Episode 180

3.

He checked how much gold he had left.

▶ Gold Owned: 34,112G / (Mission): 0G

It had been down to about eight thousand, but after leaving the Castle of Nightmares, it had piled up again. Seeing that confirmed it once more.

"Life is good."

His level was still low enough to make him sigh, but his boosted stats and upgraded environment had improved so dramatically that complaining felt like an indulgence.

Of course, the amount of gold he earned from a single dungeon run wasn't that high.

A 3-star Legendary dungeon.

After converting all the drops, he had probably earned around five to six thousand gold.

It was a lot, sure, but not the kind of number that made you whistle in awe once you factored in the time it took.

Instead, he now had far more chances to earn gold through achievements.

As his stats rose, his own ability to leverage them—the "engine" driving his progress—began to reveal its true potential, and achievements that were hard to obtain inside dungeons started pouring in.

At least until he hit a plateau—and as long as he didn't get stuck there for ages—it didn't look like there would be any major obstacles to mining the massive gold vein called the Gold Maker that had been given to him.

'Before that, I need to squeeze every last drop out of this.'

Put another way, the real question was how to use that massive gold vein.

That was why, even though he was bringing in a decent amount of gold, he never stopped agonizing over how to spend every single piece as efficiently as possible.

For the first time in a long while, he opened Hwangdo's status window.

?[Gold Dragon]

?▶ Grade: Legendary

?▶ Name: Hwangdo (You can change this once for free.)

?▶ Level: 1

?▶ Stats: Strength (15) Agility (15) Vitality (15) Magic (50)

?▶ Skills

?1. Gold Growth

?2. Holy Light

?▷ Currently forcibly summoned. This penalty will disappear once you acquire the "Reverse Summon" skill.

'Still the same as the day I got you, huh.'

It had been so long since he got Hwangdo that he could barely remember when it happened, yet nothing had changed.

The only thing he had ever invested in Hwangdo was the "Holy Light" skill he had bought early on for, what, 500 gold?

Looking at it now, he felt a twinge of guilt.

'Back then, I'm pretty sure your total stats were actually higher than mine.'

Now, Hwangdo's total stats were lower than even one of his own.

Hwangdo's cry sounded a little more pitiful than usual.

He willingly opened his wallet.

'I'm nervous.'

Even when he had made up his mind, spending money always made him tense.

When he opened Gold Growth, unfamiliar items filled his view.

'What's this?'

This wasn't how he remembered Gold Growth.

Back then, there had been a decent number of items—various growth potions and skills to raise Hwangdo's level—lined up in a way that had felt fairly neat and organized. Now, it was nothing like that.

'When did it get so cluttered?'

The main hologram was packed with countless items framed in gaudy, flashy borders.

It had been a long time since he last saw it, but he could say one thing for sure.

These were new.

'Is this tied to the Gold Shop level?'

If you thought about it, it wasn't strange for Gold Growth to be an extension of buying items with gold.

Or maybe it changed depending on his VIP level.

What mattered were the names of the new items he was seeing for the first time in ages.

'Beginner Growth Package? Basic Magic Service?'

Just from a glance, the names and the way they were advertised screamed "shady sales pitch."

It felt like looking at a gift box with pretty wrapping that you couldn't trust from the start.

Of course, Kim Buja wasn't the kind of narrow-minded person who let that kind of prejudice cloud his judgment and dismiss things without even checking.

If it helped him, if it made him money, he was the kind of magnanimous guy who could shake hands and smile with yesterday's enemy.

Besides, changes like this only piqued his interest.

Things that hadn't been visible before were now appearing.

The conditions had eased up enough for them to show, which meant, in other words, that these were better items he hadn't been allowed to buy back when he was a scrub.

He tapped one, just to see.

[Beginner Growth Package! (Basic Magic Service)]

▶ Level 20

▶ All Stats +10

▶ Six basic four-element magic spells!

▶ Free must-have fashion item for dragons in this hot weather!

'What kind of late-night home shopping ad copy is this?'

He was dumbfounded, yet a chuckle slipped out.

It was ridiculous, but if you broke it down, it wasn't bad.

Especially for Kim Buja, who had opened "Gold Growth" specifically with Hwangdo's growth in mind, it hit all the right appeal points.

The contents were good, but the price was reasonable too.

That was the clearest standard for "not bad."

'Ten thousand gold, huh.'

Aside from the fact that he had to drop a lump sum, he was basically getting the cost of leveling to 20, plus stats, basic magic, and even a freebie on top.

'So there really was a massive markup.'

Looked at from the other side, it was proof of just how badly the individually sold items were ripping off players—or in this case, ripping him off.

He didn't particularly mind.

This business was aimed solely at him anyway, so whether the hologram sold things at a premium or bundled them into a cheap package, that was entirely up to it.

The choice was his.

If he decided it wasn't cost-effective, he just wouldn't buy it. There were plenty of other ways to burn gold.

He didn't overthink it.

[You have spent 10,000 gold.]

This time, he had decided not to care about a little gold loss.

In his right mind, there was no way he could blow gold like this on raising Hwangdo's level instead of his own base stats.

'I'll play the sucker until this little punk can at least act like a proper baby dragon.'

[The level of "Gold Dragon" has increased (19).]

[All stats of "Gold Dragon" have increased (10).]

It hurt when he spent it, but the flood of holograms popping up all at once washed away his regret in a single, satisfying rush.

Kyuuu!

And the one who felt the biggest thrill from that sudden wave of exhilaration was, of course, Hwangdo.

Level 20.

All stats increased by 10.

On top of that, there were the stat bonuses that came with leveling up.

He couldn't directly allocate the points himself, but Hwangdo's stats didn't stay flat like a non-scaling pet, so there was a clear difference compared to before he bought the package.

?▶ Stats: Strength (55) Agility (15) Vitality (45) Magic (120)

"What the hell?"

It wasn't just a clear difference.

The total stats had ballooned so much that the flat +10 looked almost trivial.

What that meant was simple.

Even a liberal-arts major like Kim Buja could do this math.

'So it goes up by six per level?'

Considering that a player gained three stat points per level, the comparison was easy.

'You've got to be kidding me.'

While everyone else got three stat points per level, Hwangdo was getting six.

At 10 or 20 levels, that already created a meaningful gap. If he pushed it to 50 or 60?

No, put differently, it meant that at level 30, Hwangdo would have the power of a level 60 player.

'How is this even a game?'

A Legendary-grade pet.

Given that it was a pet that dropped at absurdly low odds, he could understand it, but this was still insanely strong.

"Tch."

Even if it was his own pet, he couldn't help feeling jealous.

All the more so because he himself didn't get any stat points from leveling up.

What could he do?

If you were salty about it, you could just quit. That's how it goes.

Grumbling, his eyes were already drifting toward the Intermediate Package.

Unfortunately, his hand couldn't follow.

'Fifty thousand gold?'

That was where the shopping spree ended.

All that was left was grinding toward the goal.

* * *

There had always been a faction on Kim Buja's channel that constantly chanted Hwangdo's name.

—When is Hwangdo coming back?

—Seriously, how can you get a pet that cute and then just ignore it?

—He's not ignoring him; he's protecting him. Would you drag a dragon that adorable into a dungeon crawling with monsters? What if he dies?

—…Fair point.

Hwangdo was a dragon and a monster.

But to these people, Hwangdo was a creature that didn't exist on Earth.

A pet version of a Catastrophe-class monster that only appeared in novels.

Even putting all that aside, he was just plain cute.

He was only about the size of a fist, yet his belly was adorably chubby.

And raising him wasn't just about keeping a cute pet. It meant earning the right to be someone others looked up to with envy in their eyes.

Because of that, countless people had sent inquiries about Hwangdo.

Not just out of idle curiosity, but from billionaires and others who could actually afford the price.

There were tons of verified posts on the community boards alone.

Same with the comments on his channel.

People offered ridiculous sums of money that would tempt even top-ranked players, and some even put up items that were nearly impossible to buy with money.

Even so, Kim Buja never handed Hwangdo over.

That was why people were curious.

They trusted him and waited.

—If he didn't care, he would've sold him ages ago. The guy's got insane item-collecting greed. As far as I know, even Fly hinted he'd pay anything and open up his own storage if he could get a pet like Hwangdo. He must have a plan. Let's just wait.

—I'm holding.

—Until the day Hwangdo grows up.

—You don't even have to show him in dungeons. Just give us a vlog. Even just a clip of Hwangdo eating.

Nearly a year of waiting.

The moment had finally come.

—Breaking: Kim Buja enters a dungeon with Hwangdo.

—No way. Are we finally getting a video?

—Don't get ahead of yourselves. He might not upload it.

—Please!

If they had only waited a day or two, they would have been disappointed and resentful.

But they had waited nearly a year.

No wonder the video where Hwangdo first appeared—posted back when the channel was barely active—still sat among the top-viewed videos.

They didn't let themselves hope too much.

They were content just seeing the photos of Hwangdo posted on the community.

—It's up.

To reward their patience, Kim Buja uploaded a video.

Well, "reward" wasn't exactly the right word. It was more accurate to say he was finally cashing in on the hype he had been storing up.

Either way, the new video featured Hwangdo.

The two of them strode confidently into a 3-star dungeon together.

As soon as they entered, Kim Buja spread out a mat, lay down, and started setting out various foods.

—What is he doing?

—Is this a picnic?

—I mean, for someone like Kim Buja, a 3-star dungeon is basically Normal difficulty, so I guess he could go on a picnic.

—LMAO, who takes their pet on a picnic in a 3-star dungeon?

—Only Kim Buja could pull that off.

A true owner.

He hadn't forgotten Hwangdo.

He had kept him out of the fighting because he cared.

People were moved.

How many players would risk their lives to bring their pet into a dungeon just so it could enjoy a picnic?

It made them reflect on themselves for a moment.

Of course, the touching mood didn't last long.

—Why is all the food fast food?

—Can dragons even eat that?

—Why isn't Hwangdo sitting down?

"Go."

"Kyuuuu!"

Because right after they heard Kim Buja's voice in the video, they saw Hwangdo, wearing a bright sky-blue armband, charge straight at the monsters.

* * *

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