The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 19

"...Hey, don't lie about this. You're really hurting my feelings," Yeonwoo's sounded dejected as he spoke pitifully.

But the truth is the truth.

"I really did max them out. They were all the lowest rank, rank 1, to begin with, weren’t they?"

"Of course it's going to be hell further up. But any magic takes at least a month, doesn't it?"

"Isn't it like that because it's fake?"

"Real or fake, you can't finish any skill in a day!" His words, though filled with frustration, were sincere.

Hanbit opened his skill list and displayed it on the screen.

"See?"

[Fireball (Rank 1 - Unique)]★

[Basic Archery (Rank 1 - Unique)]★

[Basic Swordsmanship (Rank 1 - Unique)]★

[Swiftness (Rank 1 - Unique)]★

"What the... How is this possible? No, really, this is a bug, right? It has to be a bug, right?"

Yeonwoo looked genuinely bewildered.

One of the conditions for obtaining a Rank 2 skill is proficiency.

The proficiency of all his skills had already exceeded the standard.

It was due to the power of the 55th Recorder but because no one knows of its existence, it really did look like a bug.

'No, I wonder if the administrators are watching?'

Hanbit stared blankly into the air as a sudden question arose in his mind.

The developers, Team 'Zero', and the game company must have some connection to the Goddess. If so, it wouldn't be strange if they were watching him.

Though their intentions remain unknown.

"Hey, earth to, hyung. What about the skills?" Yeonwoo, watching him, shook his arm and pressed him for an answer.

Hanbit shrugged, putting his thoughts aside.

"It just happened. Oh, and don't mention the proficiency thing on the stream yet."

"Just happened...? But why not mention this? It'll draw crazy attention."

"It's like a smokescreen. I need other people to mistakenly think I haven't filled up the proficiency."

To maximize the information gap, the opponent's misconception and carelessness are crucial.

Especially if you're aiming to screw someone over.

"More than that, you saw it earlier, right? There were people who were only wary of us."

"It didn't seem like they were trying to hide it much. Actually, I have a recording that someone took, so I've already checked out all the characters."

A video surfaced on an RPG site. It was a scene of a group of players talking to Artsvel and receiving rewards. Apparently, a player who fell asleep while recording accidentally captured it.

"Looking at it, they were all from Rashtan."

"That's good. They are my goal anyway."

"...Goal?" Yeonwoo, feeling a sense of unease, hesitated.

"They picked a fight first, didn’t they? So I'm going to show them something interesting."

"No, show them what? They're a major corporation with an advance team! If we confront them, we'll be the only ones who lose!"

"Just listen."

Hanbit relayed the plan he had in mind.

Yeonwoo's eyes widened as he listened.

"Is that for real?"

"It's real. So lighten up."

"Of course. If this works, we can screw Rashtan over without any risk. I'm glad you're drawing the line, though."

Yeonwoo breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

Regardless of right or wrong, it's absurd for a newbie who's just starting out to make enemies with a major corporation.

However, if the proposal Hanbit brought was true, they could achieve the best possible outcome.

"Then I'll start the stream now."

"Don't get nervous, just relax."

"Don't worry. I'm good at this kind of thing."

He ended the call with a cheerful voice.

Hanbit put his headgear back on.

Pop-!

The screen flickered back on, revealing Yeonwoo right beside him.

A camera and a streaming screen materialized in the air.

As he accepted the prompt to start streaming, the viewer count began to climb rapidly, quickly reaching five digits.

-Why are you turning it on now?

-So freaking late.

-Shut up and explain.

-Anyone here not seen the video?

-Do some research, noobs;

The chat window, overflowing with messages, was still a chaotic mess.

Yeonwoo, after briefly skimming through the comments, started with a greeting.

"Hello everyone, this is Roper. And as you all know, Black Dragon is right here beside me.”

-How can his name actually be Black Dragon;

-He totally tricked everyone, so I guess it fits the Black Dragon class.

-Uh, it was Rashtan who got tricked.

-Those greedy bastards.

-Real rats, lol.

The unfiltered stream of comments gradually shifted towards criticism of Rashtan.

Many people were finally confirming the truth for themselves.

"First of all, everyone, please calm down. We also needed some time to figure out what had happened. To put it simply, we have no connection with Rashtan. If we were going to collude and monopolize everything, we wouldn't have revealed it in the first place."

-Honestly, I believed you.

-Yeah, he was the one who was suspicious.

-Well, I wasn't.

-No connection at all?

-Alright, let's do this.

-What are we doing now?

-Today's goal: Find the sword master~

-No turning off the stream until we find him~

The power of the recorded video was strong.

Those who tried to muddy the waters were swiftly buried in the flood of comments.

"Ah, before we look for the sword master, there's something I need to do."

-Need to do?

-What is it?

-I'll allow it even if you curse out the Rashtan CEO

-But why are you at Artsvel’s shop again?

-Gotta do your daily face check-in.

Hanbit entered Artsvel’s General Store.

She had her back turned to him, but soon noticed him.

"Black Dragon?"

Artsvel, who was writing in a ledger, stopped what she was doing.

Her face lit up with a clear expression of delight.

"Lia ran away again. She's so disobedient."

The role-playing was steadily building a narrative between the player and the NPC.

It felt incredibly real.

"Hopefully we can live together soon."

"...I hope so."

Artsvel nodded, her eyes tinged with a hint of sadness.

She rose from her chair and asked, her expression brightening again, "So, what brings you here today? Anything else I can help you with?"

"I'd like to learn the next magic spell. Is that okay?"

"The next spell? Of course, you can."

-?

-Wait, why can he do that?

-He's going straight to Rank 2?

-What about proficiency?

-Those trolls broke Black Dragon's mind;

A straightforward answer and the chat screen with excitement.

The viewers were in shock and confusion.

However, Hanbit was well aware of how risky this conversation was.

Whoosh-

Artsvel pulled a box from the back towards the counter, opened the lid, and said, "Here, this is the second magic book."

Ding-!

[Quest]

Learn the second magic spell from Artsvel.

The book's lock will be released after 5 minutes.

Objective: Use Artsvel's spellbook

Reward: 10,000 gold, Fire Burst (2nd rank - Hero), 3 stat points, 3,000 experience points

-Hero rank again?

-First-come, first-served again?

-Definitely.

-Then Rashtan will take it all. Damn it.

-Are these guys really not in cahoots?

'So this is how it works.'

Hanbit nodded as he checked the quest details.

The concept of "using" a magic book in the game was different from the other worlds he had been in, but it was ultimately a matter of method.

The 5-minute grace period created by deliberately adding a lock. It completely embodied Artsvel's intentions.

"Take your time, think carefully, and then take it. So that you don't regret it."

"Okay."

Despite her warning, Hanbit accepted the quest.

He approached the box and took out a book.

A small keyhole was carved in the center of the hard cover.

'Yeah, they must be curious.'

Hanbit glanced outside the shop.

The crowd, even larger than before, was undoubtedly made up of people from the Rashtan corporation.

They were probably waiting to see who would use the magic book first.

"..."

Artsvel remained silent, simply watching Hanbit holding the magic book.

Click-

After 5 minutes passed, a sound came from the keyhole.

Hanbit turned the cover as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

[Would you like to use it? (Yes/No)]

A familiar hologram appeared.

Without hesitation, he touched the 'Yes' button, and the book vanished with a puff of smoke.

'Fire Burst' was registered in his skill list.

[Quest completed.]

[Due to the first clear, the reward will be adjusted to the maximum.]

[10,000 gold ⟶ Increased to 20,000 gold.]

[Fire Burst (2nd rank - Hero) ⟶ Upgraded to (2nd rank - Unique).]

[Stat points increased from 3 ⟶ 6.]

[Experience points increased from 3,000 ⟶ 7,000.]

[Level increased by 2.]

[2 stat points awarded.]

"Done."

-Done my ass

-First again? Unique again?

-It actually worked?

-This is so disheartening;

-Rashtan must be pissed.

-We're gonna DDOS their website, for real.

-Let's go after Julio first.

Unable to contain themselves, the viewers erupted in fury.

The reappearance of the "first clear" and "Unique" rank.

It was no wonder they felt disheartened.

"If you hit a wall, try visiting the Magic Research Institute in the city of Ifrit. You might find a way there," Artsvel offered.

"Thank you. I'll come again."

After bidding farewell to Artsvel, Hanbit immediately left the shop.

At the same time, a swarm of people began pouring in.

132 people in total.

They were all members of Rashtan, the ones who had monopolized the previous quest.

100 of them would have the Hero rank, and the rest would likely have the Rare rank.

'There's a Ranger too.'

The Ranger from the advance team, equipped with a golden bow, picked up a magic book from the box.

Following suit, the rest of the people also held red books in their hands.

And after 5 minutes.

Click-

With a cheerful sound, the locks on all the books were released.

Exchanging glances, they simultaneously flipped the covers.

At that moment.

Whoosh-

Their books burst into flames.

"Huh?"

"What the hell!"

"My magic book!"

Thanks to the automatic translation, the conversation was crystal clear.

The startled Rashtan employees frantically tried to extinguish the flames.

But the blazing fire fiercely consumed the books.

"Do something!"

"It won't go out!"

"Damn it!"

-?

-Why did they catch fire?

-I don't know, but they're burning well. lol

-As expected, nothing beats watching a fire show.

-Hey, Rashtan, try that again.

-???: Something about a true conqueror.

People were causing a commotion inside the cramped general shop.

It was quite amusing to watch from afar.

"Everyone, get out!"

The Ranger, who was part of the advance team, was in the same predicament.

He threw the magic book on the floor and grabbed a handful of gray powder from his inventory.

Swoosh-

He sprinkled the powder over the blazing books.

But it had absolutely no effect.

"Wow, they're all going to burn. Such a waste, such a waste."

-Mr. Black Dragon, you have no soul.

-It is a waste, lol

-But really, why did it only work for Black Dragon?

-No presents for bad kids.

-Seriously, they should have lived a good life. lol

Hanbit continued to watch leisurely.

He only wished he had some popcorn in hand.

"The box! Is it still open?"

"It's closed!"

"Let's try talking to her again!"

The Rashtan members gave up on the hopeless magic books.

But the tightly closed box showed no signs of opening.

No matter how much they tried to talk to Artsvel, the result was the same.

"Check the people who haven't received the quest yet!"

"Yes!"

At the Ranger's command, the employees who were standing back rushed into action.

However, their faces were filled with bewilderment as they checked the quest.

"The, the reward magic has changed to Rare rank!"

"What?"

Surprised by the unexpected report, the Ranger quickly checked the employees' screens.

[Quest]

Learn the second magic spell from Artsvel.

The book's lock will be released after 5 minutes.

Objective: Use Artsvel's spellbook

Reward: 5,000 gold, Fire Burst (2nd rank - Rare), 1 stat point, 1,000 experience points

The reward information was lowered overall, including the skill rank.

After confirming that it wasn't a lie, the Ranger looked around and shouted.

"Is there anyone who succeeded in the quest!"

"That... There's no one."

There were 50 people who accepted the quest along with the Ranger.

Bizarrely, just by failing to clear it, all the chances for the first-come, first-served rewards were exhausted.

The Hero rank magic that no one obtained had completely disappeared, along with the opportunity to acquire it.

Whirl-

The Ranger abruptly turned his head towards the outside of the shop.

With angry strides, he approached Hanbit.

"Let's have a little chat."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]