Episode 153

The moment the monster Fragrance of Temptation took effect, Kim Buja mobilized the Jeong Cheol Guild. They traveled all over the country, seeking out only the dungeon breaks in areas that other players avoided.

Considering that guilds hunted monsters in the real world not only for points but also to manage their public image, it was hardly an ideal choice. However, both Jeong Cheol and Jeong Seora agreed without hesitation. In the end, what a guild actually did mattered more than crafting an image. You could dress things up to look good on the surface, but a rotten mindset would eventually be exposed.

Dungeon breaks were no different. If you really wanted to help civilians, it was far more useful to stop as many dungeon breaks as possible than to stand around in crowded areas doing traffic control.

The group they assembled numbered around fifty—not a particularly large force. Even so, the fact that most of them were rankers over level 50, with Jeong Cheol himself among them, was an advantage that completely negated the drawbacks of a small, elite guild.

Naturally, the work went smoothly.

The moment Buja walked around wearing the perfume, monsters burst out from every direction, no matter where they had been hiding. They swarmed so frantically that the guild members practically had to take turns, worried someone might not get a single kill. There was nothing more to be said.

"Isn't this a bit of an overinvestment? I don't think we all need to move as one. Why don't we send half the guild to Jeju Island or Ulleungdo to do some PR?"

"Haha, our guild is fine as it is."

"We should be working hard where no one can see us."

Every member of the Jeong Cheol Guild knew this. Still, they laughed off Kim Buja's joke and insisted on sticking with him for a simple reason.

"Who'd walk away from a gold mine like this?"

"You said you're doing this until you hit 500 points, right? I'll stay up all night and watch your back."

"All hail God-Buja!"

"This is what a Legendary class is all about."

A new currency called points had appeared, and with it, a new feature: the point shop. No one knew if it was just a place that sold junk, but what mattered was that, for the first time in six years, a massive upheaval had arrived with a new update. For top rankers and the countless players desperately trying to claw their way up, it was something they had to throw themselves into as if their lives depended on it.

They had no choice but to push this hard. Over the past month, they had learned the hard way that nowhere else could they block dungeon breaks and clear special missions at this speed.

"Alright, four more monsters! Line up, everyone. Let's each take a bite, nice and fair."

Best of all, even with so many people moving together, no one was losing out. Special missions rewarded every participating player with extra rewards based on their contribution. But at one-star difficulty, those extra rewards were hard to get anyway. It was far more profitable for everyone to receive the base reward while clearing two or three missions at once.

Knowing this, Buja had deliberately dragged the entire Jeong Cheol Guild out here. He was happy because he didn't have to personally deal with every monster swarming him, and the guild members were happy because they could sit back and rake in points.

Most importantly, this operation had another advantage.

[(Contaminated) Dungeon Break]

▶ Type: Special Mission

▶ Level: ★★★

▶ Objective: Purify an area contaminated by monsters

▶ Reward: 40P, (★★) Random Buff, a large amount of experience

Dungeon breaks were a disease, caused by unopened dungeons—cancer cells—slowly eating away at the Earth. In regions where players neglected, the cancer spread and grew, becoming a greater threat to humanity. But from a player's perspective, it was more like fertilizer for rapid growth.

"It almost feels wrong to compare it to cancer. This is practically a necessary evil."

The difficulty wasn't particularly high. For the hardcore grinders who had spent the entire tutorial not just playing, but grinding dungeons day and night to hit max level, the monsters were basically the same as always, just in slightly thicker waves.

All that was left was to farm.

4.

At its core, a player community was a place for players to communicate. These days, so many people came and went that, compared to the total number of players, far more ordinary people were posting and gathering information. But on most boards, only officially verified players could create posts, so the content was naturally written from a player's point of view.

This time was no different. Unlike the free board where anyone could post, the player-only board had a slightly different take on dungeon breaks.

—Points are a pain in the ass to stack.

—Can't they just pop up like regular dungeons?

—The app said it was three minutes away, but by the time I got there, it was already over. Don't even think about working in crowded areas.

For players, dungeon breaks were just another kind of dungeon. Monsters appearing in reality. Only the backdrop and the rewards had changed; they were still just monsters. Most players were focused on collecting points. There was no serious discussion about the damage monsters were doing to society, the number of casualties, or what countermeasures should be put in place.

It couldn't be helped. It wasn't that they lacked empathy; they had simply grown numb. And since they had already accepted this as a natural phenomenon, it was only to be expected. No player criticized another for it.

Then, news broke that shocked them all.

—Breaking: Fly bought a 200-point item from the point shop. Says he'll reveal it on video first. Let's go.

It was a competitive event where, for the first time in a long while, everyone had started from the same line.

A massive pile of firewood had just been thrown onto that flame.

* * *

Fly had given players a justification for stopping dungeon breaks. Of course, even without his statement, players who were sick of running the same dungeons for points would have joined in, but his words ignited the social atmosphere. The approving looks directed at players who worked to stop dungeon breaks turned into a stronger, more active tailwind.

Then, as the rewards and benefits of dungeon breaks were revealed, even players who hadn't cared about points were drawn in by the chance to gain more experience.

The reason he turned on the camera one more time was, of course, to drive the nail in.

"Many players are willingly donating their time, money, and abilities to stop these dungeon breaks. I won't sugarcoat it. Users are, of course, motivated by the benefits. But those benefits also align with the greater good and show us the path we need to take. That's why I hope you will continue to support them, and it's why I decided to upload this video."

It was for the players, and for those who were not.

"The point shop was another kind of dungeon. Inside, there was a merchant selling items, and you could buy goods with your points. The prices were not low. It will vary from one point dungeon to the next, but I bought a 300-point pill."

He wanted to stoke their curiosity and frame it as a cause.

"You can't check an item's stats before purchase, so I can't claim this is a representative sample. Just take it as proof that this type of item exists. And I believe that alone is reason enough for players to invest their time in stopping dungeon breaks to collect points."

He willingly revealed information he didn't have to share.

[Monster Bonus Damage Pill]

▶ Grade: Unique

▶ Effect: Permanently increases bonus damage against "monsters" by 1% upon consumption.

▷ Bonus damage cannot exceed 20%. To exceed 20%, you will need a "Special" grade bonus damage pill.

The video ended as soon as the reveal was over. There was no reason to keep streaming. From the start, the only reason Fly had turned on the camera was to reveal the point shop item everyone was dying to know about.

A short, simple video.

Users who watched it were stunned.

—A bonus damage pill? That's a thing?

—I haven't seen anything like that in five years.

—Wouldn't that have shown up at a VVIP auction sometimes?

—There was a rumor Fly had dozens of those from high-level dungeons, but…

—That was all hearsay. This is confirmed.

—Wow, that's insane.

At first glance, it might not have seemed like a big deal. Reality wasn't a game, and monsters didn't die just because you hit some fixed damage threshold. It wasn't a pill that raised an attack stat, and you couldn't even see the extra damage. Considering Fly had spent over a month grinding to buy it, one might assume it took enormous effort and support. A visible stat boost might have seemed more appealing.

To non-players, perhaps.

But players knew better.

—If a Unique is 300 points, how much is a Special?

—Only someone like Fly could capitalize on dungeon breaks while everyone else was flailing and stack 300 points that fast. Well, once dungeon break levels go up, we'll probably farm them quickly too. But just getting to 20% bonus damage would be busted.

—This damn world is more game-like than any game. How does it make sense that if you deal enough damage, you can kill something without hitting a vital spot?

—It does make sense. People die from blood loss, too.

—Yeah, it does, damn it. Anyway, this makes it crystal clear. You absolutely have to participate in dungeon breaks.

They understood exactly what an item like that implied.

—But if 300 points is expensive, doesn't that make it practically the lowest-tier item in the point dungeon?

—I think I saw a few items over 1,000 points, too.

—Then what the hell are those…

They were reminded again why the hologram had used the word "tutorial" when teasing future content. They realized that the one-year buff from the event wasn't just a one-time perk for players who had suffered through the tutorial.

And naturally, the mood soared.

Exactly as Fly wanted.

—Looking for party. Level 40+ buff/DPS/tank, 10-man. We'll grind the Taebaek Mountains in 10-day cycles.

—Let's all agree to open up Baekdu Mountain.

—Places like the Himalayas or the Sahara Desert are basically treasure troves, right?

Real-world dungeons.

—Gear. I want to see the gear!

—Someone, anyone, please upload a weapon or armor!

Far from dying down, people's interest only burned hotter.

* * *

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