3.

'This is doable.'

That was the feeling Kim Buja got the moment he clashed with Shin Hyeseong's greatsword. Even with the defender's advantage of being able to absorb the shock, his opponent was a player with a Special-grade class skill related to greatswords. The damage that pierced through was probably from that skill. Even considering that, it was fine. It meant that the power from his increased stats and defense was more substantial than the damage from the skill. Facing a Special-grade class player, he could be certain once again.

'He's got nothing.'

In that moment, all his plans—overcoming the disadvantage, using his skills to become the national representative, building his fame—became meaningless. There was no room to use things like skill, improvisation, or the reflexes and quick judgment needed to read and dodge an opponent's attack in a single glance. No, there was no need. The moment their greatswords clashed, their roles had been reversed.

"Let me show you the difference between classes."

A smile naturally formed on his lips. Outside the event arena, Kim Buja was thoroughly the underdog. Even as a Legendary Class player with stats that were ridiculous for his level, if the Shin Hyeseong before him came at him with full force and kicked him, he'd have to take the hit without even being able to react. That was the difference in levels, the difference in accumulated stats. And now he could let Hyeseong experience that very thing. That was why Kim Buja had chosen a greatsword as his weapon for the final match.

'BAM!'

With every swing of the two-handed greatsword, he advanced one step. His light body allowed him to swing the greatsword without giving his opponent a chance to react, and his powerful strength—and most importantly, his attack power—were slowly chipping away at his opponent's defending weapon.

It was a new experience. He had rarely done this even in games. Simply crushing an opponent with superior strength. Of course, that required technique too, but it was incomparably easier than aiming for an opponent's blind spots, inducing mistakes, and creating openings where none existed. It was obvious, really. Being superior to your opponent, looking down from above, meant that as long as you watched your own feet, you couldn't lose.

In this moment, he finally understood why people in games spent hundreds of millions, even billions, to raise their character's stats by even a single point.

'This is so easy.'

Kim Buja had never once regretted the talent he possessed. He had never been arrogant about it; he enjoyed it and focused on utilizing and developing it to the fullest. That was why he thought a character's specs weren't important. Meeting the minimum specs to defeat a strong enemy—that was a profitable business. For nearly a decade, that had been his creed, and to make a living, he had no choice but to play games that way.

But standing here now, he thought he understood. There are people who have never spent real money, but there's no one who has only spent it once. The amount of money slathered on a character is inversely proportional to their skill. No, it wasn't that it was inversely proportional; it was that it was allowed to be.

'BAM!'

"Gah."

It was a cool-looking greatsword, clearly made from good materials, but at this moment, it was just an ordinary weapon with a fancy appearance due to normalization. In contrast, Kim Buja's was a masterwork with nearly double the attack power of the normalized value, thanks to Gold Enhancement. Cracks began to form on Shin Hyeseong's greatsword.

Unlike his previous opponents, his skill in blocking attacks to the very end, even in a disadvantageous situation, and his movements to escape the offensive were worthy of applause, but that was all. At this rate, the outcome was already decided. The match was dragging on, not because Kim Buja lacked the skill to finish it, but because once his weapon broke, there would be nothing left to stop that overwhelming power.

So Shin Hyesung decided to take a gamble.

'Here he comes.'

The move was obvious to Kim Buja. He had intentionally chosen a wide-swinging attack for this very purpose—to make it easy to dodge.

'Whoosh—!'

With the sound of cutting wind, an attack missed for the first time. Shin Hyeseong, who had dodged the side-to-side swing by somersaulting from a standing position while holding the massive greatsword, immediately raised his weapon into the air and brought it down.

"Hyaaaaaaaaah!"

A fierce battle cry. It wasn't just a cry. He poured in the magic he had been conserving while blocking until now.

'CRACKLE!'

The sound of thunder wasn't an illusion. The formless substances sparking from the greatsword weren't just apparitions of concentrated magic; they were a skill. Lightning Greatsword was the reason Shin Hyeseong had earned the nickname 'Thor with a Greatsword'! When Buja saw it in videos, he was astounded. People cheered and went wild for the Legendary Grade, but this was flashy and powerful enough to make you admit that the Special Grade was no pushover.

The lightning that brought hell to monsters was now plummeting toward him. He had to dodge.

But suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

'Can I break it?'

If this were a dungeon and not a temporary event, he wouldn't have had such a crazy thought, let alone the leisure for it. He would have been contemplating where he wanted his grave to be. But this was still a place where Kim Buja was stronger than Shin Hyeseong. A full-power attack from a Special-grade class could only go so far. No matter how flashy and strong it looked, its destructive power wouldn't be the same as in the videos.

So he didn't dodge. There was no time to dodge anyway. Since he had swung his weapon to intentionally create an opening, Kim Buja didn't have much leeway either. Using the momentum of his body's spin, he planted his feet and crouched. From top to bottom. From bottom to top.

The moment of truth.

He saw Shin Hyeseong's puzzled expression at his decision to face the attack head-on instead of dodging. For Hyeseong, too, this was the final moment he had calculated and created. He must have judged while blocking the onslaught of attacks that if he unleashed his skills at this time, it would be a kill. It was experience and instinct honed against countless monsters, elites, and bosses, if not against other players. It's no different even if the opponent is human.

It's true, it wouldn't be different. If the power Kim Buja had been using against Shin Hyeseong was all he had.

'Time to show him what a Legendary-grade class can do.'

He hadn't been hiding his power. Just like Shin Hyeseong, he simply hadn't pulled out his active skills.

'Crunch.'

When else would he get a chance to beat a ranker over Level 60? He crushed the three pills he had waiting in his mouth, their spicy scents mixing on his tongue. It was a trump card he'd ambitiously prepared for the finals, one that even Kim Buja, who had no active skills, could use. An ultimate move he could deploy even in the event, thanks to the advantage of it being completely hidden from others!

[Strength increases by 20.]

[Attack Power increases by 15.]

[Defense increases by 20.]

A confidence that he could break anything surged through him. He swung his sword at the same time.

'CLASH!'

'KRAKOOM!'

That wasn't the sound of sword hitting sword. It was the sound of thunder striking down and destroying everything. A flash of light blinded everyone.

* * *

—What? What happened?

—Whoa, this is seriously like a movie.

—That last part was insane, right? I thought Shin Hyeseong had lost.

—Gave me chills. A ranker is a ranker.

—Is it for real that Kim Buja took a stance and countered in that situation?

The moment the thunder struck, people were thrilled. From those who worried that Korea's number one, the undisputed national representative Shin Hyeseong, would fall so futilely to a rising star, to those who had been showering praise, saying he was an incredible newbie who could rival Fly.

—That's more like it. This is the Shin Hyeseong we know.

—I think it was like this when he caught the hatchling, too. His timing is seriously the best in the world.

—You'd probably die if you got hit by that lightning, right?

—Duh.

Most predicted Shin Hyeseong's victory. Even the people who were cheering for Kim Buja. The timing was that sharp, and the effects and impact were clearly on a different level from the exchanges so far. By any common sense, it was Shin Hyeseong's turn, and it was only right that Kim Buja would take damage from an all-out attack.

What makes events interesting, what makes people go wild, is the thrill of those moments that shatter such common sense.

—Huh?

When the brilliant light of the lightning faded and the stage became visible to the crowd again, what they saw was an upset. Kim Buja was standing firm like a lightning rod without a hint of wavering, and Shin Hyeseong was literally flying through the air.

—Huh? Huh?

What happened? The question on the spectators' minds was a foolish one.

[The 'Individual Match (Provisional)' will now end.]

[Participant scores are being tallied.]

1. Kim Buja: 20 points

2. Shin Hyeseong: 15 points

3. ----10 points

4. ----7 points

5. ----3 points

[Matches for 3rd, 4th, and 5th place can be held. The match will resume if rankings are desired.]

[Spectating will now end.]

[Ownership of the 'Individual Match (Provisional)' video is granted to the winner. The winner obtains the right to distribute the videos of each match.]

The hologram was proving that what they were seeing was not a lie. Shin Hyeseong flew through the air and slammed helplessly onto the ground, while an unscathed Kim Buja walked over to finish him off. It was all too clear who the victor was.

Kim Buja wanted to leave the 'Individual Match (Provisional)' as soon as the match was over. The waiting room he was moved to was a magical place where anything he desired was prepared the moment he thought of it. But he could get anything he wanted in the real world through the Gold Shop anyway. He had no interest in these minor perks or this illusory world. He wanted to be somewhere real, soaking in a warm bath to wash away his fatigue.

"Man, that was tough."

That final blow. It was powerful, as expected of a Special-grade class's ultimate skill. Even though he had a roughly 30% advantage in total attack and defense over Shin Hyeseong, it was strong enough to make him think the situation would have been reversed if he hadn't doped. Thinking back, Shin Hyeseong's timing was clean. He had also saved up just enough power to finish it.

"If it hadn't been me, he might have had a shot. What a shame."

Spitting out such a smug remark, he lay his limp body on the bed. The fight itself hadn't been hard. The more he replayed it, the more fun it was. Where else would he get a chance to beat up rankers over Level 60 to his heart's content, even if it was just for an event? It was just that the after-effects of the so-called 'juice' he'd taken at the end were hitting him hard.

[Spicy Blueberry Pill]

▶ Grade: Rare

▶ Upon consumption, Strength +20 for 15 seconds.

▷ A pill made from unidentified ingredients. 60 seconds after consumption, Strength decreases by 100 for 6 hours.

[Sour Lemon Pill]

▶ Grade: Rare

▶ Upon consumption, Attack Power +15 for 15 seconds.

▷ A pill made from unidentified ingredients. 60 seconds after consumption, Attack Power decreases by 70 for 6 hours.

[Greasy Chicken Breast Pill]

▶ Grade: Rare

▶ Upon consumption, Defense +20 for 15 seconds.

▷ A pill made from the breast of an unidentified chicken. 60 seconds after consumption, Defense decreases by 70 for 6 hours.

They were one of the few buff pills that became available when the Level 2 Gold Shop opened. Looking at the duration and the side effects, it seemed less like a pill made for use and more like one you'd take when you wanted to die, but in a situation like this, they were extremely effective.

"They're cheap, too. Nice."

For just five gold, these items provided an effect you couldn't normally get at the current Gold Shop level, but only in specific situations. Of course, as soon as the match ended, he erased the very existence of these pills from his mind.

"Never taking those again."

The feeling of helplessness, of being unable to do anything at all, washed over him. He clicked his tongue at the unpleasant feeling he never wanted to experience again, but he smiled. A grin spread across his face.

Victory. It was the joy of having taken the first step.

* * *

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