God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 78: Episode 15 _ I’m Bored, So Let_s Unlock a Chest (4)

Chapter 78: Episode 15 _ I’m Bored, So Let_s Unlock a Chest (4)

8.

Of course, Han Simin saw the top comment.

“What is this moron talking about?”

His reaction was surprisingly calm. It made sense, though. Nonsense had to reach a certain level of absurdity to be infuriating, and what he was reading was akin to a stray dog barking in the distance. The only interesting part was wondering if the commenter truly held out any hope that Simin would actually hand over the skill book.

’I’ll probably never meet the guy, but if I do, I have to ask him. Then I’ll smack him one with my Legendary hammer.’

“I need to get this egg to +15 and get out of here,” he muttered, a smile spreading across his face.

He had opened the box while hiding in a tree, terrified of the tigers below as he rummaged through his things for anything useful. Ironically, nothing in the box was of any immediate help against the tigers, but in the long term—for his future—he couldn’t have asked for a better treasure. There was only one item he could sell right away, but that alone had already guaranteed his future as a millionaire.

“Looks like I’ll become a building owner right after buying a house,” he chuckled.

The starting bid was $1 million. There might not be many participants, but the moment even one person made a bid, Simin’s lifelong dream would come true. And if a competitor emerged, or if some crazy rich folks decided to throw their money around, he wouldn’t just own a small neighborhood shop—he’d be the landlord of a prime piece of real estate.

’Just you wait until I find you, you bastard.’

The ridiculous comment came to mind again. To think someone had the audacity to post a comment demanding he hand over his priceless treasure. Shaking off his irritation, he carefully climbed down from the tree. Besides that one annoyance, he had already earned over $100,000 from the broadcast, and the VOD views were still climbing, which bolstered his confidence. All that remained was to complete his mission and return safely.

Warily watching for tigers, he ventured back into the forest.

9.

The Specialists resumed their hunt. Yeseul, who had been absent for half a day securing funds from her father, returned with a powerful sponsor and a bright expression. They hunted with renewed vigor, and with the rabbits leading the charge, their pace quickened. If only they’d had the Ring of Blessing, the hunt would have been perfect.

As a result, the hunting grounds around the Rich Territory were gradually cleared, and the unguarded sections of the territory naturally expanded. Thanks to this, the Specialists were able to obtain the information they needed from an NPC.

“I don’t know much about the northernmost part of the continent,” the NPC told them, “but I’ve heard that the forest leading north is home to many fearsome monsters. It’s a place even the Imperial Knights hesitate to approach. Not only are the monsters formidable, but the forest terrain itself is disadvantageous for humans. You could say that the forest is the monsters’ domain.”

“But couldn’t it be conquered with enough manpower?” Hyeonsu asked.

“The previous emperor attempted it once, when the power of humans on the continent was at its peak. But he failed.”

“Are there monsters stronger than demons living there?” Seolah inquired.

“No, not at all. But from the Empire’s perspective, they are more troublesome than demons. There’s simply no reason to suffer casualties to deal with them.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Since then, the monsters’ influence in the forest has steadily grown, and as you can see, our territory has lost its former glory. We are growing again thanks to his lord, but if we cannot defeat the predator of the forest, we’re ultimately just building a castle on sand.”

“...A predator?”

“I have only heard rumors myself that there is a ruler who dominates the forest. I apologize for asking this of you, adventurers, but would you be able to offer some assistance?”

[Will you accept 『The Ruler of the Gloomy Forest』?]

This signaled the continuation of the main quest, which had been stalled for some time.

“Of course. We’ll look into it,” Hyeonsu replied.

It was the end of their seemingly endless labor. The number of bandit players was dwindling, creating the perfect environment to focus solely on the quest.

“Kenji just hit level 50, so we must be in first place, right?” Yeseul chirped.

“You never know. They have a lot of money,” Seolah reminded her.

“Tch. A guy who just throws money at the game,” Yeseul grumbled, a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. As the ones in the lead, the emergence of a powerful competitor was naturally a concern.

“First, let’s find this forest,” Hyeonsu suggested.

“The monsters there will be super high-level, won’t they?” Yeseul asked.

“...Probably.”

But the three of them knew this was no time to worry about others. The quest they had just received—to investigate the ruler of the forest—would almost certainly lead to another quest to defeat it. Even the monsters in the surrounding hunting grounds were difficult to handle without the rabbits. A named monster deeper in the forest would be there...

“We might have to level up more...” Seolah mused.

“Agh!” Yeseul groaned.

She might have screamed, but it was a cold, hard fact. Fantastic World wasn’t a game that catered to its players. If your level was too low or your stats were lacking, it was up to you to fix it; the game wouldn’t help. Effort, patience, and skill—you needed them all to get anywhere in this world. The minimum starting level for Act 2 of the main quest might be 50, but the appropriate level to complete it could be much higher. Just like in other games, you’d start a main quest, level up by following it, and by the time you could clear the higher-difficulty quests, you’d be at the right level to start the next main quest.

“Well, at least we have a goal now,” Seolah said.

“Let’s go,” Hyeonsu agreed.

The Specialists headed north, following the same path Han Simin’s carriage had taken.

* * *

“Unni, are you sure this is our first time here?” Yeseul asked.

“I think so...”

“Then what’s with this familiar feeling?”

Finding the Gloomy Forest hadn’t been difficult. They followed an open road until it disappeared, and beyond it lay a forest that exuded a dark atmosphere even in broad daylight. It felt like a ghost could pop out at any moment. Standing at the entrance, they understood why people stayed away and why the Empire had given up on conquering it.

But the Specialists had to enter regardless. As they stepped inside, they were taken aback by an unexpected sense of familiarity.

“Was there a hunting ground like this before?” Hyeonsu wondered aloud.

“I doubt it,” Seolah replied.

“Then why does it look so familiar to me?” Yeseul asked.

“Me too. What about you, Oppa?” Seolah turned to her brother.

“...I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere, too.”

Forgetting they were in a dangerous hunting ground, the three of them racked their brains. Where could they have seen it? A place with this kind of atmosphere wasn’t easy to find. Besides, even though they had been playing for months, they had only been through a handful of hunting grounds, usually staying in one place until they had gained five or ten levels.

“Hmmmm.”

“Mmmm.”

No matter how hard they thought, they couldn’t remember. Just as they were about to give up and proceed with the hunt, an unsettling feeling lingered, and Yeseul suddenly shouted.

“Ah! I remember!”

“...Really?” Hyeonsu asked, skeptical.

“What is it?” Seolah prompted.

It was a cry that inspired absolutely no confidence, but they decided to hear her out. Ignoring their skepticism, Yeseul proudly puffed out her chest and flaunted her knowledge.

“Come on! It’s the place that was on the stream a few days ago!”

“What stream?”

“Simin’s stream! The background, where he was opening the chest—wasn’t it here?”

“...Ah!”

Finally, the memories surfaced from their subconscious. They had been so focused on the box opening and its contents that they hadn’t paid any attention to the surroundings.

“Let’s watch it again.”

Watching the $10 video again confirmed it. The gloomy background, the sun-starved forest, the damp, enormous trees.

“Does that mean Simin is here?” Yeseul asked.

“...Just how far does he go to enhance something?” Hyeonsu muttered in disbelief.

“That’s just Simin for you,” Seolah said with a shrug. He’d always been like that; it was almost funny to be surprised by it now. She nodded nonchalantly. It was plausible he was here. But her thoughts went further.

“Or maybe... while we were getting adjusted, he could have already found and killed the ruler of the forest...”

“...Come on, Unni. That’s just too much,” Yeseul said, though her expression hardened.

‘What if that’s what really happened?’

Their steps quickened as they ventured deeper into the forest.

10.

The navigation never lied. It had faithfully guided Simin to the final location for enhancing the +14 egg. There was just one tiny problem.

“Is this really the place?”

A massive cave loomed in the distance. The feeling was coming from inside, but his instincts screamed that going in there was a terrible idea.

‘...Seriously, does this Betago bastard have a grudge against me?’

It was obviously dangerous. The tigers prowling around the entrance were terrifying enough. As good as Simin’s items were and as high as his stats were for his level, the tigers he’d already encountered were no pushovers. And the prime spot was inside a den teeming with them?

“If this egg has a damn chick inside, I’m throwing it to the tigers as feed.”

He couldn’t help but sigh. What was he supposed to do? To get in there and swing his hammer, he’d have to kill all the tigers, but he had barely managed to kill one, and using the magic scroll from the box was out of the question.

“I’d rather not enhance it at all.”

Even if he used it, there was no guarantee he’d come out on top. A frontal assault was impossible. That left only one option.

‘What if I go over and ask if I can just borrow their cave for a minute...?’

Of course, that was just as ridiculous as the guy who’d demanded the SS-rank magic scroll.

“Haaah.”

It meant he was on his own. Simin sat down and began to think. How could he do this? Honestly, he felt like giving up and going back to auction off the magic scroll, but he’d come so far, and it felt like a waste of time to turn back now. He decided to think for a little while longer and head back if he couldn’t come up with anything.

He took a breath and cleared his mind, trying to look at the situation from a third-person perspective. Forcing it wouldn’t yield any good ideas. In times like these, it was best to let go and see what came to mind.

“Ah!”

Just then, a brilliant idea popped into his head.

‘...But can I really do this?’

The idea was so audacious that even he, a man without a shred of conscience, hesitated for a moment. The hesitation didn’t last long; it was the only way he could think of.

‘Ah, whatever. What’s the worst that could happen?’

He’d just die, that’s all. His mind made up, Simin turned and walked in the opposite direction.

* * *

The Specialists encountered a monkey. Luckily, there was only one, but the unfamiliarity of the forest and the lack of information about their enemy forced them to use all their strength to hunt it.

It was exhausting, and impossible not to frown. They had gained a lot of experience, but it was hardly efficient. They would have earned far more experience hunting in a lower-level area for the same amount of time.

“It would’ve been nice to have the rabbits.”

It was a shame, but the rabbits wouldn’t venture beyond a certain range, likely due to a condition Simin had set to keep them near his territory. That made things more difficult and daunting.

“Huh?” Yeseul said suddenly.

In the distance, they caught sight of a plume of smoke.

“What’s that?” Hyeonsu asked.

The smoke was coming from deeper in the forest. It was hard to see through the gloom, but something was definitely rising into the sky from between the dark trees. It was clearly smoke.

“Why is there smoke in the forest?” Seolah wondered.

No one could answer. If it was what they were all thinking, it was something they couldn’t quite believe.

* * *

Episode 79