God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 75: Episode 15 _ I’m Bored, So Let_s Unlock a Chest (2)

Chapter 75: Episode 15 _ I’m Bored, So Let_s Unlock a Chest (2)

3.

Han Simin’s method for allocating stat points was simple: he just distributed them evenly between Strength, Agility, and Stamina as he saw fit. Countless other players, who meticulously calculated the efficiency of every single point, would have fainted in horror at the thought, but stats were never that important to Simin. He gained them just by enhancing items, and he didn’t have a primary stat he needed to focus on. If he had to pick one, it would be Luck, but since his enhancement ability didn’t rely on it, that was irrelevant.

Normally, he prioritized Strength and Agility to compensate for his lack of finesse, but today, he decided to focus on his slightly deficient Stamina.

“My Stamina is barely over 100...”

It was a stat that rarely came into play, since he seldom engaged in long fights or sprints, but it was by no means negligible. Higher Stamina increased combat endurance, health regeneration, and the speed at which wounds healed. It was an especially useful stat for Simin, who had recently grown fond of overwhelming multiple opponents with his superior items and stats. Reduced damage, an ocean of health, and rapid regeneration—in theory, he could fight forever.

It was, of course, just a theory.

“That’s enough for stats.”

After allocating 150 of his 370 stat points to Stamina and splitting the rest evenly between Strength and Agility, Simin tensed and moved forward. In terms of raw numbers, his combined Strength, Agility, and Stamina were equivalent to a player over level 160. But victory in Fantastic World wasn’t decided by numbers alone, which was why balance was so crucial. Monsters were considered difficult to hunt precisely because their unique physiology gave them advantages over humans.

“I need to get this hammer to +15 soon, too.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t swarmed by monsters right from the start, so he was able to advance without issue. A gloomy forest. What lay beyond it? What could possibly be here that would serve as a prime spot to enhance the egg to +15 when even the Imperial Palace had only allowed him to reach +14?

’...Something feels off.’

He’d always considered himself fairly lucky, but thinking back, misfortune had a habit of striking whenever he needed luck the most. Maybe he wasn’t so lucky after all. On top of that, every +15 prime spot he’d found had come with some kind of trouble, from a godforsaken dungeon to a king, and even an emperor. He had already forged a connection with a cursed princess, so what was there to fear? And yet, the thought of this dark, dreary forest and the unknown lands said to exist in the northern part of the continent filled him with an unshakeable sense of dread.

’Don’t tell me... they don’t expect me to go in there, do they?’

No, surely not. Would they really have the gall to shove him into a place that was completely inaccessible during the second act of the main quest?

He couldn’t be sure; it wasn’t entirely out of the question. It wasn’t as if Betago had ever shown any consideration for its players. If that did happen, he would be disappointed, but not entirely devastated. It would simply mean the egg was far more incredible than he had imagined.

His thoughts were cut short.

“ROOOAAAR!”

The residents of the gloomy forest had come out to greet their guest.

* * *

It was a massive tiger. Just one, but Simin couldn’t afford to relax.

“Agh! Shit! Why is it so fast?!”

Even with over 370 Agility, he could barely track its movements. That meant its level was incredibly high, and this forest was its home turf.

“GRAAWR!”

Slam!

The nature of the game meant that not only was this massive beast incredibly nimble, but its claws were also lethally sharp. A paw shot out without a sound. His hammer met it, and the impact sent a shock through his arm, making him grimace.

His control might not be on par with Jeong Seolah’s, but it was above average when measured against regular players, and his understanding and experience of the game were far superior. That was why he knew. He couldn’t predict the outcome of the fight, but he was certain that if he let his guard down in a hunting ground this insane, he would die and drop something valuable.

’Focus, Simin.’

He didn’t want to risk other monsters joining the fray, but the tiger before him had no intention of letting its prey escape. It wasn’t about to nod in agreement if he yelled for a truce. He had to win. That was the only way.

His resolve hardened, and his free hand moved to his waist. The dagger. He pushed back with the hand holding the hammer, drawing the tiger’s attention, and simultaneously thrust the dagger forward.

Stab!

“GRRAAAHHH!”

Simin’s attack power might not be enough to pierce the tiger’s thick hide, but a +15 dagger had something more.

[Effect ’Burning Wound’ has been applied. 1 Stack!]

It was fixed damage that ticked every second. The damage scaled with weapon attack power, so it wasn’t as much as he’d like, but every little bit counted. As the stacks piled up, it would become a persistent source of damage that the enemy couldn’t ignore.

[Effect ’Burning Wound’ has been applied. 2 Stacks!]

[Effect ’Burning Wound’ has been applied. 3 Stacks!]

[Effect ’Burning Wound’ has been applied. 4 Stacks!]...

The terrifying thing about this effect was that it was negligible at first. The damage from the tiger’s swiping claws and the impact of his hammer was far greater. What kind of predator would fear the pokes of a dagger that couldn’t even pierce its skin? Unless it had been defeated by such an attack before, it would have no reason to be wary.

Unfortunately for the tiger, it showed no fear of the dagger’s stacking effect.

Clang! Clang!

“There.”

Thanks to its carelessness, he had built up ten stacks and could now drop his defensive stance. Simin could probably find a way to win with just the Legendary hammer, but why take the hard route when an easier one was available? He had no such pride.

More cunningly, more easily. That was his hunting motto. He swung his hammer and continued to stab with his dagger, slowly chipping away at the tiger’s health. His hammer strikes were difficult to land accurately since their stats were comparable, but the fixed damage from the dagger had stacked to a point where it was starting to annoy the beast.

“KRAAAAWWWR!”

“What? Starting to hurt now?”

The tiger finally realized what was happening and let out a furious roar, but it was too late to turn things around. With each stab, the ten-stack mark gnawed away at its health for six seconds. He wasn’t sure if it was a bug or an intended mechanic, but each new stab didn’t just reset the six-second timer; it added a new six-second damage-over-time effect on top of the existing one. Effectively, the dagger itself was dealing far more damage than the hammer. Of course, if an opponent knew about this and blocked his attacks, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective, but the tiger was now in a state of confusion.

A wicked smile spread across Simin’s face as he held a weapon in each hand.

“Which one are you going to block?”

For a tiger, it was quite agile, and its attacks were sharp, but it was still just a tiger. Unless it was prepared to stand on two legs, it would have to give up on blocking one of the attacks coming from both sides.

“...GRRAAAH!” the tiger roared, as if wishing for that very ability.

“Mwahahahaha!”

And so the wicked hunter let out another hearty laugh, announcing his villainy to the world. Of course, such laughter was an act of hubris that should never be committed in a gloomy forest. The hubris of the hunter.

“Grrrrr.”

“Grrr.”

Damn it. Simin, who had been lying on the fallen tiger’s hide to savor his victory, felt his smile freeze.

‘I’m screwed, aren’t I?’

He didn’t have the courage to turn his head and look, but he could hear the growls of at least three other tigers. It was pure terror. He had struggled this much to take down just one.

Three? What if there were more?

Just as he had toyed with the tiger, they would now surround him, toy with him, and tear him to shreds.

“Hah.”

’So this is my life.’ He slowly got to his feet. And then he ran.

4.

“Ugh... huff...”

He had barely made it.

’Holy shit.’

The curses came naturally. It had been a dangerous game of tag, and he was certain that if his Agility had been any lower, he would have been caught and torn to pieces. On top of that, he didn’t know the terrain, so he just ran blindly, attracting all sorts of other monsters into the chase. In the end, he only managed to save his own pathetic skin because they started fighting each other over territory.

“Whew. The problem is I’m only lucky when it comes to things like this.”

He’d had a sudden urge to put points into Stamina today, of all days.

Having fled with the resolve to use his Necklace of Revival, Simin had managed to survive. There were a few minor problems, but whatever.

“At least I’m not dead.”

He was a cheerful sort. He neatly forgot the memory of his breathless sprint from a few minutes ago and started walking again. He had never cared where he was.

He was just following his prime spot navigation.

“Still, I’m a little closer now.”

He turned despair into hope. The sensation of the prime spot, now growing clearer, erased all his current misfortunes. Of course, his steps were still heavy with caution. He had no idea when another monster might jump out.

He scrambled up a tree and opened his leather pouch.

“I’m bored. Might as well open a few chests while I’m here.”

He pretended he was just bored. He definitely wasn’t preparing to screw over any annoying monsters that might appear. The will to live was strong enough to make him open the remaining three treasures left by the five legends he had once called psychopaths.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Specialists continued to fend off the waves of bandit players attacking the Rich Territory. They grumbled, but they didn’t give up. The reason, of course, was the main quest. In Fantastic World, it was said that quests were synonymous with NPC rapport.

Jeong Seolah had determined that the Rich Territory was the key to advancing their main quest, so they fought alongside the residents, steadily building up their favor.

It wasn’t particularly difficult. Historically, resisting foreign invaders had always been an excellent catalyst for strengthening internal unity. Besides, while they were adventurers and outsiders, they were also the closest associates of the lord of the land, who loved the territory most and was striving to develop it. Their rapport was bound to skyrocket.

And that wasn’t all.

“Let’s go, rabbits!” Yeseul shouted.

“Kkyuuu!” the rabbits squeaked in reply.

Perhaps it was because of their master’s orders—to make a lot of money and protect the territory—but whenever the Specialists had free time to hunt in the surrounding areas, the rabbits would always join them. Thanks to them, they were able to contribute significantly not only to the territory’s defense but also to clearing out nearby hunting grounds, which would help with future expansion. The residents slowly began to open their hearts to them.

“Anything unusual? Hmm, I don’t know. Our territory has always been attacked by monsters...” one resident said.

“I heard our territory became like this because of monsters that started becoming active a few years ago. They say some of them are so strong that even the Empire can’t easily subjugate them...” said another.

“Bill, the herbalist who goes into the forest, told me something once,” a third resident chimed in. “He said there’s a monster in the forest that gives off a special aura, different from the others... He said there are always poisonous herbs and swarms of monsters near it...”

As the clues were gathered, a path began to open. Because the game had such a high degree of freedom, players had to find the hidden clues within these conversations themselves. For the Specialists, the hard part was building enough rapport to get these comments in the first place. Once the clues started coming, they had the sharpness to never let one slip by.

That was how they had become the final victors in the first act of the main quest.

“The area is too wide. We need to get closer to a key NPC,” Seolah said, analyzing the situation.

“Unni,” Yeseul said, “I think Kenji will hit level 50 in two or three days.”

“It’s fine. We’re still faster,” Seolah replied calmly.

With the possibility growing that they were on the trail of an intermediate-named monster, they had no time to worry about their pursuers.

“Let’s hunt. We need to level up first.”

For now, the masterless rabbits were there to help them.

* * *

Episode 76