God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 131: Episode 26_Let’s Mix ’n’ Eat (2)

3.

It was a very shocking fact.

"You really don’t know the way back?"

Ppaeaek!

No, to think a Gold Dragon doesn’t know the way back home!

"You just have to go back the way we came!"

Ppaeaek!

He couldn’t understand the words, but he seemed to understand what was being said.

’I can’t remember because of the fog.’

It must mean something like that.

"Ha."

Hearing it, it was absurd.

"Then what were you going to do if I hadn’t summoned you?"

Ppaeaek! Ppaeaek!

"What?! What?! Punk! So what?!"

He asked, but he didn’t want to hear the answer.

He probably has an instinct to return to his master.

Right now, since the master to return to is right next to him, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know the way to the territory.

"Oh my. My head."

In the end, there is only one conclusion.

There is one path forward and one backward, but since the backward path is blocked, there is no choice but to go forward.

"Since it’s come to this, I’ll grab the gold and die."

It was regrettable, but what could he do?

If one makes the best judgment even in the worst situation, one can at least avoid the worst loss.

Of course, losses are always painful, but if he came to bite a big fish called a gold mine, that much risk is worth taking.

Having made his decision, Han Simin rummaged through his items, took them off, and put them into his subspace.

Leaving only the things that wouldn’t drop even if he died, only the Ring of Blessing and Buff the Buff remained forlornly.

"I’m really going to die instantly if I get hit just once like this."

Taking everything off, the cold rushed in.

Truly an extreme situation.

It was enough to make him wonder if he should just fight wearing all his items and leave it to luck even if he died.

However, instinct could not overcome reason.

’If even one thing drops, life is just screwed.’

If the Magic Pouch containing all his items dropped, it would truly be a shortcut to becoming penniless.

Therefore, he layered on the beginner items he had prepared in advance.

Even so, it was still a game of chance. But since countless users had produced statistics through numerous experiments since the release of 『Fantastic World』 stating that the probability of a user’s Magic Pouch itself dropping was practically non-existent, he bet on that.

"If this drops, BetaGo, you bastard... I’m going to make 2,000 +15 Beginner’s Daggers right away and scatter them all."

Even that wasn’t 0%, so he was anxious, but still.

He trusted it and advanced.

Cautiously.

The mountain with the gold mine was a mountain full of yellow leaves!

Although the shape was unfamiliar to call it ginkgo, it was full of golden light anyway.

"Is this why there’s a gold mine?"

To the point where he thought that.

It was beautiful, but his vision was too obscured to care about such things.

It was a landscape where it wouldn’t be strange for a monster to pop out from anywhere.

If there were just lots of rocks like a rocky mountain, at least the view would be open so he could run away immediately if a monster appeared.

He frowned but decided to have hope.

’Still, I’ve been lucky in this aspect.’

If he had to categorize himself, he would be at least a main supporting character tier.

"But wouldn’t it be so unfair if I suddenly got beaten to death by a monster I met here without even seeing the gold in the gold mine? Right?"

Ppaeaek!

ROAR!

He was speechless.

No, I guess I’m just an extra.

The laughter with which he spoke calmly couldn’t last even 10 seconds.

Because a giant creature appeared with a roar that shook the earth, holding handfuls of golden leaves in both hands.

"What is that?"

It couldn’t even be defined.

Usually, when users name monsters in 『Fantastic World』, they tend to bring things from reality and conveniently name them after similar things, but he had never seen this guy in reality either.

It was just a monster.

A huge monster.

Such a monster was salivating in front of him.

Seeing it put down the leaves it had plucked to eat, he could be certain.

"You bastard, you like meat, don’t you?"

Grateful that he understood, the monster approached.

He stepped back unwittingly, but the gap rather narrowed.

Han Simin instinctively grabbed Squeaker on his shoulder and threw him backward.

"Run away. And when I revive, come to the territory. Got it?"

Ppaeaek!

Ah. What a noble sacrifice!

A master who does not mind death for his pet.

Squeaker must have been moved too...

"This punk, he already ran away."

Like master, like dragon.

Before he could even let out a hollow laugh, the monster’s giant palm, which had approached before he knew it, came into view.

"Shit."

He sensed death.

And he could be certain of one thing.

The question he had only held in his heart.

"The levels here are absurdly high too."

If he had worn items, he might have been able to at least run away.

But such assumptions are only possible before dying.

His vision went black.

[You have died.]

[You have lost experience points.]

[Login restriction of 48 hours is applied.]

Only then could Han Simin understand the feelings of Jeong Seolah and Kang Yeseul, who sought alcohol after dying.

Death.

It was a very shitty feeling.

What was more futile than that was that the dream that perhaps luck would follow him and he wouldn’t meet any monsters until the gold mine crumbled miserably simultaneously with the start.

"BetaGo, you son of a bitch. May lightning strike the Goggle headquarters."

All he could do was curse.

4.

News of the Specialists’ movement reached Kenji, who was hunting.

"Guild Master, the Specialists have moved north."

"Is it a new hunting ground?"

"Yes, it seems they went to finish the Main Quest."

The same quest had already been given. However, he judged that his level was insufficient, and since information had come from the users sent in advance that the monsters there were too inefficient for hunting, they just hadn’t moved yet.

"Level 60. What do you think about going now?"

"It is still better to level up here."

"The important thing is that in the meantime, the Specialists will adapt there."

"Yes."

Kenji also knew that simply having a strong character wasn’t the only way to get ahead in 『Fantastic World』.

Especially when it came to the Main Quest!

Therefore, he pondered.

He pondered and decided.

"We move."

"Yes."

There would be risks, but he was confident.

Because he had a Legendary-grade mage and even a noble title.

"We will hire mercenaries and go. Find about twenty mercenaries with suitable levels."

"Yes, Guild Master."

It would cost an exorbitant amount of money, but he didn’t care.

Since Dyno joined the guild, the gap with the Specialists was gradually narrowing.

It had narrowed to 3 levels, so what was the point of saving pocket change?

If he could reverse the ranking by spending money right now, no matter how much it was, he wanted to do so and crush the Specialists.

That was how high his pride was.

The desire to become the best boiled over, and his sense of challenge against a wall he had never felt in reality was also greater than imagined.

That was the reason it deviated from Jeong Seolah’s prediction.

"Two days later, as soon as preparations are finished, we move hunting grounds."

"Yes!"

Three weeks to a month was reduced to two days.

And before them, as they were preparing to depart, Han Simin, who had just revived, appeared.

* * *

Once he actually got hit with the login restriction, there was nothing to do.

"Should I have worn the Necklace of Resurrection?"

"Hunting here is too inefficient."

"Level 60. Do you think we can handle it if we go now?"

"This place is still better for leveling up."

"The problem is that the Specialists will adapt to that area in the meantime."

"Yes." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Kenji knew that simple character stats weren’t the only way to get ahead in 『Fantastic World』.

This was especially true regarding the Main Quest.

Therefore, he agonized over the decision.

He agonized, and then he made his choice.

"We move."

"Yes, sir."

There would be danger, but he was confident.

He had a Legendary grade Mage and even a noble title.

"We’ll hire mercenaries and go. Hire about twenty mercenaries in the appropriate level range."

"Yes, Guild Master."

It would cost a ridiculous amount of money, but he didn’t care.

Since Dyno joined the guild, the gap between them and the Specialists was gradually narrowing.

That gap had narrowed to three levels, so what was the point of saving money now?

If he could reverse the rankings right now by spending money—no matter the amount—he wanted to do so and trample the Specialists beneath his feet.

His pride was just that high.

The desire to become the best boiled over, and the sense of challenge against a wall he had never felt in reality was greater than he had imagined.

That was the reason his actions deviated from Jeong Seolah’s prediction.

"Two days. As soon as preparations are finished, we move hunting grounds."

"Yes!"

What would have taken three weeks to a month was reduced to two days.

And in front of them, as they were packing up and about to leave, Han Simin, fresh from revival, appeared.

* * *

Once the access restriction was actually applied, there was absolutely nothing to do.

’Should I have equipped the Necklace of Resurrection?’

If he had, he would have revived in the village without a penalty.

However, he hadn’t wanted to leave even a sliver of possibility for failure.

’I made my choice, so I have to endure it.’

It wasn’t like he was living in that unheated studio apartment anymore.

Lying on the sofa, enjoying the leisure time he hadn’t had in a while, he turned on the TV and ordered all sorts of delivery food, rolling around in comfort.

He also felt a sense of superiority as he binge-watched news about 『Fantastic World』 that he usually didn’t pay attention to.

"They haven’t even reached the middle of Act 2 yet."

Naturally, the Ain Kingdom, home to Han Simin—the ultimate king of being overpowered—was bound to be the fastest.

Of course, the fact that the Specialists and the Kenji Guild, players who could be counted on one hand in the entire game, were there also played a part.

There were certainly famous players in other kingdoms doing their best to catch up, but it seemed difficult to close the gap that had been widened from the start.

"Doesn’t look like I need to worry."

So, he decided to leave it alone.

If another kingdom happened to get ahead in the Main Quest, he had thoughts of interfering anyway.

It would be nothing short of trolling, but what could he do?

The Ain Kingdom had to do well for his territory attached to it to develop.

It was hard to dismiss this as nonsense; the number of players and NPCs flowing into the Riche Lordship due to various events was too conspicuous to ignore.

Therefore, he decided to be cold-hearted.

He decided to be cheap.

You go through life alone, after all!

"I need to eat well and live well. It’s hard enough to make a living these days."

Muttering these shameless justifications, he checked his bank account.

He gasped.

$14 million.

Even dropping the hundred-millions unit, it was enormous.

’To think this is my money...’

Should he buy a building?

Then he could achieve his lifelong wish and play the game exactly as he wanted.

He pondered for a moment but shook his head.

’Not yet.’

He had already secured the house he needed for reality right now.

The game wasn’t dying out, so there was no need to prepare for the end yet.

’I don’t know how much it will cost to raise that guy, Squeaker...’

At least for now, the game was more important than reality.

Even this much money could vanish in an instant on a life-changing item he might stumble upon.

After all, skill books worth $6.1 million were appearing.

Therefore, he decided to invest the money in 『Fantastic World』 when necessary, and brought up the problem that was currently giving him the biggest headache.

"What do I do about the gold mine..."

He had decided to go back later, but given Han Simin’s personality, there was no way he could wait patiently.

He wanted to go right now and develop it.

Or at least, he wanted to extract a massive amount of gold from it.

Most of it would probably go into Squeaker’s stomach, but even extracting a portion would allow for a leap in the territory’s development.

Above all, dying was just too unfair.

He wanted to go right now and beat everything to death.

"Let’s eat first and think later."

But he held back.

He had no power, but he had plenty of time.

hours.

For him, who only came out to reality for about four hours a day, or six at most, it was an overflowing amount of time.

Han Simin, having thought of a method over two days, logged into 『Fantastic World』.

First, he checked his waist to confirm the leather pouch was there. Han Simin let out a sigh of relief, and when he looked ahead...

"Oh? Mr. Kenji. Fancy meeting you here."

The clue to his method appeared right before his eyes.

* * *

"Are you interested in a gold mine by any chance?"

Kenji looked at him suspiciously.

He asked naturally, seamlessly slipping past the guard of the wary Kenji.

"A gold mine. A mine where gold drops in chunks if you just dig."

"Not interested."

"I suppose. You probably have the means to make a gold mine yourself."

He held onto Kenji, who was trying to leave the spot as quickly as possible, and threw a different bait this time.

"Then what about a territory?"

Kenji stopped, a look of confusion on his face.

"A territory. A fief. You earned a noble title, so you need to acquire a territory."

It was a bait he had no choice but to bite.

"Actually, I found a gold mine, and I’m thinking of digging it up and offering it to His Imperial Majesty. But it seems impossible for me alone, so I’m trying to form an expedition. What do you think? I did post on the FW Community, but since you have good leadership, Mr. Kenji, I was hoping you would take on the role of expedition leader."

"Why would you..."

Of course, he was full of suspicion.

It was only natural.

’If there was such a merit, one would want to keep it for themselves.’

Why throw it to someone else?

"Actually, I’m a bit far from having leadership skills. I also hate mixing with others. That’s why I’m proposing it. Since I found it, I’ll take 50% of whatever reward or profit you get from there. How about it?"

"Where is it? This place."

"It’s a bit dangerous, but... you know the foggy mountain range north of the forest? It’s there."

Kenji’s eyes widened.

For a moment, Kenji flinched.

If it was there, it was the place he originally intended to go!

’If we form an expedition and go...’

The probability of a successful conquest increased.

It would become a justifiable reason to drive players into a death trap, and he could even put up rewards.

"Very well."

Looking at Han Simin’s expression, it didn’t seem like a trap.

Considering his attire with nothing equipped and the fact that he hadn’t been seen for a while, the answer was obvious.

’He died.’

He smirked.

’That guy isn’t invincible either.’ He felt good for no reason. As a result, he naturally grasped the hand Han Simin extended.

"Let’s do well together this time, as fellow expedition members."

"Sounds good."

Just like that, a gold mine expedition was formed overnight.