Chapter 491

The monsters without barriers dropped one or two Green Otherworldly Essences at best, and there were some that didn't drop one at all. However, the monsters with barriers dropped at least two Green Otherworldly Essences, and there were even some that consistently dropped five essences.

Thanks to that, Siegfried’s party was able to gather a lot of Green Otherworldly Essences on the way to the Ishuka Ruin. They were around ten kilometers away from the ruin now, but Siegfried suddenly decided to retreat.

“Let’s go back for now. The monsters are getting more challenging, and I think it’s time we go back to upgrade our crystals and repair our gear.”

The reason he decided to retreat despite the Ishuka Ruin being right in front of them was that it was starting to become harder to kill the monsters. The number of essences that the monsters were dropping upon death increased the closer they got to the Ishuka Ruin, but it also meant that the monsters' barriers were becoming increasingly stronger.

Thus, it was starting to get more challenging to get past the barriers possessed by the monsters the closer they were to the Ishuka Ruin.

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Gosran and Seung-Gu agree with his idea.

The party ventured back to the Great Jungle’s entrance.

“Hey, Seung-Gu.”

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“I have a favor.”

“Hmm? What favor?”

“I’ll give you my item, crystal, and essences, so can you go to Quandt and him to work on it?

Ah,

give this letter to him too,” Siegfried said as he passed a small piece of paper.

“Okay, but where are you going? Are you busy with something?” Seung-Gu asked.

“Yeah, I plan to go start making some money.”

“Making money...? But I thought the vending machine was already doing that for you, hyung-nim?”

“There’s something like that.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

Siegfried passed his crystal, item, and essences to Seung-Gu before heading straight to his vending machine.

***

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Information was power!

It was a truly terrifying power. One could amass wealth or wield immense power depending on how they used the information in their hands.

A good example of this was when someone had information regarding the government’s development plans and used that to buy lands or properties in that area. Another example was if one had information about a company winning a huge tender and purchased their stocks before the project was awarded.

However, most people were wary of acting on any information, as there was a possibility it could be fake news. In other words, going all-in on such information could end up with that individual going to the Han River Bridge to test the Han River’s temperature.[1]

However, what if this information was true and tested, and it was something people would be willing to die for?

As mentioned, it was possible to amass great wealth or wield immense power with such information, and this was something Siegfried was clearly aware of. He knew from experience just how powerful information could be, and he also knew how to use such information to his advantage.

Thus, he planned to use the information he had to his advantage and maximize whatever profit he could squeeze out of it.

The first thing Siegfried did was go to his vending machine and withdraw all of the gold it earned from selling the items.

Kaching! Brrrrrr!

The vending machine spat out a stream of gold the moment he clicked the withdraw button.

“

A-Ah...! Hnngg...!

T-This feels so... good...!” Siegfried moaned and squirmed while experiencing another bout of eargasm. His ecstasy ended the moment the vending machine finished spitting out gold.

He immediately came back to his senses and began to start the next phase of his plan.

He proceeded to register the vending machine with the Kautschuk Tree Sap. The sap was stored in two hundred fifty milliliter cans, which were about the size of a canned cola.

[Kautschuk Tree Sap]

[A sap extracted from the Kautschuk Tree.]

[The Bavarian Workshop can craft a coating mixture to protect your defensive equipment from corrosion.]

[This sap is also effective in repelling the Mutated Great Jungle Sandfly and neutralizing its poison.]

Siegfried ordered the promoters to promote the Kautschuk Tree Sap he had just registered, and they wasted no time and got to work.

“Kautschuk Tree Sap for sale!”

“For sale! For sale! Get your Kautschuk Tree Sap here!”

“Have you heard of the Kautschuk Tree Sap, which is a must-have item to hunt in the Great Jungle? Get yours now!”

“Stocks are running out fast! Better grab a can quickly!”

The promoters spread all over the place and marketed the Kautschuk Tree Sap.

“Get your holy water here! My puppy that died last year came back to life after drinking this Kautschuk Tree Sap!”

“My airship was instantly fixed after I poured this on it!”

“An IV drip of the Kautschuk Tree Sap can cure your migraine, toothache, slip disc, blood pressure, and even heart disease! I’m a doctor, believe me!”

Some of the promoters hired by Siegfried had exaggerated their claims greatly to the point they were basically scamming people at this point, but it proved to be extremely effective in getting the attention of the Adventurers.

“What? It will protect my gear from corrosion?”

“It can keep those pesky sandflies away?!”

“Hey, have you heard of this Kautschuk Tree Sap everyone is talking about?”

“No, what’s that?”

“It’s all the craze suddenly!”

The Adventurers looked possessed as they gathered in front of Siegfried’s vending machine.

Cha-Ching!

They went crazy purchasing the Kautschuk Tree Sap from the vending machine.