God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 161: Episode 32_Is This Lair Really Your Lair_ (2)

Chapter 161: Episode 32_Is This Lair Really Your Lair_ (2)

4.

The Four Forbidden Lands of the continent.

The Unknown Land of the North.

The Forest of Hallucination in the West.

The Misty Coast in the South.

The Cliffs of Fall in the East.

Hundreds of years ago, when the demons invaded, they poured out of countless gates and used these places as temporary bases. Even after they retreated, demonic remnants lingered, turning the regions into the most remote of backwaters, places where humans dared not tread. They were lands the people of the continent had never managed to settle in the first place, already claimed by monsters, making their forbidding nature self-evident.

And that wasn’t all.

For most people, even crossing the barricades on the way to these lands was no different from embarking on a life-or-death expedition.

The Unknown Mountains, for example.

“So that golden wyvern, or whatever that bird-brain was, flew off toward the mountain range that leads to the Cliffs of Fall.”

“The Cliffs of Fall? What kind of place is that?”

In truth, unless a player had taken a genuine interest in the continent’s history or geography, the majority had never even heard the name.

“Just think of it as an unimplemented hunting ground. There’s no way he actually went that far; he’s probably just roaming around the Falling Mountains. Anyway, the monsters there are insanely high-level. If you follow the related quests, you’ll easily run into local legends about a dragon or a dragon lair in the mountains or on the cliffs...”

The group fell silent.

The players who had been flocking in with burning enthusiasm fell silent at the testimony of those from the region. What could they do in the face of such a warning?

A few suspicious voices piped up, wondering if the locals were lying to keep the place for themselves, but anyone who calmed down and thought about it rationally knew better. If they wanted to monopolize it, there was no reason to publicly share that information. If they just kept quiet, people would rush in on their own and die. Why bother announcing it?

Of course, everyone knew that, even the players who had provided the information.

“It’s just a rumor, really. None of the locals have ever seen it with their own eyes. There’s no record in any history book of anyone finding a dragon or a dragon lair on the eastern cliffs, either.”

They knew it was nothing more than a superstition. What place in the world didn’t have superstitions? Even in reality, there are always a few unproven tales that can’t be scientifically explained yet still make people tremble with fear.

In the game, however, it was different. People didn’t just scoff.

’It really might be there.’

’If the NPCs are saying that...’

Because this was a world where such thoughts were perfectly reasonable. This was a continent where things that were impossible in reality actually happened.

What if they rushed in carelessly and actually ran into a dragon? The odds were about the same as winning the lottery, but if it happened to them, the one certainty was a pointless death. On top of that, their minds were already filled with preconceived notions about dragons.

“If it’s real, wouldn’t you get spotted just by setting foot inside?”

“Can’t a dragon scan the entire mountain range?”

“And you know it’d have a nasty temper.”

“Is that guy Simin even still alive?”

“There’s no way to know...”

Of course, some players valued the reward more than their own lives and went in anyway. In both society and games, the rule was that greater rewards awaited those who pioneered where others dared not challenge.

However, their fate was soon reported back to the community in bitter tones.

“This is nuts. Dragon my ass. I got killed by the first monster I met before I even saw a salamander’s tail.”

“I couldn’t even figure out what the minimum level is supposed to be.”

“I’m level 50. I ran into a cockroach the size of a truck and got eaten. Fuck.”

Though it was unfortunate news, there was one positive takeaway: they learned that their immediate concern wasn’t the dragon, but the countless monsters they would encounter the moment they set foot in the mountains.

The problem was, this realization offered little comfort.

Even so, one by one, people began to enter. They had remembered why they were there.

’We don’t actually have to kill any monsters, do we?’

’All I have to do is find this guy named Simin somewhere in here and report it, and my life in Fantastic World is set.’

A direct connection to the Emperor. A single word of praise from him. There wasn’t a modern person alive who didn’t understand what that meant.

If a corps commander visited a military unit, offered a single vacation pass, and gave an order, soldiers would swear loyalty with their lives and dive into flames. In the same vein, these players now picked up their weapons and charged into a hunting ground completely beyond their league.

“If I get to see a dragon, that’s worth my life. When else am I ever going to see one?”

“Fuck it. Yeah. After ten years of reading fantasy novels, if I see a real dragon once before I die, I’ll have no regrets.”

They went to find Han Simin and to find a dragon.

* * *

Naturally, the news reached the Emperor as well.

“Hm. So he went there?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Why would he go to such a place?”

Even if he asked, who was there to answer? He couldn’t even begin to guess. Normally, ninety-nine percent of people who entered a hunting ground crawling with high-level monsters, where a dragon was only rumored to exist, did so because they had a death wish.

But Han Simin was not a normal person. He was an adventurer. It made no sense for someone who could come back to life to go to a place like that just to die.

Which meant he had some other intention.

“Enhancement, perhaps,” the Emperor concluded, knowing what he did of Han Simin. He moved purely for his own profit. If he was taking such a risk without anyone ordering him to, it had to be because there was that much money involved.

“Hm.”

He furrowed his brow. It didn’t matter why Simin had gone there. What mattered was that the chances of him returning by the appointed date had dropped sharply.

Those were the bases the demons had used when they came to the continent. Obviously, they weren’t the size of some random village. Each one was at least one-tenth the size of the entire human-occupied continent. And it wasn’t flat land, either, but difficult terrain where one could hardly see what was right in front of them.

Finding a single person there? The odds of running into a monster instead were at least ten thousand times higher.

“It cannot be helped. Tell the Royal Knights to wait at the entrance. If he happens to come out, they are to relay the message. If he does not appear within the time limit, they are to withdraw.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Princess would be disappointed, but he couldn’t risk the Royal Knights for that. As long as Han Simin hadn’t left the continent, he would come out eventually. Of course, if that happened, the Guild Selection Tournament—which had been opened practically because of him—might end in a very different way. But that didn’t worry him either. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“I suppose this is a good chance to see what these adventurers are truly made of.”

The Emperor was no fool. Whenever he set something in motion, he always had at least two objectives in mind. Feigning a relaxed air, he thought to himself, ’Honestly, it would be better if he just died and respawned in his territory.’

He hated the sight of the man, but this time, he really did want him to show up. To brighten the Princess’s shadowed expression, and to see that arrogant nose of his get broken by the continent’s guilds.

Just imagining it brought a smile to his face.

* * *

5.

While the Emperor was daydreaming, Han Simin was steadily heading east.

“Ah, crap. I have a really bad feeling about going any farther.”

“Kku-eong?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, you punk. What a picky little bastard. Aren’t you scared at all? You’re no match for the monsters we’re running into, yet you strut around like you own the place.”

“Kku-eong!”

“Man. If you didn’t have that ability, I would’ve turned you into grilled otter for dinner a long time ago. You’re lucky.”

He wasn’t going by his own will, but being dragged along.

One ore radiated a brilliant golden aura that had passed through blue, while the other, a step beyond, was exuding a green aura. +13 and +14. The fruits of effort and obsession, and at the same time, the reason he had reached the point of resignation.

Han Simin was exhausted.

“Shit. What kind of riches and glory am I chasing that I’m putting myself through this?”

The lingering sensation of the rune in his hand was the only thing driving him forward now. The whole process reminded him of his PC-gaming days, when grinding was life itself. Back then, he had sat in front of his computer for twenty hours a day, hammering the same few keys over and over, determined to hit max level.

As he did it, he would think, ’Why am I doing this? Wouldn’t it be easier to just quit? Sure, it’ll feel good to hit max level... but if I go through all this just to make money, who is that really for?’

A thousand different thoughts ran through his head. Only his body, accustomed to the grind from those days, responded on autopilot.

“If I finish one, at least that one’s done.”

“Kku-eong!”

“...Obviously I have to get both of them to +15.”

On top of that, this was a matter of responsibility and his personal creed. Call it a pointless bit of OCD; he couldn’t stand seeing a single Unique item slotted among a full set of Legendary gear. That was ultimately what kept his feet moving east.

Deep down, he had even thought it would be nice if he just died on the way.

But in the end, he arrived, drawing near the spot where he could make one of the ores +15.

“Huh?”

No, it was a spot for both ores.

“Eh?”

A prime location where he could push the +14 ore to +15, and on top of that, raise the +13 to +14 as well. At this rate, he might even be able to attempt another +15 right after. As he got closer, he could feel the intense energy of the prime spot.

“Kku-eong, kku-eong!”

Sensing Simin’s reaction, the otter let out a delighted chortle. It still didn’t understand the fundamental principles of enhancement, but it had already sworn loyalty to him simply because the ore it carried grew stronger as a result.

However, Han Simin’s face twisted into a deep scowl.

“Ah. Fuck.”

His mind snapped fully awake. There was one more thing he had forgotten in the excitement of enhancing again after so long.

“Phew.”

He stood at the end of the mountain range. The sunset sky spread wide, an open expanse of air. Just ahead, the mountains cut off abruptly.

The prime spot’s energy was rising from below that sheer drop.

“I really, really don’t think I should go down there.”

Only now did he realize that, at some point, monsters had stopped appearing. Anyone with half a brain would know that some kind of bonus map wasn’t waiting beyond this boundary.

Hardship and adversity. Endless battles. That was all that would be there.

“Haah.”

Even so, Simin moved in the end. Toward the cliff.

“Wow...”

It was an endless precipice, so deep the bottom couldn’t be seen, so awe-inspiring it drew a gasp from him. He didn’t know it, but this was the reason the place had been named the Cliffs of Fall.

He looked at the otter one last time. Its eyes were still full of expectation.

“Screw it. Whatever.”

His internal struggle over, Simin jumped straight off the cliff, the otter’s scruff held firmly in his grip.

“Kku-eooong!”

“Ppaeaek!”

And Squeaker followed right after them.

For the first time in hundreds of years, a human footprint was imprinted on the ground at the bottom of the cliff, where no person had ever set foot.

[This is a first-time entry.]

[You have gained 10 Stat Points.]

[You have acquired the title ’The First Visitor’.]

[Your location has been revealed to monsters within a certain radius.]

“...Excuse me?”

The cliff gave Han Simin a very enthusiastic welcome.

* * *