3.

'A national representative.'

There was still time until the qualifiers, but just the opportunity to compete for the position was exciting. In an era where national borders were becoming ambiguous and it was perfectly natural for a player to join another country's roster for money, wearing the flag and representing your nation was still an honor. He didn't feel this from a sense of patriotism, though.

'I wonder how much my channel's subscriber count will increase.'

As always, it all came down to money. Even though he was rich enough to swipe his card without checking his bank balance, he wasn't yet wealthy enough to boast about it in the world of players.

'A man with assets in the hundreds of millions!'

The phrase sounded like you could live the rest of your life without a care, but if you changed it slightly…

'A player with assets in the hundreds of millions!'

It just didn't have the same ring to it.

Of course, if you added up the value of his Legendary-grade items, he had nothing to envy. But to Kim Buja, those were assets he couldn't cash out. The Gold Ring was bound to him, impossible to remove, and he had to keep the Legendary Crystal Necklace for life because of its options.

At best, the Earring of the World Tree was an item he could sell. Even then, he felt he couldn't, out of respect for Sergei, at least not until the man died. To put it simply, he was rich, but he wasn't.

He still had a long way to go to live up to his name. The amount he earned from dungeons was incomparably larger than what other 1-star players could imagine, but as he climbed to 2-star, 3-star, and higher tiers, the cost of necessary items was also formidable. That's why he never abandoned the mindset of always earning money.

The national representative position was the same. He'd had plenty of chances before. Even outside of RPGs, he had done anything that made money, and the easiest and fastest way to cash out was in AOS games.

The practice of account boosting hadn't disappeared with the advent of virtual reality games. Kim Buja, who had spent more time logged into other people's accounts than his own, naturally couldn't become a pro gamer, let alone a national representative.

'Would it have been better if I had just become a national representative back then instead of boosting accounts?'

It was all the folly of a poor youth, a time he had come to regret. This time, he would make a name for himself, fair and square.

'Pshnk—'

As his thoughts trailed off, the dying roar of today's dungeon boss shattered the silence.

[☆ Requirement has been met.]

[The dungeon will be cleared.]

[You have completed 'Today's Mission!: Flower of Massacre'.]

[You have acquired '2x EXP Coupon (2)'.]

[You have acquired 15 Gold.]

The usual holograms. A satisfying dungeon clear where he'd not only finished Today's Mission but also snagged an extra reward.

'Pretty generous for a Unique.'

If you included the gold from the mission, it was as good as running a Special-grade dungeon. The good news didn't end there.

[You have acquired ★(U).]

"Huh?"

His first Unique-grade constellation. Another piece of content he had forgotten about came to mind. And he realized.

'I just need the Normal and Rare ones to complete the set.'

A Legendary-grade constellation on his first try. A Special-grade one after just a few runs. A Unique-grade one that finally dropped after a fair number of runs. An Epic-grade one he'd gotten first, which had disappeared because it wasn't activated, only to be reacquired soon after.

It felt like he was getting them in reverse order. In any case, with only the two easiest ones left, his curiosity was piqued.

'What's so good about unlocking it?'

[Constellation]

▶ Currently Activated Constellation: 0-Star

▶ Constellation Activation Effect

▶ Owned Constellations (1-Star)

★(N): Not Owned

★(R): Not Owned

★(E): 1

★(U): 1

★(S): 1

★(L): 1

He suspected the hologram was meant to show just how hard they were to get, the probability. He could say he'd been lucky with many things, including enhancements and constellations, getting them relatively quickly.

But compared to the number of dungeons he had cleared so far, the result was far too meager.

'If it weren't for the Legendary, I wouldn't have even bothered.'

Maybe later, but for now, this was the only content where he couldn't use gold. It was something that could only be collected by clearing dungeons. In truth, he could have just ignored it.

But now that he was so close to activating the 1-star constellation, he grew a little curious. He had one concern.

'Should I do it now?'

Normal and Rare-grade constellations would probably drop from running Normal and Rare-grade dungeons. However, there was no guarantee he could finish in a day.

If he was unlucky and they didn't drop after dozens of runs, he might have to start the Gold Mission without having farmed his planned amount of gold. However, if he postponed it, he would have to clear the Gold Mission quickly due to the national qualifiers, and there was no telling how long the delay would be. At the very least, he might not think of it again until after the international competition next year.

"Hmm."

Another moment of choice. If it were just simple curiosity, he would have postponed it without hesitation. There were more tangible rewards waiting. But the constellation also had a reward. If it was unlocked not just by collecting constellations of each grade, but by the difficult condition of collecting all grades, wouldn't there be a noticeable, satisfying reward?

'Alright. Let's do it.'

As soon as he had that thought, a hunch ran down his spine. He immediately exited the dungeon and picked up his phone.

* * *

—"Seora. You said there aren't many Special and Unique dungeons left, right?"

Jeong Seora nodded at the sudden call.

"Yes, there are some, but many don't have suitable clear conditions."

In a world with more dungeons than taxis, high-grade dungeons were still rarer than Normal and Rare ones. Fewer people challenged them, so the numbers had piled up, but after a month-long event followed by Kim Buja's farming spree, the dungeons in the Gangnam area with his desired clear conditions had dried up.

The shortage could be easily solved by moving a little further out, so it wasn't a major problem. And since Kim Buja wasn't too picky about the profit-sharing ratio, dungeon owners were lining up, hoping he'd clear theirs. So, she hadn't mentioned the discussions they were having about the inconvenience of the dungeons getting farther from his home. Kim Buja hadn't said anything either.

—"Then starting tomorrow, please find me only Normal and Rare ones. Prioritize ones that are close and have easy clear conditions."

And then he made the sudden request to clear the grades of dungeons he had run the least since he first awakened.

"Normal and Rare. Does any kind work?"

—"Yes, for now. I'm not sure how to explain it, but think of it as me collecting a set."

He explained without being asked. His thoughtfulness brought another smile to her face.

"That's a very interesting class you have."

Instead of saying thanks, or that he didn't have to tell her, Jeong Seora replied lightly. Just as Buja treated her like family by sharing these things, she knew she just had to respond in kind.

—"Anyway, if I'm lucky, one run of each might be enough, but if I'm unlucky, I might have to keep going. I'll let you know when I'm done, so until then, please stick to Normal and Rare."

"Okay. We have plenty of Normal and Rare ones, so you don't have to worry until you complete that collection."

—"No. I'll finish it in three days minimum at five runs a day."

Jeong Seora agreed. That's how collections worked in other games, after all. Normal and Rare. Lower grades were supposed to drop easily.

Most people acquired them without even realizing it. It was common to wonder later why you couldn't get one, only to find you had already gotten it way back when you first started the game.

"Still, you've run a few Normal dungeons before, haven't you? You haven't gotten it yet?"

—"That's what I'm saying. It should pop up soon."

That's what they both thought.

4.

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

Three weeks had passed. A moment that made him realize how fast time flies.

"Wow, has it been three weeks already?" Kim Buja exclaimed as he exited the dungeon. Why was time passing so quickly?

The reason was simple.

'That damn Normal one gave me such a headache.'

It was because he couldn't quite remember what he had done for the past three weeks. No, it wasn't that he couldn't remember.

'To think all I accomplished in three weeks was getting one Rare constellation.'

It was that he 'couldn't' remember. There was nothing he could look back on and feel a sense of accomplishment about. Things had been fine when he started farming. He had gotten the Rare constellation from a Rare-grade dungeon in three days, just as planned.

A good start meant he could avoid the worst-case scenario, even with a bit of bad luck. With that mindset, he ran Normal-grade dungeons every day. Three times a day, sometimes up to five.

"Wow, this is too much. Seriously."

He'd run close to a hundred of them, by a rough estimate. And not a single one had dropped.

'At this rate, Normal dungeons are going to have the highest clear count of my entire dungeon career.'

It felt like the probabilities were backward.

"Hah."

Of course, if it dropped too easily, that would be its own problem. The harder it was to get, the greater the reward would be. It was just frustrating to leave just one piece behind and move on. The moment of decision had come, and the answer was already clear.

'I'll try just until the end of today, and if it doesn't drop, I can't help it.'

It was a shame, but he couldn't invest much more time in it from the start. He was just trying his luck. Even if he couldn't activate the constellation, he would have to return to his original plan, having at least achieved his goal of getting Wait for Free Gold to level 20 and saving a little extra gold. A clean surrender.

The decisive moment always comes at a time like this.

[You have acquired ★(N).]

"Shit!"

He had practically given up. Saying it was the "last" time was just words; after failing over a hundred times, the chance of it dropping in the next two or three runs was more likely a fool's hope. But that tiny sliver of hope had shone through.

"Wow!"

Unbelievable, fairytale things sometimes happen in reality. Even if such hopes often led people to ruin—like gamblers telling themselves "just a little more," "just one more time"—those were experiences that never resonated with Kim Buja.

"Hah, what was all that for?"

A wave of emotion washed over him. He forcefully pushed aside the fleeting thought of whether he should be this happy over a constellation from a mere Normal-grade dungeon. Anyone who had objectively watched his process of collecting the constellations would understand. A Normal-grade constellation that was harder to get than a Legendary one.

'For a 2-star, I'm definitely getting the Normal one first.'

The value of having to split your time to challenge something when you need it versus enduring boredom by dedicating your spare time to it is completely different, even if the time required is the same. He acknowledged his inexperience, since this was his first time with the constellation content, and made a resolution to improve.

And then, he checked.

[Constellation (1-Star) has been activated!]

* * *

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.