God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 47: Episode 9 _ Blow It Up (5)

‘What is this?’

Just when things were going so well, a variable appeared, making him pause. Of course, this could happen. It wasn’t a game he had made. He had no idea what Betago was thinking, and the secrets of a Legendary-grade class were even more veiled in mystery. So, he decided to take it in stride. As long as he handled whatever came his way, there wouldn’t be a major problem.

"Support, Monopolize."

Hmm. The two holograms that appeared presented him with a choice between two opposing concepts. Thankfully, there was no time limit, so he could think it over as much as he wanted. He began to deduce, not that there was much to deduce.

‘So the ring can evolve like this?’

All the holograms had appeared after he enhanced the Ring of Blessing to +15, so it had to be a result of the change. The fact that it had evolved and gained a special option made it even more likely. There was no need to wonder why other items didn’t do this. It was in a different league. The word ‘Legendary’ explained everything.

So, he tossed aside any thoughts of logic and started to deliberate. What should he choose? Ultimately, the important thing was which choice would increase its value when he sold it.

‘Support seems to be about helping others, and monopoly is about taking it all for myself.’

Since the ring itself had an experience-boosting option, it was probably a choice between everyone gaining more experience together or one person hogging it all.

"If it were me..."

He would obviously choose to monopolize. You had to look out for yourself before you could help others. Besides, the idea of someone with his personality choosing to help others was absurd.

"...I wonder what Seolah would think."

But what mattered wasn’t his opinion, but the buyer’s. This wasn’t some cheap item, and now that it came with custom service, why hesitate? He immediately conference-called the guild.

"Hello?"

There was a brief pause, then a deep voice came through.

—"You’re not one of those perverts who get off on watching women you barely know strip naked and crawl around barking like dogs, are you?"

"...Excuse me?"

‘What kind of crap is this?’ Not only was he annoyed that Jeong Hyeonsu was the first to answer, but he was spouting nonsense.

—"Answer me. Now." Hyeonsu pressed on, ignoring Simin’s blatant reaction. He had posed a choice, but his tone was more of a demand, as if the answer was already decided.

"Hmm."

But Simin wasn’t the type to be swayed by such things. He hadn’t opened the guild chat to answer such a pointless question, but since Hyeonsu seemed desperate, he gave it some thought.

"Are they pretty?"

—"...One is pretty enough to be a celebrity, the other is just a kid."

"For some reason, I’m getting a strong Seolah and Yeseul vibe, but I must be mistaken, right?"

—"Just shut up and answer."

Even if he couldn’t figure out why those two came to mind first, he knew they would never do something like that in front of him, so he dismissed the thought. "Well. If they’re pretty, I wouldn’t mind."

The fact that they were pretty settled it.

"I don’t know why some crazy woman would do that, but from a guy’s perspective, I’d have to thank them. As long as I don’t have to pay for it."

‘What was that about?’ Simin wondered, but quickly moved on. That wasn’t important.

"Is Seolah there?"

—"...Yes." A hesitant voice emerged, as if she had been listening the whole time. After hearing Hyeonsu’s grating voice, hers was like a balm to his ears.

A smile spread freely across his face as he asked, "You saw that I got the ring to +15, right?"

—"...Yes, congratulations."

"Thanks. But a small problem has come up."

—"What kind of problem?"

"Before that, you’re definitely still buying it, right?"

—"Yes, of course." Her voice lacked some of its usual energy, but her answer was filled with conviction. ‘Perfect.’

With a satisfied smile, he shared his secret. "It’s actually a premium option, and you got lucky. It just popped up. You can choose the ring’s option."

—"Choose the option?"

"Yes, Support and Monopolize. There are two types. You can probably guess what they do, right?"

—"...Don’t tell me the option can be shared?"

The shamelessness of selling a lucky break as a paid service! Jeong Seolah didn’t seem to mind; she was surprised by something else.

"It’s not exactly sharing. It’s probably more like an aura that helps nearby players, like Yeseul’s staff."

—"Then the option’s effect..."

"It would probably be weaker than Monopolize."

Nothing was one hundred percent certain. But another word for a merchant is a con artist. He ran his mouth first. If he was wrong, he could just change his story later. Besides, he wasn’t wrong. That’s probably how it worked if Betago had any sense.

"In my case, I think Monopolize would be better. But since you’re the one buying it, I thought it would be best to ask."

—"Ah!"

Seolah was silent for a moment. She was probably discussing it with the other two. He waited patiently. He had endured twenty-four hours of hammering; this happy wait was nothing.

—"We’ll choose Support."

The answer that came after the wait was different from his own choice. His mind was full of questions as to why, but he didn’t do anything stupid like voicing them. The customer is king. No, a customer who pays a lot is a master.

"Alright, I’ll choose Support then. As you know, once I choose, you have to buy it."

—"We can afford whatever it costs, so please, just make sure you sell it to us."

"Of course. I’ll contact you again in a bit."

—"Okay. Oh, and Simin."

"Yes?"

—"...Could I possibly get your address?"

"My address?"

‘What’s this now?’

A sudden request for his address? All sorts of thoughts, completely different from when Hyeonsu had spouted his nonsense, swirled in his head. Jeong Seolah was just that attractive and pretty. When a woman like that asks such a question, there’s usually a reason. Being a man, Simin let himself get a little ahead of himself.

"Is this a come on?"

—"Pfft. Well, it’s not *not* that, but since you’ve joined the guild, I thought we should meet in person at least once."

"Ah."

‘So that’s it.’ It was a bit disappointing, but it wasn’t a secret, and there was no reason not to tell her, so he rattled it off.

He thought he heard deep sighs from both Seolah and the kid, Kang Yeseul, after he gave his address, but his eagerness to deal with the hologram in front of him made him ignore it. He immediately selected the hologram.

"Support."

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

The Ring of Blessing shed its cocoon, reborn with a plausible name.

[A hidden option of the Legendary job ‘Ultimate Legendary Enhancement Master’ has been activated!]

[A special option will be added to the ‘+15 Ring of Devotion’!]

And once again, a hologram appeared, making him uneasy.

‘A special option?’

He had a feeling it would be something spectacular and flashy, but the preceding phrase, "a hidden option of the Legendary Class," was quite unsettling. From the moment he’d changed his job, he had never once received a benefit from it. Instead, he had only accumulated a pile of infuriating penalties.

"Don’t tell me..."

Of course, there was no guarantee it would be the same this time, so he decided not to be too prejudiced. If you label something with a narrow view, it tends to become that way, even if it wasn’t originally.

If he just maintained a positive attitude, his Legendary class was sure to become a great asset one day. And if that day happened to be today, all the better. With a heart full of expectation, he examined the ring. ‘It has to be worth at least $1 million... no, considering its rarity, the post-enhancement options, and the ‘Devoted’ prefix, I could probably get over $3 million.’ And since Fantastic World was a magnet for the world’s wealthiest, he could probably get even more if he were patient.

[+15 Ring of Devoted Blessing]

Grade: Special Epic Legendary

Level Requirement: 1

Option 1: EXP Gained +30% (+30%)

Option 2: ‘Deep Red Aura’ Effect Applied

* Item Drop Rate (Rare or higher) +20%

* Bonus EXP when killing monsters 10+ levels higher +5%

* Bonus EXP per target affected by Special Aura +1% (Max 20)

Special Option 1: Bonus EXP when killing Named Monsters +50% (+50%)

Special Option 2: ‘Devoted’ Special Aura Effect Applied

* All of the item’s options are applied to targets within a 33-foot radius.

* However, the wearer does not receive the item’s effects.

Special Option 3: Infinite Durability, Indestructible

Special Option 4: Soulbound Engraving (Simin). Does not drop upon death.

He was speechless. It was brilliantly, breathtakingly beautiful—so magnificent and sublime that he doubted a better item existed in all of Fantastic World, or ever would. Just the first option alone, a staggering 60% EXP boost, would have players lining up to sell their cars and houses for it.

And that was just the beginning. The aura effect multiplied its value exponentially. A double experience bonus for killing named monsters—the pinnacle of gaming! No matter how the game evolved, that would always be an incredible advantage, not to mention the additional bonus EXP that scaled with the number of people affected by the aura. Every single option, without exaggeration, was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on its own. And all of them, combined into one item, made the value astronomical.

The finishing touch, the ‘Devoted’ prefix he’d chosen by selecting ‘Support,’ was the final piece that solidified its game-breaking status. The wearer couldn’t benefit from it, but what about a guild? If one person made the ‘sacrifice,’ dozens of other players could grow at an accelerated rate. If they all belonged to the same guild, it would be a nightmare for their competition. And to top it all off, the hidden class option: infinite durability and indestructible made it an item for life! It was truly flawless, without a single speck of imperfection.

“...Shit.”

If only it weren’t for that last special option.

“Aaaargh! What is this?!”

No, the last option wasn’t bad in itself. Soulbound was good. Engraving was good. An option that prevented it from dropping on death was probably the most coveted feature for anyone buying an item worth millions. After all, there were infamous cases in other games where entire groups of players would PK someone just to steal their high-value weapon.

“Who the hell decided to bind it to me?!”

The logic was sound, he supposed. The special option was a hidden effect of his Legendary enhancement master job. He figured some greedy enhancement master of old probably wanted to engrave a great Legendary item to himself so he could keep it safe forever. And objectively, it wasn’t a loss. If he hadn’t planned on selling it, Simin would have been thrilled to discover such a great hidden option.

But a tiny, trivial detail—which also happened to be the entire point—was now tripping him up.

It was now an unsellable item.

He now knew what it felt like to watch millions of dollars evaporate before his very eyes. The anguish was so palpable it felt like tears were streaming down his face.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

When his luck was bad, it was truly abysmal.

“Should I just go die?” he muttered. ‘I wonder if the Han River is warm this time of year.’ Ah, life was meaningless. His house, his car—all gone.

“Ha. Hahaha.”

Then, an even more absurd fact dawned on him. He’d momentarily forgotten in the cascade of shocking developments, but...

“Devotion, my ass! Aaaargh!”

The one person the item was bound to couldn’t even receive its effects! For Han Simin, a man who would live and die by his own efforts and would never acknowledge words like ‘donation’ or ‘charity,’ this was nothing short of divine punishment.

“Whatever. I’m done. I’m getting a drink.”

Defeated, he logged out into the real world. The grand tragedy, born from a dozen overlapping coincidences, had come to an end.

* * *