God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 51: Episode 10 _ Tell Me Your Wish (4)

6.

He felt like a man who’d saved a woman from a mugger, only to find out it was just her boyfriend playing a prank.

"It’s... it’s alright. Everyone, show your respects! This is our new lord," the man managed to say.

They gasped, "Oh, our apologies, my lord."

To make matters worse, the man he’d kicked wasn’t angry at all; he just looked like a genuinely good person. This was quickly turning into a situation where he was the asshole.

"Ahem."

Simin was at a loss for words. He didn’t know why this Aide had earned the trust of the residents, but he knew he was in the wrong for kicking him without a second thought.

"My apologies," Simin said.

"Not at all, my lord. I am certain you had your reasons!"

‘No, I really didn’t.’ How could he possibly say, "I kicked you because you looked like a corrupt official"? He scratched the back of his head and changed the subject. "So, why is the territory in this state?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean, this place looks worse than a shantytown..."

"Ah..."

If he weren’t a baron and the Emperor’s son-in-law, that comment would have earned him a beating and an unceremonious eviction. It wasn’t untrue, but NPCs in this game didn’t take kindly to a mere level 21 stranger acting so high and mighty. This was, after all, a game where you had to suck up to NPCs just to get a quest.

But Simin firmly believed that status makes the man. ‘You only die once.’ The most important thing in an RPG was to stay true to your role. He was the first adventurer to become a noble, acknowledged by the notoriously ill-tempered Emperor himself, and was now his son-in-law. Was he really going to be intimidated by something like this?

"My apologies," the man said, bowing his head without making excuses. The more Simin looked at him, the less he seemed like the villain he’d imagined.

He started walking toward the most plausible-looking building, the lord’s castle. ‘If you can even call it that.’ It was only slightly better than a common inn in the Empire. The place was a total mess, but he decided to hear the full story first. He needed to know why it was in such a sorry state.

* * *

"...So, you’re telling me that whenever you try to build anything, monsters come and destroy it?"

"Yes, my lord. In the past, this was a strategic location that prospered greatly, and the territory’s finances were very healthy. But as the monsters’ rampages grew worse, trade was cut off, and fewer and fewer people came to visit..."

‘And it ended up like this.’ It was a tragic, long-winded tale, but that wasn’t what mattered to Simin.

"So you’re saying there’s nothing for me to gain out of this territory?"

"If you wish, my lord, we could raise taxes and divert the money from the territory’s defense, but..."

‘But it wouldn’t amount to much.’ Damn it. How much money could residents who just tilled fields and picked fruit while hiding from monsters possibly have? And the only reason the territory hadn’t completely collapsed was because they’d been pooling every last penny for defense.

"Hah."

So much for his dream of being a landlord. The reason he’d wanted a territory wasn’t to manage it; it was to skim money off a well-run estate and play SimCity to his heart’s content. What could he possibly do with a dump like this? He had neither the will nor the ability.

"It would cost a fortune to develop this place, wouldn’t it?"

"If we could just deal with the surrounding monsters, we could at least lay the foundation to rebuild, but..."

"That would be difficult," Simin finished. Who would come all the way out to this remote wasteland and work their ass off to subjugate monsters? Players might, but they weren’t high enough level to come here yet. And to use the cunning player base, he’d have to offer rewards. Where would the investment for that come from?

"Have you requested help from the Empire?"

"They send subjugation forces periodically, but it’s impossible to eliminate all of them."

He considered talking to the Emperor, but he surely already knew. He would have been the first to try and solve it, which meant the monsters were just that persistent.

"Are there any gold mines around here? Usually, places this shitty are rich in resources."

"Yes, but that’s also because of the monsters..."

So the monsters were the problem. If he could just deal with them, there might be a glimmer of hope.

"Ugh."

The desire to give up clashed with the thought that he might just be able to save it. It was a sense of ownership. If he’d never received it, he wouldn’t care, but he had it now. The location and surrounding environment were also perfectly suited to his taste. The player’s instinct to build something up from the very bottom also played a part.

‘No, Simin. Get a grip. Don’t do something crazy.’

The first thing that came to mind was the $200,000 and 700 gold coins in his accounts. With that much, couldn’t he at least defend this pathetic, tiny residential area? ‘I’m the Emperor’s son-in-law, after all.’ He could probably get some help from the Emperor, too.

His gut instinct kept pulling him in that direction. It seemed possible. If he could just solve the monster problem, it would be smooth sailing from there. The place even had a history of prosperity.

The final thing holding him back was logic. This was an investment. A gamble on an uncertain future. It could very well be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

‘Shit. I don’t know.’

But that was his greatest weakness. A gamble with an unknown outcome was fatally attractive.

"Wait here," Simin said, his expression determined. "I’ll be right back."

"Pardon?"

With his mind made up, Simin logged out.

* * *

Investing! Simin’s hands trembled as he prepared to convert his hard-earned cash into gold coins. Damn it. It was bad enough he couldn’t sell the ring, but now he had to dip into his seed money. A voice in his head screamed at him to reconsider, but his hands moved without hesitation.

He opened the official FW item trading site. "The gold coins..."

Two hundred thousand dollars was 2,000 gold coins. He was willing to invest, but was there any player who had that much in stock?

‘No way.’

It was impossible unless someone had literally struck gold coins. Still, he had to get as much as he could to execute even the most basic version of his plan.

"Hmm. The Ain Kingdom region would be best."

Gold sales had to be handled in person, so proximity was key. He searched for sellers active in the Ain Kingdom with the largest quantities available.

"Unlimited Gold Supply Available?"

He found a post. It was clearly clickbait, but it was also a bold declaration of confidence in their ability to procure gold coins quickly. He made a call without a second thought.

—"Hello?" a voice answered.

"I’m calling about your post on the FW trading site. How many gold coins can I buy?"

—"Do you have an amount in mind, sir?"

‘Why are these sellers always Korean?’ he thought, relieved. He had been about to take the call inside his capsule, but now he could speak comfortably.

"Two thousand gold coins."

—"Excuse me? Did you say two thousand gold coins? For $200,000?"

"Yes. Can you get it?"

—"...One moment, sir."

As expected, there was a pause on the other end. He must be a bigger fish than they were used to. Even in a game full of rich players, few would try to buy $200,000 worth of gold coins at once, especially this early on. The three silver spoons from the Specialists were the exception.

—"Sir, I’m sorry, but we don’t currently have as much gold coins as you’re requesting."

"How much can I buy?"

—"If we scrape everything together, we can get you a thousand gold coins right away."

‘That much?’

He was surprised by the amount. The price of gold coins had surpassed $110 per piece due to the strange phenomenon of demand exceeding supply, even a month after the game’s launch. And this person had managed to save up that much while still selling constantly? That meant they were prepared for a large-volume buyer.

"Okay, I’ll buy all of it for now."

—"Yes, sir. I’ll post the listing immediately."

This was good news for Simin. He’d just use what he could get for now. After depositing the money and confirming the purchase, the seller’s information appeared.

"Mr. Simin? Where would you like to make the trade?"

—"I’m a bit far from the Ain Kingdom right now. Can you come to me?"

"Yes, of course, sir. I’d go to the other side of the continent if I had to."

The seller’s ID and phone number appeared. Feeling reassured by the seller’s enthusiasm, Simin gave him his current location.

—"It’s a bit far, haha."

"Will that be okay?"

—"Of course. I’ll see you in a week."

"Okay, then."

‘A week is enough time to take the imperial knights the Emperor is sending and clear out the enhancement master’s Tomb, right?’ He readjusted his schedule in his head. As he was about to hang up, the seller’s ID caught his eye.

‘Huh?’

It looked incredibly familiar.

"Excuse me," Simin said.

—"Yes?"

"Have we met somewhere before?"

—"Have you bought gold coins from us in the past?"

"No, this is my first time buying gold coins."

What was this feeling? The ID gave him goosebumps, and the urge to ask was so strong that it had to be more than a coincidence. He furrowed his brow, trying to place it, but nothing came to mind. The name and number were unfamiliar, and the voice sounded like a man in his late thirties.

"I must be mistaken."

—"Very well. I’ll contact you again in-game when I arrive."

"Okay."

He hung up, still unable to place it. But the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.

‘Gongheon. Gongheon. What could it be?’

Just as he was about to give up on the frustrating thought, it struck him.

"Ah!"

He finally remembered the source of the unease that came with the unusual nickname.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!"

‘How could I have forgotten this? I must have been really out of it lately.’

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

"Ha, hahaha."

So the saying was true: enemies always meet on a narrow bridge. He quickly lay down in his capsule and launched Fantastic World. Bad feelings were almost always right, but there was still a sliver of a chance he was wrong. It was possible, after all, for two players to have the same ID.

"Ugh. I can’t believe I have to see this damn comment again."

It was a dark mark on his history from nearly a month ago—the top-voted, most popular comment on his post bragging about his +14 dagger. The ID of the person who wrote it was Gongheon.

"...If this is him, he’s dead."

The bastard had the gall to mock him after he’d risked his entire fortune. Simin hurriedly clicked on the ID and checked the user’s post history. A list of posts appeared.

[Selling Gold at the Lowest Price. 100% Trustworthy. Ain Kingdom]

He didn’t have to look far. The corners of his mouth twitched.

‘Got him.’

He had sworn revenge, but he never once thought he’d actually be able to catch the guy. Wasn’t an anonymous troll hiding behind a keyboard the hardest person in the world to find? If it had been insults or personal attacks, maybe, but a comment like that wasn’t enough to track someone down in the real world. Besides, he didn’t want the stress of bringing in-game squabbles into his real life.

But now, a perfect opportunity to settle the score had fallen into his lap. A coincidence piled on top of another coincidence.

"This is fate," Simin declared with conviction.

Fate was telling him to destroy this Gongheon character. How else could such a thing happen? The number of players was approaching twenty million, and out of the hundreds of gold coin sellers, he had run into this specific one on his first try. It would have been impossible if both he and Gongheon hadn’t been in the Ain Kingdom, of all places.

The thought that there might be two users with the same ID crossed his mind, but he dismissed it.

‘No, that can’t be it.’

Even if it were true, he decided he would destroy him anyway. A sudden surge of motivation coursed through him.

"I was just thinking my luck has been terrible lately, but maybe not."

He wasn’t a fan of how fickle it was, but when life serves you a feast on a silver platter, only a fool would refuse to eat.

"You’re so dead."

After a quick meal of a rice ball and a cup of ramen, Han Simin lay down in his capsule and started the game.

* * *

The imperial knights arrived shortly after.

"Are you ready?"

"Let’s go."

Their schedule was tight, so they had to move quickly. After getting his gear in order, Simin sidled up to the portly aide who had introduced himself as Herison and whispered, "In about a week, some guy will come looking for me. I might be late, so please treat him well. And tell him I’ll be here soon."

"Yes, my lord. But... may I ask who is coming?" Herison asked timidly, his demeanor belying his large frame.

It was a personal matter, but there was no reason to hide it. Simin explained their relationship with a grin.

"He’s the bastard who ran off with my money." He continued, "And that money is for developing our territory, so make sure you hold onto him. Don’t make it obvious."

"Yes, sir! Do not worry!" Herison nodded, his expression firm.

Though he was naive and a bit dense, his demeanor changed completely at the mention of the territory’s development. And so, Gongheon, who was personally delivering 1,000 gold coins as a premium service, was introduced to Herison as a damn scoundrel who had skipped out on a debt—all without his knowledge.

* * *