God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 185: Episode _The Great Cataclysm (2)

3.

The era when gaming was just a hobby is over; it has now established itself as a respectable profession. Many people play games before they even wash their faces in the morning, and many proudly give their grandparents allowance money earned from gaming during holidays. The social atmosphere surrounding games has been changing with the launch of the virtual reality game Fantastic World. This trend will likely expand as the market for gaming as a career grows.

So, what is the most important factor for users who play with the intention of making money? It’s a question they must naturally consider. As it’s an easily accessible field, differentiation from others is necessary. You have to move faster than others and dive into blue oceans others haven’t thought of to make money. To that end, users generally focus on a few key things.

First, level. If your level is low, the amount of money you can make is inevitably small. In the era of PC games, you could run hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of low-level accounts to build a mountain from dust, but that’s not possible with capsules. At most, you can run a few hundred. The amount of gold you can gather from that is limited, so it’s far more profitable to raise your level and broaden your earning potential.

Next is equipment. Fantastic World is a game praised for its realism, which often surpasses its game-like elements. No matter how good your control is, you can’t win if you can’t pierce your opponent’s armor. And even if your attack power is strong enough to pierce a dragon’s hide, if you don’t have the defense to protect your own heart, you can be killed by a rabbit. Naturally, good equipment is essential.

However, these first two factors matter only to those who choose to make money by hunting monsters or fighting other users. In Fantastic World, where the high degree of realism provides countless ways to earn money, it’s hard to find a perfect consensus. Users who make hundreds of gold just by trading, despite their low level, have begun to appear, as have those who make money by chopping wood or fishing. Nodaji, for instance, has nothing to do with combat. Therefore, each individual focuses on a different theme.

But there is one thing. One thing that even users who just enjoy the game as a hobby acknowledge, something you absolutely cannot miss if you want to make money in the game—no, if you want to enjoy the game.

The trend.

Following the trend means being the first to experience new content introduced with patches, to be the driving force of the main quest, and to discover new items.

If you are the first to grab hold of these things and lead the way, money will follow naturally. Not just money, but you can make a name for yourself and increase your influence within the game. Those who want levels can level up faster than anyone, and those who want money can earn a lot of it. The Specialists had been at the forefront of the trend, and through the main quest, they had gained much more than just money. The biggest beneficiary, of course, was Han Simin.

For them to see an item that would clearly cause a stir in Fantastic World for months to come, and just sit around drinking? Unthinkable.

“This is insane. Insane.”

Simin rushed straight home, chugged a hangover cure, and threw himself into his capsule. His eyes were clearer and brighter than ever before.

“You really have to live a good life. If you wait, opportunities like this will come your way.”

Every new piece of information was potential content: the drop locations of the demonic energy-Imbued Boxes, their frequency, the reward items, and so on. As soon as he logged in, he saw the other three and immediately started running. Their target was a named monster.

*

The Great Cataclysm. That’s what users called this change. There was no particular reason. It was simply the first time. The first change created by users in the world of Fantastic World, which had been designed and flowing regardless of user presence since its launch. They didn’t care that it brought chaos to the continent.

—It was going to be destroyed naturally anyway.

—If anything, it seems like we got benefits for destroying it first. I think the main quest is ultimately about the demons descending anyway.

There are many users who love to speculate. There are plenty who bet their gaming lives on the story. When such users are given a clue, they use their own brains to write a novel.

—So, is this it? The seal was going to break eventually, but depending on how quickly users clear the main quest, there are reasonable rewards and benefits?

And for now, the most plausible story emerged. In a way, it was a rationalization. A rationalization for users to proceed with the main quest without hesitation, a quest that would bring chaos to another world, a world where NPCs lived. But what could they do? They couldn’t just not proceed with the main quest out of fear. If they didn’t do it, someone else would. If they were going to do it, they might as well do it quickly and get even a few more benefits to protect the continent.

Having made their decision, the users’ attention turned to the demonic energy-Imbued Boxes.

—The field named bosses seem a bit stronger. I haven’t calculated the standard deviation yet, but their patterns seem more varied and powerful.

—Nah, some of them are the same. It seems like some named monsters are randomly imbued with demonic energy. The boxes drop from them.

—I picked up a box, it’s an accessory.

—Has anyone tested the grade drop rates?

This was inevitably the part that made their eyes spin. A random box that had just appeared for the first time had already revealed its presence with a Legendary item. Users had been playing the game for half a year, but most found it difficult to get even a Unique item, let alone a Special-grade one. But now, an opportunity to get an item of an even higher grade had been given. As long as you had the level and equipment to hunt named monsters, that is. How could they not be excited?

—Now this feels a bit more like a game.

—I don’t think I’ve ever prayed to the RNG gods this hard in my life.

—God-game confirmed.

—For real, I need to start grinding named monsters.

Not much had been revealed yet. But the users’ motivation was already great enough to adapt to the Great Cataclysm and dream of becoming billionaires. It was understandable.

—Heard the Legendary sword that dropped half a day ago was sold for 40 million dollars.

—? 40 million dollars?

There was a time when you had to risk your life to enhance a weapon that would break upon failure to +4 or +5 just to earn a few hundred thousand dollars.

Back then, people had poured their lives into the game, running gold farms, pulling all-nighters, and betting everything just to change their fortunes. But in Fantastic World, a single stroke of luck could make you $40 million.

Of course, that feat required a high level, top-tier equipment, and a box capable of dropping a Legendary-grade item, but such inconvenient details were lost on those mesmerized by the $40 million prize. Most players who had all but given up on hunting to enjoy the game at a leisurely pace now took up their weapons again. The hunting grounds began to teem with activity.

Parties flourished, and posts dedicated to grinding named monsters flooded the forums. Those who had only ever focused on hunting went even further, breaking their savings accounts and converting every spare cent into gold. They spared no expense in buying items and leveling up. The price of gold naturally climbed to $150.

The continent grew more vibrant. All of this happened in a single day. December 25th, 2016. The romance of a snowless Christmas was stolen away by the Great Cataclysm of Fantastic World. And among all the chaos...

“Alright, rabbits, assemble!” Simin yelled. “Scatter and find me anything that looks like a boss. Move out!”

The rabbits squeaked in reply.

The busiest of them all was, of course, Han Simin.

4.

“Ugh, what are we doing on Christmas? We should be at a club on a day like this,” one of the Specialists grumbled.

“Go, then,” Simin said flatly.

“No way. You’re just trying to eat something good without me.” 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“If you’re that desperate for a man, you’ll have to give up the item,” another teased.

The hunt continued. Getting swept up in the excitement of the Great Cataclysm would only be a waste of precious time. Nothing concrete had been revealed yet; everyone was at the same starting line. The stories on the community forums could only be trusted so much. The rest, you had to find out for yourself.

Real, valuable information eventually had to be bought with money, and who would be willing to sell such prime intel right at the start? So, while they shared in the excitement, they deliberately slowed their pace. The only change was that Sudal, who had been busy creating mines, was summoned.

Sudal grumbled.

“Hey, you can take your time with the mines. I’m looking at a two-year plan, so don’t rush,” Simin said, patting the otter.

Sudal protested loudly.

Ignoring Sudal’s protests, Simin deployed the rabbits that had been assigned to that task to scour the mountain range instead. It was still dangerous for them to move alone, as their levels were low, but it was manageable now that they had new gear and were fast enough to escape any monsters they encountered. After hunting for a while, the rabbits began to return one by one, and a single rabbit reported its findings.

The rabbit squeaked excitedly.

“What? You found a strange gate?”

It squeaked in confirmation.

That was welcome news. Even if a named monster had appeared, they would have had to drop everything and run, but a gate? The system message announcing that demonic energy-imbued gates would appear across the continent had already generated more hype than the demonic energy-imbued boxes.

“Let’s go,” Simin announced.

“Really? Is it actually a gate?” Seolah asked, her eyes wide.

“Yeah.”

“How do you know? I’ve been curious for a while. When you tame them, can you understand what the rabbits are saying?”

“Of course not. It’s just a feeling.”

Seolah fell silent.

’So it’s just wishful thinking,’ she thought. Her skyrocketing expectations took a slight dip.

*

Fortunately, Han Simin’s guess was correct. It was a gate leaking red demonic energy—not too big, but not too small, either.

“So, do we just break this? There are no monsters,” a Specialist asked.

“Let’s wait a bit,” another suggested. “The monsters that come out might drop boxes, too. It’d be a waste to just destroy the gate.”

“How do the monsters come out?” Simin wondered aloud.

“Hmm.”

The four of them stood before it, contemplating. Simin’s gaze shifted to Kardian.

“Hey, you know anything about this?”

“...Why are you asking me?” she retorted, annoyed.

“You must have seen something like this before.”

The icon of betrayal! The defector Kardian, who had once plunged the entire continent into fear! Surely, she would know something. Faced with his sparkling, expectant eyes, Kardian frowned.

“They will cross over on their own when enough time has passed.”

“And when is that?”

“When the demons on the other side are ready, I suppose.”

“Ah, I wish they’d hurry up and come out.”

Kardian was dumbstruck.

’Since when did a demonic energy-imbued gate get treated like a wallet found on the street?’ A surge of defiance rose from deep within her, but she suppressed it. ’Fine. They’ll understand once they experience it for themselves.’ After several hundred years, Kardian was curious herself. Humans had changed so much; perhaps the demons had changed as well. As if in response to her anticipation, the gate began to transform. Red demonic energy poured out.

“Kyaaaaah!”

And then, the monsters flooded through.

*