Ch.118118. Enhancement Gacha

I established one rule when logging out.

“When I leave, I’ll create at least one equipment item to put up for auction.”

Consistency is important.

Items that appear just when people are about to forget will be the key to keeping the name “Gwangjin Distribution” consistently in their minds.

Not just a company that luckily finds and sells good merchandise once or twice.

To secure a definite first place, I need to gain the trust that comes from having a reliable supply source.

Of course, many already say we’re ranked first in evaluations.

We’ve already received trillions of won in investment for sound-absorbing stones, and if we can handle that properly, many are already predicting we’ll proudly rise to become the undisputed industry leader next year.

Because of this, I hear that the current number one, Hyunjong Distribution, and several other companies are joining forces to check Gwangjin Distribution’s growth, but with even Hansu Group, Hyunjong’s parent company, investing to acquire sound-absorbing stones, their efforts are unlikely to succeed.

Although an American company won the auction, that doesn’t mean the companies that couldn’t buy have any reason to harbor ill will toward Gwangjin Distribution.

That’s why I set the VIP membership as a condition for auction participation.

Sound-absorbing stones aren’t the only items appearing in VIP auctions.

Valuable resources coming in the future.

Even if they’re not equipment items, resources that can only be purchased through VIP auctions might not help companies that couldn’t buy sound-absorbing stones extract profits beyond their investment value, but they can at least provide opportunities.

Influx.

It’s essentially a rule for additional influx.

So that hunters too might aspire to become VIP members.

The criteria for individuals and companies should differ slightly, and we’ll need to further divide between VVIP and VIP.

That’s how it gradually becomes more segmented and grows.

And the rest will continue as before.

This time, hair loss medication and elixirs will be the main menu.

To create one or two additional auction equipment pieces, I visited the village again.

Enhancement.

That’s what I planned to do.

“Let’s see.”

The item I brought for enhancement was [Greatsword of Madness].

The Greatsword of Madness hadn’t been used for attacks for long and was a weapon I liked, but in a situation where I could now commission SS-grade weapons from Kukum, it would eventually be replaced.

I still needed to use the Sewer Sword for its mana consumption reduction effect when using Leap.

So this was the perfect time to enhance and sell it.

The options themselves were already so good that when I first got it, I thought, “Wow, this will drive people crazy,” so I didn’t need to worry about whether it would sell.

[Greatsword of Madness +0 > Greatsword of Madness +1 Enhancement Materials Required]

– Enhancement Stone (Normal): 0 / 40 (Enhancement Success Rate 60%)

– Support Stone (Normal): 0 / 10 (Enhancement Success Rate +0% / 20%)

– Protection Stone (Normal): 0 / 20

“Yes. This is normal enhancement.”

It might have seemed strange when I first checked enhancement content with the Ring of Corruption, but this was normal in the Farming World.

No matter if it’s an S-grade item, the grade of the item and the required enhancement stones are unrelated.

The grade of enhancement stones only changes according to the enhancement level.

But that “absolute” rule only applied in the Farming World; in the Rift Dimension with its chaotic energy, new rules had to be followed.

The Ring of Corruption was S-grade but was speculated to eventually become SSS+ grade, so I accepted that it required hero-grade enhancement stones from the beginning.

Anyway, I had more than enough materials needed for the +1 enhancement of the Greatsword of Madness.

“My mining skill is paying off.”

What I obtained while diligently mining sound-absorbing stones in the copper mine wasn’t just rocks and sound-absorbing stones.

Among them, rare-grade materials like enhancement stones, support stones, and protection stones also dropped.

Since it was a level 0 biome, normal grade materials were the vast majority, but very occasionally, rare-grade enhancement stones would drop as hero-grade rewards.

So the enhancement stones I’d collected were more than enough to enhance the Greatsword of Madness.

I placed 40 enhancement stones in the slot and filled all 10 support stone slots without hesitation.

When enhancing, you must fill all enhancement stone slots, but support stones can be added as many as you have.

That’s why the enhancement probability is displayed as +% per stone / total amount.

Usually, with high probabilities, people skip support stones to save them.

But the Greatsword of Madness is an S-grade item, and thanks to Kukum’s grade, the 60% success rate is quite high for an S-grade item enhancement. Still, there’s a chance of failure, so adding support stones was a good idea.

From my perspective, support stones were abundant anyway.

And protection stones, like support stones, aren’t mandatory.

They protect equipment when enhancement fails.

If you’re certain of success, it’s better to save the most expensive of the three stones—protection stones—for the next enhancement.

But if you fail, there’s a risk of losing one equipment option, getting a useless option, or in the worst case, the equipment being destroyed.

“Oh? The copper mine must have quite a lot of enhancement stones?”

“Resources are abundant here, Kukum.”

“Heheh. Seems that way.”

Full materials from +1 enhancement.

This method is used in the Farming World only by those with abundant resources or when enhancing equipment that absolutely must not be destroyed.

Since it was the Greatsword of Madness, it wasn’t like wasting full materials on trash, but still.

The dopamine was rising due to the enhancement system impossible in reality.

Let’s press it.

When I pressed enhance, Kukum reached out and took the Greatsword of Madness from my enhancement window and placed it on the anvil.

“I wish you success.”

And down came the hammer.

Clang!

[+1 Greatsword of Madness Enhancement Successful!]

The enhancement was simple.

I thought there might be cards spinning around like when drawing NPCs, but just like in the Farming World, it was just a hammer strike, result, and done.

“Congratulations! You’re lucky.”

“An 80% success rate isn’t luck.”

It’s a probability that should naturally succeed.

I’ve experienced truly lucky moments several times in the Rift Dimension.

Finding glass stones while mining rocks along the way, discovering a legendary grade box in a dungeon.

And drawing two mythical NPCs in a row in the village.

Those are truly lucky moments; this was just the expected probability not betraying me.

I immediately put the Greatsword of Madness back in the enhancement window.

[Greatsword of Madness +1 > Greatsword of Madness +2 Enhancement Materials Required]

– Enhancement Stone (Normal): 0 / 80 (Enhancement Success Rate 40%)

– Support Stone (Normal): 0 / 20 (Enhancement Success Rate +0% / 20%)

– Protection Stone (Normal): 0 / 50

“Wow. Isn’t this too much?”

“Hahaha. Did you think getting an enhancement from the greatest dwarf would come cheap? Few dwarves can enhance weapons of this caliber.”

“But we’re friends. No discount?”

“Unfortunately, there are no discounts for enhancements, friend.”

“…Stingy bastard.”

He’s right, though.

Usually, the grade of blacksmith determines what grade of items they can enhance.

In Kukum’s case, he can enhance all equipment except SSS-grade, so naturally, higher-grade equipment requires more enhancement stones.

I made it sound like Kukum was price gouging, but these are just the enhancement stones needed to enhance the weapon.

Plus, the enhancement probability is actually quite high for an S-grade item enhancement, thanks to his SS+ grade ability.

“This friend was just complaining.”

“Expensive things are still expensive.”

Full materials again this time.

I still had materials to spare, but from +2 enhancement onward, I needed to consider the possibility of failure.

80 enhancement stones per attempt.

I had plenty of enhancement stones and could always mine more, but I only had enough support stones and especially protection stones for 2-3 more enhancements.

60% is a decent success rate, but with bad luck, there’s a chance of failing 2-3 times in a row.

I pressed enhance immediately.

“I wish you luck again.”

The hammer came down.

Clang!

A clear sound rang out.

[Enhancement Successful!]

It’s been a while since I heard this sound.

Having tried many enhancements, I used to identify success or failure by this sound before the system message appeared.

At least the enhancement success sound here seems the same as in the Farming World based on hearing it twice.

Since the message appears right after anyway, it’s not really a meaningful distinction.

It’s just a method for veterans to feel dopamine or disappointment a second earlier.

“You’re lucky, friend.”

“This one was a bit lucky.”

A probability slightly higher than 50-50 should be considered 50-50.

Like flipping a coin, it could be heads or tails.

It wasn’t a guaranteed enhancement, and the desired heads came up, saving materials.

Since I saved materials, let’s continue.

I immediately pressed for the +3 enhancement.