2.

Just a few days ago, waking up for Kim Buja was merely a passing moment before logging into another game. A damp ceiling, the hum of the capsule beside him—the start of another tiresome, unchangeable day. But now, everything was different.

[24:00:00]

▷ The effect of Wait for Free Gold (L) is now active.

[You have acquired 3 gold.]

The holograms were the most definitive proof that his awakening was not a dream. Seeing his gold balance rise brought a wave of pure happiness.

"I woke up and I was rich," he quipped to himself.

It wasn't quite enough to say that yet. He couldn't buy anything tangible with gold, nor could it affect reality in the slightest. And yet, the fact that it was the primary currency of a Legendary-grade class, and that his daily income had tripled from one to three gold, made him feel as if he had already struck it rich.

What's more, this morning, that feeling wasn't just an illusion.

[Balance: $ 216,533]

"The Dungeon Store works fast."

After checking the hologram, he opened his phone to find a text message. It wasn't as thrilling as holographic technology, but its contents were more than enough to make his heart flutter. 'I guess cash is still king for now.' The human heart was so fickle. In the face of over two hundred thousand dollars, three gold suddenly seemed like a paltry sum.

"I started with fifty thousand, so does that mean I made about 160 thousand in a single day?" he calculated, not bothering with perfect accuracy. The appraisal for the Wolf King's Ring wasn't finished yet. Considering the market price for Epic items, he could reasonably expect another hundred grand. As the numbers clicked into place, his meeting with Seora came back to mind. 'It would certainly be easier with someone backing me. And they'd meet whatever conditions I ask for.'

Buja had decided against joining a guild simply because he hadn't felt the need. The Dungeon Store's services were perfectly adequate. But the terms Seora had proposed were groundbreaking enough to make him reconsider. She was essentially offering the same services as the Dungeon Store for a mere ten percent cut. Having seen countless guilds exploit and scam players over the past five years, Buja knew just how incredible that deal was. He also knew it meant they wouldn't even be covering their own operational costs.

'She said she's making the offer because she's been watching me for a while.' Seora had explained her reasoning, offering what could be a completely one-sided investment based solely on his potential, without any information about his class. As a player and as someone who had dedicated his life to gaming, he couldn't deny the temptation.

"Hmm."

His gut told him to accept on the spot. But one thing held him back. 'Still, you never know. It won't be too late to take what I can get, raise my value a bit more, and then join.'

He was confident. Confident that he could show her—the Kim Buja she had been watching—that his potential in dungeons was far greater than she could ever imagine. He turned on the boiler for the first time in a long while, soaked his body in the warm water, and then picked up his phone.

* * *

Seora strode into Jeong Cheol's office.

"You're back," her father said as his eyes were still glued to the mountain of work on his desk.

Seora returned his greeting cheerfully. "Dad, do you remember five years ago? When you were playing 'Real World'."

"I do," he grunted. "I was in the middle of the Balrog raid when I awakened. That was my last game."

"Then you must also remember the player who beat our guild to the Elixir of Immortality and entered the raid first, right?"

"That damn bastard?" Jeong Cheol's head snapped up. "Of course, I remember. His name was so unusual, I still think about it. Was it Buja? Kim Buja."

"Yes, that's him."

He remembered. The lone player, not even in a guild, who had handed the ever-victorious Jeong Cheol his first real defeat.

"That was probably the first time I lost a head-to-head fight," Jeong Cheol admitted, setting down his work for a moment as he drifted into the past. It was a memory he'd rather erase, one that still made him chuckle with disbelief, but he never forgot his failures. He analyzed them, learned from them, and improved. That was why he could smile about it now. If a similar situation arose again, he would never repeat the same mistake. "When I offered him a trade for the first attempt, the arrogant punk suggested we settle it with a guild battle. It was ridiculous of me to get worked up and accept, but then to suffer the humiliation of having my entire guild wiped out by one guy… I couldn't even tell anyone."

There was a story behind the world's first Balrog raid. Since Buja had acquired the 'Blood of Immortality', the required entry item, the right to challenge the boss was his. But Cheol, having prepared for months, had offered him a deal just in case. Buja's response had been to settle it with a guild battle. A challenge to fight instead of taking the money. It was both a show of confidence and a blatant provocation. Normally, Cheol wouldn't have fallen for it, but his pride was wounded, and he accepted. The result was a spectacular defeat. Though he quit gaming after his awakening, Cheol remembered the incident vividly. "So why bring up that arrogant punk now?"

Seora had teased him about it before, but never in such detail.

She smiled brightly and announced, "Because that arrogant punk is the promising rookie who soloed a 1-star Epic dungeon in under twenty-four hours yesterday."

"What?"

"And, he's agreed to join our guild. Once he passes a few tests, that is."

Cheol's gaze, which hadn't wavered even when fighting a five-headed chimera in a 5-star dungeon, now widened. 'Really?'

He, too, had thought of Kim Buja from time to time while running dungeons. Even as a top-ranked player, he couldn't help it. It may have been a game, but Buja's movements—reading three steps ahead, dodging every attack, and taking out his members one by one—were something he couldn't easily replicate even now at level 60. Talent. It was a word other players might find absurd to describe him as, but it was what Cheol had thought Buja had.

And now that a skilled fellow was coming to the world of dungeons, he was curious, a feeling similar to Seora's. He felt no ill will, no desire to use his superiority to avenge his past humiliation. He just wanted to see. He wanted to prove it. 'Dungeons are different.' Being good at games, being good at survival, and being good at hunting were all different skills. Jeong Cheol excelled at all three, but he was most confident in the last. He wanted to prove himself on the same stage. Of course, he knew that would never happen.

"If he's still at 1-star, it'll be impossible for the rest of his life," he said aloud.

"He'll grow fast, you'll see," Seora countered.

This wasn't a world of game data where a level gap could be bridged with gear and skill, as it had been five years ago. For Buja to close the gap in experience, equipment, and levels to stand on equal footing would mean Cheol was falling behind or stagnating. That would never happen. And so, he felt a sense of ease.

"My daughter, you're amazing as always. Still, for a solo clear of a 1-star Epic, there must be plenty of guilds willing to just throw money at him. To get him to agree to join after taking tests… did you have to use your charms on him?" This ease was the privilege of the strong. Nurturing a future talent with the spare funds he had while preparing for a 5-star Unique dungeon was no loss for the Jeong Cheol Guild.

Seeing her father's satisfied expression, Seora corrected his misunderstanding. "No. We're the ones being tested. We agreed to provide him with any dungeon he wants five times, unconditionally, at the proposed rate. If he's satisfied after that, he'll listen to our recruitment terms. I'm glad you agree it's better to bring in talent like him, Dad. I'll make him the best offer in the industry and secure him."

"…Huh?"

"I haven't heard his class, but it seems to be Epic, or at least Unique. No matter how talented he is, he would have needed a powerful class to take down a boss monster in under twenty-four hours."

"No, with conditions like that, it would be better to…"

"I heard you say we don't need any more players, and since it seemed like we wouldn't be recruiting for a while, I went all out," she said, cutting him off smoothly. "Thank you for trusting me with this."

"Oh? Uh, right. I'm sure you'll handle it well. I trust you."

And just like that, the internal review of recruiting Kim Buja to the Jeong Cheol Guild was concluded.

3.

The next time they met, Seora was even more beautiful. Dressed in a flowing one-piece dress, she captured the attention of not only Kim Buja but every man on the street.

"You look beautiful," he said, the words spilling out before he could stop them. Even for a man who had never been in a proper relationship, her appearance was striking.

"Thank you."

But he didn't lose his focus. "You said you needed a dungeon?"

"Yes, no point in sitting around. I need to run dungeons and level up quickly."

For him, women were not a top priority. Only money! After five years of living without it, he had finally gotten his first taste of real wealth. The radiant smile and curvaceous figure of a beautiful woman stood no chance against that. As they started talking business, his eyes sharpened. This was Buja in his element, focused on getting what he wanted. His level wasn't increasing, but there was no need to leak information about his Legendary class, Gold Maker.

"Can I see the dungeon information?"

"Yes, here you go." He had already told her what he needed over the phone. Seora handed him a thick file folder containing several organized documents. "This is a list of the 1-star Epic to Special dungeons we own. If you'd like, we can also trade with the Dungeon Store for one of theirs."

"There are a lot."

"If we weren't a small, elite guild, we'd be number one in South Korea," she said with a confident smile.

The files justified her pride. At a glance, there were over twenty, and that was just in the Seoul and Gyeonggi area. The number would shrink if he filtered for solo entry, but the fact that their holdings were comparable to the Dungeon Store's was a testament to their influence.

He nodded, then asked, "Are there any Legendary ones?"

"Unfortunately, Legendary dungeons can't be owned by individuals or guilds," she explained. "The same goes for the Dungeon Store. With the exception of a few failed nations that have lost their functions as states, Legendary-grade dungeons are managed by the government."

He vaguely remembered hearing that. He had no intention of entering a Legendary dungeon anyway, so he skimmed through the documents. Seora pointed out a few.

"For an Epic, I'd recommend this one or this one. Since you'll be going in alone, there aren't many options, but these would be the most straightforward for a boss kill."

"Hmm."

The dungeons she recommended were indeed straightforward, likely chosen based on his previous clear. But he shook his head. Pushing aside her suggestions, he picked up the next file.

"That one is…"

"I'll do this one for one of the five."

"A Unique dungeon?" she asked, surprised. "And you're going to do it solo?"

It was the only one of their six Unique dungeons that allowed single-person entry. Like the others, its clear condition was to defeat the boss monster.

"But the difficulty is far too high."

"That's why I'd like to use that item rental service you mentioned," he said, his eyes glinting. "Would that be alright?"

That was what Buja had chosen for his second dungeon run.

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