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“Understood. Just set the place and time and I’ll come there.”
“…Are you actually going to meet them?”
At the affirmative reply that came back, Raphina showed a slightly surprised reaction.
Because as someone who had become a topic of conversation in many ways, she thought he would avoid revealing his identity.
“He’s consistent as ever.”
Luna, watching the exchange, said.
“Have you met them before, Luna?”
“I had a few meetings about a project I was working on with Raphina. I saw his face each time. He’s someone who likes people quite a lot.”
Luna, shrugging and adding that she had run into him frequently after that.
The person described as CEO apparently had quite an extroverted personality.
“Ah, there’s been a reply.”
Just then, Raphina, who had sent the message, looked it over.
Her expression became a little more troubled.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s just…… he’s saying to meet with Luna and me together.”
“Me too?”
A proposal added out of the blue to a deal with Hanbit.
Raphina, looking slightly embarrassed, looked at her friend beside her and said:
“Don’t worry too much about it. He probably just wants to see your faces.”
“Hmm.”
Luna sank briefly into thought.
Then she looked at Hanbit’s face and asked:
“Black Dragon, would it be uncomfortable if we came along?”
“What?”
“Revealing your identity could be risky. For me, my face is already out there, and Raphina is company-affiliated so there’s no burden.”
“Ah.”
The concern with care behind it was understandable.
Being a well-known player, revealing one’s identity becomes a risk.
But that kind of danger also varied depending on who the other party was.
“I’m fine. What matters is the deal.”
“Is that so?”
At the composed answer, Luna gave a quiet smile.
She looked at her friend, still wearing a sorry expression, and said:
“I’ll come too. When is the time?”
“Oh? You’re actually coming?”
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other’s faces anyway. And it feels like it might be fun.”
“Fun…… I’m not sure about that, but alright.”
Raphina gave a nod and resumed communicating with the company.
Only after a few exchanges was the appointment settled.
“1 PM, 7th floor of Vestige headquarters. Confirmed.”
Hanbit gave a nod and shifted his gaze to the system window.
Current time was 11:50 PM.
He had briefly thought about ending the session right away, but this was a time to move a little tightly.
Give Raphina the spirit information he had promised and then wrap up……
“May I ask something too?”
Just then, Luna suddenly spoke up.
“Of course. Please go ahead.”
“The Snow Drake content. What are you planning to do?”
“…Ah.”
The intent of the question was immediately understood.
The condition appended to the Snow Drake’s subjugation.
It was also the root of what had complicated the situation.
“Because of the Ifrit episode, you mean?”
“Yes. There are an enormous number of people hoping you’ll enter right away. Among vanguards alone, it’ll be in the hundreds.”
Luna conveyed the mood of the vanguard community, Astra.
Vanguards and their party members who had chosen the episode reset following Hanbit’s walkthrough.
The Edelen story had been brought to a good conclusion — but the next episode had suddenly been blocked.
For those who needed to advance as quickly as possible, it would be news like a bolt from the blue.
“You two are also planning to reset the Edelen episode, aren’t you?”
“Yes. We’re thinking of continuing to reset and progress.”
“Same as Luna for me.”
Both Luna and Raphina gave nods of agreement.
At that answer, a question suddenly came to mind.
“Raphina, didn’t you start in Belmora? I thought the whole company was going in the same direction.”
“There are a few who started in Edelen too. I received an offer to contract not long before becoming a vanguard, so…….”
Raphina, an early player, had started in Edelen and advanced rapidly.
Carrying worries about spirits, she had climbed to a vanguard ranking in the 4,000s.
Despite her timid personality, her play apparently did not match it.
Hanbit relayed his answer to the question to the two.
“To put it simply — I’ll challenge it the moment the content opens. I’ll just need to gather some raid members.”
“Then could you add me to that raid?”
“……You, Luna?”
A request landing with refreshingly blunt directness.
Not even a hint of calculating her interests.
“Would it be alright for me too? I think I need to meet that scientist Isis as soon as possible…….”
Raphina too wanted to join the raid.
Isis’s ability to interpret the power of spirits.
There must be something she was greatly hoping for from that.
‘Having both of them come would be welcome.’
Mid-tier vanguards Luna and Raphina were combat strength that couldn’t be missed.
However, what mattered in this particular subjugation was exclusive claim on the key rewards.
He had been planning to realize that through the item distribution authority given to the raid leader.
“Shall we make a deal then?”
“A deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
At the proposal, both immediately showed interest.
Hanbit brought up the main point, considering the most reasonable line.
“I intend to take the Snow Drake’s main rewards. If you help me with that, I’ll give both of you the items or information you want.”
“By any chance…… would there be anything related to spirits?”
Raphina’s area of interest remained consistent.
Hanbit gave a nod and said to her:
“I said I’d help earlier, didn’t I? I originally intended to only give information, but if you help me with my work — I’ll guide you personally to the Spirit Garden.”
“The Spirit Garden……!”
Raphina, placing her hands on the table, shot to her feet.
Hanbit added one explanation.
“You would have only visited the spirit village, but the garden is a place with a much denser presence. Having already communed with two attributes of lower spirits, you’ll surely have some results.”
“Then I’ll help! Please let this happen!”
An opportunity that went beyond merely desired — one that absolutely had to be obtained.
The Snow Drake’s rewards were the least of her concerns.
“Thank you. Then as for Luna…….”
“Can I come to the Spirit Garden too?”
“Pardon?”
Hanbit, who had been about to present several options, was caught off guard.
Because she had no particular connection to spirits.
“There’s no real need for you to go to the garden, is there, Luna?”
“I’ve gotten a little interested.”
A simple answer returning.
If she wanted it herself, suggesting something else would feel off.
“Then I’ll guide both of you to the Spirit Garden.”
“Yes!”
“Sounds good.”
The negotiation wrapped up faster than expected.
While wondering at it, Luna asked:
“You mentioned you needed more raid members besides us, right? I’ll gather them.”
“If you’re helping, I’m grateful — but how were you thinking of finding them?”
“I’ll post the condition of Black Dragon’s exclusive rewards and take applicants. If I write that we can’t depart below a certain number, there will be people who take the bait. There are quite a few vanguards stomping their feet right now.”
A good idea to make use of the vanguards’ psychology.
And if the recruiter was Luna, no one would have reservations.
“I’ll also ask the people around me. The more trustworthy people who come, the better.”
Raphina too, tightening her fist, indicated she would contribute.
The sincere will of the two to help was clearly felt.
“Thank you. Then I’ll leave the raid members in your hands.”
Inwardly moved, Hanbit immediately rose from his seat.
The only way to repay them was to properly fulfill the two’s wishes.
“I’ll take you to the garden. Let’s move right away.”
***
Having left the city, Hanbit’s party headed toward the northern forest.
A path to the cliff to meet Aslra.
-They’re going to meet the spirit?
-Is Raphina’s spirit potential about to unlock?
-But why is Raphina here?
-Insane combination. Lol.
-Luna + Raphina + Black Dragon + @.
-@ = Jaeha-hyung + Avantgarde.
-They’re people too, people;
Chat flooding in from viewers as the audio was turned back on and the situation explained.
Luna, watching it, smiled and said:
“Did you know Raphina donated too?”
“……To me?”
“Luna!”
Raphina reaching a hand out to cover the mouth.
Hanbit too was quite surprised.
“I didn’t see that name — so you use a different handle.”
“It was just…… I used the name ‘Spirit.’ It felt a little embarrassing to reveal myself…….”
-Oh?
-Spirit?
-The name makes sense. Lol.
-Wasn’t that the person donating several million won at a time?
-Yeah, I saw it too.
-As expected of vanguard class;
The viewer named Spirit was someone Hanbit too remembered.
A person who had donated 5 million won twice, and consistently sent donations without messages.
Adding it all up, it came to tens of millions of won.
And to think the identity was Raphina.
“Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”
“No, no thanks needed! I’ve learned so much from Black Dragon-nim’s streams — paying viewing fees is only right!”
Even using a different skill as her main — to her, the identity of spirit user was precious.
Even stuck in one place for ten months, that heart never bent.
Moreover, having even reset the episode to progress through it, she had practically received a great deal of help.
“How was the Edelen episode? My walkthrough might have been awkward to reference.”
“Not exactly the same way, but I ended it satisfyingly. Thanks to skipping the Yulio quest, I was able to safely bring Atsvel along too.”
“I also thought hard and saw it through nicely to the ending. Having a conversation with Aslra was the hardest part.”
The two had progressed through the episode a little differently from Hanbit.
Because there were parts that couldn’t be resolved — things like the relationship with Aslra, and the scroll modification.
Communicating with someone who suffered from social anxiety was bound to be difficult in particular.
But vanguards were vanguards.
People with the ability to create the best results by their own methods.
“Ah, there’s something I forgot to ask.”
A lingering curiosity surfacing, Hanbit turned his gaze to Luna.
“How did you clear the Peria Island quest? It takes a few days.”
“Oh, that?”
Walking alongside him, she pulled out a blue ingot from her inventory.
The Bitter Cold Ingot obtained as a reward.
Luna pointed to the pattern engraved on its surface and said:
“It was sort of like spot-the-difference? So I memorized all the patterns.”
“……All of them?”
“It’s the fastest way?”
The event at the location Hanbit had given information about was a little intricate.
Ice steles with hundreds of varieties of patterns that appeared only when Peria Island became less populated.
The way to clear it was to find the pattern that appeared exactly twice among them.
Normally, the proper approach was to wait for time to pass and the number of options to decrease.
But to think she resolved it by memorizing them.
Inwardly impressed, Hanbit made a suggestion.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to commission a weapon?”
“A weapon commission…… ah, to Kim Jaeha?”
Luna immediately caught the intent.
Hanbit gave a nod and pointed to the ingot.
“The Bitter Cold Ingot is something that can further strengthen the ice attribute. If melted into a sword, a fine effect could be expected.”
“It’s a rank 6 weapon — are you sure? If it fails, everything could be damaged.”
“It’s fine. Jaeha-hyung will do it.”
Hanbit pointed to Kim Jaeha following behind.
The one named, he pointed at himself with a flustered face.
“……You’re telling me to temper a rank 6 weapon?”
“You can do it, hyung.”
“I can’t! It’s still rank 3 Unique for the hidden skill. What if something goes wrong?”
“It’s fine. Trust me trusting you.”
“No, but…….”
-Lol.
-A legendary phrase.
-What happens if it fails?
-???: Who are you?
-Quick to cut ties;
Kim Jaeha is flustered — but it’s a trial he must overcome.
Because his growth will be of great help to Hanbit.
Working on a high-rank weapon would raise proficiency by a large margin as well.
‘Gorik’s eye is sharp and he doesn’t know it.’
Kim Jaeha feeling uneasy is understandable.
But he was not being given an impossible task.
The talent Gorik had acknowledged and the outstanding ability of dwarven metallurgy.
With those combined, good results could certainly be produced.
“I can see the trust. Then shall I formally commission it?”
Luna, stepping close, readily handed over her sword and the Bitter Cold Ingot.
Kim Jaeha, receiving it, let out a sigh.
“Ha……. I’m actually doing this. It’ll be hell if it fails.”
“I’ll take responsibility. Don’t worry.”
“Why would you take it? It’s my responsibility for swinging the hammer.”
At Hanbit’s words, he shook his head with a serious expression.
Somehow giving the feeling of overlapping with Gorik.
“Handle the commission fee yourself. I’m going to go work on this right away.”
Kim Jaeha turned his feet straight toward Edelen.
A stride with what seemed like enthusiasm in it.
In his retreating figure, not a trace of anxiety could be felt.
