God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 146: Episode 29_Kenji Performs, Simin Profits (1)

Chapter 146: Episode 29_Kenji Performs, Simin Profits (1)

1.

Change wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It definitely had its upsides.

[Now the monsters in the fog drop awakening potions too?]

[The drop rate seems decent.]

[The problem is they’re a pain in the ass to kill.]

If one could ignore the miserable reality that made those upsides completely useless, the situation might have seemed like a positive development.

After all, the conditions were optimal.

An endless supply of fog awakening potions. A hunting ground that spawned monsters with high attack and low defense, twenty-four hours a day. As long as you were willing to accept a reasonable amount of risk, you could level up several times faster than before.

Right now, though, all those “advantages” had become pure liabilities. The gap created by the newly buffed monsters and the debuff from the fog was far greater than it appeared.

[Yeah, this is on a whole different level.]

[What are we supposed to do? Why did the pattern suddenly change like this?]

[I saw the otter before I died today. It was like three times its old size and looked seriously pissed. I guess we really did push it too hard these last few weeks.]

[Is this the last phase, maybe?]

[Damn, when you put it that way, this really is a boss raid. Wow. The scale of FW’s main quest is insane. A boss monster controlling an entire hunting ground, and the whole environment changes with each phase?]

Despair arrived hand-in-hand with hope.

In real life, people would have grumbled, given up, and sunk into despair as things grew harder. But this was a game—a maze where every path had a built-in exit.

The more the crisis escalated, the more the hardships piled up, the more it proved you were on the right track. It was far better than being stuck in a stagnant, unchanging situation.

So, even though players were dying at several times the previous rate, the community was on fire.

And at the center of that blaze was Kenji, fanning the flames.

[We’re almost there. It appears the boss monster, the otter, has entered its final phase. Many of our guild members have died, but in the process, we’ve determined that neither its buffs nor the current situation will last forever. We’re currently working to confirm the source of its power. We will continue to invest whatever is necessary to clear this within one to three months at the latest. We’re also preparing measures to compensate our expedition members for their losses, so please don’t worry. Continue to give your all to the raid. Thank you.]

It was money-splurging at its finest.

Players conveniently forgot his title of “expedition leader who stabbed everyone in the back” and instead showered him with praise. He was a war hero, after all—the one who had carried this massive production this far. With his promise to cover their losses even if they died, players eager to cast themselves as supporting actors in this blockbuster had nothing to complain about.

And so, they headed back to the Unknown Mountains.

The correct call would have been to pull back for a while, wait for the otter’s rampage to subside and its power source to run dry. But dealing with the variables a withdrawal might create was more troublesome than simply maintaining the status quo by sacrificing a portion of the player base.

That was Kenji’s judgment. It was extremely selfish, but it was also a method only someone with his resources could employ.

At the same time, Kenji organized a special unit.

“Move through the area and collect any items dropped by dead players.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

He had more money than he could ever spend, but he was no philanthropist. He wasn’t about to hand out cash to thousands of players. Considering the fame and intangible benefits he would gain from successfully clearing the raid, it wasn’t a bad deal, but he still had to recoup whatever losses he could. Considering the average level of the players who had flocked to the area, it was a gamble worth taking.

Kenji’s guild members re-entered the mountain range in small, highly mobile groups.

It should have been a simple task. Countless players had died, the fog had settled in for the entire day, and monsters roamed constantly, giving no one a chance to retrieve their gear. In a situation like this, very few would risk returning for the items they had dropped. All his unit had to do was pick up the lost equipment lying around.

That was the plan, anyway.

The subordinate hesitated.

“Guild Master... there’s nothing. Not a single item.”

“That’s impossible. The mountain range is vast and the fog is thick. You probably just missed them. Take more time and keep searching. We have plenty of downtime.”

“Yes, sir.”

For two full weeks, they combed through every corner of the mountain range, day after day, and still didn’t recover a single item.

Kenji was speechless.

It was harder to comprehend than the mystery of how the otter had strengthened the monsters. You could at least explain that away with a simple, ’Well, it’s a boss monster.’ But this...

“What the hell is going on?”

“Could the monsters have picked them up?”

“If that were the case, they would have done it ages ago.”

It was well-documented that items dropped by players could lie on the ground for days before being found. That knowledge had been the basis for this entire plan.

So why was there suddenly nothing?

Even with the fog, the areas where players could realistically travel were limited.

He remained silent.

No matter how frustrated he was, he couldn’t find the truth. What could he do? It wasn’t like he could pull up security footage. All he could do was lament the loss of one of his methods for recouping expenses.

* * *

“I wonder if the rabbits are doing a good job.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen them around. Where’d they go?”

“Everyone’s got their own work to do.”

“...Feels like I haven’t seen them in weeks.”

“I left them in the mountains.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why do you think? We’re just selling ore; what do we need rabbits for? As long as we have Squeaker to fly us out of trouble, we’re fine.”

Han Simin explained it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His logic was so smooth that Kang Yeseul found herself nodding along.

“True. No point in letting them sit around. Gotta squeeze out every last coin.” Then a question occurred to her. “But the atmosphere in the mountains is insane right now. Are they really going to be okay? I mean, sure, the rabbits are strong, but what if those cute little things run into the monsters out there? And more importantly, what happens when the fog comes down? They can’t see anything without you.”

She’d seen Han Simin work the rabbits to the bone before, so she could accept that part, but there were a few things she couldn’t wrap her head around. There were technical problems to solve. Besides, with the war broadcast running all day, she knew better than anyone what the mood was like. How could a bunch of dumb monsters wander around in that hellscape and make money?

Bored and sprawled out in the wagon, Kang Yeseul felt she wouldn’t be able to relax until her curiosity was satisfied. Han Simin held out his hand.

“If you’re that curious, 500 gold.”

“Are you insane?”

“Fine. Just give me five gold. I’ll tell you a secret I haven’t told anyone.”

“...Really?”

“Yeah. I haven’t even told Seolah. If you want to hear it on the down-low, I’ll tell you.”

“Oh!”

The ever-gullible Kang Yeseul eyed him suspiciously for a moment before giving in and handing over the coins. Satisfied with hooking another sucker, Han Simin immediately tossed the coins to Squeaker.

Ppaeaek!

The gold vanished, meaning there would be no refunds. He wiggled his fingers.

Kang Yeseul glanced at Jeong Hyeonsu and Jeong Seolah inside the wagon, then leaned in close, her face full of smug superiority.

’What’s the secret? This is just for me.’

Matching her mood, Han Simin whispered, “You know my lens? The one that lets me see in the fog.”

She nodded.

“I gave it to them.”

She looked at him with confusion.

“And I gave them three rules: don’t mess around, always stick together, and if you smell monsters, run first and ask questions later. Oh, and if you see any items on the ground, pick them all up.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

Kang Yeseul sucked in a sharp breath at the shocking revelation.

“For real?”

“Yup.”

“You’re really...”

It wasn’t a huge secret, but she didn’t regret the five gold one bit. She just couldn’t find the words to continue, hesitating over how to describe him. Demon? Trash?

Whatever label she chose, one thing was certain: he thought about money in ways other people simply couldn’t. In the middle of all this chaos, he was using his rabbits—creatures most people would have forgotten about—to rake in a side income. And this was the same guy who had started a war just to rob a mine.

Respect welled up in her unbidden. It was a style of play she could never attempt, being the type to pour money into the game without a thought of getting it back.

And that wasn’t even the end of it. The rabbits were just a side hustle. The real business was only just beginning.

2.

There was only one reason he had wasted time traveling to a distant kingdom on the opposite continent—a place most players would never visit in their entire Fantastic World careers—instead of just selling the ore nearby.

To prepare for the worst-case scenario.

The odds were low, but if the otter managed to defeat Kenji’s expedition and then followed the scent of the ore out of the mountain range, the minerals he had sold could become a problem. He could always feign ignorance, but this wasn’t pocket change. Getting tangled up with powerful merchant guilds or nobles would be a massive headache.

It was best to take a small loss, cash out cleanly, and erase the whole affair from his mind.

So, he had come as far as he could. For the commonly traded ores, he didn’t even haggle, simply selling them off at fair market value.

“I am the Emperor’s son-in-law. By His Majesty’s command, I have come to dispose of minerals obtained from the northern mountain range.”

Gasp!

There was no negotiation. The merchants, intimidated by the golden plaque Han Simin presented, offered their own reasonable prices. The sheer volume was so large that even a small margin would amount to a windfall. It was a win-win deal that left everyone smiling.

In this way, he sold off all the commonly known ores. The yield wasn’t as valuable as gold, and there was no mithril, but the gold and promissory notes in his possession still totaled a staggering 350,000 gold.

Heh heh.

A foolish grin spread across his face. This was money Squeaker would never get her claws on. Even if he casually tossed 100,000 gold to his territory, he would still have a surplus of 250,000.

Most importantly, he still had a whole bundle of unidentifiable ore. If he had brought the rainbow ore as well, he would have had two types, but he set that regret aside. After making the rounds of various forges and asking discreet questions, he finally got a lead.

“I’m a third-generation blacksmith, but I have no idea what this is. It’s embarrassing to admit, but there are dwarves living deep in the nearby Nylon Mountains. Perhaps you should visit them?”

[Do you accept the quest Trace of the Dwarves?]

“Thank you.”

A quest was obtained for ten gold. It was a shame the money he’d spent on the unknown ore had been a waste, but the mention of dwarves piqued his interest.

Naturally, he didn’t hesitate. With the wagon now much lighter, he set off for the Nylon Mountains.

The journey itself wasn’t difficult. The road was unpaved, but plenty of players were active in the region. A quick search on the community boards revealed that while the deeper parts were challenging, the mountain range itself was a decent hunting ground. All he had to do was follow the coordinates. As for any monsters they might encounter...

“We’ll just beat them down.”

There was no way they would be stronger than the monsters in the Unknown Mountains.

His confident advance, however, was blocked surprisingly early, right at the entrance.

“This hunting ground is under the control of the Kaiser Guild. Turn back.”

He looked at them in confusion.

* * *