Dolores is a wise woman.
She never, ever shows all the cards she holds.
So it was the same for the verification of these gloves.
Just checking whether an Enchant had been strengthened, or what level it was, was more than possible by buying a simple Appraisal Machine in the Tower.
After all, among the artifacts found in the Tower, there were items for this kind of simple verification.
-----------------------------
[Charon's Magnifying Glass]
-----------------------------
Measures the Enhancement Level and grade of the target equipment.
Consumes Mana per use. One charge allows 100 uses.
-----------------------------
If she visited the verification office again, a precise appraisal would be possible.
But that would leave a record. She had already exposed too much information.
Dolores was actually regretting her previous visit to the verification office as well.
Because she had not been cautious then, it must have leaked.
That was not what she wanted.
It was just that she had been too flustered then; she had wanted to confirm whether he was truly the Descendant of Fire, setting aside all other factors.
So she entered the Tower, bought only a simple item, and returned to the mansion.
And then.
On the office desk, she examined the gloves through Charon's Magnifying Glass.
While thinking about what she should do if the Enchant had succeeded safely, what kind of praise and reward she should give.
As she looked at the gloves through the magnifying glass.
"……?"
She rubbed her eyes.
She seemed to have rubbed them about ten times.
Blink, blink.
She looked again at the displayed figures.
-----------------------------
[Chore Gloves]
[☆☆☆☆☆]
[Enchant Level: Enhance 20]
-----------------------------
Enhance 20?
Dolores's hand stopped.
A starless pair of Chore Gloves at Enhance 20.
Dolores's expression became blank. When people receive a shock beyond comprehension, their thoughts stop.
She slowly rose from her seat.
She quietly paced around the office about 15 times.
Then, once she had regained some composure, she reached into the air and opened her Subspace.
Hum, hum.
A warehouse storing the equipment she had used and worn in the past.
She reached out and took out a single book.
-----------------------------
[Magic Tome]
[★★★☆☆]
[Enchant Level: Enhance 18]
-----------------------------
It was a support-type weapon she had treasured when she was climbing the Tower.
Now that she had switched to Unique Equipment that could not be enhanced, it was equipment she no longer used.
It was equipment she had used well until then. She had kept it to pass down to Ruby in the future.
There was no way to count how many resources, how much money, and how much time had gone into it.
Counting it itself would be inefficient.
But that equipment was Enhance 18.
She carefully took off the gloves Lionel had made.
She put the Chore Gloves on her hands. Frost formed on the surface of the gloves due to Dolores's chill, but.
"……."
She felt it as soon as she put them on.
Pure, uncontrollable power.
Something that could not be contained in the vessel of a starless piece of equipment was trapped inside.
Dolores did not like Enchanting, but she knew the basic principles.
Low-grade equipment cannot handle high-enhancement Enchants.
Why?
Because it cannot fully withstand that power, and the equipment is liable to be destroyed.
Just as a cup breaks if you try to force an ocean's worth of water into it, equipment with low stars cannot endure the pressure of a high Enchant.
That was why the Dwarf Company blocked it as well.
The Enchant limit for starless equipment is Enhance 5.
The Enchant limit for one-star equipment is Enhance 10.
Beyond that, it was impossible to even attempt an Enchant in the first place.
It was not the kind of concept where enhancement fails and destroys it. They refuse the attempt itself.
There was a reason even the money-obsessed Company refused.
At minimum, from two stars.
Which meant these gloves.
Were also a product that could not exist in this world.
Knock, knock.
"Yes."
-Ah, Duchess. You have returned. It is about Young Master Lionel waking up….
"Yeah."
The conclusion was made.
She calmly steadied her breathing….
Bang!
She ran toward Lionel at full speed.
***
Present.
I am being held in Dolores's arms and dragged somewhere.
As always, it seemed she had tried to firmly hold my hand and go somewhere, but.
Perhaps because she knew my hand was swollen, she just hugged me to her chest.
So it was Dolores who applied the medicine after all.
She held me tightly with a very serious expression.
Thump.
But from our pressed bodies, I could hear her heartbeat.
It is a little fast, and her stride is fast too.
Dolores took me to a room I was seeing for the first time.
When she opened the door, a structure with a quite antique atmosphere came into view.
A sofa that looked plush.
A bed.
A chessboard.
A bookshelf.
Exercise equipment…? But with absurdly heavy weights only.
Besides that, there were an enormous number of unknown objects.
A chaotic room that looked like various tastes had been crammed into one place.
"……."
What is this room?
I cannot tell at a glance what the room's owner likes.
Dolores, still holding me, headed toward the sofa.
Then, as she sat on the sofa, she carefully set me down on her lap.
We were facing each other.
Our eye levels became equal, and Dolores's blue eyes looked at me.
She kept slowly stroking my back.
"Can you tell me how you did it?"
She asked calmly.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I opened my mouth.
I could not tell her everything.
I slowly explained last night's events. Only the objective parts.
The first time I attempted an Enchant, I did it without knowing anything.
From the second time, I saw certain circles, so I tapped them.
If I do well, the success rate increases accordingly. I can see that with my eyes.
What was surprising was that the Dwarf Enchant Room also provided probability information through an interface.
So the explanation itself was not difficult.
"The success rate changes depending on skill…."
"Yes."
Dolores first gave a small nod.
As the level went up, the difficulty became harder.
If I made a mistake, the chance of destruction increased.
"Because I have good eyes."
It was the same thing I had always said.
Before, Dolores would have stared at me at least once.
Now she did not even try to distinguish whether it was true.
She just smiled slightly and nodded.
She reached out and kneaded both my cheeks.
"……?"
Is this praise?
[Yeah… I think it probably is…?]
I suppose so.
"Enchanting is skill…."
Dolores withdrew her kneading hand and slowly stroked my head.
"The Dwarf Company always calls it luck."
"……."
"When you step into their shop, everyone sees the same screen."
Actually, it was something I had been very curious about too.
Enchanting is not the kind of concept that can ever be replaced by a machine.
But in the Community, they said that if a machine taps at the front and you pray or something, it works.
If the mechanism for Enchanting equipment was similar.
Then the Dwarf Company was essentially wildly hammering the parts that needed to be touched delicately with a machine.
Which was why the probabilities were bound to be shit.
"Lionel?"
"Yes."
Squish….
Dolores held my face to her chest and whispered.
"Congratulations on becoming the Outer Tower's first Enchanter."
"……."
The Outer Tower's first….
It is a word with considerable weight. It does not feel real, but.
When she says it like that, I can feel it.
Dolores's embrace was warm. It smelled nice.
Adding a bit of selfish desire, I wanted to stay like this.
"And."
Dolores paused for a moment.
"From now on, only do Enchanting in safe places."
"……."
"The world might not leave you alone."
She said it with a grin, but.
I roughly understood what she meant.
Maybe because I was a child, she had phrased it as indirectly as possible. I, thirty years old, understood.
"Yes."
Perhaps satisfied with my answer, Dolores stroked my head once more.
Then carefully set me down from her lap.
Then she went to fetch something and soon returned.
What she held in her hand was a prettily wrapped box.
It even had a ribbon tied around it.
"……?"
What is it?
Dolores placed the box in front of me and untied the ribbon herself.
What was inside the box was.
"……."
Enhance 20 Chore Gloves.
They really looked unsightly, but because they were on red velvet silk.
They strangely looked a class different.
"Why did you wrap it like this…."
Dolores smiled.
"We are going to try auctioning it."
"…An auction?"
The person who just said the world would not leave me alone was Dolores.
And she was going to auction this?
Perhaps reading my expression, Dolores gently added.
"Ah, whether to sell it or not is Lionel's freedom."
"I see."
Dolores raised the corners of her mouth and slowly opened her lips.
"When you climb the Tower, there is a place where people communicate. We call it the Community. There is an Auction House there too."
"Auction House."
"How outstanding what you just accomplished is, and how absurd it is."
"……."
"I wanted our Lionel to confirm it himself."
Ah, this is a kind of education.
No matter how much Dolores praised me verbally, it might not sink in.
She seemed to want to directly show me how the world evaluated this.
I had been curious as well.
Just how would Enhance 20 Chore Gloves be evaluated?
Dolores is an excellent educator.
She scratches exactly where it itches.
"Are you curious?"
"Yes…."
"From now on, whenever there is good news, I will deliver it to Lionel. Unfortunately, the Inner Tower's Auction House can only be seen after entering the Tower at least once."
I see.
…Yuna?
[Are you asking if the Auction House works?]
Can I do it too?
[Of course~ I'm your noona~]
Nice.
Then there is no need to wait.
When I gave a small nod, Dolores smiled slightly.
"Okay. Then let's look at the results together as they come out."
She organized the box again, then stroked my head once more.
"Your hand is swollen today, so rest well."
"Yes."
"Lionel…."
"Yes?"
When I looked up at her call, Dolores was staring intently into my eyes.
Wait. No way?
Dolores looked as if the sky was collapsing—no.
That is a slight exaggeration; she made a very upset expression and immediately grabbed my waist.
And firmly seated me on her thigh again.
"A lie.."
Fuck, I got caught.
I had lied without realizing it.
Actually, I had planned to go out again in the evening.
"No lying. Today you are resting well. Understood?"
"Yes…."
Whirr….
"Good."
Her words were soft, but her eyes demanded rest today no matter what.
Ha, this is driving me crazy.
After living as a jobless bum for 10 years, just when I was about to hustle a bit, suddenly I get forced work-life balance I was never destined to have.
[Hustle…?]
I'm a pro.
It's work.
Anyway, perhaps only then did Dolores feel a little relieved, as she released her hold on me.
"If you are really bored, Ruby's study is on the third floor."
"I see."
"Yes. Ruby will be organizing the books she bought yesterday and practicing. Go there, look around, and read some books together with her."
It would be a real bother, but I suppose I have to go.
Ah, I had a good idea.
I go and use the Community—Ruby reads books.
Perfect.
"Yes, understood."
This is not a lie.
I will go, after all.
Dolores nodded with a satisfied expression.
Suddenly, she pressed her forehead against mine.
"Lionel?"
"Yes, yes?"
"If, tonight… it is confirmed that you went out to the Workshop…."
"……."
"From now on, until you become an adult, you will be sleeping with me?"
Dolores grinned.
She said something quite frightening.
***
Dolores left for the Tower to put my gloves up for auction.
I heard that to put equipment up in the Auction House, it first had to receive authenticity verification.
Whether the enhancement values and granted magic matched exactly as displayed, and whether it was forgery or fraud.
Well, fraud should be prevented.
And one more thing.
This was something I had just found out, but there were two ways to register auction items.
Simply put, online or offline.
They say offline stores exist every 50 floors of the Tower.
Most transactions are done online.
And one more thing.
Anonymous, and real-name systems.
Most seemed to choose anonymous.
Real names… unless one is a business or a High Ranker above a certain grade, they do not choose it.
They say there is a threat of plunder while climbing the Tower.
I will absolutely never climb the Tower. Absolutely, absolutely.
It is not necessary information.
"Anonymous, right?"
Dolores was a High Ranker, but putting up Enhance 20 Chore Gloves seemed like it might be a bit cheap for her.
It was also an absurd piece of equipment.
People would end up thinking, who made this?
I knocked on the door in front of Ruby's magic study.
Knock, knock.
No answer.
Then I'll just go in~
When I opened the door and entered.
Ruby was buried in books, sleeping sweetly.
"This kid is sleeping again."
Well, they say mages have good fuel efficiency, so even sleeping counts as practice.
It did not seem like something I needed to worry about.
I plopped down in a spot that looked suitable.
"Show me the Auction House."
[Uh, before that. There is something I want to say before the Auction House.]
"What?"
Why are you being so scary?
Oppa, talk with me for a bit. That is how it sounded to my ears.
[First, since you have never entered the Tower… normally you should not have an account, right?]
"Right."
[But this account is one I arbitrarily created, so it is a ghost account.]
"…Is that so?"
[So just in case. Don't do anything too reckless.]
"What do you mean all of a sudden? What reckless thing would I do?"
[…….]
-----------------------------
[Rhythm Game Minor Gallery Gallog]
[Posts (125,561) Comments (356,469)]
-----------------------------
Yuna brought up a suspicious-looking interface.
Honestly….
"……."
Suddenly the past comes to mind.
Okay.
I won't do it.
"I quit the gallery too. Trust me?"
I am confident about this.
I definitely quit.
Leaving behind Yuna's warning that was not quite a warning, I opened the Auction House.
A translucent screen appeared in the air of the study.
[Inner Tower]-[Auction House]
"……."
The screen was filled with countless pieces of equipment lined up.
Starting from swords to armor… even tools whose names I did not know.
It looked like scrolling down would reveal more.
The registered equipment all seemed to have gone through verification.
The number of stars and simple flavor text were displayed together.
-----------------------------
[Shadow Dagger] [★☆☆☆☆]
[Enchant Level: Enhance 4]
-----------------------------
[Darkness gathers at the blade's tip.]
-----------------------------
[Current Bid: 4,200 Gold]
[Time Remaining: 1:19:46]
-----------------------------
So, 4,200 Gold….
Okay, 42 million won.
The price range is quite wide.
From as low as a few dozen Gold to as high as tens of thousands of Gold.
Just looking at this was quite fun.
The more interesting part was.
-----------------------------
[Mirage's Mirror]
[Unique Equipment] [★★★★★]
-----------------------------
[If it was visible, it is a lie; even if it was not visible, that too is a lie.]
- End of the World, Descendant of Stars -
-----------------------------
[Current Bid: 10 Gold]
[Time Remaining: 3:01:14]
-----------------------------
Equipment that looked quite good at a glance.
Why is this 10 Gold?
Just as I had that question.
[💬]
An icon floating like a speech bubble caught my eye.
When I pressed it.
[💬 Comments (47)]
The screen unfolded.
-----------------------------
-[Anonymous1]: Why is no one bidding on this? It looks good? I just bid 10 Gold
└[Anonymous2]: Are you a newbie? lol
└[Anonymous3]: This person only uploads and never sells, just uploading to brag
└[Anonymous4]: Real, they upload every day, ignore bids
└[Anonymous1]: Ah.. Then why upload?
└[Anonymous2]: Because of kids like you lolll
└[Anonymous1]: fuck
-----------------------------
Wow….
It seemed you could comment on each item in the Auction House.
You could haggle, share information, and.
You could also do brag posting like this.
This is crazy.
Then now, slowly….
Should I search for my equipment?
I returned to the main page and typed Chore Gloves into the search bar.
The screen blinked once, then results appeared.
-----------------------------
[Chore Gloves] [☆☆☆☆☆]
[Enchant Level: Enhance 20]
-----------------------------
[Current Bid: 3000 Gold]
[Time Remaining: 6:23:55]
-----------------------------
Oh, 3000 Gold?
Nice? Not bad. It is worth more than I thought.
I understood why Dolores said to try putting it up.
It seemed to have been uploaded 5 minutes ago.
"…I can't resist comments."
I pressed the button to check the comment reactions.
[💬 Comments (211)]
"What?"
It had only been 5 minutes.
There were 211 comments.
-----------------------------
-[Anonymous1]: ????? What?
-[Anonymous2]: Isn't this a fucking bug? It makes no sense
-[Anonymous3]: Wow lol who broke the probability
└[Anonymous2]: Don't show you're a non-enchanter. Probability or whatever, they won't even enhance a 0-star to Enhance 6 or higher
-[Icy Wind]: ?
└[Anonymous5]: Icy Wind, I'm a fan~ When are you restoring the fucking destroyed Mana-Infused Bracer Enhance 20? You should use 10-star~
└[Icy Wind]: I don't enhance anymore
-----------------------------
The reaction is quite hot.
[Comments—wait, the lag is too bad, oppa.]
[The comments keep increasing?]
[💬 Comments (217)]
[💬 Comments (224)]
[💬 Comments (231)]
The number rose in real time.
Click.
"……."
Click.
"……."
Scroll, tap.
Scroll, tap.
Scroll, tap.
I began refreshing the comment window.
[Oppa.]
[Oppa?]
Thus I began enjoying the reactions while reading comments.
Th-this is the stuff….
Posting an All-Perfect Certification Shot and reading comments.
[Here we go again….]
How long did I watch like that?
While listening to Yuna's lament as BGM, the comments had already surpassed 1000.
But then. That was when.
Ding.
Ding.
[Current Bid: 10,000 Gold]
[Current Bid: 13,000 Gold]
[Current Bid: 17,500 Gold]
The price began to rise.
"It was 3,000 Gold just a moment ago…?"
Someone kept raising the price.
-----------------------------
-[Anonymous165]: Why is the price rising like this? It's just Chore Gloves anyway
└[Anonymous1770]: (link)
└[Anonymous1770]: Look at this
-----------------------------
Out of curiosity, I clicked the link.
The screen unfolded.
The Enchant Gallery of the Inner Tower Community.
-----------------------------
[✪][Best Post Request) Estimated Specs for Chore Gloves Enhance 20]
-----------------------------
(graph photo)
-----------------------------
Ugh, what is this.
The body was enormously long.
It was packed so densely with formulas and graphs that I had to scroll down for quite a while.
"I don't wanna read…."
[Sigh]
Fortunately, at the very bottom of the post, there was a kind three-line summary.
-----------------------------
Chore Gloves at Enhance 6 or higher have no data, so estimated via simulation
The effectiveness of all Enchant enhancements increases acceleratingly as the level rises (similar to an exponential function)
Based on this, the result—for the same slot, Chore Gloves Enhance 20 is approximately equal to Mana-Infused Bracer Enhance 10.5.
-----------------------------
"……."
Mana-Infused Bracer Enhance 10.5?
Not knowing exactly what that meant, the moment I looked back at the Auction House.
And.
Ding.
[Current Bid: 60,500 Gold]
The value of the Chore Gloves had already become.
605 million won.