6.

If asked to choose the best thing he had done this year, Kim Buja was confident he could answer without hesitation.

"I dumped 40,000 Gold into Gold Enhancements and spent another whopping 15,000 Gold just to swap out a trashy firecracker polishing effect."

It came to a total of 55,000 Gold.

That was the price required to shatter a Legendary achievement—one specifically tied to Gold—which I might never have the chance to attempt again. I could have invested that money elsewhere for the future.

Nevertheless, I made the choice with only one thing in mind: the Tower of Trials.

That choice proved to have clear advantages. It wasn't just a matter of clearing the dungeon easily.

'If I had been missing even one of those upgrades, I would've died long ago.'

The Tower of Trials was, quite literally, a trial.

Perhaps if I had raised my level further and doubled my stats before entering, things might have been different. Things might have been different, but my thoughts leaned toward the conclusion that, at least for Kim Buja, it wouldn't have mattered.

This was the conclusion I reached after experiencing the 1st Floor.

'The difficulty wouldn't have changed just because my level went up, anyway.'

This wasn't simple rationalization. It was a deduction based on several logical points.

First, consider the rewards.

The value of a reward that unconditionally raises your level by 1 is obviously higher the later you receive it—whether at level 13, 23, or 63. Therefore, a normal player would naturally conclude that it is more efficient to save it, clear the tower easily later, and maximize the profit.

Of course, if there were a condition preventing growth to the next level unless the Tower of Trials was cleared, that line of thinking would be moot. However, there is no single correct answer for the growth of a Gold Maker.

While the Tower of Trials offered a faster path to the next level, it didn't place restrictions on other forms of growth. Kim Buja could have postponed it as well. He could have saved the Tower of Trials, endured the grind to raise his level the hard way, and used the level 1 reward more efficiently later.

The reason I challenged it at level 13 despite all that was because I had made a deduction from the start.

The basis for my judgment was the Gold Mission.

'This isn't a Class grade where cheap tricks will work.'

I didn't have certainty that the difficulty would perfectly adjust to match the entry conditions, nor did I think it would happen exactly that way. If that were the case, the effects of Gold Enhancement and equipment polishing wouldn't have played the biggest role in making the trial slightly easier.

My prediction was that the floor was conquered using the Class's abilities as a variable, in addition to corrections for the absolute values of equipment and stats.

Though, in the current situation, that thought wasn't important.

Roar!

Clang!

It was the sound of a monster's bare fist colliding with my sword.

The monster's skin was so hard I suspected the blade would have chipped if it weren't a Legendary grade weapon. I had to penetrate that fast, hardened skin and drive the sword all the way into its desperately guarded heart to survive.

And I had to repeat that act a staggering 2,000 times.

There were no buffs. I couldn't expect any effects that made me stronger the more monsters I killed.

It was literally a trial.

A trial for survival.

The only way to receive the reward was not just to survive among the countless monsters, but to end their lives.

There was one fortunate thing—no, a good thing.

[You have acquired 11 Gold.]

Gold dropped from the monsters I hunted.

I didn't know if it was because they thought they could take it with them as a toll for the afterlife, or if it was the Gold Maker's judgment that the reward for the trial should be set higher. Regardless, it made the filthy, desperate struggle for my life feel at least slightly worthwhile.

Now, one week later, the number of monsters I had killed was around 900.

I had fought like a madman.

Rest was reduced to minimal naps, and when the hunt was over, I shoved food into my mouth to replenish energy without caring about safety zones. Considering the other monsters that would constantly swarm in after smelling the blood, time spent hiding felt like a waste.

Naturally, fatigue continued to pile up in my body.

Yet, seeing the accumulating Gold gave me strength.

'It really is the crystallization of growth and farming.'

Leveling up my level, collecting Gold as Gold.

Content that embraced both of the Gold Maker's two difficult main growth routes at once! I couldn't help but feel energized. The feeling of growing stronger the more monsters I caught!

Kim Buja spat out the empty energy bar wrapper and moved again.

He left behind the fallen corpse of a monster that had departed for the afterlife a moment too soon, thanks to the lucky freezing of the shabby iron armor around its heart.

* * *

A 4-Star Grade Special Mission.

The 4-Star grade, revealed for the first time since the Dungeon Breaks began, certainly lived up to its name.

Monsters poured out, led by a massive Elite Boss.

The disaster, caused by the overlapping of several nearby Dungeon Breaks simultaneously, had turned a small nearby village into a wasteland.

People who hadn't realized what was happening in advance were swept away by the monsters, and the players who rushed in upon hearing the news, lacking a few levels, were sacrificed without being able to flee.

The severity of the situation was realized too late; the monsters had already begun to move.

Because Special Missions themselves were structured so that you couldn't know about them unless you approached the area, it took quite a while for the news of a Dungeon Break of this scale to spread.

Naturally, the damage increased, and a large-scale party was formed to prevent further casualties.

The first 4-Star Dungeon Break in South Korea.

Furthermore, it wasn't just a 4-Star Dungeon; it was a situation where a Special Mission with a 4-Star difficulty had appeared due to the combination of several Dungeon Breaks.

It was a moment where no one knew what level the monsters were or how much combat power was needed.

They did their best to set up guidelines and evacuate people.

Fortunately, there were no further civilian casualties, but a problem arose during the process of preparing for the players' deployment.

"The rookie is missing!"

"What? Where did the rookie go?"

"I think he hasn't come out yet. He was doing crowd control until the very end during the civilian evacuation earlier."

Not all players were high-level. Even if their levels were high, being surrounded by lower-level monsters was still disadvantageous.

Those with plenty of combat experience and innate talent like Kim Buja knew how to handle multiple enemies using superior stats, but the majority of players had mostly experienced fights where they held the numerical advantage.

However, the level of the player who hadn't managed to escape wasn't very high.

"Where was he! The last location!"

"It's about 10 minutes away."

"Oh, f**k!"

The levels of the gathered players weren't particularly high.

There were players in the level 50 range, but with over 100 monsters identified, they couldn't enter rashly.

But to send just a few people in to bring him out?

Even greater damage could occur.

The guild the user belonged to stomped their feet in frustration, but there was no other method. The current situation was too dire to lose reason and charge in just because the guild member was like family.

It wasn't just them gathered there.

Not only could it cause harm to other players, but if the monsters broke through here, it could lead to even more severe damage.

"They said rankers are coming from Seoul, so we wait."

The only saving grace was that the location of the Dungeon Break, which could have been the worst-case scenario just tens of minutes ago, now offered the geographical advantage of being quickly reachable by rankers.

Anxious gazes turned beyond the guidelines.

Hoping that he wouldn't lose his way and could escape before encountering the monsters. Or perhaps meet a ranker on the way and come out safely.

They prayed and prayed again.

* * *

7.

Kim Buja slammed his dagger into the nape of the 2,000th monster and collapsed onto the fallen beast's corpse.

"Hah. What a life."

As the tension released, strength drained from his entire body.

Three weeks.

Having abused his body without proper rest for a whopping three weeks, it was only natural that even a body that had become superhuman couldn't hold out.

The mental stress was the same.

If he were a normal person, he might have given up long ago.

He was forced to sleep in naps lasting less than an hour, and his body had to remain tense amidst constant combat and the smell of blood. No matter how talented Kim Buja was, showing such abilities without any investment was impossible.

Likewise, he had to focus, think endlessly, and move just like everyone else.

If there was even a single error, getting hit by an attack was inevitable, and as time passed, his perfect judgments began to blur little by little.

The only thing that filled the gaps was the lucratively earned Gold.

He endured and endured, and in the end, he succeeded.

[You have cleared the 1st Floor of the Tower of Trials.]

[You will exit the Tower of Trials in 30 seconds.]

"Phew."

My heart skipped a beat, fearing it might say I was moving to the next floor immediately, but I relaxed and stood up.

Before leaving, I roughly calculated the time spent and the proportional rewards.

There wasn't really a need to think about it deeply.

A little over 20,000 Gold gained from killing about 2,000 monsters. I think I earned roughly 25,000, but after deducting what I consumed, about 20,000 Gold remained.

Not a bad figure for a reward after rolling around for three weeks risking my life.

That wasn't all.

There were the items received as rewards for the 1st Floor of the Tower of Trials.

[You have acquired VIP Token (10).]

[You have acquired Stat Point (1).]

[level has risen by (1).]

Very simple and to my liking.

It was only four rewards, but they were substantially filled with the things Kim Buja wanted most.

Of course, that didn't mean I was satisfied.

In reality, the hidden rewards Kim Buja wanted most were…

'The achievements are pretty decent, too.'

The pouring achievement holograms flashed before I could even check them properly. The 30 seconds passed, and I was liberated from the 1st Floor of the Tower of Trials, which reeked of blood.

I planned to head straight home, soak my body in a hot bath, and devour a bowl of white rice with hot kimchi stew and rolled omelets.

Thinking that, I suddenly retraced my memory.

'Where did I enter the Tower of Trials again?'

Normally, I would have entered from home.

But I hadn't.

"Ah."

There wasn't any special reason.

The plan was simply to cleanly finish the 1st Floor of the Tower of Trials in a region near Gyeonggi-do, famous for its valleys, and then tear into a whole boiled chicken.

Although right now, not even 1% of that desire remained.

"Damn it."

Naturally, the scenery that came into view when I opened my eyes was wild nature, dense with mountains, good water, and clear air.

"Aaaah!"

"Huh?"

Wild nature accompanied by a refreshing scream.

My gaze naturally turned toward the direction where the scream resonated.

In the distance, a single figure running through a shallow stream and the monsters chasing behind it came into view.

* * *

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