9.

While running the dungeon, Buja realized a surprising fact.

'Why on earth did the Empire collapse?'

Even if it was a dungeon where the Emperor's slush fund was buried, the constructed dungeon was, in terms of completion and difficulty, easily equivalent to a 3-star dungeon in reality.

Then, did the Legendary staff left by ancient wizards or artifacts collected by dragons exist at the end of the dungeon?

That wasn't it either.

"How much money did they spend just to hoard some scraps of gold?"

Of course, there was a lot of gold.

Gold coins so bright they were blinding, the kind you'd see in a novel. Gold bars were stacked up like fake props in movies.

It was much more dazzling, and a far greater quantity was piled up. Enough to throw your body in and swim among real gold coins.

It once again showed the Empire's prestige.

"How many of these places are there?"

"Father told me there are ten," the princess answered.

Buja was speechless.

There was so much gold that, tired of stacking it, hundreds and thousands of coins were just scattered around. An amount difficult to even carry away.

How could one not question it?

If they just used these gold coins, it felt like they could exterminate every black magic user on the continent.

"Ruling a continent really is a huge deal."

Spending that much gold just to store that amount of gold. What this meant was one thing: They placed no value on money.

The saying that even a bankrupt rich man can live off his wealth for three years meant nothing before the Empire; its decline, if it ever came, would span generations.

A deep sense of futility washed over him.

"Shouldn't we have come to get the gold earlier?"

She replied, "We didn't have the time."

Moving it wasn't a problem, either. He noticed a magic bag had been prepared to hold all the gold coins. If he could, he thought, he wanted to pack it all up and return to reality.

He glanced subtly at the princess.

As that thought occurred, a few schemes flashed through his mind.

'Should I try?'

He decided to put it on hold for now and try it when he left later. After all, what mattered most at that moment wasn't the gold piled up here like dirt.

It was kickable underfoot, yet Buja still wanted a different kind of gold.

"Well, the gold supply source is secured, so that's done."

Fortunately, he confirmed that he could hunt monsters and acquire gold normally.

The important fact wasn't the Empire's hidden slush fund or whatever, but that.

[You have acquired 21 Gold.]

A monster that spat out at least ten times the gold one could get in a 1-star dungeon!

He knew well enough that it was a modified goblin and shouldn't be compared to a normal one, but even so, considering Buja had caught it alone, the amount still felt massive—something that defied comparison to reality.

He wasn't curious about the reason. He was just fired up.

Of course, he hadn't gone on a rampage and cleared the dungeon alone.

"The monsters are too strong. If I just hide in here for the rest of my life, the Allied Forces or whoever won't be able to find me. They wouldn't even be able to catch me."

He had exhausted all his strength catching a single modified Goblin.

After using up the miscellaneous doping potions he had saved from attendance chests, he quietly followed behind the princess, watching as she dismantled the dungeon traps and calmed the monsters.

In the end, he realized today's income was effectively zero, but discovering hope was enough.

"You said there are a lot of monsters on the continent?"

"Yes, more than half is land for monsters. I heard dragons also inhabit the Forbidden Mountain Range in the north."

"Good."

He had found a new goal.

Buja could enjoy even a single-player game diligently and with fun, as long as there was a growth objective. He thought of enjoyable hunting, his mind crowded with plans concerning the troublesome Allied Forces.

"I need to become twice as strong. Everyone is so strong that I can't even show off. Sheesh."

Honestly, until now, he hadn't felt much interest in the Gold Mission. It was a series of extreme situations and difficulty levels beyond imagination, so he had simply challenged it with his best effort.

The fun, interest, or anticipation he gained in between was only rewarded visually and tactually by the princess in front of him.

It couldn't be helped.

It was true in reality as well, but in a continent where magic and swords ran rampant, Buja's stats at a mere level 13 were barely enough to beat an apprentice knight.

That was how high the average stats of the people on the continent were set.

A world full of superhumans.

Naturally, the difficulty ramped up. Facing situations that required cunning rather than his usual brute-force style felt like fighting with one arm tied behind his back.

Making matters worse, he had to rely on those tricks to compensate for the increasing difficulty caused by his growth in the real world.

But that was no longer the case.

The Gold Mission was no longer just a tedious process of raising a princess solely for the fun of it, all to gain a large reward at the end.

'Why didn't I think of this sooner?'

Perhaps his thoughts had been fixed on the massive reward that was so hard to obtain in reality, coupled with the oppression of freedom he faced from the start.

Regardless, caught up in the joy of finding hope, he threw himself onto the pile of gold coins spread out before him like a mirage.

When else would he get to experience something like this?

The metallic scent of pure gold filled his nose.

They were nothing more than hard lumps of metal, yet lying there with his eyes closed felt undeniably good.

"If only I could take this with me."

He would be able to live the rest of his life comfortably without a worry.

"Shall we take it all?"

The princess asked in response to his fleeting mutterings.

Kim Buja shook his head.

"Taking too much will just be a burden. Just take a little if you need it. It's not like we can't do things because we lack money right now, is it? Even if we take it, there probably won't be many places to spend it."

Life is fleeting!

These were words the real-world Kim Buja would never say!

It was only possible because this was the continent.

What was the point of having billions in gold?

Even if he bought expensive artifacts, he couldn't take them back, and even if he equipped them, he didn't have the skills to utilize them.

His stats would rise, but this wasn't a situation where that amount of difference would allow him to do anything special.

With a sense of regret, he grabbed a fistful of the "pie in the sky"—the unattainable treasure—and tucked it into his shirt.

Then, a miracle occurred.

[254 Gold (Mission) acquired.]

"Huh?"

Did he see that wrong?

The gold coins he had clenched in his fist had vanished without a trace. Staring at a sight he couldn't believe even with his own eyes, he repeated the motion once more.

A little more this time.

[412 Gold (Mission) acquired.]

"Holy crap!"

Opening the status window made the situation even clearer.

▶ Holdings: 912G / (Mission): 666G

A hollow laugh burst out from the sheer absurdity of it.

"No way… now of all times?"

It had been nearly half a year since he started the Gold Mission.

Although he had spent a month at a time in reality in between, and nearly two months had passed due to events, he had gone through three chapters and checked his status window countless times during that process.

If it was going to be classified separately, shouldn't it have been done from the first chapter?

The Gold Mission gold had been paid out since then and was classified as gold that couldn't be taken out.

Of course, complaining wouldn't change anything.

[Achievement: Pie-in-the-Sky Gold! (N) unlocked.]

[(Mission) Gold has been activated.]

[Holdings/ (Mission) Gold can be exchanged for currency during the Gold Mission.]

[Acquired currency can be exchanged for (Mission) Gold.]

"Wow."

He thought he had figured out most of it. But he was wrong.

The hologram—the Gold Maker class—was still full of unexplained mysteries.

His heart raced once again. He reflected on having lost his initial mindset.

He marveled, shifting the blame onto the Gold Mission, which had progressed so quickly that he missed even such a trivial detail.

"Amazing."

Saying that, he glanced around and began moving his hands.

His hands, moving faster than the eye could see, stopped when he felt two pairs of eyes watching his every move with suspicion.

"Should we move all this? We're short on hands anyway, so we'll probably need a lot of money, right? Most likely?"

An awkward laugh and a lame excuse popped out without filtering through his brain.

* * *

Fortunately, the princess did not interfere with the disposal of the gold.

"You can use it all, Mr. Buja."

"You know, right? Even if I take it, I'll use it all for you," he replied.

"It's okay to use it for yourself," the princess answered.

She was generous to a burdensome degree. Kim Buja didn't refuse, either. It wasn't something to be thankful for.

It was a fact no one else knew, but wasn't the amount of gold he had spent for the princess immeasurable?

Excluding the gold usable in the Gold Mission, he had even emptied his personal coffers.

It was the same this time.

Just what he remembered amounted to 10,000 gold.

Above all, taking this wouldn't be used to satisfy his own self-interest. No, he couldn't do it.

"I'd love to use it all, but you said there were nine left, right? If dungeons are remaining after everything is done, just give me what's inside those."

Just thinking about it made his head ache; there was so much gold to be spent in the future.

How many battles would occur? How many incidents and accidents would he have to fabricate?

It was all gold. Especially for staging scenes related to black magic, even more gold was required. How wonderful was this heartwarming image of putting personal gain last?

Perhaps sensing his heart, the princess nodded with a bright smile.

Having received permission, he picked up the gold coins scattered on the floor to his heart's content and threw them into his shirt.

How much would it be?

He swept them up with such passion that he wondered if there was ever a time he hadn't been greedy.

Even if it was like game money that couldn't be cashed out.

Whether it was simply game money that could only buy general goods in the game, or bound cash currency that could buy cash items like mileage points, was a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

A picture was already being drawn in his head.

'Rebuild the Empire, place the continent under the Empire's feet again, snag a decent position, rake in gold, and sweep the Legendary items from the Gold Shop…'

It was in the distant future, but if he supplied gold in this way, there would come a moment when he felt absolutely no burden purchasing items from the Gold Shop.

Furthermore, since the gold earned could be used entirely for skills or growth, a more efficient investment was possible.

Gold Mission! The more he played, the more its value shone.

And the gold that shone even brighter than that!

▶ Holdings: 912G / (Mission): 13,415G

"Haah."

If only this were real gold.

His human greed poured out endless regret, but at the same time, he meticulously planned with the gold he had.

Where and how should he spend it so that rumors spread that it was well spent?

13,000 Gold.

Since the money came in all at once, thoughts of saving it were tossed into an empty lot.

"Right, I can't take it with me anyway, so let's invest aggressively."

Thinking like that, for the future, a decent plan came to mind.

"Wow, shit. I always wanted to try this someday while reading fantasy novels."

That time was now. A wicked smile formed on his lips of its own accord.

* * *

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