2.

Though Kim Buja didn't know it, the Oil Prince was famous. From questions like "What's the point of oil when new resources are pouring out of dungeons?" to the mystery of how he could still be rich from it, he was a well-known figure. Of course, Sergei successfully drew attention to himself by stating he had no obligation to explain the many controversies. Not that it was much of a secret, as countless experts had already offered their analyses.

[Dungeon Investments: Building a Golden Tower Atop a Golden Tower]

[The Oil Prince's Foresight: Just How Far Does It Go?]

[30% of the World's Dungeons Are His]

Oil is still an indispensable resource. However, the world no longer stops turning without it. Alternative resources had been appearing for some time, and one of the most common new materials from dungeons had already become the driving force that kept the world running. That's why he was even richer. If he had only held onto oil, its value would have dropped, but now he didn't need to rely solely on it.

In any case, Sergei was the richest man in the world. The reason he wasn't well-known to the general public, or to people like Kim Buja who were only interested in rankers, was because he hadn't been a player. He expanded his business as if to devour every dungeon in existence and hoovered up items, but unfortunately, he lacked the one crucial condition to use any of it: luck.

The one thing that couldn't be bought, even with hundreds of millions of dollars. He hadn't awakened as a player for four years. Ironically, Sergei tried everything from all sorts of superstitions about how to awaken to wearing dungeon items every year just to absorb a sliver of a player's energy, but it was all useless. It was pure luck. After four years, luck finally granted his wish.

It was a situation Kim Buja could understand. Whether you have money or not, if you desire to enter dungeons, if you see players hunting and think, 'I want to jump in there and have an adventure', you can't help but wish for it. Desperately.

For the newly awakened Sergei, there were no obstacles. The manpower, money, items, and dungeons were all there to support him. Everyone in the know said the same thing.

—He will surpass Fly.

In truth, if those words had sounded plausible, they would have shaken the world, and Kim Buja would have heard about it. He always prioritized information on dungeon-clearing strategies from rankers like Fly, and he would at least skim over news about rising stars who threatened his position. The reason he didn't know about Sergei was simple.

A single flaw.

—With a Unique-grade class? lol

—Give it up.

—I heard it's a defense-type class. Can he even clear a dungeon by himself?

It was a prime example of the system's duality. All classes are equal. With a good balance of items and a solid party, a class's grade can be overcome. It was a widely accepted truth, and for five years, players' classes were evaluated based on this standard. But that was only for the average player. It was a comforting phrase meant for the 95% of the seventy million awakened players; when comparing top-tier rankers, bringing it up would just get you laughed at.

Class comes first. Even among high-grade classes, they are further divided by type. That's just reality. Once you reach the top, you can acquire items and money to some extent, but you can't change the fundamental limitations of your class. Moreover, as you go up to Unique, Special, and Legendary, the gap between class grades becomes noticeably wider. This gap could never be filled with money.

That's why Sergei, who was briefly a topic of interest, faded into obscurity.

"That's a shame. No, wait. Who am I to pity anyone? If he hunts while decked out in Legendary gear, he could probably crush a Special-grade dungeon even with a Normal class."

Kim Buja took back the words he'd blurted out while empathizing with Sergei's backstory on the way to meet him.

"I was thinking like a commoner. A guy that rich probably hears people pitying him like dogs barking, right?"

Whether it's a Unique-grade class or a Legendary-grade one, as long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters. In fact, when Kim Buja first awakened, he didn't obsess over his class, knowing that what's important in a dungeon isn't flashy skills, but how well you can stay safe and efficiently kill monsters. Recalling the days he roamed dungeons feeling like he owned the world with just a single Legendary necklace, he figured it was possible Sergei was enjoying hunting so much he'd forgotten his class was only Unique-grade.

"Haah."

He set aside his worries for others. What was important now was why such a wealthy man had come all the way to Korea. What was he so curious about?

"We're here," Jeong Seora said.

Soon, they arrived and got out of the car.

"He's staying in a nice place, as expected. I heard the Royal Suite here is $20,000 a night. They must have made a nice chunk of change off him for two weeks."

"He's booked out all the floors from the top suites down."

"Wow."

The hotel was a testament to the power of modern money, a fact Buja was reminded of the moment he walked in. Of course, he wasn't intimidated. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't lacking in any way at this point either.

* * *

"A pleasure to meet you," Sergei said.

"Yes, hello," Buja replied.

I had imagined a bald man in a turban since he was called the Oil Prince, but he was nothing like that. He had a gentlemanly appearance, a likable face, and a youthfulness that belied his age in his early thirties. His smile was disarmingly friendly.

"Please, have a seat."

After a light handshake, they sat down, and the conversation began with light topics.

"You must have been clearing a Legendary dungeon, seeing as you were gone for two weeks."

The words came through a translation device, and Buja nodded with a casual smile.

"Yes, this one took a little longer," he replied.

"I looked up your videos after learning about you. I was so impressed by your incredible skill that I came here because I wanted to meet you," Sergei expressed.

Buja couldn't tell if he was genuinely using extremely formal language or if it was just the translation, but he gave off a warm impression.

"Oh, come on, I only upload the videos where I do well. Haha, I'm sure all the players who run video channels do the same," Buja replied.

The atmosphere was light, but Buja didn't let his guard down. It could have just been a simple greeting, but for their first conversation to start like this was by no means ordinary. Besides, if he had watched Buja's videos, Sergei would know that clearing dungeons doesn't take him that long. He might be trying to dig for information, wondering if Buja was up to something else, so Buja gave a vague answer.

The conversation continued, and along with compliments for Jeong Seora, dinner began. The real discussion started then.

"To be honest, coming all the way here was not an easy decision for me."

Realistically, there could only be one reason Sergei came to meet him. Buja had interfered with his plans. A person with the power to suppress event competitors through external means, coming all the way to Korea in person. Even without using physical force, he might want a direct apology. No, that was the only thing that came to mind. So Buja tensed up.

But Sergei's next words revealed his tension to be nothing more than a paranoid delusion fed by too many novels and dramas.

"Staying in Korea for two weeks was also a challenge. Of course, it's a wonderful place, and I've enjoyed sightseeing. But being away from my business at a time like this causes major disruptions. Still, I came to meet you, Kim Buja."

Why?

"I want to be your friend."

He said it with a bright smile. The pleasant expression that hadn't changed once since they first met, combined with the pure intention in his words, revealed the sincerity of the man. Perhaps it was only natural. There was no need for someone like him to wear a fake mask. You wear a mask when you want something from the other person, but Sergei already had so much that he didn't need anything from anyone.

"Uh, friends?"

"That's right."

The unexpected word made Buja scratch his head for a moment. Plenty of people in games had approached him to get something out of him, many of them filthy rich and just playing for fun. But the hand this man extended felt different. The gesture was the same, but the intent was not.

'What does he want from me?'

It was a sincere offer. Looked at that way, there was no need to be suspicious. He flew a long way and waited. That alone was proof enough of how much he wanted to be friends. The only thing that made it suspicious was the very fact that he had everything. The fact that Buja had no friends like that also played a part.

As Buja eyed him suspiciously, Sergei raised the hand he had offered and laughed.

"It's true. I came here because I want to be friends with you. In fact, you're practically my ideal. I want to move and fight monsters in a dungeon like you do, but I couldn't even picture it. The closest person to my ideal was Fly, but the moment I saw you, I realized that even his strength was largely due to his class and items."

He then shared his sincere story—a story he didn't have to tell. It was something he could only do because he wanted to become friends, man to man, setting aside his background and everything else.

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Sincerity gets through. Buja could see a person's sincerity, even if not perfectly. It was still impossible to understand from his perspective, but the offer to become friends was a welcome one.

"Having a rich friend sounds great to me. Deal!"

So, Buja extended his hand without hesitation. The moments he had spent worrying that Sergei might threaten him now felt embarrassing. Buja pushed aside paranoid thoughts that he might be planning some trick behind my back. If Buja was going to live his life like that, he might as well just hole up in a capsule and play games by himself.

"Haha, friend!"

Sergei, with his surprisingly cheerful personality, played along with Buja's lighthearted words and started asking the questions he was curious about. They weren't particularly deep. How do you fight so well? Things like that. The kinds of questions a normal person would have. The effort he put in, flying all the way to Korea just to satisfy his pure curiosity and admiration, was genuinely touching.

"I imagined entering a dungeon with you, just the two of us, as friends," Sergei shared.

"Hmm, I really wish the translation device's Korean patch was a little better."

Just as Buja was wondering if he should learn his language, he remembered that the Gold Store sold languages, too. As their meeting, which had turned into a drinking session, came to an end, Sergei handed Buja a box.

* * *

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