Episode 187

2.

"How do you feel about it?"

At her teasing whisper, Kim Buja's face twisted into a scowl.

"I feel absolutely wonderful that my Starlight Ring turned into trash overnight."

"Kyaaa!"

He chuckled, getting his revenge on Seora for provoking him, then shared his true thoughts.

"Honestly, I don't really care. It's not like I was using the Starlight Ring to get in, anyway."

The Power of Starlight, an ability of the Starlight Ring, allowed its wearer to enter any dungeon once every twenty-four hours without restriction.

However, that was only ever a smokescreen to hide his Constellation, which already allowed him to slip in and out of any dungeon he pleased.

Even without the Starlight Ring, he could enter anything from a 1-star to an 8-star dungeon. And although the update had relaxed dungeon entry for other players, his ability to ignore level restrictions entirely still held enormous value.

The same went for the Starlight Ring.

'Users might be satisfied with moving up one tier for now, but that won't last long.'

'Soon, the -10 to +10 level range will become the new standard, and most players will be looking to the tier above that.'

'When that time comes, the complaints about an unbreakable glass ceiling will start all over again.'

Even now, people were saying that Fly and his guild had a huge advantage because the entire Fly Guild could now attack 8-star dungeons together, that dungeons were basically over, and so on. But in the end, nothing had really changed since Fly hit level 70.

'It's just a matter of whether it's an 8-star or a 9-star dungeon.'

'Once it's time to move on to 9-star dungeons, Fly will be alone again.'

'He might have pulled his guild members up one tier early, but what about after that?'

'With no guarantee of another update like this, the only person Fly will eventually be able to turn to is me.'

'Regardless of his level or growth speed, I'm the only player who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him and enter those dungeons.'

"So there's nothing for me to be upset about."

"When you put it that way, it's actually a little disappointing."

Besides, the main reason he'd bought the Starlight Ring wasn't just its price, but its absurdly powerful stats and equip restrictions.

'I'm not planning to resell it, and even if its options became useless, I'd still wear it until I found a better ring. Idiots.'

It was human nature to want to see successful people fall.

He could let it slide.

He didn't have the time or energy to care about what other people wanted.

'That's not what matters.'

'People will make a fuss, but they'll quiet down soon enough.'

'People always lose interest in beneficial patches quickly, but they'll complain about disadvantageous ones for a hundred days straight.'

'This will settle down soon enough, and they'll get swept up in the chaos of daily life again.'

The players who really knew how to take advantage of the update weren't wasting time shouting on community forums. They were already forming parties to challenge higher dungeons or farming lower-tier ones for better items to equip or sell.

The same was true for him.

Whether the update was bad for him or not, dungeons weren't what mattered right now.

'Should I start with Gold Missions or the Tower of Trials? That is the question.'

It wasn't as if there was no impact at all.

Since the second update gave other players more freedom, the only way for him to reach higher dungeons was to raise his own level as fast as possible.

'Let's just do both.'

With each new update, time seemed to accelerate for the players.

* * *

Sprinting ahead was important, but building a solid foundation was just as crucial.

There was a reason for the saying, "If the home is harmonious, all goes well."

For a player, "home" was their status window and the various internal systems that formed their foundation.

This was especially true for Buja, who had far more systems to manage than other players.

His level had increased, he'd gained stats, and various skills and content had been unlocked. At the same time, due to the nature of Gold Maker, there were half-forgotten skills that had fallen by the wayside, which he now needed to revisit.

He couldn't keep track of everything.

It would be nice if he could, but his gold reserves were limited. As always, he had to prioritize efficiency.

It was fine to let some things slide, as long as he didn't forget about them completely.

He was making a conscious effort not to, and he would occasionally invest some gold like this whenever a particular skill came to mind.

[You have spent 39,600 gold.]

[Due to the influence of Gold Power (46), the level-up cost (46%) has been discounted by 18,216 gold.]

[The level of 'Wait for Free Gold' has increased. 30 → 100]...

The "Wait for Free Gold" skill, which had only been giving him 30 gold each night at midnight, had been stuck at level 30 because he'd been too stingy to level it up. Seeing it jump straight to 100 in one go was strangely moving.

On top of that, he hadn't even spent all his gold.

It was less than ten percent of the 180,000 gold he possessed.

And even that was at nearly half price, thanks to the massive discount from his now sky-high Gold Power stat.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

'At this rate, once Gold Power passes 100, is that the endgame?'

'Maybe the day I become the strongest player in the world is only fifty percent away.'

'Of course, there's no way the hologram would let me get strong that easily.'

'Wealth might become harder to acquire, or the discount rate might drop at some point. Maybe the benefits will change.'

He didn't really care.

The current 46 percent discount was already incredibly efficient, and he was reaping huge benefits from it.

'Let's max out the traits, too.'

[You have spent 49,000 gold.]

[Due to the influence of Gold Power (46), the level-up cost has been discounted by 22,540 gold (46%).]

[The effect of 'Wait for Free Gold: Trait (4)' has been applied.]

[The effect of 'Wait for Free Gold: Trait (5)' has been applied.]

[The effect of 'Wait for Free Gold: Trait (10)' has been applied.]

This was the rush he lived for.

A shiver of ecstasy shot up his spine, making his whole body tremble.

'Has it always felt this good?'

He'd felt something similar when he raised the skill to level 30, but watching the holographic notifications flood his vision as he boosted it by a whopping 70 levels at once was like a life-giving elixir, washing away all the hardship he'd endured.

"This is why people blow stupid amounts of money."

Compared to his recent expenditures, the amount of gold he had just used was nothing.

All told, it was only about 40,000 gold.

Yet the satisfaction he got in return was worth at least 400,000 gold, if not more.

"I really need to stay on top of my skills, sooner or later."

He wasn't spending gold just for the thrill.

Now that "Wait for Free Gold" had reached level 100, it would give him 100 gold every night. On top of that, the ten new traits added are stacked, increasing the probability and potentially multiplying that amount several times over.

It was a nice little earner.

More than that, looking ahead—a month, six months, a year from now—he imagined himself far more powerful, boosting the skill again in one massive burst. By then, the returns would be far more than just pocket money. The thought made him genuinely excited for the future.

'Should I push it even higher?'

The temptation arose, but he shook it off.

He still had around 130,000 gold left, but that gold wasn't for him.

"With only 30,000 gold to play with, it's probably better not to touch anything else."

It was for Hwangdo.

He had to set it aside for the golden lizard who would one day become a mighty dragon, which meant the amount he could afford to invest in miscellaneous skills was only about 30,000 gold.

Factoring in the discount from Gold Power, there were plenty of things he could still upgrade, but the thought that he didn't have much leeway dampened his excitement.

Then, something caught his eye.

[Soul Collection]

▶ Grade: Normal

▶ Category: (Gold Maker) Passive

▷ When you kill an enemy, there is a certain chance to collect the enemy's soul.

▷ There is a certain chance to plunder the collected soul.

▷ You can raise the grade by spending 1,000 gold.

▷ Rare / You can activate Trait (1) by spending 5,000 gold.

"Oh?"

'I had this?'

He vaguely remembered getting a few stat points here and there through "Soul Collection" at some point, but since he hadn't seen it in action for a while, the skill had faded from his memory.

He just hadn't seen it trigger recently, but looking at his skill list brought it back to mind.

"I should level this up a bit."

This was a skill worth pouring the remaining 30,000 gold into.

Just thinking about the stats and skills he had gained through "Soul Collection" made it clear it could easily pay for itself and then some.

[You have spent 1,000 gold.]

[You have spent 5,000 gold.]

[The grade of 'Soul Collection' has increased. Normal → Rare.]

[The effect of 'Soul Collection: Trait (1)' has been activated.]

▷ Trait (1): Lucky Day Lv1

→ The chance to collect souls increases by 10%.

"Oh?"

He let out a low hum of appreciation as he looked at the trait that had unlocked for a total of 6,000 gold. The trait was simpler and more effective than he'd expected.

By its nature, "Soul Collection" was a two-step process: first, you had to "collect" a soul, and then, you needed a separate roll of the dice to "plunder" it. That's why it was almost never activated, and even when it was, it usually plundered something useless. He'd ended up forgetting all about it.

However, now that it was Rare grade and the collection chance had increased, it might actually become useful.

Of course, he still had no guarantees about the chance to plunder or what exactly he would get.

"Hmm."

'Should I invest a bit more?'

"Kyuu."

When he glanced over, he saw Hwangdo watching him with an innocent, wide-eyed expression, and for some reason, he hesitated.

To invest more, he would need at least 10,000 gold to raise it to Epic grade, plus another 50,000 to unlock the trait. Even with the discount, that was a little more than he had planned to spend.

Ultimately, it was his decision how to use his gold, but he couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt.

He slipped a hand into his pocket, pulled out two 500-gold coins, and tossed them to the lizard.

"Kyuu?"

"It's a snack. Go eat it. We'll head out in a bit."

"Kyuu!"

At his master's words, Hwangdo rubbed his head against him and then scampered off.

With that, Kim Buja leveled the skill without any further hesitation.

[You have spent 10,000 gold.]

[You have spent 50,000 gold.]

[Due to the influence of Gold Power (46), the level-up cost has been discounted by 27,600 gold (46%).]

[The grade of 'Soul Collection' has increased. Rare → Epic.]

[The effect of 'Soul Collection: Trait (2)' has been activated.]

▷ Trait (2): Everything of Yours Lv1

→ The target's appearance is now included in the 'Plunder' list.

He had been hoping the plunder chance itself would increase.

Instead, a completely unexpected trait had unlocked.

Broadly speaking, it wasn't something that would help him much in combat.

If anything, he worried this new option might lower the probability of plundering actual stats.

Still, Buja saw its potential.

"Not bad."

He had 30,000 gold left. For an investment of roughly 40,000 gold, the results of his little shopping spree were far better than he'd expected.

* * *

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