4.

Excessive competition inevitably led to collateral damage. The event wasn't without its dark side. The price bubble on everything dungeon-related meant that everyone except the profiteers was losing out. The overheated rivalry also led to a great deal of unnecessary bloodshed. But despite all this, the event was, at its core, a festival. A festival for the players.

['Event' Week 1 Buff is now active.]

[Event Buff]

▶ Week 1

→ +50% EXP gain from hunting monsters

→ +10% item drop rate in dungeons

The system provided buffs so that even those not directly competing wouldn't feel left out—special buffs that could only be experienced during events.

—50% extra EXP? Say less. Time to grind some levels.

—Work my part-time job and hunt at night. Killing two birds with one stone. This event is awesome.

—Whoa. The drop rate buff is insane. High-level players could get some crazy loot without even trying for the event rankings.

The community couldn't help but cheer. The glaring disadvantages of the event were washed away by just two buffs in the first week.

—Who cares if prices go up a bit? It's a 50% EXP event. Honestly, if you just wait out the bubble, you can buy stuff cheaper later.

—The smart play is to get good drops, level up, and then hold.

It was an event for everyone, with benefits no one could refuse. And that wasn't all.

—Dungeon prices only seem to spike at the start, there's probably a cap? Looks like more dungeons are spawning during the event period.

—Yeah. I didn't get a notification, but there are definitely more dungeons.

Subtle changes were being made, as if game masters were actively balancing the event. Players who had been on the fence began heading to dungeons one by one. In an era where the world revolved around players, public interest naturally gravitated toward the event. And what people sought out were videos—videos of the players on the leaderboards.

"Heh, this is it." Park Sijun, the player reaping the greatest benefits from these conditions, smiled with satisfaction from the back of his car. "Raise my rank, grow my channel, and get an item. For such a generous event to pop up at this exact moment… it's like a red carpet laid out just for me."

Though it hadn't been planned specifically for this day, the moment the event was announced, Sijun rushed to corporate headquarters to request support from the chairman. Being number one in the world—and all the secondary benefits that came with it—was reason enough. He didn't even need to plead his case; the SJ Guild had already submitted a proposal, and the SJ Group promptly approved it.

Of course, it required a massive amount of capital. Even with SJ Guild players and hired mercenaries, all resources had to be funneled into Sijun alone. There was the cost of appeasing other guild members and the need to outspend his competitors. But the plan went ahead, and for three days straight, Park Sijun had held the number-one spot in the 2-star rankings.

"I've built up a pretty big lead on second place. I just need to keep this up." He was lucky. Even for the SJ Group, there was no guarantee they could win against the world's wealthiest unless they poured in their entire fortune. But in the 2-star bracket, no one was spending as much money and time as he was. A quick glance at the 1-star and 6-star leaderboards showed that with his current score, he wouldn't even make it into the top five, let alone first place.

'Heh heh, perfect timing.' If the event had started just a few weeks ago, he would have been unfairly stuck in the 1-star bracket. Or he would have had to level up mid-event, enter the 2-star group as a latecomer, and spend even more money to catch up. None of it mattered now. His video channel was getting far more traffic than usual. Some commenters tried to put him down, saying his score was low compared to other brackets, but Sijun had been through too much to let his mental state be shaken by trolls.

"It's all the same Legendary box when the event ends anyway, you idiots," he scoffed.

The only downside was that he couldn't benefit from the event buffs, but he decided to endure it by focusing on the Legendary item box he would receive in a month.

"I'm definitely getting first place."

Besides, there was another reason he was fine with missing the buffs.

"It's so great that bastard Kim Buja isn't on the rankings."

From the moment the event began, his first thought had been of Buja. 'What if that guy gets first place? He's been quiet for a while. What if he levels up to 2-star and gets in my way?' Filled with anxiety, he had spent the two days of preparation running simulations through the night. The result was a victory for Park Sijun. Talent couldn't beat money.

And his prediction was proving correct on the third day. He didn't know if Buja was in the 1-star or 2-star group since he hadn't appeared on the rankings yet, but surely, no matter how well he could clear dungeons alone, he couldn't compete in an event that was a sheer numbers game.

"Unless he clears a Special dungeon every three days," he mused. That might get him into the top ten. But then again, looking at the 1-star bracket, where the competition was as fierce as the 5-star and 6-star groups, even that seemed unlikely. "1-star is a real hellhole."

It was only Day 3, but the first-place score was already approaching 300. What was scarier was that everyone in the top ten had over 200 points.

"There are so many crazy people in the world." Though Park Sijun knew he was one of them.

In any case, with a sense of relief, he slowly began to erase the existence of Kim Buja from his mind. He would use this event as a chance to soar once again. Brimming with conviction, he replied to the most-liked comment on his video channel.

—Events are more about your ability to strategize than individual skill. Buja is incredibly talented, I'll admit that, but he's a bit lacking when it comes to competing for rankings at the guild level. I will absolutely not lose. If I lose to Buja this time, I'll give him the item I get from the event. Haha!

It was a statement of pure certainty. A certainty born from the absence of Kim Buja's name as the first, second, and third days passed, and the fourth day began.

* * *

"What a ridiculous guy," Seora said, shaking her head. "He seems to have a serious inferiority complex when it comes to you, Buja."

Kim Buja had seen Sijun's reply too. "There are still twenty-seven days left in the event, and he's already counting his chickens before they hatch. What's he going to do if he doesn't get first place?"

"The 2-star bracket is a safe bet, though," Seora pointed out. "There aren't really any competitors, and the support from the SJ Group is immense."

"The fact that 1-star is so tough is probably a factor too, right?" Buja asked.

"That's the biggest reason. We never imagined the competition would be this fierce either."

He was a ridiculous man, but it wasn't a situation where they could point fingers and call him foolish. Buja and Seora felt the same way Sijun did.

"No matter how much you spend, it's not a loss if you get first place," Buja acknowledged.

"But if you don't, the entire amount evaporates into thin air," Seora countered. "It's become a game of chicken."

Idle rich people had joined the fray. In that volatile situation, Buja was on a path completely unrelated to the ranking challenge.

"Will you be okay?" Seora asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "I'm sure you have a plan, but…"

▶ Event Score: 60

That was Kim Buja's event score at the end of the third day. A score that seemed conspicuously low when the first-place player was nearing 300 points.

▶ Current Ranking: 348th

It was indeed low. The fact that 348 people in the world had consistently cleared two Epic dungeons a day for three days was a testament to the event's intensity. At this rate, he would be hard-pressed to get the 30th-place reward, let alone 10th or 1st.

Yet, Kim Buja didn't look particularly worried. "The fun of events like this is the last-minute comeback."

If he didn't have the Gold Maker class, he might have given up. The event was a marathon, but it wouldn't last forever. One month. It would end before people got exhausted and dropped out. There wouldn't be many players who could maintain the current pace for a whole month, but there would be at least one. That's what made it so tense and exciting.

"Right now is the time to build up my specs, not my score," he declared.

The event itself was setting the stage for him. A fifty percent EXP boost. On top of that, the EXP coupons from his daily boxes. With the 2x coupons, and after upgrading to the VIP3 box, he sometimes got 2.5x or even 3x coupons. He had accumulated over thirty of them. It was only about sixty hours of benefits in total, but it was enough.

"Just one week. I'll farm for one week and then I'll start."

He would walk his own path without wavering. He closed the hologram showing his current rank and event score and steeled his resolve.

* * *

Day 7 arrived. Time flew by. He'd been in this position before and didn't waver, but that didn't mean he wasn't anxious. The gap between his score, which increased by a mere twenty points a day, and the number one ranker's was jarring. Every day, a dozen times, he'd be conflicted and ask himself, 'Should I cut it short by a day or two and start earlier?' That's how much he coveted the Legendary item.

Still, he was able to endure thanks to the event buff.

▶ Gold Owned: 2,310G

"I poured my life into this."

He ran dungeons so hard that such words escaped his lips. He considered sleeping a waste of time, taking catnaps only while moving between dungeons before diving back into the hunt. He prioritized acquiring gold, focusing on killing monsters rather than clearing the dungeons themselves, which was why he could only manage two a day. He earned one gold per monster, sometimes up to four, netting him 150 to 300 gold per Epic dungeon for one week straight.

'Phew.'

He woke up after three hours of sleep, looked at his gold balance, and stared up at the sky. He forcefully pushed away the wave of post-grind emptiness and opened 'Gold Enhancement.'

[Gold Enhancement]

▶ Grade: Legendary

▶ Classification: Passive

▶ Level: 1

▶ Enhancement Stage Level: 2

▷ Enhancement Stage Level 2 effects are active.

▷ Pet Codex effects are active. (Attack +8, Defense +8)

▷ Currently enhanceable parts are 'Weapon,' 'Hat,' 'Top,' 'Bottom,' 'Gloves,' 'Shoes.'

▷ Upon reaching VIP3, you can spend 300 gold to level up.

▶ Enhancement Stage Level: 2

1. Weapon Level: 3 (Attack +15)

2. Hat Level: 2 (Strength +1)

3. Top Level: 3 (Defense +10)

4. Bottom Level: 3 (Defense +10)

5. Gloves Level: 2 (Agility +1)

6. Shoes Level: 2 (Stamina +1)

▷ 'Enhancement Stage Level: 2' effects are active.

Lv1: Attack and Defense increase by 5.

Lv2: All stats increase by 2.

He could now level up Gold Enhancement after reaching VIP3. What would happen if he did?

"Should I give it a go?"

He set aside his curiosity for a moment and opened the enhancement window. It was go-time. Now was the time for a war against probability.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.