1.

The first thing he saw upon entering was a sea of people. One person from each country. Together, they formed a crowd of over a hundred. Race, age, gender—a collection of people, all different. He pushed aside the thought that this might be what it would look like if you gathered people from all over the world in one place. Now was not the time for such sentimental thoughts.

[The 'Individual Match' has begun.]

[The map for the 'Individual Match' will be drawn in 10 minutes.]

The message that appeared immediately was enough to sharpen his senses. It was also a hint at the current situation. He was in a waiting room, a space to wait before the individual match began. The ten-minute grace period was probably a last chance for late arrivals.

He slowly checked his condition. As expected, just like during the provisional event, everything except for his class-related stats was sealed. The absence of the additional stats from his three Legendary items felt like a void. The bigger reason it felt that way was probably because there were no additional stat adjustments in the main event.

'All stats fixed at 10.'

Originally, Kim Buja's base stats were all 1. The fact that they were 10 here meant that every other player's base stats from their class awakening had also been normalized to 10. Why?

Was it because this was a waiting room? He couldn't find an answer. It was something he would find out after the event started. Instead, he looked around and observed his surroundings. It was a spacious room, with players gathered at a distance from one another. Although it was an individual match, some had already formed groups, while others were talking amongst themselves. A thought came to him as he watched them.

'What would happen if a fight broke out here?'

Even with all stats normalized, a person is still a person; stab them and they die. In this space with no rules, wouldn't fighting be the fastest and most convenient way to thin the competition? Of course, that came with the side effect of having to give up your own life, and no one moved because they weren't willing to trade their chance for just one or two kills. But Kim Buja wasn't the only one thinking it.

"Die!" a burly man roared.

"What the hell, you bastard!" a woman yelled.

Not far away, a large man charged at a female player who looked physically weak. The way he brought down his giant hammer looked impossible to block inside the event, where stats were equalized. It was a perfect surprise attack.

'He wouldn't actually attack me here, would he?'

A player caught in that mindset would be defenseless. Even if she didn't die in one hit, she would suffer a critical wound, and the follow-up attacks would surely take her life. It would be too late for anyone to help. The moment he saw it, the hammer was already descending on her head. It was a move too fast to counter, even with their original stats, let alone in this place where everyone was essentially a normal person. Besides, no one had any intention of helping. They just watched.

'BAM!'

The moment the hammer struck, a loud explosion echoed, and the man who had swung it was sent flying backward.

The crowd was stunned into silence.

Everyone's gaze snapped to the player who had almost been taken out so absurdly. But after seeing that her shocked expression mirrored their own, they looked for the next suspect.

Was it Fly?

It showed just how frightening a preconceived notion could be, even when they knew all stats were normalized. It was also an example of the sheer power the name 'Fly' carried. Even though most of them were their countries' representatives, renowned rankers in their own right, it meant they unconsciously placed Fly a level or more above themselves.

Despite the fiery expectations, it wasn't Fly either. A brief silence fell over the room. The mystery was solved by the culprit's confession.

[Drawing the event map. Physical harm between participants is not possible before the event begins.]

That was the answer to why competitors, who would be killing each other in just a few minutes, were gathered in one place without any safeguards. The people who had been thinking the same thing as Kim Buja nodded. The Hologram was honest. It didn't create bugs or errors, and it didn't penalize players for exploiting loopholes that might seem like them. That just meant it was systematically permissible, and in fact, players spent a lot of time researching how to exploit such things.

It was the same this time. It was a loophole anyone might think of. No matter how the map was drawn, eliminating even one competitor in the waiting room would be a net positive once the match began. The problem was that it was too obvious. A thought that comes to mind just by looking around is rarely brilliant. Most people's thought processes are similar; people who have lived in the same environment, on the same Earth, tend to think alike. The man who swung the hammer had the same thought as Kim Buja, as did the players who were minding their own business. The only difference between them and the unconscious man on the floor was whether they had filtered that thought.

The brief commotion ended as the timer ticked down to zero.

[The event will now begin.]

[The 'Hunting Island' map has been selected.]

His vision flickered, and the game began.

* * *

The event spectating system was special. During the provisional event, it provided a 3D broadcast through a personal hologram. Viewers could change the camera angle to wherever they wanted, rotating and moving it at will, giving them a sense of freedom and vividness as if they were spectating a live game. They could also freely increase the size of the hologram, and some people even rented out movie theaters to watch. That's why when the provisional event ended, there was a flood of inquiries to Kim Buja and the Jeong Cheol Guild requesting the finals video.

—The video quality is insane.

—Can't we watch movies with this?

—I wanna watch porn with this. It would feel so real.

—I want to buy a Hologram.

—You got the money? With this level of technology, putting aside the fact that it's impossible to implement, even if it came out, commoners wouldn't even get a glimpse.

It was that much of a shock to people, especially to the general public, who had only heard about the Hologram.

—So players get to use stuff like this every day, feeling like they're in a game?

—I'm so jealous.

—I want to open my own status window.

And so, even greater expectations were placed on the main event. There were plenty of people who used up their monthly leave and vacation days just to enjoy it more thoroughly, and it was common for young people with part-time jobs to simply quit. But such issues were not treated seriously.

—It's a festival!

—Go, our team!

Just six years ago, before the major sports industries were nearly ruined by the rise of players, there were times when people would unite and cheer during the World Cup. For people who worked all year round, such a festival was a very good excuse to rest and relieve stress. Besides, this wasn't just a simple sport. It was a stage that determined the overall power of each nation. Cheering was the least they could do. Some companies even closed for the duration of the event.

Perhaps to repay this public enthusiasm, the Hologram showcased its majesty with an even more special system.

[Would you like to spectate?]

This hadn't changed. But the moment you pressed yes, a new world unfolded.

[Participatory Spectating]

[Hologram Spectating]

A new choice that hadn't been available during the provisional event was given to the spectators. Hologram Spectating was the same as before, broadcasting the match through a hologram. Participatory Spectating, on the other hand, offered the vivid sensation of being right there in the arena. It needed no further explanation.

—Wow! Has anyone tried Participatory Spectating? It's insane.

—Thought it was virtual reality for a sec, lol.

—It felt way more real than VR. What's the sync rate on this thing?

—100%, obviously. You can change the viewpoint however you want, and it even has first-person, so you can see exactly what the players are seeing. It's amazing.

It was filled with vivid reviews from people who had experienced it firsthand.

—This event is gonna be a huge hit, no matter what.

—I hope they release the VODs no matter who wins.

—I want to see Fly up close.

—I need to back up pics of Hyejeong's fair skin.

—Someone report the pervert above.

Regardless of their individual reasons, everyone agreed it would be spectacular. Indeed, the community forums, which had been bustling just moments before, suddenly fell quiet.

—Hey, where did everyone go?

—I'm bored, come on out. At least give us a review.

—Ah, I want to watch with Participatory Spectating too. Should I just close up shop for the day and watch?

The event had begun. Hundreds of millions of people around the world logged in, just like the players, to a battlefield where there was no time to post on forums.

2.

When his vision cleared and he could see his surroundings, Kim Buja immediately dropped into a low stance. He scanned the area for any other players. In the waiting room, they had gathered everyone in one place, but it wouldn't be like that in the event itself. It wouldn't be some boring free-for-all, throwing over two hundred players into a "fair" fight with normalized stats to determine a winner.

"Hunting Island."

Of course, the map's name gave off that exact vibe. That's why he had been on guard as soon as he was transported.

But he thought that even if the result was the same, the process would be different. 'Hunting' could be interpreted in various ways. For players, hunting was how they gained experience. It would be the same here. He had a rough idea of why all stats were unified at 10 as well. Perhaps the map had already been selected the moment the event opened. It didn't matter. It was more important to assess the reality of the situation than to ponder such meaningless questions.

Kim Buja made a brief judgment and thought that this type of map was not disadvantageous to him at all. No.

'This is perfect.'

It was extremely advantageous. A smile naturally formed on his lips as another player came into view. The man was rubbing his eyes, trying to adjust to the new environment. He stared blankly into the air for a moment. The reason was obvious. A list of system messages long enough to make anyone's eyes glaze over was also displayed in front of Kim Buja.

But he didn't read them. Instead, he infused magic into his Gold Ring, forming a dagger. His magic stat had dropped to 10, but the bonus magic from his class effects meant the transformation was largely unaffected. Without hesitation, he ran. He hadn't lowered his body out of fear. It was to spring forward faster in a situation just like this.

'Stab—'

The sharp dagger plunged mercilessly into the player, whose stats were all normalized to 10.

[(Provisional) Level Up!]

[You have acquired 3 (Provisional) Stat Points.]

[You have succeeded in your first hunt.]

Kim Buja had fired the shot that signaled the beginning of the hunt.

* * *

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