5.

A Special Dungeon is, as the name implies, something unique.

It isn't that the Dungeon Gate looks peculiar or visually different from others, but rather that the clear conditions determining the dungeon's difficulty are distinct.

Of course, since there are countless dungeons in the world and even more clear conditions to conquer them, Players do not have the right or authority to objectively decide what is special and what is not.

Each Player has their own standards; some might consider a specific clear condition special, while others might find it more ordinary than anything else.

Nevertheless, the reason there hasn't been any debate over the conditions that define a Special Dungeon in the past six years is simple.

[Clear Condition]

☆ Clear the 15th Floor of Mureung Dojo

☆ Defeat Boss Monster 'Mugong'

▷ This is a Rare Grade Special Dungeon. Dungeon penalties are applied.

1. Each time a floor is cleared, the stats and attack power of the monsters on the remaining floors increase. This stacks every floor, and at 14 stacks, the effect is doubled.

It is because the hologram officially labels it as a 'Special' dungeon.

It is because this label is only attached to clear conditions that make any Player nod their head and agree that it feels unique.

Naturally, the number of Special Dungeons is small.

In a world where dungeons are more common than taxis, they are notoriously hard to find.

Furthermore, the difficulty of a Special Dungeon is incomparably higher than that of an equivalent standard dungeon.

One need only look at the 'Mureung Dojo' dungeon right in front of him.

A boss that exists at the end of a dungeon where one must climb to the 15th floor.

Naturally, the monsters getting stronger with every floor is obvious, but the 'Special Penalty' added on top makes one question if this is truly only a Rare Grade dungeon.

If a mere Rare Grade has such a brutal penalty attached, what would it be like for Epic or Unique Grades?

Most Players skip Special Dungeons.

Even with the sparse information circulating that clearing them yields far more and rarer rewards than normal dungeons, most don't even give them a second glance.

"This is going to be tight."

The penalty was vicious enough to make even Kim Buja click his tongue.

Above all, there was a restriction that would impact Players the most.

[This is a 1-Player Dungeon. Entry is restricted.]

Not all Special Dungeons are like this.

But most of them are.

And the moment one gets caught in a 1-Player Special Dungeon like this, another penalty applies.

The Player count restriction penalty!

A Special Dungeon is where the difficulty goes off the charts.

And he had chosen to come here.

Finding it wasn't difficult.

A Special Dungeon that had already been challenged by countless 2-Star Players, yet was being abandoned because no one had returned alive.

It wasn't being sold for money; people were practically begging for someone to clear it.

Moreover, even if it was a notorious dungeon, to Kim Buja, it was more attractive than any other and exactly the place he was looking for.

"The perfect dungeon for a dojo challenge."

A dungeon where he didn't have to fight against time with his life as collateral, unlike in the Normal Dungeon.

He just had to fight.

With the enemies appearing on every floor.

As he stepped inside, watching the scenery change and the tower soaring as if to pierce the sky, he moved forward without hesitation.

"Let's go."

2-Star Rare Special Dungeon, Mureung Dojo.

It was a good opportunity to verify just how far Kim Buja's stats would work at this current point.

* * *

Expectation is a fickle thing.

It changes every moment, and the evaluation based on that expectation can shift as drastically as the distance between heaven and earth.

If people see something unexpected from someone they had no expectations for, they are surprisingly shocked.

That is how expectation begins.

Anticipation piles up, and if at some moment that person fails to show something beyond those expectations, the accumulated anticipation turns into disappointment.

And the moment it turns into disappointment, changing it back into expectation is nearly impossible.

That is why it is difficult.

Buying people's interest.

And converting that bought interest into satisfaction.

That is why the service industry is hard.

In that sense, Players often hear that they are at the extreme end of the service industry.

Excluding those Players who silently run dungeons for self-satisfaction or wealth, this applies to the Players who make a living off people's attention.

It can't be helped.

For a Player, skill is everything, and to buy people's expectations with that skill, they must constantly develop and grow.

Excuses do not work.

Stagnation is the beginning of disappointment.

That is why Players—specifically those who run video channels—make content outside of growth their main focus.

Even if it isn't that, there is a need to create a fixed fan base for the channel in at least one other direction.

Because a person cannot always improve.

There was only one person in the world, until now, who was acknowledged by people solely through his own skill, excluding other content: Fly.

It had been that way, but today, a second one was born.

—Are you nuts?

—He entered a 2-Star Rare Special Dungeon? Mureung Dojo? I heard people say that place is practically Special Grade difficulty.

—Special, my ass. It's a dungeon they say is Legendary difficulty, so you shouldn't enter at all.

Usually, it is rare for a name to be attached to a dungeon and for the dungeon to be referred to by that name.

This is because countless dungeons appear every day and just as many disappear after being cleared by Players.

Each dungeon has its characteristics, and while one could attach a name if they wanted to, it is meaningless to Players who will go to clear a different dungeon tomorrow.

Therefore, at best, cases where a dungeon gets a specific name are limited to those among high-level Players, or occasionally dungeons that withstand countless sacrifices and stubbornly keep their place.

Naturally, such things rarely happen in 2-Star dungeons.

If a rumor spreads that a dungeon eats Players, countless prominent Players will challenge it, and usually, the dungeon is cleared even if a few more victims emerge.

This is a dungeon that survived in such a climate.

Most Players know it, having already passed the 2-Star level, and even the general public knows it.

That means it has produced that many victims.

Especially one condition that frustrates countless challengers.

—It's a 1-Player dungeon.

—It is perfect for Kim Buja, though.

Naturally, interest focused even more intensely.

Although it was a Rare Dungeon, curiosity mixed with worry was directed at him due to people saying it was practically Legendary.

'Will he die?'

Even so, people acknowledged that Kim Buja's current ability was around Special Grade in 2-Star, but what would happen if he died in a dungeon evaluated as Legendary Grade?

Everyone knew.

Challenges of this scale, while large, were not unprecedented, and there were many cases where they ended abruptly despite drawing much expectation and interest.

That is the kind of place a dungeon is.

No matter if it is Kim Buja, no matter if he beat Fly in the event, it is a place where it wouldn't be strange at all to die overnight, anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

Everyone watched the timer that appeared again in silence.

The record of 59 minutes for clearing the Normal Dungeon had passed long ago, and the leading digit was pointing to 1.

1 hour.

1 hour 30 minutes.

2 hours.

—As expected, is it impossible?

Sighs of lament escaped people's lips as it passed the 2-hour mark.

Then they discussed how ridiculous this phenomenon was.

—No, wait, it's only been 2 hours?

—Lol true, this is ridiculous. Why did we think he would be out by now naturally?

—If it's Mureung Dojo, you have to climb while conserving stamina as much as possible. It takes at least two days.

—I think it'll take some time here.

—Still, if it's Kim Buja, it might be a dungeon he can clear comfortably.

—It's a Time Attack, so two days is a bit much, but wouldn't he come out within 24 hours by running as fast as possible?

Even amongst themselves, they admitted it.

They were too overheated.

Common sense had been destroyed by Kim Buja.

Let's think calmly once again.

When will he come out?

What counts as common sense within the line of 'Kim Buja'?

The discussion did not last long.

* * *

Throughout the climb up Mureung Dojo, the smile never left Kim Buja's lips.

"Now, this is a game."

He was confident in all games, but if he had to choose the genre he was most confident in, he could choose without a single shred of hesitation.

Fighting.

The most basic skill applied to all kinds of games.

The entirety of the talent he possessed.

He had secured dominance and progressed in AOS, RPG, and all other games solely with his innate sense.

How would it be in a game that proceeds in the most fundamental way?

Mureung Dojo was such a place.

A place where one climbs floors solely with pure fighting skills.

Fighting the enemy 1-on-1 without any restrictions.

No, the restrictions were actually borne by the opponent.

The enemies became stronger with every floor, but the overwhelming stats provided by the stats increased via Gold Maker and the Legendary items wrapped around his body made that difference feel light enough to be imperceptible.

On top of that, the strengthening enemies were forced to succumb to an unfair mysterious power before they could even display their strength.

'Status effects trigger more often than I thought.'

A 7.5% probability of inducing a status effect.

To Kim Buja, who lands attacks rapidly, it approaches with a sensation of over 75%.

Status effects that don't greatly impact combat trigger quite often, but the moment status effects like momentary stiffness, blindness, or stun are applied, the battle is effectively over.

He felt it needlessly.

'I should equip some status effect resistance.'

Especially since it is a low-level dungeon, this is even more true.

Monsters did not possess the ability to counter fraudulent options like status effects.

What use was it if stats and attack/defense power continued to stack?

If a status effect lands, they have no choice but to die without being able to move.

Mugong was the same.

He was certainly powerful.

He was the boss of a Special Dungeon, his stats ballooned to double due to the 14-stack penalty, and he was powerful enough on his own to excellently prove he was the gatekeeper guarding the final floor of Mureung Dojo.

With countless buffs stacked, there were even moments where Kim Buja was pushed back in the exchange of blows.

But that was exactly as far as it went.

Even while being pushed back, Kim Buja persistently landed attacks, and even if they didn't land as effective hits, 7.5% of the applied attacks played their role thoroughly.

Despite holding the advantageous high ground, visible wounds increased one by one on Mugong's body, and status effects like Poison linked with the wounds to gradually make Mugong's movements sluggish.

In a fight undertaken without carrying any penalties, Kim Buja's composure was maintained until the end, and eventually, Mugong fell.

It was too futile an ending for the Mureung Dojo, which had the notoriety of swallowing at least hundreds of Players.

The peak of the absurdity was Kim Buja taking out a pot and burner from somewhere with a calm expression and boiling ramen while looking at the scenery outside the tower from the top floor.

"Ah, I'm hungry."

It hadn't been long since the time attack started, but since he had used a lot of energy and hadn't eaten a single meal since starting, he enjoyed a 5-minute break.

He could have gone out to eat, but eating here would surely help bring the video to life.

After filling his stomach neatly, Kim Buja exited leisurely and looked at the clock.

[2 Hours 04 Minutes]

"Ah."

A short sigh was followed by a quote that would remain for a long time.

"I shouldn't have eaten that ramen."

Along with words that inflamed the insides of the countless Players watching, the time attack up to the Rare Dungeon came to an end.

Before half a day had even passed.

* * *

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