4.
Honestly, it wasn’t a fun schedule.
It was tedious, and a sense of futility was beginning to creep in.
He was only enduring it by streaming, interacting with viewers, and pushing himself to create content to hold their attention. Otherwise, he would have quit the monotonous, daily hunts long ago.
’It’d be nice if I could actually spend so gold.’
Of course, the biggest reason for his boredom was the lack of imdiate rewards.
Hwangdo’s growth, clearing dungeons, and upgrading the Gold Ring—all of those had provided rewards for his efforts, which he’d happily accepted. Even grinding dungeons for a month to stockpile gold was a plan he’d made because the eventual payoff would be more than worth it.
The problem was that the reward wasn’t imdiate. He had to save up and think long-term, which made him sigh.
Even so, the hunting did not stop.
As always, giving up was not in his vocabulary.
If he were the type to quit when bored, he would have quit a long ti ago.
Besides, compared to the early days, he couldn’t really call this process tedious.
[All stats are reduced by 5%.]
[Due to ’Curse of Dawn,’ movent speed is reduced by 10%.]
7-Star, 8-Star.
In dungeons of this level, even the process of overcoming each clear condition was its own kind of fun.
The penalties that ca with each tier only added more interest.
—We’ve finally reached the point where Kim Buja is running dungeons on Fly’s level.
—I always wanted to see how a Legendary class clears dungeons.
—Does Fly clear them the sa way?
—Elental Wizard’s gotta be a bit different, right?
So, despite the player’s grind fatigue from the repetitive tasks, the viewers faithfully watched every dungeon video and enjoyed themselves.
These streams were what relieved the boredom of their day and the frustration of their jobs.
A lot of different topics ca up.
The one that stood out above all, of course, was the Continent.
—Did you do it?
—Did you do it?
A pack of beasts clamoring for only one answer.
"I didn’t edit much out, but as for the part you’re all curious about... I’m sorry, but if my girlfriend finds out, I’m a dead man. I’ve buried that footage in a grave."
—Open the grave and die for us.
—We’ll bury you ourselves, just show it to us first.
That was how overwhelming the princess’s beauty and popularity were.
The next most common topic was real-world issues.
—When are you opening the Sand Castle?
—Any chance you’ll lower the entry requirents?
—Could you sell entry tickets?
These were the questions on most players’ minds.
He was still selling Ice Castle entry tickets through the point dungeon, but even that vast fortress was filling up. People were starting to say it was becoming a red ocean.
In reality, the dungeon managent nu showed it would be fine for a few more years, but from the players’ perspective, it was only natural to want access to the Sand Castle, which was bigger, had a wider level range, and was packed with more monsters.
If the Ice Castle was a hunting ground for high-level players, the Sand Castle was a place where low-level players could participate as well.
That’s why so many questions about the Sand Castle were flooding his stream chat, not just his private ssages.
Buja didn’t dodge the question.
“We’ll be selling Sand Castle entry tickets soon as well. Just like before, you’ll be able to buy them at a specific point in the dungeon, and I don’t need to tell you all what the advantages of the Sand Castle are, right? As long as you get a ticket, you don’t have to worry about penalties, and you can farm points comfortably, so please wait just a bit longer.”
—When’s it opening?
The Ice Castle had been his first fortress, and he’d initially kept it exclusive to preserve its rarity. But since he’d already started selling access for points, there was no reason to hold back now.
He needed to squeeze out every last cent to kill the Demon King; hoarding his assets like a miser wouldn’t help him achieve that.
Besides, what good would it do to keep it all to himself, then go to the Continent, fight the Demon King, and die?
It was better to sell it off as soon as possible and gear up with even slightly better items.
“We’re negotiating. Once we settle the revenue split, we’ll start selling right away.”
Which ant there was no way he was going to sell under the sa terms as last ti.
With everyone’s expectations on his shoulders, he took so ti out of his schedule and headed for the point dungeon.
* * *
The point dungeon was bustling. It was a massive island that felt like a self-contained resort, dominated by a towering building that pierced the clouds.
The point dungeon, which he hadn’t visited in a while, had grown so much that the once-splendid island now seed almost shabby by comparison.
“Looks like you’ve earned quite a few points.”
“Heh heh, thanks to you.”
On the top floor, so high that the people below looked like ants, the old man smiled in satisfaction as he gazed out over the island, feeling the natural breeze.
He wasn’t the type for empty complints, which ant he was acknowledging a simple truth: the point dungeon’s success was largely thanks to Buja.
Other players had co, drawn by rumors, and spent plenty of points, but there was no denying the Ice Castle entry tickets had been the biggest driver of growth.
That was why Buja could return with his head held high and say:
“Want to hit the jackpot one more ti?”
“Oh ho.”
For soone who had likely already made more than enough, the way his eyes lit up at those words proved he was a born rchant. His greed was endless.
Buja had no idea if the old man could leave the dungeon, but he must have heard the daily chatter from the Earth players who made up the bulk of his clientele. He would know all about the Ice Castle and the Sand Castle, how interested players were in the two hunting grounds, and about their owner. He would know about the profits he’d made when the Ice Castle opened its doors, and the potential profits if the Sand Castle followed suit.
“A lot of young folks have been asking when we’re going to sell Sand Castle tickets. Are you planning to sell those?”
Buja simply nodded at the old man’s feigned ignorance.
“I need points.”
“Heh heh.”
Now it began.
The staring contest with the old man.
They had a mutually profitable business relationship and were friendly enough to exchange small gifts, but a new contract was a different story.
“Seventy–thirty.”
“You’ll be taking thirty, I assu? Heh heh.”
“I’ll be taking seventy.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Even when Buja opened with a sharp, aggressive offer, the old man didn’t waver. He maintained the composure of a true rchant, responding as if he’d expected it all along.
He wasn’t an idiot; he knew Buja wouldn’t be handing over all the profits again.
Strictly speaking, Buja hadn’t given him all the profits last ti, either; it was more accurate to say he’d traded them for a VVIP 50% discount coupon for the point dungeon’s store.
Naturally, there was no such coupon this ti, so splitting the revenue by percentage was the only reasonable approach.
“Unless you’d like to bump my discount up to 70%?”
“Heh heh. If you’re willing to drop it to a 30% discount, I’ll agree to seventy–thirty.”
“Yeah, that’s a bit much.”
Their desperate struggle to squeeze out even a little more profit.
And the people watching them.
—So this is how the deal went down.
—But is it really okay to broadcast this? He didn’t even ask for permission.
—He’ll handle it. This is fascinating.
—I an, there’s no way the Ice Castle tickets were sold through the point dungeon for free.
—Weren’t the Ice Castle tickets basically free for the dungeon? From the sound of it, Buja just got a discount coupon.
—Buying stuff at half price is more profitable in the long run anyway.
—I’m so jealous.
—You are now witnessing the backroom dealings of evil CEOs, selling items that cost them nothing for thousands of tis their value.
—Boycott ti!
—Yeah, you do that alone.
—The tickets are cheap enough that both buyers and sellers profit. What’s there to boycott? Are you a troll or sothing?
Normally, a video like this would only earn him criticism.
Human nature being what it was, even videos shot with the best of intentions got flooded with negative comnts from people who could not stand to see soone else making money.
But this video had far more people defending him.
Even if all the profits went straight into Buja’s pocket, the Ice Castle had already set a precedent.
—Let get in on that too.
—I’m sick of chasing dungeon breaks around. I want to settle down sowhere, grind, and farm points.
—I’m gonna go hard while the EXP buff’s up.
On top of that, thanks to the Sand Castle event, most players currently have an experience buff.
Who would pass up the chance to enter the Sand Castle to gain EXP and earn points simultaneously, rather than wasting ti on inefficient hunts just to stop endless dungeon breaks?
No one, which was why the mood had turned into one of support.
Buoyed by their encouragent, Buja haggled with renewed vigor.
“Let’s go seventy–thirty.”
“Fifty–fifty. Let’s keep this a deal we can both smile about.”
“Co on. You’re just renting the space, and you’re coming at with a total loan-shark mindset. Seventy–thirty is fair.”
“Heh heh. You think there’s anywhere else that’ll sell them as well as here?”
In truth, it was a aningless negotiation.
A mont of silence fell after the old man’s words. Sensing sothing was off, Buja tilted his head.
“You know, now that you ntion it, I’m curious. Is there any reason I have to sell here at a loss? I’m the one doing all the promotion anyway. Whether I sell in a big dungeon or a small one doesn’t really matter to the players, does it?”
’Why am I even bothering to haggle here?’
Sure, he was a VVIP of this point dungeon and had a 50% discount, but that only applied to the Ice Castle tickets. There was no clause anywhere that gave this place priority on future deals.
If he suddenly announced that he would be selling through a different dungeon, things might get awkward between him and the old man, but if he was thinking purely in terms of profit, there was no reason for him to take a loss.
“Heh heh. Now that I think about it, sixty–forty might be acceptable.”
“Now that I think about it, eighty–twenty sounds about right. If I sold sowhere else, I could probably push it to ninety–ten, but for the sake of our history together, how about I concede that one share and we keep things nice and friendly?”
The old man gave a wry smile. He had known all along. From the start, the roles of buyer and seller had been set in stone.
Once he acknowledged how much credit Buja deserved for the point dungeon’s growth, it beca a fight he could never win.
“Very well. Eighty–twenty.”
Once the decision was made, he offered his hand without hesitation. Both the old man and Buja accepted the outco without a trace of regret, sealing the deal.
—Couldn’t he have gone sowhere else and done ninety–ten?
—What a waste.
—Is it because he doesn’t want bad blood?
—Still, it’s better to keep doing business with the sa partner.
He didn’t waver, even at the chatter of the armchair CEOs in his audience.
Regardless of the current situation, there had been a ti when he, too, had received a great deal of help from the old man.
They had already exchanged enough favors to call it even, but sotis, it was better to leave a debt on the books.
“Then as of today, we’ll begin selling Sand Castle entry tickets.”
—Wooooooo!
—LET’S GOOOOO!
—We’re the ones who should be grateful, right? If you tell to bark, I will! Bark, bark!
In this upside-down world where the roles of buyer and seller had been reversed, the watching players wiped away tears and cheered.
* * *
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