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chapter 53
“Avantgarde?”
The familiar name made him search his memory.
Then several donations and the viewers’ reactions flashed through his mind.
“Ah, you’re the one who donates often, right?”
“You remember me! Yes, I’m that Avantgarde!”
He expressed his joy in a booming voice.
Naturally, the surrounding gazes gathered on them.
“I’d appreciate it if you could lower your voice a bit. I don’t really want to advertise that I’m a streamer.”
“Ah, sorry. I got too excited on my own.”
Avantgarde scratched his head apologetically.
“You’re here again today?”
The clerk greeted him as if he were a regular.
It seemed he visited this store often.
“Of course! And I even got the fortune of meeting Black Dragon like this!”
Perhaps too excited, Avantgarde’s voice grew loud again.
Hanbit quickly put his card back into his wallet and said,
“The payment’s finished, right?”
“Ah, yes! We deliver the product to your home at your convenience.”
“Then please set it for 3 o’clock.”
“Understood. And also, um…….”
The clerk, who had been writing quickly, discreetly took out a piece of paper and a pen from somewhere.
Then, in a small voice, she said,
“If it’s not too much trouble, could I get your autograph?”
“…An autograph?”
The completely unexpected request flustered him.
He wasn’t a celebrity, nor was he famous enough to be asked for autographs.
“I’ve been watching since you got the hidden skill. I’m a real fan, so if it’s… difficult?”
“Ah…….”
It was hard to refuse such a sincere request.
The problem was that Hanbit didn’t have an autograph to begin with.
‘Should I just write that?’
After thinking for a moment, he recalled something.
A signature he had consistently used in another world where regression, possession, and reincarnation repeated.
The characters themselves were from that world, but it didn’t matter if people couldn’t read them.
Rather, since it wouldn’t overlap with anyone else’s, it might be a good choice.
“I’ll do it.”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
As he took the pen, the clerk thanked him happily.
Hanbit smoothly drew the familiar signature on the paper, guided by muscle memory.
“Wow, is this Black Dragon’s autograph? It’s really unique.”
The clerk, watching up close, said with sparkling eyes.
Since it was practically closer to a symbol than letters, it was bound to look fascinating to others.
“Hyung, what’s going on?”
At that moment, Yeonwoo and his mother, who had been looking at gear, came over to the counter.
Their gazes naturally fell on the autograph on the paper.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Did you write that?”
Yeonwoo voiced his curiosity, and his mother recognized her son’s handwriting.
The habit of drawing circular symbols had never changed, even in that world.
Hanbit decided to get out of there quickly.
“Then we’ll be going. Please send the item safely.”
“Of course! Good luck on your stream today! I’ll be looking forward to it!”
“…Thank you.”
Hearing a viewer’s encouragement in real life felt strangely awkward.
Were all those people causing chaos in chat actually ordinary people outside?
“So, what really happened?”
Once they were outside the store, Yeonwoo asked again.
Avoiding his gaze, Hanbit replied awkwardly,
“…The clerk recognized me as Black Dragon and asked for an autograph.”
“See? Mom told you it would happen. Your face is exactly the same—how could you not get recognized?”
His mother narrowed her eyes, saying it was exactly as she expected.
Even while sighing, seeing her son signing autographs made her feel oddly amazed.
“Haha, as expected, star material is different. My presence is fading away on its own.”
At that moment, a man’s voice came from behind.
When everyone turned at once, Avantgarde was standing there with a smile.
“Oh? Avantgarde…….”
Seeing his face, Yeonwoo immediately recognized him.
After all, he had set his character to look exactly like his real self too.
“That way of speaking—you must be Roper-nim. Nice to meet you!”
Avantgarde also recognized Yeonwoo immediately and handed him a business card.
Then he took out another card and turned his gaze to Hanbit’s mother.
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Avantgarde, a streamer who does RP game broadcasts. Broadly speaking, you could say I’m a coworker of Black Dragon.”
“Oh my, hello. You’re so polite for such a young man.”
Avantgarde’s sociability naturally led the conversation.
Watching the scene with a bewildered expression, Hanbit decided to get to the point.
Since he always donated during streams and even advertised wanting contact, he must have wanted something.
At least, that was what Hanbit thought.
“Since we’ve said our greetings, we’ll be on our way.”
“…Huh?”
Contrary to expectations, Avantgarde was the one trying to leave immediately.
Reading the puzzled look on Hanbit’s face, he smiled kindly and said,
“You’re spending your day off with your mother. I shouldn’t disturb you any more. If there’s another chance, I hope we can meet again.”
With that, Avantgarde disappeared into the distance.
Watching his back, Hanbit asked Yeonwoo,
“Did he make any kind of proposal?”
Among the list of nearly a hundred names, Avantgarde’s name hadn’t been there.
Compared to other competitors, his conditions might not have been good, but he didn’t feel business-oriented at all.
“He just said he wanted me to contact him once, that he really wanted to talk. Stuff like that.”
“Really? What kind of RP stream does he do? Story攻略?”
“No. Rather than the main quest, he wanders around the map, kind of like traveling.”
Avantgarde was someone who wanted to see many different things rather than push straight ahead.
Maybe his desire to meet and talk was related to that personality.
“If he wants to talk, why not just talk? He seemed like a nice person.”
His mother spoke as if it weren’t a big deal.
Looking at the business card in his hand, Hanbit slowly lifted his gaze.
“I’ll think about it.”
***
After looking around the area for about another hour, Hanbit returned home with his mother.
The level 3 gear they had purchased arrived almost at the same time.
“For something this small, it’s incredibly expensive.”
His mother said in amazement as she watched.
It was slightly larger and more complex than the gear he’d been using.
But compared to its price of thirty million won, it was extremely simple.
“At this price, I thought you’d try to stop me.”
Before going to the RP store, Hanbit had told his mother he wanted to buy expensive gear.
Hearing it was an investment, she readily agreed, saying it was good to prepare properly.
Even now, her thoughts hadn’t changed.
“Why would I interfere with money you earned? And the donations people gave you? That money should be used well for the broadcast too.”
She brushed off the worry as obvious.
The money her son earned through his own effort and ability belonged entirely to him.
She had no intention of exerting parental authority over it.
Today’s gift had surprised her, but she knew he wasn’t the type to waste money.
“You’re going to stream now, right? I’ll leave dinner in the fridge so you can heat it up and eat later.”
“Got it. I’ll eat even if it’s late.”
Having watched him these past few days, his mother understood that he barely had time to eat.
She worried, but she was glad to see him enjoying himself so fully immersed in the game and streaming.
“Hoo.”
Entering his room, Hanbit laid out the new gear on the bed.
True to its high price, the condition of each part was astonishingly good.
“What should I do with the old one?”
Even though he bought a new one, the level 2 gear Yeonwoo had gifted him cost five million won.
Rather than selling it used, maybe there would be a more meaningful way to use it.
Woooong—
Settling onto the bed, Hanbit activated the gear.
With mechanical sounds, his vision darkened.
It didn’t take long before light returned and the scenery inside Edlen appeared.
Clench—
Hanbit slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.
Moving his body around, he began testing the changes through various motions.
The result was astonishing.
‘The difference is this noticeable?’
The performance of the gear, improved by one level, was clearly distinct.
Compared to level 2, it felt like removing several sandbags.
The fineness of movement was different too, gradually approaching an ideal state.
‘If I go all the way to the final stage, it’ll surpass even this.’
The next stage was level 4.
It was the last product available for purchase on the market.
Capsule-type equipment seemed usable only by the vanguard or those with that level of fame.
“Hyung!”
While he was moving around a bit more, Yeonwoo logged in.
Hanbit immediately pressed the start broadcast button.
“Ahem, hello. Can you hear me?”
-Dragon hi.
-hi hi
-Waited like crazy;
-Let’s go main quest~
-We finishing the story today?
-As if.
The viewers flooding in quickly grew noisy.
To draw their focus, Hanbit brought up the quest details.
[Main Quest #8: Assembly]
With Asla’s help, you repelled the Holy Nation assassin’s attack.
To judge the crimes of Vares and Brook, you need the power of the King’s Sword—the Royal Guard.
Meet William’s former retainers summoned by Cowen and gather your resolve.
Objective: Devise a plan together with William’s retainers.
Reward: 50,000 gold, 15,000 EXP, 2 stat points
*Current progress: 66 percent
*This quest can be progressed after 12 hours.
As the story raced toward the latter half of the first episode, there were three goals.
One. By judging the crimes of Vares and Brook, clear William and Ria’s false charges and restore their status.
Two. Protect Ria from Vares and the Holy Nation’s assassins.
Three. Prevent the traces of the Spirit King Salion contained in the Northton ring from falling into enemy hands.
If even one of these goals went awry, the episode couldn’t reach a proper ending.
Especially now that Vares and the Holy Nation were competing over the Spirit King’s traces, Ria was in even greater danger.
That was why Asla’s existence was so crucial in this episode.
“But couldn’t we just keep Ria in that secret room until the story ends? No one would be able to find her.”
Yeonwoo asked while looking at the quest details.
It was a natural thought, but things wouldn’t go so smoothly.
“That place isn’t completely safe. Since a battle with an assassin already happened, once preparations are finished, they’ll probably collapse the entire area.”
“Then you can just hold onto the ring, hyung. Or give it to Asla.”
“The ring returns to Ria if the distance gets too far. It’s something imprinted in blood.”
-Tough;
-Nothing goes right.
-Can’t we lure them with the ring and have Asla kill them all?
-What if there are multiple Holy Nation assassins?
-Then just give up.
-Cut losses.
Viewers poured out various speculations and opinions.
However, all of their ideas fell within the trial-and-error Hanbit had already experienced in the past.
He didn’t claim to have all the right answers, but experience didn’t lie.
“We’ll start moving.”
Hanbit moved toward the old building in the alley.
And when he stood before the underground secret space, a message appeared.
[Moving to cutscene.]
