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150
“Recruiting Snow Drake raid members?”
At the headquarters of Guild Galaxy near Raven’s Royal Capital.
A guild member seated in the conference room asked with puzzlement.
“Yeah. A post went up on Astra and I’m thinking of applying.”
A human with a kind-looking face conveying the decision while looking at everyone.
It was vanguard Odin.
“Is that the raid floating around in the RPG community? The one Luna is putting together?”
Vanguard Prizia, a woman listening to the conversation alongside them, asked.
Since she wasn’t a member of Astra, she hadn’t heard the details.
“I can’t say much. It said the specific conditions shouldn’t be disclosed.”
“Even without you saying anything, it’s already all out there. The condition is handing over the main rewards entirely to Black Dragon, right? So Black Dragon must be the raid leader, and doing the reward distribution personally?”
“Th, the rewards entirely?”
“Does that even make sense?”
Guild members who hadn’t known the contents widened their eyes in surprise.
The man before them was vanguard Odin.
A player with talent that could be counted on one hand in all of RP.
The sight of someone like that clearing a boss under Black Dragon’s lead was absurd even just to imagine.
“Think about your position a little. At the very least, negotiate with Black Dragon — or even Luna.”
“My position is just that of a player. Forming Guild Galaxy was ultimately to gather people who enjoy RP together. I have no intention of attaching authoritarian value to that.”
Odin shook his head firmly.
Prizia, having expected that reaction, let out a sigh and said:
“Ha. The fact that every word you say is genuine gives me such a headache.”
The sincere man before her had been with her from the very start of this game.
They say position shapes the person, but the more Odin’s name spread, the more he lowered his head.
That said — did he show a deflated lack of confidence?
That was also not the case.
Because Odin was someone who enjoyed growing stronger and took pride in the effort and the results.
A man fit to be the head of a guild without any shortcoming.
“How does Odin end up doing volunteer work.”
“We get to have the Ifrit episode reset opportunity, don’t we? Even without that — Black Dragon’s information helped us clear the restricted area, so contributing back is right.”
“……As you say.”
A resigned Prizia shook her head.
Because there was no overturning Odin’s decisions anyway.
“I’m opposed, senior.”
Just then, a large-framed man who had been quietly listening spoke in a low voice.
“The head of Galaxy being treated like that doesn’t make sense. In the first place, it would be impossible for that raid to even be put together. A vanguard with self-respect would never go under a regular player, don’t you think?”
“Helbert, don’t just say things like that. No one has the right to diminish another person.”
Odin pointed out the guild member’s mistake with a firm voice.
The man, having received that gaze, quickly composed himself and said:
“I apologize. That was a thoughtless remark.”
“Thank you for understanding. And the raid will come together completely. I’m not the only one who wants to participate there.”
“What? You know which vanguards have applied? Astra members would likely be mid-tier and above…….”
The surprised man asked with wide eyes.
But Odin gave a quiet smile and rose from his seat.
“You’ll see when the time comes.”
***
“Odin applied too.”
A brief meeting conducted with the broadcast audio off.
Luna, continuing to select applicants, suddenly spoke.
Unlike with Haemu, the reaction was composed.
“Odin?”
“You saw the restricted area interview, right? The personality that comes through there — exactly that. Probably something like wanting to repay a debt to Black Dragon.”
“……Ah.”
The kind-natured atmosphere that had come through in the interview contents.
Even going so far as to apply for the raid — he felt like someone worth having an actual conversation with.
“That should be about right. The standard for a field boss raid is usually 30 people, so for now I’ve selected 22. Raphina seemed to be looking into it as well.”
Having checked for a few more minutes, Luna wrapped up the rough raid composition.
Twenty-five in total, including Hanbit, Luna, and Raphina.
It seemed she had also selected reserve members in case of changes.
For reference, Avantgarde adamantly refused to participate in the raid, saying his strength wouldn’t be helpful.
He had things to do separately, apparently — he would join up once the Snow Drake subjugation was done.
“Thank you. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed — thanks to Luna, the raid came together without trouble.”
“It’s nothing, really. I’m just glad there were a lot of decent people who applied.”
Having transferred the list, she sent Hanbit a message.
Most were names he had encountered while going through the information.
‘Mars?’
The shield-bearing vanguard encountered at the Snow Drake’s fortress.
Someone who had been caught up in Hanbit’s plan — but hadn’t seemed like the type to hold a grudge.
‘Blood…… isn’t here.’
Vanguard Blood, who had been acting together with Mars.
The last sight of her was charging furiously at Hanbit.
Had she not applied for this raid?
Or had she been filtered out because of that personality?
“But are you really alright with Haemu?”
Luna expressed her concern one more time.
A person evidently difficult to pin down — but handling was not a problem.
As long as they participated in the raid.
“Even with the Snow Drake coming out in a weakened state, an independently dominant vanguard is absolutely necessary. As I mentioned — whatever occurs during the subjugation, I’ll be able to handle it.”
“That does sound like it would be interesting in its own way, but…… they’ll be about twice as strange as you’re anticipating, so keep that in mind. More importantly, it’s about time, isn’t it?”
Luna checked her watch and wrapped up.
It was exactly 30 minutes since leaving the sword.
“Stay here. I’ll be out quickly.”
Hanbit went back inside the building and headed to workshop number 15.
Inside, Kim Jaeha, having finished tidying up, was waiting with the sword in hand.
“That was fast.”
“It was just melting in the spirit stone. But the stats overall did go up a bit. Seems it also has qualities of a mineral.”
“Is that so?”
At the unexpected news, Hanbit examined the sword that had been handed over.
[Masterwork Sword — Pflüger’s Soul, Touched by Cold]
Rank: 5
Grade: Epic
Equip Restriction: Bound to Owner
Options
— Durability 98
— Skill Efficiency 95
— Mana Conductivity 98
— Spirit Resonance 127
— Cold Attribute Enhancement 100
— Cold Attribute Resistance 100
— All Stats +10%
— Can grow through reforging
— Rank and grade evolution possible
Description: An unfinished sword into which the blacksmith Pflüger poured everything.
……
The solid spirit stone containing the power of earth raises the sword’s performance and greatly increases resonance with spirits.
-Options are
-Gnome gave good stuff.
-Earth spirit…… gotta contract, right?
-How do you even do that;
-Meanwhile Spirit Resonance rose by 70. Lol.
-When are you turning the sound back on……
-Bear with it.
The spirit stone received from Gnome was a good material in many ways.
The nature of the spirit must have been too dense for Kim Jaeha to apply further force.
But properly melting this into the sword was something different from an ordinary blacksmith.
“Thanks, hyung. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Nothing to thank me for. Hurry and get some good materials and bring them. I’ll make it even better.”
One goal Kim Jaeha had set after obtaining dwarven metallurgy.
It was to make Black Dragon’s sword the best sword in RP.
Still showing a lack of confidence due to the low rank and insufficient experience, but the resolve was clear.
“A fun material should be coming in before long. I’ll ask again then.”
“I’ll be waiting. I’m going to get some sleep, so if anything comes up, call.”
“Good work. Go rest quickly.”
With that conversation concluded, Kim Jaeha’s character disappeared.
Having opened the mailbox, Hanbit attached 5 million gold and sent it to him.
Along with a note to use it for purchasing equipment and materials for honing the metallurgy.
Coming out of the workshop, he stepped back outside the building.
Luna was still leaning her back against the wall, checking the list.
“I’m thinking of finishing the rest of the subjugation preparations — what would you like to do, Luna?”
“I’ll help too. The Ifrit progress is stalled and I have time.”
“Are you sure? A vanguard’s time seems to carry an enormous amount of value.”
“Ah, that?”
At the question brought up recalling the Vestige conversation, Luna also caught the intent.
She shrugged and answered:
“The expected value is high, but it depends on how it’s used. At heart, I’m basically a vanguard without an affiliation.”
“……Aren’t you with Yeonhwa Gaming? I heard your older sister is the CEO.”
“It’s just loosely bundled by family ties. Like I mentioned before — if that CEO contacts you, just ignore them.”
Luna, advising with a mischievous smile.
Since Hanbit had his messages redirected to Yeonwoo again, all contact would go there.
If there was anything worth hearing, he would let him know.
“Then could I hear a little about the selected raid members?”
“Of course. I’ll go through them one by one.”
“Thank you. Eyes are watching — let’s move somewhere first.”
Hanbit said, glancing at the players hovering around them.
Those who had been standing at a distance had now closed in to within earshot.
“Should we just do it over a call?”
“A call?”
“There are sharp-eared rats too. I’ll send you my number — please give me a call from there.”
Leaving those words, Luna simply logged out.
It was true that having the raid member information leak out in advance wasn’t good.
Because acceptance and rejection would be finalized based on the members already decided.
Especially the accepted vanguards would be all over the community all day.
Having turned the audio on, Hanbit said to the viewers:
“Looks like I’ll need to head out early today. I’ll prepare the subjugation well and come back tomorrow night.”
-What?
-No you won’t.
-This is because of those watching pests?
-Should I find them and give them a piece of my mind?
-Trust only us.
The anger of viewers who had caught on to the wariness of surrounding players was boiling.
Not wrong — but continuing to stream with the audio off for an extended time was also strange.
“I’m really leaving because there’s a lot to prepare. See you tomorrow.”
-Bye.
-Dragon bye.
-Ordering chicken tomorrow.
-The subjugation should be super entertaining.
-Get ready to be impressed.
-Bye bye bye.
Leaving behind the flooding chat, Hanbit ended the game.
Having memorized the number in the arrived message, he immediately called Luna.
The default ringtone going for a moment.
Words reached him through the phone speaker.
(This is Black Dragon, right?)
Luna’s voice was somehow a little higher in tone.
“Yes. Thank you for taking the time.”
(You never miss your manners. My father would like you.)
Words delivered with an amused-sounding laugh.
The fact that that father was Yeonhwa Group’s chairman — still felt unreal even thinking about it now.
“I’m the one receiving help, so proper manners are a must. Shall we start right away?”
(We have all the time in the world — let’s chat a bit first. Do you ever wonder whether Yeonhwa Group’s chairman licks the lid of his yogurt? That kind of thing.)
“……The yogurt lid?”
An out-of-the-blue quiz about her own father.
Somehow, he found himself slightly curious.
“I’d guess he doesn’t?”
(The answer is ‘he does.’ Apparently when unni tried to throw it away, he made this serious face.)
A random tidbit starting off small talk that continued.
Not a single word had anything to do with the game.
(This is more fun than I expected.)
Only after nearly 30 minutes did the small talk wrap up.
A satisfied-sounding Luna sent over a video link and said:
(Shall we start with the first raid member then?)
