Regressor Instruction Manual - Chapter 439. Welcome to Rift Land (2)

Loan? A loan? The female receptionist’s sparking eyes reminded me of Lee Ji-Hye.

‘How can you do this? You’re not being reasonable at all.’

I had come up with many ideas, but I had never thought about offering loans. It seemed that it was a secret weapon that would exponentially grow Rift Land’s profit. Still, I couldn’t really complain because loans were an efficient way to earn money.

‘You’re really cruel. I guess Lee Ji-Hye didn’t become a masked scum in vain.’

There had been a few times when I thought of myself as scum, and there had also been a few times when I became filled with shame and started reflecting on my actions.

However, what Lee Ji-Hye had done banished the feelings of shame in the deepest recesses of my heart. I was scum, but I was basically a firefly when compared to Lee Ji-Hye, who had to be a nuclear power plant.

I was like a children’s pool in front of a rushing tsunami.

I couldn’t help but clap at her extreme cruelty, and she was definitely planning on making all the adventurers in Rift Land go into debt. I could already see the overall picture.

The adventurers were here with their big dreams, and they would inevitably spend money while thinking that they would make it back. However, the unexpected expenses would continue to accumulate.

In a nutshell, they would spend a lot of money here.

If they were successful in their dungeon conquest, they would probably be able to recoup their expenses, but a single mistake would basically drag their bank account balances deep into the negative.

There was no way that those people would be able to stomach leaving Rift Land. After all, there was nothing more tragic than failing after spending so much money.

They would either try again while holding tightly onto their big dreams or enter the dungeon again later after analyzing their mistakes and doing as much research as they could to minimize mistakes.

And that when they would inevitably spend money on lodging, supplies, equipment, dungeon entry cost, insurance, and food. In other words, staying here was costly.

They could produce excellent results after retrying, but they would find it difficult to make up for the previous losses.

‘Ha…’

The scummy Lee Ji-Hye had set up a trap similar to quicksand. It would suck people in, and they would still be in debt even after they decided to leave Rift Land. I was sure that they would only be able to pay the interest even if they worked their entire lives.

I was also sure that they would definitely be forced to wander the wilds of the continent just to barely survive.

It was a bit heartbreaking, but this was the right thing to do. They would lose everything, yes—but they would emerge even stronger after the harrowing experience. In addition, they would also become hardworking adventurers.

After all, they wouldn’t be able to afford to be lazy.

Shots would always be painful, and Lee Ji-Hye’s setup was like a shot that contained medicine that would soon spur the lazy people of the continent into action. I was sure that Benigoa and Elune scum would be crying tears of joy in a few years.

‘Nice…’

I was having all sorts of thoughts, but the female receptionist kept on looking at our party like an eagle watching its prey.

‘Yeah, it’s understandable.’

The female receptionist had achieved a lot through words alone. She managed to make us pay for insurance, and she was now tempting us to take a loan. Of course, I got a bit anxious at that. After all, it was hard to resist the temptation of spending money.

“So you offer loans as well…” Lee Chul-Woo commented.

“It’s for the convenience of the adventurers in Rift Land. The customer’s convenience is the motto of Rift Land,” she said.

‘Look at her lying through her teeth…!’

“I’m sure there are many things you’re worried about. We’re providing various services so that you can focus on the expedition, and that’s the reason why expedition insurance and loans exist,” she continued.

“I don’t know about the loan, but… how does the expedition insurance work?” he asked.

“It’s like I explained earlier. Ordinary adventurers often avoid getting insurance, but I believe that it’s worth getting insurance, considering the low survival rate in rare-ranked dungeons. After all, you would be compensated in case of accidents…”

“Of course, experienced adventurers are unlikely to commit mistakes that would lead to accidents because they have studied the manual for a long time. However, our insurance is currently popular with newly-formed parties…”

”Those people will be working together for the first time, so accidents are likely to happen. The Blue Guild, the Black Swan Guild, and the Red Mercenary Guild have also emphasized the importance of expedition insurance,” explained the receptionist.

“Hm… newly-formed parties,” repeated Lee Chul-Woo.

“Yes, accidents are likely within newly-formed parties. Our insurance doesn’t only cover accidents that could happen during dungeon conquests, but we also have mediators who would mediate conflict between party members. They also handle reward distribution conflicts,” she added.

‘Don’t fall for it, guys.’

Unfortunately, they were already falling for it.

“I think… this is worth thinking about. Don’t you think so, oppa? It would be fine if it were just us, but we have an outsider. We don’t even know if we’ll have good teamwork…” Gook Minji commented.

‘Don’t look at me, you bitches.’

The receptionist even spoke up, and I felt like I was watching a home shopping host.

“Ah! The mage must be the new member. I’m sure that makes you nervous, but I’m not looking down on the beautiful mage…”

”However, it’s less likely that a newly-formed party will be able to move as one. I believe it’s a great choice because it can protect you from accidents that can cost dozens of gold per head. Obviously, the choice is yours,” she explained.

“Ugh, this is…” Kim Tae-Geon agonized.

“No, Tae-Geon. I think it’s a good idea to get it. As she said, we don’t know what kind of accidents might happen. We’ll get the normal-ranked insurance,” Lee Chul-Woo requested.

“Great choice, sir! Please read the contract carefully and sign it—Ah! And…” she paused.

“Yes?”

“Did you know that, unlike other dungeons, the boss monsters in the Rift Museum are decided randomly?” she asked.

“What do you mean…” he asked.

“The three types of boss monsters and reward items are all random, sir. Some people are fortunate enough to be able to clear the dungeon without many issues, but others have encountered unexpectedly strong boss monsters, and they really struggled…”

”We have received reports from unfortunate parties about how they had encountered monsters that can emit poisonous fogs and even monsters that can cast curses…”

”Did you bring items to cleanse poisons or curses?” asked the receptionist.

“W-We didn’t…” Lee Chul-Woo stammered.

“Don’t worry too much, Adventurers! Rift Land sells packages that can deal with those special monsters. The package includes eleven types of potions created by the Alchemist of Light, Mr. Lee Ki-Young himself…”

”There are also consumable items that are going to be useful in those situations. Of course, the prices are very reasonable,” explained the receptionist.

‘Don’t go overboard, guys. You demons.’

“Of course, we have packages lower in quality than that, but I personally recommend the eleven types of potions that Mr. Lee Ki-Young had made. Unlike the low-quality potions, his potions do not have expiration dates…”

“Their quality also doesn’t go down even after a long time. We also have potions that would maintain one’s body temperature, and you do not have to worry about storing them in a cool or warm place. They’re also markedly more effective than other potions of the same type. They’re very useful against fire or ice-type monsters, and they’re priced significantly lower than the market price,” added the receptionist.

“That sounds great,” Kim Tae-Geon commented.

“I think we’re spending too much money…” Lee Chul-Woo muttered.

“Think about it, Chul-Woo. They’ll be useful to us no matter what. Even if we don’t end up using them during this expedition, we can still use them later. I think it’ll be good to buy at least a package,” Kim Tae-Geon suggested.

“The packages can be purchased at the Blue Guild as well, so you don’t have to purchase them here. You can think about it more and decide later,” said the receptionist.

“Don’t you think we need it? You’re not that confident in detoxification spells, right? If we encounter an epic-ranked poison-type monster…” Kim Tae-Geon trailed off.

“You do have a point…” Lee Chul-Woo nodded.

“You don’t have to make a decision right now,” said the receptionist with a bright smile.

‘Who is she?’

I naturally got curious about her.

‘What’s a talented person like her doing here?’

Talented people like her had to be treated well because she was providing value and service with her voice that tempted people to buy things. She was like the host of a home shopping channel.

Honestly, she even got me tempted to buy my own items.

“If you purchase one right now, I’ll give you three types of high-quality stamina potions as gifts,” said the receptionist.

“We’ll get it,” Kim Tae-Geon said.

“You’ve made a wise choice, sir,” she commented.

It hadn’t even been that long since we arrived at Rift Land, but the party already spent an unimaginable amount of money in just a few hours upon arriving.

‘Wow, they’re really ripping them off.’

I looked around and saw other parties talking with the other inn staff members.

It was ridiculous how every party had bought packages that would be useful against special monsters. Even rare-ranked parties had bought one and were treating them as if they were precious treasures.

‘I don’t think rare-ranked parties can buy those packages.’

I was sure that they had taken out a loan. My potions were also tailored to deal with epic-ranked monsters or higher, so those people would basically be using a sledgehammer to crack open a walnut.

Aside from them, there were other people looking through the equipment catalog containing equipment that Yoo Ah-Young had made.

‘They definitely took out a loan.’

There were also some people who were spending money on useless things.

‘I really like this…’

I really wanted to applaud how convenient everything was here. Every store was connected to the Rift Inn, so people didn’t really have to visit various shops to procure items. Everything could be done in the Rift Inn. They could apply to enter the museum, buy expedition insurance, take out a loan, and even purchase weapons.

I didn’t look at the other half of the catalog, but I was sure that this thick book contained a list of all the services available in Rift Land. Even more amazing was the fact that only one control tower was maintaining the entire shopping complex.

‘Convenience.’

Of course, there was a small price to pay in the form of high and fixed prices, but this was a small price considering how all this would be able to protect the entire continent.

‘Do you see this, Miss Metel? Many people are loving your museum.’

I was sure that Max’s mother, who was already in heaven, was smiling brightly at the sight.

I found the exorbitant, fixed prices and blatant sales tactics a bit too much. After all, those two could definitely make people a bit uncomfortable.

However, my displeasure didn’t last that long. I started nodding unknowingly, especially at the scene that happened in the restaurant where our party decided to eat.

“Yeah, I came in this morning and got this! It’s a Legendary item! The Queen of Truth’s Necklace! The Rift Museum is totally worth it!”

I thought that Barkdeku, the fighter of democracy, had already died. However, he was actually still alive. He was in the same restaurant as me and with a brand-new identity as a Russian foreigner named Bark Sergei.

“You guys should hurry up and go in! You won’t get items like this anywhere else!” he exclaimed.

‘Why are you here?’

In addition, Ahn Ki-Mo and Kim Ye-Ri were next to him.

‘Stop going around and putting on an act without letting me know beforehand!’

“Rift Museum! It’s a really high-quality dungeon!” yelled Bark Sergei.

The way he yelled even convinced me that the Rift Museum was the real deal.