God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 46: Episode 9 _ Blow It Up (4)

[Enhancement has failed.]

[’+13 Sanctuary of the Curse’ will be destroyed.]

[You have acquired the title ’First Destruction!’]

[First Destruction!]

Grade: Rare

Description: After a long challenge, you have tasted frustration! The goddess of patience will be with you!

Benefit: Stamina +5

"Yes!"

It worked! A wave of emotion washed over him. ‘So a god does exist.’ He hadn’t slept in over twenty hours, doing nothing but hammering until he was on the verge of developing a hysterical aversion to the sound, but at least his desperate prayers had been answered.

"Wow. It actually broke."

A sense of pride swelled within him as he watched the gloomy, oppressive aura inside the detached palace clear away. Enhancement truly was a mysterious thing. Although there were still countless things that couldn’t be enhanced, seeing with his own two eyes that the scope of his ability expanded with each awakening gave him hope. Passion surged. He wanted to research more, to enhance things no one had ever imagined. How much could he charge for items born from creative thinking and enhancement? The thought excited him.

At the same time, he moved to focus on the present.

‘I’ll just take 100.’ That wasn’t his original plan, but in the midst of the repetitive hammering, he’d reached a point where he wasn’t even counting the attempts anymore. Naturally, he didn’t know how many stones were left, and neither did the palace servants. As long as he wasn’t caught, it was free money.

He immediately opened his subspace and began shoveling the nearly empty bags of enhancement stones inside, not forgetting to scan his surroundings meticulously. He had to be ready to stop at any moment and act nonchalant. The only ones watching were the two imperial knights, who stood like statues staring straight ahead.

‘Huh? Two?’ Suddenly, he felt a sense of emptiness. Only two? That didn’t seem right. Something was nagging at him, something that felt off. His hands continued to scoop up stones, but he had a strange feeling that it wasn’t supposed to be just two people.

‘I don’t think it was just the three of us, including me...’

At that moment, he remembered what he had forgotten. It wasn’t complicated. The answer was obvious if he just recalled why he was going through all this trouble in the first place.

‘The Princess!’

He had been so blinded by the enhancement stones that he had forgotten her.

‘She’s drinking it, right?’ With no time for remorse, he whipped his head around. With the Sanctuary of the Curse gone, she should have been drinking the holy water immediately. It was a matter of critical timing where not even a fraction of a second could be wasted.

"Aargh!"

But what Simin saw when he turned was an uncapped bottle of Highest-Grade Holy Water spilling onto the floor, and next to it, the collapsed form of the Princess.

"No! Damn it!" He hadn’t even pocketed his target number of stones, but he threw the bag to the ground and sprinted. That wasn’t important right now.

"Son of a bitch! Why didn’t you just drink it when I gave it to you!"

What kind of tragic irony was this? Had she collapsed so quickly that she couldn’t even open the bottle and take a sip? He didn’t know what bastard had cast this curse, but he resented them with every fiber of his being.

This curse wasn’t just for the Princess; it was clearly designed to torment anyone who tried to save her.

‘You son of a bitch... If I ever find you, you’re dead.’ He laid the Princess across his lap and gritted his teeth, cursing the anonymous caster—someone whose name, age, face, gender, and even race were a complete mystery. ‘Someday, when the main quest progresses, I’ll get my chance.’

He let out a sharp breath. For now, saving the collapsed Princess was all that mattered.

‘She’s not already dead, is she?’

Since she had stopped breathing and collapsed instantly, it was a real possibility.

"No!"

That couldn’t happen. If she died, the Emperor would immediately have him thrown in prison and find a way to get his character deleted. The thought alone was horrifying. To fail on the very cusp of turning his life around... His +14 Ring of Blessing would rot away in some imperial dungeon, its value never recognized. And with it, his dream of making a new life for himself as a gamer would die.

He shook his head violently. What a terrifying future. His vision narrowed.

"Haa... Haa..."

A venomous glint appeared in his eyes. He coolly tossed aside the half-spilled bottle of Highest-Grade Holy Water and grabbed another, twisting the cap off.

‘I have to save her.’

With fierce determination, he met her lifeless eyes.

"...Shit."

A heartfelt curse escaped his lips, but what else could he do? He brought the bottle to his own mouth, took a large swig of the Holy Water, and leaned over the Princess. The foul stench made him gag.

"Ugh."

It was a precious opportunity to get a small taste of what the Princess had endured for months. He carefully pried open her clenched jaw and let the Holy Water flow from his mouth into hers. He didn’t stop there, pressing on her throat to ensure the liquid went down before watching her anxiously.

‘Please, live.’

Praying, he immediately uncapped the next bottle. The thought of potential side effects from an overdose never even crossed his mind. She was sure to die if he did nothing, so what did a few side effects matter? Aside from the fact that the acid reflux made him feel like he was about to die, the current situation was a hundred times better for the Princess.

He continued to pour Holy Water down her throat. Without a moment to check if her condition was improving, he used up every last bottle he had prepared. For a fleeting moment, he considered pocketing a few to sell later, but what good would that do if the Princess died? He summoned the last speck of his conscience and focused on the task.

"Hah."

When he was finished, he felt as if the curse had transferred to him. He turned his head, gulping in the fresh air, but the stench lingered. He honestly felt like dying just once to get rid of the smell. He glared resentfully at the Princess, who was the source of all this trouble. ‘I’ve done this much. Isn’t it about time you woke up?’

He stared at her for a long time. There was nothing more he could do. He still had the +14 Holy Water, but that was his final trump card to win the bet. There was no guarantee that giving it to her would miraculously wake her up, and he had no intention of throwing it away without a plan.

"Cough!"

"Oh!"

Thankfully, the Princess had the decency to show signs of life finally. Just then, the Emperor, having heard the news, arrived.

"Father!"

"...The curse is broken."

It was a tearful reunion between father and daughter. Simin’s shoulders swelled with pride, soaring past the sky and into the cosmos. The Princess’s voice, free from the curse, was no longer grotesque. While she didn’t instantly transform into a beauty like in a novel or movie, the boils and pus that had covered her body vanished without a trace. Her intelligent eyes, bright as if she were emerging from a shell, took in the world around her.

"Heh. How touching."

The sight of her running into the Emperor’s arms was moving to anyone who saw it. The surrounding palace servants were secretly wiping away tears. Simin was no different.

"Hic... Mom, I’m rich now."

Simi’s tears were for a different reason, but they were real. All this suffering had finally paid off. After considering the worst-case scenario of having to give up and start over, he had achieved his goal through a twenty-four-hour grind he’d never attempted in his life. Who wouldn’t be moved? He quickly ran through a mental checklist of everything he needed to extort from the Emperor.

‘Enhance the ring, enhance the Holy Water, sign the marriage certificate, then go to the treasury and grab three items...’

He wouldn’t miss a single thing. With a look of grim resolve, Simin interrupted the touching father-daughter moment.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but could you save the drama for later and finish shooting the rest of the movie?"

The Emperor and Princess fell silent, their joyful reunion cut short.

Resentful glares shot Simin’s way, but he didn’t flinch. He had already spoken his mind to the Emperor. With a nonchalant stride, he headed back inside the now-clean detached palace. It was time to see the end of the bet of the century between Han Simin and the Emperor, as well as the second bet taking place far away in the Ain Kingdom between Jeong Seolah and Kang Yeseul.

6.

It went without saying that Simin had not the slightest, not even an ant’s toenail’s worth, of an intention to enhance the ring to +15 for the bet. This entire journey had begun with the Ring of Blessing. In terms of value, the ring came first, then the Holy Water—not the other way around. Most importantly, there was its rarity. As for the Holy Water, even if he lost the bet in the worst-case scenario, the Emperor was unlikely to actually enslave him since he had saved the Princess. He had already gauged the Emperor’s feelings on the matter, so he could just relax and make another +15 Holy Water later. The Emperor might not even want it anymore.

Therefore, he could sacrifice the Holy Water, but never the ring. His plan was to enhance the ring first. He already had a precedent with the curse’s sanctuary exploding. It felt like he could use the sanctuary as a sacrifice to overcome even the slimmest chance of failure.

"There is no need to enhance the Holy Water now."

"...Huh?"

An unbelievable voice reached Simin’s ears. It was the Emperor’s solemn, serious pronouncement.

"The Princess is free from the curse, so I will consider the bet my loss."

‘What nonsense is he saying?’ At first glance, it sounded like a favor worthy of cheers, but Simin’s brow furrowed instinctively.

"No, you can’t!" he protested, stopping the Emperor. ‘Please don’t do this. It’s so out of character.’

Confused stares naturally fell upon him, and Simin hastily made an excuse. "I mean, a bet is a bet. And since she’s already had the Highest-Grade Holy Water, she should finish it off with a +15 Highest-Grade Holy Water. Who knows? It might wash away any lingering remnants of the curse still in her body."

"It seems to have been lifted the moment she left the detached palace," the Emperor noted.

"No! Absolutely not!" Simin vehemently denied it, his eyes scanning the Princess. ‘There’s no way the Princess is supposed to look like this. Nope.’

‘There must be something more like hidden beauty. And I will be the one to find it!’

Seeing Simin burning with a strange sense of duty, the Princess smiled and said, "Please allow him to do so, Father."

"Very well."

Her words were approved without question. Simin immediately headed for the prime spot, over which he had agonized for these few short steps!

"Heheh."

Without wasting time, he took out the anvil and checked the ritual and the required sacrifice. A +15 Legendary-grade item. It would be no easy feat, and his body tensed on its own. The prime spot alone was draining enough, so this was to be expected.

But the sacrifice was simpler than he thought. No, it wasn’t just simple. There was only one, short, potent sacrifice. His gaze naturally shifted to the Emperor. The Simin who had been spouting insults was gone, replaced by one wearing a servile smile.

"Ahem, Your Majesty."

The Emperor looked at him, puzzled.

"I’m sorry, but you couldn’t just pretend you didn’t hear what I said earlier, could you?"

"What did you say?"

"The part about how it would be good for her to drink the +15 Holy Water. Something’s come up."

The Emperor remained silent, his expression unreadable. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The sacrifice required for the +15 Ring of Blessing was a +15 Highest-Grade Holy Water. Whether it was Betago’s mischief or the system chose sacrifices based on his inventory, the result was the same. He was going to enhance the ring, and he needed the Holy Water to do it.

The Emperor let out a disbelieving laugh. He was no fool. He instantly understood the meaning behind Simin’s words. "So you were enhancing the ring in the treasury because this was your true purpose all along."

"I can make you another one if you need it."

"...What are your thoughts, daughter?"

"If my savior needs it, then I am fine with it," she replied.

‘Her heart is truly beautiful.’ The effects of the curse still left her looking pitiful, but for some reason, she looked lovely.

"Fine. I will forgive you in exchange for one of your wishes."

"Thank you!"

He had received the Emperor’s forgiveness. One wish was a small price to pay for a +15 Ring of Blessing.

"Well then..."

All that was left was to enhance the ring to +15. With a joyful heart, he took off the ring and placed the Holy Water on the anvil.

He paused. Then he realized something.

"Um, Your Majesty."

"Adventurers are truly strange and troublesome creatures. You ask for so much."

The +15 Holy Water also required a sacrifice. Wearing his +15 shamelessness, he smiled sheepishly. Fortunately, the needed item was a Rare-grade with a low level requirement, so it was easy to obtain, and the Emperor simply handed it over. And with that...

[Player ‘Simin’ has successfully enhanced ‘+15 Highest-Grade Holy Water’!]

[Total +15 Successes: 4]

A sacrifice impossible for any enhancement master other than Han Simin was complete.

[Player ‘Simin’ has successfully enhanced ‘+15 Ring of Blessing’!]

[Total +15 Successes: 5]

[You have acquired the title ‘Ultimate Legendary Enhancement Master!’]

[You are the first to achieve a +15 Legendary item.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[First-ever Mythic Achievement! You have acquired 50 Stat Points.]

[‘+15 Ring of Blessing’ evolves into ‘+15 Ring of Blessing of Choice’.]

[A special option has been added to ‘+15 Ring of Blessing of Choice’.]

[‘+15 Ring of Blessing of Choice’ requests a selection.]

"Huh?"

Two holograms blocked his view.

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