This chapter is brought to you by anubisscans. More updates on our website.
Support us by reading at anubisscans.com.
chapter 33
“Hello! I’m Kim Jaeha from Taeyul Trading Company!”
Waiting at the agreed location, Hanbit turned his gaze toward the loud voice.
There stood a human male standing straight at attention, offering a formal greeting.
“Hello. You seem to be affiliated with a company.”
“Yes! Thanks to you giving me such a great opportunity, I was able to come meet you like this!”
-Ssssh…….
-He’s from a company?
-Rashten was like that too—companies are the problem.
-This one hasn’t done anything yet though. LOL
-But Taeyul sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
-All small companies sound the same.
-There’s also Taewool Co., Ltd. LOL
Perhaps because he revealed his company affiliation right away, the viewers’ reactions weren’t very positive.
The negative memories of Rashten were still vivid.
“Taeyul? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere too…….”
From a short distance away, Yeonwoo, who was working on something, muttered to himself.
No matter how famous the company was, it didn’t really matter right now.
“What do you want to learn? It’d be better to do hands-on practice rather than theory.”
“I’m fine with anything!”
“Anything?”
At the vague answer, Hanbit thought for a moment.
What he could practice right now was archery or swordsmanship.
Since most people wanted a path toward hidden skills, swordsmanship was the obvious choice.
“Then let’s go with swordsmanship. Did you learn magic from Yulio?”
“No, I skipped magic!”
“That’s good. Then shall we go somewhere suitable for practice?”
“Yes!”
With Kim Jaeha’s spirited response, the three of them moved along the road.
They arrived at their destination quickly.
“Hyung, isn’t this a general store? I thought you said you were teaching swordsmanship?”
Seeing the familiar place, Yeonwoo stopped and asked.
This was Artsvel’s shop.
“That’s right.”
Nodding, Hanbit opened the door and went inside.
The shop owner was in the middle of organizing items on the shelves.
“Artsvel.”
“Huh?”
At the call of her name, the blonde woman turned her head.
Spotting Hanbit, Artsvel gave a faint smile.
“Black Dragon? What brings you here?”
“Ria hasn’t come by yet, right?”
“Why Ria?”
Still unaware of the situation, Artsvel asked curiously.
Shaking his head, Hanbit pointed outside the window.
“She’ll come later and explain. More importantly, can I use the backyard for a bit?”
“The backyard?”
“I need a training area, but there’s nowhere suitable. It’s just sword practice, so I won’t make a mess.”
“The backyard’s pretty cramped because of all the crates…… but if you’re okay with that, use it freely. Just be careful around the boxes.”
“Thanks.”
Having gotten permission, Hanbit took Kim Jaeha out to the backyard.
As expected, the space was limited, packed with wooden crates, leaving little room to move freely.
“You’ve learned swordsmanship before, right? Take out any sword.”
“Yes!”
With a shout, Kim Jaeha pulled a sword from his inventory.
It was of better quality than expected.
“What level are you?”
“Fifty-two!”
“That’s pretty high.”
“Ah, not at all. For someone who started on launch day, it’s actually really low.”
-Was he a launch-day player?
-But level 52?
-You’re being forced to play the game.
-Forced RP detected.
He waved his hands and shook his head.
Indeed, it was a low level for an early player.
“We’ll do this for one hour. I already wrote the theory in the guide, so we’ll focus entirely on practice. Take your stance.”
“Yes!”
Kim Jaeha took his stance, gripping the sword with both hands.
But somehow, it looked awkward—more so than other players.
“Is the sword not your main weapon?”
“Uh… I use a hammer. I kind of had a dream about it…….”
He scratched his head as he answered.
Hanbit didn’t know what kind of dream that was, but teaching swordsmanship wouldn’t be easy.
“It’s better to hold your stance like this.”
Stepping closer, Hanbit adjusted Kim Jaeha’s posture directly.
When he finished, he stepped back again.
“The reason I chose a narrow space is to limit your movement. Try to move delicately without touching the surroundings.”
“Understood!”
“Then let’s begin.”
Tap—!
Hanbit lightly kicked off the ground and closed the distance in an instant.
The speed felt far faster than it looked on stream, and Kim Jaeha reacted too late.
“Ugh!”
Before he could even move properly, the attack had already reached him.
By the time he tried to swing his sword a beat late, Hanbit’s blade was already pointed at his neck.
“That would be one death. Balder’s stats are adjusted to the player, so he’ll be even faster than this. You need to read the movement in advance.”
“…Understood.”
Nodding, Kim Jaeha tightened his grip on the sword again.
He had his own pride, having spent two years immersed in RP.
Because of that, he’d never imagined he’d be this helpless.
“Please try again.”
“Alright. We’ll start with a right downward slash.”
Tap—!
Kim Jaeha looked noticeably more serious than before.
As Hanbit gradually adjusted the speed of his attacks, he glanced toward the inside of the shop.
‘She’s here.’
Through the transparent window, he could see Ria’s face.
She had come to talk to Artsvel and was watching the training scene out of the corner of her eye.
To others, it might not look special, but Hanbit had chosen the general store’s backyard precisely for this situation.
The more Ria’s interest and curiosity were drawn in, the more completely different this episode would unfold.
“I’ll go a bit faster now.”
“…Yes!”
Pretending not to notice her gaze, Hanbit continued the training.
Focused on the relentless attacks, Kim Jaeha failed to notice the unexpected spectator.
***
“…….”
Fifty minutes later.
Kim Jaeha stared blankly at his hands after dropping the sword.
Out of the hundreds of attacks Black Dragon had unleashed, the number he’d properly blocked was zero.
Not metaphorically—literally zero.
Grit—
The original purpose he’d come for, business, had slipped far from his mind.
He hadn’t checked the chat for a while now.
He knew they’d be mocking him, bringing up the fact that he was a launch-day player.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
At Black Dragon’s question, Kim Jaeha shook his head and lowered his stance.
Just before picking up the sword that had fallen to the ground, words slipped out of his mouth.
“Would it be okay if I tried using a hammer?”
“A hammer? Hmm.”
Black Dragon paused to think.
But it didn’t seem like a big problem—he nodded.
“For the remaining time, using a familiar weapon to get experience isn’t a bad idea. Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Putting the sword back into his inventory, Kim Jaeha took out his main weapon.
A bronze-colored hammer with a long handle.
It was something he had personally crafted with great care.
“Would it be okay to try duel mode?”
“Duel mode?”
-Oh.
-Hammer guy’s pissed. LOL
-The salaryman’s rage.
-After fifty minutes of doing nothing, I’d lose it too.
-Show what a launch-day player really is.
RP normally applies penalties to PvP.
There were two ways to avoid that.
One was allowing the opponent to strike first.
The other was using duel mode for mutually agreed PvP.
“Alright. Let’s do sparring for the rest of the time.”
“Thank you.”
Ding—
[Kim Jaeha has requested a duel.]
[Do you accept? (Yes/No)]
The message arrived immediately.
When Hanbit pressed ‘Yes,’ the opponent’s nickname turned orange.
Taking his stance, Hanbit spoke calmly.
“Come at me comfortably.”
“Then… excuse me first!”
Tap—!
Kim Jaeha kicked off the ground and leapt upward.
Gritting his teeth, he brought the hammer down with both hands.
KWA-KWANG—!
With a heavy impact, the hammer head smashed into the ground.
But Black Dragon was no longer there.
Thud—!
“……!”
A sword suddenly entered his field of vision from behind his head.
Eyes widening, Kim Jaeha swung the hammer again.
Whoosh—!
The arc cut through empty air.
Before he realized it, Black Dragon was standing in front of him again.
“When dealing with fast enemies using a hammer, it’s better to change how you grip it. If you have a secondary weapon, you can even use the hammer as bait.”
“I’ll prove it my way!”
Tap—!
Kicking off again, Kim Jaeha charged.
A yellow light gathered around the hammer in his hands.
Wooooong—!
A resonant hum sounded as the hammer was swung with great force.
And the moment Hanbit stepped back—
Bang—!
A violent strike slammed into the ground.
Rrrrr—!
The earth shook violently, and the shockwave spread outward.
KWA-KWA-KWA—!
Kim Jaeha’s attack shattered the stacked crates, collapsing the space.
It was an active skill he’d pulled out as a last resort after being pressured nonstop.
Unfortunately, it didn’t deal even a speck of damage to Hanbit.
“Hm.”
Looking at the wrecked surroundings, Hanbit scratched his head.
Then he voiced the thought he’d been holding back.
“Do you maybe lack combat experience? Or perhaps it doesn’t suit your aptitude…….”
“No, wouldn’t this be the same for anyone?!”
Kim Jaeha raised his voice, sounding wronged.
“I’m not criticizing you—I’m saying this because I’m worried. It’s better to use your time efficiently. How are you at things other than combat?”
“From the start…….”
Clenching his fists, Kim Jaeha spoke with a trembling voice.
Hanbit, unable to hear clearly, took a step closer.
At that moment, Kim Jaeha lifted his head and shouted,
“From the start, I’m a blacksmith!”
“…Pardon?”
-Huh?
-Ah.
-He was a blacksmith?
-You should’ve said so;
-You must’ve suffered a lot. LOL
The shocking confession left the viewers flustered as well.
Blacksmithing was one of the major life professions.
While some minimal hunting was required, combat ability was never important for them.
“You should’ve told me earlier. I went harder because I thought you were just a launch-day player.”
“I thought I’d be fine…… I was just a frog in a well.”
The two years he’d spent playing the game felt lost, leaving him dejected.
As Hanbit wondered whether to console him, an alert sounded.
Ding—
[설명충 has donated 1,000 won.]
[Info) Taeyul Trading Company was the first corporation to find the Dwarven Metallurgy skill route. Of course, they failed like hell at actually obtaining it.]
-Ah, right.
-So that was Taeyul Trading.
-Now that you mention it, I remember.
-It was a hidden, so it was insanely regrettable.
-Yeah, like that was ever going to work.
“Dwarven Metallurgy?”
A skill name Hanbit knew well came up.
He’d seen it in recommended skills, but it wasn’t something that could be obtained right away.
“Ah, I remember too. That was before I even played the game, but the community was pretty noisy about it.”
Yeonwoo nodded as he added his comment.
“When you say route, does that mean you found the quest?”
“Strictly speaking, it was an achievement. Finding the hidden skill quest itself was a completely different problem. Even when competitors piled in, nobody managed to find it in the end.”
“Really?”
Hanbit roughly understood, even without knowing the specific achievement.
Recalling old memories, he looked at Kim Jaeha.
“Were you with the company that was looking for Dwarven Metallurgy?”
“…Yes. That’s right. It’s an old story, though.”
He nodded, as if there was nothing to hide.
His expression had grown even gloomier, which piqued Hanbit’s interest.
“If you were an employee, were you searching back then too?”
“Ah, yes. Actually, I was the one who found it first…….”
“First?”
That word was impossible to overlook.
Dwarven Metallurgy was a skill of tremendous value.
To obtain it, the condition of being the ‘first’ mattered greatly.
“I’ll send you a friend request. Accept it.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you’re from a company, you came here to build connections anyway, right? Or do you need more one-on-one training?”
“No, not at all.”
Kim Jaeha shook his head firmly.
His sincerity was obvious, to the point of being almost comical.
Hanbit sent a friend request to his nickname.
Ding—
The name was immediately added to the list.
Kim Jaeha stood there blankly, unable to believe what was happening.
‘Ria’s gone.’
Ria was no longer visible through the window.
Instead, the shop owner stood there with a cold smile.
“Ah.”
Seeing the wrecked backyard, Hanbit sensed danger.
He quickly grabbed the dazed Kim Jaeha and pulled him back into the shop.
“Sorry. This guy will pay for everything.”
