1.

Buja's ear itched.

"What the…?"

"What is it?" Seora asked.

"Did you just blow in my ear?"

"No."

At Jeong Seora's denial, he shook his head and rubbed his ear. The itchy feeling faded quickly. It wasn't dust. He had the feeling someone was talking about him.

It was one of those moments when the ridiculous superstition—that your ears itch when someone is badmouthing you—felt a little too real.

He dismissed the thought immediately. There was no need to dwell on it.

'Yeah, right. As if only one or two people are talking trash about me. At this rate, I could live to be two hundred, and it wouldn't be a surprise.'

From what had happened at the interview to beating Fly and taking first place in the event, there were more than a few things he was getting flamed for. Of course, just as many people, if not more, were defending him, so it wasn't a major concern.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

'How should I approach the 2-star dungeons?'

That was the biggest issue: what to do after leaving the tutorial. He had accomplished so much in the 1-star dungeons that he could probably charge ahead into 2-star content without much trouble, but if he only chased immediate results, he would eventually slam into a massive wall he couldn't overcome.

And that was something even Kim Buja wouldn't be able to handle. He excelled at long-term planning and combat, not at smashing through walls he'd blindly run into.

So, he had to prepare in advance. This was especially true for someone like him, whose level-ups raised special stats instead of basic attributes. He had to assume that his current stats would remain more or less the same, with only slight increases from swapping out his gear for higher-level items.

That alone wouldn't be enough.

He had to squeeze every last drop out of the game's countless systems, milking every feature that could raise his stats as he progressed through the 2-star stage.

Fortunately, he had plenty of options. His task wasn't to invent a new way to gain a missing stat but to find the most effective and efficient way to navigate all the available paths.

To do that, he had to choose carefully.

Where should he spend the twenty-two thousand gold?

It was more than enough to dump into a single area and still have some left over, which meant that this time, he could even afford to think about how to divide it.

"Hm."

If he followed his heart, he wanted to invest in Wait for Free Gold. It costs 2,750 gold to reach level 30 and 3,850 gold to reach level 40. Before the event, that had been a hefty sum, but now it was an amount he could invest with only a bit of strain. If he raised it to a reasonable level while he had this much gold saved up, it would become a veritable cash cow of a skill, spitting out more than enough profit with almost no risk.

"Let's raise the traits first."

He decided it was worth investing at least 5,000 gold. Before leveling it up further, he first pushed it to level 20 and spent 2,000 gold to unlock its second trait.

[You have used 2,000 gold.]

[Due to the effect of Gold Power (25), the level-up cost is discounted by 500 gold (25%).]

[Trait (2) of Wait for Free Gold has been activated.]

The level-up discount on Wait for Free Gold was proving more valuable by the day. With a hefty 500-gold discount, the second trait was unlocked.

▷ Trait (2): Free Buff If You Wait (Lv. 1)

→ With a (Gold Power)% chance, one Lv. 1 buff will be applied.

"Ohh."

A low exclamation escaped him. He hadn't expected much and had only hoped for another gold-generating trait like the first one.

'What the hell?'

His heart started pounding at this unexpected trait. Until now, his only combat skill was "Mimicryry," and he had been seriously wondering if he should buy a cheap skill from the Gold Shop. If combat-oriented skills like this were going to unlock as traits, it would at least help compensate for his weakness.

'What kind of buffs does it give?'

Of course, he was only excited because it was something new; he wasn't expecting anything amazing. The name alone made it clear it was a level 1 buff. In other words, as he raised the level of "Wait for Free Gold," he would eventually need to raise the trait's level to get better buffs.

Still, even if the buffs only gave small stat increases or simple attack and defense boosts, the 2,000-gold investment would be well worth it.

Satisfied with his first choice, he generously raised Wait for Free Gold to level 30.

[You have used 2,750 gold.]

[Due to the effect of Gold Power (25), the level-up cost is discounted by 687 gold (25%).]

[The level of Wait for Free Gold has increased. 20 → 30]

[Wait for Free Gold]

▶ Grade: Legendary

▶ Type: Passive

▶ Level: 30(+1)

▷ Generates 30(+1) gold every day at midnight.

▷ You can spend 300 gold to increase its level.

▷ At level 30, you can spend 3,000 gold to unlock Trait (3).

▷ Due to the effect of Gold Power (25), all level-up costs for Gold Maker content are discounted by 25%.

▷ Due to the effect of the Constellation, its level is increased by 1.

▷ Trait (1): Sweet Taste of Patience (Lv. 1)

→ With a (Gold Power)% chance, the amount of gold obtained will be tripled.

▷ Trait (2): Free Buff If You Wait (Lv. 1)

→ With a (Gold Power)% chance, one Lv. 1 buff will be applied.

The skill description had gotten quite long. With two traits attached, it finally felt like a proper main skill. And it wasn't just the length of the description that had changed. Back when it only gave a measly one gold at midnight, it had been pathetically weak; a single day of grinding dungeons could earn him one or two months' worth of what the skill produced.

Now, however, the quality of its effects had improved beyond comparison.

He'd get thirty-one gold, and ninety-three if the trait activated. He could now earn more at midnight than he would from running a decent dungeon. Factoring in that 2-star dungeons would have more monsters and higher rewards, Wait for Free Gold still lost out to pure hunting, but he was satisfied that it had grown from a pitiful pittance into a respectable allowance.

'It was worth the investment.'

More than anything, it was a skill with a lot of future potential. It was worth pouring gold into ahead of things like Enhancement or VIP Level. If he followed his heart, he wanted to unlock Trait 3 right away and see what it was. He still had about 18,000 gold left, so it wasn't exactly reckless.

'Should I do it?'

He hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and asked, "Should I?"

"Again?"

Jeong Seora, who had been enjoying a rare break by lying comfortably and watching a movie—and Kim Buja's one-man show of agonizing over his choices—looked over at him with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean, again?" he asked.

"Nothing. My mistake."

He fell silent.

'What is this?' he wondered. 'This flustered, suddenly heated feeling?'

"Whatever it is, just do it. You're only asking because you already want to," Jeong Seora said, turning toward him with a smile before he could dwell on the misunderstanding.

People were all the same. When they asked someone else to choose for them, it wasn't because they truly couldn't decide. They had already picked what they wanted, but rationally, they knew that choice wasn't as efficient as the other.

"Did you major in psychology or something?" he asked.

"Just skimmed the surface. More than that, it's a pattern you see a lot when you run dungeons, especially with other players. They push themselves too hard trying to get slightly better rewards and end up coming back missing an arm or a leg. I've done a lot of counseling."

"Ahh."

Thanks to her, he scratched the back of his head and went ahead with it.

[You have used 3,000 gold.]

[Due to the effect of Gold Power (25), the level-up cost is discounted by 750 gold (25%).]

[Trait (3) of 'Wait for Free Gold' has been activated.]

The sky didn't fall. Even after unlocking the trait, he still had about 16,000 gold left, which was more than enough to invest in other content.

'Okay, this much is fine.'

It would only become a problem if he got greedy and started spending outside his plan. Still, it wasn't like Enhancement, where he could lose his mind and blow everything, so he consoled himself and checked the new trait.

▷ Trait (3): Bitter Taste of Patience (Lv. 1)

→ With a (Gold Power)% chance, the cooldown of 'Wait for Free Gold' for that day will be reduced to 12 hours.

He clapped his hands.

"As expected, my instincts are amazing."

Another gold-related trait, just as he had hoped. With a 25% chance, he could receive gold twice a day. At a glance, it seemed similar in concept to Trait 1, and while it might seem like the reward was smaller, Kim Buja knew better.

'If Trait 3 procs and Trait 1 procs on top of it, that's a massive win.'

Whether that could actually happen was something he would have to test. Either way, it wasn't a trait that would just burn gold for nothing, so he let out a breath of relief. He had pushed himself a bit to unlock Trait 3, thinking he probably wouldn't be able to invest in Wait for Free Gold again for a while. His first round of investment felt like a success.

"Nice."

Starting is half the battle. Now, he started carefully combing through the countless pieces of content—so many that it was hard to even find them all—to decide where to pour his gold next.

* * *

By now, Kim Buja had become a celebrity, recognized wherever he went. Because he had appeared out of nowhere, many people were curious about him, and every video that covered him drew attention and racked up high view counts.

Naturally, clickbait videos followed in droves, but viewers who had seen this countless times before mercilessly hit the dislike and report buttons, getting those videos taken down.

As a result, the single most important goal for content creators at the moment was clear: information about Kim Buja.

Anything would do.

Even just analyzing his old gameplay videos, which were easy to find on his own channel, was enough to push a video into the trending list. That was how hot a topic he was.

No wonder Fly's interview about Kim Buja held the number one spot for five days straight after the event ended.

He was a player acknowledged even by the world's number one ranker. His real-life abilities as a player still needed more time to be fully evaluated, but his understanding of his class, the rarity of that class, and the power it displayed during the event—everything was summed up in a single word: perfect. And that one word had set the world on fire.

In that situation, Park Sijun saw an opportunity.

"The First Player in the World to Run a Dungeon with Kim Buja. How's that for a title?"

In truth, he didn't have much to say about Kim Buja either. All that really stuck in his mind was that his skills were terrifying enough to make you gulp, that he used a shield better than Sijun himself did, and that thanks to him, he had become the nation's biggest sucker, showering him with everything from legendary items to all sorts of money and assets.

This was his chance to make up for it.

Time to milk him for everything he was worth!

"Don't worry about Kim Buja suing you. Just go for it. Do you know how much I gave that guy?"

In Park Sijun's mind, Kim Buja was no longer an enemy.

He was now "Kim Buja's only friend"!

Videos started pouring out.

* * *

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