Chapter 86

- Rolechung OUT!

While reading the newly posted comments, I ended up closing the window.

'My face is completely exposed...’

This was the result of running around to promote the cafe.

I had expected it to some extent, but I still felt burdened by such comments and gazes. I’m just an ordinary person...

But apparently, there was even an interview in the second part of the video.

[ HoneyDuck: I’m thinking of adding a bit of an interview to the follow-up video. Not in a formal way, but more like casually asking various questions. What do you think? ]

There was no choice now.

If my face being exposed helps our cafe do well, then so be it.

‘As the owner, I have to do this much.’

Amuse was no longer just my own business. There were over 20 employees across the two branches, including Choi Pil-su, Im Su-jeong, and Jeong Hae-eun.

‘I have to support them all.’

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility.

It was better to have my face exposed and do well than to keep it hidden and fail. Is there anyone in this country who doesn’t know the face of the chairman of Jin Sung Group?

‘Let’s think positively.’

Just then, the sample video sent by ‘Korean Serengeti’ also felt really good. It was a part of the unedited footage without any subtitles.

The heat of the equator could be felt on the muddy ground.

A civilian participant almost crawled into the frame on all fours.

[ Huh... Pant... Is this the right place? ]

[ Yes, congratulations! Here’s your ‘B’ card. ]

[ What is this? ]

[ You need to collect all the ‘Bear Grylls’ cards, so this means you’ve cleared the first of 11 stages. ]

[ ...First stage? I give up, I give up. ]

[ Give up? ]

[ I can’t do this anymore. I really feel like I’m going to die... ]

The participant just sat down on the spot.

Even from the screen, it was clear they had suffered greatly.

Sweat on their face.

Skin that looked like it had been baked dry.

A t-shirt torn in various places.

‘Oh, how pitiful...’

But the production crew calmly asked another question.

[ Then, are you giving up the supplies too? ]

[ Supplies... What are they? ]

At the same time, an iced coffee appeared on one side of the screen.

A purple ‘AMUSE’ sticker was attached to the plastic cup.

[ It’s coffee. Refreshing and delicious coffee. ]

[ If I give up here... I won’t get this? ]

[ No, you won’t. It’s for the next stage. ]

[ Damn! ]

The participant clutched their head in agony.

I had heard that the TV station guys were pretty ruthless.

The YouTube guys were even worse. They had faces that wouldn’t bleed even if pricked with a needle.

‘...Are they really devils?’

Well, anyway, the timing of the coffee’s appearance was perfect. If the content goes viral, the advertising effect would be even better than HoneyDuck’s.

‘Good, good.’

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

I needed to install a machine at the Ilpum Korea production plant to rapidly and in large quantities extract cold brew.

‘I have a plan in mind.’

I opened the 《Shop》.

And spent a fortune.

──Do you want to purchase the 「Hot Hand」 tutorial? No exchanges or refunds due to a change of heart.

──Current Glory: 37,900G

──20,000G will be deducted from your current Glory.

I read the skill manual.

This was a game-changer.

──The 「Hot Hand」 tutorial has arrived. Do you want to view it?

Proceed.

──────────

The 《Skill: Basics of Hot Hand》 tutorial has started.

◇ Quest: Trigger 「Lucky Strike」 7 times in a row.

◇ Time Limit: 10 minutes

◆ Reward: Obtain the skill 「Hot Hand」

──────────

A tutorial that hadn’t appeared in a long time.

My heart raced.

‘Yeah, I expected a quest like this.’

It was as I had anticipated after reading the manual.

However, I hadn’t imagined the time limit would be just 10 minutes.

“Tam! Let’s eat!”

The two foxes spun around and flew over, and I hurriedly moved.

The senses of platinum and diamond.

“Hold on here for a moment. Don’t let anyone in.”

I entered the VIP room in Sinchon and locked the door.

Then I quickly skimmed through the 「Hot Hand」 user manual I had received earlier. It wouldn’t hurt to be thorough.

──────────

「Hot Hand」 User Manual

「Hot Hand」 literally means ‘hot hands’.

It is a temporary enhanced version of 「Lucky Strike」.

◇ Activation Condition: Automatically activates when 「Lucky Strike」 is successfully triggered 5 or more times in a row.

──────────

「Lucky Strike」 was already a cheat, and a temporary enhanced version?

‘How can I resist this!’

The activation condition was the same as in the tutorial.

「Lucky Strike」 automatically activates and becomes a passive skill when triggered consecutively. No coupons needed.

‘I’ll have to keep the 「Lucky Strike」 coupons for later.’

However, while the tutorial specified ‘7 times’,

the manual only stated ‘5 or more times’. Does the effect vary depending on the number of times?

──────────

When 「Hot Hand」 is activated, you gain the following effects.

1. 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 completes instantly.

2. You receive a significantly higher bonus efficiency than 「Lucky Strike」.

──────────

Well, the elimination of work time is understandable.

But significantly higher bonus efficiency than 「Lucky Strike」?

‘It’s hot, it’s hot. This is definitely 「Hot Hand」.’

「Lucky Strike」 often showed conversion efficiencies over 100%, so how high would it go in 「Hot Hand」 mode?

The issue was the constraints.

──────────

However, 「Hot Hand」 has several constraints.

1. The duration of 「Hot Hand」 is very short.

Complete your work before your hands cool down.

2. If you successfully trigger 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 multiple times while 「Hot Hand」 is active, your hands will cool down more slowly.

3. Conversely, if 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 fails, your hands will cool down more quickly.

4. The cooldown for 「Hot Hand」 is 24 hours.

In other words, 「Hot Hand」 cannot be activated twice within 24 hours.

──────────

In simple terms, it was a daily event fever time.

The key was to keep your hands from cooling down.

The more 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 you triggered while 「Hot Hand」 was active, the more beneficial it was.

‘That’s why I prepared the materials for 「Hot Hand」!’

First, let’s complete the tutorial.

‘Tam!’

Tam stuck out its tongue and drew a circle in the air, and soon an orange magic circle appeared.

I had exactly 7 「Lucky Strike」 coupons, which I immediately handed to Tam.

──「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 is starting.

──「Lucky Strike」 has been triggered, applying a bonus efficiency to 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」.

I put in whatever was in the VIP room, choosing items that would likely complete the work quickly.

If I hesitated over the materials and tried to optimize, I might not meet the tutorial’s time limit.

「00:07:48」

「00:07:47」

「00:07:46」

──「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 is complete.

A high-quality chocolate syrup appeared.

I immediately threw a handful of beans into the magic circle.

──「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 is starting.

──「Lucky Strike」 has been triggered, applying a bonus efficiency to 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」.

Hmm, 7 times might be tight.

‘No, I can do two 「Lucky Strikes」 in a row, right?’

The tutorial quest condition was to trigger 「Lucky Strike」 regardless of whether it was 「Quantity to Quality」 or 「Quality to Quantity」.

I looked at Coco.

Coco was lying on the floor, blinking its black eyes.

‘Work, you.’

──Coco?

Work, you, this one!

──Cocororo...

Coco looked around the VIP room with a pout, then shook its head and flopped down.

‘...’

Yes, I understand that there’s not much in this VIP room that meets your high standards.

But you still need to work, right?

Look at Tam, running around and sweating!

──Coco...

Coco finally got up and pointed at the chocolate syrup that had just appeared from Tam’s magic circle with its snout.

‘Alright, at least eat that...’

Coco floated up into the air and reluctantly created a pale blue magic circle.

──「Quality to Quantity Conversion」 is starting.

──「Lucky Strike」 has been triggered, applying a bonus efficiency to 「Quantity to Quality Conversion」.

However,

──「Quality to Quantity Conversion」 is paused.

──The 【Subspace Workbench: Advanced】 is shocked by the overwhelming sweetness of the chocolate syrup.

──The 【Subspace Workbench: Advanced】 threatens to go on strike if this keeps happening.

The pale blue light in the magic circle disappeared instantly.

This picky squid-like creature, who wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than the best.

‘Coco, come here.’

The white fox approached hesitantly.

I placed a paper bag in front of Coco.

‘Take a look. Do you like it?’

Coco stuck its snout into the bag.

──Cocororo! Cocororo!

It went wild.

Then it tried to cram its whole body into the paper bag.

‘Haha.’

Since it was outside the physical world,

even though it kept jumping, its snout would pop out of the bag again and again.

‘I knew you’d like it.’

I proudly lifted the bag again and took out the case inside.

Opening it,

──Cocororo!

The lustrous platinum.

Tiny diamonds embedded all over.

A design that looked impressive and a perfect craftsmanship.

This was the jewelry set sent by <Titanium>.

‘It cost about 20 million in total, right?’

I had prepared these materials to use for the 「Hot Hand」 tutorial.

‘After the tutorial, I’ll give this to you. Will you still go on strike?’

Coco paused for a moment, then sprang up.

As if it had been electrified.

The magic circle glowed pale blue again.

──「Quality to Quantity Conversion」 is resuming.

‘Oh, that’s my Coco! This is how you do it!’

Even though Coco seemed reluctant, I just smiled as it fiddled with the magic circle.

*

The contract from <Tiphany>.

The core was simple.

[ A total of 9,000,000 won ]

[ The photo shoot will be conducted 3 times. The photos will only be distributed on the SNS account of ‘Party A’. ]

Three photo shoots for 9 million won.

Since I had no modeling experience and was just helping Min Chae-yeon, and the photos would only be posted on SNS, this was a good deal.

‘Chae-yeon got more, but okay.’

However, that wasn’t all.

[ Additionally, ‘Party B’ must post at least 10 times on SNS within 3 months from the contract date. If ‘Party A’ requests, ‘Party B’ must agree to reshoot and repost. ]

There was an SNS promotion clause.

The best part was that the products from <Tiphany> were not ‘sponsored’ but ‘gifted’. They were just giving them to me.

So it wasn’t just 9 million won, but effectively a 30 million won contract, including the 20 million won jewelry set.

[ We don’t make such offers to just anyone. You know that, right? ]

Maybe because the company was doing well, Joo Hae-jeong wrapped up the contract quite smoothly.

That’s how the jewelry set ended up in my hands.

A men’s necklace, ring, and bracelet.

The diamonds were so tiny that I wondered if they were real or just ant tears.

‘Diamonds! Real diamonds!’

It was my first real diamond.

‘The photos are already taken.’

Before the cafe opened in the morning.

After the cafe closed in the evening.

I had already taken all the necessary shots of wearing the products.

‘This <Tiphany> is now mine.’

I could use them as I pleased.

I waited for Tam and Coco to finish the 7th task and took out the jewelry in advance.

──Congratulations!

──You have completed the skill tutorial, 《Basics of Hot Hand》.

──As a quest reward, you have received a 「Lucky Strike」 coupon (5 uses).

──The experience of the 【Subspace Workbench: Basic】 has increased.

.

.

.

Ignoring all the tutorial success messages,

──The hands are becoming incredibly hot...

──「Hot Hand」 will be active for the next 3 minutes!

I decided to test the effects of 「Hot Hand」.

With only 3 minutes, I had to act fast.

‘Quickly, quickly!’

I planned to trigger as many tasks as possible before my hands cooled down.

“Coco!”

[ Yes, boss? Did you call me? ]

“Ah, no!”

[ Yes! ]

Ignoring the voice from outside the door,

I fed the ring to Coco first.

It was the most expensive of the three.

──The 【Subspace Workbench: Advanced】 can’t take its eyes off the blingy ring.

──「Quality to Quantity Conversion」 is starting.

──The 「Hot Hand」 effect applies an enormous bonus efficiency!

──The 「Preview」 skill has been activated!

I didn’t have time to carefully examine the 「Preview」.

I immediately chose the <Tiphany> jewelry option.

──「Quality to Quantity Conversion」 is complete.

The result appeared instantly, without any work time.

‘Wow... It’s faster than a vending machine.’

Falling slowly from the air were

three rings of a similar design.

Clearly platinum, clearly diamonds!

Of course, the diamonds were smaller than those in the original ring.

‘This isn’t the end.’

What is 「Hot Hand」?

The efficiency exceeds 100%.

So what happens if I feed the rings Coco gave to Tam?

It’s the original ring plus alpha.

In other words, it’s an infinite power source.

──The heat in your hands is subsiding.

──Remaining time: 2 minutes 36 seconds

No, no.

‘Tam!’

I immediately fed the three rings to Tam.

──「Quantity to Quality Conversion」 is starting.

──The 「Hot Hand」 effect applies an enormous bonus efficiency!

──The 「Preview」 skill has been activated!

I chose the <Tiphany> product from the 「Preview」 again.

‘No time to rest!’

I immediately fed the <Tiphany> necklace to Coco.