3.

In a way, this could be seen as the most damaging incident since the Dungeon Break update. Monsters had poured out alongside the appearance of the 4-star Special Mission. Unlike the monsters of a 1-star Dungeon Break, which acted individually based on instinct, this was the first recorded case of monsters forming packs and acting intelligently as a collective, led by Elite Monsters. Even its discovery had been late compared to other Dungeon Breaks. With one misfortune piling upon another to create widespread damage, the response had to be cautious.

Fortunately, as it was the first event of its kind, a large number of players had gathered. Among them were well-known rankers, and even guilds that would definitely make the top five list in South Korea. They gathered in one place to carry out the Special Mission. It was a group so flashy and grandiose that the word "All-Star" came to mind, but the battle did not end easily.

"According to the rankers there, it was a 4-star Special Mission, but the monster level seemed to be around 5-star."

"It had to be. Usually, the standard is set based on a Normal Dungeon, but monsters coming out of a Dungeon Break generally have penalties, right?"

"Yeah. And generally is putting it mildly. Even if a Normal Dungeon breaks, they gain buffs that weren't there before. You have to assume they are at least 1.2 times stronger than the usual standard."

It took more than half a day to wipe out the nearly one hundred monsters. The terrain, featuring mountains and flowing creeks, was particularly disadvantageous for the players. They banded together as tightly as possible to narrow the encirclement, but even with such concentrated power, there were casualties.

They barely managed to defeat them. Even some rankers, who had faced monsters lower than their actual levels due to the tension, let out deep sighs. If a mere—if you could call it that—4-star Special Mission was this difficult, what would happen in the future? Having experienced many dungeons and knowing better than anyone about the rising difficulty, the rankers could imagine it.

"Later on, won't a single Dungeon Break be enough to destroy an entire city?"

The group fell silent.

No one could refute that remark. When they applied the destruction inside a dungeon—which they usually ignored—to reality, the scars left behind were terrifyingly massive. It wasn't just the monsters running wild that was the problem. In fact, the destruction caused by monsters accounted for a small portion.

It was the players' skills. Since not everyone fought with weapons, and numerous Area of Effect (AoE) skills existed, the destruction of the surrounding terrain was an inevitable result. Until now, they hadn't worried about it. At most, they had only worried about whether their party members would get hit by their skills—friendly fire. But in the future, a situation might come where they would have to worry if their skills might collapse a building or uproot nearby trees.

Just looking around right now, the traces of battle were so stark that a sigh escaped naturally at the thought of when it could ever be restored. Of course, everyone knew the situation wasn't stable enough to worry about such things. They also knew the fact that if they nitpicked such trivial problems during a battle with monsters, let alone killing the monsters, the players themselves could die.

They were just worried. About the process and results to come. About the unknown changes of the future. It was an unfamiliar reality for players who had only ever craved their own survival. Fortunately, the somber atmosphere didn't last very long.

[You have acquired 20 P.]

[You have acquired Stat Point (1).]

[Your level (1) has risen.]

[You have acquired additional rewards.]

[You have acquired 8 P.]

Additional rewards were given to players based on their contribution to the Special Mission. Forgetting their fatigue, the players cheered.

"Wow! Holy crap!"

"I got Stat Points and even leveled up."

The massive amount of experience points returned as nearly a full level's worth for players of the appropriate level. Venomous envy filled the eyes of players who had gained a level overnight—something that would usually require months of diligent dungeon runs—just by placing a spoon on the table of this Special Mission. Originally, these were people who risked their lives entering dungeons to earn even a single penny more.

Furthermore, if they could gain even a little more experience, obtain good equipment, or raise a single stat higher than others, players were the type to throw their hard-earned money around like water. For such people, this was the most appetizing reward. Thanks to Fly's heartfelt video, there were certainly many players who went around stopping Dungeon Breaks more diligently than anyone.

However, most were those addicted to this single drop of holy water they tasted after being exhausted from the process of slowly building themselves up in dungeons alongside players of similar levels. And on top of that, a new phenomenon.

"Huh? A dungeon is open here?"

It was a magic phrase that made worries about the future vanish in an instant.

* * *

When Kim Buja arrived back at the scene, the front was bustling with players. At a glance, the number seemed to exceed several hundred.

"What's this?"

He could roughly guess what it was. It was likely similar to the reason he had rushed over with sleepy eyes and unwashed face immediately after waking up. But he had heard that entry was only possible for those who participated in the Special Mission. Since there was no additional information after that, and everyone was just speculating about this place called the Point Dungeon, he hadn't looked into it further.

"Did they open up a separate entry condition?"

Or perhaps these were players who came just in case. The name "Point Dungeon" could be interpreted in two major ways. A dungeon where you spend Points. Or a dungeon where you earn Points.

Either possibility existed. The important thing was that while other dungeons disappeared after a Dungeon Break ended and Special Missions concluded, this one appeared specifically after the Special Mission generated by this fused Dungeon Break ended. In game terms, it felt like the difference between a normal quest and a main quest.

Deciding to check it out for himself first, he pushed through the crowd toward the entrance of the Point Dungeon. Although it was crowded with players, the area was already being controlled by the giant guilds, so there was no inconvenience in moving. Guidelines were set up about three hundred feet away, guarded by players. A simple verification process was underway at the entrance.

"Please state your name and affiliation."

It was a check to prevent accidents due to too many players crowding in. He replied nonchalantly.

"Kim Buja, Jeong Cheol Guild."

"Ah!"

The player who was mechanically flipping through the list in his hand looked up and gasped.

"Are you perhaps that..."

"Yes, I'm that Kim Buja."

"Gasp!"

Although his level was low, Kim Buja was a semi-public figure known to most ordinary people, largely due to the Event. Naturally, the player, who hadn't expected to meet Kim Buja in a place like this, flipped through the list restlessly. It wasn't because he was nervous or excited to meet him.

"I haven't heard that you participated in the Special Mission..."

Normally, this would be an immediate rejection. Dungeons didn't grant special privileges just because someone was famous. While there were places like that, it wasn't easy in a dungeon where the interests of various guilds were intertwined like this one. Furthermore, it was even more absurd for a regular guild member to make that judgment personally.

The player glanced around nervously. Kim Buja spoke confidently.

"I didn't participate until the end, but I happened to be eating boiled chicken soup nearby and was about to head home when the Dungeon Break popped, so I caught a few monsters. I even saved a guild member from somewhere. Later, I saw that I got the rewards, and I heard a Point Dungeon appeared, so I came to check it out."

"Ah!"

Coincidentally eating boiled chicken at that exact moment?

"Could you wait a moment?"

"Sure."

It was a somewhat flimsy story, but the player guarding the entrance left his post for a moment. He probably went to ask how to handle it. Before long, he returned. His bright expression implied good news.

"You were the one who saved Seulgi. Thank you so much. You may enter."

Fortunately, the woman he saved seemed to have verified his identity. Even if that weren't the case, he had assumed they wouldn't stop a member of the number one guild in South Korea in a situation where letting one or two extra people in didn't really matter. Passing through the tents set up here and there, he reached the brightly shining Dungeon Gate.

"Oho."

It certainly looked different from normal Dungeon Gates. The lights of three or four small gates converged to form another massive gate, and the mysteriously leaking light looked special. Unknowingly, he reached out his hand. His hand was swallowed as if being sucked into the gate. Then, a hologram appeared.

[Point Dungeon Entrance Ticket is insufficient.]

[Would you like to purchase?]

[Required Points: 10]

Kim Buja stared in silence.

He frowned deeply at the tactless hologram that shattered the mysterious atmosphere in an instant.

"Entrance ticket?"

What was more unpleasant was that there had been no entrance ticket in the reward hologram Kim Buja saw.

"Don't tell me it's random?"

Perhaps that "don't tell me" had caught people off guard. He didn't think all the players coming and going among the tents had participated in the Special Mission, but he had assumed that at least all those who had participated would have entered. Unless that was the case, it made no sense for no additional information to appear on the community. But that wasn't it.

They simply hadn't posted the additional information.

"Hm."

He didn't particularly have critical thoughts about information control. As always, sharing was the prerogative of the haves. Kim Buja had lived with that mindset and intended to continue living that way. He was contemplating only one thing.

"Should I go in?"

If the price of the ticket had been 1,000 Gold instead of Points, he would have bought it without hesitation. But a situation where he had to pay half of the 20 Points he earned from this Special Mission just for the entry fee was rather irksome. If the minimum price of usable items purchasable only with Points was 20 Points, then he would just be throwing away the fee for sightseeing.

It might be better to save it, wait for information to leak from somewhere, and enter after accumulating more Points. Even if it didn't leak to others, didn't Kim Buja now have the money and background to obtain such secret information?

"Hmm."

Nevertheless, the hesitation continued. The reason was that he couldn't always make rational decisions. The biggest reason was his desire to see it for himself. Between the Gold Mission and the Tower of Trials, the difference between what he imagined and what he experienced directly was too great to ignore, and through that, he had been able to design and plan his future more clearly.

Points were the same. He didn't particularly intend to collect them diligently. If a real crisis came, he would join the fight to protect his turf, but right now, his priority was Gold. Couldn't this be an opportunity to change that mindset? Since he didn't need them anyway, spending them once to gain certainty wasn't bad.

Along with the decision, he reached out his hand again. This time, he stepped forward as well.

[You have used 10 P.]

Along with the entrance fee, a new world unfolded.

* * *

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