The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]

Chapter 6

The online community "RPG (Record Project Gamers)" was, as its name suggested, the representative space for RP.

In that place, where various topics were always trending, a post that caught people's attention appeared.

<Hidden Skills and Guaranteed Hero Quest appeared.>

A chuunibyou newbie showed up, and this guy is totally bugged.

He had dozens of recommended skills and even multiple hidden skills.

The guaranteed Hero quest is the route to get fire magic from Artsvel, check out the screenshot.

If you're curious, go to Roper's stream.

-? What is this?

-Your photo editing skills are the ones that are bugged?

-Hahaha Look at the blurry text.

-Who's Roper? Stop with the small streamer promotion.

-This is real. Watch the stream.

-Ban this advertisement;

Skills and skill trees were the most important elements in RP. And during the two years that countless players had dedicated to the game, the number of hidden skills that had been discovered was extremely small. They didn't even know of the existence of another route for the normal skill, fire magic.

That's how unbelievable the contents of the post were.

"This is ridiculous."

Kim Jaeha, a man browsing on his tablet, let out a hollow laugh. He was an employee working in the RP department of his company. It was natural for him to reach for anything that could be profitable, including items, information, and so on. He had seen this kind of absurd attention-grabbing post countless times.

"And who is this Roper?"

He had never heard of this streamer before. He was definitely an unpopular streamer, the kind called a "small fry," but Jaeha was a little curious. It was purely out of simple curiosity.

Click-

When he searched for the name "Roper," quite a few posts appeared. 99% of them were about monster "slowpers."

[TL/N: "Slowper" is a slang term in Korean gaming communities for someone who kills monsters slowly or inefficiently.]

"The streamer posts... are all from today."

Among them were several posts focused on today's date. The titles all included words like "hidden" and "Hero."

"Black Dragon?"

The nickname "Black Dragon" appeared in every post about this Roper. The comment that mentioned "chuunibyou" must have been referring to this person.

"Eomk? Is he a student?"

[TL/N: "Eom-keu" is short for "mom's card", a slang term for someone who spends their parents' money, often implying they are young.]

Keywords like "Black Dragon" and "Eomk" appeared more frequently in the newer posts. Although RP required parental consent, it wasn't a game that minors couldn't play.

"Huh?"

Kim Jaeha, who was leisurely browsing through the list, started to become intrigued. Every time he refreshed, the keyword "quest" appeared more and more. The problem was that evidence was piling up that someone had actually received that quest.

"...No way."

Sensing something unusual, Kim Jaeha quickly put on his gaming gear. His other hand was busy searching for the streamer Roper's channel.

* * *

Yeonwoo, left alone, froze in place. Hanbit had dropped the bomb of a guaranteed Hero quest and disappeared.

-Eomk legend. Hahaha.

-How old is Black Dragon?

-Look at his nickname. Lol, he's just a kid.

-I have a feeling he's a robust unemployed young man?

"Huh?"

Yeonwoo, who had been racking his brains, fixed his gaze on the viewer count. The number, which had been around 50, was now 800.

"...Ah."

The bizarre things Hanbit had shown in that short time were unprecedented in the history of RP. If this spread to communities like RPG, it would be the most powerful publicity imaginable.

"Welcome! Please wait a little bit, Black Dragon hyung will be here soon!"

Even while speaking with a smile, his hands were moving frantically. He was diligently sending messages through the linked smartphone messenger.

'Please, hyung. Please.'

Even if they streamed tomorrow, many people would come, but there would still be many viewers who were skeptical. He had to solidify their interest now, somehow.

Ding!

Just then, the message alert linked to his smartphone rang.

Hanbit's name appeared at the top.

He quickly checked the message.

「Hanbit」

「I've to leave. I'll be back tomorrow evening, so see you then.」

'...I'm doomed.'

His heart sank at the word "tomorrow." The main character wasn't coming back in this situation?

He felt threatened by the ever-increasing number of viewers.

-When is Black Dragon coming?

-Bring him back before I start cursing.

-Why are there so many people in this channel?

-Aren't these viewbots?

-I like that no one here uses 0ㅅ0.

[TL/N: "0ㅅ0" is an emoticon used to express innocence or cluelessness, sometimes used sarcastically.]

The rapidly chaotic chat window became almost impossible to read.

Yeonwoo, concentrating all his mental energy on thinking of a solution, finally reached a difficult decision.

"Whew."

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the camera with a smile. The number of viewers had already exceeded a thousand. He wanted to be calm, but until recently, he was a small-time streamer with only a handful of viewers.

"I'm sorry. Black Dragon hyung has an urgent matter to attend to. It seems we'll have to continue the stream tomorrow."

-?

-What nonsense.

-Was he really using his mom's credit card?

-This is ridiculous.

-He just attracted a bunch of attention and left.

-Typical of small-time streamers. Hahaha

Sharp criticism poured in like artillery fire. Yeonwoo had no way to calm them down.

Ding!

Just then, he heard the notification sound again. It was another message from Hanbit.

「Black Dragon」

For some reason, the sender's name had changed to the character name.

Yeonwoo, sensing something strange, quickly checked the message.

"Ah."

A sigh escaped his lips as he read the short message. His stiff expression was now replaced with a smile.

"Alright, viewers. Calm down for a moment. Black Dragon hyung left a gift for you."

-Gift?

-Don't bullshit us

-Are you two in this together?

-Let's just hear him out.

-Agreed

At the mention of a gift, the heated chat window began to cool down. Some aggressive chat messages were quickly buried.

"There are probably some of you who want to start the Artsvel quest right away, right? But you probably can't guess how to get the cure."

Having regained his composure, Yeonwoo spoke as if taking the initiative.

The guaranteed Hero grade skill quest. This alone was enough to make players go wild.

"So, Black Dragon hyung left a way to get that cure beforehand. Curious about what it is?"

-?

-He told you how to get it?

-No way?

-This is bait;

-Even my dog wouldn't fall for this.

The shocking news that he had given away the method, not just a hint. Naturally, the viewers couldn't fully believe it.

However, even their doubts were enough to buy him time until tomorrow evening.

"Well, it's up to you whether you believe it or not. I'll post the message in the channel notice. Then, I'll end the stream and see you all tomorrow!"

With that, Yeonwoo immediately ended the stream. Then he posted the screenshot of Hanbit's message as a notice.

「Black Dragon」

「The cure for the quest can be obtained from 'Bomb Slime.' If anyone clears it before I come back, I'll give you special information.」

* * *

The next morning.

Hanbit woke up early, finished the breakfast his mother had prepared, and left the house. He boarded the bus that arrived just in time and headed to his destination, Songdo.

"Whew."

A complex, spread out like a village, was located a little distance away from the city center. The name "Entec Technology" was engraved on the top of the main building. It was a well-known mid-sized company, even among semiconductor companies.

'I did pass the interview quite easily, though.'

Even though it was an experiential internship, there was a set recruitment process. The problem was the strangely simple interview. It was practically just reciting what was written on his resume.

'Let's go in.'

Hanbit adjusted his clothes and stepped into the building.

When he arrived at the assigned design department, people were already busy working.

"What? You haven't revised this yet?"

"Huh? The team leader told me to look at this circuit first."

"Hey, who went to the lab yesterday?"

"..."

There was no room to interrupt the scene that resembled a battlefield. However, if he just waited, it seemed like no one would notice him.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Hanbit decided to greet everyone.

"Hello. I'm Kang Hanbit, and I'll be working as an intern starting today."

"...?"

All eyes turned to the unfamiliar voice that echoed through the office. An awkward silence followed the strange atmosphere.

The first one to speak was a man sitting in the back.

"Ah, was the intern supposed to come today? Why didn't the HR team inform us properly?"

"Well... it was in the meeting notes."

"Really?" the man responded halfheartedly to his subordinate's explanation. Then, turning his gaze back to his documents, he continued, "Lee Minho will be his mentor. Take him and set up the meeting room now."

"Alright."

An employee sitting near the entrance got up from his seat. He approached Hanbit and greeted him with a tired face.

"I'm Lee Minho, and I'll be your mentor. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions."

"Okay, thank you."

"You can use this desk, and I'll guide you through the contract and paperwork later. We don't have time now, so just put your things down and let's move."

Hanbit put down his bag and went to the meeting room with Minho.

Inside, small pieces of trash and documents were scattered about.

"I had a field visit yesterday, so I couldn't stop by the office. I'll clean the table, so Hanbit, could you please tidy up the whiteboard?"

"Was everyone else out on a field visit too?"

"No. It's just my task."

"...I'll clean it up quickly."

Sensing a deeper meaning in Minho's reply, Hanbit immediately started working.

After a while of busily cleaning the meeting room...

"What? Why are there two of you today?"

A middle-aged man holding a coffee cup appeared.

"Hello, team leader. The intern I reported to you a few days ago started work today, so we were cleaning up together."

"Ah, right, there was that."

The team leader sipped his coffee and scanned Hanbit from head to toe. Then, clicking his tongue, he sat down at the head of the table.

"Where do you go to school? In Seoul?"

"I go to Yeonju University in Incheon."

"Ah, Incheon?"

The team leader, who checked the university before even asking his name, seemed to have lost most of his interest.

"What do your parents do?"

"My father passed away, and my mother works at a restaurant."

"Is that so?"

Completely losing interest, he turned his attention to the meeting materials on the desk.

The team leader's attitude was blunt, but it didn't faze Hanbit at all.

"I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Kang Hanbit. I'll work hard during my internship, observing and learning."

"You don't have to work hard. Throw away your passion and just do what you're told."

"...?"

The remark about not working hard was strange.

The team leader, sensing his confusion, sighed and explained, "Experiential internships are just for show. It's a system where the company loses more the more they teach, so don't try to learn anything."

The team leader's explanation was as follows:

The mandatory selection of interns was pushed as part of the youth employment rate policy. Companies of a certain size were assigned a minimum number of interns and were advised to take them on.

"Team leader, even so, I can help the interns learn the basics of the areas they can experience..."

"Hey, Lee Minho. If you have time to worry about the intern, worry about yourself first. You need to be competent to act like a senior."

"...Yes. I apologize."

Lee Minho lowered his head at the sharp criticism.

The team leader, still dissatisfied, simply shook his head and sighed.

"Oh? Team leader, you came straight here?"

"Good morning, team leader!"

"As expected of our team leader. Everyone acknowledges your diligence."

Just then, other employees entered the meeting room. Seeing them add flattery to their greetings, Hanbit could roughly grasp the dynamics of this department.

"What are you doing? If you're done cleaning, get out."

"Okay."

Following the team leader's curt order, Hanbit left the meeting room. Returning to his seat at the end of the office, he leaned back in his chair.

'I can already see the future.'

He knew very well that experiential internships were closer to part-time jobs. He had applied with the intention of adding at least one more line to his resume.

The problem was, he had a strong feeling that he wouldn't even be able to gain the proper experience needed for that one line.

'I'll have to learn on my own.'

Even if no one taught him, his eyes and ears were open. Compared to gathering information at the risk of his life in the other world, this place was a joke.

A bit of defiance rising within him, Hanbit slowly began to organize his thoughts in the quiet office.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]

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