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108
Late morning the next day.
Waking up, Hanbit immediately checked the RP community.
“Let’s start with the restricted area.”
The first thing to check was the progress of the restricted area.
Having posted the first part of the walkthrough yesterday, he was also curious about the vanguards’ progress.
Hanbit clicked on a post in the trending section.
⟨Any restricted area clears yet?⟩
The video went up on Black Dragon’s channel yesterday, why is there no news?
Still no one has cleared it?
-Vanguards and corporations alike, no one’s streaming.
└Not just streaming — nobody who went in has come back out.
-Everyone pulling all-nighters is legendary. Lol.
-What’s Odin doing?
└What are you doing?
└Just had lunch.
└Respect the meal.
-Info) More than 20 vanguard teams attempting.
-But is there even a need to rush?
-Just wait until the full guide drops.
-If it weren’t for Liwei, wouldn’t he have released the whole guide?
└Isn’t Nesto the problem, those bastards?
└For real, brainless social scum trash.
Still no news from inside the restricted area.
But whether the challengers had cleared it or not was unknowable from outside.
They might still be inside exploring the shifting space.
Either way, the remaining hints could afford to wait a little longer.
Browsing the list, Hanbit tapped into the post that had claimed the number one spot.
⟨Hidden skill coordinates have dropped.⟩
Snow Drake location came out on Black Dragon’s stream.
Whoever finds it first is probably taking the dwarves’ heirloom.
Hand it to Gorik and you can learn dwarven metallurgy.
Head for the highest peak of Ifrit’s snowy mountains.
All the corporations are out there tearing through snow, so maybe wait and sneak in when they’re distracted?
-What madness is this now;
-Hasn’t Black Dragon not gone there yet?
└Watching the stream, him going for dwarven metallurgy is confirmed.
└Snow Drake is confirmed too.
└Does that mean if that guy goes looking for it he’ll find it? Y’all are full-on cultists. Lol.
└↑ This person’s own post: Watched Black Dragon’s guide, can he actually beat Balder?
└Lol what an idiot.
-Current time 10:32. Vanguard team spotted entering the crevasse.
└That’s not the right crevasse~
“Quite the chaos.”
A simply written post and a screenshot of the dig site.
The thousands of comments were virtually a battlefield.
The fortress location made public through Gorik’s words.
More precisely it was the path leading there, but the information itself was accurate.
“There’s plenty to use as bait.”
Even knowing the location would come out, Hanbit had kept the stream running.
The Snow Drake’s fortress containing the dwarves’ heirloom.
From entering that place to recovering the heirloom — it required a large number of players.
Most of them would probably be moving in hopes of subjugating it.
Which was essentially impossible — but that was beside the point.
Having read through the comments, Hanbit picked up his phone and called Kim Jaeha.
(Hello?)
The call connecting right away, suggesting he was already awake.
His voice was still husky, as though he had just gotten up.
“Hyung, when did you go to sleep?”
(Around six? I didn’t stay up that late.)
“…That’s less than four hours.”
(At my old company I couldn’t even sleep two. This is refreshing.)
Kim Jaeha added that he had always needed little sleep.
It seemed Gorik’s teaching was already proceeding with great enthusiasm.
“It’s an important skill, so please bear with it just a little more.”
(Hard times nothing. If there’s anything you need——)
Just then, Kim Jaeha’s voice grew slightly muffled as he continued his reply.
Sensing something off, Hanbit asked:
“Did the section chief contact you?”
(…How did you know?)
“He’s the type to keep pressing. Getting a call every day wouldn’t be strange.”
The kind of man who had made threatening his pastime was not going to sit quietly and wait for an answer.
It was a blessing that he hadn’t shown up in person.
(I’ll send you the text for now. I’m not sure what he’s trying to say.)
Buzz—
A vibration sounding along with Kim Jaeha’s words.
Hanbit unlocked his phone and looked at the message.
「Hey, what kind of garbage are you pulling? Tell Black Dragon. If you don’t want a call from the police station, hand over the information to us first.」
The content was dripping with naked greed.
Hanbit asked Kim Jaeha:
“Does that section chief also follow the community?”
(After things got noisy with news about you, it seemed like he was checking it himself. He’s a man who has nothing else to do anyway.)
“Then he must have seen this too.”
Hanbit copied the link to the post and sent it to Kim Jaeha.
He confirmed it almost immediately and let out a baffled sound.
(Wow, this many people have gathered around it?)
Kim Jaeha, who had been watching the conversation alongside Hanbit, had also anticipated this flow to some degree.
There was no way information made public on a stream would not become a hot topic in the community.
The Snow Drake and dwarven metallurgy were subjects more than hot enough to ignite like this.
‘No need to do anything extra then.’
A plan that had included the intent to give the section chief what he deserved.
He had been considering personally passing the information to Taeyul’s side — but they had taken the bait on their own.
“Hyung, want to get some payback?”
(Payback?)
“It’d be a shame to end it lukewarm. Let’s give that section chief a taste of what he deserves.”
(…Huh?)
The out-of-nowhere question left Kim Jaeha flustered.
He had never once thought about payback.
Hanbit rose from his seat and continued.
“Hyung, let’s meet up briefly. Please also send the section chief a message just as I tell you.”
***
“What’s this?”
Fourth floor of the Taeyul Corporation building at the edge of Jongno, RP department.
Arriving at the office around noon, Lee Hojoong was frowning at his monitor.
⟨Hidden skill coordinates have dropped.⟩
Snow Drake location came out on Black Dragon’s stream.
Whoever finds it first is probably taking the dwarves’ heirloom.
Hand it to Gorik and you can learn dwarven metallurgy.
Head for the highest peak of Ifrit’s snowy mountains.
All the corporations are out there tearing through snow, so maybe wait and sneak in when they’re distracted?
The post that had gone up on the RP community shot to the top of the trending list in no time.
The thousands of comments were in chaos, but the players were already moving.
“Kim Jaeha, that little——”
Lee Hojoong had threatened Kim Jaeha, saying he would report Black Dragon for assault.
And yet instead of delivering this information to him first, the man had gone and broadcast it.
“Lowlife.”
A fat fist clenched tight.
Even if he had suddenly walked into him, Kim Jaeha was a loser at his core.
A little pressure and he would never think of getting back up.
Scroll—
Lee Hojoong turned the mouse wheel, reading the mood.
Then he took out his phone and made a call.
Buzz—
The old dial tone rang for a while.
Click—
With the sound of the line connecting, a voice came through.
It was the CEO, who was likely out on a golf course round.
(What is it?)
“Yes, CEO. Did Kim Jaeha contact you by any chance?”
(Jaeha? Actually, he did. Said he was resigning — anything happen?)
The CEO asked in an indifferent voice.
Confirming that the details had not been relayed, Lee Hojoong adopted a serious tone.
“Actually, last night…….”
The outcome was the same — ‘Kim Jaeha’s resignation’ — but the content was heavily embellished.
Having heard the fabricated version of events, the CEO raised his voice with satisfaction.
(That guy was a complete lunatic. I cut him slack after he tanked the business, and what? He’s quitting because the treatment was trash?)
“My thoughts exactly, sir. After all the times you’ve turned a blind eye, for him to stab us in the back like this. It’s unconscionable.”
(Ha. Being good to people really does nothing. Bosses aren’t the ones with the leverage these days.)
The mood growing hostile just as intended.
After briefly agreeing with the silence, Lee Hojoong injected a note of appeal.
“We can’t just let him walk away on his own terms.”
(You don’t know my personality? When I ran the student council, I was ruthless.)
“Of course I know, hyungnim. The discipline was so solid back then.”
The two, senior and junior from university, dredged up memories of the past.
Having been close for so long, their trust in each other ran deep.
“CEO… no, hyungnim. The truth is, I was assaulted by Black Dragon. And Kim Jaeha smiled along and took his side.”
(What? He hit you?)
“Four weeks’ medical leave, four weeks! I was too embarrassed to bring it up…… but isn’t this also a matter of looking down on Taeyul itself? I don’t think we can just let it pass.”
(Ha. Those guys are genuinely insane.)
The CEO was also angered by the outrageous situation.
(I’ll be reaching out to the law firm — get the complaint ready right away. Think about tipping off the press too.)
“Hyungnim! Wait, please look at this first!”
Lee Hojoong frantically tried to stop that decision and quickly raised his phone.
Then he photographed the monitor screen and sent it to the CEO.
(Dwarven metallurgy? What’s this now?)
“That time, the whole thing fell through because of Kim Jaeha, remember? But it seems that Black Dragon fellow I mentioned might actually be able to find it.”
(Hmm.)
The dwarven metallurgy project — one of the biggest failures in Taeyul’s history.
Bringing it back up again was not exactly welcome in the eyes of a business operator.
(So? What are you proposing?)
“Hyungnim, you’re the one who always sees the bigger picture. For the sake of the company — getting hit once? I can overlook that easily. As long as Black Dragon provides information of sufficient value.”
(…Well, my perspective is broad.)
The passionate flattery was something even the CEO didn’t deny.
He had the pride of someone who had built a company from the ground up.
(What about the project cost? How much do you think we’re looking at?)
“There is nothing we need to invest this time. Because this is us covering up what Black Dragon did.”
(Black Dragon? Does he know about this?)
“Yes. I’ve given him the hint, and I plan to send the final warning. Kim Jaeha is a natural-born loser, so he’ll relay it to Black Dragon properly on his own.”
Lee Hojoong smiled his unpleasant smile and composed a message.
The recipient was Kim Jaeha.
「Hey, what kind of garbage are you pulling? Tell Black Dragon. If you don’t want a call from the police station, hand over the information to us first.」
Blunt and straightforward content.
He had not actually been assaulted — but the truth was irrelevant.
The company CCTV was broken, and there was no space to park a car nearby.
(I’m heading into the office, so have the report ready.)
“Yes! I’ll be waiting!”
Click—
After the call ended, Lee Hojoong began typing away at the keyboard, putting together his materials.
“Why won’t this damn thing work?”
Having always pushed work onto Kim Jaeha or subordinates, he struggled with the programs.
But this time the credit would be his alone.
That greed was what kept Lee Hojoong planted in front of the computer.
Ding—
An alert chimed as he labored through the work.
Lee Hojoong opened his phone and read the arriving message.
「Kim Jaeha」
「I’ll pass along Black Dragon’s words. Please put together a raid party and come to the coordinates I’m sending by 3 PM. We need to move without the other players noticing.」
