— — — — — —
Now, every gate where [Thousand Eyes] had a shop, those who had heard the news in advance and had a bit of curiosity also got to learn how the two Gift Games worked: By using coins issued by the [Eden] community, you could walk right up to the Amplification Machine or Enhancement Machine set up on either side of the Thousand Eyes shop entrance and power yourself up on the spot.
If you didn't have any Eden coins, no problem — you could trade in Thousand Eyes coins at a 1:1 rate directly with the shop clerk.
And if you felt like you were pushing your luck too far after reaching a certain level of Amplification or Enhancement, you could even buy Lucky Stones and Protection Stones with either type of coin inside the shop to boost your chances.
It seemed like a simple "fair" system — or so everyone would think at first.
---
East Area, five-digit Gate No. #26745 — Headquarters of the community [Perseus]
"So that's how it works."
"But leader, if I'm understanding this right — according to what that Black Rabbit said…"
One of the members, having just finished watching the entire broadcast, scratched his head and asked their leader — Laius Perseus, direct heir to the bloodline of the hero Perseus himself:
"…wouldn't it be easier if we just replaced 'Eden' with 'Thousand Eyes' in all of this? I mean, aside from that headquarters they set up in that seven-digit outer gate, all the machines, coins, and stones are directly handled by [Thousand Eyes] Community anyway—"
"???"
"Drag him out and beat him up. But don't kill him." Laius pinched the bridge of his nose.
Did he really have to spell out something this obvious?
If the higher-ups of Thousand Eyes hadn't done that already, clearly they had their own reasons. And here you are, trying to be clever?
Two burly men grinned at each other, grabbed the poor guy by the arm, and hauled him out.
Once the room was quiet, Laius turned back to the remaining members.
"Each Amplification or Enhancement raises the effect by ten percent over the previous level… correct?"
"Correct. It's even more than ten percent sometimes, maybe 11% or 12%." Another member said.
"How much liquid capital do we still have on hand?"
Laius looked to the elderly steward beside him, a man whose hair was now completely gray and whose wrinkled face looked like it had seen far too many headaches.
This steward had managed [Perseus]'s finances since before Laius became leader — even before he was born
Given Little Garden's nature as a playground for gods and buddhas, it wouldn't even be impossible to find that the old steward was here when original Perseus who their community — or even his father, the famous Olympian deity. So when Laius became the head, he saw no reason to meddle with the old men's arrangements.
Besides… the old steward was good at his job. As long as Laius made a few key "wise decisions" here and there, he could hand the rest over to the steward and go back to enjoying life.
"We currently have enough Thousand Eyes coins that can be exchanged for Eden coins to total…"
The steward reported a number that, for most five-digit communities, would have been enough to make their jaws drop.
Over ten years ago, thanks to a divine tool from Hephaestus, the god of smithing, the Perseus community had succeeded in mass-producing the hero Perseus' legendary gifts — the Hades Helm and Boots of Hermes, originally used to defeat the Kraken and the Gorgon sisters.
Even though a good chunk of the profits had to be turned over to the upper echelons, what trickled down was still enough to make the entire community wealthy.
...
After listing the amount of freely usable funds that wouldn't affect normal operations, the steward hesitated, then added, "If necessary, we also have a stockpile of surplus gifts in storage. We could mortgage them with Thousand Eyes staff for emergency funds, and—"
"No need."
Laius waved him off, his confidence flaring.
"I still remember the price that Moon Rabbit quoted us. She didn't give a specific success rate, but with the liquid capital we have, I'm confident we can at least get three pieces to Ampliy +10 and Enhance +10."
That was what he said.
But for some reason, the steward had a strange, uneasy feeling in his chest.
It was as if they were about to face something that shouldn't have place in the Little Garden, maybe even worse than the gambling craze that brought countless communities to ruin
Hopefully it was just his imagination.
....
Half an hour later.
POOF!POOF!POOF!POOF!POOF!POOF!
The old steward: "…"
That dull heavy poof sound, combined with Laius' bulging veins and barely-contained expression — forced into calm only because of the crowd watching — told him that his earlier unease had not been an illusion.
Laius looked like he might cry, scream, and lose his mind all at once.
"..."
Without waiting for orders, the steward, who had long since developed a wordless understanding with his leaders, grabbed a contract and went straight to the Thousand Eyes shop at Outer Gate 26745.
He exchanged for a huge sack of Eden coins — enough for Laius to launch another round of Enhancement — and, while no one else was around, he made a tiny, tiny request to the shop clerk:
"…Next time our leader tries to enhance, can you… clear the area first or allow us to put a sight-blocking barrier?"
If it weren't for those noisy onlookers egging Laius on, the steward was sure things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
---
A few moments earlier...
As expected, after careful preparation, the Perseus people successfully amplified and enhanced their community's signature treasures — the Hades Helmet, the Boots of Hermes, and even their trump card, the Harpe — all to +10.
They were especially happy about the Harpe. Known as the Celestial Spirit Slayer, it had the power to kill beings of Star-Class level. It had even been used once to cut off Medusa's head — or Algol, as she's more commonly known — and to subdue her. In other words, it was a weapon capable of killing gods.
But like every gamer knows the sad truth — there's no happy ending.
The problem was the very last round of Enhancement.
It had gone too smoothly, and right as a cloaked spectator jeered something from the crowd, Laius, flush with confidence, slammed the "Confirm Enhancement" button before anyone could stop him.
And that was the end of that.
...
"No can do."
The shop clerk smiled cheerfully as he refused the steward's new request. "Whether it's Amplification or Enhancement, the rules of Eden state that the audience can't be restricted in any way during the process."
The steward could only sigh helplessly and silently pray that his leader's luck would be a little better this time.
They had over ten times more coins than before. Surely, just one measly +11 wasn't too much to ask for, right?
Ding! … Ding! … POOF!
Ding! … POOF!
POOF! ... Ding! … Ding! ... POOF!
Ding! … POOF! ... POOF!
One after another, every sequence ended with that same dreaded Poof.
Watching Laius' motions grow bigger and wilder until he was flat-out hammering the "Enhancement" button with his fist, the steward slowly put on a metaphorical mask of pain.
He had only one thought: Who was evil enough to create this?
Even the Demon Lords seemed like saints compared to the Eden Community now in his eyes. As a wise old man, he could already see how addicted people would become to those two machines.
---
Meanwhile.... Eden Community
"Hum~ Such a great day~"
Veyron watched with satisfaction as gods and members of every race got completely hooked on his two machines.
He nodded, pleased. After all, he had always believed it was the duty of every transmigrator to recreate these things.
Things that had nearly given them a heart attack on Earth.
"Seeing their suffering, I feel a little... nothing? Kekeke~"
"That's really nice."
.
.
.