Chapter 34: Episode 7 _ Hitting the Jackpot on Top of a Jackpot (3)
6.
Humans evolve by learning, filling in what they lack to create a brighter future. Han Simin, too, had learned and gained a great deal from the ruins raid.
’Don’t be cheap about enhancing my own gear.’
He had to forget the days when he mindlessly enhanced whatever he could just to make a quick buck. Playing the ga himself, he had co to feel that Fantastic World wasn’t so flash-in-the-pan ga to be exploited for a few months and then discarded. The sheer amount of money players were investing proved it. He needed to be more ticulous, more forward-thinking. So, he decided to limit his services to others.
’I need to control the supply and raise the price. Nothing devalues a luxury good faster than making it common.’ The little bit of business administration he’d dabbled in was proving useful. He’d had this idea for a while, but what truly solidified his decision was Kang Yeseul.
It was her
14 staff. ’A re level 20 Rare-grade item evolved and gained an insane special effect.’
Of course, the special options on his own
15 crimson dagger weren’t bad either. The Legendary Heal, though he wasn’t a healer, would be a huge help when he finally used it, and the fact that he could retrieve the dagger forced opponents to consider more variables. But that couldn’t compare to an aura that affected all nearby players just by possessing the item. It was essentially a free, unconditional buff.
’What a broken piece of gear!’
After thinking about it, he realized wiping the floor with enemies solo was great, but imagine a whole guild receiving that effect. It was terrifying. This led Simin to re-evaluate his own ability.
’I can’t just hand out
12 or higher items.’
This was his livelihood. He resolved to stand firm, no matter the situation. He wouldn’t even use his 100% success rate for the Specialists, with whom he had a mutually beneficial relationship.
’Maybe up to 30%, or 40% at most.’
A smile crept onto his face as he rembered the precedent he’d set by charging per 10% success rate. This was why it was so important to hook a good sucker early on. In a blue ocean market like this, the first transaction set the standard.
“Hehehe.”
With his future plans looking bright, he decided on his next move: enhancing his armor. He planned to get his current set to
15. Originally, he was going to wear it for a while and then enhance a better, higher-level set, but things changed at level 20. He learned that enhancing Rare-grade items and above required sacrifices, which changed his mind. Using better armor was obviously the right call, but he couldn’t help but think it was a waste of money.
He didn’t need it right away. So, he decided to get his relatively easy-to-enhance leather armor to
15 and then forget about armor for a while.
“Master!”
He opened the door to the enhancent forge. Having converted the $20,000 he got from Yeseul into gold coins, his voice was confident. The days of begging were over. With his original 150, he now had a fortune of 350 gold coins. He wouldn’t have to worry about enhancent stones for a while.
“What is it?” Khan grunted.
“Co on, you can’t greet your student so coldly. A greeting like that hardly makes
want to visit.”
“Then don’t.”
“Can’t do that either.” Khan was Simin’s benefactor, after all. And there was still plenty to gain from him. Simin sidled up to Khan, who was packing his things. “Where are you going?”
“To the Empire.”
“Huh? Why?” The question, ant as a simple greeting, had sparked his curiosity. He straightened his posture, and Khan replied with a smirk.
“Every year, the Empire hosts a festival for enhancent masters.”
“Ah.”
“You want to co?”
“Can I go?” A re adventurer like him?
“Any mber of the family can participate. The Emperor himself hosts a competition between the families. If you do well, you can win a great prize.”
Ding.
[Will you accept the quest ‘Festival of Enhancent Masters’?]
Simin was stunned.
’What’s this?’ A quest popping up so suddenly made him frown. The timing was too perfect! If this was how it was going to be...
“Of course I’m going!”
[You have accepted the quest.]
[Festival of Enhancent Masters]
* Grade: A
* Description: Every year, the Empire holds a festival for the descendants of the legendary enhancent master, one of the five heroes of the continent. It is an occasion to foster harmony among the enhancent masters and elevate the prestige of their families! Uphold the pride of the Khan family and make your na known in the Empire.
* Reward: ??
He hadn’t been playing long and didn’t know much, but one thing was certain. ’The scale of the Empire!’
A festival hosted by the Emperor, attended by all the enhancent masters on the continent. How grand would an event be for people who earned hundreds of dollars per enhancent? And they were holding a competition in his main specialty. Only an idiot would pass up a feast laid out just for them. He accepted without a mont’s hesitation and shot Khan a hopeful look.
“What will you give ?” Simin asked.
“What do you an?”
“If I win. If I make the Khan family the greatest on the continent, shouldn’t I get sothing out of it?”
“...I suppose we can call it even for the grace I showed you by accepting you into my family.”
“Hey!”
What a cheap thing to say. Call it even? “Don’t be like that, Master. This is an honor that money can’t buy!”
“Hilarious. I know you.”
“What about ?”
Khan stated, “You’d go even if I told you not to, as long as there’s money to be made.”
That gave Simin chills. For a mont, he was at a loss for words. Khan was, after all, the only one who knew about his ability. Simin licked his lips and took a step back. Khan might be talking tough now, but he’d probably give him sothing if he were in a good mood. If not, Simin just wouldn’t participate. He hadn’t lost anything, but he still felt a little cheated.
Shaking it off, he changed the subject. He’d gotten sidetracked, but there was a reason he’d co to this forge with its single, grumpy occupant at such an important ti.
“Master, I need so enhancent stones. About fifty.”
“...Did you leave your conscience in the forest?”
“No, I’m not asking for them for free this ti.” ’What’s with that look, like I’m so kind of parasite? Just get angry at
instead!’ A miffed Simin brandished his thick gold pouch. “I’m rich now!”
“What a relief. If you had sold off the last of your conscience, I would have had to consider expelling you from the family.”
Khan, looking relieved, went to get the stones. As he returned with a large bundle, Simin whispered sheepishly, “Um, Master. I am, after all, a promising talent of the Khan family, and your disciple. And this is a bulk purchase, so maybe a little discount...?”
Khan remained silent.
“If a discount is too much, maybe you could throw in one or two extra stones as a bonus...?” Simin asked, taking his shot.
* * *
“You persistent bastard.”
“Master, if you ever need anything enhanced, just let
know. I’ll give you a good price.” Simin’s steps were light, and he humd a tune as he walked. He had managed to wheedle three extra stones out of Khan as a “bonus” for buying fifty.
“If you win the competition, consider those stones your reward,” Khan said.
“Whoa! What are you talking about? You can’t just get away with that. Besides, you said these three ca from the remnants of destroyed items!”
“It’s all just superstition.”
“Yeah, yeah. Superstition. But you still kept them hidden away separately from the other stones, didn’t you?” Simin scoffed at Khan’s excuse. Superstition was nonsense! Well, technically it was, but just like in other gas, how could a stone dropped from a broken item be the sa as a regular one? Just as stones blessed by a priest sold for a higher price despite having no actual effect, these unlucky stones were bound to be cheaper.
“If you don’t want them, give them back,” Khan said.
Simin answered, “Who said I don’t want them? I’m just saying you can’t call it even by giving
this garbage.”
“Surely you’re not planning to sell them at full price?”
“They look the sa on the outside, don’t they?”
Khan had no reply.
Indeed, they all looked identical, making them hard to tell apart. However, if one checked the item information, it would read ‘Enhancent Stone from a Destroyed Item’ instead of just ‘Enhancent Stone.’ Simin was targeting players who weren’t yet familiar with the intricacies of the field. It would be easy enough to sell them off without giving them a chance to check.
“I take no responsibility,” Khan declared.
“Don’t worry. I’ll only sell them to the suckers.” And if they were about to get caught, he could just use his ability to make the enhancent succeed.
“Kriee!”
As Simin was casually plotting, a goblin appeared before him. An unlucky goblin that had been wandering the forest. Before it could even offer a greeting, the crimson dagger was at its throat.
“Scrieee!”
“Are you going to keep heading into the forest?” Khan asked, frowning at the goblin’s pathetic demise.
Traveling through the forest to get to the Empire was certainly an option. It went without saying that Khan’s level was much higher than Simin’s, and while his gear wasn’t a full
15 set, it was still radiant enough.
“I was planning to get my armor to
15 on the way.”
“...We might not arrive on ti.”
That was the problem. Ti. The continent of Fantastic World was vast. Straying from the main roads to cut through the forest would inevitably lead to delays from unforeseen events and distractions. Moreover, the pri locations weren’t laid out in a straight line to the Empire, aning they would have to take an even longer route.
“Hmm.”
He had to choose. It was a difficult decision, as he didn’t want to give up either option.
“How long would it take to get to the Empire this way?” Simin asked.
“Well, I can tell you that it takes nearly two weeks even if you just take a carriage,” Khan responded.
Simin’s liberal arts brain began to ache. ’It takes three days by carriage to the capital, so on foot it’s about ten days...’
Two weeks was fourteen days, roughly five tis longer. Ten days tis five was...
“Master, on second thought, I think taking a carriage is the right call.”
In life, it was always best to give up quickly, especially if you wanted to have your cake and eat it too. “Just wait for
for a bit whenever we pass near a pri location.”
“Alright.”
Having found a reasonable compromise, Simin and Khan left the forest.
“The carriage fare is coming out of the Khan family’s expense account, right?” Simin asked.
And so began another tedious journey.
7.
While Han Simin embarked on another journey for the sake of enhancent, the Specialists returned to their daily grind of leveling up. It was another grueling hunt.
“Heal! Weaken! Exhaust!”
The only thing that had changed was that Kang Yeseul, who used to just hang back and heal, was now more involved in combat. But the result of that subtle change was enormous.
“Kriee.” A monster groaned.
“Ice Spear!” Jeong Seolah shouted.
Pshnk.
They were now able to hunt Level 35 lizardn—monsters eight levels higher than their party’s average—without much trouble.
“Phew. I’m running out of mana, Unni,” Yeseul panted.
“Chug a potion.”
“This is the life, hunting like royalty.”
As a result, the trio’s level ranking shot into the top ten. They were overtaking players who did nothing but hunt day and night, ignoring main quests entirely. The implications were significant: they were gaining fa and items from the main quest rewards, leveling up, and improving their gear all at once. Naturally, private ssages from other top-tier players started trickling in.
“Unni, what are we going to do about the enhancent requests for Simin?” Yeseul asked.
“I’ll ask him,” Seolah replied.
“Tsk. Can’t we just say no? Let’s keep him all to ourselves.”
Most of the ssages were asking for an introduction to Han Simin, who was currently incommunicado. Of course, Jeong Seolah desperately wanted to monopolize him, too.
“Simin might have other ideas.”
Though she hadn’t known him for long, she had figured out that he was soone who loved money. He had already posted his prices on the FW community, and custors were lining up. She couldn’t just turn them all away. In the middle of their busy schedule, she gave him a call.
—“Yes, Seolah?” he answered instantly.
“Are you busy?”
—“No, what’s up?”
Between Simin, who spent his days rolling around in a carriage and only moving when he found a pri location, and Jeong Seolah, who hunted for days on end with less than a minute of rest, she was clearly the busier one.
“We’re getting a lot of ssages. A lot of people want enhancents. Since you’re not answering anyone, it seems they’re all coming to us. What should we do?”
—“Hmm.”
The kind-hearted Jeong Seolah had even extended her break ti specifically to talk to him. Unaware of this, Simin thought for over three minutes before casually replying.
—“I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Could you let them know that I’ll post a separate announcent on the FW forums?”
“Okay, I will.”
—“Good luck with the grind.”
“You too, Simin.”
The conversation ended there. As Jeong Seolah drew her weapon to resu hunting, all she saw was the desolate expression on Kang Yeseul’s face.
“...What the hell? He was ignoring my ssages just a minute ago, but he answers you instantly?”
Anger was a great fuel for the hunt. Thanks to Han Simin, their hunting speed increased just a little more.
* * *
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