The downside of enchanting items was that it was rare to get useful abilities for the money spent.
Most enchantnts were of the lowest grade, "common," and those typically only offered small increases to strength or stamina.
The rare-grade "Durability Enhancent" was a near one-in-a-thousand occurrence.
For , it was a feature that didn’t offer much value.
‘It’s much more beneficial to use that money to level up the guardians or assign personal quests.’
However, from the citizens’ perspective, it was a bit different.
For them, in order to increase their strength or stamina even a little, they had to put in a lot of effort.
Unless they received rewards from daily quests, they had to either train or hunt monsters to level up, and as they leveled up, the efficiency of those thods dropped.
Thus, as their levels increased, the value of the small effects granted by enchantnts beca more pronounced.
For this reason, enchanted items were particularly popular among the so-called "hunters" who hunted monsters.
Moreover, once they reached around level 20 and started targeting orcs, they could easily earn hundreds of thousands of won per day, making the 3 million won cost for enchantnts negligible.
It was unclear who started the trend, but soon everyone was carrying enchanted items, and the first rare-grade effect, "Durability Enhancent," was born.
And then.
‘I paid 1 billion won as a reward.’
Actually, I didn’t need to give away the 1 billion won just by registering the item in the store.
However, I chose to reward the person who got that option.
It was a very strategic decision.
‘If anyone else pulls the durability enhancent option with another weapon, I promised to give the sa reward.’
I also said the sa for other useful functions.
The result after those words was inevitable.
From that point on, enchantnts weren’t just about spending 3 million won to get a decent effect.
Spending 3 million won beca a lottery, where you could potentially pull 1 billion won.
‘Enchanting beca hugely popular.’
Among hunters, so invested all the money they earned into enchanting, doing it dozens of tis.
As more and more people actually received the 1 billion won reward, the popularity of enchantnts exploded.
Soon, even non-hunters started using enchanted items.
As a result, one major change occurred.
‘The burden of enchantnts decreased.’
With the demand for enchanted items skyrocketing, even items with common-grade enchantnts could be sold for money in the marketplace.
Of course, they had to sell at a loss, but it was important that they could recover at least half of the cost.
As demand grew, enchantnts, which were initially limited to weapons and armor, began to expand into everyday items.
Shoes that made long walks less painful, training clothes that improved workout efficiency, and supplents that maximized fatigue recovery.
Enchantnts were being applied to all sorts of items, with a wide variety of options erging.
‘When you get a "premium" option, it’s possible to sell for more than the enchantnt cost.’
In fact, there were quite a few useful items among them.
It was so impressive that Kim Da-bin even opened a new departnt.
The items piled up in the warehouse were being distributed to military units and hunting teams as needed and were being used in the right places.
‘It’s ti to change the reward paynt system a bit.’
If you register 10 items with the sa enchantnt effect, an [Enchant Orb] is created.
The effect was simple.
Using it on an item would grant that effect.
Now, it no longer made sense to pull the "Durability Enhancent" option from the enchanting workshop.
‘I should tell Kim Da-bin to make an announcent about this.’
It wasn’t just durability enhancent.
[10 items with the sa enchantnt effect have been registered in the store.]
[‘Sharpness Enchantnt Orb’ has been created.]
[10 items with the sa enchantnt effect have been registered in the store.]
[‘Acceleration Enchantnt Orb’ has been created.]
[10 items with the sa enchantnt effect have been registered in the store.]
[‘Bleeding Enchantnt Orb’ has been created.]
I registered all the rare-grade items that had been collected in the warehouse.
As a result, I was able to acquire three more Enchant Orbs.
‘The rest still isn’t enough.’
That would be solved with ti.
Among the rare-grade items, there were four that didn’t grant the 1 billion won reward, so enchantnt popularity might die down for a while, but that was fine too.
‘It feels a bit too heated right now anyway.’
It was already starting to feel like it was shifting from investnt to gambling.
‘It’s probably better to tone it down a bit.’
While thinking this, I checked the remaining shop slots, and there was exactly one left.
‘All the rare-grade ones are already registered…’
But I didn’t want to register an item with a premium option in the shop.
Even though the 10 identical items would turn into an Enchant Orb, it would still occupy one slot.
I didn’t want to waste a single slot.
‘Hmm. What should I do?’
After so brief contemplation, I decided to wait.
‘If I wait, one of the rare-grade items should co up. I’ll tell Kim Da-bin to make an announcent in the anti.’
***
Seomyeon, Busan.
It had now beco the center of South Korea, even more than Seoul.
The most active place in Seomyeon was the apartnt complex where Kim Jae-hyun lived.
At 114-dong, where he resided, there were still many people gathering today.
"Wow, look at the line. Is this all for the enchantnt?"
"…Looks like it."
The enchantnt workshop.
It was located on the first floor, room 102, of the apartnt building.
The line, starting from room 102, extended all the way outside the building.
It looked like there were at least a few hundred people.
"I didn’t expect this even though I ca early in the morning... How long do we have to wait?"
"I heard it's at least six hours."
"…Should we just buy sothing useful from the marketplace instead?"
"What are you saying? My luck is really good, okay? If I get even one rare-grade, it's 1 billion. Are you really going to give up?"
"Hey, logically, do you think that’s going to happen?"
"Of course it will. Why wouldn’t it?"
"Ugh, I don’t know anymore."
Kang Jae-wook was sowhat confident in his luck.
In reality, he had always lived a lucky life.
He was born into a wealthy family, grew up without hardship, and made a fortune from Bitcoin and stock investnts.
To be honest, all of those were purely luck.
‘It wasn’t luck, it was more of a gut feeling.’
Unlike others, he didn’t have deep insights or knowledge about Bitcoin or stocks.
In fact, he could say he was completely ignorant about it.
The fact that his investnts turned out to be successful was entirely thanks to his gut feeling.
‘The reason I survived when the monsters appeared was also because of that.’
By sheer luck, after making money from his investnts, the first thing he did was buy an apartnt.
That apartnt was the one in Seomyeon.
He also forcibly brought his parents, who had been living in Haeundae, to this place.
And what was the result?
‘Thanks to that, my whole family is living here.’
It wasn’t just that.
His habit of buying bottled water had helped him endure more easily than others.
When food ran out, he could count on Kim Jae-hyun’s help, and sohow, he ended up working for the administration and getting paid.
After that, he continued living a safe and peaceful life with his family.
But there was one thing he regretted.
‘I should’ve joined the military back then.’
When the corpse legion attacked, he had the chance to join the military.
He had served in the artillery as a fire control specialist and discharged as a sergeant after his service ended.
At that ti, Kang Jae-wook didn't trust his instincts for the first ti.
No matter how much his instincts told him, he couldn't accept the idea of going back to the military.
Despite how much his gut urged him, he didn’t want to give up his peaceful daily life and risk his life to fight monsters.
To be honest, he was scared.
It was sothing that could really lead to death.
‘How foolish I was.’
But who would have guessed that it would turn out to be the lottery?
The people who had bravely chosen to fight back then ca back as multi-billionaires, all having surpassed level 50.
‘I should have gone then.’
It was a regret, but it was sothing that couldn’t be helped.
A friend who had been standing in line with him at the ti said.
“I still don’t want to do it. It feels like a waste of money.”
“What?”
“Do your best. Let know the results. I’m going ho to get so sleep.”
“Wait a second.”
Kang Jae-wook grabbed his friend, Kim Young-bin, with a serious expression.
“Yeong-bin.”
“…Yeah?”
“Can you lend so money?”
“….”
Kim Young-bin’s eyes showed several emotions.
Kang Jae-wook tried to persuade him.
“I’ll pay you back with 10% interest. You know I’m a public servant.”
Being a public servant ant having a job with the rank of ‘economic activity population’ selected by the administration.
Kang Jae-wook’s rank was ‘Assistant,’ and he received 300,000 won per day.
If there was a bank, his trustworthiness would be top-tier.
“How much?”
“Lend 30 million.”
Kim Young-bin looked at him with a disappointed expression.
“Why are you going this far? Why do you need the money?”
Kang Jae-wook hesitated for a mont before answering.
“You know I work for the rescue team, right?”
“I know.”
“Recently, I saw soone die right in front of .”
“...”
“It was a child, no older than 10.”
“...”
“I was too weak, and that’s why they died.”
“...”
“I looked into it, and in order to get stronger quickly, I need quite a bit of money.”
“...Alright.”
Kim Young-bin sighed deeply and spoke.
“I guess you won’t get your senses back until you lose big. If that’s the case, go ahead and blow it all out.”
“Thank you. Really.”
After transferring the money through the marketplace, Kim Young-bin continued chatting in line with him before leaving.
“Here’s a gift. If you get tired waiting, you can eat this. You’ll need the energy.”
“Thanks. You should go ho and sleep too. You must be tired.”
Kang Jae-wook waved his hand while putting the chocolate Kim Young-bin gave him into his pocket.
After his friend left, he had to wait for another two hours before it was finally his turn.
The man who had been ahead of him ca out of room 102, his face grim.
“Next, please co in.”
Kang Jae-wook entered and sat down as the woman sitting by the desk briefly explained.
“You have up to 5 minutes per person. Ti starts as soon as you enter, so please proceed with the enchantnt as quickly as possible.”
“How do I do it?”
“Place the item on the altar and then put your hand on the crystal ball.”
Kang Jae-wook quickly placed his sword on the altar and touched the crystal ball to save ti.
[3,000,000 won is consud.]
Whirrrrr—
His heart raced.
‘Please.’
At that mont.
Fwwwoooosh—
The sword on the altar glowed with a blue light.
“Oh my.”
“Wait, what’s happening?”
The staff mber, who had been sitting quietly, looked at the altar and, in a raised voice, said.
“Durability Enhancent! Congratulations! You’ve hit the jackpot!”
“Really? Is that true?”
As dopamine flooded his system, he was about to rejoice, but then—
[This is a notice for everyone at the Enchantnt Workshop.]
[As of now, items with the Durability Enhancent, Sharpness, Acceleration, or Bleeding enchantnts will no longer receive rewards.]
[We repeat the announcent.]
[As of now, Durability Enhancent...]
The telepathic ssage rang in his head, instantly wiping away his joy.
“What does that an?”
“…Don’t worry. It’s probably because the announcent ca just before you. It should be taken into consideration. Probably.”
It felt like a bolt from the blue.
“Well, you still have items to enchant, so how about finishing the process? There are about 3 minutes left.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Trying to ignore the growing anxiety, Kang Jae-wook proceeded with the enchantnt.
However, after that, no more light ca from the altar.
He felt vibrations from the crystal ball, but that was all.
Everything was common-grade.
‘Status window.’
He still had about 10 million won left.
But there were no more items to enchant.
“…There are 10 seconds left.”
And the last opportunity was this final chance.
‘Anything left? Nothing?’
As he was about to consider using his clothes for enchanting, a piece of chocolate fell from his pocket.
‘Ugh!’
He nearly threw it, but instead, he quickly placed the chocolate on the altar and proceeded with the enchantnt.
And then.
Whirrr—!!
An unexpected reaction occurred.
Fwwwoooosh—
Intense purple light burst out from the chocolate.
“Hmm?”
After the light subsided, the staff quickly checked the chocolate on the altar.
And then.
“W-Wow! This is... a new grade! A Unique-grade option!”
“…Huh?”
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