2.

"Happy New Year."

In 2023, the sixth year since the dungeons appeared, the well-wishes players exchanged had taken on a new meaning.

"Here's to another year of not dying, not losing any limbs, and surviving with good drops," Kim Buja said.

"You too, Buja. Please take care of your health and don't overdo it," Jeong Seora replied.

Players struggled to live, yet they were also the ones who constantly threw themselves into dungeons teeming with death. Even if raids were now more focused on personal gain than protecting the Earth, someone still had to cull the ever-increasing number of them. For players, who were naturally imbued with a sense of duty, the greatest wish for the new year was simple survival.

It was a constant struggle: a player trying to survive by any means necessary, and the hologram that constantly pushed them toward the jaws of death.

[A 'Surprise Event' has been generated.]

[Surprise Event]

▶ Type: Happy New Year!

▶ Period: January 1, 2023 ~ February 28, 2023 12:59:59

▶ Target: All players

▶ Reward: 50% Bonus EXP Buff, Level +1, Stat Points +3

▷ This is a reward event to commemorate the end of the tutorial.

▷ It applies to all players, including those who awaken during the event period.

Just when the players started to find some stability, the system always pushed them toward a greater trial. If they didn't seek challenges, it created them. Was it ultimately a matter of choice? Faced with such rewards, almost no player who entered dungeons could maintain their composure and stick to their own pace.

And so, worry preceded excitement.

"Just how hard are they planning to work us? There's never been an event like this in the past five years, has there?" Jeong Seora asked.

"No, there hasn't," Buja confirmed. "The end of the tutorial… The fact that everything up to now was the tutorial is even scarier."

Kim Buja's level also hit 11 with the surprise event, but he didn't have the luxury of checking the flood of messages that followed. He had to recognize that a more important problem was unfolding before his very eyes.

"What could it mean?" Seora wondered aloud.

"Who knows?"

Of course, they couldn't know what the future held. If all the incidents, events, and dungeons so far were nothing but a tutorial, what new level of difficulty would soon torment the players? That's why this event was so important.

"If everything before was the tutorial," Buja said, his voice grim, "then what comes next is what really matters."

Depending on what they did from now on, overturning the slight lead some had gained in the tutorial would be a simple matter.

[The event will now begin.]

As if in response to their determined resolve, pillars of light, similar to those from the preliminary event, appeared at random points across the globe.

[48 hours remaining until the start of the Individual Match.]

[If a nation's representative fails to enter within the time limit, that nation will be disqualified.]

It was an alarm signaling the start of the main event.

* * *

There was no time left and nothing left to prepare. It wasn't something that could be done in two days anyway. With that in mind, Buja had planned to simply get his body into peak condition.

[Level increased by 1.]

[You have acquired 3 Stat Points.]

[You have reached Level 11.]

[You have completed the Tutorial.]

[You have earned the Achievement: 'Now, It Begins! (L)'.]

[You have acquired 10,000 Gold.]

[You have acquired 3 Special Stat Points.]

[You have acquired 3 Stat Points.]

[The 'Mounts' system has been activated.]

['Gold Mission Chapter 2' has been activated.]

[The 'Mileage' system has been activated.]

That was the plan, at least, until the system messages he had briefly postponed popped up.

"Why is there so much?"

The sheer volume made him frown. Not because he disliked it, of course.

"How many notifications is this?"

It was a frown of concentration, to read each one carefully, to brand every detail into his memory. Naturally, he did this in the bath, where he could relax his body and mind. It was a private bathroom Jeong Seora had installed in his house so he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of visiting the hospital anymore. The decor and the tub were far more luxurious and spacious than the hospital's, which was a nice perk. A clear head worked best in a nice place.

"I know I hit level 11, and I can skip the tutorial completion message."

The most efficient way to process a lot of information is to filter out only what's necessary. Absorb what's needed, discard the rest. The level-up and tutorial completion messages fell into the discard pile. What mattered was the result.

"A Legendary achievement is great, and so is the reward of 10,000 gold on top of that. Wait..."

The result spoke for itself.

"10,000 gold."

He carefully opened his status window. The gold he had been saving since the national qualifiers, now combined with the achievement reward, exceeded 18,000. 18,248G, to be exact.

"Damn."

He had thought 8,000 gold was more than enough preparation. Looking back at the last provisional event, he knew he could achieve incredible efficiency with minimal gold by taking advantage of an event's unique rules. He had saved that much, considering he might have to pull off a Gold Mission-level feat in the team match, but he'd also planned on saving some for after the event.

But now, another 10,000 was added to the pile. When you have money, you want to spend it. A list of potential purchases was already forming in his head, being prioritized. But for now, he pushed it aside. This wasn't the time to think about spending.

'The Gold Mission is open too. Let's not spend recklessly.'

Gold was always in short supply. No matter how much he had, it was never enough, and it felt even scarcer when he desperately needed it. He knew better than anyone that hoarding it wouldn't do any good, but now was the time to save. He could think about spending it after clearing the biggest hurdle: the event.

Calming himself, he organized the three special stat points and the regular stat points. As usual, he saved the regular stat points and didn't hesitate to use the special ones to raise his Gold Power. And then, the long-awaited new content.

"Mounts, Gold Mission, Mileage."

The Gold Mission needed no special explanation. Just as before, Chapter 2 was now active, and having experienced the first three parts of Chapter 1, Kim Buja knew exactly how it worked. He would tackle it after the event. Next, the Mounts' content was activated, more or less as he had expected from the name. Of course, it was a barren wasteland with almost nothing unlocked yet. This, too, was new ground to be cultivated slowly.

And the one he was most curious about was the Mileage system.

"What's this?"

From the name alone, it sounded like a system that would give you a few freebies as a payback after you spent a ton of real-world money. After checking the details, Kim Buja let out a hollow laugh.

3.

Renowned players from all over the world gathered at their respective countries' event points, fully armed. They marched in grand processions, mobilizing everyone from acquaintances to entire guilds, as if they were about to pour all their strength into the competition before it even began. This wasn't just a show of confidence or a way to flaunt their status as national representatives, but because the journey to the event was more dangerous than the event itself.

Terrorism and assassination.

In truth, the best way to eliminate a threatening competitor wasn't to overpower them with skill or exploit their weaknesses. Once inside the event, you were given a temporary life anyway; no matter how many times you killed them, your most dangerous opponents would be back again next year. But if you eliminated a competitor on their way to participate, the event would become that much easier, and you wouldn't have to worry about them in the future.

That's why countries that still had the power to do so even mobilized their armies to provide escorts. People often said that the international competition was the one day you could see the true military power of the world's nations. For countries that had lost their sovereignty, rebel forces or other factions would bring their own troops. Either way, it was a festival where all the world's players gathered.

Korea was no different. Although it had fallen to a position no longer recognized on the world stage, it had always maintained a spot in the upper-middle ranks. Within Korea—even considering the North—protecting the nation's representative held significant meaning.

"To think I'd receive such an extravagant welcome as a national representative in my lifetime."

Not all representatives were treated the same. Where else would you find an escort who would be prepared to lay down their lives to protect a single person? Thanks to them, Buja arrived safely. This time, he waved to the massive crowd surrounding the event point at Gwanghwamun. They probably couldn't see him, since the area within a one-kilometer radius was so tightly controlled that not even a mouse could get in, but they would be watching on camera. Despite being right-handed, he deliberately waved with his left, making his Gold Ring and Starlight Ring stand out.

Seeing this, Jeong Cheol approached him. "I'm counting on you again."

"That's a lot of pressure."

"If you're going to go around bragging to the whole world about your Legendary Class and Legendary items, you damn well should feel some pressure."

At his blunt words, Kim Buja shrugged and nodded. "I don't think I'll lose, but if I do, it can't be helped. It'll just mean he was born with a bigger silver spoon in his mouth than me."

Someone like Fly, for instance. Even as he said it, he was an opponent he desperately wanted to face. He'd probably meet him, one way or another, right?

After reassuring Jeong Cheol, who would be watching more nervously than anyone, he walked confidently toward Jeong Seora. Then, without hesitation, he embraced her, holding her so tightly she filled his arms.

"If I make it back alive, you have to wear the Santa outfit," he said, his voice grimly resolute.

Jeong Seora saw through his dramatic tone. "You sound like you're going off to die. That's not going to work on me."

"Tch."

Contrary to her words of refusal, her hands stroked his back as she buried her face in his chest. In truth, the person for whom this event was most important was not Jeong Cheol or Kim Buja, but Jeong Seora herself. What had started as a simple desire to support her father's dream of creating the number-one guild had come this far. Now, it was a dream and a conviction she had to see fulfilled. She wasn't disappointed at all that it rested in the hands of Kim Buja and the Jeong Cheol Guild, not her own. In the end, she was the one who had brought the situation to this point.

"Please win," she whispered. "If you really come back with a win, I'll grant any wish you have."

For some, it might seem trivial—"So what if he wins? It'll all be over next year anyway." But for Jung Seora, it was a once-in-a-lifetime dream she longed to fulfill. The sincerity of it beat through her chest and into her heart.

Feeling her emotion resonate, Kim Buja quietly murmured, "Every wish you want… I'll make them all come true. I swear it on my life."

With a resolve even heavier than Seora's, she strode straight toward the event point—no hesitation, no time-wasting feints, just a headlong leap forward.

The light that swallowed Kim Buja spread out brightly, simultaneously shooting up into the sky. A giant pillar of golden light vanished as if it had burned up along with him, and soon, Korea's event point went dark.

Individual Match participation: complete.

[Would you like to spectate?]

With that, a system message announcing the start of the event appeared before people's eyes.

* * *

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