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3
-?
-What is this?
-Isn’t this a bug?
-Is it a hack?
Even as the chat speed picked up, it was full of questions.
The window that had appeared for recommendations was now filled with all kinds of icons.
Hanbit looked at Yeonwoo, who had his mouth hanging open, and asked,
“Not three, is it?”
“No, hyung, how did you even do that?”
“I don’t know either.”
-You don’t know?
-Is this some new kind of flex?
-Reporting for now. ㅅㄱ
-Report complete.
The viewers reacted as if they were being toyed with.
“Huh?”
At that moment, Yeonwoo leaned his head close to the broadcast screen.
Then, stuttering, he raised his voice.
“H-h-h-hidden! It’s hidden!”
“Hidden?”
“The glowing icon! This is a hidden skill!”
At his intense reaction, Hanbit examined the list.
A shining icon that had just appeared on the lower rows.
And there wasn’t just one or two of them.
-Crazy. LOL
-Has anyone ever seen a hidden skill pop up in recommendations?
-This is seriously a bug.
-But even if a hidden pops, what can you do? You can’t even get it.
-The fact the list popped at all is the problem, game noob.
The chat suddenly started tearing into each other and fighting.
It seemed the value of something called a hidden skill was quite high.
“Hyung, if you get this, you’ll skyrocket for real!”
“It’s just a recommendation.”
“It’s not just anything! How many icons are there that I’ve never seen before!”
Yeonwoo clenched his fist fervently.
Ignoring that, Hanbit turned his gaze back to the list.
‘They drew these pretty well.’
Even though they were simply depicted, he could guess what each skill was.
Fortunately, they seemed to match the techniques from the other world.
‘What you can get in Edlen… about this much, huh.’
Scanning through the icons, Hanbit made his decision immediately.
Leaving aside his past experiences, this was a game he had stepped into for the first time.
What was the same as the world he knew, and what was different.
What the goddess was trying to pull.
How he could make a lot of money.
To reach answers to these various questions, a foundation for growth was important.
“Let’s start off safe with fire-element magic. Where do we get quests?”
“Huh? You’re going with magic?”
“Why, is it bad?”
“No, not bad, but….”
-Magic?
-Maah-giic?
-Are you a romantic type?
Unexpected reactions came up in the chat.
When Hanbit made a puzzled expression, Yeonwoo scratched his head and said,
“In this game, proficiency is just as important as skills. Building that up with magic is insanely hard.”
“Proficiency?”
“It’s like experience that fills up when you use a skill. You can’t move on to the next skill until it reaches a certain threshold. The problem is, there’s no way to tell how much proficiency you’ve built up.”
“What? Then how do you know the threshold?”
“When proficiency is full, a star appears next to the skill name. Only then do you know it’s filled.”
-It means shut up and grind~
-If Black Dragon is gonna spam the same magic for two months, instant upvote.
-He’ll probably cry and change skills in a few weeks. LOL
“Hm.”
Reading the room, Hanbit roughly understood the situation.
“Is this realism?”
“Realism?”
“…No, just saying it sounds natural.”
No matter what kind of technique it was, learning it required effort.
Hanbit’s own experiences of being thrown into the grinder proved that.
‘Even I took some time at first.’
Needing talent and effort to learn something was only natural.
But when it came to magic, who taught you was even more important.
“Who’s the master? I can choose, right?”
“A master?”
“You have to learn magic directly. You need someone to teach you.”
-?
-New pattern;
-RP’s first written/practical mage exam.
-Next he’ll be getting private lessons. LOL
“Why are they picking a fight again?”
“Hyung!”
As Hanbit pointed at the mocking chat, Yeonwoo hurriedly stopped him.
He pulled up the map and looked through the NPC list.
“The NPC AI is crazy good, but they don’t teach skills directly. Usually, you clear quests and achievements to get skill books. Once you use them, you can naturally use the skill.”
“…Is that so?”
Acquiring techniques had become absurdly convenient compared to the other world.
He almost let slip a “back in my day,” but held it in.
If it had been implemented the same way, most people would’ve quit.
“Anyway, let’s go. We’re heading to the general store, right?”
“Huh? How did you know? You go to the general merchant Julio for fire magic.”
“…Julio? Why go to that bastard?”
“To get the spellbook quest, obviously?”
The two looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
Hanbit spoke in an incredulous voice.
“That guy’s just a scammer.”
“…A scammer?”
“He’s pure trash. The spellbook and everything else he sells are all fake.”
-Julio crying. LOL
-He does look shady, but don’t slander him.
-Scammer NPC (not actually a scammer)
-Provides spellbook (really gives it)
At the firm accusation, mocking chats popped up again one by one.
[Julio has donated 1,000 won.]
[I will sue you for defamation.]
“Thank you for the 1,000 won donation!”
Yeonwoo reacted immediately to the flashing chat.
“What, did we just make money?”
“That’s right. There’s a fee, but still, you made about 500 won too.”
“Oh…….”
-Oh, look at that. LOL
-So cute.
-If he skyrockets with hidden skills, the amount will be different.
-I told you it was just a bug;
-That’s not even his stream to begin with?
The viewer count, now slightly increased to thirty.
Hanbit was quietly impressed.
‘You really can make money.’
He’d been doing nothing but talking, and yet he’d earned 500 won.
That fact felt incredibly novel to him.
He still didn’t fully understand how it worked, though.
“But you said 1,000 won isn’t even money to you?”
“Hey, business is different. You should change your mindset too, hyung. That’s how you can grow big.”
Testing the mindset of a silver spoon got him the answer “business.”
But Hanbit had no intention of changing his own.
“A thousand won is precious to me. If you and a thousand won fell into water, I’d save the thousand won first.”
“Isn’t that too much?”
-LOLLLLLL
-Roper < 1,000 won
-You could assassinate Roper with a meme donation.
At the absurd answer, even Yeonwoo let out a hollow laugh.
Of course, conversations like this were all too familiar to them.
Pointing at the map again, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, Julio’s the only one who gives the fire magic quest. Even if you hate it, let’s hurry.”
“No, wait.”
Hanbit pushed Yeonwoo’s face as he tried to pull his arm.
Then he started looking through the NPC list on the still-open map.
Scroll—
Edlen was a large city, so there were many NPCs.
Scrolling all the way down, Hanbit stopped his hand near the bottom.
[Artsvel]
“Found it.”
“Found what?”
“A magic master.”
“…….”
At the overly confident statement, Yeonwoo was left speechless.
Looking at the chat that had started laughing, he leaned closer and whispered,
“Hyung, that setting isn’t bad, but if you keep it up, they’ll say you’ve gone too far.”
“What setting nonsense.”
Pushing his face away again, Hanbit turned his gaze to the familiar streets.
The paths etched in his mind were more detailed and accurate than the map itself.
“If you don’t believe me, fine. I’ll show you the results.”
“Well, that works for me, but are you really looking for a magic master?”
“Of course.”
-What stubbornness;
-He should find a game master to teach him first. LOL
-For real LOL, who’s Roper gonna teach?
The chat was still full of mockery and criticism.
Among them, the last message caught Hanbit’s eye.
-Spoiler) He’ll flail around like crazy, then go to Julio anyway.
After a brief moment of thought, he looked at the camera and said,
“Then should we go to Julio first?”
“Huh? Really?”
“I said I’d show you the results. I’ll prove he’s a scammer. You’ll acknowledge it too, right?”
-Oh. LOL
-+1 point for not chickening out.
-500 points for training camp meta.
-I’ll give 10,000 won if he’s really a scammer.
“Is that for real? 10,000 won?”
Hanbit pointed directly at the last chat message.
[ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won.]
[ㅇㅇ I’ll really give it. But if he’s not a scammer, do an idol girl dance.]
“I’m fine with that.”
Even with the condition to dance, Hanbit nodded readily.
If they were giving 10,000 won for free, there was no reason to refuse.
“This’ll be fun.”
Yeonwoo was already imagining Hanbit dancing.
Enough that he wanted to clip it and tease him with it every day.
“Then we’re going to Julio, right? I’ll show you the way—”
“That’s enough. Just follow me.”
Hanbit ruffled his hair and went ahead.
The feeling was like walking a hometown road, and his steps were impossibly light.
“Huh? This way?”
When he suddenly turned into an alley, Yeonwoo asked.
“Just come.”
Hanbit kept moving, weaving through alley after alley.
And after a while, they arrived at a general store on the main road.
‘…Wow, it’s exactly the same.’
The shop’s appearance was recreated to a ridiculous degree of perfection.
Inside, visible through the window, stood the shop owner.
[General Merchant Julio]
Rather than the name above his head, Hanbit focused on his appearance.
The greedy face and the jewels plastered all over his clothes.
It matched exactly how Julio had looked when Hanbit first saw him in the other world.
Crack—
At the sight of that face, his fist clenched reflexively.
The day he was imprisoned for the first time in his life.
He couldn’t forget the horrific memory of falling into that bastard’s trap.
“How’s interaction in this game?”
“Interaction?”
“You know, in games, like not being able to mess with NPCs freely.”
“Oh, if you mean freedom, don’t worry. It’s faster to find what you can’t do. You’ll just suffer the consequences if it affects game progression.”
“Is that so?”
-The freedom is seriously busted.
-Freedom comes with responsibility.
-For real, there are people who got permanently banned.
-Heard there are lots who got thrown in prison. LOL
-Some even got their quests completely blocked.
Looking at the viewers’ chat, he got the rough idea.
In short, if you were confident, go ahead and try.
Opening the shop door, Hanbit walked inside.
“Welcome.”
The owner, Julio, stood up politely.
Even that fabricated smile was accurately reproduced to the point of disgust.
“You still living like this here too? You piece of trash.”
“Pardon? How could you say such a thing….”
-Crazy. LOL
-Surprise insult;
-Did the AI bug out? LOL
When he couldn’t hold back the curse, Julio was flustered.
NPC AI was something Hanbit didn’t know much about, but he’d heard it was quite advanced.
If this world was brought over exactly, then the personality and tendencies would be the same too.
“You said you’d give out a spellbook?”
“Ah, you were looking for a spellbook.”
At the mention of a spellbook, Julio’s expression returned to normal.
Looking through the display shelves, he continued with a regretful look.
“I’m very sorry. It seems the last one was sold just a moment ago.”
He stepped closer to Hanbit.
Then, smiling, he said,
“It’s not quite the same, but I can introduce you to a shop instead. In exchange, would you do me a small favor?”
“A favor?”
“Yes. While I was dozing off, a thief broke in. Judging by this, it seems to be the work of a rival merchant called Artsvel. I would like you to go catch him together.”
Julio took out a small brooch.
On its back was a pattern like a signature.
Ding—
At the same time, an alarm rang in his ears.
A hologram window appeared next, lines of text filling it.
[Quest]
Julio’s money pouch has been stolen.
Use the discovered evidence to catch the culprit.
Objective: Apprehend the general merchant Artsvel.
Reward: 100 gold, introduction letter for Fireball Spellbook (Rank 1 – Normal), 50 experience
Time Limit: None
