God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 57: Episode 11 _ A Single Player Receives A Single Portion (6)
"Ahem. Freeze."
Simin’s hand wasn’t faster than sight, but it was faster than Gongheon’s. Their hands faced off over the leather pouch.
"Ah, ahaha. That comment was just a joke. You’re not taking it seriously, are you?" Gongheon asked.
"I’m taking it very seriously."
Simin had a conscience, of a sort. He knew the comment was just for trolling, and he knew there was no way Gongheon would just hand over the goods from an official, brokered trade. If he did, you’d have to question his sanity. These were gold coins worth $110,000.
"Let’s just complete the trade first. Haha. I’ve brought a generous bonus for you," Gongheon said, trying to smooth things over.
"Hmm." It was all a performance to squeeze out a little more. Simin waved the dagger around menacingly.
"I-I brought 50 gold coins as a bonus, so please put the dagger away and let’s talk."
"I hear players have a chance of dropping gold coins when they die..."
"...Sir."
"Hey, it’s a joke. You think I’d actually kill you? I have a Gold status on the FW community, you know."
Requesting a trade and then stealing the gold coins was a common occurrence in the hyper-realistic Fantastic World. The game company was expected to prevent it, but in-game matters were under Betago’s jurisdiction. Legal action or account suspension was possible, but recovering the gold coins was not.
However, if that were the case, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would gear up to rob gold coin farms. So, Betago had created a countermeasure: if you submitted evidence, the trade on the brokerage site would be forcibly completed, and everything related to the thief’s Fantastic World account would be permanently banned. No one in their right mind would do something like that for a few bucks.
"Of course! Haha. I’ve included a hefty bonus, so please calm down. Here are 1,050 gold coins," Gongheon said, relieved.
"Yes, ah. But the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I think it would be best to cancel the trade," Simin said coolly.
"...Excuse me?"
"I don’t want to resort to unsportsmanlike conduct like theft, but doing business with someone who made fun of my post is a little..."
"No, sir!"
But there was always a way. Loopholes existed everywhere. Knowing this, Gongheon grew frantic.
"Please cancel the trade. I’ll give you plenty of money for your trip back," Simin stated.
"No! Please, just reconsider..."
"My mind is made up. When I think about how hurt I was back then, I want to kill you on the spot, but..."
Simin channeled his inner tragic heroine. Feigning magnanimity, he pulled out his own leather pouch and offered 10 gold coins.
"Here, take this and go."
Anyone who knew Simin’s usual personality would be shocked. But Gongheon, understanding exactly what was happening, couldn’t stop his hands from trembling.
"I-I’m sorry, sir!"
Simin had the moral high ground. The site wouldn’t allow a cancellation without reason, but Simin’s excuse was perfectly plausible. He wasn’t stealing anything, just canceling. However, the situation after the cancellation would be hell. It was a seven-day journey back to where he came from, and this place was a wasteland with no one to help him. The moment the trade was canceled, if Simin changed his attitude, Gongheon would die without so much as a squeak.
"Please, just forgive me this once!"
"No. If you don’t want to cancel, I’ll request it myself."
"Oh, come on, sir! What can I do to make you reconsider?"
As Gongheon groveled, a triumphant smile finally spread across Simin’s face. In any game, knowledge was power. He had gathered all sorts of information from the very beginning, and all his pondering on what tricks he could pull to maximize his profits had been for this very day. From clever loopholes to outright illegal acts, he felt the satisfaction of his myriad plans coming to fruition.
"Well, if you insist," Simin said, feigning reluctance.
"Yes, just say the word!"
"The compensation for damages and all the losses I’ve incurred... I think about 100 gold coins should cover it."
"...Losses?"
"Hey, if you don’t want to, then don’t."
"No! I’ll give it to you!"
‘Damn it! This despicable punk.’
Gongheon’s face contorted as he was forced to cough up $5,000, but he had no choice but to take out 1,100 gold coins. Although it was based on probability, the items a player dropped were chosen from what they were carrying. Since Gongheon had come with nothing but a massive amount of gold coins, he was guaranteed to drop them if he died. It was far more profitable to spend a little extra now and get through this situation.
‘Agh, damn it. What a shitty day,’ he thought, his hand trembling as he passed over the pouch.
Of all the customers he could have gotten, it had to be this guy. He felt like he’d been thoroughly ripped off, but what could he do? Simin took the pouch, meticulously counted every last coin, and smiled with satisfaction. Anyone else would have pointed their finger and called him a thug for what he’d just done.
But it didn’t matter. Gongheon must have felt guilty about something to pay up. Besides, he hadn’t taken everything, just an extra 50 gold coins on top of the 50 that Gongheon was already planning to give him. The tiny little catch was that the small number translated to $5,000 in cash.
"Ah! And also..."
"There’s more?"
"No, I was just wondering if you had any interest in investing."
"...Investing?"
With the transaction complete, Simin flashed a business smile.
8.
Two weeks later, the Specialists, now level 35, were growing more and more weary.
"Ugh! When are we ever going to hit level 50!"
Another party member remained silent.
"I don’t even have the energy to tell you to stop."
To hunt over and over again was a special kind of hell. The realistic world of Fantastic World was filled with endless content to enjoy, but for players focused solely on leveling up to see the second act of the main quest as quickly as possible, all of it was useless. They could enjoy that stuff later, after hitting the level cap. It was a necessary trial of patience.
"Our rank is even dropping."
"We’ll be 30th soon."
"Seolah, are we just going to keep grinding like this?" Hyeonsu whined.
Thirtieth place was an incredible achievement, of course. The top one thousand players were all fanatics who dedicated their lives to leveling up, sleeping no more than four hours a day. Maintaining their rank with just the three of them was a testament to the Specialists’ skill and gear. The problem was, they weren’t satisfied.
’After investing this much time and money, we should be number one,’ Seolah thought with stress mounting. This was a game played by people from all over the world, after all.
"Any word from Simin Oppa?" Yeseul asked.
"He said he was leaving a week ago. I haven’t tried contacting him since," Seolah replied.
"Ugh! This is so frustrating." Yeseul wanted to see the ring’s effect as soon as possible, but she was also worried. "But what if it’s not as good as we’re hoping?"
"...A sixty percent experience boost will definitely make a difference." Seolah tried to sound reassuring, but she was also worried they were expecting too much. A considerable amount of time had passed. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. An experience bonus that would have been a pleasant surprise might now feel underwhelming after being built up so much in their minds.
"Even with a small boost, can we really aim for first place?" Yeseul pressed.
Seolah fell silent, even she couldn’t be sure about that. The number-one-ranked player was currently level 37, a full two levels ahead of their level 35 and one level ahead of everyone else in the top ten. Considering it took three to four days to gain a single level, the leader clearly had a unique method. Or they were just spending an obscene amount of money.
"Should we hire people to power-level us?" Yeseul suggested.
"The cost is too high. We’d be better off buying items or enhancing with that money," Seolah countered. The top ranker’s method was pure speculation. It was a strategy anyone could theoretically attempt, but no one could actually afford. The expenditure was so outrageous that it was beyond envy; it was just a waste of money.
"Simin Oppa wouldn’t just quit the game," Yeseul mused. "And if it was about money, he’d be the first one here. What’s taking him so long?"
"He’ll be here soon. He said it would take about a week."
"Ugh, I’m so bored! So bored! We need a change!" Yeseul’s complaints were understandable. They had been grinding in the same hunting ground for over two weeks—grinding that involved actual physical movement. Anyone would get sick of eating the same meal for three days straight; this was practically torture.
"There they are!" a voice shouted.
Seolah looked up.
Perhaps the heavens had heard Yeseul’s prayers, because a change had finally arrived. Players were swarming them from all directions. Seolah and Hyeonsu immediately turned to Yeseul. Their sharp glares screamed, ’What did you do?’
Yeseul vehemently denied it. "What? What! It wasn’t me! I’ve been doing nothing but healing and casting Weakness here for two weeks! Why are you looking at me?!"
"Fine, if you say so," Hyeonsu grumbled.
"What kind of irresponsible thing is that to say?! It’s obvious those guys have a grudge against us. ’If you say so’? What if we die because of this? Wait. Is this because of you, Hyeonsu Oppa? Did you piss someone off?"
"Not me."
"Yes, you! With that face of yours, you could just scowl at a passerby, and they’d be plotting your murder."
"You want a taste of my fist?"
"Hmph!"
An enemy of unknown origin. The best course of action was to flee, but their opponents seemed determined, leaving no room for escape. An empty laugh escaped them as over a hundred players closed in. ’What is this?’ As she pondered, Seolah’s mind, dulled by repetitive hunting, finally kicked into gear and dredged up a memory. "Ah."
"What? What is it?"
"We wiped out a guild here two weeks ago."
"...Ah!"
"Damn."
They hadn’t given it a second thought since the guild had remained quiet even after their respawn timers were up. It was something they should have been wary of, but the guild of nearly a hundred had been so insignificant that they’d completely forgotten.
"Hah," Hyeonsu scoffed. To think that that disorderly mob had waited two whole weeks to ambush them like this.
"It’s them!" a player yelled.
"That’s right!"
"You bastards! You thought you could mess with the Shield Guild and get away with it? You’re dead! We’ll hunt you down until the day you quit this game!"
The cringeworthy lines were almost too much to bear. Yeseul couldn’t stand it and stepped forward. "First of all, we’re not all ’bastards’! And second, you’ve got a lot of nerve for a hundred guys who got wiped out by three people!"
"What? What did you say?!"
They must have spent a lot of money, because their numbers seemed even greater than before. The situation was definitely disadvantageous for the Specialists. Even during the battle two weeks ago, they knew they would lose if they couldn’t avoid a direct confrontation like this. And their opponents would have prepared much more thoroughly this time. People were willing to take any loss for the sake of revenge.
Still, Yeseul was defiant. "If I get hunted down to level 1 by a bunch of no-name losers like you, I’ll strip naked right here and bark like a dog!"
Such bravado, even in the face of death, was only possible in a game, but for a moment, the hundred-plus players flinched. ’Does she have an ace up her sleeve?’ they thought.
Hyeonsu shattered the mood. "Oh, right. Yeseul, when are you going to do your penalty?"
"...Hyeonsu Oppa, could you please learn to read the room?"
"Read the room? Seolah, you got caught too, so you should hurry up and do it with Yeseul. Serves you right for not listening to me."
"Hey, why are you bringing that up now?! I was doing a great job of forgetting about it," Seolah protested. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Tsk, tsk. It’ll be less embarrassing if you do it before I tell Simin."
The trio bickered. Thanks to their internal strife, the Shield Guild regained their composure.
"Kill them!"
"Don’t go easy on them just because they’re pretty! It’s not like girls like that would ever date us anyway!"
"Take out the healer first!"
The players, reminded of their characters’ impending deaths rather than the beautiful women before them, charged like a tidal wave. There was no visible way to win.
"Haah. There goes our ranking again," Yeseul lamented.
"I was getting bored anyway. Let’s just enjoy the fight and take a break," Hyeonsu said.
"...Let’s kill as many as we can before we die," Seolah resolved.
Amidst the trio’s resignation, another voice cut through the air.
"Excuse me? What are you doing to my party members?"
The three, preparing for battle, looked around in confusion. ’What was that? Did I mishear?’
"Hold it! Stop right there! Anyone who moves is going to spend the next forty-eight hours in a corner of their room, reflecting on what they did wrong!"
Just then, Han Simin appeared in the distance, his brilliant crimson aura trailing behind him.
* * *
