Part 2. One Ten-Thousandth (3)
Flash—
\+8. Success.
Flash—
\+9. Success.
Two consecutive successes.
In that brief moment, a 1-in-100 probability had come to Ted.
The moment he grasped the successful +9 musket in his hand, Ted’s hands began to tremble.
‘+9? Did it really hit +9?’
Statistically, it had become 5.1 times stronger than the original Black and White.
That was directly linked to Ted’s attack power. Right now, after what had just happened, Ted was five times stronger than yesterday’s Ted.
‘At this level, I might be able to roll the dice 1:1 with that bastard Rangwa. It’d only be about 10%, but I could win.’
There are two kinds of rankings.
1. Arena Ranking
2. Level Ranking.
Rangwa, with a level in the early 700s, had fluctuated between single and double digits in the level rankings. Even so, he never fell out of the top 20 ranks.
In comparison, Ted was barely holding onto the 1,000th place in the level rankings.
Because the world was vast, and there were plenty of people with levels in the early 600s.
Yet such a Ted had estimated his win rate against Rangwa.
The power of a five-fold increase in pure attack strength was just that immense.
‘Besides, how many times has a +9 ever even been traded?’
From the exact moment Soul Engraving succeeded eight times, the weapon could no longer be owned by an individual.
A nation would step in to purchase the ownership, or a large guild would scramble to preempt it.
Then they would divide the shares and lend it out to users who would become their power.
‘A +9 is worth hundreds of billions of won. It’s a strategic weapon all by itself…’
A weapon that lets you hunt monsters that can’t be caught—+9.
On top of that, since it was a musket with high single-shot attack power, its value far surpassed that of a dagger or wand of the same grade.
Ted looked at his Black and White once more.
Then he swung the long gun and smacked himself in the head.
Thwack—!
“Ugh….”
He had wanted to confirm whether this unbelievable situation was real.
‘It’s not a dream.’
There was no need to rush. He decided to calmly judge the situation.
Hundreds of billions of won.
Was the value great?
It was great.
Terrifyingly great. So great that Ted had never touched such an amount in his life, and never would again.
He recalled the rule that 9 is greater than 10.
It was a rule stating that something of which there are only 9 is more valuable than something of which there are 10.
Scarcity is value!
However, as far as Ted knew, there were only eight +9 Unique items known to the world.
‘Now those eight have become nine….’
As the value began to sink in, his hands started shaking.
‘Next is the +10, called the ‘Final Enhancement’.’
Among weapons known to the world, there were no +10s.
Only once every few years, there would be reports of someone failing an enhancement at +9.
Ted knew of four weapons that had been broken that way.
That was why +10 was commonly called the ‘Final Enhancement’ among Face Chronicle users.
In Ted’s memory, the game company had mentioned it as a ‘rumor.’ Meaning the possibility was wide open.
‘+10 has always had a lot of rumors anyway….’
Because it was extremely rare and had never been revealed, +10 especially attracted many rumors.
That was a typical example.
It had been dismissed as a rumor born from the enhancement’s name being
And now.
Ted stood at the crossroads of confirming that very fact.
‘Ha… you really see everything if you live long enough.’
The self-proclaimed icon of misfortune meeting such an important moment—his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
Because this was the first moment in his life he had felt so nervous and excited.
It was then.
A warning status window popped up.
He hastily controlled his breathing and calmed his chest.
The game was so realistic that it seemed even Cheon Gyeongu’s chest—connected to Ted—was pounding.
‘Calm down. Be cool-headed. Judge. Be cool-headed. Be cool-headed. I am ice. I am an icicle. I am a snowman. Let’s recall a bad comedian’s forced gag. A seated presidential election.’
He desperately calmed his burning chest.
Then, he began tapping away at the calculator in his head again.
The current +9 was definitely expensive. But….
‘No matter how much money I might get, I don’t want to lose Ted. Ted is my life and the proof of my youth. Don’t think about money. I’m living well enough without lacking anything now. Yeah, let’s forget every other complicated thing. I’m carving out a new life for myself right now.’
“Inventory!”
Having made his decision, Ted opened his inventory.
A translucent storage cabinet appeared in the air. An item repository only Ted could see.
Ted took out a potion from the cabinet labeled
A drug Ted had kept to use in extreme situations.
‘Don’t overturn my current thoughts. I’m more precious than money. And so is the character I’ve poured my feelings into!’
This was the conclusion after long thought.
Without hesitation, he poured the potion into his mouth.
A potion to shatter everything before death! However, because physical control was lost, he had been waiting for the right time and hadn’t used it yet.
But now was exactly the right time.
Soon, rage surged up from Ted’s chest.
Rage with no discernible source and a foggy mind.
Following that, the dizzying rush of a pleasure that felt like being completely submerged in drugs.
It was the effect of the status ailment, [Mental Weakness].
The burning fury of Berserk erased Ted’s fear of failure in his heart.
‘I can do it! I can do it!’
His hands shook uncontrollably, and the pupils of his eyes dilated.
But the thoughts of Cheon Gyeongu, who had been robbed of control over Ted’s body—even at that moment, they spun tirelessly.
‘The number of enhancements needed to completely overthrow Alababa and CGTV.’
Alababa and CGTV also possessed +9 weapons, or weapons equivalent to them.
Needless to say about the +6 or +7 below that. Most likely, the top-ranked users in their guilds would have them.
Even so, the difference was 1.2 times per enhancement level.
So, +9 wouldn’t cut it.
With a muddled head, Ted tapped the calculator.
‘Damn it, it needs to be at least 32 times stronger. Even +18 wouldn’t be enough. Shit! +19, I need +19!’
By this point, it was probably correct to say that not only Ted but also Cheon Gyeongu’s mind was gone.
“Enhance!!”
“My lucky friend. Are you serious right now?”
“Don’t make me say it twice! You damn blacksmith bastard!”
“Hehe, my friend. You seemed to be taking a strange drug; I suppose it was a narcotic.”
Around that time, a change came over the blacksmith NPC as well.
When Ted had first come to him, the nameplate floating above his head had been
The characteristic of a simple repetitive NPC was that no name was written there.
But now, a name and even a title had appeared above the blacksmith NPC’s head.
The title
Not only that. When the +9 succeeded, his forearms had visibly thickened.
The NPC before his eyes, Braman, had gained an enormous number of levels in just ten minutes.
So through the system, he had been reborn from a simple repetitive NPC into a free-will NPC.
“Although I have been enhancing your Unique weapon until now, honestly speaking, I am afraid. I don’t have the confidence to keep enhancing this weapon. And the moment it fails… this precious thing will shatter.”
Braman, now a free-will NPC, spoke to Ted.
Most likely, this man would soon be called a master artisan, and this remote village would flourish greatly.
Because many users would come seeking the Miracle Blacksmith.
Additionally, the fact that enhancement probability had risen slightly was also a gain for Ted.
“Yaaaaah! You bastard! How many times do I have to tell you! I’m fine! Everything is fine! You’d better do it before I shove my damn musket up your ass! You son of a biiiitch!!”
Ted, who had lost his mind, shrieked and threw Black and White at Braman.
“Oooooh! Very well! You are my benefactor who has brought me fortune, so I too shall trust you and try once! Here I go, enhance!!”
Braman received the musket and began disassembling it.
He was no longer a simple repetitive NPC. The sequence of each and every action began to unfold according to the motions of a high-level blacksmith, becoming visible to the eye.
Braman handled Black and White in order. It was a short time, but he melted it in the bellows’ fire and struck it with a hammer, reconfiguring the internal structure to unleash even greater power.
And when he at last finished the enhancement.
Flash—!
A bright light burst forth.
“Yaaaah! It’s a success! A success!!”
Braman exclaimed in shock and handed the completed +10 Black and White to Ted.
It was then.
Kuuuu—
Suddenly, black smoke gathered above Braman and Ted’s heads, formed a cloud-like shape, and began to spin.
From within that cloud, a hand emerged.
Soon, following the hand, something pushed its way into the smithy—arm, body, and even head.
A single black horn. And a gray body. A physique that looked incredibly tough at a glance.
What’s more, embarrassingly, it was naked.
—Greetings. One who called me. Just as you sought me, I too sought you.
Ted’s eyes returned to reality for a moment and wavered. It was a demon.
‘What is this filthy-looking thing? Was the rumor true?’
The moment Soul Engraving +10 succeeded, a demon had come to find Ted.
—Human. Form a contract with me. Let us make a blood vow.
—Hehe… It shall be the opportunity of a lifetime….
Brukeushan, who had spoken, faltered.
Because Ted’s two eyes were spinning in different directions.
The drugged Ted had no more worries.
Only straight ahead.
“You dangling bastard! Who are you to contract with me? How would a guy like you be any help?!”
—Wh-what?
“Braman! Enhance again!”
“Oh, going again! Understood! Here I coooome!!”
By that point, Braman too had lost his eyes to the surging desire for victory.
Braman began disassembling the musket with skilled hands. At the same time, the demon scattered into the air like smoke.
—Human? Huma—aaaaaaan! Yaaaaah!!
That was the final moment of the demon, Brukeushan.