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chapter 37
After leaving the underground waterway, Hanbit headed straight for the guild.
Ria, who returned to the slums, didn’t say a single word even when they parted.
“By the way, she can see you, right?”
As he walked, Hanbit asked Yeonwoo, who was filming.
Catching the intent of the question, Yeonwoo nodded.
“She can see me, but I probably have no presence. The story progresses entirely based on you as the party leader. Since I don’t intervene, my contribution drops close to zero.”
“…Does the main quest really clear like that?”
“It does clear, even if the rewards are almost nothing. It’s just a method people normally never choose.”
Yeonwoo wasn’t particularly interested in growing his game character.
His head had long since been filled with company matters, Hanbit’s stream, filming, and so on.
“Well, as long as you’re okay with it.”
“Of course I am. You have no idea how fun it is to watch everything firsthand from the side. If I edit this well, the views will be insane……”
Yeonwoo excitedly rattled on.
He seemed to be enjoying the current situation more than expected.
“Let’s go in.”
Arriving at the guild, Hanbit stepped inside.
At the reception desk, Miel was trimming her nails as usual.
“Miel.”
“Ah, just a moment.”
After finishing up, she turned her gaze toward him.
Thanks to the firefly flower he’d given her before, her response was quick.
“You came to change your request, right? This time, go with the one I recommend.”
Without even asking why he’d come, Miel reached her own conclusion.
She assumed he was giving up on the difficult dungeon request.
“I finished the request. Check it.”
Thud—
Hanbit placed an item obtained from the Elder Goblin onto the table.
It was the Goblin Spirit Necklace, a Rank 3 Unique item.
“……?”
Momentarily frozen, Miel slowly lowered her gaze.
Recognizing the item instantly, her eyes widened.
“What is this? Why is an Elder Goblin’s drop here?”
“Clearing the dungeon was the request. The boss where I went was an Elder Goblin.”
“No, that dungeon is a D-rank solo dungeon! I told you again and again to avoid dangerous places!”
Miel shouted, her voice mixed with shock and anger.
Even if his skill didn’t match that of a rookie adventurer, a D-rank solo dungeon was another matter entirely.
Because of the brutal condition that required entering alone, its difficulty was absurdly high.
It was the kind of place where, if you died inside, not even your corpse could be recovered.
“But I didn’t die and cleared it just fine. Either way, the request succeeded, right?”
“Well, yes, but…….”
There was no need to debate whether the request was a success.
The Goblin Spirit Necklace was something only the person who personally killed an Elder Goblin could obtain.
It couldn’t be bought, nor was there any other way to acquire it.
“Oh, and this too.”
Hanbit handed her the white piece of cloth obtained from the underground waterway.
“…What’s this now? It has the Holy Nation’s flag on it.”
“Show it to the guild master. He’s upstairs right now, isn’t he?”
“He is, but if you say it like you’re asking me to show it to some neighborhood uncle, I’m in trouble. He’s the guild master, you know.”
Not knowing the full situation, Miel reacted naturally.
The guild master was someone even the city’s mayor couldn’t boss around freely.
Even having a simple conversation with him wasn’t easy.
Slip—
Hanbit took another firefly flower out of his inventory.
“Either way, it’s hard for you to evaluate my adventurer rank yourself, right? While reporting, just show him this too. You don’t even have to say anything—just show it.”
“…Fine. Just this once.”
Snatching the flower, Miel let out a deep sigh.
She stood up, took the cloth, and went up the stairs behind the desk.
A short while later, she came back down with a robust human man.
“Did you bring this?”
The low, resonant voice asking the question stirred nostalgia in Hanbit.
‘It’s been a while, Cowen.’
Hanbit called the man’s name in his mind.
Cowen, the guild master of Edlen.
Even among his fifty-five regressions, he’d worked closely with Cowen many times.
The trials and errors they went through solving Edlen’s problems alone were countless.
“Yes. I brought it.”
“…Hmm.”
Standing before him, Cowen focused his gaze as if trying to read Hanbit’s insides.
In his hand was the white piece of cloth.
“I heard you found this in the underground waterway. Why were you there?”
“A kid’s cat ran off there. Plona and Ria… though you probably wouldn’t know them. Anyway, it’s a slum issue.”
“…….”
When the two girls’ names came up, Cowen tapped the reception desk lightly with his finger.
It was a small habit he had when deep in thought.
After a brief silence, he took something out.
“Place your hand here.”
A silver card lay on the desk.
When Hanbit placed his hand on it, a soft light emanated.
“From now on, you are an adventurer of this guild. Requests and achievements you complete through the guild can be viewed via this card at any guild elsewhere. Your adventurer rank is… D-rank.”
-Starting at D-rank already?
-Why am I F-rank?
-I was F-rank too;
-Newbies should just jump straight into challenge dungeons.
-New death zone unlocked.
Adventurer ranks started at F.
That challenge dungeons could bump you straight to D was something Hanbit had experienced firsthand.
It was a useful form of identification worth keeping.
Ding—
[Main Quest #2 has been completed.]
[You have received 500 gold.]
[Experience has increased by 200.]
[Progress has increased.]
The main quest was finally complete.
It felt like he’d taken a long detour, but the sub-quest results and settlement still remained.
“Follow me.”
With a low voice, Cowen went up to the second floor.
Hanbit followed after him with Yeonwoo.
“This fast to the guild master…… is this right?”
Yeonwoo was surprised at how early the guild master appeared.
In the original main story, you had to pile up quite a few requests first, so his reaction was natural.
Click—
Cowen entered the room at the very end of the corridor.
Hanbit stepped inside as well.
“Sit.”
At Cowen’s gesture, Hanbit took the chair across from him.
It always felt like an interrogation room.
“Do you wonder why I changed locations?”
“It’s obvious. Because it’s a conversation that’s hard to have with others listening.”
“A difficult conversation… indeed.”
Lowering his gaze slightly, Cowen fell silent.
Then he met Hanbit’s eyes again.
“You know this belongs to the Holy Nation, don’t you?”
“I know. It’s cloth used to make the faithfuls’ combat uniforms. The problem is that it shouldn’t be found inside Edlen.”
“Hm.”
At the more detailed answer, Cowen stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Still, it wasn’t enough to reveal his hidden main point.
“Why did you tell me to look at this? Was there something you wanted?”
“You’re one of the people most sensitive to danger in Edlen. At the very least, I want to protect the people I’ve gotten to know here.”
“People you’ve gotten to know?”
“The kids from the slums I mentioned earlier—Ria and Plona. Friends like Artsvel the general store owner. I’ve had a few chances to help them, so we’ve grown close.”
“…….”
The names he listed sincerely.
Cowen remained expressionless, but his eyes didn’t fool Hanbit.
When Ria’s name came up, his pupils wavered the most.
“What do you think? Doesn’t this seem too suspicious to ignore?”
“…If Holy Nation combat personnel have infiltrated, it’s hard to gauge the level of danger. Further confirmation is necessary.”
Cowen’s atmosphere shifted as he spoke.
Closing his eyes briefly, then opening them, he met Hanbit’s gaze.
“Adventurer Black Dragon, I will issue you a request. The objective is to infiltrate the underground waterway and uncover suspicious evidence. This matter will remain strictly verbal.”
Ding—
[Sub-Quest #3 has been completed.]
[Sub-Quest settlement has been completed.]
[You have received 250,000 gold.]
[8 stat points have been awarded.]
[Experience has increased by 20,000.]
[You have leveled up by 1.]
[1 stat point has been awarded.]
[The branching point of the main quest has been reset.]
[The total rewards of the main quest have been greatly increased.]
[Progress has greatly increased.]
[Main Quest #3: Trust]
The possibility of Holy Nation combatants infiltrating has been discovered.
To earn Cowen’s trust, you must carry out the request.
Objective: Search the underground waterway and collect evidence.
Reward: 80,000 gold, 40,000 EXP, 4 stat points
*Current progress: 28 percent
-Whoa;
-28 percent on the third main quest?
-Are those rewards for real?
-What does “branch reset” even mean?
-A whole new route opened up;
-All existing guides are obsolete.
-Fuck, I’ve lost consciousness.
Viewers were thrown into chaos by the barrage of messages.
Hanbit, who had designed this rapid progression, nodded in quiet satisfaction.
‘From here on, it’s important too.’
Cowen’s request contained many layers.
Beyond simply finding evidence, he needed to instill trust—prove that he was on the same side.
Standing up, Hanbit spoke to Cowen.
“Alright. I’ll head out immediately.”
***
Leaving the guild, Hanbit stopped on a quiet street.
Yeonwoo had hurried off to the restroom.
‘My weapon’s a bit of an issue.’
The standard sword he’d gotten when learning swordsmanship.
It had been fine so far, but its lack of performance was unavoidable.
Once the gold came in on Monday, maybe buying gear from another player wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Of course, that depended on how much the accumulated entry fees ended up being.
‘Let’s check the situation.’
Curious about the number of challenge dungeon challengers, Hanbit tried to access the community.
Just as he moved his finger with anticipation—
Swoosh—
A large shadow suddenly fell across the ground.
Reacting instinctively, Hanbit drew his sword and took a defensive stance.
Clang—!
A sharp metallic crash.
Behind him stood a hulking man wielding a greatsword.
-?
-Shit, that startled me.
-Who’s that?
-What the hell.
“Hup!”
The man grabbed Hanbit’s arm and began pushing forward with force.
Grrrk—!
Any attempt to resist was easily crushed.
He could feel it naturally—the clear difference in stats.
Hoo—!
Increasing his speed, the man shoved Hanbit all the way into a corner alley.
While blocking to minimize damage, Hanbit reached out toward the man’s face.
“Fire Burst!”
Kaboom—!
“Gah!”
Blinded by flames, the man reflexively let go.
Hanbit immediately leapt toward the rooftop.
Whoosh—!
A sharp metallic object flew toward him midair.
Twisting his body, he narrowly avoided it.
Clang—!
With a crisp sound, an arrow embedded itself into the wall.
The tip was coated in blue liquid.
“Wow, shit, you dodged that?”
A short-haired human man stood on another rooftop.
Above his head floated the nickname ‘Trigger.’
“What’s that?”
Looking closely, he saw two thin red lines next to the nickname.
The same was true for the greatsword wielder.
At a glance, it felt bad.
-Those guys are from the Nesto guild;
-Why is a PK guild here?
-Info) Red lines stack the more PK you do.
-Two lines isn’t named-tier, but they’re all lunatics.
Chat poured in immediately.
At the absurd information, Hanbit blurted out,
“PK guild?”
