Chapter 3 - The Ultimate, Legendary Enhancement Master (2)

　　The enhancement content in Fantastic World also went up to +15. From +5, a failed enhancement would cause the level to drop and damage the item’s durability. From +8, a chance of the item being destroyed was added. Furthermore, from +10, the failure rate was said to be more than three times higher than the success rate, and the destruction rate was even higher than that. It was a shortcut to ruin on par with The World. Of course, no player had actually confirmed this yet, but the NPCs were well aware of the difficulty.

　　“Don’t be ridiculous.”

　　The muscular enhancement shop NPC with a bushy beard sneered.

　　“Ridiculous? Are you looking down on players?” Simin shot back.

　　“They say adventurers are arrogant beyond measure. I see it’s true.”

　　“Let’s call it confidence, not arrogance.” Han Simin retorted without being intimidated. He was overflowing with confidence. “Just don’t be surprised. Where do I go to enhance?”

　　He had no desire to waste his emotions bickering with an NPC. As he tried to move towards an anvil, the NPC blocked his path.

　　“Give me the weapon, money, and enhancement stones, and I’ll enhance it for you.”

　　“…You mean I don’t do it myself?”

　　“Do you even have the enhancement skill?”

　　“Ah.”

　　Right. Han Simin nodded in understanding. In most games, the enhancement system was a basic feature available to all players, but the game he was currently playing was a virtual reality game with limitless freedom created by an artificial intelligence. In a world where some players played just to farm, it was only natural that enhancement was something that had to be learned as a proper skill.

　　“Then teach me.”

　　The enhancement shop NPC shook his head at the bold demand and returned to his spot.

　　“Excuse me?”

　　The NPC remained silent.

　　“Sir?”

　　No response.

　　Seeing a complete lack of the infinite kindness usually shown to players, Han Simin finally understood the meaning of the statement Goggle Inc. had released before the game’s launch.

　　[Fantastic World is another world. The residents there are not NPCs, but inhabitants of that world, and each one is a person with a personality. Naturally, they are not helpers for the players, and players, too, should approach the game with the mindset of adventuring in another world rather than just playing a game to ensure smooth growth.]

　　So that’s what they meant.

　　This man wouldn’t listen to a word from a penniless level 1 adventurer. The thought of such a ridiculous game existing made Simin’s desire to conquer it burn even brighter. It was a sentiment like, This is the first time an NPC has treated a player like this! Fortunately for him, Han Simin was pragmatic enough to compromise with the world.

　　“Master!”

　　He immediately ran over, knelt before the NPC sitting at the counter, and bowed deeply.

　　“Wh-what?”

　　“Master, please tell me, your disciple, what he should do first.”

　　The man was too stunned to speak.

　　“Should I start by making a meal?”

　　Enhancement was Simin’s life and the reason he started playing this game. Without the enhancement skill, he had no way to make money, no way to cover his monthly rent, game subscription fees, or living expenses. The reason he had been able to earn so much money and deck out his character in The World was not because he was good at the game, but because he possessed the ability to guarantee successful enhancements.

　　The same applied to Fantastic World. While Simin was proud of being better at games than the average person, he didn’t think he had the same level of talent as the so-called top-tier rankers. But to earn that kind of money, he had to climb to where they were. To do that, he needed his special ability. The enhancement skill was the medium to bring out that ability.

　　“Please, Master.”

　　“…Hah. Adventurers are truly amusing.”

　　“Actually, I have an incredible talent for enhancement! You’ll be shocked when you see it, really!”

　　“Enhancement is a matter of effort and the luck bestowed by the gods. There is no such thing as talent.”

　　“N-no, that’s not it. Don’t you want to see a straight shot to +15 with a 100% success rate? Believe it or not, I was the first person to succeed at a +15 enhancement in another world.”

　　This was practically begging. Han Simin poured his heart into his plea.

　　The enhancement shop NPC frowned deeply. His already fierce face crumpled even more, creating a menacing atmosphere.

　　Is he going to hit me?

　　Han Simin flinched but didn’t back down. Even if he got hit, it would only be his character. After a long staring contest, the NPC finally gave in.

　　“Fine. If you help with odd jobs for ten days, I’ll teach you the basics of enhancement.”

　　“Oh! Thank you, Master!”

　　All he had was a single silver coin in his pocket. The game boasted excessive realism, so there was no inventory. Such a pauper had just gotten the chance to learn the enhancement skill for free.

　　[Khan’s Errand]

　　* Grade: C

　　* Content: Help Khan with his errands for ten days and learn the enhancement technique!

　　* Reward: Acquire ‘Enhancement (F)’

　　Ten days is nothing.

　　While the rankers were leveling up, monopolizing hunting grounds ahead of others, and earning money from new items, Han Simin’s method of making money was to acquire good items, enhance them, and sell them to those rankers at a high price. Therefore, the first ten days were crucial and not to be missed, but if it was for the sake of obtaining the enhancement skill, it was a price he was willing to pay. It might even be better for the players’ levels to rise a bit.

　　[Quest Accepted.]

　　Besides, how much work could this bored-looking enhancement shop NPC possibly give him? Simin planned to laze around, get used to the game, and maybe do a little hunting on the side. Of course, it didn’t take long for him to realize that this was just his own wishful thinking.

　　3.

　　[You cannot leave the castle without Khan’s permission.]

　　“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

　　Han Simin, exhausted from being bossed around by Khan—who had him cleaning the sizable enhancement shop, taking out the trash, and delivering various letters to NPCs within the castle—frowned at the system message that popped up when he tried to sneak out for a bit of hunting.

　　“You are restricted from leaving. Go back.”

　　A hologram kindly explained why the castle guards were blocking him, so he simply turned back. Unlike other games where you could just kill the NPCs and leave, the castle gatekeepers in Fantastic World, tasked with the important duty of protecting the castle, were undoubtedly at a much higher level than a level 1 player. With nowhere else to go, Han Simin trudged back to the enhancement shop and slumped into a chair.

　　“Sigh.”

　　“What’s a young man like you sighing for?”

　　“It’s because my damn master is exploiting me for free labor under the guise of gaining experience.”

　　“If you don’t want to learn, you can quit at any time.”

　　“Who said I didn’t want to?”

　　No player enjoys running errands for someone else in a game, especially not the men of South Korea who have experienced military service. Han Simin expressed his dissatisfaction just enough not to get on the NPC’s bad side.

　　“I mean, it’s not like I’m asking for a legendary-grade item for you to just teach me how to enhance…”

　　“So you don’t want to learn?” Khan asked.

　　“Of course not. I was just wondering if five days would be better than ten…”

　　“What a ridiculous fellow. If my curiosity hadn’t been piqued by your absurd nonsense, you wouldn’t have even gotten that.”

　　“What nonsense?” Simin asked.

　　“That talk about succeeding at a +15 enhancement. You weren’t lying just to learn the enhancement skill, were you?”

　　“Of course not, but are you seriously telling me you agreed to teach me because of that?” Simin was surprised.

　　He looked at Khan with a sliver of hope, but his expression was serious.

　　“It’s unbelievable, but you didn’t seem to be lying,” Khan stated.

　　Did this old man have any conscience?

　　“You’re not unaware of the success rate for a +15 enhancement, are you?” Simin asked.

　　“0.001%. Using a legendary blessing stone can raise it to 0.005%.”

　　“And you believed me when I said I could succeed at that?”

　　“Of course, I don’t believe it to that extent. But you will have to at least prove your words by reaching +10.”

　　“And if I fail?”

　　“Naturally, I’ll have to take back the skill I taught you," Khan said firmly.

　　What? The probability of even reaching +10 was ridiculously low. No one was touching the enhancement content yet, but just looking at the numbers, the success rate for +10 was 20%. He was supposed to succeed in a straight shot from +1, with only a one-in-five chance?

　　“Does that make any sense?”

　　“It doesn’t. If you’re not confident, quit now.”

　　To Han Simin, it did make sense. His complaint wasn’t about the absurd condition itself.

　　“Well then, teach me now. Let me show you right away so I can learn the skill and leave,” Simin demanded.

　　If he was going to take it back upon failure anyway, why make him work for ten days! If Khan had the ability to teach a player and then take the skill back, as he claimed, there was no chance of learning it and running off. Besides, Khan was surely capable of killing a level 1 player like him with a single finger, so there was no problem.

　　“Thinking about it, this is ridiculous. In the end, we’re making a deal because of your curiosity, right? Then you could just teach me and see for yourself, old man. Why are you trying to exploit someone’s precious child?” Simin continued.

　　“Old man?”

　　“What else would I call you? You haven’t taught me anything yet, so should I treat you like a master?”

　　Simin suddenly felt wronged. Other people were already out of the castle, hunting rabbits, some were on adventures, and they were all leveling up, while he had been stuck here for over ten hours doing nothing but useless cleaning. He would have been less frustrated if his stats had at least increased for his hard work, but that wasn’t the case either. When he accepted the quest, he thought ten days would be fine, but hearing that the skill would be taken back if he failed made his resolve waver. He had no doubt he would succeed in reaching +10, but you never know what might happen in life. He couldn’t be certain, as he had already confirmed in The World that his success rate for a +15 enhancement was only around 70%.

　　“It seems you adventurers don’t know much.”

　　“What don’t I know?! I know everything I need to know.”

　　But Khan remained calm.

　　“There are only a few enhancement masters on the continent who possess the enhancement skill. At most, not even a hundred. Furthermore, like a blacksmith’s secret techniques, it’s passed down from generation to generation within a family, so an adventurer has no chance of learning it unless they do something like save the enhancement master’s family.”

　　There was a reason for his composure. Han Simin’s pouting lips slightly retracted after hearing Khan’s explanation.

　　“Is that so?”

　　From the start, there wasn’t much information about Fantastic World released to the players. The game company only disclosed what was permitted for viewing. Naturally, there was no way to know about the world’s lore or the rarity of in-game jobs.

　　“The only reason I’m teaching you is because I found it strange that an adventurer knew about enhancement masters, and if it’s truly possible—if you are someone who can defy the probabilities set by the gods—it would be advantageous for my family to take you in. Did you really think I would teach a secret technique to a rookie adventurer?”

　　Han Simin quietly nodded at Khan’s piercing words. There was no way to argue. Because…

　　It means this damn enhancement master is in the absolute position of power.

　　And Han Simin was the subordinate.

　　“Ten days? I can run errands for twenty!”

　　The subordinate’s rebellion quickly subsided.

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