8.

[The effect of 'Wait for Free Gold: Trait (3)' is applied.]

[The waiting time for 'Wait for Free Gold' is reduced to 12 hours.]

[The effect of 'Wait for Free Gold: Trait (1)' is applied.]

[You have acquired 93 Gold.]

The 25% probability triggered more often than expected.

There were times when two effects triggered at once. He noticed that on days when 'Trait 3' activated, 'Trait 1' would also activate twice in a row, letting him earn 186 gold in a single day.

If things kept going like this, he thought he would become rich in no time.

However, reality was not so forgiving.

"No, does it make sense to be short on gold?"

Since this wasn't exactly reality, maybe it could happen.

Even though he was earning 30 gold daily—around 100 if he got lucky—the fact that his gold had hit rock bottom after two weeks was undeniable.

It was somewhat expected. He had spent about 10,000 gold in the Kingdom of Akanda. His income remained consistently small, while his expenses poured out like a waterfall.

Because of that, the saintess had mistaken him for a god, and even though he had received a Hidden Mission, he couldn't be satisfied with that alone.

"Haaah."

He let out a deep sigh.

'I needed more gold.'

He had become so poor that he couldn't even attempt to stage the events necessary to help the saintess on her journey. Naturally, he felt that following the saintess had to be temporarily halted.

He realized it was time to explain things to the princess, noticing the puzzled expression on her face as she looked at him.

"A problem has come up."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"If it's difficult to explain, you don't have to."

He was momentarily stunned by the princess's refusal to even hear an explanation. It confused him, as if he had seen this scene somewhere before.

"Why is it that people with hearts as wide as the ocean are always so kind?"

Seora was like that, and now the princess was overflowing with consideration to the point of spilling over.

She must be curious.

"No. I'll tell you."

Buja didn't accept the overflowing consideration. Even if she asked him to tell her later if needed, he knew he wouldn't do it.

"It's time you knew."

He told her because it was more convenient that way. Unlike Chapter 1, he knew it would be difficult to progress from Chapter 2 onwards if his relationship with the princess didn't grow closer.

Since Chapter 2-1 allowed a generous time limit of two months, the time he spent in reality could stretch that long as well. He worried that if things went wrong, he might encounter a restriction and find himself unable to log back in even if he wanted to.

"I should explain why I disappear for a while once I vanish, and why I use so many items that aren't magic."

He knew he had to inform her in preparation for that time. Only then would the princess be aware and able to lie low.

Once again, a soundproof magic circle was deployed in a secretive space. A secret she couldn't even tell Kallis.

"This is an absolute secret between you and me. Consider it like having made a contract with a demon, and you must never speak of it."

The princess reassured, "I will take it to my grave."

When he spoke with a serious expression, the princess nodded resolutely. She had said it was fine, but she had wanted to know. It wasn't because she felt it was unfair to wait without knowing the reason ever since their first meeting.

"Actually, I was curious. I want to know everything about you, Mr. Buja."

It was so she could wait.

So that even if the same thing happened in the future, she wouldn't be anxious and could endure it firmly.

The princess approached within a hand's span, her eyes sparkling as if worried even a small whisper might escape. Buja took a subtle step back.

"Those words are full of potential misunderstandings. But anyway, I'll tell you."

And so, he explained.

Though the preamble was grand, he omitted the whole truth. He had realized it while watching the saintess—just how far the scope of probability applied in this world.

"First of all, I came from another dimension."

"I had a feeling you weren't a person from this continent."

"Even my clothes are different, right? Well, that's not important. Because of that, I have a lot of restrictions."

"Ah...!"

She believed even these nonsensical words.

Of course, the fact that the saintess and the princess had special upbringings and were that much purer played a part.

It didn't matter. Buja just needed to convince the princess in his own way.

"The amount of mana I can charge and bring over is fixed, so I have to go back every once in a while. That's why I disappear for a month or two at a time."

"That's a relief. I was worried something might have happened to you. If you're going back, does that mean you're staying in a safer state?"

"Uh, well. You can't exactly say it's safer, but it's probably safer than here."

He was confused whether he was convincing her or just brainwashing her.

But the process was smooth.

He told the princess, who accepted everything without a filter, about his position and situation without adding or subtracting anything more. He also explained why he could no longer follow the saintess, keeping it simple—a mere notification rather than delving into the grandiose mechanisms and growth methods of the Gold Maker class.

"Put simply, I lack mana. The amount I can use here is limited."

"Is there anything I can do to help? I can do anything if it's for you, Mr. Buja."

"No, don't say such dangerous things."

The princess uttered words that sounded like she really would do anything with such an innocent expression.

'I don't have gold anyway, so wouldn't it be fine while I recharge?'

The desire to be faithful to instinct. A man and a woman trapped inside a soundproof magic circle.

Unfortunately, he couldn't shake off a worry that was greater than that.

'Where am I going to get gold?'

For Buja, the number one priority was money.

Back when he had no money, it was the most important thing—so much so that he didn't even place meaning on meeting someone, let alone dating.

It had to be that way. In a situation where one couldn't even resolve the basics of food, clothing, and shelter, money was a lover and money was love.

That mindset remained deep in his bones. Saying you can live without it? That's something only people who haven't truly been without can say!

Especially here, there was almost nothing Buja could do without gold. Without gold now, it was hard to find any meaning in proceeding with the Gold Mission.

That was how powerless he was. This wasn't a difficulty level that could be overcome with wit or strategy alone. It was bad enough that he wished he had the gold back he spent on the Gold Ring and the 'Wait for Free Gold' upgrades.

"Haaah, gold really is the problem."

A sigh escaped his lips naturally.

Hearing his worry, the princess asked.

"Do you need gold?"

"Huh?"

An unexpected intervention. Her words were quite serious.

"I know places where hidden gold is buried. I don't have anything right now, but if you need it, please tell me. They were created in the form of dungeons, so there are monsters, and it might be dangerous, but since Sir Kallis is here, I'm sure we can find them."

And her serious words were a ray of light to Buja.

"What? Monsters?"

"Yes, I heard Father hid treasures by turning the locations into dungeons. There are gold and artifacts too..."

"No."

The gold the princess was talking about wasn't that gold. Buja wasn't interested in gold coins and items since he couldn't take them out unless he purchased them from the Gold Shop anyway.

What was important to Buja right now was the 'gold' he could use in the Gold Shop.

One of the ways to obtain that had just come out of the princess's mouth.

"Is there a dungeon packed tight with guys like orcs? Not too weak, but not too strong, either."

He didn't know if he could farm gold by hunting monsters here as well. But he couldn't just spend the time limit doing nothing.

He resolved to try everything he could.

The path that had been chasing the saintess changed direction in an instant toward a dungeon.

* * *

He wondered if he could earn gold through hunting in a Gold Mission.

Actually, it was a thought he had been carrying since Chapter 1-1. It was a calculation he realized he should have made as a basic step.

But it wasn't easy.

The moment he opened his eyes, all he saw was the princess in a state practically akin to being naked, and after that, he only encountered people of this fantasy world. He hadn't had the time to fulfill his fantasy of meeting an orc at least once and beating it to a pulp.

Forget orcs; as he pressed on with a mission so difficult that just finding a way to survive was a challenge, he realized it was soon time to return home.

In that situation, Buja's basis for judgment was only one thing: Humans.

Ultimately, killing an orc or a human was the same, so if gold was acquired, it should have been the same when hunting humans.

It should have been, but in the battle at the gorge, it wasn't. Even though tens of thousands of people died at Buja's hands, all he gained was gold through achievements.

After that, he had no choice but to conclude that gold acquisition in Gold Missions was entirely dependent on 'Wait for Free Gold'.

It was a sequence of situations where he had to judge them that way and move on. Internally, while he weighed various possibilities and scenarios, he found himself forgetting about them as he focused on other matters.

The moment to confirm that for sure had finally arrived.

"I can dismantle the traps and soothe the monsters. Should I not do it?"

"Yeah, gold coins aren't what's important."

Leaving the princess and Kallis behind, he drew his sword.

A massive maze.

Standing before the colossal dungeon, he felt his heart race; just by glancing at it, he thought it must be filled with expensive things.

"To think I'd be running a dungeon even after coming all the way here."

Who would have known? He felt weirdly tremulous and tense.

How strong would the monsters here be? He recalled hearing from the princess that fairly powerful monsters appeared.

'How well will I fare?'

Starting with the slave traders he had first encountered, he thought most of the knights in this world were strong enough that Buja, in its current state, dared not face them. Even before considering technical aspects like.

Still, there had been a lot of progress compared to the beginning.

He had raised his level to 13, and excluding items, his stats had improved quite a bit. At this level, he thought, surely he could handle the monsters here, right?

That confidence was strongly expressed through the Gold Ring, which had become a 2-star.

Conveniently, the first monster to appear was a goblin that looked manageable.

Screeee!

And just one, at that.

"Didn't they set up guys that are too easy?"

He moved forward with confidence. The monster's very appearance seemed to ignite that confidence within him. He planned to close the distance quickly and use their difference in size to his advantage to cook it.

Swish—

The moment the sword he swung with that thought was blocked by the Goblin's slender arm, he released the hilt and retreated faster than anyone.

"Holy shit."

Even though the sword struck his arm, a backlash hit him as if he had struck a boulder. He frowned and stepped back. Turning his head, he noticed the princess watching him with a worried expression.

"It's a modified goblin. I was told one of them could take on an ogre and win."

He remained silent.

'You should have told me that earlier.'

Shaking his tingling arm, he created a weapon again.

An ogre.

He hadn't known how strong the ogres here were. But the moment he experienced it firsthand, he could feel it.

It was doable.

Unlike the slave traders or the knights on the battlefield, where he had sensed a stat gap that put them completely out of his league, this felt like an appropriate penalty.

"Good."

His lips curled up, revealing a fighting spirit he hadn't felt in a long time.

Saving an allied nation, meeting a saintess, and now this baseless progression on the way to help her—he didn't know what was going on, but that was what made it more interesting.

"Now this is a game."

Choices with no right answer. He felt the thrill of moving as he pleased, each choice building upon the last to shape a single outcome!

Although it seemed meaningless, each of these discoveries in a Gold Mission with no information would eventually bring better mission progress and rapid growth in reality.

To do that, he resolved to do his best.

"To think a day would come where I fight a goblin with all my might..."

Screeee!

A death match with a goblin began.

* * *

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.