking for attention, but many players agreed and voted it to the top. They were egging him on, as if saying, ’Hey, if you’re reading this, give it a shot!’ Of course, everyone posted it for fun. That’s just the kind of place the FW Forum was. But less than ten minutes after the comment rose to the top, a new best comment pushed it out of its spot. The content was brief.

[’Simin’ has succeeded in enhancing a ‘+15 Beginner’s Low-Grade Dagger’!]

And with a single screenshot.

—Hey, top comment guy, he says to bring your house deed.

And a single reply. The number of recommendations on the post doubled.

* * *