3.

Outsiders always said the same thing.

—Point farming… if I just had the money, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I don't even need to win just getting into the top 30 would be amazing.

But those who frequented the online communities, who understood how brutally inefficient point farming was for anything other than raw event score, would just shake their heads.

—You shouldn't point farm unless you're seriously gunning for a Legendary item. Not that I have the money or connections for it anyway.

—You think it's easy? You need at least three parties that can reliably clear Epic or Unique dungeons on a strict schedule. And you need three backup teams to cover their rest periods. That's nine teams running around the clock. I heard the going rate is $20,000 for an Epic clear and 100 grand for a Unique. You can do the math on the daily cost. Anything less than that is a massive net loss. If you spend that much for a month and don't crack the top 5, you won't even break even.

—On top of that, every team has to be trustworthy. If you hire some random mercs to fill a spot and one turns out to be an assassin, you won't just lose the event prize. You'll be donating your entire gear set before you leave this world for good.

On the surface, it looked easy because the players doing it made it look easy. But the reality behind the seemingly simple grind was a logistical nightmare. Once inside a dungeon, there was no leaving until the clear. This required parties that could execute a run within a precise 24 or 36-hour window. That didn't even account for the cost of consumables, which was separate from the players' fees. With anywhere from nine to twenty parties running simultaneously, the daily expenses were astronomical.

That was the true cost of point farming. And above all, it was a constant dance with danger. In a dungeon, other players were far more dangerous than any monster. The client would enter alone, grab the points, and get out. Some hired bodyguards, but if the clearing party decided to turn on them, a few guards would be useless.

This was the single biggest reason why the ultra-wealthy couldn't just brute-force their way to victory. They were walking vaults, each one carrying items worth more than a small corporation.

And after all that effort, they didn't even earn respect. They were flamed, ridiculed, and accused of ruining the spirit of the event. But a Legendary item was worth all of it.

Which was precisely why the world was now so fascinated by Kim Buja.

—Honestly, out of all the rankers from 1-star to 7-star, isn't Kim Buja the only one earning points the way the event was intended?

—Yeah, if you look at the spirit of the event, his method is the right one. He's clearing high-grade dungeons, getting rank points, and actually hunting to take advantage of the event buffs.

He was killing two birds with one stone, and with his blistering, clear speed, he wasn't falling behind the other players in the slightest.

—That's how the 6 and 7-star groups do it. The number of parties that can even attempt to farm points there is extremely limited, after all.

—What's insane is that Kim Buja is pulling that off in a 1-star dungeon and just rocketing up the ranks.

[Event Buffs]

▶ Week 1

→ +50% EXP gain when hunting monsters

→ +10% item drop rate in dungeons

▶ Week 2

→ All stats +10 upon entering a dungeon

→ Attack/Defense +10 upon entering a dungeon

Ultimately, the event buffs were designed to center the competition on player growth. If you wanted the rewards, you farmed points. But those who relied on such brute-force tactics would miss the chance to truly experience the event. That was why Kim Buja was providing a vicarious thrill not only for the other participants but for the spectators as well—all while delivering a constant stream of fresh, exciting content.

"I will clear the Legendary dungeon on Day 20," Buja declared in his latest video.

It was Day 13, just one hour before the Week 3 buffs were set to be revealed.

* * *

If he'd had his way, he would have charged into the Legendary dungeon right then and there. But there was no need to be hasty.

[70 gold has been used.]

[Enhancement successful!]

[Hat level has increased. 2 → 3]

This was a Legendary-grade dungeon, after all. No matter how effortlessly he had cleared the Special-grade one, there was no guarantee of success here. Of course, he was confident. With the Week 2 buffs active, he felt he could hold his own even if the dungeon's difficulty proved to be off the charts.

Still, he prepared for every contingency. Information on Legendary dungeons was nonexistent. The few parties that had ever cleared one certainly weren't about to broadcast their strategies to the world. You couldn't buy that kind of intel, either.

So, he planned to go in fully prepared.

It sounded grand, but it was nothing special. Compared to the gut-wrenching 800 gold it cost for each attempt to get his weapon to level 5, spending a mere 70 gold for a level 3 enhancement was something he could do without a second thought.

Clearing one dungeon granted him two attempts. Hat, gloves, shoes. Even when an attempt failed, he felt nothing, simply clicking again until it succeeded. Besides, failures were rare. With the extra 5% boost, his success rate was a comfortable 75%.

The single stat point he'd received at level 2 was increased by another at level 3, adding one point each to his Strength, Agility, and Stamina. It was a minor boost, but it came with another change.

['Enhancement Stage Level: 3' has been achieved.]

['Orange Aura' has been activated.]

▷ 'Enhancement Stage Level: 3' effect is active.

Lv1: Attack and Defense increase by 5.

Lv2: All stats increase by 2.

Lv3: All special stats increase by 1.

"Ooh," Buja murmured, impressed.

Right now, he saw Gold Power as little more than a discount mechanic, but since it was the Gold Maker's primary stat, he couldn't complain. Back when he was using the beginner's dagger, it had even given him a +1 Attack effect.

Most importantly, he loved that the faint, barely-there red aura on his weapon and armor had evolved into a much more distinct orange glow.

"The enhancements went pretty smoothly."

It wasn't a major leap in power compared to getting his weapon to level 5, but he still had a full week before he had to challenge the Legendary dungeon.

'Should I aim for 150 gold a day?' he mused.

Unlike the first week, when he'd hunted monsters specifically to farm gold, he was now focused on clearing dungeons for event points, which meant he was only earning about 50 to 80 gold per run. He had no intention of clearing more than two a day, so if he kept that pace until Day 20 and got his other gear to enhancement level 4…

'Just raising the chest and leg pieces should be fine.'

A single enhancement attempt cost him 200 gold. He wasn't sure how many tries he'd get, but for now, he set his sights on getting his chest and leg armor to level 4. On top of that, he'd have the Week 3 and Week 4 buffs.

[24:00:00]

[The Week 3 buff has been activated.]

▶ Week 3

→ One random dungeon penalty will be removed.

"This is enough."

The stage was perfectly set.

4.

During the first week, everyone's attention was on the point-farming players. The EXP and item drop rate buffs were seen as a small consolation prize for those who couldn't afford to join the point-farming frenzy. It was a decent perk; hunting diligently throughout the event could net you at least one level-up, even into the 40s. But to the general public, considering the inflated dungeon entry fees, it didn't seem all that profitable. The real prize, of course, was the Legendary item.

It wasn't until the Week 2 buffs were revealed that people slowly began to grasp the event's true purpose.

This was an event that helped players just by participating, not just through mindless point farming! It was a chance for players to grow on their own terms, without having to compete in the rankings.

By the time the Week 3 buffs were announced, everyone understood.

—Hey, aren't there other people who are 'really' milking this event?

The spotlight shifted from the 1-star group—the hottest and most ridiculously high-scoring bracket—to the top-tier rankers. The Legendary item should have been paramount to them as they quietly accumulated points, so why was the competition so strangely lukewarm?

[Breaking News: Fly Guild attempting a 7-star Special dungeon.]

Of course items were important. But for top-tier players, the real prize was breaking through their own limits. They didn't have a system of class-specific achievements like Kim Buja, but the stat bonuses from a first-clear reward were of incalculable value.

—Whoa, now that I think about it, isn't this event a golden opportunity for players to break into higher-level dungeons?

—The Week 3 buff is insane. Honestly, the first two weeks were just okay for farming.

—I thought the Week 2 buff was pretty useful, though. For level-60 players, it might have been a drop in the bucket, but for low-level guys, +10 attack and defense and +10 to all stats is like equipping a whole new weapon.

—The point-farmers are probably starting to sweat, right?

—The guy in first is fine. If he gets the Legendary item, he can try a higher-level dungeon even without the event. It's everyone else who's in trouble. Removing one dungeon penalty basically downgrades it by a full star.

The realization sparked a new wave of envy.

—So what does this mean for Buja? Can he actually clear a Legdenary dungeon?

—100%. He cleared a Special in 8 hours. If a Legendary gets downgraded to Special, there's no way he can't.

—Removing one penalty is huge, but calling a Legendary a Special is a stretch. The penalties themselves are probably on a whole different level.

—Still, he was planning to clear it even 'before' the Week 3 buff. This makes it way easier than he expected, so it's gotta be possible, right?

a Legdenary dungeon. A mysterious realm that had been cleared fewer than five times in five years. A dungeon whose strategy had never once been publicly revealed. The anticipation that its secrets might finally be unveiled was palpable.

The online communities were on fire. The topic was generating as much buzz as the news of the Fly Guild—led by the world's number-one player—making a historic attempt on a 7-star Special dungeon.

It was a monumental event. For a player who had awakened less than a year ago to be mentioned in the same breath as a superstar who had dominated the rankings for five years was unheard of.

Of course, Kim Buja didn't flinch under the pressure. On the contrary, he masterfully used the attention to his advantage.

—Whoa, that's insane.

—Wait, was the Day 20 Kim Buja mentioned the 'same day' the Fly Guild is entering the 7-star Special dungeon?

—LOL, I was wondering why he wasn't waiting for the Week 4 buff.

—No way.

—Then what does that make the Fly Guild for choosing that day?

—They're both absolute legends.

And so, day twenty arrived in a flash.

* * *

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