God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 38: Episode 8 _ Wanna Bet On It_ (2)

3.

Looking at the vast expanse of the castle, only one thought came to mind. ‘Players will come here eventually, right?’

He imagined the future. ‘Eventually, the areas teeming with high-level hunting grounds will become the main hubs for players.’

And then, the big picture formed. What if he built a luxury hotel on this vast land? Or perhaps an apartment complex with a modern feel? The fusion of medieval and modern aesthetics would surely captivate people, which would lead to investment.

‘I have to buy land!’

Of course, Simin knew nothing about real estate. He’d never had enough money to be interested in it. But he knew one thing for certain: if you buy good land before anyone else, you’ll make money one way or another. It was an immutable truth. Fantastic World was, after all, another world. In the major hubs where people gathered, the number of players looking to set up businesses would inevitably increase.

As Simin stared at the city with a heart full of ambition, Khan gave him a serious answer. “Well, I once looked into opening an enhancement shop in the capital.”

“Oh! And?”

“A building the size of my current forge costs twenty thousand gold coins.”

Simin was at a loss for words.

Khan continued, “On top of that, you have to bribe the nobles with about twenty percent of the cost to get the paperwork approved, so that’s roughly twenty-four thousand gold coins. I know what you’re thinking, but you’d probably be better off buying land in a failing kingdom and taking up farming.”

‘Yes, Master. I think you’re right.’ His soaring expectations came crashing down. That damn Betago had to learn all the uselessly realistic parts of the world and apply them to the game. Twenty-four thousand gold coins was $2.4 million in cash.

‘No, wait. Even if I had $2.4 million, I couldn’t buy it.’ No player had that much gold.

Wasn’t there some other way? It felt like a waste to let go of this glimmer of hope, but he simply lacked the knowledge to pursue it.

‘Dammit.’

Maybe another chance would come along. Even if he somehow managed to scrape together the money, the next step was the real problem. The risks of diving into the real estate business, navigating a world of NPCs who saw adventurers as suckers, were far too great. At that rate, he’d be better off using the money to buy a few houses in the real world.

Simin let out a sigh.

If this were a normal game, he wouldn’t even be having these thoughts. Plenty of games had housing systems. Even in those where in-game house prices were comparable to real-world rent, players could eventually save up enough currency to buy one. If you wanted it, you bought it. But Fantastic World was different. You could buy property, yes, but the system was structured to allow you to profit from it, which made his head spin.

“Let’s go,” he said to Khan, defeated.

Was becoming a landlord impossible even in a game? With heavy steps, he headed toward the central castle.

* * *

According to Khan, there were fewer than a hundred enhancement masters on the entire continent. But gathered in one place, they seemed like a considerable crowd.

“Wow. Are all these people enhancement masters?” Simin asked.

Khan nodded and scanned the area. “There he is.” He raised his hand, and a group of burly men waved back, jogging over to greet them. It was clear they were part of the same group.

“...Aren’t there any pretty, delicate female enhancement masters?”

The sight naturally made Simin frown. How was it possible that among nearly a hundred enhancement masters, there wasn’t a single beautiful one?

“There are a few who are biologically female,” Khan offered, “Shall I introduce you?”

“Are you crazy?”

Well, it was a specialized, conservative profession, and given the blacksmith-like nature of the work, it made sense that the skills were passed down primarily to men who possessed greater physical strength. It wasn’t like he was going to fall in love with an NPC and settle down. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. If he could make friends with one, it would make playing the game a lot more enjoyable.

While he, who already had two stunning beauties in his party, clicked his tongue greedily, the gathered enhancement masters began forming groups by family line—exactly six clumps of people.

“The tension is thick,” he muttered.

They were all just enhancing items based on probability, so why were they drawing lines and engaging in a power struggle? He couldn’t understand it, but he joined in, glaring at the other groups. He was here as a representative of the Khan family, after all; he had to play his part. Besides, now that he was standing here, he felt a budding sense of belonging.

‘I don’t want to lose! I want to show these scrubs my fraudulent abilities!’

Fueled by a surge of passion, he took a step forward, and the air around him instantly changed.

“...W-what the?”

There were six families gathered, each with their own grudges, so their gazes should have been directed at each other. Even if that wasn’t the case, there were nearly a hundred people here. It didn’t make sense for all of them to be staring at the same spot.

And why him? He was just some adventurer they had never met before. A single possibility dawned on him—the crimson auras. He instinctively glanced down at himself.

“Master, did word get out?”

“Probably.”

That would explain it. He was casually wearing gear that represented a level of mastery they couldn’t reach in a lifetime of enhancing. Of course they’d be jealous of some young newbie.

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

Of course, there were people who disliked this situation even more than the other players.

“You! What kind of trick did you use?” a voice laced with malice called out, as if it had been waiting for this very moment. It felt like being accosted on the street by someone grabbing a child with a luxury bag and demanding to know where they stole it.

“Heh.” He smirked first. ‘Just as I expected.’

“This field is even more territorial than I thought.”

“What did you say? How dare a young whelp like you!”

‘Right, you had to say that line, too,’ Simin thought with an inward sigh. ‘Damn Betago bastard.’ The AI had perfectly replicated the most irritating conversational tics. After all, there was no respect for elders in a fantasy world.

Taking a deep breath, Simin stepped forward again, squaring his shoulders and staring defiantly at the burly enhancement master from another family.

“What are you looking at?! Doesn’t the Khan family teach you fledglings any manners? Then again, what would a family on the verge of collapse know about etiquette? You’re just some fraud who learned a wicked spell and calls it enhancing!”

The intimidation tactic didn’t work. Apparently, Simin didn’t look as threatening as he’d hoped.

“What was that!”

“Isn’t that going too far?”

The insult to their family name brought the Khan family’s enhancement masters forward in protest.

“Go get ‘em, guys!” Simin cheered before promptly ducking back into the crowd.

He had stepped up boldly, but this wasn’t a situation he could resolve. He didn’t know these people, and he’d realized in an instant that trying to reason with them would be utterly foolish.

‘They’ve already made up their minds, anyway.’

He could understand their talk of sorcery. To them, enhancement was a divine power, a source of immense pride. It was a kind of religion. And trying to persuade such fervent believers? He’d rather just go his own way. There were plenty of other ways to make money without getting involved with them.

“Come out and explain yourself!”

“Who do you think you are, persecuting an enhancement master from our family!”

“Does it make any sense for you to be decked out in +15 gear? Come out and explain! What kind of trick is this?”

The war of words grew more heated. With no intention of joining in, Simin watched from the back, munching on imaginary popcorn. ‘This will all sort itself out once the competition starts anyway. Tsk, tsk.’

He shuffled back a little further. Watching was one thing, but if a brawl broke out, he’d be the only one to truly suffer. ‘It’d be a problem if I died for no reason.’

If his ring happened to fall off, he’d have to go jump off a bridge. Still, he had a feeling it wouldn’t end this easily.

But he was confident. He straightened his shoulders again. His ability wasn’t demonic sorcery or anything of the sort. It was a superpower. ‘There’s no way these NPCs could figure it out.’ And since that damn supercomputer Betago—the god of Fantastic World—had already given him the perfect cover of a Legendary class, it was even less likely.

His only wish was to quietly show off his skills in the competition. He wasn’t worried, but luck had never come to him quietly in his life.

‘Please,’ he prayed desperately. ‘Let me win the competition and get the reward without any trouble! If you do, I’ll gladly listen to all the insults these burly guys can throw at me!’

His prayer reached the heavens.

And was answered in reverse.

4.

“Let the festival begin!” the Emperor declared.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

A roar loud enough to shake the imperial palace walls echoed through the capital. The Festival of Enhancement Masters had begun. It was a feast for the descendants of the continent’s Five Legends, but it was also a veiled attempt by the Empire to keep them in check. Thanks to this, the citizens of the Empire had a day to eat, drink, and be merry.

As for the enhancement masters, who cared if they were being monitored or managed? Simin certainly didn’t.

“Wow. I’m eating more meat here than I ever do in real life.” The lavishly spread tables were a sight to behold. He’d never starved, but after his military service, every penny counted. He’d had to check the price of everything before he ate. A feast like this was a rare treat. The array of foods, many of which couldn’t be found in the real world, was a delight for his palate.

“Eat slowly. You’ll choke to death,” Khan grumbled.

“No way. I have to eat all I can while I have the time.”

“For an adventurer, you’re quite the glutton.”

“Try living on instant ramen every day and see how you feel.”

Ignoring Khan’s protests, Simin continued to stuff his face. Indigestion be damned. It wouldn’t kill him, would it? And even if it did, they say one who died eating is a happy ghost. With less than two hours until the competition, he shoveled food into his stomach while secretly slipping more into his magic pouch. The subspace unlocked by his +14 enhancement gave him the freedom to pilfer without anyone noticing.

The blissful time passed quickly. Soon, Simin and the other enhancement masters were summoned to a large, open area resembling the palace’s main courtyard to listen to the Emperor’s address.

“I...”

‘It’s going to be the usual stuff about how he cherishes us and hopes for our continued service,’ Simin thought, tuning it out as he glanced at the items being prepared. ‘That must be it.’

The annual Enhancement Competition. All they did was hammer away and leave the rest to luck, but it was a chance for the fewer than one hundred masters on the continent to gather and for the luckiest of them to receive a gift from the Emperor. There was no room for corruption.

‘Heh heh.’

But this year would be different because Simin was participating.

‘I’ll make them regret ever insulting me.’

Even if the competition was just for show, the Emperor himself was hosting and observing. The prize had to be worth at least a few hundred gold coins, right? The mere thought made him tremble with excitement.

“We will now begin the Enhancement Competition. Will the three representatives from each family please step forward.”

The long-awaited announcement finally came. Khan had already arranged everything, so Simin stepped forward without hesitation. The other enhancement masters did the same. A total of eighteen masters approached the Emperor and bowed.

“This year’s competition item is Highest-Grade Holy Water. The time limit is two hours. The family of the enhancement master with the highest enhancement level at the end of the time will be the winner. Now...”

As the announcer spoke, Simin glanced at the small glass vial containing a pure white liquid. A hologram naturally appeared before his eyes.

‘Perfect.’

It was a Rare-grade item, but its level requirement was only 1. Finding a prime location for up to +12 wouldn’t be difficult. And since he only had to return within the time limit, his movements weren’t restricted.

‘I’ve already won.’ The best the others could hope for was probably +10.

“Heh heh.”

“You may begin!”

Simin immediately stood up and grabbed the Highest-Grade Holy Water. He would finish this quickly and get back to enjoying the festival.

“Your Majesty!”

But an ominous voice cut through the air. His gaze snapped to its source.

Simin froze.

It was that bastard with no manners from yesterday, the one who had been screaming his head off. Simin’s brow furrowed. There was always a reason when a lowly enhancement master had the audacity to address the Emperor directly.

‘Please, no!’ he begged internally. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t make this a pain for me...’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“What is it?” the Emperor asked.

“Your Majesty, I humbly report that one of the enhancement masters from the Khan family is suspected of using unjust power. I fear this blessed occasion will be sullied.”

‘You son of a bitch...’ So he was going to make a scene after all.

Simin awkwardly raised his gaze and met the eyes of the Emperor. The monarch’s presence was so intensely majestic, so utterly cold, that it was easy to forget he was just an NPC.

What should he do? A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Then, he gave up. The milk was already spilled. Whatever he did now, it was going to be a hassle. He could provide proof if he had to. But the thought of doing something he shouldn’t have to do was infuriating.

So he made his choice.

‘Shit. If it’s going to be a pain anyway...’

He turned his head toward the damn enhancement master, who was kneeling with his head bowed.

“What did you say? You son of a bitch! You dare insult me?” Simin charged forward and kicked the man squarely in the head.

* * *