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chapters 19
“…Hyung, please don’t lie about this. I’m seriously going to get hurt.”
For some reason, Yeonwoo spoke pitifully, his voice heavy with gloom.
But the truth was the truth.
“I really filled it all. It’s Rank 1, the lowest rank, to begin with, right?”
“Of course it gets worse as you go up. But any magic takes at least a month, you know?”
“Isn’t it just because it’s fake?”
“Fake or not, no skill gets finished in a single day!”
The words he spat out sounded like pent-up resentment, full of sincerity.
Hanbit opened the skill list and adjusted it so it was visible on screen.
“See?”
[Fireball (Rank 1 – Unique)] ★
[Basic Archery (Rank 1 – Unique)] ★
[Basic Swordsmanship (Rank 1 – Unique)] ★
[Swiftness (Rank 1 – Unique)] ★
“What the hell is this… does this make sense? No, seriously, this is a bug, right? It has to be a bug.”
Yeonwoo looked genuinely flustered.
Proficiency was one of the conditions for obtaining Rank 2 skills.
Every skill’s proficiency had already exceeded the required threshold.
The power of the Record Keeper of 55 Times was added on top of that, but no one knew of its existence.
From the outside, wouldn’t it really look like a bug?
‘No… are the operators watching?’
The sudden thought made Hanbit turn his gaze toward empty space.
The developers called Team ‘Zero’ and the game company were surely connected to the goddess in some way.
If so, it wouldn’t be strange if they were watching him.
Though the intention was still unclear.
“Hyung, why are you staring into space? What’s going on with your skills?”
Watching him, Yeonwoo waved his arm and pressed him for an answer.
Hanbit shrugged, pushing the thoughts aside.
“It just happened. Oh, and don’t talk about proficiency on stream yet.”
“Just happened…? But why not say it? It’d pull insane aggro.”
“It’s a smokescreen. Other people need to think I haven’t filled my proficiency yet.”
To maximize the information gap, misunderstanding and carelessness from the opponent were crucial.
Especially if you wanted to screw someone over.
“More importantly, you saw it earlier, right? The people watching only us.”
“They didn’t even try to hide it. Someone already had a recording, so we identified all their characters.”
A video uploaded to the RPG site.
It showed a group of players talking to Artsvel and receiving rewards.
Apparently, a player who’d left recording on while falling asleep had captured it by chance.
“Looking at it, they were all Rashten people.”
“Good. That’s where my goal is anyway.”
“…Your goal?”
Sensing unease, Yeonwoo hesitated.
“They picked a fight first. So I’m going to show them something fun.”
“No, show what? They’re a conglomerate with a vanguard! Even if we argue, we’re the only ones who lose!”
“Just listen.”
Hanbit explained the plan he had in mind.
As Yeonwoo listened, his eyes widened.
“Is that really true?”
“It is. So just match the 분위기 properly.”
“Of course. This way we can mess with Rashten without any risk and end it there. I’m glad you’re keeping the line.”
Yeonwoo nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.
Regardless of right or wrong, it made no sense for a newbie who’d just started to clash head-on with a conglomerate.
But if what Hanbit brought was true, it would lead to the best possible outcome.
“Then I’ll turn the stream on now.”
“Don’t get nervous. Just relax.”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at this kind of thing.”
The call ended with an oddly cheerful voice.
Hanbit put his headgear back on.
Pop—!
As the screen came back, Yeonwoo was right beside him.
A camera and broadcast screen had appeared in midair at some point.
When he accepted the prompt asking whether to start broadcasting, the viewer count began to rise rapidly.
It didn’t take long for it to hit five digits.
-Why are you turning it on only now?
-So damn late.
-Shut up and explain.
-Anyone here who didn’t watch the video?
-Go study first.
The chat window instantly became chaos, messages flooding upward.
Skimming through it, Yeonwoo greeted first.
“Hello. This is Roper. And you all know Black Dragon hyung is right next to me, right?”
-How is his name really Black Dragon?
-He did scam people hard, so it fits.
-Yeah, the ones who got scammed were Rashten.
-Monopolizing bastards.
-Seriously like sewer rats.
The unfiltered chat gradually turned into pure criticism toward Rashten.
Many people had only just confirmed the truth.
“First of all, everyone calm down. We needed to confirm what happened too. To get straight to the point, we have absolutely no relationship with Rashten. If we were going to join hands and monopolize it, we wouldn’t have made anything public in the first place.”
-Honestly, I believed you.
-Yeah, that guy was suspicious.
-Not me though.
-No connection at all, right?
-Alright, let’s keep going.
-So what now?
-Today we’re finding the swordsman master~
-We’re not ending the stream until we find him~
The power of recorded video was immense.
Anyone trying to stir the pot was quickly buried.
“Ah, before we look for the swordsman master, there’s something we need to do.”
-Do what?
-What is it?
-If you swear at Rashten’s CEO, that’s approved.
-But why are you going to Artsvel’s shop again?
-Gotta check in with her face first.
Hanbit naturally entered Artsvel’s general store.
She had her back turned again, but soon noticed him.
“Black Dragon?”
Artsvel stopped writing in her ledger.
The look of welcome on her face was clearly bright.
“Ria ran off again. She really doesn’t listen at all.”
RP steadily built narratives between players and NPCs.
It truly felt like reality.
“You’ll probably live together soon.”
“…I hope so.”
Artsvel nodded, her voice tinged with a bit of bitterness.
Standing up from her chair, she brightened her expression and asked,
“So, what brings you here today? Need help with something again?”
“I want to learn the next magic. Is that okay?”
“The next magic? Of course.”
-?
-Why is that okay?
-He’s going straight to Rank 2?
-What about proficiency?
-The trolls broke Black Dragon’s mental, didn’t they?
The answer came back far too easily, and the chat exploded.
The viewers were thrown into shock and confusion.
But Hanbit knew exactly how dangerous this conversation was.
Slide—
Artsvel dragged a box from the back and placed it beside the counter.
Then she opened the lid and said,
“Here. This is the second spellbook.”
Ding—
[Quest]
Learn the second magic from Artsvel.
The book’s lock will be released after 5 minutes.
Objective: Use Artsvel’s spellbook
Reward: 10,000 gold, Fire Burst (Rank 2 – Heroic), 3 stat points, 3,000 experience
-Another Heroic?
-Is this first-come again?
-It has to be.
-Then Rashten will take everything. Fuck.
-Aren’t these guys really in cahoots?
‘So this is how it works.’
After reading the quest details, Hanbit nodded.
The in-game concept of using a spellbook was different from the past, but it was ultimately just a matter of method.
The deliberately added five-minute grace period via a lock.
It fully contained Artsvel’s true intentions.
“Take enough time and think it through properly before taking it. So you won’t regret it.”
“Got it.”
Despite her warning, Hanbit accepted the quest.
He approached the box and took out a single book.
In the center of its stiff cover was a small keyhole.
‘Yeah, they’d be curious.’
Hanbit briefly glanced outside the shop.
The crowd had grown even thicker—clearly Rashten’s people.
They were waiting for him to use the spellbook first.
“……”
Artsvel said nothing.
She simply watched Hanbit quietly as he held the spellbook.
Clack—
After five minutes passed.
A sound came from the keyhole.
As if it were only natural, Hanbit opened the cover.
[Do you want to use it? (Yes / No)]
A familiar hologram appeared.
Without hesitation, he tapped ‘Yes,’ and the book vanished in smoke.
‘Fire Burst’ was registered in his skill list.
[Quest completed.]
[Based on first clear, rewards have been adjusted to the maximum.]
[10,000 gold → increased to 20,000 gold.]
[Fire Burst (Rank 2 – Heroic) → upgraded to (Rank 2 – Unique).]
[Stat points 3 → increased to 6.]
[Experience 3,000 → increased to 7,000.]
[You have gained 2 levels.]
[2 stat points have been awarded.]
“See?”
-See my ass.
-Another first? Another Unique?
-This really works?
-I’m getting hit with reality hard;
-Rashten’s gonna explode.
-I’m raiding their homepage for real.
-Start with Julio first.
Unable to hold it in, the viewers vented their anger.
Once again, first clear and Unique grade appeared.
It was only natural for them to feel hollow.
“If you get stuck later, go to the City Ifrit’s Magic Research Lab. You’ll find a way.”
“Thanks. I’ll come again.”
After greeting Artsvel, Hanbit left the shop immediately.
At the same time, people began pouring inside.
132 in total.
Members of Rashten who had monopolized the previous quest.
A hundred of them would be Heroic grade; the rest, Rare.
‘There’s the ranger too.’
The vanguard ranger with the golden bow.
He picked up a spellbook from the box.
Soon, red books were in everyone’s hands.
And after five minutes passed—
Clack—
With a crisp sound, all the locks released.
They exchanged glances and opened the covers at the same time.
In that instant—
Whoosh—!
The books burst into bright red flames.
“Huh?”
“What is this?!”
“My spellbook!”
Thanks to automatic translation, their words were clearly audible.
The startled Rashten employees desperately tried to put out the flames.
But the fire aggressively consumed the books.
“Do something!”
“No, it won’t go out!”
“Damn it!”
-?
-Why are theirs burning?
-Don’t know, but it’s burning real nice. LOL
-This is why watching fires is fun.
-Hey Rashten, try it again.
-???: True conquerors or whatever.
People caused all kinds of chaos inside the cramped shop.
Watching from afar, it was rather amusing.
“Everyone out!”
The vanguard ranger was in the same situation.
Throwing the spellbook to the floor, he grabbed a handful of gray powder from his inventory.
Shhraaak—!
He sprinkled it over the blazing books.
But it had absolutely no effect.
“Wow, they’re all going to burn up. What a waste, such a waste.”
-Teacher Black Dragon, so heartless.
-A waste is still a waste. LOL
-But seriously, why does it only work for Black Dragon?
-Bad kids don’t get gifts.
-For real, should’ve lived properly. LOL
Hanbit leisurely continued watching.
Only thing missing was popcorn in his hand.
“The box! Is it still open?”
“It’s closed!”
“Then keep talking to her! Don’t miss any possibility!”
The Rashten members gave up on the hopeless spellbooks.
But the tightly shut box showed no sign of opening.
No matter how much they talked to Artsvel, the result was the same.
“Check the members who haven’t accepted the quest yet!”
“Yes!”
At the ranger’s command, the employees who had been hanging back rushed to move.
But when they checked the quest, their faces turned pale.
“T-The reward magic has changed to Rare grade!”
“What?”
At the unexpected report, the ranger quickly checked their screens.
[Quest]
Learn the second magic from Artsvel.
The book’s lock will be released after 5 minutes.
Objective: Use Artsvel’s spellbook
Reward: 5,000 gold, Fire Burst (Rank 2 – Rare), 1 stat point, 1,000 experience
The rewards had been downgraded across the board, including the skill grade.
Confirming it wasn’t a lie, the ranger raised his voice and looked around.
“Is there anyone who successfully completed the quest?!”
“Well… no one.”
There were fifty people who had accepted the quest along with the ranger.
Absurdly, simply failing the clear had consumed all chances at the first-come reward.
The Heroic-grade magic that no one obtained had completely vanished as a possibility.
Whip—
At that moment, the ranger suddenly snapped his head toward the shop entrance.
With furious steps, he strode straight toward Hanbit.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
