1.

Kim Buja's stream exploded across the online communities. Countless players were participating in the event, many with their own unique strategies. Point farming was just the most well-known; others used gimmicks to attract attention and the profits that came with it. Some even speculated that this whole rivalry was a publicity stunt.

—Aren't they in on it together?

—Could be.

—But their beef seems too real…

—You think that matters when money's on the line?

—The Park Sijun I know wouldn't follow a script. That dude has a genuine inferiority complex when it comes to Kim Buja.

Whether it was real or fake, it was undeniably entertaining. Most viewers, however, were less interested in the drama and more focused on analyzing Buja's bold claim.

—Is this even possible? First place is already over 1,000 points.

—Kim Buja is at 240. The gap is about 700 points. The leader averages 80 points a day. If Buja clears one Special dungeon a day, that's 100 points. He'd only gain 20 points on the leader daily. At that rate, the remaining 20 days aren't nearly enough to close a 700-point gap.

—Plus, you have to assume the #1 guy will clear a Special dungeon eventually. It's not like he 'can't'.

—Right. Probably two or three teams will manage a clear before the month is over.

—So it's impossible, right?

—The premise is insane. One solo Special dungeon clear a day? Is he serious?

Even the general public, who had never set foot in a dungeon, could do the math. They understood the dungeon grades, the points awarded, and the sheer absurdity of Buja's claim. The top rankers weren't ignoring high-grade dungeons because they were stupid; they were ignoring them because they were deathtraps. To suggest one person could clear one every day… it was laughable.

—Why not just say he'll clear two a day? Then he'd get 200 points daily and be in first place by the third week LOLOLOL.

A comment meant as pure sarcasm.

—Why bother? He could just clear one Legendary dungeon a day. He'd be #1 in three or four days.

The jokes and memes flew. Time passed. The community's attention began to drift to other players. And then…

—Huh? He's out.

—Who's out?

—Kim Buja! He's out of the dungeon!

—???? It's only been 8 hours!

The jokes had just become reality.

* * *

Emerging from the dungeon, Kim Buja smiled.

"Wow. This is no joke."

Truthfully, even before upgrading his gear, he'd been confident he could clear a Special dungeon in a day. He'd only avoided them because a particularly nasty boss or elite monster could turn a quick run into an inefficient slog. But now, he felt it with certainty.

"I can take on a Legendary."

There was a saying floating around the community: 'Attack power isn't everything, but it's almost everything.' It was a riff on an old proverb about money, and it resonated deeply with players for a reason. This was reality, not a game with health bars, but it ran on a game's logic. A weapon with overwhelming attack power turned every strike into a critical hit, incapacitating foes even with glancing blows.

It made combat brutally efficient. In essence, an enemy's entire body became one giant weak point.

That was the problem he'd faced in his first Special dungeon—a lack of decisive power. Gold Enhancement had solved that problem completely.

"Current points 340," he announced to his stream. "Moving to the next dungeon immediately."

—How the FUCK did you do that?

—wtf did you just cheese the clear condition and bail?

—Release the vid!

The chat scrolled by in an unreadable blur.

"Heh, so this day has finally come."

Over 300,000 people were watching him live. Even at his absolute peak as a dark gamer, he'd never broken 20,000. He finally understood why Sijun poured such absurd amounts of money into his channel. It wasn't just about the thrill of the attention. It was about the money.

"A perfect time for an ad break."

—Hey, you son of a bitch!

—An ad LMAO

—The ultimate sellout.

—A 50-second ad? For real?!

—bye have a nice life.

After expertly riling up his audience, Buja smiled and offered them a reward.

"I'll be uploading the full clear of this Special-grade dungeon while I travel. Feel free to check it out."

A full, unedited video. That meant he considered the run a masterclass. The journey wasn't long.

"Enjoy the video while you wait. Current points are at 340. And yes, this next one is also a Special-grade dungeon."

Two Special-grade dungeons in a single day. The eyes of the world were now locked on Kim Buja.

2.

"Nothing special…" Park Sijun muttered after watching the video.

It wasn't a sneer. His voice was hollow, his brow furrowed as he replayed the footage in his mind. He wasn't being sarcastic; there truly was nothing special about it. Buja's movements were the same as before: dodge, stab, block, absorb. It was so mechanically perfect, so consistently flawless, that it had become mundane. The shock was gone, replaced by a gnawing irritation.

"How does he do this every time?"

Epic, Unique, and now a Special—he cleared them all as if they were nothing. The dungeon penalties that crippled other players seemed to simply not exist for him. Monsters just… fell over.

"Is he hunting with a Legendary weapon or something?"

The thought was no longer a joke. The monsters looked pathetically weak, even for vital-point strikes. His attack power had to be so high that it was completely negating the dungeon's debuffs. The new Unique item he'd been bragging about just hours ago suddenly felt like a child's toy.

'Maybe he really is using a Legendary weapon.'

"Contact the guild," he snapped. "Get me a weapon, Special-grade or higher."

As he spoke, another, more terrifying thought struck him.

"Wait. If he keeps clearing Special dungeons… he'll catch up."

This wasn't the time for a gear upgrade.

"No, forget the weapon! Hire more players! Run more parties! If this keeps up, getting first place will be meaningless!"

A cold dread, sharp as an axe blade, buried itself in his gut, washing away his fatigue. Sijun couldn't be the fool who did all the work just for Buja to steal the prize again. He would be a laughingstock for a decade.

'I have to work harder.'

For the first time in his life, a work ethic unbecoming of Park Sijun took root. He stopped slacking, moving to the next dungeon the second his points were registered. He spent every spare moment watching Buja's stream.

Half a day crawled by.

"This one's taking a while," Sijun noted with relief, watching the static shot of the dungeon gate. "The first run must have been a fluke. Clearing a Special in eight hours is impossible. The Jeong Cheol Guild probably prepped it for him."

"Um, Young Master," his subordinate interrupted timidly.

"What?"

"The stream… it's changed."

"What has?"

"The dungeon gate, sir. That's not the same dungeon as before."

'What the hell are you talking about?' Sijun started to say, but the words died in his throat. He understood.

"Fuck. No way."

A single bead of cold sweat traced a path down his temple. And he was not the only one feeling the chill.

* * *

Change always comes out of nowhere.

"Wow, this is just unfair," Buja complained playfully. "That guy was maintaining his own pace even when second place was breathing down his neck, but the moment I start streaming, he kicks it into overdrive?"

"He's smart," Seora replied from his couch. "He's not complacent."

"I guess you don't get to be number one by being an idiot. He knows I'll catch him eventually."

After his two record-breaking clears, Buja hadn't immediately rushed to a third. He'd gone to a sauna, relaxed, and was now lounging at home. The very next day, the rankings had shifted. Of course, he had no one to blame but himself, a fact Seora's wry smile made clear.

If he'd truly wanted to win, he would have stayed offline, ambushing the leaderboard when it was too late for anyone to react. Instead, he'd announced his intentions to the world, and the world's number-one player had responded by increasing his daily point gain.

"He must be absolutely rolling in money."

"He's a player sponsored by oil money," Seora explained. "Right now, he's probably a more famous rising star than you are. I heard he has five Legendary items equipped."

"That's insane."

Well, that explained it. But it also raised a question.

"Then why was he only getting 100 points a day?"

"There are a lot of factors. The most important one is safety."

"Ah." The answer clicked into place instantly.

"He earned 150 points yesterday. That's likely his absolute maximum."

"Hmm, so it's going to be a close race?"

"Yes. If you only run Special dungeons, it'll be difficult to catch up. He uses a helicopter for transport, so he's not as restricted by dungeon locations."

This competition wasn't a game. It was bound by the circumstances of reality. As the event dragged on, clearing dungeons clustered in one area would become increasingly difficult.

"It doesn't matter," Buja said, his eyes gleaming. "We'll stick to the plan until day twenty. I don't care where they are, just find me Special dungeons."

"I've already secured them."

He was doing everything he could, pushing his limits at every turn.

"Gold Enhancement."

And that effort was about to pay off again.

* * *

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