God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 39: Episode 8 _ Wanna Bet On It_ (3)

5.

“Gah!”

The burly man went rolling several times from the force of the kick. Everyone froze.

Ignoring the stunned silence, Simin launched into a tirade. “How dare you insult me! Demonic power? I’m a good citizen who has spent his entire life hating the very idea of demons! My least favorite food is deviled ham, and I even hate that actor, Matt Demon or whatever! And you dare associate me with them? Yesterday, I let your nonsense slide, thinking it was just jealousy, but how dare you lie before His Majesty the Emperor!”

As Simin spoke, his face turning red with feigned outrage, the other enhancement masters’ expressions hardened. Something was going terribly wrong. Simin wasn’t supposed to react with such brazen defiance.

But he wasn’t finished. He turned to face the throne and looked up. “Your Majesty! I offer my greetings. I am the successor to one of the Five Legends of the continent, the Legendary Enhancement Master.”

The masters were dumbstruck.

He’d revealed his identity. The masters’ stiff expressions twisted into shock. Forgetting the Emperor was even there, they all turned to look at Khan, who simply shrugged with a triumphant smirk. It seemed he hadn’t told them that part.

“Ah,” the Emperor mused, his icy expression softening with interest. “Can you prove it?”

But there was still doubt in his voice. If Simin hadn’t been wearing his shimmering crimson gear, his words would have been dismissed entirely. In the end, he was just a low-level adventurer, a nobody. And he had just caused a scene. The Emperor’s skepticism was only natural.

Not taking offense, Simin nodded. “Of course.”

“Even seeing this mythic-grade equipment, I do not believe it. This is a level of mastery that even the legendary enhancement master of the past could not reach. Furthermore, there have been many scams using his name over the years. Though none have been foolish enough to try and deceive me to my face.”

“I will prove it to you.”

“If you fail to prove it, you will face a penalty equivalent to death for an adventurer,” the Emperor stated.

“I understand.”

‘These NPCs must have been planning how to control players from the very beginning,’ Simin thought. Both King Ain and now the Emperor spoke of it as if it were a matter of course. It didn’t matter, though. He could prove it.

“Very well. If you succeed, I will grant you three wishes,” the Emperor continued, “Furthermore, I will leave the punishment of those who insulted you to your discretion.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Perhaps it was Simin’s confidence, but an incredible offer followed. It was enough to make the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile. The Emperor’s words, spoken so casually, were monumental. He had received three wishes with no strings attached and the right to decide the fate of the other enhancement masters. Considering each of them belonged to a family and a kingdom, and that there were fewer than a hundred of them on the entire continent, it was an immense decision. If Simin ordered them all killed, the Khan family would be the only enhancement masters left.

‘The stakes just got a lot higher...’

A tension he hadn’t felt before began to creep in. He had to succeed. Swallowing hard, he picked up an anvil and a hammer. As he prepared to move, the other masters cried out in alarm.

“Your Majesty! He may be planning to use his wicked arts where we cannot see!”

“How can the location possibly matter for enhancement?”

“Please, make him perform the enhancement here!”

It was a desperate attempt to interfere, but Simin was unshaken.

“What nonsense is this? My master taught me that enhancement is all about finding a prime location. What kind of hack did you learn from? Or perhaps... you’re the frauds?”

“Wh-what?!”

Turning the tables was a passive skill one naturally acquired in the military. When something went wrong, blame your subordinate. Simin’s counterattack made the other masters’ faces flush red. A scratch was made on the pride they had dedicated their lives to! How could they not be furious?

“You know, now that I think about it... are you people even real enhancement masters?”

The masters were speechless.

And then Simin insulted their very existence. “This won’t do. Just wait a moment. I’ll prove myself first, and then we’ll talk. After me, it’ll be your turn to prove yourselves, so you’d better be nervous.”

It was a threat implying, ‘When I come back alive, you’re all dead.’

The words were so shameless that the masters were momentarily stunned, unable to retort. Seizing the opportunity, Simin calmly walked away, a contingent of the royal knights following him.

“Wow. Amazing. I’d love to take these guys hunting with me.” Their glittering armor was a step below his, but it was still top-tier. Their levels were probably high, too. How great would it be to make them hunt for him and monopolize all the experience? He could ignore his 300% penalty and level up like crazy.

Licking his lips, he walked on. The method had changed unexpectedly, but the Enhancement Competition had begun.

* * *

The Emperor smiled. On his perpetually icy face, the smile of an absolute ruler bloomed. How long had it been?

“Interesting,” he murmured.

An adventurer, a successor to one of the Five Legends. That alone was intriguing, but the legendary audacity of adventurers he had only heard rumors about was enough to make the corners of his lips curl up. Since ascending the throne, who had ever acted with such confidence before him? It wasn’t excessive arrogance, either. It was just enough to pique his interest.

And so, he had given the adventurer who dared to cause a ruckus in his presence a chance, even changing the rules of a competition he was personally observing. He had also dangled a sweet carrot. If that adventurer truly was the successor to one of the Five Legends, he would be useful.

“A legend, you say. Has the time come for them to appear?”

It was a story the Emperor himself had only ever read in history books. How great was their power? Could a legendary enhancement master truly increase the probability of success, as the texts described?

His eyes narrowed. ‘If what the Temple says is true...’ If the adventurer, Han Simin, could successfully enhance the Highest-Grade Holy Water to +13 or higher...

‘Then I shall grant you glory in my name.’

Had Simin heard that thought, he would have jumped for joy. The Emperor rose from his seat.

* * *

After the Emperor left, the remaining enhancement masters huddled together, excluding the Khan family.

“Such nerve. Do you think he’s the real deal?”

“Impossible! Even if he were, it makes no sense!”

“That’s right. A +15 enhancement? Even the original legendary enhancement master was said to have died without ever succeeding at a single one.”

“There must be some other trick.”

“We’ve known for a long time that there are various ways to create an aura.”

Yesterday, they had been certain. Now, their whispers were laced with anxiety. They glared resentfully at Khan.

“Why didn’t you tell us, you traitor!”

“A traitor? You wouldn’t have believed me even if I had told you,” Khan scoffed with a deeply satisfied smile on his face. He may have been silent, but he wasn’t without pride. After a lifetime as an enhancement master, meeting Simin had made him question his entire existence, but he wasn’t about to stand by while the other five families called his own a failure on the verge of collapse.

With a gloating expression, he taunted them. At the same time, he cheered Simin on. ‘You’d better pass this test!’ He had mixed feelings of love and hate for the kid, but he was still the disciple who had inherited his vision.

“That brat will definitely fail.”

“Of course. No matter how much of a con artist he is, he can’t deceive His Majesty’s eyes.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Khan clicked his tongue. Then he said, “You should be worried about yourselves.”

“What did you say?”

“You damned bastard!”

Khan told them, “I haven’t known the kid for long, but I know him well.”

They looked at him in confusion.

Let them curse. Khan, flexing his massive muscles, raised his voice. “That kid is vicious. I’ve never seen anyone so vicious in my entire life. He’s crazy for money, and when he wants something, he goes completely nuts.” Khan continued, “And he never, ever lets go of anyone who messes with him. He told you to get ready. So, in my opinion, you should stop your useless chatter and start thinking about how you’re going to do that.”

“You son of a—!”

The enhancement masters flared up, but the palace soldiers stepped between them. Watching them tremble with rage, Khan smirked. He looked exactly like a parent whose child had made him proud.

6.

Things had taken a strange turn, but Simin wasn’t worried.

‘Good.’ In the end, it was all going according to plan.

“First...”

He glanced around furtively. The knights were only watching to make sure he didn’t run away; wherever he went or whatever he did, they just stared straight ahead. ‘Perfect.’

Suppressing a grin, he put on a serious expression and began to enhance the Highest-Grade Holy Water. He started honestly, pretending to focus diligently on proving himself. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Flash.

“Easy enough,” he muttered under his breath.

+2, +3, +4 had success rates he could have achieved even right in front of the Emperor. With his base 5% bonus, Simin could easily pass for just a lucky person, even without a prime location.

But now, he was in the heart of the continent, seeking out a prime location to strike his hammer. Even the Highest-Grade Holy Water, a precious item treated with reverence by the temple, had no choice but to obediently raise its enhancement level.

‘Why Highest-Grade Holy Water, though?’ The question briefly crossed his mind. Given that this was the Empire and a competition hosted by the Emperor, using such an expensive item wasn’t completely insane. But there were plenty of other items that could have served the purpose and been consumed without a second thought. Why use holy water blessed by the highest-ranking priests? Not only was it expensive, but its production was limited, and its uses were incredibly valuable. If he could have said something, he might have asked them to just give it to him instead. It felt like such a waste.

But he quickly forgot about it. What did it matter if it was holy water or a twig he picked up off the street? It was just a means to an end, not his to keep.

‘Let’s just enhance my ring.’ He had his real objective, after all.

Holding the holy water, he walked on, subtly gripping the ring in his hand. ‘It’s around here somewhere.’

He aimed for +14, and then +15. Thinking back to when he enhanced the Beginner’s Dagger to +15, he knew there had to be a prime location here. No, there must be. He was certain there was a spot for +14 somewhere in this vast imperial palace.

He headed toward the feeling, not forgetting to enhance the holy water every now and then. After walking for about thirty minutes, he found a prime location.

"This area is restricted."

He was met with silence.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy. He hadn’t expected it to be.

"So, what is this place?" he asked, figuring he might as well hear them out. Amid the splendor of the imperial palace, this massive, detached building was uncharacteristically plain and tightly sealed. The Emperor certainly wouldn’t sleep in such a shabby, windowless place. A passage to the dungeons, perhaps?

"This is the Imperial Treasury."

"...Ah. The Imperial Treasury... huh?"

Simin’s eyes lit up as he processed the words, but his excitement was immediately crushed by despair.

’Damn it.’ What kind of treasures were inside? He imagined he could pick up any random item off the floor and live off it for years, a thought that was immediately crushed by the realization that they would never let him in.

"I can’t go inside, can I? I need to get in there to provide my proof..."

"Only His Majesty may enter the Imperial Treasury."

The blunt refusal was embarrassing, leaving him speechless. Not even the royal family’s direct retainers, but only the Emperor himself, could enter? Damn it. Did he have to find another prime location for +14?

Just then, a voice of salvation rang out.

"Open the gate."

Was someone playing a trick on him? He turned his head and saw the Emperor.

He was stunned into silence.

"As you command." It was the owner of the treasury himself.

The charismatic emperor watched him with an even deeper interest than before, and Simin’s expression darkened.

* * *