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“……?”
Once again, an action that defied expectation.
Hanbit looked at Liwei and asked:
“Didn’t you win the competition?”
“With an intruder in the mix, it’s void. I cannot accept a competition that wasn’t fair.”
-Now that’s refreshing.
-He’s actually giving it;
-A vanguard you can like.
-Extreme conviction, wow.
Whatever Liwei’s reasoning, receiving the material was a welcome thing.
The vague unease was probably just in his head.
“I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Hanbit took the hide and placed it in his inventory.
As he then pulled out a stored potion and drank it, Liwei spoke up.
“So what will it be?”
“What do you mean?”
“The competition. We still need to finish it.”
“…Ah.”
-Lol.
-It has to be done.
-A man who never gives up;
-At this point, just do it for him.
-Liwei gets my respect.
The source of the unease that had crossed his mind.
There was no way Liwei would leave with the competition still unresolved.
Meaning he would have to keep company with him until a result was produced.
“Black Dragon-nim!”
Just then, Avantgarde’s voice reached them from the path beyond the forest.
His haggard state made it clear he too had been attacked by the Nesto guild.
“I’m sorry I’m late! The ones who latched onto my side were quite persistent…….”
Avantgarde, having rushed over, explained the situation — that he had been attacked by four assailants.
The fact that they had split up their forces and deployed them in every direction showed just how seriously Trigger had intended to kill him.
In the end, they would have returned to jail without achieving any of their goals.
“So — what are we doing about the competition?”
Liwei, who had been watching the exchange, brought up the subject again.
But even with competition in mind, nothing came to him immediately.
“What about cooking, then?”
“Cooking?”
Avantgarde’s out-of-nowhere suggestion raised a question.
Was there something in cooking that could serve as a basis for competition?
“Ah, are you talking about that event?”
Liwei, on the other hand, seemed to understand and responded with interest.
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
“Before ‘let’s go with that’ — what even is the event?”
“A cooking event held in Ifrit, as the name suggests. You make food using provided ingredients, then get evaluated with a score.”
-Is it that local cuisine thing or whatever?
-The grand prize keeps changing.
-Every one of them is unusual. Lol.
-Can Black Dragon actually cook?
-Liwei seems like he’d be far from cooking.
The viewers also seemed familiar with the event, and all sorts of chat messages came up.
‘So any competition will do, I suppose.’
More than anything else, what struck him as absurd was that Liwei had accepted the proposal.
Hanbit looked at Avantgarde and asked:
“There was some chat about the prize. Do you know what it is?”
“Let me check.”
He quickly began searching.
Results came back almost immediately.
“It says lava seed soup and non-freezing cooking gloves.”
“…Pardon?”
Hearing the names of the prizes, Hanbit’s eyes widened.
‘Fortune is really on my side today.’
A few preparations needed for the progression of Ifrit.
The venomous fang and the hide were one thing — but if he could also get his hands on both items being offered as prizes, the progression would become considerably smoother.
Hanbit looked at Liwei and asked:
“You must be confident in your cooking?”
“Probably better than the average person. Or we can switch to a different competition. It wouldn’t be fair for me to keep deciding.”
He offered the choice over, saying he would go along with whatever was decided.
But Hanbit had already made up his mind.
“No, let’s go with cooking.”
***
A wide open lot in Ifrit’s shopping district.
Quite a few people had gathered at the registration booth set up in one corner.
“I’ve never seen this many people before. It’s likely because of the two of you.”
Avantgarde, scanning the surroundings, remarked as he looked at the crowd.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed only a handful of people had originally intended to participate in the event.
“Let’s register anyway.”
The three of them moved to the registration desk and signed up for the event.
Of a capacity of 100, 30 spots were already filled.
“Thank you for registering. The main ingredient provided will be kompu mushrooms, and one day’s time will be given for planning your dish and preparing ingredients. The competition begins tomorrow at 4 PM, so please be sure to arrive on time.”
The procedure wrapped up with those instructions.
Immediately after, the surroundings grew noisy.
“Get out of the way!”
“I was here first!”
“Ugh, shove off!”
The moment the three finished registering, the people waiting around them swarmed in.
The ugly atmosphere nearly came to blows.
-What a mess;
-Kill each other.
-But why are those people even registering?
-If Black Dragon and Liwei are doing it, I want to too. Lol.
-Seems like they think there’s something hidden in the reward.
As the viewers said, the intent of those people seemed clear.
Given everything the player known as Black Dragon had shown up to now, it was only natural.
And the value of the rewards being high was also a fact.
[Grand Prize]
Lava Seed Soup
Non-Freezing Cooking Gloves
The flyer posted beside the registration desk listed the prize contents.
The soup was a buff item that raised cold attribute resistance.
The gloves were, as the name implied, gloves that would not freeze.
No hidden properties to speak of, but where these would be used — that was what mattered.
“Let’s move on for now.”
The three left the open lot and headed toward a quieter side street.
In the meantime, Avantgarde was searching for information.
“Cooking with kompu mushrooms… won’t be easy.”
The kompu mushroom — a local ingredient of Ifrit.
It emitted a tremendous stench, but its actual flavor was exceptional.
Most people would reach the point of nausea before they even tasted it, though.
“Interesting.”
Liwei simply looked entertained.
He must have been fairly confident in his cooking.
“Then since I need to gather ingredients, I’ll head out first.”
Thump—!
With that, Liwei disappeared immediately.
A decisiveness that was already becoming familiar.
“Let’s gather ingredients ourselves as well.”
“What? Have you already thought of a menu?”
“Something came to me.”
“Oh…….”
The number of dishes that could be made with kompu mushrooms was not that large.
For that reason, rather than going to unnecessary lengths, it was more important to bring out the fundamentals.
“If you’re feeling lost, shall I at least tell you a recipe?”
“No. Since I’m a participant as well, I should work it out for myself. I’m fairly confident in my cooking, so I intend to find my own way.”
-Are you living alone?
-Cooking expert, impressive.
-If I live alone I only do takeout;
-For real lol.
Avantgarde truly wore an expression brimming with confidence.
Certainly, being a competitive event, it was best if each person used their own method.
“Shall we call it here for today? It’s already gotten late.”
“Sounds good. I’ll need to hurry if I’m going to try various things.”
The time had crept up to 2 AM without them noticing.
It was about time to wrap up the broadcast.
“Then let’s meet at the competition venue. Thank you all for watching, viewers. I’ll go live tomorrow afternoon.”
-OK.
-Bye, Dragon.
-Bye bye bye.
Click—
Hanbit closed the game and took off his gear.
Having been put through the wringer, the fatigue was considerable.
“Phew.”
He pulled himself up and walked out to the living room.
His mother’s bedroom door was closed.
“Tomorrow’s finally the day.”
Tomorrow was the day they would look at a few places to move into that his mother had been keeping an eye on.
The 99 million won received from the auction proceeds.
There had been a bit of disagreement over how to spend it.
His mother had wanted it used entirely for her son’s own sake.
But this time, Hanbit’s voice was stronger.
“Moving…….”
In the other world, he had drifted from one place to another — but this felt different.
“I should sleep soon.”
Slightly excited, Hanbit quickly finished his shower.
He fell asleep the moment he threw himself onto the bed.
***
“Thank you. Then we’ll see you again at the final signing.”
The next day.
Having gone out since early morning to look at properties, Hanbit and his mother completed a lease contract.
A 200-million-won home that had been unimaginable until recently.
Twice the floor space of their original home.
Things had also wrapped up smoothly with the owner of the monthly-rent room they currently lived in, so it seemed a quick move would be possible.
“Mom still feels like she’s dreaming.”
His mother’s expression as she stepped out of the real estate office was brighter than usual.
The real estate agencies she passed every day on her commute.
The properties hanging on the glass walls had always been nothing more than hope beyond reach.
Having done nothing but look at them with bitterness every time, there was no way she couldn’t feel good.
“The lease is only temporary. I’ll earn more and buy a place outright.”
“This is more than enough for Mom. Use the rest freely on what you need.”
“I’ll just earn more than that. We should try being rich ourselves for once.”
“…The things you say.”
His mother laughed as though she found it absurd.
Then she looked at her son’s confident face and said:
“Be good to that Luna girl.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“What do you mean out of nowhere? You think 100 million is someone’s pet’s name?”
The story of how the 100 million came about had been fully relayed.
The conversation with Luna had also been briefly shared.
“People always matter most. Return the kindness you receive, help others without expectation sometimes. That’s how good people gather around you and you shine.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mother. Let’s get going.”
Sensing the speech was in danger of growing longer, Hanbit steered his mother out onto the street.
‘People, huh…….’
He did not let his mother’s words simply pass through him.
It was only that the experiences built up over so long had become like calluses.
‘Back then, I had to do everything alone.’
The flow through 55 returns, possessions, and reincarnations had mostly been the same.
He had always been the one at the very front, and the heavier the strength, the heavier the responsibility that came with it.
Even with companions, it was always he who had to stand alone at the threshold of death toward the end.
‘It’s different now, though.’
Companions that could not have existed in the past.
Yeonwoo and the others from the company, along with the players who had shown goodwill — they were entirely new kinds of relationships.
What effect this would have, Hanbit still could not say.
“I’m heading to the restaurant, so go get some air and come home.”
“Alright.”
His mother headed straight to the restaurant where she worked.
Left alone, Hanbit shifted his gaze to his smartphone screen.
「This is the HR team at Enc Technology.」
Hello, Mr. Kang Hanbit.
We would like to express our gratitude for the effort you demonstrated during your internship period at Enc Technology. However, a violation of company regulations related to a recently identified instance of concurrent employment has been confirmed. Accordingly, the company has carried out disciplinary procedures and arrived at the following final decision.
Disciplinary Outcome: Termination of employment contract
Grounds for Disciplinary Action: Concurrent employment in violation of internal company regulations
Date of Dismissal: Your internship concludes as of XX/XX/20XX.
We understand this decision may be a difficult one for you as well……
A message that had arrived early in the morning.
Rather than feeling nothing, he was actually relieved.
He had already packed everything to take away yesterday, so there was no need to go back there.
‘Maybe I’ll visit the record shop.’
With time suddenly free, Hanbit decided to stop by the place selling RP items again.
He might stumble across something useful by chance.
‘The subway will be fastest.’
Hanbit shifted his gaze and began moving toward the subway station.
But then.
Buzz—
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
“Who is it?”
An unknown number was displayed on the screen.
He hesitated for a moment wondering if it was a scam call, but decided to answer anyway.
“Hello?”
(Hello. Am I speaking with Kang Hanbit?)
“……?”
A caller who knew his name.
He didn’t know who it was, but the voice carried a politeness that gave him no desire to hang up.
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
First, knowing who the other party was mattered most.
If they said anything strange, he would hang up immediately.
That had been his thought — but what followed was something he hadn’t expected at all.
(I am Han Yongwoo, Executive Director at Enc Technology.)
