God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 256: Episode _A Born Swindler (6)

9.

“Oh my. What brings a high-ranking demon all the way here?”

“And with a Celestial in tow, no less?”

The succubi encircling Simin’s party flicked their tails lazily as they flashed enchanting smiles.

They wore no real clothing, only the barest hint of transparent fabric draped over the most critical areas. Their alluring figures were so breathtaking that they could make any man swallow hard without even trying. They didn’t just embody the stereotypical image of a succubus from fantasy novels; they surpassed it to a degree that could only be described as perfect.

Their coquettish gestures and magic-laced voices only added to the effect.

If Grokile and Aria hadn’t been there, the succubi would have already latched onto Simin and Hyeonsu to begin their work.

That was how dangerously seductive this race was.

No matter how strong you were, if you succumbed to their temptation, it didn’t matter whether you were a low-ranking demon or a high-ranking one—you were effectively placing your life in their hands.

Hadn’t the previous Demon King fallen the same way?

Of course, the Demon King hadn’t been foolish enough to throw away his life for a simple honey trap, but when you added the succubi’s combat prowess on top of their charms...

They were absolutely not opponents to be taken lightly.

That was why Grokile was unleashing thick waves of dark magic to block their approach.

“To think such a filthy race produced our Demon King... The Demon World has truly gone to hell.”

“...Shut your mouth,” Grokile growled.

Aria felt the same.

Among all demons, the succubi—who seduced men, maximized their sexual pleasure, and simultaneously drained their life force—were considered the most vulgar. To the Celestials, they were abominations that should not be allowed to exist.

This created a strange standoff.

The only ones enjoying it were the viewers.

“Hyeonsu, why do you look so disappointed?” Yeseul teased. “Want me to toss you over there?”

“When did I ever look disappointed?” he retorted.

“You have the face of a guy just dying to be seduced by them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Hyeonsu did look a little wistful, but despite the tantalizing scene, the tension was real.

The succubi were wary of a high-ranking demon and a Celestial appearing in their territory, while Simin’s party was on high alert, wondering how they would survive now that they had walked into the lion’s den.

In the midst of this, Simin stepped forward to mediate.

Everyone held their breath.

’How is he going to break this tension?’

“Um, excuse me...”

As Simin spoke, everyone’s ears perked up.

“You know... that thing you guys are good at? The whole trip to Hong Kong in a dream? Is that something we could, uh, experience?”

“......”

His words had absolutely nothing to do with resolving the situation.

The stream.

To Simin, the Demon World was nothing more than content to attract more viewers.

*

It was a jarringly inappropriate question for the situation.

Everyone was on edge, worried about life and death after entering the domain of the succubi, the de facto rulers of the Demon World, and here he was, trying to chat about dream experiences.

Anyone else would have been called out for having no sense of timing, but Simin was shameless.

’Either we die facing the Demon King or we die here. What’s the difference? No need to be so serious. If they want to kill us, they will. If not, they’ll be open to negotiation.’

This wasn’t some selfish "as long as it’s not me" mentality.

After all, he’d just respawn if he died.

The value of any items he might drop could change his calculations, but he had already prepared for that. Rather than worrying about a sliver of a chance, he was more focused on squeezing as much money as possible out of this trip, even if it cost him a life.

That was why he could say such a thing.

“Pfft.”

“Hahaha!”

“What is this human? He’s amusing.”

“...Huh?”

And surprisingly, his brazen attitude worked.

“What part of that was funny?” Yeseul asked.

“I have no idea,” Simin admitted.

“Hyeonsu, do you get it?”

“...How would I know? You’re the girl, you should be the one who gets it.”

“What’s there to get? The trip to Hong Kong part?”

No one could figure out the joke, but fortunately, the mood didn’t turn hostile.

At the same time, the succubi, who had been keeping their distance because of Grokile and Aria, began to inch closer.

Toward Simin.

“Human, how did you come to the Demon World?”

“What a curious—and funny—human.”

“Hong Kong? What’s that? We can give you dreams far more exciting than some trip.”

“No, no. For an amusing human like this, we could skip the dreams and do it for real.”

Their interest was a mix of pure curiosity and a desire for amusement.

Sensing the playfulness in their words, Simin played along, signaling to Grokile with his eyes.

Grokile shot him a look that screamed he was sick of this, but then he gave a small nod.

With that, Simin allowed himself to be surrounded by the succubi.

’Ugh. What a disgusting human,’ Grokile thought.

He didn’t know what a “stream” was.

But a human who would willingly throw himself at a succubus just to experience their illusionary dreams for money?

Only a man who had thrown his sanity out the window could have roped him into this mess in the first place. Every time he witnessed it, he found it just as incomprehensible.

“How can someone walk into a succubus’s illusion on purpose, saying he wants to enjoy it? I truly cannot comprehend it.”

Aria’s disgust was even more palpable.

If not for Simin’s brainwashing, she might have flown into a rage and fought to her death on the spot.

Even his own party members couldn’t understand him, yet the succubi clung to him.

“...I am a little jealous, though.”

Only Hyeonsu truly understood.

*

A succubus’s attack pattern was simple.

[You have fallen into a Succubus’s Illusion Dream.]

[Your mana is being drained.]

[Your HP is being drained.]

It was no different from a mage casting a spell on a target—an upgraded version of the confusion-type spells that warlocks sometimes used.

They made the target live out their desired dream, and in exchange, they absorbed the target’s HP and mana.

On paper, it seemed like a mutually beneficial trade.

In reality, it was anything but.

The target, trapped in the dream, couldn’t wake up, and their body remained completely defenseless.

This was why it was so hard to survive their attacks, even though succubi were considered mid-tier demons at best in terms of raw combat power.

In that “fair trade” of exchanging dreams for mana and HP, you ended up handing over your life—and all your items—as well. In the end, you always came out on the losing side.

But Simin had a countermeasure prepared and had allowed the succubi to approach.

He could do this because Grokile had already explained their attack pattern to him.

—"If it looks like they’re actually about to kill me, stop them."

He tossed out the instruction as if it were nothing, then threw himself into the fray.

This was, of course, absolutely not for any personal gratification.

“For the viewers, I will risk my life and experience this firsthand! I’m going to run a quick ad break, so go tell your friends what kind of stream we’re running!”

—Oh god. Please.

—Just start already.

—But will the dream itself show up on stream?

—If it’s in first-person view, sure. It’s not even his own dream; it’s a monster skill. The capsule is probably just generating a virtual space, like the Demon World, and projecting it.

—That headcanon is insane.

—Who cares about the details? As long as we can see it.

An event purely for the viewers!

Even with the 19+ tag, Simin had just hit an all-time peak in viewership, and this was his little victory dance.

On top of that, the admission fee was 200,000 won.

He was making so much money elsewhere that he didn’t need to obsess over stream revenue anymore, but this was still not an amount he could ignore.

If he could earn this much every time, his primary source of income might just change again.

So he was fired up.

’Anything can go bust in an instant. If one source dries up, you just live off another!’

With that mindset, the performance began.

A dream steeped in illusion.

The sheer number of succubi who entered his dream was a testament to their genuine curiosity about him.

And then, they came closer.

This was where the real show began.

The chat slowed to a crawl, its speed inversely proportional to the flood of new viewers.

Chairman Simin, the Harem King!

It was only a dream, but the viewers, having paid their admission fee, were getting more than their money’s worth in vicarious satisfaction.

—I’m so jealous.

—If you grind hard enough, you get days like this, huh.

—How many succubi is he with, exactly...?

—He doesn’t even look tired. Guess dreams don’t wear you out.

—I want that kind of service too. How do I get to the Demon World?

Of course, vicarious satisfaction had its limits.

An hour passed, then two.

At a reasonable point, Grokile pried the succubi off. When Simin finally woke from the dream, the viewers expressed their envy to their hearts’ content, tinged with deep regret.

- A fleeting spring dream indeed.

“Haah.”

Simin felt the exact same way.

*

10.

In any case, after exchanging greetings in the succubi’s unique style, Simin’s party was allowed to enter the Demon King’s castle as official guests.

“Is a Celestial allowed in, too? The Demon King might find that a bit awkward. If it’s a problem, we can leave her behind,” Simin offered.

“Oh my, how considerate. But there’s no need, human. Our Demon King will play with anyone—Celestial or demon—as long as they’re entertaining.”

He had no idea what the Demon King was plotting.

According to Grokile, a Demon King was supposed to eliminate any potential threats long before they could approach. This particular Demon King was said to be extremely cunning and brutal.

Yet they were getting in far more easily than expected.

“Hey, what’s going on? Why are they being so welcoming?” Simin asked Grokile quietly.

“I do not know either. The Demon King’s temperament is so fickle that this could simply be one of her whims.”

“That’s even more unsettling.”

If she had a clear, rigid personality like Aria, that would actually be better. It wouldn’t be easy, but you could still look for openings to exploit.

But if she was outright insane, she would be much harder to deal with.

In truth, they wouldn’t have made it this far if the succubi hadn’t allowed it. His request to experience their illusion dreams had been a separate favor, purely to boost viewer numbers, but they had taken an interest in him and offered to guide him to the Demon King.

The only impression he got was that she was some madwoman so bored she was desperate to stir up trouble.

He felt it, and yet he kept going.

He had no choice.

He had to face it head-on.

“Wow. It’s huge.”

The Demon King’s castle, which they reached after passing through the dreamlike forest, was truly enormous.

It looked like it could withstand an assault from a massive demon army, a fortress that reminded him of the Lich Territory’s impregnable defenses.

When they opened the gate and stepped inside, Aria’s and Grokile’s faces visibly hardened.

They were tense.

The Specialist players had no reason to feel the weight of the title “Demon King,” but Grokile and Aria were a demon and a Celestial who lived in this realm.

Even among the high-ranking, the gap between them and those at the very top was not easily bridged.

And this was the Demon King.

The single strongest being in the entire Demon World.

No matter how high-ranking you were, she could toy with you like a child and kill you without effort.

The moment such a being sensed intruders in her castle, she appeared in the vast hall.

“What brings such shabby guests to a place this exalted?”

Her tone was playful, but her voice carried a seductive resonance that seeped into their very bones.

They followed the source of that ringing voice and soon found her.

“...Demon King Epia.”

“We pay our respects to the Demon King.”

She couldn’t have been more than 145 centimeters tall.

A little girl wearing a dress that suited her height, with a bright, radiant smile on her face.

*