6.

Usually, the moments when people look at something, or someone, and feel 'I could probably do that much?' are mostly when they see flawless performances.

Clumsy failures, getting hit, struggling...

Those look harder.

It can't be helped.

Whether in third-person or first-person, if one becomes a spectator, the viewers inevitably empathize with the person standing on the scene.

They have to think of the best option available from that person's position.

They might think of a better direction, but eventually, they feel the complexity with the question, 'Could that choice lead to success?'

On the other hand, when they see someone simply dodging, attacking, and stabbing with clean movements, people's thinking becomes simple.

—So you can fight like that, too.

This phenomenon appears even more prominently to those watching Kim Buja's videos.

Because there isn't a single unnecessary movement included in securing the advantage and suppressing the enemy with maximum efficiency through minimum movement.

At first glance, it just looks like watching, dodging, and stabbing.

It even makes the opponent look stupid.

So people have no choice but to feel that way.

—His item power is insane.

—What are those status effects landing? What is that?

—The Special Dungeon looks kinda easy?

Of course, they know.

—I know I can't move like that, but since he moves like that, it looks easy.

—Me too.

They know that Kim Buja in the video and the 'me' in reality are different.

Among the Users watching the video, there are overflowing numbers of Players with higher stats than Kim Buja.

Even those Players click their tongues.

—It's too clean.

—Leaving aside overwhelming them with stats, that guy knows how to fight.

There is a phenomenon where the opponent's movements look slow when there is a large difference in stats.

Most Players use that difference to dodge the opponent's attacks.

However, almost no one dodges by a hair's breadth like Kim Buja.

It is because one instinctively secures a safety distance, and furthermore, it causes anxiety.

—That's confidence that he can block even if an attack comes in from there, right?

Since he saw it and dodged, he can anticipate the next attack as well.

No, he won't even give them a gap for the next attack; he will make them focus entirely on defense.

Actually, Kim Buja was deflecting the opponent's attacks with the minimum trajectory and then stabbing in an attack one beat faster in reverse.

That is the core.

Something no one else can imitate.

—I acknowledge it.

—He's worthy of catching Fly.

If the first Normal Dungeon allowed one to see Kim Buja's dungeon design and fast-paced aggressiveness, the second Rare Dungeon was a stage where one could see his innate skill itself purely without any subtraction.

No one could deny it.

No one could ignore it.

Because it wasn't just a 2-Star Rare Dungeon.

—Mugong or whatever, he just gets completely crushed.

—One thing is certain: Kim Buja's stats don't lag behind Mugong's, even with the boss wrapped in penalties.

The cherry on top was, of course, the ramen he boiled at the top of the Mureung Dojo.

—There is one thing for certain. Kim Buja is a guy who knows how to enjoy himself.

—Eating ramen there. In a Time Attack.

—It was 59 minutes. Was it a 1-minute food fighter challenge? Hahahaha.

A Player possessing not only skill but also the showmanship to handle the viewers!

It is certainly not common.

That is why people cheered.

Of course, their misunderstanding ended the moment the timer passed 2 hours.

—Eh? It passed 2 hours?

—What? He doesn't seem to know.

—Lol he's moving now.

2 hours and 4 minutes.

The Rare Dungeon concluded with fun.

People shouted at the top of their lungs.

—How fun will the Epic be?

The expectations grew larger and larger.

* * *

"Sigh."

Kim Buja's sigh, having not checked the time, was exhaled as if he were dying.

It doesn't matter much, though.

Because the record in the Rare Dungeon isn't important at all, whether it is 1 hour 59 minutes or 2 hours 4 minutes.

It is just sad that the image of a Player knowing how to enjoy the atmosphere, which he tried to show, was sublimated into a comedy code by other people.

'All's well that ends well.'

Since the result was good anyway, he decided to think of it as planned.

He wasn't relaxed enough to dwell on such things.

Looking at the big goal, these are passing moments.

One week.

He just needs to think of it as a minor incident that occurred within the planned schedule.

He erased it from his mind and thought about the next dungeon.

[Clear Condition]

☆ Open the Forgotten Ancient Waterway

☆ Defeat 5 Elite Monsters

▷ This is an Epic Grade Dungeon. Dungeon penalties are applied.

1. A thick water fog covers the entire Ancient Waterway.

2. The attack power and defense of water-attribute monsters increase significantly under the influence of the fog.

A new type of dungeon.

It is a type of clear condition interesting enough to bring a smile to his lips just by looking at it.

Aren't dungeons filled with such unique conditions one by one truly a blessing given to Players?

An opportunity to experience countless worlds, even if indirectly!

It comes across more meaningfully to Kim Buja, who has experienced that another world exists through the Gold Mission.

It is a speed possible because he planned the route based on what he finds interesting, even before it is a Time Attack.

"I'll sleep a little."

Since it takes two hours to arrive again, he closed his eyes for a moment.

7.

The view counts for the videos, uploaded sharply as soon as Kim Buja came out of the dungeon, rose faster than the upload speed itself.

And within those view counts, Fly's was included as well.

The auditorium of the Fly Guild, which uses an entire massive building.

Hundreds of top-tier rankers, whose faces alone would elicit admiration, gathered to watch on a huge screen.

Including Fly.

They were no different from other people.

"He made that choice there?"

"If it were my skill, I could have cleared it faster."

"His items are seriously better than mine."

Watching each moment, they compare themselves and evaluate.

An attitude of acknowledging and accepting him as a competitor, not stemming from envy and jealousy.

There was a common evaluation coming from them.

"The clear time is longer than expected?"

"If I did it with those conditions, I think I'd be faster than that."

"He was definitely fast up to Rare. 6 hours in Epic. It slowed down drastically?"

"He picked clear conditions unfavorable to him. It would have been faster if he had just chosen a monster-hunting objective."

"Exactly."

Everyone acknowledged it.

Normal and Rare.

Even if they, at their current level, went in, it was fast enough to say that clearing within that time wouldn't be easy.

It was clean without a single superfluity.

The aggressive movement, enough to make one say 'Why is he so brute force?', was excellent enough that considering only the conclusion, there was no better choice, and even top-tier rankers had nothing to say regarding his combat sense.

However, the problem started from Epic.

Travel time: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Clear time: 6 hours.

The expectation that had reached its peak cooled down in an instant.

It wasn't just them.

It applied to everyone watching.

Words of disappointment poured out in the chat window, and comments like 'Is this the limit?' formed the mainstream.

Of course, most standard Players knew it wasn't to that extent.

That speed was also tremendous, and in the first place, entering a dungeon of the same level alone and clearing it that stably was nonsense.

The standard was just raised because it was Kim Buja.

"That is amazing."

In that atmosphere, everyone turned their heads at the voice brushing past the ears of the rankers clicking their tongues.

Fly was clapping while watching the video.

At the questioning gazes, he pointed out parts others hadn't seen.

"Kim Buja is quite clever. He is a Player who knows how to actively utilize his strengths. Does a Player like that choose a dungeon that takes 6 hours in Epic, not even Legendary, in content named Time Attack?"

"Ah."

The Players nodded.

Players realize this once they reach a certain level of proficiency.

They know that a dungeon with specific clear conditions will inevitably demand a corresponding amount of time.

Because monsters—their types, levels, attributes, and weaknesses—vary by dungeon, an exact variance cannot be calculated, but the clear time can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.

Even setting that aside, if one intends to aim for the fastest clear time, they simply need to select the clear conditions most advantageous to themselves.

Take the conditions of the Normal Dungeon Kim Buja selected, for instance.

He had already proved just a few hours prior that by satisfying a few specific conditions, he could advance faster and more freely than in any other dungeon. Yet, he deliberately chose to enter an exploration-type dungeon where the required time was indeterminate?

This could only be interpreted in one way.

"He isn't hung up on the clear time?"

"To be precise, it's because he knows full well that the shortest time holds no meaning," Fly surmised.

"Honestly, I didn't expect him to challenge me to a competition in this manner. I worried a lot about how to counter it. He really got me there. Haha."

Watching Kim Buja's video, he realized this was a challenge from a man who treated victory in the event as nothing.

He assumed Buja would proceed with a strategy to reduce the clear time by any means necessary, and at the end of it, there would be a provocation directed at Fly, who could not challenge the same place.

Naturally, it was impossible for Fly to showcase a similar style of Time Attack.

Far from a Time Attack, it was unclear if he could even attempt the 8-star Normal Dungeon he had just reached.

He assumed Buja planned to enjoy a victory derived from that difference in their circumstances.

But that wasn't it.

"Time has no meaning to him anyway. There isn't a player in existence at his level who can break his record under identical conditions, and I certainly cannot engage in a game of chicken with him on those terms. That is why he is proceeding in this manner."

"Ah!"

Kim Buja was thoroughly walking his own path.

He was blazing his own trail, completely ignoring Fly's declaration that he would only acknowledge him as a competitor once they stood on equal footing.

"To Kim Buja, this is merely content. It says, I can beat you any way I choose. The pursuit has already begun. Do not look down; look up. If you do not want to be caught. It is simply a portfolio serving as a warning. A single happening to decorate his video channel."

He was navigating through the many types of accessible dungeons in a diverse and unique way that was solely Kim Buja's.

From Normal, Rare, Epic, Unique, Special, all the way to Legendary.

The continuous video contained the difficulty, variety, and spectacle of 2-star Dungeons for the viewers.

It featured non-repetitive monsters, unique clear conditions, crises, and a complete narrative structure.

Although complaints were erupting now and bitter words born of disappointment were rampant, those reactions would not last long.

"That player… he is filming a movie."

Unless a one-in-a-million accident occurred where the lead actor died before filming the conclusion, viewers would give a standing ovation the moment the end credits rolled.

"I need to stay on my toes."

Fly acknowledged Kim Buja.

Once again.

* * *

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