1.

[You have gained (2) Levels.]

[You have acquired (2) Stat Points.]

[You have acquired (2) Special Stat Points.]

It wasn't the flood of diverse holograms that appeared after clearing a new dungeon, but it was clean.

"Now this is a reward."

Simple and to the point. Still, it was far more efficient and functional than dozens of hollow notifications. Satisfied, he invested the two special stat points into Gold Power. His Gold Power was now at 14, and he decided to save the two newly acquired stat points for now.

I didn't need the stats right away, and I could always grind for more later. It was smarter to save these points for when I truly needed them.

['Gold Mission Chapter 1-3' has been activated.]

Finally, the preview for the next mission popped up. I checked it immediately. While I had no intention of jumping right back in, if the chapter title was something like The 'Princess in Crisis' or 'Rescue the Princess, Part Two,' I'd have to bite the bullet and dive in. With a simple quest, I could take my time and prepare. But time in that world flowed at the same rate as in reality. Any delay could turn the mission into 'Recovering the Princess's Corpse.'

[Gold Mission]

▶ Chapter 1

# 1-1: Rescue the princess

# 1-2: The Choice

# 1-3: Battle

Fortunately, it wasn't anything like that. Unfortunately, the chapter title was a single, grim word that almost made me wish it had been.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

A battle? Just like that?

That one word spawned a dozen scenarios in my mind—like a battle between the Allied Forces and the Imperial Army. It wasn't entirely out of the blue; there had been plenty of foreshadowing. The Allied Forces pursuing the princess, the torture of her handmaidens, and information leaking out piece by piece. The 'Second Clue' had already hinted that the Imperial Army's location might have been exposed. Still, I had put my faith in the princess's cool-headed decisions and, of course, my gold. I couldn't stick by her side forever, so I'd set up some insurance before sending her on her way. Even if they were discovered, she alone was supposed to escape. To run. No matter what. If I went back, I could protect her and help her flee. I'd even given her a tracking device.

But a battle?

[Battle]

▶ Grade: Chapter 1-3

▶ Details: The Imperial Army flees while the Allied Forces give chase. Help the cornered Imperial Army defeat the Allied Forces and open a path to safety.

▶ Reward: Level 3, 3,000 Gold

"You've got to be kidding me."

Just as I'd feared, the scenario I had imagined was written out verbatim in the quest details. The picture was painfully obvious. The Imperial Army, trying to escape the castle with the princess, must have been caught by the Allied Forces and forced to flee. Though it was imperial territory, they'd be hounded and harried until they were finally cornered with their backs to a cliff or a mountain. The very existence of this quest meant the princess hadn't magicged to escape, not even on her own.

No, it was more likely that she chose not to escape. Even I knew that if I were in her shoes, abandoning the Imperial Army—her last hope—would be the same as giving up the fight for good.

"Haah…"

Of course, I couldn't be certain without seeing it for myself. I could save the frustration for after I'd witnessed the mess unfold. For now, I calmed myself and started to think. 'Do I have to go back in?'

Unfortunately, my deliberation was pointless.

[Entry to this chapter is restricted.]

[Time Remaining: 503 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

I couldn't proceed even if I wanted to. This meant only one thing.

"So, the situation develops on its own until it's my turn to intervene."

504 hours, 21 days, 3 weeks. As I saw in the 'Second Clue,' the Imperial Army was already preparing to withdraw even without the princess. With her arrival, they would have moved out without much delay—three to four days, at most. But I couldn't enter the quest for another twenty-one days. Whether they were pursued immediately or were just unlucky enough to be discovered on the move, this meant they'd be on the run for at least two weeks straight. The Imperial Army, deprived of sleep, rest, and even proper meals, would be fighting the Allied Forces in the worst possible condition—utterly unprepared to face death.

"This damn quest. They made it so infuriating."

The word 'infuriating' rarely crossed my lips. No matter how much other players cursed or complained that the difficulty was impossible, I was the one who would calmly beat it and call it easy.

So, for me to call something infuriating could only mean one thing.

"It's so damn well-made."

The system had been designed to give me the maximum possible leeway, even considering the next chapter. I had made what I thought was the best decision in the given situation, leveraging my Gold Maker class to invest not only the provided gold but my own as well. It was all for what came next. But as if it knew exactly what I was doing, the difficulty ramped up every time. It didn't seem impossible to clear, but it was enough to make me curse.

"You son of a bitch."

'Ptoo.'

Eat shit. After spitting out the curse, I tilted my head. 'Or is it a bitch?' Was I cursing the hologram? The Gold Maker's dedicated system? Or maybe whatever created this whole thing in the first place? A god? As I followed that train of thought, I reached the most useless line of reasoning a player could have, so I dropped it. If you started questioning every little thing, you'd have to ponder unanswerable questions like how dungeons were made or how players awakened.

"What's the point of cursing?"

If I didn't like it, I could just ignore it. The problem was that the rewards were designed to make you overcome that frustration and take on the challenge.

For now, I gave up thinking about the Gold Mission. I had three weeks, plenty of time to prepare if I needed anything.

Besides, my phone was ringing.

"Hello, Seora."

It was time to get back to my real life.

* * *

Jeong Seora had been Kim Buja's fan long before she became his partner. Ever since he had spectacularly defeated her father, the man she had considered her lifelong idol, she had watched him play every game with breathless admiration. It wasn't just fannish devotion that amazed her. In every game, with every character, in any situation, he magicged to execute the perfect play, never failing to impress her. It was surely the same for his other hardcore fans. He was the kind of pro gamer who effortlessly pulled off incredible plays that others could only dream of.

For her, it was a stroke of luck to be able to watch his life as a player right by his side, to learn bits and pieces of information about him and hear about his new challenges.

"A bard," she mused. "In player terms, would that be equivalent to a support-type Special Grade?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen her exact abilities myself. Depending on her effects on the battlefield, she could even be Legendary Class, don't you think?"

"Just thinking about it is amazing."

To her, the stories Kim Buja brought back from his excursions were a treasure trove of fascinating tales. Who else could say they knew a player who undertook game-like quests in reality? Instead of the tedious grind of entering unknown dungeon gates every day to fight monsters amidst tension and fear, he was advancing a story in a world with its own lore. A fallen empire and an enslaved princess—the premise alone sounded like a blockbuster.

"It would be nice if you could see it," Kim Buja said.

"I know, right?"

He agreed with her. He often thought it would be great if he could record his Gold Missions. Not to reveal every detail of his actions in a world unknown to anyone else, but just to upload some edited videos. That would be enough. Perhaps it would even be recorded in history, preserved for generations as a sample of another world where humanity existed, a subject of endless study. Its value would be beyond mere money.

"If they ever add a feature like that, I'll record it for you."

"Yes, and if there's any R-rated footage of you, Buja, I'll forgive you if you edit that part out," Jeong Seora said with a laugh.

"I am eternally grateful."

She knew it too, which is why she could joke about it. After hearing his story, she filled him in on what had happened during the two weeks he was gone.

"Nothing much, really. Lately, videos featuring Legendary and event items have been trending. There were a few related incidents of terrorism and crime. Public opinion on Park Sijun is mostly negative, but he seems to be ignoring it."

"He's still getting hate?" Buja asked.

"He has a decent number of fans, but far more haters."

"I guess so."

In South Korea, just being from a chaebol family was enough to draw criticism. But this guy paraded his wealth around to get attention, was constantly embroiled in power-abuse controversies, and used his position to snatch up all the support from the SJ Guild for himself. It was only natural that he'd attract all sorts of haters. On top of that, he had publicly gone back on his own word. He had handed them the perfect excuse.

"And Sergei Dicapro is here."

"He is?"

'He dug his own grave,' Buja thought, sneering internally. But his amusement was cut short by an unfamiliar name from Seora's lips.

"Who's that?" he asked.

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

"The Oil Prince. The Emperor of the Middle East. He's the chaebol collecting a full set of Legendary items, publicly declaring he'll be the one to challenge Fly."

"Why would a guy that rich be here? The only thing rich about me is my name."

"He was curious."

"About what?"

"About how you retook first place. He wanted to meet you in person to see what kind of amazing player could pull that off."

"…Ah!"

Hearing that, I finally realized where I'd heard the name. To be precise, I hadn't heard it. I'd only seen it on the hologram.

"The second-place guy?"

"Yes."

"Is he here for a real-life PvP?"

"You could see it that way, I suppose?"

He fell silent.

That was unlikely. 'If he wanted me dead, he wouldn't have come all this way himself; he would have just used his money to crush me into dust. The fact that he came here meant there was something he wanted to say to my face.'

"What are you going to do?" Jeong Seora asked.

"How long has he been waiting?"

"He contacted us the day after you left, I think. Said he'd arrived in Korea."

"…So, two weeks."

He had waited a full two weeks for Buja.

"If I refuse to meet him, I might end up in a fight I never asked for. I guess I have to go."

"I'll schedule it for you then."

"If possible, please pick a public place. So I can run if I have to."

With that half-joking, half-serious request, the appointment was quickly set for that evening.

* * *

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