[Ring of Vitality]

▶ Grade: Special

▶ Stamina +7

▶ Strength +5

▶ Ignores debuffs at or below the wearer's Magic Power stat.

▷ When 2 set items are equipped, the 'Vitality Accessory' set effect is applied.

1. Ring of Vitality

2. Earring of Vitality

→ Grants immunity to minor illnesses, poisons, bleeding, and injuries.

[Earring of Vitality]

▶ Grade: Special

▶ Stamina +7

▶ Magic Power +7

▶ Natural Stamina and Magic Power recovery speed increased by 20%.

▷ When 2 set items are equipped, the 'Vitality Accessory' set effect is applied.

1. Ring of Vitality

2. Earring of Vitality

→ Grants immunity to minor illnesses, poisons, bleeding, and injuries.

"Whoa…"

Buja's jaw dropped as he read the stats. He had suspected they were good—it was a Special-grade set, after all. But the price had seemed absurdly high for a 1-star item. If it only had stats useful to player, it never would have been valued at an insane $28 million. No matter how good a Special-grade item was, equipment from 2-star or 3-star dungeons was bound to be better. For player, 1-star accessories were generally avoided unless they were Special or Legendary grade with an effect you could use for a lifetime, which was why their prices were usually lower compared to their grade.

The Ring and Earring of Vitality might have been cheaper if not for their set effect. But each of those stats was something even the non-player wealthy would covet.

"Fourteen Stamina, seven Magic Power, and five Strength? And that set effect is just ridiculous."

The greatest fear of humankind is death. Even a tycoon with trillions in the bank cannot escape it. What if such people were given a chance to erase one of the many paths to death that creep into daily life?

"No wonder the earring is so expensive." Rings were rare, but earrings were even rarer. On top of that, it came with a Magic Power stat, which was hard to come by. The natural recovery speed for both Stamina and Magic Power was just icing on the cake.

A question then arose in his mind.

"What was Sijun thinking?" 'Is he an idiot?' The question lingered.

* * *

Sijun arrived at the SJ Group headquarters. He didn't have an official position in the company, nor was he there to see his father. He had been summoned.

"Are you out of your mind?" his older brother, Park Seongjun, seethed. "You bet $28 million on some stupid dare? With items that weren't even yours?"

"Ah, I'm sorry," Sijun said, immediately dropping to his knees. "I honestly thought there was no way he could succeed. I never intended to give them to him. He just outplayed me."

It was a swift decision for a man who bowed to no one, a calculated move born from the knowledge that his older brother had a soft spot for him.

Seongjun sighed, his anger deflating slightly. "I suppose you were thinking of your image." He knew grilling Sijun over what was already done was pointless. Besides, it was his own fault for not flatly refusing when Sijun had asked to borrow them for the dungeon.

"I'm sorry. I'll get you something even better next time I get a good drop, I promise." Seeing his chance, Sijun started laying it on thick. He had no intention of handing over a prize like the Ring of Vitality, but he could spout whatever empty promises were needed to appease his brother's anger.

His efforts seemed to work. Seongjun nodded. "It can't be helped. It's not like you just lost them. You went into the dungeon with him to interfere and nearly got yourself killed. We can't exactly go after a player—especially one backed by the Jeong Cheol Guild—to retrieve the items now that it's all over the news."

"Exactly! I thought about it, but trying to take back the Vitality set after I'd already given it to him seemed like a crazy move." The loss of two Special-grade items was a huge blow to Sijun's own combat power. But earning his brother's ire could get him exiled to Jeju Island, SJ Guild or not. He continued to grovel, his mind already scheming. "I'll get those items back. When the opportunity arises."

The opportunity would come. Buja himself had declared them friends, which meant no one would find it strange if they entered a dungeon together again. He could not only retrieve the items but also get his revenge.

"You'd better."

"Huh?"

Seongjun nodded slowly, his voice low and calm. "They were a secret gift for Father, so it's not the end of the world that they're gone. But I used a good chunk of my slush fund to acquire them. Spread a lot of bribes around. And since you're my dear little brother, I can't exactly encase you in concrete and toss you into the ocean. So I really hope you find them, Sijun."

"Uh… yeah. Of course."

"Until then, I'll be confiscating all of your SJ Group shares."

"What? No!"

"Is that a problem?" Seongjun was not a player. Sijun could easily overpower him physically.

"No! That's not what I meant. Of course you should. I'm the one who messed up and lost your property." But he couldn't fight back. Such was the power of money.

"Then you can go."

"Right. I'll get them back for sure."

Sijun was certainly stronger than his brother, but players far more powerful than him served as Seongjun's bodyguards. Besides, didn't Sijun himself lord over higher-level players in the SJ Guild simply because he was the youngest son of the SJ Group?

It was the law of the jungle, and that law was not decided by level alone.

With slumped shoulders, Sijun left the SJ Group building.

* * *

9.

Seora was swamped. She had always been busy, but ever since Buja joined the guild, her workload had exploded. Though she wasn't handling every detail herself, it felt as though every new task related to him landed squarely on her desk.

"Team Leader, Buja is an absolute sensation!" one of her staff reported breathlessly. "We haven't even started promoting him, but he's already all over the forums."

"The public demand to see his dungeon footage is overwhelming," another chimed in. "What are your instructions?"

"The Dungeon Store just called," a third added, "asking if we have any Unique items from his latest clear up for sale."

More than eighty percent of this chaos could be traced back to Buja. It was inevitable, she mused. The 1-star dungeon was a level where most people could relate, empathize, and live vicariously through a player's success. For the average person, a 1-star dungeon was the tutorial—not for some easy game, but for a brutally difficult one. Since pure skill was rarely enough to ace it, most players chose 'Easy Mode' just to get through. After that, progression became a matter of grinding stats and upgrading gear with either endless farming or cold, hard cash.

It was a sentiment echoed throughout the player forums.

'The 'real' dungeon experience is clearing 1-star dungeons. Can you name a single top-tier player who didn't make a name for themselves there first?'

Countless examples had proven this theory true, which only fanned the flames of excitement.

— It's been ages since Korea has seen a talent like this.

— So much for being a gaming powerhouse. It's about time a real talent showed up, with all these major guilds just playing it safe and monopolizing dungeons.

— Honestly, I've been holding my tongue because of Sijun's family, but everyone in the know is aware he only cleared that survival-type Unique dungeon by drowning it in money and top-tier gear, right? The fact that they're hiding the footage says it all. But now the real deal has shown up. I'm intrigued.

— Let's not get ahead of ourselves. How many flashes in the pan have we seen? We won't know anything for sure until we see the video.

— This time feels different, though. Just search 'Buja' on any video platform. The guy was a legend back in the VR days.

Naturally, all eyes were on him, and that attention translated directly into guild influence.

"Start feeding the press information about Buja's Unique dungeon clear," Seora commanded, her voice crisp and decisive. "Circulate the dungeon specs as well. He said he doesn't care about the publicity, so don't hold back. I also want a full dossier comparing his performance directly to Park Sijun of the SJ Guild."

A guild's rank was determined by two primary factors: the highest-level dungeon they had conquered and the number of high-profile players they possessed. As a small, elite force that had flawlessly cleared dungeons up to the 6-star level, the Jeong Cheol Guild's skill was already on par with the SJ Guild's. What they lacked was public recognition. If they could launch a mega-rookie capable of overshadowing the money and power of the SJ Guild, they could seize the undisputed number-one spot.

"And if there's any dungeon Buja wants," she added, "I want you to acquire it for him, no matter what it takes."

"Yes, ma'am!"

To an outsider, it might have seemed trivial. First place, third place—they were all just massive guilds raking in astronomical sums of money. But within that elite circle, the difference of a few numbers on a leaderboard was a chasm. 'At the very least,' she thought, 'we'll be the ones representing the nation in next year's Event Dungeon.' It wasn't just about the honor; it was about the immense benefits available only to the top players.

That thought alone made the crushing workload worth it, even if it meant sacrificing her own time in the dungeons. Just then, an employee's voice cut through the office buzz.

"Team Leader! It's Kim Buja on the line! He's asking for our list of Unique dungeons!"

"Send him everything we have access to, including the ones available for purchase," she ordered.

A moment later, the employee called out again, his voice laced with disbelief. "He wants all seven of the Unique dungeons we sent him."

"What?" Seora felt the entire, bustling office fall silent. Every eye was fixed on the employee holding the phone. She snatched the receiver. "All seven of them?"

"Oh, Ms. Jeong?" Buja's voice came through, sounding more upbeat and confident than ever. "Yes. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, not at all," she recovered quickly. "I'm just clarifying—you intend to clear every single one?"

"Of course," he replied casually. "It's time to grind. I was planning to run Epics, but the gear my new friend so generously provided is good enough that I think I can handle Uniques."

Seora paused, her mind racing through the calculations. "Is your level high enough?"

"Don't worry about that," he assured her, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking. "I'm still a long way from level ten." But that wasn't all. "And this is off the record, but could you also look into a suitable Special dungeon for me? I can't promise when I'll be ready to enter, though."

Her breath hitched. He had just voiced the very proposal she had hesitated to make herself.

"I told you, didn't I?" he continued, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I'll make sure you don't regret paying more for me than a Legendary class is worth."

"Ah…" A wave of unexpected emotion washed over her.

"Whoa, that almost sounded like a proposal," he teased. "If you were moved, all the better. In any case, let's work together to make this a win-win for both of us." He even had the sense to pull back, keeping things from getting too heavy.

The relentless dungeon conquest of Buja, the comet that had streaked into the Jeong Cheol Guild, was about to begin.

* * *

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