2

When Buja lifted his head, he saw pillars of light stretching into the sky.

Each beam looked like an umbilical cord to heaven, a thread that advertised from any angle his location. And there wasn't just one or two. There were dozens. He could see nearly a hundred at a glance.

"There are still a lot of them alive."

He had thought quite a few players had been eliminated, starting from day one and then again during the field boss, but there were still this many left. The national representatives really were on another level. Each of them had come with their own honor and convictions, so they were likely pushing themselves harder than they ever did in their own dungeons. Some might even be staking their lives on this.

In any case, for Kim Buja, it was one hell of a navigation system.

This Curse couldn't be hidden and would last until day ten. No player would be thinking, 'I just have to hold out until then.' Anyone with half a brain could figure out why a five-day Curse ended right when the team competition was set to begin.

It was the start of a time attack. The time for growth was over. From now on, they were to hunt players and earn rewards.

Of course, that didn't mean their monster-hunting days were over. If they hunted the players who came to them while also hunting monsters, they could grow twice as fast, bringing them one step closer to winning the individual competition. The more confident a player was in their skill, level, and gear, the wiser it was to keep doing their own thing while killing any players who came their way.

However, Kim Buja chose the unwise route.

Even if it was a bit of a hassle, with the navigation system active, the fastest way to wrap up the individual competition was to chase down the players who were trying their best to avoid him.

And he didn't even need to chase down every single one himself.

"Alright, fall in! Five columns!"

It wasn't a huge number of monsters—about fifteen—but it was enough.

"Squad one, that way. Squad two, over there. Squad three, this side. Squad four, that way. Run, and sever every thread you see."

ROOOOAR!

GRRRRRR!

The monsters obeyed their master's command, bolting off at the simple order.

Now this was real hunting.

It might not be as flashy or cool as Fly's massive area-of-effect spells, but the days of grinding alone with a single sword, weaving through hordes of monsters to kill them one by one, were over.

At least in this event.

He heard a player's scream from nearby and felt a grim satisfaction as he moved out with the last squad—the five highest-level monsters he had tamed—to deliver the finishing touch.

* * *

A massive wyvern beat its wings as it circled in the air.

Below, a single beam of light. The wyvern lazily flapped its wings around the thread rising from the ground, its movements those of a predator savoring its prey.

It was a level 77.

On this island, it was a high-level monster that almost nothing could stand against, which was why it could afford to be so relaxed. It was a vicious beast that never yielded to any enemy and, once it locked onto a target, would chase it to the death.

And on its back sat Kim Buja. He had finally fulfilled his dream, and his expression was one of deep satisfaction.

'It's not a dragon, but a wyvern's not bad.'

He had pulled off a cowardly sneak attack on the wyvern while it slept in its nest, successfully tamed it, and now he had reached his final destination.

When Buja lowered his gaze, he saw him.

Fly was looking up, lips pressed tightly together, standing within a magical barrier. He looked at Kim Buja as if he were staring at a demon king. The look in his eyes, as if wondering how on earth he was supposed to kill this devil, was almost insulting.

"This makes me look like the bad guy."

Buja felt wronged, and for good reason. Outside, Fly was the undisputed number-one-ranked player. Not just in level, but in PvP, raids, and dungeon clears, he had never once relinquished the top spot. There had been countless rising stars, and at times, Legendary-class players with skills that seemed like hard counters to an elemental wizard had surged up the ranks.

Even so, Fly had held his ground.

Luck, skill, grit. For six years, he had proven that he was second to none in all of them. Naturally, his pride was sky-high. A top player didn't need humility. In dungeons where humility meant death, what you needed was boldness, aggression, confidence, and decisive choices without hesitation. The media might have portrayed him as a gentleman who had it all, but his conviction in himself was stronger than anyone else's.

And yet, here in the event arena that was supposed to be his stage, he had lost.

In PvP, in raids, in level. Fly hadn't won a single thing, and as a result, he was now forced to look up at his rival.

Kim Buja had seen that look before. He had seen it countless times, including in the finals of the national team selection.

An expression that screamed, 'I can't believe this.' A gaze that seemed to retrace his own steps, searching for where he went wrong. Suspicion that wondered, 'What kind of trick did he pull?'

It was understandably unpleasant. The raw emotions pouring out so blatantly were beyond rude; they were a direct challenge.

But Kim Buja didn't take it as an insult.

Instead, he smiled. It was a smile that came from the heart.

'This is what I can do.'

Aside from his one innate talent, Kim Buja had started with nothing. Of course he had watched Fly while playing games, and even he had to admire Fly's effort, skill, and talent. Starting from the same place, he had felt a competitive urge to see who could go farther. But after awakening as a player and seeing the towering wall that was Fly, Buja had turned away from that reality for a while.

But not anymore. He would start with what he could do right now.

In a way, the look Fly was giving him now was the same one he himself had once given Fly. That was why Buja felt proud.

It was the thought that he could do it. The calculation that, given enough time, he could catch up was no longer just a delusion. This was the proof.

He had come all this way for that, and he didn't regret burning through twelve thousand gold to do it.

Life was an investment.

Kim Buja had poured twelve thousand gold—gold he could have used to raise his stats—into this event and gained certainty in return.

Some might call it a waste and pointless spending. Up until five minutes ago, even Kim Buja had been thinking the same thing.

What if this all ends up being for nothing? What if the head start I gave Fly comes back to bite me? Maybe I should've saved the gold and built a better foundation in reality instead.

As those worries vanished without a trace, so too did any hesitation in his actions.

At the same time, the wyvern let out a roar and dove toward the ground. It slammed into the translucent magical barrier as if it wasn't even there.

An explosion ripped through the area. With a deafening crash that made his eardrums ring, he saw the wyvern lying on the ground, its neck twisted at an unnatural angle, and Fly being flung away by the recoil.

Kim Buja, who should have been on its back, was nowhere to be seen.

Fly, who had blacked out for a split second, seemed to realize that as well. He twisted his barely responsive body and scanned his surroundings.

But he already knew. He was too late. He heard the faint sound of something cutting through the air. Buja had sacrificed a wyvern just to break a single shield.

Fly bit his lip, even as he admired such reckless decisiveness. He had trusted in his own growth instead of dodging, but he hadn't expected the wyvern to be used as a disposable missile. The gambit had failed.

All that was left was to figure out how to survive his opponent's next attack with minimal damage.

Avoiding it completely was impossible. Assuming they were at roughly the same level, Kim Buja would have already factored in the possibility of him dodging.

Fly had to pull out a move his opponent wouldn't expect. And he had to do it right now, in a split second. There was no time to weigh options. His instincts had already taken over.

Fly's body blinked out of existence. And in that exact spot, Kim Buja's sword sliced through empty air. Fly had almost been cut clean in half.

He landed not far away and, without even a moment to catch his breath, began drawing up his mana. The card he had just played was a trump card he should have saved until the very end.

It was a card played in exchange for his life.

Since he had played that card, Fly had to win.

Unfortunately for him, the card was nothing new to Kim Buja.

"Just as I thought," Kim Buja said. "Seeing you use it at this level, it must not be a skill you picked up here. It's a class skill, right? I'm jealous. A dodge with no windup or recovery, huh?"

The voice whispering right by his ear made Fly's skin crawl.

'How?'

"It's easy enough to track and counter if you know what to look for," Kim Buja explained slowly, as if reading his mind.

Fly frantically tried to gather his mana.

[Magic use is restricted in this area.]

But his magic wouldn't come. It was a death sentence.

"Five years—no, it's six now, right? I've been a fan for six years. I'm still catching up to you, and I'll be looking forward to what you do next."

For a wizard, it was an unavoidable execution.

No spell could protect Fly from the sharp dagger that drove into his side.

Even as the blade pierced him, he twisted his body, trying to slip away and create distance. The effort showed a will that refused to give up, but with his magic sealed, Fly couldn't hold out for long.

His vision swam. Lying on his back, having given up on everything, Fly spoke, "I watched all the videos and went over all the information about you beforehand, but none of it was right."

His earlier intensity was gone, replaced by pure curiosity. It showed he knew how to enjoy an event for what it was—a game. He could separate work and play. While a player's abilities were important here, the most crucial real-world factor—the sheer amount of time invested—was thoroughly excluded. There was no need to take it so seriously.

It was a shame to lose, but Fly wasn't walking away empty-handed.

"Of course it wasn't right," Kim Buja replied. "The only information about me is what's on my video channel."

"This is the most fun I've had in a long time," Fly said, his voice filled with genuine enjoyment, not the false politeness or ugly self-consolation of a loser. "This event overlapped with me hitting level 70, so I agonized over whether to participate. I'm glad I came."

He continued, "I'll be looking forward to you. I'll be waiting. There have always been plenty of people aiming for my spot, but not everyone manages to climb this high. You, however, just might."

It was a clear acknowledgment. His clean acceptance of defeat, without a single excuse, revealed not only his character but also the secret to how he had held his top position for so long.

So Kim Buja decided to share something in return.

"To tell you the truth, one of my skills is Mimicry. I copied a few of your skills, too. As a gesture of goodwill, I'll give you a little gift."

Buja was stunned. He received Undead Summon and Teleportation. It was a small favor for getting to experience, however briefly, the power of an elemental wizard.

As Fly took his last breath, the solo event came to an end.

[The event has ended.]

And with that, the dawn of a new era was announced to the entire world.

* * *

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