1.
In movies, dramas, or novels, you rarely see a rival bow their head or make the first concession. Even if that choice would bring them huge benefits, a protagonist’s pride—or a rival’s—is usually an immovable mountain, an obstacle that can’t be overco without so overwhelming justification.
Reality isn’t much different. Surprisingly few people are willing to swallow their pride and join hands with yesterday’s competitor. In fact, because it ’is’ reality, that tendency is even more pronounced. Sotis, even when there’s no bad blood, petty jealousy or a sense of victimization can fester into hatred and explode into conflict. That’s just how human relationships work. People don’t make decisions based purely on objective reality.
On the other hand, precisely because it is reality, completely absurd situations can unfold as if they were nothing.
The deal between Fly and Buja was a pri example.
Fly extended his hand in front of an audience of billions, and Buja took it without hesitation. Even with conditions attached, it was an outco that was hard for ordinary people to accept.
—Fly asked another player to run dungeons with him?
—Yeah. He even gave him an item. Basically asked for a carry through four dungeons.
—He didn’t say “carry,” exactly.
—How is that not a carry? If he could solo it, why would he pay soone to go with him?
—That’s fair. Giving an item and asking to run together is a straight-up deal.
—That guy ’only’ runs with his guild. What’s gotten into him?
—Live long enough and you see everything.
—I an, it’s Buja, so I get it, but still.
As a result, public interest shot through the roof. Even setting aside their relationship and Fly’s history, the deal itself was more than enough to satisfy viewers and promised results they were dying to see.
—So they’re going to clear an 8-star Legendary once and a 9-star three tis together? Holy crap. Are they going straight into a 9-star dungeon?
—Even if Buja can’t do it alone, he should be able to with Fly.
—It’s only three runs, though. Fly’s definitely going to save those for Special-grade or higher.
—Can you even get Special-grade in a 9-star? Just like 7-star and 8-star are totally different worlds, 9-star is probably another universe.
—Whatever happens, if they go together, we’ll see sothing new.
Once their official deal was announced, everyone’s attention naturally focused on one thing.
—But what the hell is Lucifer’s Necklace that it’s worth four dungeon runs from Buja?
—Right? Has anyone ever seen Lucifer’s Necklace in Fly’s videos? Obviously it’s Legendary, but if Fly’s just riding shotgun, that ans Buja’s basically soloing, and he accepted without a second of hesitation. It’s gotta be insane.
—I don’t care. When’s the reveal? Upload the video already!
Lucifer’s Necklace. The very item that had set all of this in motion. Countless people were waiting for its stats to finally be revealed.
* * *
[Lucifer’s Necklace]
▶ Grade: Legendary
▶ Level: ★★★★★★★
▶ Strength 150
▶ Health 200
▶ Attack Power 9%
▶ Defense Penetration 11%
▶ Defense 111
▶ 8% chance to trigger “Absolute Defense” when hit
▶ Damage dealt to “Angel”-type races 24%
▶ Damage dealt to “Demon”-type races 13%
Honestly, he never thought he’d get his hands on sothing like this. He hadn’t even been trying to. The “Legendary Crystal Necklace” he had been wearing was a 1-star Legendary, but it had absolutely broken options: 20% Attack Power and 20% Defense Penetration. On top of that, its 5% chance to inflict a 2-star status effect was pretty damn useful. There was no need to replace it unless he found sothing strictly better, and he had never seriously believed he would just stumble across an item like that.
Yet at that exact mont, Fly had handed him “Lucifer’s Necklace.”
If you only looked at the Attack Power and Defense Penetration, a 7-star Legendary might seem worse than a 1-star, but the difference in base stats showed exactly what a higher level ant. On top of that, it had 111 Defense and three special options. Compared to the “Heavenly Earrings” or “Demon King’s Finger,” it might look a bit lacking, but it made up for that with rock-solid base stats.
And that wasn’t all.
That alone would have been enough to justify the deal, but the hologram that appeared the mont he put it on turned the whole thing into an unconditional win for him.
[★★★★★★★ Accessory Set Effect has been activated.]
[All stats increase by 150.]
[Attack Power increases by 100.]
[Defense increases by 100.]
[You are immune to (★★★★) status effects.]
[EXP gain increases by 4%.]
His first thought was, ’Why don’t armor sets have effects like this?’ but he quickly focused on the stats themselves.
“This is insane.”
Three pieces of 7-star Legendary accessories. Fly might have already been benefiting from this effect, and other top rankers might have known about it. But this was the first ti Buja had seen it, and the ridiculous free stats left him speechless.
’There’s still so much I don’t know.’
At the sa ti, a new question popped into his head.
’What if I get a full set of 9-star Legendaries? What kind of options would they have?’
He set aside that happy daydream for later, closed the set-effect hologram, and recorded a video focused solely on “Lucifer’s Necklace.”
His preparations were nearing perfection. He was even tempted to open a new Chapter right away and start a Gold Mission.
Of course, he wasn’t in a rush. He was finally starting to feel like he stood a chance against the Demon King—not that he was confident of victory, but it was a start. Besides, he had made a promise on his way back. He would return with perfect preparation.
Since the Demon King had already descended on the continent, he was already too late, no matter how quickly he finished preparing. Unless everything had been ready beforehand, the continent was dood to fall.
That didn’t matter to Buja. For him, the final line in the sand was the mont the magic circle he had poured 20 million gold into was destroyed.
“I’ll do everything I can.”
He reaffird his resolve and organized his thoughts. What preparations did he still have left?
Unfortunately, that focus didn’t last long.
“Hey. What’s with that look? You look like you’re about to run straight back into a dungeon.”
“...Ah!”
“Ah? You say that like you just rembered I was here. That hurts, you know?”
As Seora wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned in, her lips jutting out in a pout, Buja hurriedly threw out an excuse.
“I was just thinking about where we should go, and a good place ca to mind. No way. Why would I be thinking about the Tower of Trials or grinding gold for enhancents when I’m standing right here with you?”
Seora fell silent, narrowing her eyes at him. He forced a cheerful laugh and ntally rearranged his plans.
“Let’s head out first.”
2.
The video revealing Lucifer’s Necklace dropped. Even though it wasn’t a live stream, the views climbed as sharply as if it were.
—FINALLY! What took you so long?!
—Do you know how many days we’ve been waiting?
—Imagine it was your family! Think about how long we’ve been suffering!
The bigger the expectations, the deeper the interest. In a way, it had just beco another piece of Buja’s collection, and compared to the items shown before it, its options might have made so people tilt their heads.
—How do top rankers even manage to get decked out in gear like that?
—I just want to wear one of those once.
—Those options are ridiculous.
It was practically a treasure that you would need to combine two or three decent items to match. For regular players, the reveal of an item like this would always draw attention, even if it wasn’t Buja showing it. They almost never dropped, and even when they did, they were rarely shown to the public.
This was how everyone’s standards got raised.
—Thanks to Buja, my standards for gear are getting ridiculously high lately.
—Yeah. Rankers used to hide their item stats like state secrets, but ever since Buja, they’ve all started revealing them. Now we get to see what good options actually look like. It’s great.
—Should’ve been like this from the start.
And the video wasn’t uploaded just to show off the item.
“In three days, I’ll be clearing an 8-star Legendary dungeon to fulfill my end of the bargain.”
A dungeon-clear announcent followed right after.
—Holy shit. Fly and Buja are teaming up?
—Already?
—What? Where are they going?
—Damn. I can die happy now that I’ve seen those two party up.
—For real. I didn’t think this day would actually co.
There was no ti to catch their breath. For people who had assud it was one of those promises that would be fulfilled “soday,” or that it would happen off-cara, it was a massive gift.
The next step was inevitable.
"Three days from now? I’ll be ready."
"I already used up all my vacation days. Guess I’ll just have to quit."
"I’m putting in for leave!"
It would be their first joint dungeon run since the Ice Castle. In that short span of ti, so much had changed. Their respective positions had shifted dramatically. Three days flew by in an instant.
* * *
No matter how many tis you saw one, an 8-star Legendary dungeon gate was always an overwhelming sight. Though it was just a single gate, the two humans standing before it looked as small as ants. However, no one would have dared to call them ants. If anything, so people considered their presence even more imposing than the gate itself.
—What about their guild mbers?
—How would their guild mbers even get into an 8-star Legendary dungeon?
—True, they’re not going in there on a suicide mission.
—It’s way easier with just the two of them.
—Fly will probably be busy just trying to keep himself alive.
No matter what anyone said, they were humanity’s strongest. Out of more than six billion people, they were the two most powerful n alive. The only question left for humanity was to determine which of the two truly stood above the other. And now, those two were going in together.
One might have thought there would be no real tension. After all, this dungeon had already been cleared once. Everyone knew there was nothing more boring than rewatching a movie, yet people still flocked to see remakes of the sa film. They knew that while the genre might be the sa, the content would be different. Even with the sa leads and setting, a hidden co-star could completely change the story.
—What kind of show are we going to get?
—What happens when you add Fly’s magic to the mix?
More importantly, this wasn’t just a rerun with one extra actor.
—And this isn’t a concept dungeon, right?
—Yeah. No demons, no angels.
—Wow, in that case, wouldn’t it actually be harder for the two of them together than for one of them solo?
—He definitely picked it on purpose. It’s being recorded, so he doesn’t want it to end too easily.
What could have been a boring rerun was about to beco a brand-new film, one that only those who knew its hidden secret would truly appreciate.
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