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chapter 76
“…The truth?”
The truth of the world.
Not a word an ordinary player enjoying a game would normally say.
Avantgarde answered with a deeply serious expression.
“The world implemented in RP didn’t feel like just a simple game to me. At first, I rushed the main quest like everyone else, but something in the story felt off. So I stopped immediately and started traveling all over the world instead.”
“And you’ve been doing that for two years?”
“Two years was far too little time to understand this world. But when I happened to see your footsteps, my eyes gradually opened. When I saw the final world message… I was so happy it’s hard to put into words.”
-Isn’t he just crazy?
-This reminds me of some religious fanatic.
-Truth or whatever, isn’t this based on a novel?
-The guidebook was bullshit, so the novel *is* the truth.
-Adventurer A takes another L today…….
As his words kept pouring out, the viewers reacted in disbelief.
But Avantgarde instead pointed at the chat with his finger.
“It’s right there in the chat. That’s exactly it. All of you and I have been focusing only on false stories. We can reflect together.”
-Us?
-His eyes look weird.
-Info) He’s always like that.
-He’s just extra unhinged today.
-Black Dragon viewers, we apologize.
At some point, the viewers of Hanbit and Avantgarde had mingled in the chat.
In any case, the existence of a player who simply explored the game world—not a vanguard or a corporation—felt refreshing.
The fact that he’d done so consistently for two years inspired trust.
“What are your plans going forward? Any set content?”
“I just finished traveling through the central continent, so I don’t have immediate plans. To begin with, I was focused on the story you’re unraveling.”
The sincerity in his clear answer was unmistakable.
After organizing his thoughts briefly, Hanbit asked him,
“Then how about we move together for a while?”
“…?”
Avantgarde froze for a moment at the question.
Repeating what he’d heard in his head, he asked back,
“Did you say… move together? You mean with me, Avantgarde?”
“Yes. I’m curious about the travels you’ve had, and since I have no broadcasting experience, I’d like to learn a bit.”
“Wow…….”
At the proposal, Avantgarde’s eyes went wide.
There were several reasons, but wanting to learn broadcasting was also true.
“I’d love that! I’ll help with anything I can!”
-Oh.
-Avantgarde enlightenment achieved ㅊㅊ
-This actually works?
-You bastard, you’re finally done stalking Black Dragon.
-The viewers are dying happy too.
Judging by how fervently interested he’d been, Avantgarde’s viewers applauded.
The man himself continued in a joyful voice.
“Do you have any plans for today? If you’re going to Ifrit, I can help—”
“Ah, I’m planning to go to Ifrit tomorrow. There are a few things I need to check.”
There were two reasons for that decision.
One was the unrevealed episode privilege.
Since it would only be granted at dawn, it made sense to decide the next steps after checking it.
The other was the restricted area.
Since nothing came to mind at all, he wanted to look over the information circulating in the community.
The name alone gave off a suspicious vibe.
“I see. Then what shall we do today?”
“For now, how about we walk around together? I have a few things I want to ask.”
“That sounds great!”
With time to talk, Avantgarde raised his voice happily.
Then he looked at his chat and said,
“Alright, instead of ending the stream, we’ll continue with a joint broadcast. Please move over to Black Dragon’s stream.”
***
“There’s a peculiar fruit on that tree—would you like to take a look?”
“Did you know that even monsters of the same species have different traits? There’s even talk that you can distinguish gender.”
“Ah, that cave—I discovered it a year ago…….”
The walk that started like that went on for several hours.
Most of it was Avantgarde’s cheerful guiding, but there were surprising parts too.
‘He really does know a lot.’
Things that even someone like Hanbit, who had repeated the world dozens of times, hadn’t paid much attention to.
Avantgarde’s claim of loving RP became even more convincing.
Thanks to that, they gained two level-ups and seven stat points through a few quests—an excellent haul.
“As expected, we couldn’t find anything worthy of being called a restricted area.”
When they reached the outer edge of Edlen’s forest, Avantgarde stopped.
The restricted area mentioned in the world message.
The two had moved around while also searching for that place.
They searched every corner together, but couldn’t find even a suspicious trace.
“There were no clues to begin with. At this point, we’ll have to look outside Edlen.”
“I agree. Fortunately, a lot of players are searching for the restricted area, so information should spread quickly.”
Even while moving along the path, Avantgarde kept gathering information.
Community posts, messages from acquaintances—there were countless contacts.
All of them asking to somehow connect them with Black Dragon.
-Yeah, tons of people are looking for it.
-Info) 99.99% is bullshit.
-0.01% is still generous.
-Is this not in the novel?
-Is he just pretending not to know?
The viewers who agreed with Avantgarde began to wonder.
Watching the chat, Hanbit nodded.
“This wasn’t in the novel. I don’t even know what the restricted area is.”
-Oh?
-Is that true?
-If you find it first, that’s huge;
-But how do you find it?
-Dunno.
Hearing that even Hanbit didn’t know, the mood of the chat shifted.
Tiring—
[HiddenBuyer donated 1,000 won.]
[If you find the restricted area, will you trade the info for hidden skill info?]
Thinking it an opportunity, a viewer proposed an information exchange.
But Hanbit had no intention of making empty promises.
“I won’t do private trades. If anyone finds information about the restricted area, please post it on my channel or the RPG community. After clearing the Ifrit story, I’ll do one hidden skill guide.”
-Oh.
-He’s actually doing it;
-But even if he releases a guide, you still can’t get it anyway.
-True, so many people are still stuck on Valder.
-Isn’t he just handing out empty promises?
-If you don’t like it, leave the stream.
-He offers it and you still complain.
The viewers eventually started arguing among themselves.
But among the planned hidden skills, there were some that were safe to reveal.
Since it was full information anyway, encouraging more people to search for the restricted area was beneficial.
“Stop fighting. Anyway, if you want hidden skills, work hard. The guide will be after the Ifrit episode.”
After calming the chat, Hanbit checked the world message again.
[Restricted areas will be partially opened.]
Restricted areas.
At face value, it meant hidden maps would be revealed.
And since only a ‘part’ would be opened, it wasn’t even certain it was a single location.
The real question was the meaning of that place.
‘Did the pattern mean this?’
The pattern he’d discovered in the RP device program code.
The word Edlen was written there, but he still hadn’t found a clear clue related to the goddess.
Then wasn’t it likely that something existed in the restricted area?
“For now, it’s hard to search more. We need to move to the next city tomorrow, so let’s look briefly on the way to Ifrit. For the rest, we’ll move once information comes out.”
“A good idea. Ah, it’s almost time for the privilege.”
Avantgarde pointed at the clock in the system window.
The moment marking 24 hours since Black Dragon completed the episode was approaching.
Thinking the same thing, Hanbit nodded.
“Right. I’ll check the privilege and end the stream today.”
-Drumroll.
-What’s coming out?
-We gave you a 10% EXP coupon as a privilege~
-49 seconds left.
As time drew near, Hanbit waited in silence as the seconds ticked by.
And the moment exactly 24 hours passed, an alarm rang.
Tiring—
[Episode 1 privilege has been granted.]
[You have obtained the Dreaming Compass.]
-?
-A compass?
-What are we going to look for?
-Why is it dreaming?
-??
“Oh, I’ve never heard of that item!”
Viewers and Avantgarde reacted to the unfamiliar name.
But Hanbit’s expression grew slightly serious.
‘Don’t tell me…….’
Recognizing the item all too well, the pieces in his head began to fit together.
Taking out the compass from his inventory, Hanbit immediately checked its details.
[Dreaming Compass]
Rank: 4
Grade: Epic
Description: A compass fallen into a deep sleep. Using a special item obtained from the Black-and-White Sea will make it dream. You must carefully distinguish between auspicious dreams and nightmares.
-Epic grade?
-What kind of compass is this, lol?
-You’re telling us to get materials from the Black-and-White Sea?
-That place is crazy disorienting.
-So can this find hidden stuff?
-As if.
Dark glass bordered with platinum trim.
Depending on the material inserted, the Dreaming Compass produces two effects.
One is an auspicious dream that finds the path the user desires.
The other is a nightmare that finds the path the user does not desire.
Since Hanbit had used it often, he knew exactly how reliable its effect was.
‘…Is it telling me to find the restricted area?’
At this point, the goddess’s shadow began to faintly appear.
This was absolutely not an item meant to appear at this stage.
There was only one problem.
The item required from the Black-and-White Sea was extremely difficult to obtain.
“Quite a troublesome item. Something you have to get from the Black-and-White Sea……”
Avantgarde, who seemed familiar with the place, also fell into thought.
Swoosh—
Moving his hand, Hanbit immediately opened RP Trader.
Then he searched for the name of the required item.
[Five-Colored Clamshell]
Search results: 0 entries
‘As expected, none.’
The Black-and-White Sea is a sea divided into black and white, as its name suggests.
The Five-Colored Clamshell, obtainable from the white sea.
It was a material that guided the compass to an auspicious dream—but the process of obtaining it was absurdly tedious.
It had no other use, so it was strange for players to show interest in it at all.
Even going there himself would take too much time…….
“Hyung!”
At that moment, a voice called out from behind.
Turning around, Hanbit saw Yeonwoo running over urgently.
“Did you finish your business?”
“That’s not the issue—this!”
Yeonwoo rushed closer and stretched out his open hand.
Resting in his palm was a beautifully colored clamshell.
