The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]

Chapter 5

"Huh?"

Artsvel looked up with her cat-like eyes at the sound of her name.

After confirming Hanbit's identity, she reacted with a slight frown.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

Her voice and tone were exactly the same as he remembered.

Her saying she'd never seen him before wasn't shocking at all. He had experienced this every time he went through regression, possession, and reincarnation.

'Whew.'

Even with that familiarity, his heart was heavy.

After a brief pause, Hanbit collected his thoughts as he looked at Artsvel.

'Now I know the timeline for sure.'

It was a crucial matter to know which point in time this game was based on. If it was a timeline he hadn't experienced, the information would be distorted. Fortunately, this place was exactly the same as when Hanbit first set foot in this world.

Memories, so familiar and somewhat nostalgic, flooded his mind.

Ending the short silence, Hanbit rearranged his expression.

"Of course it's my first time here. More importantly, I'd like to learn some magic."

"Magic? Why would I teach you?"

-Cut.

-Still prickly;

-I got cursed at so much during the thief capture quest.

-But she got caught, right?

-Yeah, it was a false accusation.

Hanbit wasn't interested in the chat window, which had started arguing again. Artsvel's refusal was only natural. However, he had already taken care of the solution to this problem.

"Wait... Don't tell me you're Black Dragon?"

Artsvel's expression gradually changed as she quietly examined Hanbit.This was due to the events omitted from the cutscene. The guards must have investigated Artsvel's store and gathered various testimonies and evidence.

"That's right. Julio tried to frame you as a thief."

"That trashy bastard... I knew he would do something like that someday."

She gritted her teeth and let out a sigh. She had constantly felt the malice emanating from Julio all this time.

Running a hand through her hair, her expression shifted to that of relief.

"Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I didn't have to see that disgusting sight."

"I hate that guy too."

A light conversation exchanged with a shrug. It was enough of a reward for catching Julio.

It was important to get a little closer to Artsvel.

"So, you said you're looking for a magic book? But this..."

"Wait a minute."

Hanbit interrupted her attempt to steer the conversation back. This level of distance wasn't enough to learn real magic. He needed to take a big step closer.

"What? What's wrong?"

Artsvel looked at Hanbit with a puzzled expression.

After a brief pause, he casually asked.

"You're looking for a cure, aren't you?"

"...How did you know that?"

"It's obvious from what's on your desk."

Artsvel's desk was piled with books on medicine and herbs. The worn spines and covers clearly showed they weren't for sale.

"...Tsk."

Artsvel, who was about to cover her desk with her hand, looked up. With a slight frown, she asked Hanbit.

"Do you know a lot about medicine?"

"I do."

"You're full of confidence. Then tell me, what causes blue-tinted pupils, dizziness, and vomiting?"

She asked in a slightly sharper voice, her eyes narrowed.

Hanbit, meeting her gaze directly, asked a different question.

"Who's suffering from it?"

"...My mother."

"Is that so? Then I'll get you the cure."

"The cure? Really?"

Artsvel took a step closer with a drastically changed expression. However, her emotions quickly subsided.

"Are you just saying that? Do you know how many times I've been deceived?"

Past memories surfaced for Artsvel. The treatments attempted by self-proclaimed experts and the subsequent failures. The money, time, and effort wasted were immeasurable. It didn't take long for her to realize that hope could be poison.

Hanbit, who knew her past well, brought up another piece of information.

"She doesn't feel hungry either, right? And potions or healing magic don't work at all."

"How did you..."

Artsvel's eyes widened at the mention of symptoms she hadn't revealed.

Her reaction alone showed her desperation. He had never met anyone like her before.

"Do you know what the disease is?"

"It doesn't have a name. I only know how to cure it."

"..."

Confused, she tapped her finger on the desk. Silence followed as she pondered.

And a moment later, she looked at Hanbit with determination.

"Fine. If you can help me, I'll reward you properly."

Ding!

[Quest]

You have discovered the worries Artsvel is facing.

Find a way to cure the disease afflicting her mother.

Perhaps something can be obtained near Edlen?

Objective: Obtain the correct cure.

Reward: 2,000 gold, Artsvel's Fireball Magic Book (1st Rank - Hero), 3 stat points, 500 experience points

-Hero?

-Hero rank confirmed?

-Holy crap. LOL

-Julio, you bastard!

-Turning the game on right now.

-Me too.

The chat window instantly exploded. Judging from their reaction, it seemed like this quest was appearing for the first time.

The number of viewers, which had been gradually increasing, had now surpassed 50. If Artsvel was still on their maps, they would be eligible to try this quest.

Click-

Hanbit pressed the accept button and looked at Artsvel.

"I'll get it for you."

"...Okay."

She had always tried to save her mother. At first, it was difficult, but after he learned how, he helped her in every playthrough. That's why he knew how important this was to Artsvel.

"Ah, it can't really be confirmed Hero rank!" Yeonwoo said with a mournful face as they left the store.

If they had already completed the thief capture quest, there was nothing they could do.

"What's this 'Hero' thing anyway? There's also this 'rank' next to it." Hanbit checked the notation on the quest window again.

[Artsvel's Fireball Magic Book (1st Rank - Hero)]

This was a game element different from what he knew in the other world. Skills were simply divided into 1st grade, 2nd grade, and so on, so this was a bit unfamiliar to him.

"Rank is the stage interval, and hero is the grade that indicates rarity and performance. Items, skills, and everything else are divided into the same system."

"So the same magic book can have different performance?"

"Of course! That's why people go crazy trying to get higher grades."

The rank, divided into intervals, was similar to the stages used in the other world. The difference was the grade.

According to Yeonwoo's explanation, the grades were as follows:

[Normal - Advanced - Rare - Hero - Unique - Epic - Legendary - Mythical]

The 8 grades were a common classification used in games. Although it was a concept that didn't exist in the other world, it was easy to understand.

"How good is Hero?"

"It's incredibly good. I didn't even know there was a Hero grade at Rank 1. And it's guaranteed! It's unbelievable!"

The skills at the starting point of the skill tree were Rank 1. No matter how much effort one puts in, the highest they could achieve in this stage was Rare. He would have to use it himself to get a sense of how good it actually was.

"If it's good, then it's good. Let's go."

"For the cure, we need to find something like herbs, right?"

"That's..."

Thump! Thump!

At that moment, a noise that shook his body rang in Hanbit's ears. And then, his mother's urgent voice followed.

"Hanbit! Why is the door locked? Hanbit!"

"...Ah."

He had completely forgotten about his mother's return from work.

He said to Yeonwoo, "Mom's home. Just a minute."

"Huh? Hyung, suddenly..."

Click-

With that notice, he logged out of the game.

He took off the equipment and quickly unlocked the door.

"Mom, you're home?"

"Whew..."

Seeing her son's face, his mother let out a deep sigh. For a moment, her mind had gone blank, wondering what had happened.

"Why was the door locked! You've never done that before."

"Well... I received a gift."

"A gift?"

"You know Yeonwoo? He gave me a gaming console as a discharge gift."

He pointed his finger towards the bed, and his mother's gaze followed. The helmet-like device and charger were lying scattered around. Rings were attached to his wrists and ankles.

"Is it that 'Recorder' thing?"

"What? You know about it, Mom?"

"It's often in the news."

His mother's bag was still slung over her shoulder. Hanbit took it off and placed it on the dining table.

"I'm just going to play lightly when I have free time. My internship starts tomorrow."

"Internship? You're really doing that?"

"I need to add more lines to my resume. The internship period is short, so I can prepare for job hunting at the same time..."

Slap!

His mother's hand flew towards Hanbit's back.

"Ow, Mom!"

He winced and looked at his mother, who was frowning. But her hand flew towards him once more.

Thwack!

"Blocked it, didn't you?"

"Block what!"

Slap!

He caught one hand, but his mother's other hand was faster. It reminded him of the time he fought against a master of martial arts.

"Why are you doing this when I said I'm preparing for job hunting?" Hanbit asked in a puzzled tone, rubbing his back.

Sighing, his mother looked at his military uniform in the laundry basket. "How can a mother talk about her son getting a job when he was just discharged? And on top of that, an internship starting tomorrow? Does that make any sense?"

"Mom, I'm in my last semester. I need to get a job quickly while I'm still a student... Ow!"

Whoosh!

His mother, about to hit his back again, stopped her hand in mid-air. She knew very well how tough the job market was, having heard about it through various media.

Knowing her son had matured so quickly, she had fully expected him to pour all his effort into everything without taking a break.

However, she wished that her son, who had always strived so hard, would act a little spoiled for once. It was a selfish desire that was impossible under incompetent parents, but still...

"Ah."

His mother let out a deep sigh at the harsh reality. If she forced him to quit, he would just work hard somewhere out of her sight. She felt more at ease cheering him on from the sidelines.

"You said the company is in Songdo, right? What time will you wake up?"

"Uh... There's a direct bus, so 7:30 should be fine," Hanbit, wary of another slap, nodded and answered.

His mother looked at the clock and walked to the refrigerator, opening the door.

"Wake up at 7. It's your first day, so you should go 30 minutes early."

"Okay."

"And don't even think about skipping breakfast because you're tired. I told you that eating is the most important thing."

"I won't skip it, Mom. It's become a habit in the military."

"Habit, my foot! Do you think I don't know you didn't eat today?"

Their conversation continued comfortably as they returned to their daily routine.

A short while later, after finishing tidying up, his mother took her bag and went into her room.

"Whew."

Hanbit breathed a sigh of relief that the storm had passed. It wasn't that he didn't understand his mother's feelings, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to get a job to make a decent living.

"I should go to bed early."

Checking the time, Hanbit quickly made up his mind. He wanted to explore the world of RP further, but tomorrow was his first day of internship. Reality wasn't generous enough to allow him to cut back on sleep.

"Come to think of it, I was in the middle of streaming."

The flow had been abruptly cut off before he could properly start the quest. Even though there weren't many viewers, he was worried about Yeonwoo being left alone.

"It'll be even more awkward if I go in now."

If he started helping Artsvel in earnest, he wouldn't be able to stop in the middle. It would be better to properly proceed tomorrow. As for the viewers who had to wait a day, he could just give them something to pass the time with.

Having finished his thoughts, Hanbit quickly began writing a message to send to Yeonwoo.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]