4.

Kim Buja had accepted Park Sijun's offer and entered the Special-grade dungeon for two reasons: the money and Sijun's ulterior motive. The latter was a long shot, so he couldn't be sure he would succeed. But the absurd sum of fifty million dollars he'd get just for making it out alive guaranteed at least one of his objectives. As for the second, he approached it with a casual attitude—great if he got it, no big deal if he didn't.

That was why, after clearing a path, he had immediately charged the three-headed hellhound. 'Just slice off its neck and snatch the necklace.' He wasn't being overly greedy. It might have looked like he was drunk on the heat of battle, recklessly charging an elite monster, but it was a calculated move. Cutting off its neck was merely the best-case scenario; his true focus lay elsewhere. There was only one objective. 'Even if I can't take its head, I just need the necklace.'

With that in mind, he raised his shield to block the hellhound's sweeping tail. Unfortunately, dodging wasn't an option. Evading every attack to get close to the beast's neck—the vital point nearest its heart—was impossible, not with so many other monsters swarming and the creature radiating such immense power. Instead, he put his faith in the shield's thirty defense points. 'Just have to withstand it once.'

It didn't need to absorb all the damage. Behind the shield, the Special-grade armor he'd received from Jeong Seora offered another layer of protection. 'Just don't get pushed back.' If he could take one hit, an opportunity would present itself.

That rational, logical thought evaporated the instant the tail met his shield. The impact surged through the metal, and all reason vanished with it.

Whoever said Kim Buja could remain cool and rational in any situation wasn't wrong. He wouldn't deny it himself. The improvisations he'd shown in countless games were brilliant enough to be considered an innate talent. But when faced with the unexpected, something outside his calculations, even he could be momentarily flustered. Anyone would be.

And in that moment, a single word escaped his lips.

"Fuck."

The shock ripped through his shield and armor, rattling his organs. He tasted the metallic tang of blood rising in his throat. For a brief, searing moment, he fought to resist, but his body was flung backward against his will. He soared through the air, landing much farther back than where Sijun stood. Pushing himself up, his body screaming in protest, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

"Ptoo."

His eyes blazed. This was the first real wall he'd hit since his awakening.

"Run!" Buja bellowed.

"What?"

Without waiting for a reply, Sijun watched Buja sprint toward a distant wall. The reality of the situation finally crashed down on him, and he scrambled to follow. Behind them, a horde of monsters materialized, enraged at the intruders who had shattered their peace and slaughtered their kin.

"You son of a bitch… Wait up!" Sijun's pathetic cry was lost in the chaos, failing to even make Buja turn his head.

* * *

In gaming terms, items were the hardware that supported a player's core specs. While stats and class determined a player's internal performance, items were the external components that maximized that performance safely and efficiently. In any game, items were always on the player's side, tools that helped them defeat powerful monsters with varied and effective strategies. The same held true in dungeons, which were no different from games.

Players and dungeons. Monsters and items.

This was a hardcore reality where levels existed, and attack and defense were quantified values that directly impacted combat. Here, items were a tremendous source of power, the key that helped players advance to higher-level dungeons quickly and safely. But a question had been raised the moment people realized this real-life game was far more than a mere chunk of data created by a few developers.

The monsters possessed an undeniable autonomy. They could think, form packs with other species in the food chain, and display the intelligence to prioritize hunting humans above all else. They weren't human, but they hunted like them, complete with levels and stats. So why?

'Why don't monsters use items?'

This question, first posed in the early days of dungeons, remained unanswered, as even players had few items at the time. Instead, curiosity veered in a different direction.

''Can' monsters use items?'

Unlike humans, monsters had solid base stats from the start, along with tough hides. Assuming they weren't given items for the sake of game balance, what would happen if they were? Could they use them? Leaving aside the issue of intelligence, what if merely possessing an item granted its effect?

'The difficulty of a dungeon with item-equipped monsters would jump several-fold.'

The experiment was simple. The question was raised, and soon after, it was answered, becoming such common knowledge that some players occasionally forgot. Items 'did' apply to monsters, and some could even utilize them.

The reason this didn't pose a major threat was simple. While an item hanging around a monster's neck made it more dangerous, to a player, it just looked like a more valuable kill. As the death rate gradually decreased with players entering dungeons armed with information and preparation, it ceased to be a major problem. Monsters that could snatch and use a player's items were also exceedingly rare, and retrieving them required deploying forces that could easily clear that dungeon anyway.

That's why he hadn't even considered it.

"Hey, what are the stats on that Legendary necklace?" Buja demanded, his voice tight. "That attack power is insane. It shouldn't be possible."

"I'd only heard rumors," Sijun stammered. "I never thought the effects would actually apply."

It wasn't that Buja didn't know. This was one of the most interesting facts he'd read while browsing online communities for the past five years. He had just overlooked it. He had underestimated the weight of Legendary Grade.

"The Legendary Crystal Necklace," Sijun recalled. "From what I remember, besides the raw stats, it gives a twenty percent boost to attack power, twenty percent defense penetration, and a chance to inflict a status ailment on hit. Something like that."

Buja fell silent.

'Should I just kill this guy?' he thought, but he didn't ask why Sijun hadn't told him sooner. What was done was done. He had to take solace in the fact that if it weren't for the Iron Shield, his bones would be shattered, and he'd be monster food by now. Now, back in the maze, he had to devise a new plan.

"What's the plan?" Sijun asked nervously.

After a moment's thought, Buja stared at the vine-choked wall and answered, "What choice do we have? We either give up or we fight."

Of course, giving up wasn't an option. He swung the bag off his back and opened it.

"Guess I'll have to burn through the junk I've collected and see if we can tough it out."

A grin spread across Buja's face at the prospect of a true raid.

Seeing it, Sijun clicked his tongue.

"You're going back in there?"

"If you don't want to, you can go it alone."

Unfortunately for Sijun, he had no other choice.

5.

On the eighteenth day, the crowd that had been watching the dungeon gate with little excitement, wondering when the month would finally pass, suddenly began to stir. Someone was emerging.

"Someone's out!"

"Already?"

"For real?"

The waiting reporters scrambled, raising their cameras and snapping photos, while guild officials rushed toward the gate.

"Huh?"

"Why is he alone?"

Confusion rippled through the crowd as they identified the lone figure. Jeong Seora, arriving a moment later, felt the same unease. She hurried over, grabbed a dazed Park Sijun by the collar, and demanded, "Why are you alone? What did you do to him?"

Her murderous glare sent a wave of self-pity through Sijun, and he shook his head frantically.

"Why are you blaming me? I barely made it out alive myself! If you want to know why that psycho isn't out yet, ask him when he gets here! This is so unfair… The shield, the Legen— Ugh, never mind. Forget it."

Though it was the perfect moment to strike a pose for the flashing cameras, he was immediately whisked away by his SJ Guild escorts. Seora tilted her head, puzzled, but quickly dismissed it. 'Not my problem.'

The dungeon had been cleared, and according to Sijun, Buja was still alive. The reason he hadn't come out was obvious.

"Dungeon collection team, stand by," she commanded. "We're going in as soon as Legendary Crystal Necklace emerges."

The news alerts started to go out: Special-grade dungeon Cleared.

* * *

[You have acquired a ★(S)!]

Ever since the constellation system was introduced, he'd barely seen any, yet now he'd gotten a Special-grade one in a single go. Countless other holograms filled his vision, congratulating him on his first Special-grade dungeon clear, but Kim Buja dismissed them all. For twenty-four hours, he roamed the maze, his eyes hunting for one thing only.

"A Legendary item."

A turquoise necklace, caked with the hellhound's dried blood, hung around his neck, but he didn't stop. Normally, he would have left immediately. But as the dungeon was cleared, he'd seen Sijun trying to sneak away. Smelling a rat, Buja had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"You want to walk around stripped naked?" he'd threatened.

In the end, Sijun had no choice but to confess that there was a second Legendary item. Forcibly stripped of his armor, he was left with only one option.

"I'll give it to you when I get out," Sijun had bargained. "I don't know what kind of crap you'll pull if you get out first."

After chasing Sijun out, Buja had begun his search. Twenty-four hours. The necklace itself was an item he'd found through sheer luck after two weeks of wandering, but he refused to give up hope. He was far more optimistic now than when he'd first been dropped into this vast labyrinth.

'If the original owner died around here, I just have to find the body.'

Monsters still swarmed him, but they were no match for a Buja who had tasted the power of a Legendary item. He dove into the lake, searching every inch. On the off chance an item was inside one of the monsters he'd killed, he even dissected their corpses. Three hours passed, and when the monsters finally disappeared, he still didn't lose hope. Realizing the lake was a dead end, he ran back into the maze, his belief unwavering. He even prayed.

"Gods, please, just one more time."

That's how the human heart works. The thought of 'it'd be nice to have it, but oh well' is a luxury you can only afford when you have nothing. Once the Legendary Crystal Necklace was actually around his neck, the option to coolly give up on wearing another one just like it vanished completely.

[The dungeon is closing.]

Twenty-four hours passed. He finally came to his senses and was met by Jeong Seora's worried gaze and the blinding explosion of camera flashes.

"Phew…"

He let out a deep breath, a wave of awareness washing over him. He felt it once again.

"This is reality, not just a game."

It was a place where you couldn't have everything you wanted. He lowered his head, his eyes falling on the turquoise necklace that shimmered at his throat. This alone was a stroke of incredible luck.

"Where's Sijun?" he asked.

"He left a while ago. Looked completely out of it. Did something happen?"

He spared the vanished dungeon gate no further thought. A bright smile spread across his face as he shook his head.

"What happens in a dungeon is always the same, isn't it?"

Seeing him acting as usual, Seora's expression softened, and she approached with a radiant smile of her own.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, he was enveloped in a warm embrace.

"You worked hard," she whispered, her voice tickling his ear.

And with that, the Special-grade dungeon raid came to a complete end.

* * *

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