God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 144: Episode 28_A Master of Self-Control (3)

4.

The Mist Merchant hurried toward a group of players who were in the middle of a hunt.

“Huh? The Mist Merchant?”

“What’s going on? I’ve never seen him come into an area with monsters before.”

KIIEEEK!

His sudden, frantic appearance was a stark departure from his usual demeanor. Then, without a word of explanation, the Mist Merchant pulled something from his robes and shoved it toward them.

“Wh-what the?”

“Damn it, we’re in the middle of a hunt. What is this?”

KEEEK!

However, the clueless monsters that charged in were not pleased with the uninvited guest. That, in turn, irritated the already-hurried Mist Merchant.

“Beat it.”

THUD.

“Yipe!”

The monster went flying from a single blow.

The players’ eyes lit up. ’So the Mist Merchant really is strong.’

They were still savoring this new piece of information when the merchant finally spoke.

“You are sufficiently qualified. I shall give you a gift.”

He held something out to them. It was a rainbow-colored ore—not just one or two, but ten whole pieces.

Even without knowing what it was, anyone could see it looked expensive, and the players were no exception.

“Whoa. You’re giving this to us? How much is it?”

“It’s free.”

“What?! Why?”

“Because you have traded with me often, this is your due reward.”

“...But this is our first time here today.”

“...”

The Mist Merchant’s hand paused for a moment, but he didn’t change his mind.

“Here.”

He practically shoved the items into their hands and hurried away as if to escape. The players left behind tilted their heads in confusion.

“What was that?”

“Beats me.”

“Isn’t that merchant supposed to be insanely money-hungry?”

“Was that just a rumor? What even is this rainbow ore?”

“Just looking at it, it’s gotta be pricey.”

“Should we post about it on the community forums?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Whatever the reason, they certainly hadn’t lost out. The Mist Merchant had suddenly appeared, killed a monster for them without even taking the corpse, and then, suspicious as it was, had given them ten beautiful, unknown ores for free before leaving.

Even if they sold for 100 silver each, that was a profit of 1,000 silver, free and clear. They took pride simply in the fact that they had received something from the Mist Merchant. On the community forums, they had seen plenty of posts about people casually blowing hundreds of gold just to get a single extra line of dialogue or a quest from him, which made this feel even more satisfying.

With a smug expression, one of them started writing up a post right there on the spot. He snapped a few proof screenshots and spent a long time composing a lengthy bragging post.

And then—

KKU-EONG?

Their second gift arrived.

* * *

When you give up, don’t look back—just give up.

Since I had held out for so long, I needed to be decisive. In the end, throwing away the ore was the same as throwing it away to save my life. So, to ensure my survival, I started thinking harder.

’A beautiful world where everyone lives together.’

Wasn’t that the true motto of 『Fantastic World』?

I invented a motto that BetaGo had never once declared and began scattering the ore everywhere. I didn’t even have to go out of my way to find players to share it with. The Unknown Mountains were already packed with spots rumored to be “honey pot” hunting grounds—areas where you’d often find more players than monsters.

It seemed to be working, because I felt the otter bastard’s pursuit slow down a little.

“Whew.”

Once I had a moment to catch my breath, the thought of trying to salvage at least a little of the ore crept back in, but I shook my head. After being chased for several days, I had learned that even if I escaped the Unknown Mountains, that thing would chase me to the opposite side of the continent.

I still didn’t know why. I vaguely guessed it was some kind of mine warden, but what did that matter? The problem was that I had gotten greedy trying to make a quick buck and had been badly burned for it.

’I wonder if any player out there can deal with that damn otter.’

In truth, this was the real reason I wasn’t just dumping the ore anywhere, but deliberately handing it out to players. I wanted to secure my own safety while not completely giving up on that sliver of possibility. I didn’t really believe that players could handle something I couldn’t, but you never knew how things would turn out in this world.

So I decided to set the board and moved diligently.

’If I hype it up a bit, say it’s probably a named monster or a boss related to the main quest, they’ll form a raid party on their own.’

The easiest thing in the world is to start a rumor. You don’t need to present evidence, and you don’t need to explain anything logically. You just take something people want to believe, sprinkle it in, and say, “I heard that’s what it is,” and you’re done.

In a world full of people who fall for things that make no sense at all, I had even dressed this up to look plausible. A monster that grows stronger by eating ore. A leader-type monster that commands other monsters.

’Is it actually the real boss?’

It was hard to call it just a named monster, since it was dragging around monsters of entirely different species as if they were its underlings. It was a story I had made up on the spot, but for a moment, I started to doubt myself.

’I don’t know.’

Whatever it was, if it died, that would be great. After all, I was the only one holding the map that showed the locations of the other mines.

* * *

The sparks of chaos spread across the entire Unknown Mountains. Of course they did—I had been throwing ore at every player I saw.

From the perspective of a clueless third party, it was just an item given out by a hidden NPC in the Unknown Mountains, so they took it without a second thought. But from the otter’s point of view, it was proof that every human who had invaded the Unknown Mountains was in on it together.

KKU-EOOONG!

The monsters gathered. What choice did they have? It was an order from the master of the mountain range. Whether the fog was up or down, any player near the otter holding ore would be hit by a massive monster assault.

Naturally, no player could stop it. A handful of monsters could always be hunted, but the horde gathered around the otter was large enough to flatten a decent-sized territory.

Players in the mountains were logged out by force.

The community forums quickly filled with posts proving it. Most of them went up right after posts about receiving something from the Mist Merchant. Players easily put two and two together.

[The ore the Secret Merchant gave out and the massive monster raids... these two things have to be related, right?]

[I heard he’s handing it out to random players. Is this actually tied to the main quest?]

[Didn’t they say the Kenji Guild got a bunch of clues? Has anything come of that yet?]

[I’m watching the stream, but the Kenji Guild hasn’t gotten anything yet.]

[So what are we supposed to do? Can we keep hunting?]

[Should we be throwing the ore away? Even if we respawn, if the ore is what’s triggering the monster raids...]

And then, slipping quietly between the comments, came the devil’s touch.

[I got hit too. They’re saying that otter-looking thing is probably a named or boss monster. Our party’s combat power is decent, so before we got completely surrounded, we figured we’d try hitting it once and charge in. At first, it seemed like we were doing okay, but then it suddenly ate the ore in its hand and got even stronger. I think it’s some kind of broken ability.]

The bait was tossed, and they bit all on their own.

[Huh? I think I saw it eat ore too.]

[Same. Right before I died, I saw it shove something that looked like a rock into its mouth. Was that ore?]

[Why the hell is it eating that?]

[If it really gets stronger from eating that stuff, that’s insane.]

[Damn, chills. So that’s why it’s chasing people holding ore?]

[Then what’s the Mist Merchant’s deal? Is he stealing the ore that otter bastard wants and handing it out to players?]

[But why?]

Such is the terror of the rumor mill. The follow-up story was, of course, also just a rumor, but it produced the most beautiful, spine-tingling result.

[Isn’t this the final Chapter of the main quest? Why else would he dump ore on players? An NPC who one-shots monsters with his bare fists?]

[...Holy crap.]

[Defeat the boss monster.]

[It’s the end of the final Chapter of Main Quest Act 2!]

In front of a keyboard, anyone can be a game scenario writer.

The players went wild. Even those who were too low-level to set foot in the Unknown Mountains cheered. 『Fantastic World’s』 main quest was fascinating even if you only followed along by watching. It was still in its early stages, with nothing revealed yet, but that was the unique charm of such a realistic game. The flow of the quest changed depending on how the players chose to tackle it.

[But aren’t most of the players in the mountains still not qualified to challenge the final Chapter of Main Quest Act 2?]

[Yeah. Far as I know, only the Specialists, the Kenji Guild, and a few others have actually met the requirements.]

Even in the midst of the hype, there were people raising logical, reasonable doubts.

[It’s 『Fantastic World』, so it could still be possible. Who cares about the order? In the end, the one who saves the world is the hero.]

[Wow, this really is a god-tier game.]

People only believe what they want to believe and only see what they want to see.

And then, the final exclamation point landed.

[Kenji: This is Kenji, Guild Master of the Kenji Guild. As of this moment, I have received a large quantity of rainbow ore from the Mist Merchant, along with a quest to defeat the final boss that is the source of the fog in the mountains. Therefore, I intend to form another expedition.]

The betrayer had returned.

[Kenji: I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate incident last time. Back then, we had no information whatsoever about the mountains, and the situation left us no choice, but things are different now. I am recruiting seasoned players who have adapted to the mountains. Players who wish to clear the main quest and share in the rewards, do not hesitate to contact me.]

What shameless words. Naturally, the post was flooded with curses, but the expedition came together smoothly.

This time was different. Most of the players were top-tier. If they wanted, they could even receive a physical, registered contract in real life. Even if the Kenji Guild tried to backstab them again, the rest of the players could band together and hit them with a backlash so severe that the Kenji Guild would be the one to suffer.

The expedition was built on two grand premises: take down the otter and claim the main quest rewards, and stop the ever-increasing difficulty of the mountains to keep milking this honey pot for as long as possible.

Players who had once been slaughtered by the monster horde joined this more cautious expedition, and their numbers swelled even further. They advanced as one.

It was the raid of the century.

Viewership for the Kenji Guild’s stream skyrocketed. This was a first: a massive war between players and monsters. And not against rabbits or wolves, but a disadvantageous expedition into the enemy’s fog-shrouded territory.

There was no way it wouldn’t be exciting. It promised to be more spectacular than any movie with fancy CGI—magic flying through the air, swords and shields swinging, and blood spraying across the battlefield.

In reality, it was every bit as intense. Even the standoff was thrilling.

“Wow. This is insane. It’s a movie. A real movie.”

Han Simin was watching it too, with the Specialists sitting beside him.

“Man. I can’t believe this really turned out to be a treasure map.”

“It’s not a treasure map. Strictly speaking, it’s a clue to clearing the main quest,” Seolah corrected.

“Still, who would’ve guessed it was a mine? Unless you’re a lunatic like Simin, who would think to clear the main quest first?” Yeseul chimed in.

“Okay, okay, no time for small talk. We have to move fast and clean this place out before the war ends so we can sell everything.”

The only difference was that the real action wasn’t on the screen, but right where Simin was.

As Kenji muttered to himself for the sake of his performance and victory, the two sides charged. Those who wanted to protect and those who wanted to seize clashed—and the work began.

“It’s not like the ore has honey smeared on it. As long as we grab it while they’re distracted, no one will notice.”

The thief—no, the ever-faithful-to-his-roots Simin—had dumped all of his problems onto other people and was now right back to looting the mines.