4.

Rest is critical. Sleep, in particular—something no human can live without—is essential for keeping the brain sharp enough for the split-second decisions that mean life or death. Even if your body was as hard as steel and you moved faster than a bullet, a brain that wasn't working properly would fail to make a cool-headed decision, and that would inevitably lead to death.

That was why so many players, even rankers, would take anywhere from a few days to several months off after clearing a single dungeon. For weeks on end, they would sleep lightly, ready to wake at a moment's notice, and pour everything they had into a single thought during combat: kill the enemy.

It took a long time to recharge from that kind of mental and physical strain. This was why players hated it when outsiders said they "work once and then just play around." Even with all that rest, many players never fully recovered from the exhaustion, and more than a few suffered hair loss from the stress.

The importance of rest could not be overstated. That was why Jeong Seora was worried.

"Are you sure you're okay without taking a break?" she asked.

Buja nodded. "I'm fine. I slept really well in there, so I'm not tired. If anything, after taking down Fly, I feel completely energized."

It wasn't an empty reassurance. During the solo event, Kim Buja had actually gotten at least five hours of solid sleep each night. For an ordinary person, that might seem short, but for a player inside a dungeon, it was a luxury.

And he hadn't just passed out anywhere. "I even had my summons stand guard while I slept, so I was very comfortable. You don't have to worry."

From the field boss he had tamed to the elite monsters under his control, his forces had stood watch. Any clueless monsters that wandered too close became a meal for his subordinates. The players who had rushed in without knowing any better weren't even worth mentioning.

It had been his world, through and through. The more he replayed it in his mind, the more he wondered if he would ever get a stage like that again.

"Honestly, I'm surprised I feel this good," he added.

On top of that, because there had been no downtime, the tension from the solo event was still intact. Staying keyed up for too long wasn't good in general, but at a critical moment like this, it could help him perform more efficiently.

"Everyone else is probably in a similar state."

More importantly, he was in the same boat as everyone else. Most players, including himself and even Fly, were going into the event without a break, so there was no room to complain. Still, if he had a little leeway, he did want to soak in some hot water.

"Think I could hit the sauna before we start?"

"Of course," Seora answered.

There were still more than six hours left until the team event began. There was no advantage to going in early, and they couldn't enter even if they wanted to, so there was no reason to just sit around.

"Are you sure you'll be okay going alone?"

"It'd be even better if you came with me, Ms. Seora. It'd be motivating."

"That's not what I meant."

She couldn't help but laugh at his constant jokes, then followed as he walked ahead.

"Are you really going?"

"I'll go with you as far as the hospital. You never know."

"Fine by me."

If someone was going to take a shot at him, Jeong Seora's presence wouldn't change much. Besides, a small army of soldiers and players was already escorting them.

Envious eyes followed Kim Buja.

"My shoulders are starting to feel pretty heavy," he said. "If we lose the team event, I get the feeling everyone's going to forget I won the solo event and just unload every insult in the book on me."

"You should've been ready for that the moment you took my arm."

Of course, he could handle it. He was just saying that; in truth, his shoulders were puffed up with pride, not weighed down by pressure. He didn't feel burdened at all. He simply didn't have the mental bandwidth to care about other people's stares.

The event, the rewards, and Jeong Seora. Just keeping those three things in mind made his head feel like it was going to explode.

'I need to hurry up and sort out my rewards.'

For him, the sauna was a place to rest and untangle his complicated thoughts. The limousine carrying Kim Buja pulled away.

* * *

The team event waiting room was filled with an even hotter, almost explosive energy. The tension was far tighter than during the solo event. This was their last chance—the pressure to make up for points lost in the solo event was immense, as was the wariness toward the players who had shone earlier.

In an ordinary event, all eyes would have been on Fly. This time was not so different. His presence was still absurdly overwhelming, and because of that, almost no team was realistically aiming for first place.

What had changed, however, was that the players' eyes were not fixed solely on him.

"Is that Kim Buja?"

"That's the Korean team."

"We need to watch out for them, too."

Solo and team events were different beasts. This was especially true for a mage-type class. The elemental wizard, in particular, Fly handled it so well that it skewed perceptions. Still, the impact a mage could have in a solo event versus a team event wasn't even comparable. That was why, even though Fly had lost, the American players still looked relaxed.

Even the players who had witnessed Kim Buja's overwhelming power and were wary of the Korean team mostly agreed it wouldn't be a big problem.

"He's built for solo play. Looks like he has some kind of taming skill, but that won't matter much in a team event."

"Korea's always been weak in team events anyway. As long as we keep an eye on the US team, we're fine."

It was an inevitable conclusion, in a way, and Kim Buja didn't particularly mind. Nothing they were saying was wrong. He had already told the Jeong Cheol Guild members as much.

"I don't know how the team event will be structured, but my role is just a damage dealer, nothing more, nothing less. Please don't expect too much from me."

He fully intended to do his best. He wasn't going to hoard his gold; he would spend it as freely as he had in the solo event and was determined to fight for the win. Even so, he had said as much because he knew how high people's expectations could get.

The solo event champion. The player who took down Fly.

It had only been possible because of a special set of circumstances—the map, luck, and a dozen other factors all lining up. Honestly, even Kim Buja couldn't imagine beating Fly in a team event, even if it were structured like the solo event as a battle royale between national teams. A solo Fly and a Fly with teammates supporting him were on completely different levels.

And there was no guarantee the team event would even be structured that way. If it turned out to be like the provisional team event, with each team running its own raid, it would probably be even harder.

He would do his best, but he needed to set realistic expectations.

Fortunately, Jeong Cheol simply nodded without any particular reaction. These were players who had earned their national team slots on their own strength, without any help from Kim Buja.

Kim Buja hadn't thought Fly planned to rely on him in the slightest, so he had debated whether to say anything before speaking up, just in case. Now, he was glad he hadn't wasted his time worrying. A sense of certainty washed over him, assuring him that he could focus even better this way.

He was free to act as he saw fit, and in a team match where synchronization was paramount, nothing was more important.

[The Team Match is starting.]

[The 'Tower of Annihilation' map has been selected.]

As his resolve solidified, a hologram announcing the start of the match appeared before him. At that exact moment, his gaze met Fly's. Fly smiled, as if he had already forgotten his loss in the solo match, as if knowing that victory would be determined by their combined results anyway.

Seeing that relaxed expression, Kim Buja smiled back.

He was at a clear disadvantage compared to the solo match, but he wouldn't give up. He never had, and he had always managed to wrestle his desired outcome from the jaws of defeat.

His vision flashed, and darkness rushed in.

5.

People grow through experience

As soon as the team match began and spectator mode opened, viewers found themselves agonizing over a single question.

—Korea or the U.S.?

—I've got both streams open.

—Watching both is fine, but if I can see one in first-person, I kinda want to go with that. I'm torn.

No one was seriously considering the other countries as variables.

—China? Japan? They didn't even show their faces in the solo match, so they're suddenly gonna crush it in the team match? Come on. And China… a flat twenty-man limit is kinda meh for them. They'd only be a threat if there was no cap on player numbers.

Blunt, discriminatory comments about other countries poured out alongside cold, clinical evaluations. People's time was valuable. Many were unemployed or taking time off work to watch, and the more they saw it as an investment, the more desperate they became to get their money's worth.

—Honestly, I didn't expect much from Kim Buja in the solo match, but it was way more fun than I thought. Fly's magic was cool and all, but watching someone tame monsters, build a monster army, and steamroll everything was insanely satisfying. So I'm betting on Kim Buja this time.

—I get that, but the solo and team matches are different beasts. Isn't it safer to just watch Fly? I didn't even bother with Kim Buja's stream for the solo match.

—Still, if he's soloing a Legendary and all that, I feel like he'll pull his weight in the team match too.

Of course, the choice came down to personal taste. People who wanted pure entertainment opened both streams at once. Those who believed the team match was Fly's domain watched only his stream. And those who thought there might be another crazy twist, just like in the solo match, tuned in to Kim Buja's.

If the streams were ranked purely by viewership, the numbers for every country besides the U.S. and Korea would have been negligible. Whatever the case, as the match kicked off, people were drawn in and quickly realized something.

—Whoa, what the hell? They're going this fast right from the start?

—This is nuts. The players are insane, and the difficulty's insane too.

Just as in the solo match, the event's difficulty did not disappoint, and the caliber of the players meeting that challenge meant that either stream was more than worth watching.

More importantly, the team match also had several changes that set it apart from the previous event. Among them was a system designed to aggressively provoke spectators and players alike, fanning the flames of competition.

—Holy crap, you can see the current rankings in real time?

—Isn't that just for us viewers?

—Nope. From what the players are saying, it looks like they can see it too.

—That's insane. So they're climbing while watching how far their rivals have gotten?

It's human nature to hate seeing someone get ahead of you. If you can't see the rankings, you can at least comfort yourself by thinking, 'I'm probably in first place,' and keep pushing. But what if there's a hologram floating in plain sight, impossible to turn off, showing your current standing and the gap between your team and the others like a tattoo in the air?

—Everyone's gonna go all-in like their lives are on the line.

—It's not even their real lives, but yeah, they'll treat it like it is.

An endless competitive race.

Which party was the strongest in the world right now?

The official stage to decide that had just opened.

* * *

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