God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 115: Episode 23 _ Turning Dead Weight into a Feast(1)

Chapter 115: Episode 23 _ Turning Dead Weight into a Feast(1)

1.

The reason Simmani picked up that ring was purely by chance.

It had already been over ten years since he started wandering the mountains under his Simmani parents, digging for herbs and searching for wild ginseng.

Herbs worth money no longer grew neglected in the wild, and to even paste glue on his mouth to survive, he had to enter private mountains to steal and sell them.

Naturally, that was the shortest route to becoming a criminal.

If caught doing such things, the victims were usually wealthy people, so it was common to be sent to prison without mercy.

So, amid his worries about the future, he chose Fantastic World.

Since the generation of his parents, earning money through games was close to a delusion, so he was reluctant. But faced with the situation where his wife and children would starve if he didn’t dig the ground and sell even the sand right away, he boldly broke the savings account he had gathered by not eating what he wanted to eat and not wearing what he wanted to wear, and purchased a capsule.

He had one reason for playing the game!

To travel the continent and use his skills to earn money.

From what he heard, not all lands there were human lands, and if one had the talent, one could enter lands untouched by human hands to dig herbs as much as they wanted. Wasn’t that truly a Blue Ocean itself for Simmanis?

Especially if he dug up a nameless herb that had the potential to provide tremendous efficacy to users enjoying the game, it would be a true windfall!

Roughly a few mountains with just trees that were all the same, and even those landscapes being logged as time passed—it was a dimension apart from the scenery of South Korea.

Satisfying his adventurous spirit, which liked to wander here and there, and earning money too.

Although he hadn’t earned enough money to turn his life around yet, Simmani was sufficiently satisfied.

At least he didn’t have to commit crimes, he could earn more than the pennies he earned every few days, and he could make a somewhat regular income.

Even if he played the game day and night, wandering the continent, it was less tiring than reality, the probability of dying was lower, and he could revive even if he died.

With so many advantages existing, how could life not get better?

The incident began at that turning point.

Because he, who had now become quite close with NPCs and had become a Simmani known by name to some extent, made a decision.

’Let’s go to a farther place.’

The mountains and forests he roamed in search of herbs were occasionally inhabited by unmanageable monsters, forcing him to tread carefully. However, the deeper he ventured, the higher the probability of finding precious herbs—a reward commensurate with the risk.

As he gained a bit of leeway, greed naturally followed.

Venturing deeper, he discovered a grave hidden among the dense trees.

"Huh?"

The tombstone was quite luxurious; it wasn’t the kind of grave that belonged in a place like this.

The question was brief, but the dilemma that followed was intense.

’Should I dig it up?’

He shrank back for a moment at the gruesome thought, but soon straightened up after confirming there was no one around.

’So what? No one is here. Besides, it’s just a game, isn’t it?’

Who knows?

It might be connected to a quest with a massive reward waiting.

Since he had only ever wandered around and never really played the game properly, his curiosity was piqued even more.

What if he dug up the grave and found an item he could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars?

After starting the game and looking up various information, he had naturally come across articles about users earning hundreds of thousands by selling a single item.

On top of that, he knew about a skill book that had recently received a bid of over $6 million, so it was only natural for greed to arise!

His steps automatically headed toward the grave.

Having already made up his mind, there was nothing to hold him back.

Above all, the fact that it was a game alleviated his guilt.

Digging into the ground wasn’t difficult.

After all, there was a shovel inside that excellent magic item known as the leather pouch.

Nervous that someone might come by, he dug into the earth, revealing a single corpse.

He looked on in confusion.

Simmani, who had anticipated a hoard of gold and silver treasures, felt his expression stiffen.

It was flashy on the outside, but the inside was no different from any other grave.

Unconsciously, he hoisted the corpse up.

Still, he had invested time digging the grave, so it would be unfair to leave empty-handed.

Surely, they must have given the deceased something for the toll to the afterlife.

He gasped.

And that was how he discovered it.

A single ring.

[Ring in the Grave]

Grade: Unique

Wearable Level: 35

Option 1: Item Drop Rate +0.5%

And so, he posted a listing on an item brokerage site.

* * *

"Yes. Yes, yes. There? Yes, I think it will arrive in about three days. Yes, if you wait just a little bit, I’ll be there soon!"

Simmani’s expression was bright as he hung up the phone.

"Daddy, what is it? Did something good happen?"

"Yeah, something good happened to Dad. Shall we have chicken for dinner tonight?"

"Wow! Really?"

"Of course! Go tell Mom to order the chicken Dahye likes."

"Okay!"

To think the day would come when he could be this confident in front of his seven-year-old daughter!

His mouth naturally hung open in a grin.

It was inevitable!

He had posted the seemingly useless ring on the brokerage site for $50, thinking it would be a waste to just throw it away. Not only did he get a trade offer, but the buyer said they would give him an extra $50—a total of $100—if he delivered it to a specific location instead of a midway point!

It might seem like a trivial amount to some, but considering the days when he couldn’t even earn $10 in several days, this pocket money felt like a dream.

Furthermore, his job was a Simmani—an herb gatherer!

Although he had a main area of activity, he could work wherever he roamed on the continent, so the travel time was also part of the money-making process.

He hugged his surprised wife and went back inside the capsule.

Pocket money was pocket money, but he still had work to do.

Simmani hummed a tune to himself at the thought of selling an antique that looked like it wouldn’t matter if he threw it on the street for $100.

2.

Busy times passed.

Through the broadcasts, word of mouth spread about the Rich Territory, causing users to flow in. At the same time, upon hearing the results of the territorial war, many NPCs from the surrounding areas decided to immigrate as well.

Han Simin ruled over Baron Karan’s territory in his absence. He lowered taxes and improved the treatment of the residents, causing them to welcome their new lord despite meeting him for the first time.

"There’s no better honey pot than this."

Naturally, he extracted more from here than from the Rich Territory.

Even though he ruled both territories, the Rich Territory was his main base, a place he had put immense effort into raising. This place, however, was essentially a colony!

There was no reason or need to treat them the same.

Besides, look how they cheered!

He wondered just how much they had been exploited before to react like this, but he didn’t question it deeply.

The only thing that mattered to him was the money coming out of this territory.

"I’ve secured enough compensation, too."

After giving various instructions to the aide and telling him to send the tribute every month, he left his seat.

The Rich Territory alone was so vast that expanding north toward where the monsters lived would be endless; he didn’t want to bother caring for another one.

"Residents who wish to immigrate may apply according to the proper procedures."

"Waaaaah!"

He gave a speech roughly resembling that of a wise king, packed up everything, and returned.

Ah. Is this not what a wise king does? Well, whatever.

The criteria for accepting residents would, of course, be whether they could make money.

Capable residents would come, and if not, they would probably just keep living there.

With an irresponsible mindset, Simmani arrived at the Rich Territory.

"Hello. Are you Han Simin?"

"Ah. Welcome."

Shabby clothes. A massive backpack. Covered in dirt from head to toe.

Han Simin understood at a glance why this item had been posted for $50.

’He probably didn’t think it was very important.’

It was understandable.

In fact, if Simin weren’t an enhancement master, it was an item he wouldn’t have even clicked on.

But if he enhanced this, and if it evolved...

’Money is made in places like this.’

Since it was such a useless item, there were no listings on the brokerage site. However, he had posted a notice in the buy section that he would purchase all items of a similar type, so contacts would likely start coming in one by one soon.

He needed to buy them cheaply before it became known to the world, then enhance them as needed to either sell or use.

"Here is the ring."

"Ah. Thank you."

Whether he knew Han Simin’s inner thoughts or not, Simmani handed over the ring, excited by the thought that he could feed his daughter her favorite food again this evening.

A shabby ring.

Why was he paying the large sum of $100 for a ring with only a 0.5% drop rate?

Simmani couldn’t help but wonder.

Moreover, wasn’t the man in front of him a quite famous user in 『Fantastic World』?

He couldn’t afford to pay to watch Simin’s broadcasts, but the clips of his gameplay circulating on the internet and community sites were amazing and magnificent enough to incite envy.

Though, if he had money to burn, he might buy junk like this.

"Excuse me, is this item perhaps valuable?"

"Yes?"

He carefully mustered the courage to ask.

Even if it had a value he didn’t know about, he had no intention of canceling the transaction now. But he needed to know so that if he picked one up next time, he could sell it for a higher price.

However, Han Simin firmly shook his head at his expectation.

"Valuable? No way. It doesn’t look like it’ll be worth a damn."

Simmani fell silent.

That didn’t seem like something a person paying $100 for such an item would say.

Simmani harbored suspicion.

No matter how naive he was, he wasn’t ignorant of the ways of the world.

Society was full of people whose words and actions didn’t match.

"I just plan to wear it as a charm. Who knows? If even one more Special Item drops with that 0.5%, then I’ll make my money back immediately."

"Ah."

But Han Simin was more seasoned than that.

It wasn’t a statement that warranted much suspicion, and his expression, gestures, and actions were all natural.

It was clearly a wasteful expense, but considering where Han Simin was standing, the armor wrapped around his body, and the publicly known amount of money he had earned through the game...

To an ordinary person, wearing a $100 charm wasn’t that strange.

Especially from the perspective of someone who hunted high-level monsters and even named monsters that dropped good equipment.

"I asked a pointless question. I apologize if I offended you."

"Not at all. If you happen to find another one next time, please bring it to me. I plan to give one to each of my guild members."

"Yes, of course."

His misunderstanding cleared, Simmani cheered inwardly.

He knew the source of this ring.

He wasn’t certain yet, but that could be confirmed by wandering around and searching the graves he discovered!

’Side income...’

Even if he found one every few days, his income could increase by more than double what he was earning now.

"By the way, does this kind of item really exist? Where did you get it?"

"Ah. That is a bit..."

"...Yes, please contact me if you find more."

"Of course. Thank you."

Simultaneously with the handshake, a hologram appeared stating the transaction was complete, and money was deposited into his account!

Simmani, having swallowed the final bait hook, line, and sinker, hurriedly left the territory.

And Han Simin smiled as he put the ring on his left hand, which already had three rings on it.

Perhaps the moment had come where, following the Ring of Blessing, an upgrade to his money-making specs was possible.

Holding his hammer, he left the territory.

* * *