NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92 - A Suspiciously Well-Stocked General Store (7)
EP.92 A Suspiciously Well-Stocked General Store (7)
‘I hope I get a resurrection stone like last time…’
As usual, when I opened the special package window, time was ticking away.
– Premium Combat Scroll Package
– Premium Buff Scroll Package
– Combat Rations (10)
– Destruction Prevention Tickets (10)
– 3% Success Enhancement Tickets (5)
This package costs 100,000 won.
And what stood out in the product list were the Destruction Prevention Tickets and the Success Enhancement Tickets.
“Even though I don’t know exactly what they are, I feel like I should buy this.”
It’s just a guess, but there’s a high chance that each ‘Destruction Prevention Ticket’ will cost over 10,000 won.
The Success Enhancement Ticket at 3% also seemed necessary to use for high-level enhancements.
It was a shame that package items could only be purchased once per account.
I immediately paid 100,000 won and then checked the fusion system.
“As expected, it’s about beads.”
The new fusion system was an update that allowed the use of previously useless beads.
“That’s right, they should make patches like this.”
It was a system where you could use 10 R-grade beads to create one SR-grade bead, and 5 SR-grade beads to create an SSR bead.
Since the SSR beads produced here could be applied to all SSR-grade characters, fusion was absolutely necessary.
“If we’re enhancing with what comes out of fusion, it’s much more promising than drawing duplicates. Isn’t this… incredibly sweet?”
From now on, beads must be used for fusion without exception.
If you don’t do this, you’re an idiot.
While I wondered why they were being so nice to me, I started to feel afraid of how much they were planning to squeeze out of me in the future.
‘Still… since they’ve given it, I should use it wisely, right?’
Since I hadn’t been able to enhance any SSR characters yet, this system was exactly what I needed.
“Tsk, does this mean I made a contract with the Duke’s family for nothing? I’ll have plenty to draw in the future, but it feels a bit wasteful.”
Although I felt regret for hastily making a contract with the Duke’s family, providing beads wasn’t free, so it couldn’t be helped.
After all, there’s a non-zero chance that they might create something new using the beads, right?
‘Besides, the Duke family’s connections are worth more than that.’
Putting aside the matters of Ariane’s family for now, I decided to start spending some of the solid seed money of 100 million.
I decided to start with fusion, which was clearly going to be of great help to me.
“First, I should fuse what I have.”
The fusion window appeared, and beads started filling up the square slots.
Since there was an auto-fusion feature, I didn’t need to spend much time on it.
The beads started fusing at a rapid pace, glowing brightly.
Clink clink-
Of course, fusion isn’t free.
‘It’s draining away steadily.’
Red crystals were being consumed simultaneously with the fusion.
Since there was a failure probability, sometimes the grade increased, and sometimes it remained the same.
The screen flashed by quickly, showing the results.
A considerable number of SR-grade beads were produced, and I started fusion again.
The SR-grade fusion had many more failures compared to the lower-grade fusions.
Still, since I had accumulated so many beads, I managed to produce quite a few SSR-grade beads.
[Fail] [Success] [Fail] [Fail] [Fail]
“What’s with these 3 consecutive failures?”
[Success] [Success] [Fail] [Fail] [Fail] [Fail] [Fail] [Success] [Fail] [Success]
The fusion continued.
As a result of successes and failures, a total of 16 SSR-grade beads were created.
The numerous R-grade and SR-grade beads had disappeared, producing only 16 results.
“Tsk, this is fun.”
Was it because I was feeling the excitement of mobile games from my past life after so long?
My mouth was dry, and my eyes kept wandering to the remaining 100 million in-game currency.
‘Well, it is time to pay the server fees.’
Oh right, the achievement list was updated too, wasn’t it?
There was still a lot I hadn’t seen.
It wouldn’t be right to start spending recklessly.
Since the achievement list was crucial, I opened it to check.
Most achievements were grayed out, indicating they hadn’t been completed yet.
The achievement list wasn’t as long as I had expected.
“Usually, achievements are used to increase playtime, but why is this so half-hearted? They should have added a lot more.”
I felt disappointed because the achievement rewards were so good.
“As expected, there’s also an SSR 5-star reward in the achievements.”
I quickly checked what achievements I could complete immediately and closed the list.
With so much to check, it was best to quickly organize what needed to be done first and what could be looked at later.
‘This really feels like playing a game.’
This world is too boring.
Compared to living immersed in all kinds of stimulating entertainment, there’s just too little to do here.
Most nobles are awakened, so they use their superior physical abilities for sports-related activities, but commoners like me can’t even do that.
In the end, all there is to do is drink alcohol or hang out with women.
And now, in the midst of all this, I’ve gotten the chance to play the gacha game I used to play in my past life.
‘It’s thrilling, isn’t it?’
Since it involves raising actual people, the fun and sense of immersion are even higher.
That’s why I’m still obsessed with spending money even after 14 years.
Because there’s nothing else to enjoy.
Now that I’m even directly drawing and raising SSR-grade characters, how much more fun could it be?
Those who’ve experienced it would understand, but it’s a pity that I’m the only one who can do this in this world.
Next is enhancement, but…
“What exactly am I enhancing?”
Equipment enhancement?
Just as the Destruction Prevention Tickets aren’t there for no reason, there was a destruction probability in enhancement.
The probabilities are brutal.
Starting from 80%, the enhancement probability dropped sharply with each +1 increase.
Given that there’s also a probability increase, it seems the success rate will keep decreasing, making it difficult to succeed later on.
Moreover, as you know, unique equipment can’t be drawn again once it’s obtained, which is another factor to consider.
“This means I absolutely have to use Destruction Prevention Tickets for enhancement, doesn’t it?”
…This shop really knows how to do business.
It’s not for nothing that they’ve introduced new items.
They’re undoubtedly desperate to suck my money dry.
However, it was true that the ability to make unique equipment stronger was quite useful.
‘I wonder if changes occurred as the game became reality, or if the game was patched like this after I died?’
Even the new characters were now ones I didn’t recognize.
“And 100 red crystals for one enhancement? Isn’t that price a bit steep?”
Of course, I didn’t expect equipment enhancement to be free either.
But the amount of red crystals consumed was more than I thought.
Moreover, since there was a chance of failure, it seemed it wouldn’t be easy to set a price.
“The Destruction Prevention Ticket is indeed over 10,000 won.”
11,900 won per ticket.
Buying the package was a very wise decision.
After checking the dizzying cash shop patch, I realized more time had passed than I thought.
But the real important part was just beginning.
What I’ve seen so far is just the seasoning.
The main cash cow of this game has always been the gacha.
Clap!
I clapped my hands together and moistened my dry lips with my tongue.
“Is it finally time to draw?”
I need to hurry since I haven’t drawn Ariane’s unique equipment yet.
If I keep putting it off, Ariane might end up crying.
‘It’s terrible just imagining it.’
If she finds out about the enhancement feature, the neglected Ariane definitely won’t stay quiet.
The immediate task at hand is to draw Ariane’s unique equipment.
My hands are trembling at the thought of properly experiencing the gacha after so long.
“Am I addicted?”
Those guys addicted to gambling and me addicted to gacha.
I don’t think there’s any need to compare which is better.
It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
This gacha is seriously addictive!
Especially in this boring world, nothing is as thrilling as gacha.
“But I have no choice, do I? I need to do this to survive.”
The only reason I think I’m slightly better than those gambling addicts is that what I’m doing is beneficial to humanity.
Those gambling addicts don’t contribute anything to humanity no matter how much they gamble.
“So, let’s do this carefully.”
Since I was drawing items, not characters, I needed to consider where to do it.
You might ask, why not go to the waterfall that gave miraculous results last time?
‘No way!!!!’
I’ll only go to the waterfall when drawing characters.
Besides, the waterfall’s cooldown hasn’t reset yet.
Didn’t I draw a bunch of SSR characters at the waterfall last time?
I know gacha is all about independent trials, but a gacha player’s heart doesn’t work that way.
I believe you need to approach gacha with a reverent heart, praying through all sorts of superstitions.
Only then might the heavens look upon my sincerity and grant a miracle.
‘So I need to go somewhere other than the waterfall. The waterfall has been milked dry last time.’
“I guess it’s time for a walk after a long while.”
I coolly closed the general store’s door and came out.
Today’s goal became to revisit all the famous spots in the academy city and find a place that feels right.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
Meanwhile, the owner of Ash General Store was planning to widely publicize the bet he made with Rebecca about the quality of goods.
He wanted to use this opportunity as a stepping stone to promote the store’s products.
Of course, even without doing that, Ash General Store is doing well as it operates the largest general store in the academy city.
However, promoting product quality was something that needed to be done consistently.
The number of customers coming and going varies greatly depending on how much promotion is done.
“Our general store has been so meticulous about quality all this time! There are products better than ours? And in large quantities? That’s nonsense!”
Originally, Ash General Store brought in products supplied to the military.
Cases where the quality is better than the products supplied to his store?
Of course, those are all products that flow into the military.
“I’ve tried to get them all~ before too.”
The owner of Ash General Store had also tried to get goods at cheaper prices before.
He could get the goods, but upon checking, the quality was always too poor to be sellable.
He wanted to show the students what happens when you try to source goods from elsewhere this time.
“Have you found the source of the goods the teacher is getting?”
“I’m sorry. I tried to follow, but failed. They were too sensitive to presence, I couldn’t keep up.”
“Tsk, being a teacher, they wouldn’t be easy to deal with. Still, we need to find out where the source is. Make sure to find out later.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Aside from the quality of the goods, it was necessary to know who had the guts to supply items to academy students in this situation.