God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 27: Episode 6 _ What Would Happen If I Enhanced This_ (2)

Chapter 27: Episode 6 _ What Would Happen If I Enhanced This_ (2)

2.

The entrance to the desert, once swarming with players, was now littered with items.

“This is so much money...” Han Simin writhed in ecstasy.

Right, who cares about measly control? Instead of drooling over a pie in the sky, I should just focus on the money right in front of me! The privileged complaint about having a trash job with no common attack skills vanished. This was not the time for such talk. Han Simin, who drew a sharp line between business and pleasure, shifted his gaze with the most serious expression he had worn since the battle began.

“Let’s settle the accounts.”

The other three laughed awkwardly, and Kang Yeseul spoke for them.

“Oppa, is it okay to just scoop all that up and say you want it for yourself?”

“When did I say that?!” Simin shouted shamelessly, his longing gaze still fixed on the items.

The items dropped upon death were random, but the ones piled up here belonged to players who had gathered to clear the main quest. The proportion of junk items among what they were wearing was low, so most were worth gold coins, with the expensive ones costing tens of gold coins. And there were twenty of them, so he couldn’t help but be more serious than he was during the battle. If he had his way, he would take it all for himself, but since they weren’t people he would never see again, he decided to be clear about the calculations. Besides, weren’t the three people in front of him far more valuable than the items lying here? From what he had seen of their spending habits, they were the type to throw away junk like this because it was too annoying to carry.

So, Simin swallowed in anticipation.

‘With this, I can exchange it for cash and eat some meat.’

It was possible because he had already made next month’s rent by selling the ring.

“Thank you. We profited a lot this time too, thanks to you, Simin. Since you’re the one who killed them, you should take it all,” Jeong Seolah said with a faint smile, granting his wish.

Yeseul and Hyeonsu, who could have claimed a share, also nodded.

“There’s no space in my magic pouch for stuff like that anyway,” Hyeonsu added.

“Oppa! Enhance my staff for me instead,” Yeseul chimed in.

What a heartwarming atmosphere! Overcome with emotion, Han Simin gathered the items in his arms.

‘As expected! These monsters don’t care about junk like this.’

Of course, the fact that they were in the same guild, that Hyeonsu had mentioned not having space in his magic pouch before an important raid, and that Han Simin’s ability was impressive enough to warrant such a favor were all underlying factors. Still—such generosity in this day and age!

“It was worth risking my life to help you guys,” Simin shared.

He returned their kindness with a boast and began putting the items into his magic pouch. One, two... The mountain of items started to disappear, and soon the ground was bare. But that was it. Han Simin’s magic pouch couldn’t hold all the items the players had left behind.

“Oh, man.”

‘It’s too small, just as I thought.’

“Hmm.”

What should he do? They were too cumbersome to wear or carry.

“Just take the expensive ones and throw the rest away,” Kang Yeseul, who had been watching, suggested the most suitable alternative.

If you can’t take everything, taking them in order of value is the right answer. But Han Simin shook his head.

“That’s ridiculous.”

These were items worth at least one gold coin each. With one gold coin now worth a hundred and ten dollars, up from a hundred, thanks to monsters like them buying up gold coins like crazy, he couldn’t give up a single one. After a moment’s thought, he put his hand into his magic pouch with a determined expression and took out a stone.

They exchanged puzzled glances.

‘What’s he trying to do?’ The Specialists’ question was answered by the anvil and hammer that followed.

“No!”

“Wait a moment, Simin!”

Kang Yeseul and Jeong Seolah shouted hurriedly. His unwavering eyes turned to them as if shouting, ‘I will enhance this magic pouch, even if I die trying!’

They flinched at his strong will, but they didn’t back down either. With a little thought, it was easy to predict what that action would lead to. They hadn’t had time to worry about it in the rapidly unfolding situation until now, but considering why Han Simin had come all this way, they couldn’t just stand by and watch an enhancement that deviated from his purpose.

“How many enhancement stones did you bring?” Jeong Seolah asked.

“Thirty-two,” he replied, his feet already moving to find a prime location.

“How many levels are you planning to enhance that magic pouch?”

“Until all these items fit inside.”

Then he set the anvil down on the sand, placed the magic pouch on it, and struck it with the hammer.

“Hah!”

It was just a +1, so only a light shout went into the enhancement. Before they could stop him, a light flashed.

“Oho.”

Two or three more items fit inside.

‘Enhancing a magic pouch increases its capacity! Now that the theory has been proven, all that’s left is the practical application!’

“Should I go for +10?”

“Simin!” Jeong Seolah’s urgent voice called out.

Before he could strike with the hammer again, she appealed to the current situation.

“I’m sorry, but we didn’t bring any enhancement stones...”

“Ah!”

Only then did Han Simin come to his senses.

“That’s right. I came here to do enhancements.”

‘I almost wasted money while a great customer was right in front of me!’

The problem of what to do with the items that still didn’t fit remained, but as he came back to reality, he naturally found a solution.

‘If I use the enhancement stones, I’ll have more space.’

They didn’t take up much volume, but there were thirty-two of them. He poured out the enhancement stones that were taking up a slot and loosened up his body.

“Phew!”

He had been disoriented by the strange situation he had been swept into as soon as he arrived, but one way or another, he had succeeded in generating some side income and earning his clients’ goodwill by helping them survive. All that was left was to collect the payment. He naturally sat down and spread out a mat.

“Come on, take your pick! Take your pick!”

And the instincts of a merchant were revealed. The three pairs of dumbfounded gazes couldn’t penetrate Simin’s shamelessness, which had been brazen even before the king of a nation.

“Two gold coins each! Enhancement stones you can’t get anywhere else in the desert. Selling them cheap!”

“Two gold coins?”

“You scammer!”

Protests rained down, but he didn’t budge.

“Come on, I’m not new to this business. Why are you all acting like this? I went through so much trouble to bring these enhancement stones all the way from the castle. Besides, you need enhancements right now, don’t you? Please follow the law of supply and demand!”

He could be even more blatant because they were players. They all knew the deal.

“And if you enhance your gear and successfully clear the ruins raid, you’ll get a lot of good stuff. Think of it as an investment,” Simin suggested.

“What a greedy thief,” Yeseul said.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Yeseul, who had grown up personally witnessing the tyranny of large corporations, clicked her tongue.

‘Maybe I should get Han Simin a job at my family’s company. Wouldn’t that be a groundbreaking way to advance the business? Though we’d have to endure being branded a trash corporation.’

“Yeseul, are you going to enhance?” Seolah asked. “Are you going to buy those and enhance your gear?”

“If you don’t.”

Kang Yeseul’s grumbling didn’t last long. Unfortunately, Jeong Seolah was on Han Simin’s side. It was true that he was price-gouging, but to her, her gratitude toward him and his somewhat logical argument felt more right than a few coins.

“If we monopolize the first main quest and pull ahead, we can make up for the expenses,” Seolah assured.

“Tch.”

No matter how you looked at it, they were born with silver spoons. An ordinary player would never logically pay for a scam that doubled the price of materials, but these were people who casually spent over ten thousand dollars on enhancements from a low level. The moment she saw Jeong Hyeonsu take a step forward, her deliberation ended.

“No way! I’m first! Everyone, move!” he shouted.

The disappointment Yeseul had felt toward Han Simin for rejecting her twice had dissipated. The dazzling special effects were far more appealing than pouting. It was possible for her, a person who had become a healer simply because it was a rare job that looked good, to pour an enormous amount of money into the temple to change her class.

“All thirty-one are mine.”

“All thirty-one?”

For a moment, Han Simin’s gaze went to the stones laid out on the mat.

‘She’s really buying all thirty-one? I bought them for one gold coin each, so selling them for two gold coins would be sixty-two gold coins. I thought I’d be lucky to sell about ten...’

He looked at her suspiciously. Her clothes looked quite luxurious, but...

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yep!” Kang Yeseul puffed out her chest confidently.

Her overwhelming confidence exuding from her small frame was impressive and only added to her charm. Of course, it didn’t work on Han Simin.

“You’re not some broke kid, are you?”

“No! What do you take me for? That’s so mean!” Kang Yeseul retorted, taking out her gold coin pouch and opening it.

The seal was momentarily released.

At the appearance of the golden coins, Han Simin gasped, and his knees instinctively buckled. He was a man always ready to submit in the face of money, and he became polite as if he had never ignored Kang Yeseul. And he held out his two hands.

“It’s like his hands are saying, ‘Give me the money,’” Jeong Hyeonsu remarked.

“No way.”

It probably wasn’t just a feeling. From his hands to his eyes, he was staring intently at the gold coins. Even though it was her money, her uneasy hands went into the pouch and came out, and a handful of gold coins was scooped up in her small, delicate hand.

“Huh?”

“It’s not enough,” Han Simin noted.

The number of coins couldn’t fill his two hands. The flustered hand went back into the pouch.

“There’s no more?”

“I guess you used it all,” Jeong Seolah said.

“Did I?” Yeseul asked.

“Yeah.”

It felt like the kind of light small talk you’d hear in daily life. Han Simin put the hundred gold coins he had received into his pouch and said, “Then I’ll just do this much for now.”

Give it back? What kind of nice merchant does that? One hundred gold coins were enough for the enhancement stones and a certain amount of enhancement fees, so he would take it for now. The number itself was small, but in cash, it was a staggering amount. Still, he had held such amounts before, so he didn’t make a fuss.

“Thirty-eight gold coins are left after subtracting sixty-two for the stones. What do you want me to enhance?”

“This first!” Kang Yeseul replied, seemingly without a second thought, and held out her weapon.

It was a pure white priest’s staff she had obtained after passing level twenty and making another massive donation to the temple.

“Wow. That looks expensive.”

Even Han Simin, who held a +15 dagger, couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Hehe. They gave it to me after I donated about two hundred gold coins.”

He was speechless.

‘Two hundred gold coins, not two thousand dollars?’

Han Simin’s bewildered gaze turned to Jeong Seolah.

“Is she by any chance from a super-rich family? Do her parents own a few buildings or something...?”

It was a light question, thrown out casually out of pure curiosity. He didn’t really think it was true. He could ask her directly, but for some reason, he was reluctant to. She could say anything she wanted. Besides, if it were true, he felt like he would collapse from jealousy.

“No.” Fortunately, Jeong Seolah shook her head.

‘Of course!’

After all, in this day and age, it wasn’t completely unheard of for an individual to earn thousands. Spending that much on a game isn’t even considered crazy anymore. If she was earning and spending her own money, there was no need to be envious. A final nail was driven into his relieved heart.

“She’s a second-generation chaebol. The only daughter of the Hanshin Group.” Seolah stated.

“Excuse me? No way.”

Yeseul giggled.

“Really? For real?” Simin asked again.

It was a lie that would be exposed with a single search. It wasn’t a lie one would tell easily. Above all, Jeong Seolah’s words were somewhat trustworthy.

“Huh.”

A shock greater than when he had failed the +15 enhancement washed over him. It was still hard to believe, but the hundred gold coins in his hand seemed to add credibility to her words.

“Wow.”

It wasn’t something that could never happen, but to think of all people...

“Appearance-wise, Seolah looks much more...”

To think that this delinquent-looking kid was a chaebol! And from the Hanshin Group, which had sold at least three or four products to every household! It was absurd. Life is indeed unpredictable. Then, Kang Yeseul poured oil on the fire of his despair.

“Huh? Seolah Unni is the second daughter of the Jeongye Group, you know?”

He looked confused.

‘Go on, tell me more. I don’t even have the energy to be surprised.’

“Then, by any chance, Hyeonsu hyeong too...?”

“Of course. He’s her older brother.”

‘Ah. So that’s how it was. They weren’t dark gamers who bet their lives on the game and sold their house deeds to run wild.’

Simin had an epiphany and shot up from his seat. He decided not to wonder why people who could live their whole lives without worrying about their next meal were playing games. That wasn’t what was important.

“Alright! From now on, I will treat you as my VVIP customers!” he exclaimed.

What was important was that unimaginably rich people were waiting with their wallets open right in front of him. Shaking off his despair as if it had never been there, he shouted.

“My account number is 120-422401-111-1111 at Sky Bank."

Their puzzled gazes fell on his cold judgment and swift action. Han Simin, driven by desire, hurried to explain his sudden outburst.

“If it’s too much trouble to get gold coins, I’ll also accept bank transfers!”

They were speechless.

His strong will to suck them dry, down to the very roots, blazed in the already hot desert.

* * *