God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 216: Episode _Rose Gold Holy Dragon (2)

2.

There are dozens of ways to respond to a provocation. Han Simin simply chose the easiest, fastest, most effective method that also suited his personality. Of course, this method could only be used by someone confident enough to handle any retaliation and win the fight. And he was, naturally, confident.

’What can a bunch of charlatans do? They scammed their way into their elder positions, so I can run a little scam of my own.’ And when it came to scams, he was an expert. ’All those times I was scammed trying to live a good life are finally paying off. Ha. To think a day would come when I’d have to deceive someone. The world really won’t leave a good person in peace.’

The grand design of this master swindler, who could even deceive himself, began to take shape. Drawing it up wasn’t difficult. Saint had already provided detailed information on the opposition elders—enough to recognize them on sight—and had roughly explained the power dynamics between the factions and their goals. Besides, hadn’t they openly declared themselves the opposition during the selection? Knowing his enemy while holding countless hidden cards of his own, he had simply swung for the fences.

Originally, he hadn’t planned to go this far. He preferred to let things be. If they had just appointed her as the Saintess, he would have accepted a modest position in the Grand Temple, relaxed in his territory, and cashed in when a bigger opportunity arose.

But the elders had provoked him.

He had only heard a warning that they might provoke him, but to Simin, that was the same as them having already done it. Show no mercy to the enemy. Kill them! And then, strip them bare. Leave not a single scrap of flesh. With his resolve hardened, Simin gave it his all.

“Agh, my money.”

[300,000 GP has been consumed.]

Using magic when Squeaker’ mana hadn’t recovered came with a penalty. It wasn’t much of one, since she was a creature who used gold to cast spells anyway, but for Simin, who had already experienced the discount, it was a painful expense. In a way, it was an expensive spell he could never use again in his life. He was so short on GP that he had to invest all the gold he had. His reassuring stash of 250,000 gold instantly shrank to 50,000, and he only had enough GP left for one more transformation. The remaining gold was still worth an absurd $7.5 million, but how could that compare to the amount he’d just spent?

“Shit. What’s a $30 million blockbuster to this?” For a moment, he felt like a movie director. Still, he decided to be satisfied that his $30 million film was spectacular, full of twists, and thrilling. Who else could spend $30 million to create such a realistic and brilliant movie? At best, they could only make the CG look less obvious. But this natural event in Fantastic World was different. Viewers could enjoy it vividly through their capsules without needing 3D or 4D glasses. And he had recorded it for that very purpose.

Steeling his resolve, he ran toward Squeaker as she collapsed, his eyes fixed on the six elders. His expression was grim, and his cold gaze was so imposing that no one dared stop him, an outsider, from rushing onto the stage of the Saintess selection. It was something only he—an adventurer, the Emperor’s son-in-law, and the Saintess’s guardian—could do.

“Hyegi!”

“Dad...”

Squeaker, too, gave the performance of a lifetime. She would do anything Simin told her to without question and with all her effort. But this time, Simin had dangled a piece of bait.

—“If you do well and become the Saintess, I’ll give you lots of gold.”

—“I want to go to an amusement park with you, Dad.”

—“...Alright.”

Having taken the bait, she played her leading role beautifully, even acting out the possession with all her might. Thanks to her, the entire blueprint was complete. He patted her on the shoulder to signal a job well done, then stood up and produced his trump card. The Emperor’s token! The token that now proved to all on the continent that he was the Emperor’s son-in-law.

“This is a matter of the Temple, so I have been suppressing my anger even as my daughter was branded a dog of the demons, accused of having her body and soul defiled by them and now coming to defile the name of God. But after she used Sacrifice to save countless lives, you made the unreasonable demand for her to use it again, leading to this situation. I can no longer stand by and watch. I request from the Pope the authority to investigate this matter in the name of God!”

His voice, filled with fury, was unmistakably that of a father worried for his daughter. The thousands of priests instinctively bowed their heads in shame. He wasn’t wrong. There wasn’t a priest among them who didn’t know of Sacrifice, the ultimate and undeniably strongest of the holy spells. It was a magic that required at least a month of replenishing one’s holy power after a single use. The elders had tried to use that as a pretext to buy time, and the mood had swayed in their favor. In the end, the Saintess had pushed herself to prove her worth and had collapsed. It was all an act, but it was also reality.

Though they looked more like lovers than father and daughter due to the small age gap, he had pushed through the priests and spoken before the Pope in their own sanctuary. He truly was the father who raised the Saintess chosen by God! The priests were in awe.

“Wow. That guy Simin really knows how to have fun with this game.”

“He’s a true role-playing game master.”

“I’d believe it if you told me he was an NPC.”

The players felt the same way. One of the biggest pitfalls in a virtual reality game like Fantastic World was over-immersion, especially for the shut-ins who played all day. Spending significantly more time in-game than in reality could flip one’s life upside down. That wasn’t a problem in itself, but what if you faced reality in that state? What if you interacted with others as you did in Fantastic World? That would lead to social problems. So, players constantly tried to remind themselves that they were players in a game. That’s why there was always an element of awkwardness. In the end, it was just them inside a game.

But Han Simin seemed different. He was like an NPC himself. Whether it was acting or genuine immersion, the players couldn’t help but be impressed.

Perhaps it was because of the gravity of the situation that had stunned everyone. The Pope, his face shadowed, contemplated for a long moment before finally nodding.

“I will permit it.”

For the first time since the reign of the current Emperor—the worst tyrant and greatest sage in history—no, for the first time in the hundreds of years of recorded history, an outsider’s interference in the Temple was permitted.

3.

The Pope, of course, was not fond of the opposition elders. They were men who prioritized their own selfish desires over serving God, constantly scheming to place one of their own on the papal throne. It was a mystery how such men could maintain so much holy power in God’s name, but he had never tried to oust them. In the end, they were all children praying in God’s embrace. They hadn’t joined forces with the powers of darkness, nor were they depraved. They simply coveted power while believing in God. So, he had just watched them. That was why the opposition elders had been able to freely voice their opinions and lay their plans. The single rank separating an elder from the Pope was as vast as the distance between man and God.

And now, he had entrusted an investigation not to himself, but to an outsider. The Emperor’s son-in-law, no less. This could be the beginning of the end for the centuries-old equal relationship between the Imperial Palace and the Grand Temple. No, it would be. The Emperor had been looking for an opening to intervene in the Temple for ages, and the Pope had managed to hold him off by drawing a firm line. Now, the Pope who had defended that line with all his might had opened the door himself. All that was left was for the Emperor to walk in.

“Your Holiness! How could you...” 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“It is right to investigate the six elders! But an outsider!”

Even the two elders loyal to the Pope, and Saint, who was smitten with Squeaker, voiced their concerns over such a momentous decision. But the Pope would not recant. In the Temple, he too was an emperor—an agent who spoke for God and spread His will across the continent. How could he take back words uttered in God’s name? He could only bear the consequences in silence. Knowing this, the two elders felt a surge of frustration.

“If they are without sin, then this matter will pass without incident. That God himself descended holds a meaning of its own.”

The Pope’s judgment was always tied to God. A divine possession, an event that might happen once in a lifetime, had occurred in the Grand Temple’s main hall, in front of thousands of priests. There had to be a reason. He was certain of it.

*

’Reason, my ass.’ “The saying you have to work like a dog to earn money really isn’t just for show,” Simin muttered.

If he had to find a reason, it was revenge for the $30 million—no, $45 million he’d blown on a dramatic cinematic that had vanished into thin air. If the six elders hadn’t opposed him, he wouldn’t have had to use Sacrifice. That was a scenario reserved for the last resort. How could Simin, having scattered 300,000 gold into the void, possibly forgive the elders?

With a heartfelt plea and permission granted, all that remained was the purge. Of course, he had to collect his fee first.

“Squeaker, come over here. Let’s take some pictures.”

He hadn’t planned on going this far. But it seemed people only worked when they were hungry. Possessed by the spirit of a photographer, Simin snapped away.

*

The fan club Simin created for Squeaker was shabby and pathetic. The design was a mess, and it was obvious to anyone that it had been thrown together. Nevertheless, the number of members grew by the day. They would spend all day discussing the few available photos of Squeaker, wondering where they could see her, and debating what offerings to send.

Then, a tiered membership system was introduced. Separate from tributes and gifts, it was a simple, capitalistic system where one’s rank increased based on donation amount. At first, of course, no one tried to raise their rank. Who would pour money into a site that was a fan club in name only? The dangling bait of a fan meeting? Few were foolish enough to believe that. There were only a few people with too much time and money on their hands who, haunted by Squeaker’ face, made small donations.

But they were the start.

- Huh?

A post appeared on the general board from someone who had donated $50 and reached Level 1.

- It’s a picture of the Saintess.

A link was attached instead of a picture, but those without the required rank couldn’t see it. However, driven by curiosity, the number of people donating $50 increased. It wasn’t a huge sum to satisfy one’s curiosity.

- Wow. She’s beautiful.

The picture posted there was beyond high-definition; it was so clear you could see her pores. The Saintess in the photo was more than a goddess; she was so beautiful you could stare at her all day and never tire of it. And this was just a candid shot taken as she turned her head in response to a call from afar. All that was visible was her back, her ear, and her profile.

Naturally, people felt a thirst for more. As if sensing their craving, a notification appeared that a new post had been made on a higher-level board. Humans are creatures of imagination. ’What could be up there? Maybe as we level up, like peeling an onion, we’ll get to see more of the goddess’s face?’

The number of donors grew.

*