God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 61: Episode 12 _ This Makes Him a Model Citizen (4)

Chapter 61: Episode 12 _ This Makes Him a Model Citizen (4)

5.

The thrown hammer sailed through the air and struck the player with pinpoint accuracy.

“Ugh!”

He collapsed with a grunt. In the real world, this would have been a shocking, unprovoked assault, but in a game, it was just another fight. Besides, there were no witnesses.

“Is he dead?”

“I think he’s still twitching.”

“Guess it wasn’t a clean hit.”

“Go get the hammer and finish him off while you’re at it.”

“You go, boss. What if he’s not dead and counterattacks? That would be a disaster.”

“...You’re tougher than I am,” Hyeonsu stated.

“Come on, no way. You’re the tank after all.” Simin replied.

The planner faintly heard their voices, and a mortal terror washed over him.

‘I’m going to die!’

He had somehow survived the first blow, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid death if he was struck again. A hammer thrown from that distance had left him on the brink of death; he could only imagine the damage it would do if swung with its full, intended force.

“P-please, spare me...”

“Tch. Looks like this one spent some money on his gear, seeing as he survived one hit,” Han Simin said, sounding annoyed as he casually strolled over.

The planner begged for his life. He wasn’t sure why he had to, but he knew he had to live. Whether in a game or in reality, life was precious. No—to the planner, his life in Fantastic World was even more precious.

A forty-eight-hour login restriction was the equivalent of a part-timer skipping two days of work, and what convenience store owner would let that slide? That was why he had spent most of his earnings on equipment, allowing him to roam around and meet other players without hesitation.

He had just been unlucky. He had appeared before the Specialists right after their battle with the Shield Guild, when they were on high alert. Actually, his mistake was appearing before Han Simin at all.

“Oppa, he seems to be alone. Is it okay to just kill him?” Kang Yeseul asked.

“He might not be from the Shield Guild,” Jeong Seolah added.

“You think so?” Simin replied.

It was a reasonable suspicion—one he should have considered before throwing the hammer. The planner’s eyes quivered with indignation, but he suppressed it and nodded frantically.

“Yes, I’m not from the Shield Guild! I’m with the Kenji Guild! I was just passing by and happened to...”

He threw his pride to the wind. It was one of the three most important principles to remember in Fantastic World: in FW, there are no meaningful deaths, only pointless ones. If you can live, you abandon everything else. Better to lose your pride than your weapon.

“Is that so?” Simin asked.

“Yes!”

Perhaps his sincerity got through, because the hand Simin had raised with the hammer stopped mid-air. The status effect hadn’t worn off yet, but even if it did, he doubted he could escape the monster before him, who had nearly killed him in a single blow.

‘Dammit.’

How did it come to this? It was infuriating enough to be in this situation, but being treated this way by some young punk was a blow to his pride. ‘First, I have to survive. Survive, and then find a way to get revenge.’ A servile smile spread across his face. ‘This should be enough, right?’ he thought.

The moment he did, Simin spoke. “Yeah, I’m not falling for that.”

The planner looked at him, confused.

“Of course you’d say you’re not from the Shield Guild if you don’t want to die.”

“No, it’s true. I told you, I’m with the Kenji Guild!”

“And what kind of no-name guild is that?”

“...No-name?! How dare you speak so rudely about the strongest guild in Fantastic World!”

“The strongest?”

The outrageous nonsense made him blurt out his true feelings. ‘I can be insulted myself, but I can’t stand anyone insulting my guild!’ The planner had his pride. Unfortunately, it was the kind of pride that had no effect on the man before him.

“We’re the strongest,” Simin stated flatly.

The planner was speechless.

“So you were from the Shield Guild after all.”

“How did you come to that conclusion...?”

“The Shield guys also go around blabbering about how they’re the strongest.”

How could he respond to that?

“Hey, stop messing around and come hunt. You’re trying to get paid $300 for nothing,” Jeong Hyeonsu shouted from a distance.

“Busted,” Simin muttered.

At Hyeonsu’s shout, Simin’s serious expression vanished, and he swung the hammer.

Thwack.

It was an absurd death. His vision went black, and at the same time, the inside of his capsule came into view. The planner, who had been trying to uncover the secret behind their rapid leveling, was unceremoniously logged out.

* * *

“We have a problem, Guild Master.”

The moment he logged out, the planner immediately made a phone call. Dying was a very serious problem. It was his job to manage and care for every little detail.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have gone out himself just to score some points. He was filled with regret, but what was done was done. The important thing now was to handle the aftermath. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“What is it? Where are you?” Kenji asked.

“I found the players you asked me to investigate, but they killed me without provocation.” He continued, “I told them I was from the Kenji Guild and not to attack, but they said they’d never heard of such a no-name guild and killed me, accusing me of being a spy trying to steal their secrets.”

He had chosen to lie. He needed to convey his own sense of injustice and anger to Kenji, to frame his death not as a simple misunderstanding but as a direct provocation against their guild. It was a classic scumbag move, but he had no choice if he wanted to survive.

“I see. Did you find out how they’re leveling up?”

“Yes, I couldn’t confirm the details, but fortunately, I was able to observe their hunting method for several dozen minutes.”

He hadn’t even watched for thirty seconds. Could he even say he saw anything? They just swung their weapons, and monsters went flying. But what could he do? If he didn’t want to get fired, he had to say something.

Kenji asked, “What’s their secret? We might be at the same level soon. They’ve already climbed to fourth place.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ve already figured it out, so all that’s left is to come up with a countermeasure.”

“But you’re banned from logging in for forty-eight hours... Hmm.”

“I’ll use that time to prepare a perfect countermeasure. The plan has a three-day buffer, so it’s fine. I just need you to add one more thing.”

“Add what?”

“Please hire mercenaries and send them to Mankey Forest. I’ve seen their method, but if we leave them be, it’s only a matter of time before they overtake us. We have to stop them as much as possible. It would be even better if we could kill them.”

“Understood. I’ll be waiting, then.”

“Yes, my apologies, Guild Master. I should have been more careful.”

“It’s fine.”

The call ended there. Fortunately, the planner had avoided the worst-case scenario of being fired on the spot. Of course, it was too early to feel relieved. The reason Kenji had listened to him without question was that he was still the number-one-ranked player and had a track record of achievements.

Would Kenji, who didn’t hesitate to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, still want to employ him after losing his top spot? There were probably plenty of candidates lined up, waiting for their turn.

The real problem was just beginning. How should he handle this? Kenji was already using a better version of their mindless hunting strategy. There had to be something else. Since he didn’t know what it was, there was only one thing he could do: lower his competitor’s level.

He sighed. As a professional, he felt uneasy about such an incomplete plan. But for now, that was the reality he had to bet on. He desperately prayed that the power of money would work its magic.

6.

Meanwhile, in the territory that now belonged to Han Simin, a few changes had taken place. After personally naming the land, the Rich Territory in hopes of it becoming wealthy, he had taken a few measures and left. First, the residents, who had been huddled together in a small village to avoid monster attacks, found their range of activity had expanded significantly.

This was thanks to him investing all but 100 of the 1,800 gold coins he had—700 he already possessed and 1,100 he had just purchased. He had laid a foundation worth a staggering $160,000 for the village’s defense.

Naturally, investment in other areas was lacking, but no one, from the aide to the residents, complained. Just having their living space more than triple was enough to give them breathing room. It was still far from satisfying for the lord, Han Simin, but considering they had been living in constant fear for their lives, it was a massive improvement.

The residents’ faces naturally brightened, and the territory’s revenue increased. It wasn’t a noticeable amount yet, but if it slowly grew and outsiders began to visit, it would only be a matter of time before the Land of the Rich lived up to its name. That was how great its geographical advantages were.

“Good morning, Mr. Aide!”

“Ah, Sera! Are you heading out somewhere today?”

“Yes, I’m going to clear the weeds out front. Thanks to our new lord, we’ve gained this precious land, so we need to cultivate it quickly.”

“Have a good day.”

“You too, Mr. Aide!”

It was a heartwarming scene. It seemed the territory’s future was bright.

For a few days, at least.

* * *

“Mr. Aide, we have a huge problem! A horde of monsters is approaching from the west!”

“...Damn it! Inform the residents immediately and tell them to evacuate.”

“Yes! But I’m worried because the scale is quite large this time. At a glance, they said there are over thirty of them.”

“What? That many... This is serious.”

“Do you think they’re on guard because we’ve ventured out so far?”

“That could be it.”

The peace was shattered by the monster assault. Once again, they returned to the recent past, fearing and fleeing from the monsters. It was an unavoidable instinct; they had already suffered too much. Even if the new lord had come and installed various things purchased from the magic tower, the monsters around the Land of the Rich were overwhelmingly strong. There was a reason even the Empire had given up on completely subjugating them. And now, more than thirty of those monsters were swarming toward them.

“What should we do? Wouldn’t it be better to flee to another territory?” a resident asked.

The aide considered this.

Faced with a monster invasion of historic proportions, even this thought crossed his mind. The situation demanded a wise decision. The aide pondered.

In the past, he would have done as the resident suggested, abandoning the territory to take refuge in another, even for a short while. Though buildings and other things would be destroyed, it was better than losing their lives. But then, he suddenly remembered the lord who had invested a large sum of money and departed with a bold declaration.

‘Even if the monsters around here were to go nuts and form an alliance of 300, they still won’t be able to break through what I’ve set up. So don’t worry, just focus on developing the territory. No farming, none of that. After you clear the land, you must build high-class buildings, starting around the lord’s castle. Increase the population, expand commercial trade. Got it? I’ve invested my entire fortune in this. If you screw this up, I’ll destroy the Land of the Rich and everything in it and go on a rampage.’

For some reason, the fact that he had bet his entire fortune made him trustworthy. It felt like a construction company saying, “We built this with care because our family was the first to buy a unit!”

‘Maybe we don’t have to run. Maybe the expensive magic devices he bought from the magic tower will stop the approaching monsters.’

“For now, let’s evacuate!” the aide decided.

“Yes, I’ll pass it on,” the resident replied.

But they had too little to rely on hope alone. He didn’t know what had been installed, but the moment it was breached, the only forces left to stop the monsters were the residents and a few soldiers, which was not enough. It felt like a betrayal of trust, which left a bad taste in his mouth, but he believed it was the wise choice.

A short while later, the few residents of the Land of the Rich had evacuated. And not long after that, the horde of over thirty monsters reached the edge of the newly expanded territory.

* * *

“Grrrr.”

The monsters were werewolves. The reason for their invasion was the sudden, audacious actions of the humans. The Empire had set the boundaries of the Land of the Rich wide, but in terms of the area actually inhabited by monsters, the space where humans currently lived was small. Naturally, the werewolves were furious that the humans had suddenly crossed into a place they hadn’t permitted.

So today, they had decided to retaliate. They had previously refrained from going all the way into the humans’ settlement and wreaking havoc because future retaliation would be a hassle, but if they didn’t respond to this challenge to expand their territory, they would be disqualified as werewolves.

“Grrrrrr!”

The fully prepared werewolves set foot in the space that was originally their territory. The grass was cut, and the land was beginning to show signs of human touch. They urinated to mark their territory again.

“Grrrr?”

Suddenly, a massive, glowing crest on the ground entered their vision. ‘What’s this? This wasn’t here before. Did the humans make it in that short time?’ A moment of hesitation, and then the magic circle activated.

BOOM!

The magic circle thoroughly lived up to Han Simin’s boast.

* * *

Episode 62