4.

[Clear Condition]

☆ Defeat 500 monsters inhabiting the maze.

▷ This is a Special-grade dungeon. Dungeon penalties will be applied.

1. All monsters' levels, stats, and attack power are significantly increased.

2. Monsters hold absolute hostility toward humans. 'Frenzy' mode is permanently active.

3. The maze transforms every three hours.

4. A hidden ☆ exists. The effects of the dungeon penalties are enhanced by 50%.

The moment his vision cleared, he was surrounded by massive walls woven from monstrous vines. The sky was open above, but the walls were so high they cast the entire maze in a perpetual, menacing twilight. It was a fitting backdrop that made it instantly clear why this place was called a maze.

"The penalties are no joke, either," Kim Buja muttered.

They were so brutal that ninety-nine out of a hundred people would say this dungeon was designed not to be cleared, but to kill. The four dungeon penalties, an increase from the usual for a Special Grade, were one thing.

But the combination of all monsters being in a permanent Frenzy mode, on top of their massively boosted levels, stats, and attack power, meant they were effectively on par with monsters from 2-star or even 3-star dungeons. Not only were they harder to kill, but their absolute hostility toward humans would make them cooperate with other monster species and fight without fear of death, guaranteeing a battle where taking damage was inevitable.

But the most lethal part was that clearing the hidden condition wouldn't remove the penalties. Instead, that single hidden penalty, number four, amplified all the others by a staggering fifty percent.

'Phew.'

He tensed his entire body. The clear condition was public knowledge, visible to anyone who checked the dungeon gate. He had entered knowing full well what it was, confident he could handle it. But now, standing inside and feeling the oppressive atmosphere of the maze, he had to admit it wouldn't be easy.

'Gotta stay sharp.' He had more than met the minimum requirements. As long as he didn't make any mistakes, he'd be fine.

"Squeal!"

As if sensing its master's tension, Hwangdo cried out from its perch on his shoulder. Buja let out a small laugh at the sound, which held none of a dragon's dignity.

"Still, if I'm in real danger, you'll step up and block an attack for me at least once, right?"

"Squeeeal!"

In response to the casual question, Hwangdo expressed its vehement refusal by burrowing deep inside his clothes. The bravado it had shown during the fight with the orc was nowhere to be seen, suggesting it possessed a dragon's innate ability to distinguish the strong from the weak.

"What did I expect?" he sighed. 'It'll come out on its own when I need it.'

He put Hwangdo out of his mind and turned his attention to the piece of luggage he'd brought along: Park Sijun, clad in glossy silver armor and holding a large shield and a longsword.

"Alright, we're in the same boat now—a team destined to either clear this dungeon or die trying. So tell me, why did you really choose this place?" Buja asked, his question too direct for Sijun to deflect.

"What?"

Buja caught the momentary freeze in Sijun's expression. The guy had clearly never dreamed he'd be asked so bluntly. He must have thought his deception was perfect. The fifty million dollars, the generous profit share—the justification was solid. A player's public image was priceless, and for the youngest son of the SJ Group, it made perfect sense that he'd want to restore his reputation, even at a loss.

But that logic didn't work on Kim Buja.

"Image, my ass. That's just a public excuse. There's something in here you want, isn't there? That's why you picked this place."

Sijun's evasive silence confirmed his suspicion. There was something here. Buja had spent five years grinding in countless games, fighting opponents he'd never seen for items that were nothing more than bits of data. In that time, he had learned to spot the most subtle cracks in a facade.

"It's just strange, no matter how I think about it, that you'd choose a dungeon with conditions that are basically a death sentence."

"What's so strange about it?" Sijun shot back, his face tense.

Pushing him further might introduce an unexpected variable. Kim Buja relaxed his jaw.

"Whatever it is, just don't try to backstab me."

"Huh?"

"I'm just here for the fifty million and my cut of the profits. I thought it was weird from the start, but I took the deal because the terms were good. So just don't get in my way."

"Of course," Sijun said, letting out a sigh of relief and nodding a little too eagerly. "To be honest, I didn't come here just for my image, but it is the biggest factor. I know I can't clear this on my own. What would I gain from backstabbing you? We'd both die. You just focus on not abandoning me. I'll help with whatever you need."

He patted the backpack on his shoulders, a bright, plastered-on smile on his face.

Kim Buja tossed out a casual question.

"Really? Then do you happen to have any spare Unique or higher-grade gear?"

"…No."

"I think it'd be more helpful if I wore it instead of you."

"You damn leech! These are off-limits. All your gear combined probably isn't worth one piece of my armor. Know your place. Be content with the Vitality accessories."

"Whatever."

Sijun's armor did look far more expensive than his usual gear. Compared to Buja's free beginner equipment, he might have a point. But Buja didn't feel inferior.

"Not today, though. I got some pretty solid support from my guild and came in with a full set myself."

"What?"

"Wearing multiple pieces of armor doesn't stack their effects, but if you wear one over the other, you get the defense of the outer layer. So I borrowed some. A Special-grade set is no joke; all my other armor combined really doesn't match the price of a single piece. The base defense alone is pretty decent."

With his shoulders held high, Buja started walking. The dungeon clear had begun.

* * *

Naturally, a report reached Jeong Cheol.

"A solo challenge in a 1-star Special dungeon, huh?"

"That's an impossible challenge even for you, isn't it, Dad?" Jeong Seora asked.

"If I had the same support he's getting, it wouldn't be impossible. He went in with a full set of Special Grade accessories, after all," Jeong Cheol replied nonchalantly, feigning disinterest.

In reality, he was already comparing himself to Buja and imagining the scenario. He was one of only three top-rankers in South Korea, currently clearing 6-star dungeons and preparing for 7-star ones.

That's how players were. While their current level was a testament to their achievements, they couldn't help but feel a sense of rivalry toward anyone who dared to enter a realm no one had conquered before—even if that player was barely Level 10.

"In any case, we'd better hope he succeeds if we want to keep pace with SJ."

"Don't worry. He'll succeed, no matter what," Seora declared with conviction.

At her rare display of certainty, Jeong Cheol nodded.

"Seora, if you say so, then it must be true."

She was his daughter, the type to hedge her bets even when he was the one asking for reassurance. It was because of her that the Jeong Cheol Guild had come this far, and now they were aiming for the number one spot in South Korea.

This dungeon clear, happening in what might seem like an insignificant 1-star dungeon, could be their stepping stone—especially if they could firmly plant the perception in people's minds that they were ahead of Park Sijun, the rising star of the SJ Guild.

"Don't spare any support. If the guild has any spare 1-star items, provide them."

"Yes, I'm already on it. I figured you'd say that, so I made sure to support him with items befitting the Jeong Cheol Guild's name for this dungeon. They probably won't lose out even when compared to Park Sijun's gear."

"Good work."

"Phew. That's a relief," she said with a sigh. "Since you approved, does that mean you won't say anything more about this matter?"

"Hmm?"

With that final, cryptic comment from Seora, the conversation ended. Jeong Cheol thought nothing of it. Later, when he went home to rest, his wife greeted him warmly.

"Oh, honey. No matter how busy you are, you should stop by the house more often."

"Sorry, I've been so busy lately."

"I saw more of you back when you were just gaming. Now that you're going into dungeons, it's hard to even get a glimpse of you. Honestly!"

Though she grumbled, the sight of his wife setting a warm meal on the table was something he couldn't help but love. Besides, Seora was the spitting image of her mother. Even after all these years, his heart still skipped a beat. Filled with love and a touch of guilt, he gave her a tight hug.

"Seora hasn't been coming home much lately either, has she? I'll try to come by with her more often for meals."

"Actually, Seora's been stopping by the last few days to sleep over and eat."

"She has?" he asked, surprised.

"That new player in the guild is entering a Special dungeon, right? Seora's in charge of him, and she's working so hard."

He listened to his wife's stories, chiming in appropriately. She must have been bored all alone. And then he heard it.

"Oh, was it yesterday? Or the day before? She took that old armor you used to wear."

"What armor?"

"You know, the one you wore when you first started going into dungeons. The one you keep tucked away in the warehouse and never take out. She said she needed it, so I gave it to her. She said you told her not to spare any support."

"The Special-grade armor set?"

"Yes, that one. She took the one you wore back when you were a tanker. You wouldn't even lend it to our daughter, so for you to lend it to him, it must be a really important matter, huh?"

He finally understood Seora's cryptic last words. Jeong Cheol put down the spoon he had been using to eat his delicious stew and rushed to the warehouse. Amidst the piles of his treasures, the top and bottom pieces that should have been hanging there were gone.

Jeong Cheol was speechless.

A throbbing pain shot up the back of his neck as he took a sharp, deep breath.

* * *

Thorns shot out from between the vines. He dodged by leaning back, but a faster attack grazed his side. 'Sssshk!'

Even with his agility at 19, the movement was almost too fast to react to, a testament to how dangerous a Special dungeon was. Even the dungeon's vines were monsters capable of killing a passing player.

A normal player would have broken out in a cold sweat. But Kim Buja just swung his dagger. 'Swish!'

'Screeeee!' The vine shrieked as it was sliced apart. It possessed a powerful attack, but Buja, who had entered knowing this, had enough attack power to cut it down in a single blow. A whopping 36 attack power. No matter how enhanced the vine was by the penalty, it couldn't withstand such an assault.

[You have acquired 2 gold.]

'Phew.'

Only after seeing that the vines in this Special dungeon gave 2 gold each did he let out a sigh of relief.

This was a dungeon where both sides had enough firepower to kill each other in one hit. The tension made it fun, but even though he thought he was fully prepared, the realization that he had just barely scraped by the entry requirements made him re-evaluate the dungeon.

"I would've been in big trouble if Seora hadn't packed this for me."

[Tough Leather Tunic]

▶ Grade: Special

▶ Defense +20(+10)

▷ A tunic made from the hide of an orc chieftain. It is very tough but has no special abilities.

[Tough Leather Pants]

▶ Grade: Special

▶ Defense +21(+10)

▷ Pants made from the hide of an orc chieftain. They are very tough but have no special abilities.

It was a Special-grade armor set perfect for layering, providing pure defense and nothing else. The base defense from the set was over forty points, and the enhancement bonus added another twenty. It was only a top and bottom, but it was enough to avoid being killed instantly by a random attack.

Indeed, the thorn that had grazed his side had only scratched the leather, failing to inflict any real damage.

"She said this belonged to the Guild Master guy."

Now that he was wearing it, it felt pretty good. His gaze shifted to Park Sijun, who was clad in heavy-looking plate mail.

"This looks a hundred times better than that stuff. The Guild Master is pretty generous, giving something like this away for free."

If Jeong Cheol had heard that, he would have clutched the back of his neck twice. With that thought, the pace of his dungeon clear quickened.

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