God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 60: Episode 12 _ This Makes Him a Model Citizen (3)
4.
As time passed, the level rankings began to solidify. This was an undeniable reality and the biggest source of stress for top-tier players. Without a unique leveling method, you fell behind. The constant need to adapt made the competition even fiercer than in the real world. As such, those at the front had no choice but to be wary of those catching up. It was a relative competition, after all.
"Congratulations on leveling up, Guild Master."
"Congratulations!"
"It’s all thanks to you. I know how hard you all work. Just bear with it until I hit fifty, and we can monopolize Act 2. I’ll treat everyone to a huge feast when it’s over."
"Yeaaah!"
Being number one was a lonely and troublesome position.
Kenji was the current number-one player in the level rankings and the master of the top-ranked guild in Fantastic World. While there were no official metrics for guild hierarchy yet, players had unofficially crowned his guild based on his wealth, the number of his guild members, and their average level. No one disputed it, making it a more reliable indicator than any official ranking. Being power-leveled by his guild in a level 50 hunting ground, his growth rate was beyond imagination.
"Level 39. You’re two levels ahead of second place. If you keep this up, you should be able to create at least a five-level gap by the time you reach 50," one of his subordinates reported.
"You always work so hard," Kenji replied.
"Not at all, Guild Master. We all know you’re the one working the hardest. Just a little more to go."
"Thank you."
With his guild members sacrificing everything to push his level up, and with such a warm atmosphere, their synergy was undeniable. It was all the power of money.
"Still, just in case, I think we should increase our investment amount starting this month," Kenji decided.
"Understood."
There was nothing in this world that money couldn’t solve. The monthly expenses were astronomical, but the pride of dominating another world and becoming the best made it a worthy investment. Those in the know understood just how immense the profits were for those who pulled ahead early and claimed the continent. Even considering that, the amount Kenji was spending was excessive, but he was rich enough not to care.
"Don’t worry about the money. Just keep buying any good items that appear on the market. And always keep a surplus of gold coins on hand."
"Yes, understood."
"Aside from second place, is there anything unusual in the rankings?"
"Since things are starting to stagnate, many players are falling off on their own. However, there are a few who have been making some unusual moves these past few days."
"...Who?"
"There are three of them. It seems they’re a party."
"Hmm. A party."
Kenji’s expression hardened as he took a short break. This was not a good sign. There were players climbing the ranks at this stage? Had they found a way to easily break through the section from level thirty-three onwards, known as ’leveling hell’? He was confident they couldn’t catch up to him, no matter what they did, but one always had to be mindful of variables.
"How fast are they climbing?"
"Four days ago, they were level thirty-five. Two days ago, they hit thirty-six."
"Couldn’t they have just had their experience bar half-full?"
"Yes, which is why I didn’t report it. The problem is today."
"Today?" What could it be? Had they leveled up in just two days?
"Shortly before you leveled up, Guild Master... they hit level thirty-seven."
Kenji’s slightly hardened expression twisted into a scowl. One level in two days...? This was a more serious problem than he had thought. He had assumed they were around level thirty to thirty-three, but they were already level thirty-six, and now thirty-seven.
"Is that even possible?"
"We’re looking into it now."
"At this rate, they’ll overtake me," Kenji said, his voice strained, "They’ll catch up in two days and surpass us in six."
The guild member in charge of Kenji’s leveling plan quickly said an excuse. "There must be some special factor at play. A speed like that is impossible unless it’s a bug."
This was a game, but it was also his job. The only reason he received such a massive monthly incentive was to keep Kenji ranked number one. If Kenji was dethroned, his entire purpose—and his employment—would vanish. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency.
"I’ll look into it," he promised.
"Yes, please do," Kenji replied with a grim nod. As always, money could solve most problems, but in a game, there were always issues that wealth alone couldn’t fix. "Track the players with these three IDs: Jeong Hyeonsu, Jeong Seolah, and Kang Yeseul. Let me know the moment you have their location."
"Understood."
The planner sprang into action. He had spouted some nonsense about bugs to placate Kenji, but he didn’t believe for a second that such a thing existed in the world created and managed by Betago. Whether it was a one-time trick or something else, the fact remained: it was working.
‘Find them, disrupt them, and take what’s theirs.’ 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
It was a dog-eat-dog world, after all. He was furious he hadn’t thought of it first, but it wouldn’t matter as long as he could turn the situation to their advantage. He was confident, arrogant enough to believe he could absorb their methods just by seeing them once.
* * *
They were now ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth. The Specialists laughed at the achievement they had managed in just four days. It was a hollow, disbelieving laugh.
"Wow, life is so unfair," Kang Yeseul exclaimed. "We worked our asses off for a month, and our ranks still dropped, but the moment Simin shows up, everything changes?"
The only thing that had changed was the addition of one party member. They had moved to a higher-level hunting ground, but the number of people fighting hadn’t increased. In a way, they were at a greater disadvantage. Furthermore, Han Simin, true to his word, hadn’t participated in the hunt at all. They had found him so irritatingly idle that they’d even tried luring a monster or two his way, but he had just stood there and taken the hits, whether he died or not, so they had quickly given up.
"The Ring of Blessing is definitely a cheat item," Jeong Seolah said. "Thank you, Mr. Simin."
"I should be thanking you," he replied. "Thanks to you, I’m earning funds to develop my territory."
"So who’s managing your territory right now?"
"There’s an NPC who was already managing it. He seemed to know what he was doing, so I just gave him some money and left."
"Ah..."
Regardless, the results were so outstanding that the mood was warm and friendly. They even treated Simin’s personal stories with the attention one would give a VIP.
"You should consider moving the Specialists’ main base to my territory," Simin offered magnanimously. "I’ll even set aside a plot of land for you."
Seolah nodded, thinking that one good turn deserved another. She had heard Simin boast endlessly about his territory’s strategic location and its proximity to hunting grounds and dungeons over the past few days. She would have to see it for herself, but if it was as good as he claimed, there was no reason not to move. At their current low level, they were focused on grinding, but as they leveled up and progressed through the main quest, players would be fighting tooth and nail over the continent’s limited land. Securing a prime spot in advance would be a massive advantage. Besides, Simin was their guildmate—a man who would sell anything for the right price.
"You’d really give us a prime spot?" Kang Yeseul piped up. "How about a 3,558-square-foot lot downtown? We could make some money, too."
"That’s not a problem."
"Wow! Really?"
"Sure," Simin said with a grin. "I’ll give you a good deal on it, bundled with that building I own in the Ain Kingdom."
Of course, the price would be anything but cheap. Kang Yeseul, who was always keenly aware of the $300-per-hour fee ticking away, pretended she hadn’t heard him. She didn’t want to think about money right now. But Han Simin, the notorious miser, wasn’t one to be so easily ignored.
"By the way, your hunting speed seems a little slow," he commented. "Are you sure you can catch the number one rank like this? Maybe I should lend a hand."
"We’re doing fine on our own," Seolah stated flatly.
"Come on. The real ranking war is just getting started. Don’t you know you’ll be screwed if you hit level 50 at this pace?"
He was getting bored of doing nothing. Surfing the FW Community forums and browsing the internet was only entertaining for an hour or two. Watching the Specialists hunt for twenty hours a day was starting to feel like a waste of time. ‘Since we’re spending all this time together, I might as well fight,’ he thought. ‘I could even earn some extra income!’ The only problem was that they weren’t biting. He wasn’t scummy enough to threaten them into paying, so he devised another method.
"Alright! Let’s do this."
The others stared at him, confused.
"I’ll help you out for ten hours, free of charge," he announced. "Try it out. If you like the results, you can pay to keep me on. If not, no harm done. Deal?"
It was a clever offer. The Specialists would get a boost in hunting speed, and Simin could hook some new customers who might pay for his services for a few more days. It was a win-win. There was no reason to hesitate.
"Deal!" Seolah agreed.
They had been satisfied with the progress they were making without his direct involvement, but all three of them were curious about the effect his items would have on their hunting speed. Reaching level 50 marked the beginning of the main quest’s second act. To monopolize it, they would need to complete a series of minor quests to find clues. That meant they needed to hit rank one and create at least a three-level gap with the person in second place, which would buy them a ten to fifteen-day head start.
"Oh yeah!" Simin cheered.
With the top rank in sight, Seolah’s nod was all the confirmation he needed. Simin rose, stretching his stiff body, and hefted his hammer. The hunt began immediately. For four days, he had watched them hunt the level 45 mankeys—creatures that swarmed in packs with sharp claws and teeth—until he was sick of the sight. He had even taken a few hits from stragglers. All that was left was to join the fight.
‘Alright, time for me to get some levels in, too! Dammit!’ It made no sense that he, at level 21, had gained only two levels—the same as the level 35s. Even with a 550% experience penalty, it was ridiculous. He had done nothing but sit there and leech experience all day. ‘I have to hit level 25, at least. That’s the only way I can use the Unique-grade necklace I worked so hard to make.’
[+15 Goblin’s Blessed Necklace]
* Grade: Unique
* Level Requirement: 25
* Defense: 10 (+100)
* Option 1: +1% (+10%) Health Absorption on attack
* Option 2: ’Deep Red Aura’ effect applied
- +5% Mana Absorption on attack
- +5% Gold Coins Acquired
It was an incredible item that provided solid defense along with health and mana absorption. With the top-ranked player approaching level 40, Han Simin’s last shred of pride burned fiercely. He couldn’t stand to rot away at level 21.
* * *
Kenji’s information network, fueled by his immense wealth, was beyond imagination. And since the Specialists had already clashed with the Shield Guild, they were easy to track. Within two days, the planner had located their hunting ground.
‘Let’s see just how amazing their method is.’
Swallowing nervously, the planner entered the area, but his expression immediately hardened.
"What the hell?"
The monsters looked familiar. It didn’t take him long to place them; he prided himself on knowing almost everything there was to know about Fantastic World.
"Those are mankeys."
The problem was, these monsters had no business being here. Confusion washed over him.
‘They’re hunting level 45 monsters?’
That wasn’t the issue itself; Kenji was currently hunting monsters in the level 50 range. The real problem was that there was no way they could achieve such a leveling speed by hunting level 45 monsters.
He quickened his pace, needing to see for himself. And then he found them. In the distance, the Specialists were slaughtering monsters with a deafening roar of activity. The speed they exhibited with just four members was astonishing. He was almost convinced, but he shook his head. In terms of raw speed, Kenji’s party was still faster—he had nearly a hundred players supporting him.
"Excuse me," the planner said, cautiously approaching them under the guise of a random player just passing by. ‘They won’t kill me, right?’
As he drew closer, all four of them turned their gazes toward him. He saw their expressions instantly sour.
"Those bastards from the Shield Guild... they followed us all the way out here," Jeong Hyeonsu growled. "Fucking persistent."
The last thing the planner saw was a golden hammer flying toward his face.
* * *
