God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 233: Episode _A Hero is Made in Turbulent Times (5)
6.
"Kkue-eong," Sudal cried.
"Kkyu kkyu!" the rabbits chirped, comforting it. ’Don’t be so sad. This is all for our master.’
"Kkueong."
But it wasn’t easily consoled. While it was indeed for their master, this was a task the rabbits could handle. Sudal had its own mission from Simin. It hadn’t even finished its own mission yet, but here it was, dragged along by the rabbits to help with someone else’s work. Well, since becoming Simin’s pet, it was fair to see them as family rather than strangers, which is why it was helping instead of heading straight back, but the anxiety was the same.
"Kkueong. Kkueong!"
"Kkyu kkyu kkyu!"
’If Master sees me slacking off, that’ll be the day I die. Don’t worry, friend! We’ll help you. It’s a world where we help each other!’
"Kkueong!"
’Alright. Since it’s come to this, I’ll just help the rabbits.’
Sudal made up its mind. It was time for a break from being cooped up making a mine for months. It wasn’t that it was tired of it; it had lived its whole life that way and found fulfillment in it. However, it would take much more time for the mine to be perfectly completed, spawn new veins, and produce results helpful to Simin. It was a decision based on a vision of the future: if it latched onto the rabbits’ short-term results, it could make up for its own lack of progress and perhaps even receive praise alongside them.
Sudal had grown smart enough to have such thoughts! With Sudal on their side, the rabbits ran wild as if they owned the world.
"Kkyu kkyu kkyu!"
They would blend in naturally, and if they saw a user who looked like an easy target, they would lunge for their neck. At first, they had attacked any user they came across, new or not, but after realizing that new users—the ones in t-shirts and shorts—didn’t have anything worth taking, they began to PK more wisely. That’s how, even as stories of the suspicious rabbits spread across the continent, they were able to achieve their goals without getting caught.
They only targeted users between levels 40 and 60! Killing such users would occasionally drop something decent. Even if a user didn’t pay to win, if they had the dedication to raise a character to that level, they were bound to have at least one good weapon. It might not drop, but if it did, it was a jackpot. With ninety rabbits, if they camped out for a few days, they were bound to get lucky once.
Once they scored, the rabbits moved on without hesitation. It was the best strategy their simple minds could devise—a survival instinct honed through countless battles with monsters. Staying in one place for too long was dangerous. In fact, the rabbits were playing on a razor’s edge. As news of the suspicious rabbits spread and various theories emerged, the number of high-level users rolling up their sleeves to catch them was growing by the day.
This incident also had a pretty good pretext. Rabbits harassing new players! Some suspected they had come from a demonic energy-imbued gate, while others guessed Simin had released them. Whatever the case, catching one would bring a lot of attention.
As a result, the rabbits’ income grew daily. They weren’t wearing their armor and fangs, but their base level 70 stats were enough to make most users unable to even challenge them. Though there were occasional instances of parties trying to bait and counterattack them.
"What the hell!"
"Aargh! Why are there so many!"
The other rabbits, who had been quietly waiting and pretending to be normal, would launch a pincer attack. That was the signal for a strategic retreat. In an instant, countless users would charge with bloodshot eyes, determined to get a stab in, and the rabbits would fight back until it seemed too difficult, then flee.
That’s when the watching Sudal’s power would be unleashed. The activation of a Rune. Viewers of Simin’s broadcast would tilt their heads, thinking, ’Huh?’ It was an undeniable similarity, but the rabbits and Sudal couldn’t care less. After causing a ruckus, the rabbits would escape. As time passed, the arrows of suspicion pointed more and more toward Simin.
—Aren’t those Sir Simin’s rabbits?
—I thought his rabbits wore armor.
—They probably just took it off for a bit.
—It’s probably them. I was on the fence, but I saw a video where Sudal appeared too.
—Yeah, that glowing thing when they run away. That’s Sudal’s buff.
—Holy crap. Are they really Sir Simin’s rabbits? But why?
They had tried to be clever, but too much had already been revealed on Simin’s broadcasts. No, in the first place, when rabbits like these appeared, the first suspicion should have been that they came from a demonic energy-imbued gate. The fact that Simin was the first person to come to mind made the rabbits’ secret mission impossible from the start.
Users started to grumble. Not just the ones who died, but as always with issues of power abuse, people who had nothing to do with it joined in to criticize. And then, as if it had been waiting, Simin’s broadcast went live. The link was shared, and countless viewers flocked to his channel. The chat was flooded with messages asking if he did it on purpose and if this was a declaration of war on the continent.
The chat was being derailed. The mood always flows in the direction it’s pushed. Even Simin’s broadcast couldn’t ignore this! As if their thoughts had reached him, instead of ignoring the chat as usual, he read it with a smile.
"Hello, everyone. I know there’s been a lot of talk about my rabbits lately. It seems quite a few of you have died to them. The firepower is incredible."
—Is he laughing?
—Unbelievable. He’s laughing after killing people.
Naturally, people reacted even more fiercely. It was understandable to feel wronged.
—Dammit. My classes start the day after tomorrow, so I was planning to pull two all-nighters, but I died.
—Ugh. So annoying. I dropped my weapon.
It wasn’t just being killed by a PKer; it was being killed by a tamed pet. They had nowhere to vent their frustration and were about to just cry into their drinks, but now a channel of communication had opened. Of course, they had to come and complain.
But those people had forgotten something for a moment. Simin’s channel was different from others. His personality—his in-game personality—was trash, acknowledged even by a black dragon.
"It seems you all enjoyed the event I prepared. I haven’t been able to stream properly lately, and I felt sorry for my waiting fans. So, amidst the chaotic state of the continent, I released my rabbits and Sudal to bring my fans a small, simple joy. I call it... Catch the Rabbit!"
The chat was too stunned to speak.
"Whoever catches a rabbit will receive a +15 rabbit equipment set that I made myself. I’m on my way to hunt black magic mages right now, so I need every rabbit I can get, but I released them despite the risk so you could all enjoy the event. Please have fun!"
No apology. Just shamelessness! The rabbits were, in fact, an event prepared for the users, for the viewers. The viewers’ chat froze for a moment, so dumbfounded were they. It took them a moment to understand what he was saying. And then they understood.
—This is crazy. He’s basically daring us to do something about it.
—LMAO
—He really lives up to his reputation.
—I support you.
A chaotic mix of curses and laughter erupted. In terms of overall viewer numbers, Simin’s fans in the broadcast overwhelmingly outnumbered the victims of the rabbit incident. Furthermore, compared to the entire 『Fantastic World』 player base, the number was insignificant.
Of course, it was a non-issue PK. In a game where killing a user out of boredom on the street wasn’t a big deal, who was going to hold a master responsible for being killed by his rabbit? If you really wanted to, you could just overpower him and demand an apology. But very few users could do that. There was only one thing those users could do.
—You son of a...!
Get kicked from the channel after paying a hefty fee for spewing profanities. The broadcast atmosphere gradually calmed down. It was semi-forced, but the moment Squeaker appeared on screen, chats demanding the truth about the rabbit incident lost all their power.
Having used the rabbits as an excuse to gather viewers once again, Simin proceeded toward his destination.
*
7.
Leading the black magic mages out of the forbidden zone, Kang Yeseul advanced without hesitation.
"You’re really going to follow my orders for now, right?"
"We will follow any command that aims to throw the continent into chaos," a black mage replied.
"Great!"
After confirming with the black magic mages one more time, she squared her shoulders.
"Follow me!"
The black magic mages were silent.
It was a line she had always wanted to shout. The embarrassment was, as always, left to Jeong Seolah and Jeong Hyeonsu, but the two veterans didn’t stop her. In this situation, her brand of craziness was actually helpful.
With Kang Yeseul, holding an out-of-place pure white staff, at the forefront, they marched confidently toward the nearest castle. As they passed through the forest and the monsters disappeared, players began to appear one by one.
"Huh?"
"What the!"
The players were surprised to see so many people emerging from the monster-hunting grounds. Among them were some who recognized the Specialists.
"Oh! It’s the Specialists!"
"Who’s behind them?"
"New guild members?"
"No way. They’re a small elite guild." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
The players greeted them warmly. Then, their eyes fell on the unfamiliar attire of the people with them.
"Huh?"
"Black magic mages?"
"Why are black magic mages with the Specialists...?"
They hadn’t been seen for a while, but any user who had started playing in the last few months and played consistently would know them. Besides, they were wearing black robes as if to advertise the fact that they were black magic mages. The question didn’t last long. As the gazes turned to them, demanding an answer, Kang Yeseul kindly responded.
"Kill them!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Magic rained down on the players. Under the thuggish assault of the black magic mages, they met a futile end. Where they had stood, only their belongings remained, lonely keepsakes.
A silence followed, broken by the sound of Kang Yeseul’s laughter.
"Kyahahaha! This is so much fun! I feel like a real villain! This is awesome!"
Jeong Seolah and Jeong Hyeonsu were speechless.
Jeong Seolah and Jeong Hyeonsu shook their heads.
"Haaah."
"There she goes again."
Sighs escaped them. What they had feared was beginning to happen. It had always been this way, so it wasn’t awkward or strange.
"Maybe Yeseul becoming a black mage was for this very day."
"Still, she’s the best fit for it."
In every game, whenever they went on a rampage, Kang Yeseul was always the first to jump in, spending money without a second thought and enjoying herself. Her true colors were slowly beginning to show.
*
