God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 137: Episode 27_The Secret Merchant of the Fog Region (2)

Chapter 137: Episode 27_The Secret Merchant of the Fog Region (2)

2.

He regretted feeding it millions of dollars at the time, but now that it had a use, he couldn’t be prouder.

"Fly! Faster! Good boy. Over there!"

The time for enhancement was shortened beyond words.

A carriage is faster than walking, and Squeaker is faster than a carriage.

Since the gap was several times over, he truly felt the worth of investing expensive money to get an aerial pet.

"Faster! Do you think I fed you millions for nothing? Work!"

PPAEAEK!

Even though it was still too weak to handle a single monster wandering the gold mine, it was fine.

People, animals, objects—everything has its use.

Han Simin acknowledged that difference and worked Squeaker hard.

Thanks to that, the +15 drop item was completed in a short time!

[+15 Special Ring of Luck]

- Grade: Epic Unique

- Option 1: Item Drop Rate +1% (+25%)

- Option 2: Item Drop Rate +1% (+25%)

- Option 3: Deep Red Aura effect applied

- Defense +20

- Attack Power +10

- Item Drop Rate +1%

He got lucky with an enhancement effect increase, adding a whopping 10% more to the options, and a random 1% was attached to the aura option too.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use it as a buff, but it didn’t matter.

He could make up for the good opportunity to run an awakening Potion factory by earning money in other forms.

"Let’s fly over immediately." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

PPAEAEK!

The item drop rate increased by a staggering 64%.

If the drop rate for Fog Awakening Potions from monsters was 10%, it meant 74% applied to Han Simin!

Of course, he didn’t know the exact formula or pattern for item drops in 『Fantastic World』 yet, so he couldn’t be certain, but based on what he had felt while playing so far, it was definitely not a bad pattern.

Didn’t the experience buff also show tremendous efficiency after he somehow raised it?

The number one contributor that made him the nouveau riche he was today!

Although it was a pity he couldn’t see the effects himself, he had never lost money by enhancing anything.

So he believed.

Faith backed by money never resulted in a loss.

* * *

Time in 『Fantastic World』 flowed quickly.

For players busy leveling up, hunting for items, and upgrading their specs all day, time flew by regardless. But when competing over who got to monopolize the Main Quest, the days passed so quickly they didn’t even realize when one ended.

This was especially true for the two factions most likely to monopolize the final Chapter of Main Quest Act 2.

The Specialists.

And Kenji.

Both were hunting in the Unknown Mountain Range, where they didn’t have a single moment to check the time.

During the two hours the fog lifted, they hunted like madmen to prepare for the four hours that followed. And when the fog descended, they consumed the Awakening Potions they had gathered and swept up experience points as if they had been waiting for this moment.

It was an endless cycle.

Experiencing rapid growth they had never felt before, they didn’t even think about taking a break.

Of course, since both groups were experts in this kind of long-term warfare, they didn’t hunt in a way that caused burnout. They took appropriate breaks occasionally.

The only slight problem was that those breaks came only after they had secured a surplus of Awakening Potions.

Even that settled into a routine as time passed.

The shabbier their appearance became, the faster their leveling speed increased!

Thanks to that, the level gap gradually narrowed.

"The gap has narrowed to two levels, Guild Master."

"Dino’s power is significant. Let’s work harder."

"Yes, sir."

In the same hunting ground, the amount of experience Kenji gained per hour was overwhelmingly higher due to the difference in numbers, firepower, and money invested.

Above all, didn’t all the members of the Kenji Guild take only the minimum experience required and funnel the rest to Kenji?

Even if the level imbalance became severe, nothing fit the concept of a one-man guild better than this.

However, it wasn’t without side effects.

"Obtaining Awakening Potions is the problem. We have established a system to some extent, but like this, we will eventually hit a limit. Guild members are starting to get logged out one by one. We need a more efficient alternative for the Awakening Potions."

"Hmm."

Drop rate.

That was effectively the biggest problem for the Kenji Guild, which numbered nearly one hundred members.

No, rather than a guild problem, it was simply a problem with the hunting ground itself.

A problem they knew about but couldn’t easily solve.

One they just had to leave to luck.

What could be more frustrating than this?

If it were a problem that could be solved by spending money, they would have already solved it and surged ahead.

"It would be nice if we could buy them somewhere," Kenji muttered in regret.

If he could have his way, he wanted to put up a notice to all players: [I’ll buy Awakening Potions at a high price, so come and hunt.]

But his image wasn’t great enough to say such shameless things to other players, and the level of this hunting ground was too high for people to come just for the money.

Any team capable of surviving and hunting here would pursue their own growth using the potions rather than selling them to make money.

While the Kenji Guild was hunting without finding a solution, a strange rumor reached their ears a short time later.

3.

The source of the rumor was the FW community.

The Unknown Mountain Range expedition had attracted quite a bit of attention from players across the vast continent. High-level parties from other kingdoms, tempted by the talk of a rare hunting ground concept and high experience gain, had started to gather one by one.

Naturally, in 『Fantastic World』, which was heading towards thirty million users, this was bound to happen.

It would be funny if only the Specialists and the Kenji Guild were in that vast hunting ground. They were just slightly ahead because they were luckier than others; the saying that the world is wide could never be ignored.

The moment high-level players flocked there and proved that the leveling speed was noticeably faster...

It became rumored as a “honey pot” hunting ground where leveling was fast starting from level 50, provided one had the items, skills, and teamwork. It was selected as a hot place frequented by top-tier players.

A moment where the Main Quest was buried once again!

Anyway, in such a situation, a user posted a thread.

Title: Yesterday was weird as hell.

Damn it, we caught over twenty mobs without resting for a single minute for two hours, but not a single Awakening Potion dropped. The more I think about it, the more pissed I get, but what can you do? It didn’t drop. The fog was coming down, and the safe zone was too far to run to. We had no stock, so we got logged out.

Thinking, ’Ah, we’re screwed,’ we decided to rely on luck and waited for a while. But then, guess what? Some strange NPC approached us.

Content that anyone hunting in the Unknown Mountain Range could sympathize with.

From the introduction, comments appeared saying this wasn’t fake.

There weren’t many people hunting there, but most were top-tier players, and they broadcasted their gameplay. Just watching a broadcast for a few hours would reveal how atrocious the drop rate for Awakening Potions was there.

So it was interesting.

An NPC.

In a mountain range where not a speck of human trace could be found?

—Actually, at first, I thought it was a monster and tried to attack. But he dodged everything and started talking to us. ’Humans... blah blah blah.’ I was so dumbfounded I don’t remember exactly, but you can check the recording. That’s not important though. He spouted some weird stuff and asked, ’Do you happen to need Pills of Clairvoyance?’ There was no need to ask what that was.

None of the people reading the post asked what that was in the comments either.

It was obvious.

An NPC in the fog.

Invisible players.

And Pills of Clairvoyance.

Anyone could tell it was the Fog Awakening Potion.

—I immediately said I’d buy them. When I asked how many I could buy, he told me to state the number I wanted. Wow. I thought it was a real jackpot. I didn’t know where this NPC came from, but if I could just buy the Awakening Potions that wouldn’t drop even after two hours of hunting, it wouldn’t be a loss no matter how much I spent. I steeled myself and asked for about 100.

People felt envy at this point.

One hundred Awakening Potions.

Assuming one person uses four a day, a four-person party could last a week.

If they gathered a stockpile while holding out like that, and if they were lucky, they would have no problems hunting for a month.

But there was a twist.

—But I couldn’t buy them. Shit. Thinking about it still makes me speechless. Do you know what the NPC asked first when I asked for 100? He asked if I had money. A guy wandering around in the fog asking where I’d spend money. It wasn’t like he asked me to hunt monsters and gather materials. I thought that might be the case, and I had money, so I nodded, but then he said it was 10 gold each? LOL. I was so dumbfounded. 100 means 1,000 gold, which is $100,000. Would I be crazy enough to buy that?

A jaw-dropping price!

No one expected that.

—Yeah, I bought them. LOLOLOL. I ended up buying them. Even in that ridiculous situation. I couldn’t buy 100, but I bought four, enough for my party members. I paid 40 gold. What else could I do? If we stayed there blind and died, we could suffer even greater losses. As soon as I took the pill, I tried to see the bastard’s face to see what kind of guy he was, but he had already disappeared. I felt once again that 『Fantastic World』 is truly a fantastic game, just like its name.

To think the ending would be spectacular too.

This post immediately went to the “Best Posts” section, and all sorts of comments were posted, accusing it of being fake or staged.

The general consensus was that it was a lie.

The beginning was plausible, but the further it went, the less people wanted to believe it, and the amount of money mentioned didn’t feel real.

However, that atmosphere didn’t last a few days. Verification posts started coming up one or two at a time.

Although the firepower was lacking, the nicknames of the posters were enough to rekindle the spark.

—I bought them too. Fortunately, when I bought them, we had already taken Awakening Potions so we didn’t need them, but he appeared anyway? I tried to see his face to figure out what he was, but he was wearing a thick robe, and maybe because of a special option, I couldn’t see inside. I didn’t attack him because he seemed like a Hidden NPC and I didn’t want to suffer a loss by messing with him. He offered us 10 gold each too. I bought just five, wondering if there was a hidden quest. Nothing special happened.

—There might really be a quest. They say the Unknown Mountain Range is where the final Chapter of Main Quest Act 2 is currently taking place. Could there be a clue? I’m hunting there too, so if I meet him next time, I’ll buy 10.

And the deduction ignited!

People who had just thought of it as a fascinating phenomenon expanded their thoughts in that direction thanks to the top comment on the last post.

Then, surprisingly, verification posts from users buying the insanely priced Awakening Potions started lining up.

—I bought 10, but nothing happened.

—15, nothing unusual.

—20 too.

—Shake my head... Whales.

—Damn. Do we have to buy at least 30?

Atmosphere creates atmosphere.

The topic of the Fog Mountain Range flowed toward the story of the mysterious merchant appearing within it and the challenge to solve that secret.

Fast, as if someone had guided them in that direction.