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chapter 24
“You’re telling me to look at that crap?”
“I’m sorry.”
Fourth floor of an old building near Jongno, Seoul.
In a corner conference room, Kim Jaeha had his head bowed deeply.
“Sorry my ass. I told you to get at least one thing right, and you can’t even manage one damn thing.”
Lee Hojung, the department head spewing curses in front of him, was someone the CEO had personally brought in.
Apparently a college junior who had worked quite a while in the game industry.
“You should’ve been fired and kicked out back then. Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve caused this company?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Aren’t you sick of saying sorry? You’re only good at causing trouble. Absolutely useless.”
Four years ago.
When Kim Jaeha joined this small trading company, he was full of passion.
About two years later, a game called RP was released, and not long after, a decision came down from the CEO.
“We’re going to start working in RP too, so for now, three of you get on it. Kim Jaeha, you’re definitely in.”
Having talked endlessly about RP ever since it was announced, Kim Jaeha began the new assignment that way.
Thanks to the team running better than expected, they were able to generate profits in various directions.
However, that joy didn’t last long.
“What? Dwarven Metallurgy? Isn’t that a hidden?”
While exploring the snowfields, Kim Jaeha stumbled upon an achievement and reported it to the department head.
Both the name and the contents of the achievement clearly looked different from ordinary metallurgy.
“Yes. But there are many uncertainties, and it could turn into a long-term effort. Selling this information to other companies would be much better—”
“What are you scared of, you idiot! If we get this properly, our company name will be plastered all over the world!”
The department head made the decision on his own and quickly reported it to the CEO.
No one knew exactly what was said, but the changes happened immediately.
“Pull as many people as possible and stick them all here!”
At the CEO’s command, the employees came together and the hidden skill project began.
If they really managed to obtain it, this skill alone would surely put them on the road to success.
“Competitors are moving in! Dig up all the other routes too!”
But reality was ruthless.
Every attempt at finding the hidden skill ended in failure.
In the end, all sorts of companies that caught wind of it joined in, and even the advantage of being the first discoverer gradually faded.
“Everyone, drop it.”
The project that had dragged on for about three months ended with a single sentence from the CEO.
Having gained nothing at all, all the effort and investment up to that point vanished completely into thin air.
The absurd part was that none of the other competitors had obtained the hidden skill either.
“You were so damn confident! Do you know how much money we burned?”
The CEO hurled the documents onto the floor and glared at Kim Jaeha.
Flustered, he couldn’t say a word, but the department head stepped forward.
“I’m sorry. I should have coordinated things better, but Jaeha was so certain it would work—”
“What? Sir, what are you talking about—!”
“Will you shut up? What right do you have to raise your voice! The CEO trusted you and backed you so much!”
Kim Jaeha understood the situation perfectly.
That the department head had been dumping all responsibility onto him this entire time.
And so Kim Jaeha instinctively realized the reality he was facing.
“…I’m sorry.”
The only thing he could say was an apology.
If he hadn’t discovered the achievement.
If he had reported directly to the CEO from the start.
If he had somehow stopped the department head’s reckless push.
The situation could clearly have been different.
Even a chain of self-blame settled into a corner of his heart.
“Hey, what are you spacing out for?”
The department head’s irritated voice snapped Kim Jaeha out of his recollections.
He wanted to punch him once and quit on the spot, but the weight of being a breadwinner was heavy.
“What happened with that Black Dragon and Roper? Did you even exchange words? They’re the ones who got the hidden skill!”
“It’s still difficult for now, but I organized methods for making contact in the report. Please review it.”
“Review my ass. Is throwing company money into a stream for free your idea of a method?”
The report in his hand was already crumpled beyond recognition.
The department head’s expression looked as if he were staring at a disgusting bug.
Suppressing his anger, Kim Jaeha spoke.
“It’s not free—it’s an investment. Black Dragon likely has much more information.”
“Investment, my ass. You need something in your hands to call it an investment. You want to burn a million won just to pop up a single message?”
“Other companies are already donating, and Black Dragon seemed to be watching with interest. If we miss this now—”
“Hey, Kim Jaeha.”
The department head cut him off mid-explanation.
Stepping right up to him, he poked his stomach with the report and said,
“Cut the bullshit and go make contact in person. Dance, put on a show, whatever—move your body. Got it?”
“…Understood.”
“You’re real good at answering, I’ll give you that.”
Bang—!
Irritation flaring, he threw the papers onto the floor.
“Useless bastard.”
With those words, the department head left the conference room.
Head lowered, Kim Jaeha could only clench his trembling fists.
***
“There’s still so many.”
Back in Edlen, Hanbit sighed as he looked at the players still swarming around.
Seeing how everyone was turning their gaze this way, they must have been constantly checking the stream.
“Hyung, you’re doing the main quest now, right?”
Walking beside him, Yeonwoo asked with eyes full of anticipation.
The viewers felt the same way.
-Are you going to break the main quest too?
-Nope, not a chance.
-Even if you know everything, you still have to do it all step by step.
-Still, the Bares bus was sweet, right?
-That Bares is actually……
-Hey, no spoilers.
The chat was flooded with story talk.
The name that kept coming up there—Bares.
A man he had a lot to say about, but he had no intention of entering the story just yet.
“Let’s do the story tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You still have to go to work, don’t you?”
“Oh.”
-It was 2 a.m. already;
-Time really melted away.
-Why even go to work?
-Unemployed 1 win.
-My commute’s screwed too.
After checking the time, neither Yeonwoo nor the viewers could argue.
The schedule from getting off work to obtaining the hidden skill had somehow reached the early morning.
The time wasted because of Rashten’s greed felt especially regretful.
“Guess it can’t be helped. Are you logging off the game now?”
“No, I’m going to put some points into stats.”
“Huh? Really?”
At the welcome news, Yeonwoo brightened.
He’d been secretly waiting to see when Hanbit would finally allocate his stats.
“How many points do you have? A ton, right?”
“Hold on.”
Hanbit immediately pulled up his character information.
[Black Dragon – Lv.16]
[Title: None]
Strength: 4
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 4
Vitality: 4
Remaining stat points: 51
“…No, seeing it like this, it really makes no sense. What are these numbers?”
-Level 16 with 51 points. LOL
-Isn’t being level 16 already insane? LOL
-Did he grind during off-stream?
-Nope, quest rewards were just cracked.
[작업장 님 has donated 1,000 won.]
[This is kind of…….]
The viewers were stunned by the unbelievable numbers.
Yeonwoo, who had been standing there with his mouth open, suddenly changed his expression.
“But why did you keep saving them? If you’d put some into stats, clearing skill quests would’ve been easier.”
“Just… I was thinking about where to use them.”
Hanbit gave a vague answer.
But the reality behind it was far more complex.
‘I don’t gamble for no reason.’
The four skills he learned in Edlen.
They were the first step toward adaptation.
It was like reviving the old sensations from when he used to master techniques with the weakest body.
Since stats affected physical ability, they had to be avoided at least in the early stages.
And there was one more important matter.
‘Data collection is almost done too.’
The RP gear-related work Lee Minho had taken on.
When Hanbit offered to help, he received a USB from him.
It contained a special program developed by the R&D department.
Apparently, it automatically recorded detailed data based on an RP player’s actions.
And one of the key elements that needed to be checked was how movement changed according to stats.
“Good thing you made it this far, but… anyway, if you dump everything into one stat, the difference would be insane, right? If it’s a wind spirit, is it agility? Should we check?”
Yeonwoo’s interest shifted in another direction.
Looking at the stats, Hanbit moved his finger toward the + button next to Strength.
Beep—
The number went up.
Strength had changed to 5.
“No, hyung! Why would you put it there right away!”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Total noob move.
-Brain-empty issue.
-Isn’t agility the obvious choice?
-Agreed.
Yeonwoo and the viewers were convinced it was a wrong choice.
But there were things that needed to be checked, for data collection as well.
“Wait.”
Clench—
Hanbit had been gripping the sword hilt continuously since earlier.
Focusing on the sensation, he nodded.
‘So it’s about this much.’
The change in grip strength the moment Strength increased by 1.
Most players wouldn’t be able to sense such a tiny difference, but Hanbit was different.
How many times had he swung a sword over fifty-five regressions?
Compared to gradually training his body day after day, this was a drastic change.
Beep—
Beep—
Hanbit invested one point into each of the other stats, observing the differences.
Agility, Intelligence, Vitality—each showed changes subtle but clear enough to notice.
‘…This might actually work.’
The peak he had reached in the other world.
In reality, it would take decades at minimum to build that body.
But in this game, where stats created change, that time could be overwhelmingly shortened.
No—perhaps he could reach an even higher realm.
“Hyung! Wait a second!”
As he touched every stat, Yeonwoo panicked and tried to stop him.
He must have really wanted him to dump everything into one stat.
“Isn’t there anyone who spreads them evenly?”
“There are, sure. But hyung got a hidden skill, so it’s only natural to match it!”
Yeonwoo’s pleading voice rang out desperately.
But when it came to Wind Swordsmanship, Hanbit knew best.
Of course, showing once was better than explaining a hundred times.
“I’ll show you. See it with your own eyes.”
