The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 86

"What are you doing?" Gorik, looking bewildered, asked Hanbit.

"Isn't this what you need? Then we should make a deal."

"...A deal?"

His face scrunched up at the suggestion.

Taking a step closer, Gorik tilted his head and said, "Why do we need a deal when I'm just trying to get my own property back?"

"How do we know it's yours?"

"Are you so dull that you can't tell just by looking at me?"

"It might not be a royal token."

"No, it's ours."

His stubborn answer showed no sign of changing.

Anticipating this response, Hanbit made his prepared suggestion.

"If you say it like that, let's go to your country. There must be other royals or people there, right?"

"That's... impossible."

"Impossible? Then a deal would be the cleanest way."

"..."

-Wasn't Gorik's country destroyed?

-Yeah, the Hedric Kingdom was destroyed.

-That's harsh;

-Ouch, that's mean.

Gorik was speechless at the firm refusal.

It was impossible to subdue the three adventurers by force.

However, his royal pride wouldn't allow him to engage in a trade.

"Does that mean you won't give it up willingly?"

"Not without something in return. At the very least, you have to tell us the whole story."

"...Then this conversation is over."

Glaring at Hanbit, Gorik turned around.

He then disappeared into the woods without looking back.

-?

-Is that it?

-But can't we just talk about Camon?

-Yeah, we could try being friendly.

-It's like a side quest, just ignore it and go.

-The main quest is more important.

With Gorik's abrupt departure, the viewers' opinions were divided.

However, the following alarm quickly silenced the chaos.

Ding-!

[Achievement: The path of truth has been met.]

[Sub-quest unlocked.]

[Sub-quest #1]

You encountered the exiled prince, Gorik.

He left after you refused to hand over the token, but he didn't seem to give up easily.

Why is he reluctant to reveal his circumstances?

Objective: Gather information in Ifrit until you meet Gorik again.

Reward: Sub-quest #2 unlocked

-Huh?

-A sub-quest here?

-Is the achievement necessary?

-I have to reset for sure;

-But can't we do it without the token?

-It's so unfair for new players.

Viewers expressed their frustration with the appearance of a sub-quest that required achievements and a token.

However, this was a natural progression.

"Besides the token, Camon's belongings are also connected to Gorik. We plan to show them to Gorik when our relationship progresses."

Gorik was a very important character in the Ifrit episode, especially with his dwarf craftsmanship.

With the achievement and the artifact, they could proceed with the episode.

However, based on experience, if they didn't have the token, Gorik wouldn't appear like this.

"But unlike me, you'll have to find him yourselves. Gorik won't recognize you."

-?

-He won't come to us first?

-This is discrimination against players;

-But it's okay if we can meet him.

-Yeah, Black Dragon will give us a strategy.

[haha has donated 1,000 won.]

[Strategy... will you tell us?]

A distant donation message flew in.

The chat window was also full of messages wanting a strategy.

"I'll think about it after I finish the episode. Until then, try your best."

"No..."

Kim Jaeha was still in shock after hearing the story.

Collecting his thoughts, he asked Hanbit, "Is that dwarf really the owner of this iron plate?"

"Yes. You'll learn dwarven metallurgy from him."

"But why is he here? What about the snowy mountains where the iron plate was found? No, more importantly, we should catch him right now."

Kim Jaeha knew his role.

To obtain the hidden skill 'Dwarven Metallurgy'.

Not only was it a sub-quest, but if the owner of this token was that dwarf, it was only natural to chase him down and capture him.

"If we chase after him, it'll backfire. It'll only cause trouble and mess up the later story."

"I guess that makes sense."

Kim Jaeha nodded slowly, recalling Gorik's attitude.

He was the kind of person who would leave if the conversation went awry.

"Now I understand a little."

At that moment, Avantgarde, who had been quiet, spoke up.

He was staring at the bushes where Gorik had disappeared.

"That dwarf was following us."

"You noticed well."

A figure, mixed with the dark shadows beyond the bushes, could be seen very faintly.

Without further speculation, it was clear that Gorik was hiding in the distance.

His awkwardly clumsy figure was exactly as he remembered.

"He followed us? Since when?"

"Since we came out of that cave. He probably sensed the token before we entered the private area."

As royalty, Gorik could sense the location of the token within a certain distance.

He had visited Ifrit every season.

Thanks to that, he knew exactly when and where Gorik was searching.

"What? But me? Even though I had the token and stayed in Ifrit for a long time, Gorik never came to find me?"

-That's right. Why didn't he come?

-Maybe he was just watching for fun?

-???: Just grind. lol

-There were so many people looking for it in the snowy mountains.

-I gave up after about a week.

Kim Jaeha was confused.

The months he had wandered around with the token he had found in the snowy mountains.

Even after the project was scrapped, he had tried to find it alone, but he had not found even a small clue, let alone Gorik.

To that question, Hanbit showed the message that had popped up earlier.

[Achievement: The path of truth has been met.]

[Sub-quest unlocked.]

"Hyung, didn't this sub-quest message appear for you? It must have appeared for Avantgarde."

"Yes, it did."

Avantgarde nodded immediately.

Kim Jaeha, who was standing beside him, looked puzzled and said. "The quest didn't appear for me... but ultimately, what I need to get is the skill. Isn't it strange that it's related to the previous episodes?"

Kim Jaeha, who had cleared the Edlen episode using the existing guidebook, knew that it was the wrong direction, but it was strange that it affected his skill acquisition.

However, Hanbit shook his head firmly.

"Both dwarven metallurgy and the Ifrit episode can only proceed if we can change Gorik's mind. His role is quite significant."

"Are you saying that Camon's belongings will make that possible?"

"They were closer than you think. So he will trust someone who fulfilled Camon's wishes in the episode more."

"I guess... that makes sense."

Kim Jaeha nodded as if he understood.

Then there was only one thing left to do.

"Hyung, please go back to Edlen right away and replay the episode."

"I'll do anything to help Black Dragon. But won't I take longer than you?"

Kim Jaeha was willing to do anything to help Black Dragon.

His only worry was that he would slow down the progress.

"Ah, that's okay."

Hanbit, knowing exactly what he was worried about, opened the message window so that it wouldn't be streamed.

And while quickly writing something, he said to Kim Jaeha.

"Do it this way. It will be over in two days."

* * *

"Look, there it is."

After walking for a while along the path, a beautiful wall came into view.

Surprisingly, the main material of the wall was glass, painted in vibrant colors.

It wasn't some special material, but real, breakable glass.

"Black Dragon, are you going to handle the Ifrit storyline differently from what's known? I thought the main focus was on stopping the monster wave..." Avantgarde, walking beside him, asked casually.

The second episode, Ifrit, is mainly about the monster wave.

It was like a defense game where you had to fend off the invasion of monsters multiplying around you.

The problem was that some of the people in the eye of the storm were uncooperative.

Instead of a sense of crisis, they were more of a hindrance.

"I know. Just looking at the wall is disheartening."

"It's also called a 'wallpaper wall'. A lot of players actually take pictures here."

As Avantgarde said, this wall was famous in several ways.

The transparent wall seemed to shatter the sunlight, dyeing the surrounding scenery in rainbow colors.

The soft glow made even the dry land and simple trees beautiful.

Since the scenery was on a scale of several kilometers, it was honestly a magnificent sight.

Since it was used as a tourist attraction even in this world, its appearance could be considered verified.

"Welcome."

As they approached the gate, a soldier guarding the entrance greeted them.

It was pure peace, without any sense of vigilance.

"Hello. We are adventurers from Edlen."

"Let me check."

As he presented his adventurer's card, the soldier checked the recorded information.

Then he took out a black bracelet from a box next to him and handed it over.

"This is used for identification, so please wear it at all times inside the city."

"Alright."

In Ifrit, the rank of visitors is divided by the color of the bracelet.

To be precise, it's more like a device for people inside the city to distinguish outsiders.

The known classifications are low-grade black, middle-grade red, and high-grade gold.

What he received was the lowest-grade bracelet.

"Then you may enter."

"Thank you."

Having passed the inspection, Hanbit entered inside the gate.

When he saw the completely different scenery, a familiar feeling came to his mind.

'It's the same here too.'

He carefully looked at the buildings that stretched across the city.

The city was beautifully decorated, with shops, houses, and even streets.

However, it was also a scene that revealed the problem of Ifrit.

-Look at how carefree the people are.

-They won't know until they get hit.

-The wall is a mess from the start.

-It's so useless

Viewers who knew what would happen in the future already lamented.

The city, full of complacency, gave everyone a frustrating experience.

"Black Dragon, have you thought about how you'll spend the remaining time?" Avantgarde asked, looking around.

They had decided to stop progressing the episode until Kim Jaeha returned.

That was why he hadn't shown the introduction letter he had received from Edlen to the gatekeeper.

"I'm going to prepare a bit. Like armor, and other necessary items."

Defense was a very important element in progressing through Ifrit.

He was also considering buying finished products due to his abundant gold.

It was a pleasant dilemma to think about how to use this opportunity of having a full wallet, unlike in previous episodes.

"This is just a suggestion."

Then, Avantgarde, who had been thinking about something, spoke up.

And he continued with unexpected words.

"How about trying a different kind of content this time?"

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

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