Chapter 204: Episode 204_Beco a Well-Treated Sucker (5)
10.
When Han Simin awoke from a deep slumber and returned to the Rich Territory, the situation had beco overheated enough for him to fully grasp its popularity.
“Wow.”
He couldn’t help but be impressed. There were several tis more people than usual, and they weren’t just wandering around; they were busy enjoying the various the park attractions. A world without window shoppers, the one thing Simin despised most! His heart pounded with excitent.
He headed for the lord’s castle. The Aide greeted him proudly, the corners of his mouth twitching. It was obvious he was bursting with things to brag about. ’Go on, praise ! Look at what I’ve accomplished!’ With such hopes, the Aide was about to speak.
“How much?” Simin cut in.
“...Excuse ?”
“Will any money co in this month?”
If Simin hadn’t spoken first, the Aide surely would have launched into his report. But for Simin, such tireso pleasantries were a luxury. Unless it was money being deposited into his bank account, he wouldn’t waste his breath on empty praise, especially when he wasn’t sure of the outco.
The Aide’s expression darkened for a mont as he understood the hidden aning in Simin’s words. “My apologies, my lord.”
“...I see.”
“Unfortunately, revenue was only about triple the usual. We expect it to jump much higher in the future, but the current costs for establishing the Rich Casino are quite substantial...”
“Right. I suppose so.”
“Instead, I am doing my utmost to build it to be more splendid and secure than the Rich Territory itself, so as not to disappoint you, my lord.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. You should.”
’That had better go well, or my aching gut will only get worse.’ He shot a slightly suspicious glance at the Aide but quickly looked away. It was so blatant that the Aide flinched, but Simin was unconcerned. It was a reasonable suspicion, and the mindset an investor should always have. What did loyalty and all that nonsense have to do with money? Even among family, you had to watch over financial transactions with the eyes of a creditor. If, by so chance, that pig of an Aide decided to embezzle funds, the amount would be unimaginable. The day Simin found out, he would probably die of a stomachache.
’Not that it would happen.’
Of course, he did trust him. Not the man, but his single-minded devotion to the territory. His track record proved it. He was a man who worked solely for the territory. The problem was his lack of hesitation in using Simin’s money—or anyone’s money—for the territory’s developnt. But paradoxically, that was why he was trustworthy. A person like that was frugal with money spent elsewhere.
“Then I’ll trust you and be on my way.”
“Yes, my lord. Please trust in . I am always dedicating all our resources to the territory’s defense in case of any additional risks.”
“Yes, you should. After installing a 200,000 gold Sanctuary, you’d better be ready to die if it gets breached.”
“...Excuse ?”
“Ah, nothing.”
In any case, he ended the conversation on a warm note. Talking any further would only make his stomach hurt more.
’I shouldn’t have listened to how much the Sanctuary cost.’
There was nothing he could do about the pain now. It would continue to stab at him like a dagger. A sigh escaped him. With that money... Hearing the territory’s approximate revenue on top of that was even more agonizing.
Still, it would co into his pocket soday. Holding onto that hope, he walked towards the Sanctuary.
“Since I have it, I can’t just throw it away. Might as well increase its value a bit.”
If worst ca to worst, he could just sell it for a higher price.
*
He could only enhance the Sanctuary up to
8.
“And it’s not like I can pick it up and move it.”
Enhancing a stationary object was harder than plucking a star from the sky. Even the great Han Simin was no different from an ordinary person in a place where he couldn’t benefit from a pri spot’s effect. In fact, when it ca to pure probability, Simin was on the unlucky side. Naturally, he wouldn’t spend money on anything that wasn’t 100% guaranteed.
Besides, he hadn’t bought it, and while it was being used for his territory, it didn’t directly affect him. He let go of his lingering attachnt and walked away cleanly. The Sanctuary had blocked the black magic mages’ curses just fine without being enhanced, so there was no need to push it to
15.
With that clean break ca a new problem—the reason for all his recent suffering.
“What do I use this on?”
A
15 Special Enhancent Stone. Once again, a deep dilemma began to plague him.
11.
Kenji was well aware of his situation. It would be strange if he wasn’t. In the real world, he was a man who made huge profits from countless people.
’I am a pushover.’
That might be why it stung his pride so much. It didn’t happen in reality, only in the ga. No, it hadn’t been like that in the ga either. He was the master of a massive guild. In the past, all his guild mbers were hired players, but now, he was accepting NPCs and recruiting selectively from the Fantastic World player base. His guild was finally taking a respectable shape. He received guild rger requests several tis a day, and when selling items from his constant hunting, he always managed to steer the deals in his favor.
He only beca a pushover when dealing with Han Simin. And being taken advantage of while knowing it was more foolish than being ignorant. But he also knew better than anyone that it was unavoidable.
’I’ll endure it for now.’
Supply and demand, the first thing you learn in business school. Han Simin was the sole supplier of the items Kenji needed, so he had no choice but to be a pushover. If his opponent had so weakness, he could at least try to bluff and negotiate, but Simin was a veteran who showed no signs of wavering, as if he’d been through countless deals. It was better to settle for a smaller loss than to worsen their future relationship.
Of course, he couldn’t let himself be taken advantage of forever. So Kenji made up his mind.
“If I’m going to be a pushover, I’ll be a well-treated one.”
“Sir?” his guild mber asked, confused.
Kenji didn’t explain, choosing to act instead. An opportunity had presented itself sooner than he expected.
“I will beco a VVIP mber of the Rich Territory and beco Simin’s special pushover.”
“...Guild Master?”
“And I will enjoy it. Everything he has to offer. The benefits the Specialists enjoyed. More of them. If I pour in more money than he could ever imagine, I may be the client, but even he will have no choice but to treat
carefully.”
“Ah!”
He would be the one flying high while Simin was stuck on the ground! Though he was being played, Kenji had no intention of going down easily. He hadn’t had a chance until now, but things were different. This wasn’t a one-on-one deal anymore. In this net cast for the masses, he would run wild. The self-proclaid pushover was finally flexing his power.
*
The first thing Simin thought of was, of course, a weapon. The Legendary Hamr. A nto left by his master, the Ultimate Legendary Enchanter. A Legendary item. If he could raise a single
15 item to
16, it had to be this one. The Ring of Blessing was tempting, but it was ultimately just for side inco and couldn’t be his top priority since he couldn’t benefit from its effects himself.
“Hmm.”
He placed the Legendary Hamr on the anvil. If it worked, there was no need to hesitate. The ti and money spent enhancing it had been considerable, but acquiring the Special Enhancent Stone had only cost $5,000. It wasn’t a small sum, but for the current Simin, it wasn’t a huge amount either.
“Will it even work?”
That was the problem. Would it go as he wished? Could he just recklessly enhance it without even knowing what the Special Enhancent Stone was or what it was used for? If it failed—if the concept of
16 didn’t exist yet or if the stone wasn’t ant for that—it would be fine as long as the stone returned to him. Then he could experint as much as he wanted. But what if it didn’t? What if he enhanced it, the stone disappeared, and there was no change?
He fell silent.
In any other ga, that would be absurd. If sothing like that happened in a different ga, it would imdiately lead to a lawsuit against the company. It was an item with at least $20,000 invested in it. But this wasn’t any other ga. In the hyper-realistic world of Fantastic World, which had beco another reality, nothing was out of the ordinary. You had to take responsibility for all your actions.
Caution. And more caution. He agonized for a while longer before finally making a decision.
“Right. What is there to life? If it’s gone, it’s gone.”
He would just have to think of it as a week wasted. The enhancent stones and the $5,000 invested would surely haunt him for months, a nagging reminder of what he could have done with that money, but... it was fine. He could endure it. And wasn’t the item valuable enough to justify such a risk?
[ 15 Legendary Hamr]
- Grade: Legendary
- Requirent: Ultimate Legendary Enchanter
- Attack Power: 400 ( 4000) (5th Seal Released)
- Option 1: Enhancent Success Rate
5% ( 20%) (5th Seal Released)
- Option 2: Attack Power
80 ( 800) (5th Seal Released)
- Option 3: On successful enhancent, 20% ( 40%) chance to increase enhancent effect (5th Seal Released)
- Option 4: Deep Golden Aura effect applied
- Mana consumption reduced by 30% during enhancent
- Defense
100
- Special Option 1: Sealed
- Special Option 2: Sealed
“Yeah. It’s worth it.”
The attack power, which increased with each awakening, was monstrous enough to befit its legendary na. Combined with Simin’s abilities, the hamr had beco a planet-destroying weapon. Its attack power, so high it could shatter an item on the anvil, had been absurdly inflated through enhancent. What would happen if it beca
16?
’If we assu at least double...’
He might even be able to release Kardian and boldly challenge her to a one-on-one fight. He swallowed hard. He almost regretted having hastily enhanced the hamr from
13 for today’s attempt. At the sa ti, he felt a thrill. Maybe it would be okay even if it failed. He could just take this and vent his frustration sowhere, and that would be enough to console himself for the loss of a
16 hamr.
He held the hamr, trying to sense it. Was there a pri spot? A pri spot leading to
16. Holding the Special Enhancent Stone in one hand and the hamr in the other, his hands trembled. He took a deep breath and focused his mind.
Nothing nearby. He focused further, wider. Still nothing.
Even further? Unfortunately, he couldn’t feel anything. Growing impatient, he transford Squeaker and climbed onto its back.
“Huh?”
Then he felt it. Sothing. A very strong sensation. His heart pounding with excitent, he settled into his seat and focused his mind again.
He frowned, confused.
But it was gone. ’What? I definitely felt it.’ He retraced his mory and his actions. What was the difference? The mont he dismounted and grabbed Squeaker again...
He fell silent.
He felt the difference. Simin’s gaze fell upon Squeaker.
“Is it you?”
“Squeak?”
“...No way.”
His suspicious gaze lingered for a long ti.
Reviews
All reviews (0)