Episode 173

3.

Everyone has a personal baseline.

A minimum acceptable point.

A line dictating that if they spend a certain amount, they expect a certain return to feel satisfied.

Naturally, that line differs from person to person, and most people hope to get more than what they put in.

That is normal.

Of course, even as they hope for that, they also know that reality rarely works that way.

Game items are a prime example.

The cost of processing, reforging, or enhancing an item using the game's official currency is generally higher than the market price for the finished product.

One in a hundred—unless you are absurdly lucky and beat the odds to craft something at a ridiculously low cost, that is just how it is.

Even so, players still pour money into crafting their own game items, and some even invest huge sums into characters that cannot be sold at all, because there is a value involved that cannot be measured in money.

Self-satisfaction is that magic word that applies both in any game and in real life.

One way or another, due to a mix of complex factors, people sometimes end up spending far more than they intended.

Whether that "something" is money or anything else.

Buja was no different.

Originally, he had planned to spend at most 50,000 gold.

Exactly five tries.

In terms of gold, it sounded like a huge amount, but in terms of attempts, it felt like, 'Is this really enough?'

However, given the advantage of being able to pick two options at a time, it was not that bad.

More importantly, if his assumption was correct, the system would offer slightly better odds in exchange for the 10,000 gold per roll. That meant the chance of being satisfied with 50,000 gold was actually pretty decent.

"I'll use anything that's even moderately decent."

Above all, his bar for satisfaction was not that high.

You could tell just from the fact that he had put "Gold Plunder" in his second refinement slot instead of a combat-related option.

He was not aiming for the absolute top-tier options, just something around the middle.

That was what he had hoped for when he started rolling.

He didn't lose his cool midway through, either.

He just watched, expression flat.

Watched his gold burn away.

Once, twice, three times, four, five.

Even after he surpassed his initial limit, he merely frowned as he spent more gold. He didn't question it or feel particularly anxious.

He just kept going until he hit ten rolls.

→ Stagger Lv2: Has a chance to stagger the target when attacking.

That was how it happened.

How he ended up pulling "Stagger," the top option in the Level 2 refinement effects.

"Phew. I really blew it all."

In those ten rolls, he had not gotten a single thing.

Not even an option that met his baseline, or came close to it.

"Damn probabilities."

Better odds or not, in the end, it was all luck.

At one point, he had even regretted it, thinking he would have been better off rolling level 1 refinement instead.

Of course, that feeling had completely vanished now.

"At least I got it."

Stagger was an option that did not even appear in Level 1 refinement; it only showed up in level 2.

He felt a certain satisfaction from the knowledge he'd gained—a reward for the 100,000 gold he'd spent.

He had spent 100,000, but even with a simple calculation, it was clear he had not really lost out.

"At this rate, I really am going to burn through gold."

Naturally, he was worried.

He had been lucky this time and pulled a top-tier Level 2 refinement effect, but once time passed and his VIP level rose further, higher-level refinement effects would appear. That would mean he would have to spend even more gold to roll for options.

His head throbbed.

Still, he did not dwell on it.

When the time came, he would deal with it then.

What mattered now was that he had spent 110,000 gold on a spec upgrade he wouldn't regret.

"Time to start getting ready."

And with the first Dungeon Break buff on top of that, Buja was ready to climb to the next rung of the ladder.

With the dungeon list Seora had sent him, he began planning his first video in a while.

* * *

The community was heating up once again.

—Is there some kind of cycle? Every few months, something huge blows up.

—I wish it was like this every week. It's so boring when things are quiet.

—Yeah. We're always running around clearing dungeons and killing monsters; we need big news like this to keep us entertained.

—Still, the fact that they're coming back alive with news like this is something to be grateful for.

Fly's 8-star Epic dungeon attempt.

And, right on cue, Buja's 3-star dungeon raid announcement.

In truth, the two pieces of news were on completely different scales.

One was a chance given to only a single person in the entire world, while the other was about one of the most common dungeons, a place nearly every player had tried at least once and still frequented to make a living.

Even so, the reason the two were being compared and drawing attention to each other was, of course, Buja.

—Is he going for Legendary again this time?

—Apparently, yeah.

—Wow, a solo clear of a 3-star Legendary would be a whole different story.

—Is that even possible?

—Looking at his current specs, he's definitely overgeared for 3-star, but Legendary 3-star? I'm not so sure.

He was the only prospect people talked about as Fly's potential rival.

He had actually beaten Fly once during an event, and during the Catastrophe Event, he had single-handedly taken down the Catastrophe, making a spectacular impression.

On top of that, he hadn't just proven his strength in events. Through his video channel, he had been documenting his entire growth journey since his Awakening, step by step.

That was the biggest reason people were so excited and invested.

Through him, they could get a glimpse of Fly's growth story—the one that was now completely hidden and seemingly perfect—albeit with a different class.

What kind of quirks did a Legendary-grade class have?

How did it grow?

What kind of synergy did that growth create?

And along with that, what kind of achievements could be stacked up when such a class was in the hands of a player who could use it to its fullest?

These were videos that couldn't be bought with money, nor could they be created, even if you had it.

They existed only at a specific level—one you could never return to—capturing the absolute best a player could achieve at that exact moment.

—If he clears up to 3-star Legendary, won't that really start a storm?

—At this rate, in like two years he'll be clearing 7-star Legendary too.

—That's pushing it.

—I think it'll get rough from 4-star onward.

—If it looks like too much, he'll probably drop down to Special and only do Legendary with a party or something.

In a way, it was a cliché.

He had already shown the same pattern twice, going through 1-star and 2-star.

This time did not look like it would be any different.

At best, he might change it up a little by starting from Legendary and working his way down to Normal, or by going for a time attack.

Even so, it was not boring.

—He can actually keep this content going?

—No way.

Calling it cliché was just another way of saying it was predictable—a safe and easy way to draw attention. But for players willing to risk their lives for that attention, it was the sweetest honey pot imaginable.

Yet no one had managed to succeed.

Even though just talking about it like this was enough to draw massive attention.

Even though the community was on fire for days, debating who would clear first between him and Fly.

It was a simple yet impossible challenge.

From the very start, this "cliché" content was a brick wall. After clearing the first and second floors, no one had even dared to attempt the third.

The reason was simple: players might risk their lives for attention, but they valued their lives above all else. They wouldn't touch something that could actually get them killed.

Even Fly had not challenged a Legendary dungeon at the appropriate level in a long time.

That was why expectations were even higher.

—What clear condition is he going to break through this time?

—He kind of cheesed the 2-star, to be honest.

—Cheesed it? That was one of the hardest runs ever. It's just that his class was busted.

—Exactly. I just hope this one's more intense, whatever he does.

As the weather grew hotter, the dungeon that would set the community ablaze was finally revealed.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

For the 3-star dungeons, he would challenge them in reverse order, from Legendary down to Normal.

Naturally, aside from the Legendary, none of the other dungeons posed much of a problem.

His stats had not increased dramatically compared to when he had tackled the 2-star dungeon, but his Gold Maker abilities had improved significantly.

Just with "Gold Enhancement" and his equipment refinement effects alone, he was confident he could clear them without much trouble.

So he had pushed it a bit and carefully selected a Legendary dungeon.

'Which one would be the most troublesome?'

There were countless easy ways to clear it, but devising a way to clear it the hard way had him clutching his head in frustration.

To an outsider, it might look like a ridiculous thing to worry about, but in the end, this was also for show.

If he wanted to leave a strong impression on people, he needed more dramatic staging.

That was the dungeon he chose.

[Clear Conditions]

☆ Destroy the Castle of Nightmares

☆ Defeat the lord of the castle, "Beneila"

☆ Kill 1,000 Nightmare Legion monsters

▷ This is a Legendary-grade special dungeon. Dungeon penalties are applied.

1. The curse of the "Castle of Nightmares" is strengthened by 50%.

2. The clear conditions are organically linked; for each ☆, the stats of the "Nightmare Legion" and "Beneila" increase by 5%.

3. "Beneila" evolves by one stage inside the "Castle of Nightmares."

4. In 30 days, the "Castle of Nightmares" will activate "Nightmare."

5. All monsters' attack power increases by 5%.

In truth, there were many interesting and entertaining dungeons in the world.

A dungeon with a strong, unified theme was like a miniature dimension that let players who craved new challenges feel like the protagonists of a novel.

Once inside, it wasn't just a vague feeling—players couldn't help but become fully immersed.

That was why players who fell in love with this kind of dungeon never forgot it.

The problem was—

No, there were actually quite a few problems.

"If only most special dungeons weren't Unique-grade or higher, they'd be really attractive."

"And really dangerous."

A clear, strong concept was poison for players.

Leaving aside the monsters' raw stats, the unified behavior of the monsters made it hard for players to find any exploitable weak points.

On top of that, the penalties that stacked up in these dungeons synergized with each other just like the dungeon's own mechanics.

That was why people said these dungeons could be two or even three times harder than same-tier Unique or Special dungeons.

And that was the kind of dungeon Buja had chosen.

"It reminds me of the Catastrophe. Sounds fun."

It was a way to make what could have been a dull stretch more interesting.

—Wow. He's going to the Castle of Nightmares?

—Wasn't that dungeon basically sealed off?

Naturally, the reactions matched the choice.

—Is this a suicide notice?

—So this will be his last video.

Cold, realistic reactions.

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