I Gain Infinite Gold Just By Waiting-Chapter 228: Episode 47_Explosive Growth (3)

3.

Kim Buja could say it with confidence.

’Was giving up the Ice Castle for a 50% discount really a losing deal?’

It was what countless people were curious about.

Why had Kim Buja—who had never wavered even when countless rich people tried to tempt him with treasures—suddenly opened the Ice Castle overnight?

No one thought he had opened it for free.

Tickets were sold at the Point Dungeon, and the price was paid entirely in points.

There had to be some way that profit was flowing back to Kim Buja.

However, he had already addressed that in the video.

“Not a single point from the ticket sales comes back to me. This is just the process of repaying a debt from a previous contract with the merchant of that Point Dungeon.”

’Debt, my ass—it was a deal,’ he scoffed internally. But people who didn’t know the full story could only nod along.

– Come to think of it, there was a point where he suddenly got way stronger.

– Yeah, that was not long after the Point Dungeon first appeared.

– Creepy. So he’s only paying that debt back now?

– Still seems like a loss. No matter how much he owed, the number of players buying tickets right now has to be worth hundreds of thousands of points.

– Which means if he’d sold the Ice Castle tickets some other way, he could’ve made even more.

– It’s not like it’s a finite resource. As long as he’s satisfied, that’s what matters.

– Maybe he was forced to pay it back.

Looking at it that way, most people concluded he had taken a loss.

But he shook his head.

’It’s pure profit.’

If he had arranged to receive a portion of the ticket revenue in points—or if he had lowered the discount rate in exchange for a percentage—the old man would have gladly agreed, and he could have bought items that would help him right now.

However, looking to the future, this was much better.

’He said it’s still a small shop.’

Which meant it had room to grow.

In a year, in two years, in three.

If more updates came, and levels and stats rose, and the amount of points people could earn increased, then there might come a day when today’s hundreds of thousands of points were nothing.

Of course, since the value of currency changed over time, he needed to factor that into his calculations.

’But I don’t need points right now.’

They would be nice to have, but he wasn’t so desperate that he would give up future discounts just to get them immediately.

Besides, he had already taken the points he had and doubled their effectiveness.

If he needed more, he could just earn more.

And he had raised his specs to a level he was satisfied with.

▶ Additional Damage to Monsters +25%

To some, it might look like just one thing.

He could have picked up a decent accessory, or he could have bought an item with good options tailored for the Sand Castle.

However, he had gone to the Point Dungeon with this one thing in mind from the start.

It was to close the gap that had opened when everyone else was raising their stats, while he had been stuck with restrictions on earning points, left twiddling his thumbs.

’At this level, I should be at least above average, right?’

On top of that, he had played the friendship card with the old man and squeezed a few freebies out of him.

Since the price of the potion jumped drastically at 10%, 20%, and 25%, he would need far more points to raise the value any further.

That was the biggest reason he was satisfied with this deal.

’In the long run, getting to buy anything cheaper than other people is the best.’

He had already learned that from his experience as a Gold Maker.

If you got a discount, the time it took to afford something shortened, and the shorter that period, the faster you could move on to your next plan.

He returned to the Ice Castle for testing and swung his Gold Ring at the monsters.

He marveled at the clearly increased damage.

’Fly is on another level...’

At the same time, he let out a hollow laugh at the vague wall he could feel once again.

He had thought he had caught up a lot, but Fly now seemed just as far away as ever.

It might just be his imagination.

Fly might be on guard, too, seeing how Kim Buja had suddenly climbed up to breathing down his neck. It was possible that the strength he showed was his actual limit.

Even so, there was no way to know.

The advantage of being in the lead was that you never had to show your hand to those chasing you.

You could act relaxed, as if you had more cards to play.

Even if it was all an act, he could still feel that there was a long way to go.

However, the fact that he could feel it at all meant he had come that far, which was definitely a good sign.

If he could ride this momentum, surpass Fly even in the Sand Castle, and monopolize it—

Then maybe, within two years at the latest, he could build a foundation that would put him on the same level.

That thought crossed his mind, but his feet did not easily carry him away from the Ice Castle.

’That might be possible, but...’

But he didn’t change his plans because he was walking a different path.

’I should shore up my fundamentals a bit more.’

He was already moving fast enough.

If he simply maintained this pace and continued to strengthen the core of his Gold Maker content, he would be able to achieve what he had planned.

And for that, what he needed, of course, was shopping.

’It’s finally time to stop being a sword-swinging grunt on foot.’

* * *

With the Ice Castle open, the chaotic world actually became a bit more straightforward.

The community had laid down a clear answer.

– Got money? Go to the Ice Castle. Broke? Go to the Sand Castle.

– Experience buff? Once the Sand Castle blows up, everyone in the world is going to be gathered near the Sahara anyway, killing the overflowing monsters whether they want to or not, and stacking insane experience buffs. If you’ve got points saved up, go cash out at the Ice Castle while there are still spots. I heard if you hunt for a month, you’ll at least break even, even if you’re bad at it.

– If you go in a party, it’s not even that hard. They’re all high-level players anyway, so the synergy’s good, and you get drops and hides from the monsters. It’s a hundred times better than a hot, exhausting desert where monsters can pop out from anywhere.

– Fly? Give me a break. Fly went to the desert because he can one-shot everything no matter where he hunts. Even if you have an Ice Castle ticket, you know you still can’t enter the central keep, right? The monster levels there are insane, but the real hunting grounds are still locked down. He’ll still be able to hunt there later, so he’s just stacking experience buffs in advance. Since when did regular players start tailing Fly? You try to follow him, and you’ll tear yourself in half.

As a result, voices of concern began to appear.

– If everyone goes to the Ice Castle, who’s going to stop the “Harbinger of Catastrophe”?

– Don’t know. You?

– I don’t think anyone should be forced.

– It’ll be fine for a few months. We’ll have an answer by then.

– Are we really okay just sitting back like this?

Everyone knew it was not something they could force anyone to do, but people’s worries grew day by day.

Criticism of Kim Buja’s complacency for opening the Ice Castle at a time like this calls for rankers to take the situation more seriously and find a solution to the Sand Castle that had appeared in the Sahara...

As time passed and half the Sahara Desert was swallowed up by the massive vortex, those voices grew louder.

People shouted.

– Close the Ice Castle until the Sand Castle is dealt with!

– The players won’t listen, so the Lord of the Ice Castle needs to make the call!

– And are you going to reimburse me for my ticket?

Conflict and uproar.

Days of unending noise.

The person at the center of it all did not react.

He couldn’t.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Twelve fireballs bloomed in midair.

They shot like arrows toward dozens of monsters.

The monsters had no time to react.

This was not a slaughter of low-level, one- or two-star monsters; it was happening in a 6-star dungeon, and Kim Buja was grinning.

’Now this is what I call hunting.’

He already had the “Red Dragon’s Essence,” so using magic—even high-level magic—was not a problem. But that item had a drawback: he couldn’t choose which spell came out when he wanted it.

Since “fire” magic was mostly offensive, he had never really felt inconvenienced, but there was always the chance that a support spell would pop out at a critical moment, so he couldn’t rely on it completely.

His shopping spree had been to cover that weakness.

These were not particularly high-level spells.

However, having one or two spells he had bought with gold and could cast whenever he wanted added a lot more variables to combat.

Even though it was just Fireball.

Once he added a few more spells on top of that, and then layered in the random activations from “Red Dragon’s Essence,” the destructive power he could display didn’t look inferior to Fly’s at all from the outside.

’Whew.’

Satisfaction filled his entire body.

Of course, when he thought about how much gold he had burned, a hollow emptiness washed over him, but it’s not like his wallet was ever full to begin with!

Besides, his anxiety about gold had dropped dramatically.

’On a good day, I can hit 40,000 gold.’

It required insane luck, but on the days when that luck came through, it was more profitable to lie down and pray for a lucky drop than to hunt for days on end.

At long last.

The true value of the Gold Maker he had wanted so badly was starting to show.

That made it all the more satisfying.

Now he no longer had to stress over gold, risk his life, and waste days or even months grinding nonstop.

’Let’s go.’

Most of all, the best part was that he could head out with confidence.

[Harbinger]

▶ Grade: Chapter 3-2

▶ Objective: Prepare for war with the Allied Forces

▶ Reward: ???

Ever since he had seen the description for Chapter 3-2, he had rushed to upgrade to SVIP and spent not only all his points but all his gold as well.

Points only increased his damage against monsters, so they might not be much help in a war on the continent. But the existence of magic alone meant that, on the continent, he would no longer be a weakling.

’Slowly. One step at a time.’

Looking over his gold missions calmed his previously tangled thoughts.

Even though he had tried to set priorities, whenever he looked at the noisy world and the community every day, he often wondered if he was trapped in his own little world.

’Wouldn’t it be more efficient to do the things I need to do with others, the things I can do with others, and then grow my own content in the time I have left?’

’Shouldn’t I push further now that I’m the Lord of the Ice Castle?’

Unlike the early days, when all he had to do was break through the wall in front of him and stack up as many options as possible, every choice mattered now. Each one could drastically alter the course of his growth, so the agonizing was inevitable.

’I’ve always grown stronger on the continent and in the Tower of Trials. I can’t let myself get shaken now.’

At his words, full of resolve, Jeong Seora, who had been watching him with an amused expression, her chin propped on her hand, asked in a sleepy voice.

“It’s not because there’s a princess and a saintess on the continent, right?”

The unexpected jab left him silent for a moment.

“Of course not. You’re here, Seora.”

“I knew it! They say men always go for younger women. You’re all the same!”

He knew she was teasing him.

Her pouting lips were unbearably cute.

However, he wasn’t dumb enough to just laugh it off as a joke.

“If we get the chance someday, let’s go together.”

“Wow! Really?”

“I don’t know when that’ll be, but I feel like it’ll be possible later.”

He placated her with a vague promise before quietly making his way to the continent.