I Gain Infinite Gold Just By Waiting-Chapter 252: Episode 51_Preparation (2)

3.

Movies or dramas that carry massive expectations rarely succeed. It doesn’t matter if the director has a track record of hit after hit, if the game boasts the best possible cast and has been in development for years, or if it’s a blockbuster film with a budget in the hundreds of millions. The quality and polish of the work might be undeniably high, but earning public recognition is another matter entirely.

The more hype builds through marketing, the higher the odds of failure climb. In particular, when expectations swell far beyond what was anticipated, people can find things to complain about even if the end result is better than they imagined. The saying “the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment” exists for a reason. Once people start wanting something beyond their imagination, even the most spectacular result is bound to fall short of their satisfaction.

The joint 8-star Legendary dungeon run by Kim Buja and Fly was no different. The expectations were enormous. Kim Buja’s abilities had already been proven. This, then, would be a test for Fly, who now seemed to be the one chasing from behind. Would Fly end up as a mere sidekick, or would he demonstrate equal—or even greater—ability and firmly prove that he was still ranked number one in the world?

Whatever the outcome, there was no way to satisfy everyone. That was why people had been talking nonstop even before they went in.

—With expectations this high, what if the result is kind of lame?

—I heard those super-hyped restaurants are never actually that good. This feels like that.

—I mean, whatever. Buja will tank and Fly will kill everything.

—He didn’t even bring Hwangdo.

—I’m expecting a pretty standard result.

An outcome no one could have possibly predicted. The actual flow and result of the dungeon run went in a direction that absolutely no one had imagined.

—What the hell?

—Did I see that wrong?

—No. What the...?

An enormous number of people watched the video. At a minimum, one billion; if you added up all the viewers across various platforms, the number exceeded two billion. Among all of them, not a single person could have predicted things would unfold this way.

—This is a real carry.

—...Sure, the item was payment for the carry, but isn’t this way too absurd of a power spike overnight?

—Seriously. I want to check if that’s even the same person.

—Don’t tell me he was secretly hiding his true power all along.

They couldn’t help but think that way. If his power had been completely unpredictable from the start, some people might have taken it in stride. However, not long ago, Kim Buja had shown everything he had in his videos. While it had been a concept dungeon, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit to clear an 8-star Legendary, and at no point had he looked like he was slacking off or holding back.

That was why people had drawn a line, assuming they knew his limits. The moment he chose a dungeon that didn’t favor him. The moment it was announced he would be going in with Fly. ’So he’s trying to create a run where they can truly work together.’

In a way, that was just common sense—the kind of common sense that applied to players. It was a consideration for the other player joining him in the dungeon. Since Kim Buja was more than capable of surviving in an 8-star Legendary dungeon, he would naturally yield the favorable conditions to Fly. That was all anyone thought. A gift from the driver to his passenger.

But they were wrong.

—He just scammed the entire world.

—I saw this coming.

—Yeah, sure you did. Liar.

—So the reason he picked a normal dungeon wasn’t to help Fly show off his skills, but because his stats shot up so high with Lucifer’s Necklace that literally any dungeon would have turned into a carry?

—Yup. When you think of it that way, this dungeon is actually on the easier side. No concept, the clear conditions are all over the place, and the main objective is just killing monsters. All you have to do is beat everything down.

—Kim Buja. Who the hell are you...?

And so, the blockbuster movie everyone had been hyped for turned out to be, on the surface, a surprisingly plain, heartwarming story about a rural village bus driver. Of course, that didn’t mean there was no fallout. The plot itself might have been simple, but the emotion, action, and spectacle it delivered were anything but.

—How high do your stats have to be to pull that off?

—When did he learn that many spells?

—He disappears for a bit, and every time a new video drops, he’s absurdly stronger. We really need to investigate him for cheat codes.

Then, the passenger added a final comment.

“It was very comfortable. Not the kind of ride I originally wanted, but experiencing something like this once in my life was refreshing.”

The first bus run had been executed perfectly.

* * *

In truth, even Kim Buja hadn’t expected it. ’My power spiked way too hard.’ The accessory set effects, combined with the options from Lucifer’s Necklace, were potent. To be precise, Demon King’s Finger was having the biggest impact, but regardless, the end result was damage that far exceeded his expectations.

Naturally, he had been able to clear another 8-star Legendary dungeon. And without any special concept. ’Demon King’s Finger is completely busted.’ On top of that, the people watching the video hadn’t caught on. There were questions and analyses about the sudden jump in his power, but since the most recent item people remembered was Lucifer’s Necklace—the one Fly had given him—they couldn’t help but assume that was the reason.

Its options were certainly good enough to justify that assumption. And in terms of contribution, it was significant enough that you couldn’t just write it off. However, the real key to clearing the 8-star Legendary dungeon so much more easily was, above all, the 7-star Legendary accessory set effect combined with Demon King’s Finger. ’The synergy with Demon-related items is broken, too.’

He couldn’t stop marveling at it. When a reward comes from an unexpected place, the joy is multiplied several times over.

[Hand of the Demon]

▶ Grade: Legendary

▶ Level: ★★★★

▶ All Stats +45

▶ Attack Power +30

▶ On Hit, chance to absorb 4% of HP

▶ When using mana, you can manifest the ‘Hand of the Demon.’

▷ You can absorb blood to raise its level.

▷ Once equipped, it becomes permanently bound.

▷ Due to the ‘Demon King’s Finger’ effect, the efficiency of all options is increased by 50%.

It was an item he had forgotten about for a while. However, as he had steadily slaughtered countless monsters, its level had risen from 1-star to 4-star. With boosts to all stats, attack power, and HP absorption, it had grown into a proper Legendary item in its own right. If it had these options at just 4 stars, the additional effects it would gain at higher levels were something to look forward to.

And then synergy effects had been added on top of that, making it 50% better across the board. That was the answer. Overnight, an 8-star Legendary dungeon had gone from being difficult to clear to one that could be cleared easily as long as he was careful.

“So when are you going to tackle a 9-star?”

“Just let me know when, and I’ll hop on.”

His sky-high confidence now allowed him to seriously consider challenges that had previously seemed out of reach. Fly answered the question without hesitation. This run had taught him that for a 9-star attempt, his own abilities weren’t the critical factor. He could always take on his personal challenges on his own.

What mattered was clearing it at least once. Even if he didn’t beat it purely with his own strength, just going in, seeing what kind of monsters appeared, and experiencing how to defeat them with his own eyes would be more than enough. Naturally, for someone riding the bus, what mattered was the driver’s time and skill.

Kim Buja hadn’t expected to hear that from Fly, but he nodded anyway.

“Then I’ll contact you when it’s time.”

It was a situation where, if you put yourself in Fly’s shoes, your pride could have easily been wounded. Yet he responded and acted as if it were nothing, which was exactly the kind of reaction that made people say, ’That’s Fly for you.’ It was the mindset of one of the very few people whom Kim Buja had ever considered a real rival.

For his part, Buja didn’t strut around or get cocky after their conversation. This felt more like an inevitable step than a reason for celebration. This was the sky he had been looking up at ever since he first awakened years ago. He had simply reached it faster than expected; it was a mountain he had sworn he would climb no matter what. It wasn’t that he felt no sense of accomplishment, but with even greater obstacles looming ahead, it was hard to celebrate just because he had surpassed one rival.

He immediately moved on to planning his next steps.

“Gold grind. Content grind.”

Both were nothing but repetition and long stretches of boredom. Which one should he choose? Whichever path he picked, it wouldn’t be easy. So he chose the path that made his heart race more.

“Let’s start with the Tower of Trials.”

It was the one place where he could most objectively and definitively test his uncontrollable power to its absolute limits.

“Let’s see how many floors there are.”

Up until now, he had cautiously cleared one floor at a time. From here on out, it would be a full sprint.

* * *

The community forums had dedicated boards for top players, known as "stars." If the main free-for-all board was flooded all day with posts about a particular player, it would stop being a place for open discussion and turn into a shrine where a specific fandom did nothing but praise their favorite celebrity. Of course, getting a dedicated board wasn’t easy.

Since this was a community used by people all over the world, being allocated a single board was a huge deal, and just having one was a guaranteed way to boost your name recognition. There were even players who invested hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make it happen. Even so, the number of players with their own starboard was still fewer than 10.

The tenth and most recent addition was Kim Buja. The first-ever from Korea and the hottest player around, he had the second-most active board in terms of post volume, right behind Fly. The topic currently setting his board on fire was the Gold Mission.

—When’s he going to the continent?

—I want the next episode already.

—He’s scared, so he’s grinding his stats like crazy. He’ll go when he’s ready.

—How much more prep does he even need? It’s the Demon King. In dungeon terms, that’s like a 9-star Legendary boss, right?

—Whatever the case, at this growth rate, it won’t be long.

—I want to see the imperial princess already.

—I hope the saintess is doing okay.

—Those demon bastards look scary as hell.

The 8-star Legendary dungeon was impressive, but it was already in the past. His fans knew that the ultimate reason he was pushing himself this hard was the Demon King. On top of that, the fact that he had gone quiet again lately only added fuel to the fire. What was he doing to raise his stats? Did he even have any room left to raise them? 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The way he kept breaking through his own limits again and again wasn’t just vicariously satisfying; it was genuinely helpful to other players. Amid all this talk about the continent, one player suddenly asked a question.

—But when he goes to the continent, almost all his items get stripped off except for a few. Does it even matter if he raises his stats with gear? He said all the items he’s gotten recently were to prepare for the Demon King. If he can’t take them with him anyway, what’s the point?

—Oh!

—You’re right.

The board froze for a moment at this tiny detail that no one had considered. Then it flared back to life as people started arguing over the reason.