God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 28: Episode 6 _ What Would Happen If I Enhanced This_ (3)

Chapter 28: Episode 6 _ What Would Happen If I Enhanced This_ (3)

3.

Han Simin did not grow up poor. His parents earned enough to live comfortably, were lucky enough to own their own home in the middle of Seoul, and never hesitated to spend on their children. They weren’t the type to spoil him for unnecessary purchases just because he whined, but he had never lacked for anything he truly needed or wanted. That was, until he turned nineteen.

Once he shed his minor status, the bitter taste of society began, and his allowance disappeared! Sure, his parents still covered food, rent, and the basics, so it felt more like a tutorial phase—but for someone who’d spent his whole life relying on others, it was a heavy beginning to adulthood. He couldn’t just give up on his twenties because it was hard, so he started working. He earned money, went to college, served in the military, and ran toward graduation, even though he had no talent or interest in studying, and his grades were a mess.

But after getting a taste of the real world—one that wasn’t cushioned by a comfortable upbringing—he stopped taking money lightly. It was hard to change the habits he had formed since childhood, but he avoided wasting what he earned and worked hard to seize any chance to make more. He had learned firsthand that opportunities don’t easily come by. If he hesitated, he would miss it. If he missed it, he’d go hungry. And there’s nothing more miserable than being hungry.

So, shamelessly, Simin smiled to mine the gold coin mine in front of him.

“You have three gold coins and twenty-two enhancement stones left. Haha.”

“What?! Why does only my stuff keep failing!” Yeseul shouted.

“I guess your luck is bad.”

“You’re the one doing the enhancement, so what does it have to do with my luck?”

“It’s your weapon. My stat points for Luck are over two hundred, so do you think I’m the unlucky one here?”

Yeseul clicked her tongue.

She no longer faked politeness, and her scoff expressed frustration. Who would have known that her enhancement would fail twice on the way to +7? It boasted a 70% success rate with a 20% boost.

‘So this is why Master failed at +1.’

As expected, probability was not something that could be understood. As long as even a 1% chance of failure existed, you could never afford to drop your guard.

“Ugh. Unni, Oppa. Lend me some gold coins.”

Kang Yeseul held out her hand with a frown. Her face was so pretty that even her sulky expressions looked cute—cute enough that for a moment, he was tempted to do a half-assed job and give her the enhancement she wanted, but he shook his head.

This woman was different from how she looked! She wasn’t even born with a silver spoon but a diamond one, overflowing with money. Instilling a good perception of probability would actually have a negative effect on people like her. It would also be a big loss for Han Simin’s business.

‘I have to separate business and pleasure!’

Besides, no matter how much he siphoned from her, her “tank” never seemed to run dry. He might as well drink until it gave him a stomachache!

“Here, fifty gold coins. I’ll wire you the rest,” Yeseul offered.

“Yes, Madam!”

The wild, bratty Kang Yeseul, just a young girl in her early twenties, had suddenly become a ‘madam’. He carefully accepted the gold coins and began to search for a prime location with all his heart. Up to +7, you could just toss it anywhere and hit it with a hammer. But once you went higher, the number of prime spots plummeted so steeply that finding optimal ground naturally took longer.

‘Phew. Still, it’s a relief that the field level is somewhat high.’

If it wasn’t, he’d have had to cross that scorching desert just to strengthen a level-20 rare staff.

For a game to not only simulate heat but actually make you collapse from heat exhaustion—the urgency was real.

“Here it is.”

Once he found a suitable spot, he immediately swung the hammer. The ritual was also performed as concisely and quickly as possible.

‘Fail. Please fail.’

But even while sweating, he recited the chant with perfect clarity. Money came first—even before heatstroke.

The headache from long-term enhancement and panting from the heat were two different things.

Then, there was a flash.

[Enhancement successful.]

“Oh yeah!”

“Dammit.”

Someone shouted in joy, and someone in frustration. His inner thoughts slipped out unconsciously.

“What?” Yeseul questioned.

“Dammit. It’s hot.”

Simin had wished for it to fail, but it succeeded.

‘Son of a bitch. What is this, some kind of divine intervention?’

It failed so well in the low-level enhancement section where he didn’t even want it to, and now that he wished for it to fail, it succeeded. It was all luck, and he didn’t believe in superstitions, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

‘Succeed.’

So, for +9, he wished for the opposite. It had a fifty percent success rate. A section where, in other games, you would have to sacrifice a few items.

[Enhancement successful.]

He was speechless.

“Wow! I guess the bad luck at the beginning was just to get it out of the way.” Yeseul exclaimed.

It was bullshit. Simin’s face crumpled into a deep frown. From here on, he would make twenty gold coins for each failure! It would probably fail at +10; that was the point where it usually failed. Even with a 20% boost, the probability of success was only 40%. This time, he struck without thinking, just like when it had failed twice at +7.

‘Luck comes when you least expect it.’

Failure might be misfortune for Kang Yeseul, but for Han Simin, it was endless luck and joy. But...

[Enhancement successful.]

“Yaaay! Unni, I think I’m really lucky today. That’s three successes in a row. Am I going to get to +15?”

Probability was always a double-edged sword. Simin had wanted joy, but misfortune had struck. Kang Yeseul’s expression brightened noticeably at the deepened pure white aura of her staff.

“Wow! It suits me perfectly.”

“It only looks cool when it’s +13,” Han Simin prodded.

“Hmm.”

At his encouragement, her gaze shifted between her staff and Jeong Seolah’s sword. There was a big difference between gold and pure white. Aesthetically, both were beautiful. The +13 effect was rarer and looked richer, sure—but considering the “pure white” theme of the staff, you could argue the +10 effect actually suited it better. And to an enhancement master, thoughts like that meant only one thing: a warning that income was about to disappear.

“Won’t it break if I go for +13?” Yeseul asked.

“Break? Of course not!” Simin exclaimed.

Seeing her hesitate made him anxious.

‘I still have twenty gold coins left.’

He didn’t care if he had to roast or boil the remaining enhancement stones, but he wanted to use up all fifty gold coins that had come into his hands. It wouldn’t matter if he never had it, but there was nothing more disheartening than losing something he did have.

“Ughh. Then should I just go for +11?”

“I’ll get you to +13 straight, so don’t worry. You trust me, right?”

Yeseul expressed, “I think it’s going to break.”

“Never!”

‘It can’t break. Not right now.’

He had found a 100% prime location, not a 20% one.

“Ah!” he let out a gasp.

‘Dammit, prime locations are all well and good, but the ritual is the problem!’

Simin knelt down and bowed his head respectfully. His clasped hands dug into the desert sand, and when they re-emerged, his palms were full of fine desert sand.

He sighed. ‘I don’t want to eat this. Why do I have to do this?’

Nevertheless, he ate it.

“Ugh.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The gritty taste of the sand made him frown. But he couldn’t spit it out. That was his life.

‘Think of the money. Money.’

Of course, he would never do it just for the sake of it. There was no reason to do it other than to enhance his own weapon or to make money. Thinking of it as a thousand-dollar enhancement per attempt, the remaining sand in his mouth went down smoothly. And he struck with the hammer.

[Enhancement successful.]

This time, he reached +11 through skill. He was still bitter about it, but he endured. He had thrown out the bait to make up for the loss.

“Wow! Is it really my lucky day?”

“How about +12, you in?” Simin asked Yeseul.

“I’m in!”

A wicked smile spread across his lips. Woo hoo! Sorry, but the prime location chance is over now. Try your luck with 26%. If it breaks, it might cause problems for the raid, but...

‘Not my problem!’

Since when did restaurant owners think about their customers’ breakfast menu when serving lunch? It was enough to be faithful to one’s duties.

“It’s an extra forty gold coins if this succeeds.”

“I’ll wire it to you. Just make it succeed quickly.”

‘Succeed? My ass! You were born a chaebol’s daughter and have lived a comfortable life without any hardship. I’ll will teach you the bitter taste of life!’

Strictly speaking, he was just relying on low probability.

The cheerful hammering began. Han Simin believed in the 74%. It was a three out of four chance it would fail. It had already succeeded several times in a row, so what were the chances of it happening again?

[’Simin’ has succeeded in enhancing the ‘+12 Holy Staff’!]

[You have acquired 2 stat points.]

“Kyaaaa!”

He was stunned.

‘What is this. Is this rigged?’

Just in case, he looked at his character information.

‘Nothing’s changed...’

Of course not.

“Oppa! Thirteen! Go for thirteen now!”

Kang Yeseul’s excited voice, jumping up and down, only added to his bewilderment. Han Simin’s hand unconsciously rose to the sky.

Clang.

And he brought it down. Right there. The prime spot’s effect had already been used once, dropping the chance to 8%.

“Ah!”

Even the one who struck was surprised. He had been spacing out, and whether it was because of Kang Yeseul’s pestering or because he was so dumbfounded that he wanted to see how far his luck would go, it was impossible to stop the enhancement, so he had no choice but to keep swinging.

‘Sorry.’

He apologized to Kang Yeseul in his head. This time, it would really fail. The difference between 26% and 8% was like heaven and earth. No matter how lucky she was, this wouldn’t work. Still, having a conscience, he hoped it would just downgrade instead of breaking.

Clang.

He was speechless.

[’Simin’ has succeeded in enhancing the ‘+13 Holy Staff’!]

[You have acquired 4 stat points.]

The apology had been premature. Han Simin threw down the hammer. Then he handed the staff to Kang Yeseul.

“C-congratulations!”

The trembling corners of his lips betrayed his current state of mind. He should be happy about receiving 240 gold coins—24,000 dollars—but for some reason, he felt a nagging feeling like all his luck had been sucked away. That was why he couldn’t bring himself to enhance it any further.

‘Who would’ve thought this spoiled rich kid is a blessed character! Isn’t the world too unfair? I should quit this dirty enhancement business right now!’

But unfortunately, it seemed Kang Yeseul felt differently.

“Oppa! I want to go for fourteen.”

“No.”

“Why?!”

“You’d better not.”

“Why not, why not?!”

“It’s so hard to find a prime location that from +14 onwards, it’s 500 gold coins per 10%.”

“What?!”

“Even if you go for 20%, it’s almost guaranteed to break if it fails. You’d better not.”

Of course, if he received a thousand gold coins, he was willing to endure the jealousy and find a prime location with all his might. With that money, he could escape his cramped studio apartment in the real world and get a decent semi-furnished studio. But no one in their right mind would agree to it. Not even someone filthy rich. And at the end of the day, it was just a level twenty weapon.

Just like the time he used a beginner’s dagger and wondered how he’d ever get his hands on a level-10 weapon, there would eventually come a day when she’d outgrow this one—hit level 30 or 40, swap her gear, and move on. Her weapon might not be better than if it were a +14, but enhancing beyond a certain amount was a waste, not an investment.

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’m a healer anyway. I don’t need weapon attack power. Looking cool is my survival strategy!”

As expected, words didn’t get through to her.

He sighed.

What could he do? A broke nobody had no right to argue. He shook his head and took the staff back.

“I’ll do it as a special favor, so deposit the money as soon as we get out.”

“Okay!”

Pretending to do her a favor, he glanced at Jeong Seolah, but she didn’t seem to object. Whether it was because they could just buy another one or because there was no need to stop Kang Yeseul’s choice. Either way, the result was the same: he was about to get rich overnight. Deciding to think positively, he took the weapon and focused.

‘Phew. Luckily, there’s a prime spot nearby.’

He walked with a sense of relief. The Specialists followed behind him. There was still some distance. After walking for about thirty minutes...

“It’s around here...”

Arriving at the place where he could sense the location, Han Simin scanned his surroundings with a troubled expression. It was still a desert with a wide expanse of sand, but...

‘What’s this? Do I have to go down here? It’s a weird place that looks like it might lead to a dungeon.’

Before him was a strange depression in the sand, a perfectly spiraling hole that looked as if a giant top had spun itself into the earth. A spiral hole that looked like it would suck him in somewhere! It was ominous, but he went down without hesitation.

“What could possibly happen?”

It was a game. If he died, he’d just resurrect.

“Oh? Simin, wait a moment!” Jeong Seolah, who had been following from a distance, called out urgently.

“What?”

By the time Han Simin turned his head, it was already too late.

“Those are ruins.”

“What?”

His foot sank in an instant. At the same time, he felt the intense aura of a prime location.

“Aaaaargh!”

And then, his world went black.

[You have entered the ruins.]

[You lack the proper qualifications.]

[A special condition has been met. The ruins acknowledge the intruder.]

Simin had not wished for this, but the ruins welcomed him with violent enthusiasm.

* * *