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“Would information about this bow skill be difficult? I was thinking of this price range.”
“Come on, that’s too stingy. Why is the daughter of a chaebol family being so cheap?”
The flow of Hansol proposing a condition, and Luna raising objections.
The deal was, roughly, a repetition of this pattern.
‘……The value being offered is way too high.’
Thanks to the Vestige deal, Hanbit had a reference point.
But Yeonhwa Gaming’s side was presenting values that far exceeded that reference.
Of course, that would also be a result of Luna’s involvement.
“I think I may have brought in an industrial spy rather than a sister.”
Having wrapped things up roughly, Hansol let out a sigh and said.
Luna, seated beside Hanbit, leisurely drank her beverage and smiled.
“Dealing with Black Dragon-nim in itself is an enormous opportunity, isn’t it? Don’t have regrets again later — give it your best the first time. First impressions matter.”
“Ha…….”
Hansol exhaled deeply once more, but her expression was bright.
The number of pieces of information traded — five.
The value of items paid in return reached 3 billion won.
The categories were broadly three.
One: Dozens of types of items to be used as crafting and reforging materials for weapons, armor, and magical devices — 1.6 billion won.
Two: Mid-grade elixirs for immediate recovery of health and mana, and consumable items usable by situation — 400 million won.
Three: Five sets of materials for Tower of Vortex entrance tickets — 1 billion won.
All items were things for use inside the Tower of Vortex.
Being able to prepare with items of far greater value than anticipated had raised the target as well.
‘This was something I was going to spend some legwork on.’
The Storm Seed — the most expensive and difficult to obtain among the materials needed for making the entrance ticket.
With no listings currently available, he had been looking into vanguards active in the region where that material could be obtained.
And to think they had secured all of it.
Being able to make five sets including spare — that was a stroke of luck.
“I assumed you would naturally want the investigation team vetting episode walkthrough.”
Having satisfactorily scanned through the list, Hanbit asked Hansol.
The five exchanged pieces of information — content regarding items, skill quests, dungeon clears and the like.
Of course they were of high value considering the ranks — but not a single one was related to an episode.
“Ah — our Yeonhwa Gaming has set the guideline to reset all episodes by following Black Dragon-nim’s path.”
“The whole company?”
“Luna is already doing it too, and there was already considerable disillusionment with the existing walkthroughs. The judgment was that pushing ahead forcefully had no future.”
The decisiveness of Hansol and her affiliated players was remarkable.
Episodes accumulated over as long as two years.
Resetting all of that could not be an easy decision.
Like Luna and Odin — honestly, it was simply impressive.
“Once the Edelen episode is reset, everything behind it stops completely — is that right?”
Hanbit posed a question that had come to mind.
Luna gave a nod and answered:
“Yes. Episode 8 currently in progress on Peria didn’t respond. Resetting Edelen means having to clear everything fresh from the start.”
Raven Kingdom’s story was a complex tangle of many things.
A structure where the earlier narrative could have a minimal influence, or could have enormous ripple effects like a butterfly effect.
For stability’s sake, the later progress halting would be the natural flow.
“Black Dragon-nim, may I ask roughly when you plan to proceed with the next episode?”
Just then, Hansol asked carefully.
Being in a position of needing to wait for Black Dragon’s clear — wanting things to move forward quickly was only natural.
Regrettably, those expectations couldn’t be fully met.
“I am thinking of proceeding today right away, but it would be best to attend to other things for about two weeks. I have some places to visit.”
“Could that perhaps be connected to the items you selected a moment ago?”
The several types of items chosen as the price for the information.
From Hansol’s perspective, finding the connection would be difficult.
“I’m thinking of going to a dungeon-type place. The episode progression will also be different from the existing version, so it might be best to wait and see for a little while.”
“……I’ll keep that in mind.”
With that exchange concluded, the three left the café.
Hansol, standing before the parked car, bowed politely.
“Thank you for today. You explained things so thoroughly that passing the information on to staff should be straightforward.”
“Thank you as well. If there’s anything you need or want to ask, please get in touch.”
Hanbit returned the equally polite farewell and turned his gaze to Luna standing beside him.
It seemed drowsiness was coming on — yawns were following one after another.
Having been awake for nearly 40 hours, feeling tired was only natural.
“The waiting time for the final wave is still ongoing for you, right? Getting some sleep would be good.”
“That’s true. Looks like I need a few hours of sleep.”
Luna yawned once more and shuffled over to the passenger seat.
Having rolled down the window, she said with half-closed eyes:
“See you again next time.”
“Yes, see you next time.”
A brief farewell, and the car departed.
Hanbit, watching that, turned his feet toward home as well.
***
“Got everything I needed.”
Having arrived home, Hanbit finished purchasing the items he had kept an eye on at the trader.
Thanks to what was obtained from Yeonhwa Gaming, the preparations were complete with only modest additional spending.
“The community is in chaos.”
The RPG he had dropped by while searching for information here and there was chaos itself.
Without question, the popular posts were blanketed by the Snow Drake subjugation carried out the previous day.
⟨Breaking) Black Dragon’s raid first-ever Snow Drake subjugation success.⟩
⟨Rank 8 rewards appeared. Lol.⟩
⟨Black Dragon raid detailed info.jpg⟩
⟨Short pattern compilation.⟩
⟨Speculating the next clear raid.⟩
……
The posts that continued endlessly were repetitions of similar content.
Hanbit clicked on the title at the very top.
⟨Breaking) Black Dragon’s raid first-ever Snow Drake subjugation success.⟩
Black Dragon’s raid succeeded in the first-ever subjugation of the Field Boss Snow Drake.
The members consisted of raid leader Black Dragon and 30 or more mid-tier vanguards, with the detailed briefing and on-field orders all provided by Black Dragon……
-Black Dragon actually pulled this off;
-Look at that lineup. Lol.
-If they told me to lead those guys and give commands I’d choose death.
-For real they’d get cussed out nonstop and the raid would fall apart;
└No no — the cussing and falling apart would happen before the raid even formed.
└It doesn’t care about you in the first place.
└?
-But what even is Black Dragon?
└He’s just good at the game.
└Agreed — thought he was purely original novel advantage.
└There are still idiots who believe that. Lol.
-So jealous of the rewards.
-For real Rank 8 is insane;
-He distributed rank 8 heroic material items to the raid members?
-Damn, should’ve gone;
└You?
└Lol;
The article-quoting post’s content was exactly as what had been disclosed through the stream.
The overall flow up to the final explosion scene.
The reward list and episode reset information personally transcribed were even bolded for emphasis.
“Who’s going to succeed next.”
The Snow Drake walkthrough could be run again in one week.
Speculation about what raid could succeed in the second clear was already being exchanged busily.
Even without the ‘first’ title, the prestige and rewards held significant expected value.
Some would probably want to participate with the heart of a challenger.
Shhk—
Hanbit, having checked the time, immediately put on the gear and lay down on the bed.
Hummm—
The game starting to connect along with the machine’s operating sound.
Before him, the sight of the forest outside Ifrit was gradually becoming visible.
“Black Dragon-nim!”
Just then, a voice coming from a short distance away.
Turning his gaze, Avantgarde and Kim Jaeha were approaching.
“Hello. Feels like it’s been a while somehow.”
“I feel the same way! Ah — I was deeply impressed by the Snow Drake subjugation! As expected of Black Dragon-nim. The on-field briefing in particular…….”
Avantgarde, having seemingly watched every stream, rattled off memorable scenes.
Kim Jaeha, watching that, had similar thoughts.
“I was genuinely amazed too. You commanding those vanguards, and then Haemu of all people showing up — I didn’t know what to make of it.”
He had been most surprised by the existence of Haemu.
Certainly even Hanbit found this part remarkable.
“Luck was with us, I’d say. More importantly — Avantgarde, where were you?”
Avantgarde, who had adamantly refused to join the raid saying his strength wouldn’t be helpful.
He had said he had things to do separately and would rejoin once the Snow Drake subjugation was done.
“I visited the site of a collapsed guild in the east end of the Royal Capital. Something like a player-run black market — the entry procedure was quite strict. It seemed like information from hidden locations across the continent was being shared there.”
“A black market?”
An unexpected word — Hanbit asked back with a puzzled expression.
Avantgarde smiled and said:
“Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about directions in which I could be of help to DD Studio. Roper and Kim Jaeha were kind enough to join me in talking it through.”
“What? You were already being of great help…….”
“I appreciate you thinking so, but I felt I fell far short. I can’t simply sit back and ride the bus, enjoying being with Black Dragon-nim. I intend to be of help by drawing on exploration — which is my identity.”
He had been vaguely aware that Avantgarde was thinking something over.
Even just for the Snow Drake subjugation — he had flatly refused saying he wouldn’t be helpful.
He had probably naturally started thinking about his role as the gap in growth levels widened.
Moreover, the path of adventure Avantgarde had walked as a streamer wasn’t his alone.
The viewers who had been watching alongside him all this time.
It was only natural that they too would want their streamer to be active.
“Understood. If there’s anything needed, please make sure to say so.”
“Once the outline takes shape, I’ll let you know the details. Information on undiscovered vanguards and players also circulates there, so I think it will be of help to Black Dragon-nim.”
“That’s…… actually quite interesting.”
Being a player-run black market, the nature of information circulating there seemed different.
If Avantgarde could obtain those through exploration, wouldn’t they be usable in various ways?
“The Tower of Vortex — you can still go as planned, right?”
“Of course. I was so looking forward to it I barely slept.”
The eyes full of curiosity were genuine.
Even if the role changed, raising level and stats was important.
Getting stronger naturally meant fewer restrictions on activities.
Hanbit checked the message that had arrived in his mailbox.
[Edelen — Challenge Dungeon Reward]
[22,381,000 gold]
The first-place reward from the challenge dungeon, distributed every Monday.
No one had yet broken Black Dragon’s record.
“How are you doing, Jaeha-hyung? The proficiency grind must be rough.”
“Thanks to the five million gold you gave me, I’m already Rank 4. But those equipment pieces noted in the message — what were those? They were all so unstable even a slight mistake would’ve meant failure.”
“The metallurgy proficiency rises faster the better the equipment you handle and the more difficult the techniques required. Either way, it’s good that there’s been progress.”
Kim Jaeha’s growth was directly tied to Hanbit’s growth.
Backing him up with maximum support would be best.
“Then I’ll work even harder. So — are we going straight to the tower now?”
He grabbed his hammer as though ready to go.
But there was something to be done before that.
“No. I’m going to start Episode 3 first.”
“The main quest? Isn’t that something you shouldn’t start? If you’re in the tower for two weeks and it’s just left running, won’t it end up a complete mess?”
Kim Jaeha, recalling the episode’s rules, expressed concern.
The main quest’s time flows forcibly from the moment it begins.
Naturally, if one stepped away from it, the story would only conclude in a shambles.
“It seems you have some plan.”
Avantgarde, looking at Hanbit’s composed expression, asked.
As expected from someone with good intuition.
“To put it simply — I’m planning to deliberately ruin this Episode 3.”
“What? Ruin it? Why?”
“That means…….”
Deliberately ruining an episode.
Words no ordinary player would say.
Watching the two’s reactions, Hanbit gave a quiet smile and said:
“The reason is simple. I need to prepare to skip three episodes.”
