Chapter 106
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The 100 Reinforcement Broadcast
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From a distance, Yu Na-eun's pupils shook wildly as she watched.
'What the hell? No... is that even possible?'
She was Hoyoung's top reinforcement artisan.
An Epic-grade hidden class capable of imbuing various equipment with special abilities.
She had performed countless reinforcements.
Yet the result right before her eyes was something she had never once achieved.
'That's the 39th full reinforcement on a Rare...'
The dagger Jeong Hoon had just set down was the 39th Rare-grade dagger to reach full reinforcement.
"If you're looking for reinforcements, feel free to search JH anytime and place a commission. We'd be grateful."
The promotional effect was undeniable.
It was backed by Hoyoung, so he had considered starting with Epic items, but the Epic success rate was 80.
Broadcasts needed to be stimulating.
Challenging Epics and showing even a single failure would be far less effective than nailing Rares without a single miss.
-Whoa... 100 reinforcement success rate lololol
-Crazy lololol is that even real?
-Whoa! Just 10 of market rate for 48 hours?
-Heading there now!
-Me! I need a full reinforcement too!
-Watched this and smashed my fixed deposit
-Pulling out of my losing coins! Gotta profit off this!
The initially lukewarm viewers were now completely hooked on Jeong Hoon's reinforcements.
'Time to wrap it up.'
Jeong Hoon signaled to Ha-jin.
"Alright, that's it for today's broadcast."
Ha-jin smoothly delivered the sign-off and ended the stream right away.
"Jeong Hoon-ssi."
As if she'd been waiting, Yu Na-eun approached him.
Jeong Hoon was taking a brief breather.
"Yes. What's up?"
"...Just what is that skill's success rate?"
"100."
"Excuse me...?"
His blunt declaration left Yu Na-eun's expression blank for a moment.
"Ah, of course, only up to Rare grade. Not from Epic onward."
Her mind turned to mush at his follow-up explanation.
'No way...'
Even she, a legendary reinforcement artisan, only had an 81 success rate on Rares.
Meaning about two failures out of ten attempts.
And that dropped to 38 for Epics.
Just shy of four successes out of ten.
Yet Jeong Hoon, who wasn't even a reinforcement specialist, had a skill with 100 on Rares and a whopping 80 on Epics.
"Are you alright...?"
Ha-jin knew exactly what she was feeling.
Relative deprivation.
Unlike Ha-jin, who had started from nothing, she was an acknowledged reinforcement artisanshe'd feel it even more intensely.
"...Fuck, what a shitty world."
Oh boy...
She must have taken a huge hit.
"Oof, better not poke the bear right now."
Ha-jin quickly gave up on offering comfort.
The broadcast's impact was enormous.
Once the live ended, he checked the exchange, and sure enough.
Over 100 commissions had poured in.
As expected, most were Normal or Rare.
Epics required serious capital.
Few players beyond a certain wealth threshold had them.
The standard path was maxing out Rares for as long as possible, then switching to Epics after hitting level 200.
'The exchange level is still too low for Epics.'
Exchange levels rose with commission volume, capping at 10.
That was why most handed off Epic-or-higher items to level 8 exchanges.
Jeong Hoon wasn't chasing Epic-or-higher commissions yet.
Time to rack up Normal and Rare jobs fast.
Epics could come later.
But one commission featured a hefty Epic-grade armor set.
'Huh? Already trusting me with an Epic?'
They must have loved the live.
He wanted to know who, but exchanges were strictly anonymous.
Unless it was a named item, guessing the owner was tough.
'And it's a set?'
Not just one piecethe commission included Epic reinforcement stones for a full four-piece defensive set, from headpiece to shoes.
'Whoa, 120 stones?'
The sender had included exactly 120 Epic reinforcement stones.
-Please handle all reinforcements.
A straightforward request.
Epics cost 3 gold per attempt.
Rares to Uniques allowed 30 attempts per piece, for 90 gold each.
But at 10 price: 9 gold.
'Four pieces, so 36 gold total.'
Exactly 36 gold was enclosed with the commission.
Jeong Hoon accepted the gear and stones and got to work.
Reinforcement successful.
Reinforcement successful.
As expected from 80, successes came easily.
Reinforcement failed.
Reinforcement attempts not deducted.
His Transcendent reinforcement power kicked in, preventing deduction.
'This is the real game-changer.'
No deduction meant full reinforcement was guaranteed.
The only downside was the time it took.
'Hmm, better stick to the commission's request for now?'
He was tempted to push for full max, but the stones matched exactly the requested attempts.
He couldn't exceed the quantity.
Jeong Hoon performed exactly 30 attempts per piece.
24 Solein's Wind Hood
24 Solein's Wind Armor
23 Solein's Wind Gauntlets
26 Solein's Wind Shoes
Not bad.
A bit underwhelming for 80, but all over 20 with attempts left oversolid results.
'No need to rush.'
Epic-or-higher gear would naturally come his way over time.
The system was built that way from the start.
No point obsessing over full maxes early on.
Jeong Hoon returned the reinforced gear to the commissioner.
Kaneda Shun had come to Korea to study.
Right now, he was at the exchange, waiting for his item to arrive.
'A decent reinforcement artisan popped up? Haruto would get a kick out of this.'
It was his day off.
While browsing New World content on YouTube, he stumbled on a live broadcast by chance.
A brand-new channel nearing 80,000 subscribers.
Curiosity drew Kaneda Shun in, and he watched the user's reinforcement process live.
'Oh! Keeps succeeding on Rares? Is that Haruto?'
100 Rare success rateonly Iwase Haruto had that right now.
And now someone else had joined the club.
Kaneda Shun glued his eyes to the screen without pause.
Once it ended, Shun logged into his capsule and searched the exchange for the "JH" mentioned in the live.
Now Open for Business!
For the next 48 hours: Reinforcements at 10 of current market rates!
My reinforcement success rates:
-Normal: 100
-Rare: 100
-Epic: 80
-Unique: 60
Official New World certification
"Hoh? 80 on Epics?"
Haruto was at 87, right?
Just a 7 gap?
Insane.
A shiver ran down his spine.
He loved Korea, but he'd always seen it as a backwater in New World terms.
Who knew such a monster reinforcement artisan would emerge from the boonies?
"Shall I give it a shot?"
Kaneda Shun commissioned his Epic-grade Solein's Wind defensive set, enclosing the reinforcement stones.
Total cost: 360 gold, discounted 90 to 36 gold.
Dirt cheap.
It didn't take long for the armor set to return.
24 Solein's Wind Hood
24 Solein's Wind Armor
23 Solein's Wind Gauntlets
26 Solein's Wind Shoes
"Oh!"
Every piece had impressive reinforcement values.
True to 80, they averaged 24.
Haruto might squeeze out 25 or 26, but that would cost nearly 600 gold.
In terms of price-performance, it was a steal.
"Huh?"
One oddity stood out.
Remaining attempts: 6
Remaining attempts: 6
Remaining attempts: 7
Remaining attempts: 4
Remaining attempts weren't zero.
What? Did they pocket some stones?
Nothat would require 100 Epic success.
So they restored and returned the extras?
"Haha! This guy's the real deal. Haruto better step up his game."
Kaneda Shun grinned widely.
"Kehek!"
Iwase's hammer crashed down on the Lv. 133 Arc Enemic's head.
The Arc Enemic staggered and collapsed.
"Die!"
Iwase kept smashing the fallen beast's head with his hammer.
Only after it burst did he turn to the next Arc Enemic.
The hunt had dragged on for days.
Level up.
All stats 1.
Bonus stat 1 granted.
After a long grind, Iwase hit level 136.
"Huu, levels crawl up so damn slow. For real!"
Despite his high level, Iwase felt no joy.
Collapsed cities kept getting cleared in Korea.
That fact kept him in constant anxiety.
He had to rush toward 151 even faster.
He was ignoring all incoming exchange commissions.
"Hey, is that for real?"
"Told ya. Vid of a Korean clearing a collapsed city went up on YouTube!"
"So we just follow it to clear?"
Overhearing field-crossing users chatter about collapsed city clears.
Iwase's heart plummeted as he frantically pulled up YouTube.
"What the...? This is..."
It was real.
The reason collapsed cities kept falling in Korea: this damn video.
"Fuck!"
Collapsed cities were cheat havens full of bugs.
You didn't even need to hunt monstersjust uncover the hidden exploits.
Iwase had known the answers early on.
But how did that bastard find out?
"Wait a sec..."
If they could use Search... didn't that mean high odds they'd already claimed Transcendent power?
The thought made Iwase clench his fist hard.
Not that. Anything but that.
Why was he gunning for 151?
Dragging his trembling legs, Iwase headed toward the collapsed city outskirts.
The chatter from players en route grew clearer.
"Oh, and a Korean buddy said the guy who cleared the collapsed city just did a live reinforcement stream?"
"For real?"
"Yeah! Charges only 10 of market rate too."
"Success rates aren't crap?"
"Nah. Rare at 100, Epic at 80!"
"Whoa... seriously?"
"Even Unique at 60."
Damn... he got it alright.
Iwase Haruto's Epic success rate was 87.
But Unique dropped to 31.
He hadn't finished his third job change yet.
Transcendent power would cover it all, he'd thought.
"You fucking Korean piece of shit! When I find you, I'll make you pay no matter what... I swear..."
Iwase spat curses before muttering in a voice thick with venom.