The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 20

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 20

The Ranger standing before him had a rather unpleasant expression.

Perhaps his face revealed his personality.

Hanbit calmly responded in a casual tone, "What's up?"

"That quest you just completed. How come you were the only one who succeeded?"

"How would a newbie like me know? A veteran like you should be the one to figure it out."

"Don't give me that bullshit... Do you think this situation is a joke?"

-Yeah, your face is.

-They're the ones who copied and now they're complaining.

-Seriously, no shame.

At the casual response, the Ranger furrowed his brows.

His face was practically an insult in itself.

"Including myself, all 50 of us who tried first failed. Moreover, the mere act of failing consumed the chance to obtain the Hero rank. Do you think it's a coincidence that you're the only one who learned the skill properly?"

"It's not a coincidence, it's skill. If you failed, go back to Artsvel. And stop bothering an innocent newbie."

"We're already checking. But she won't say anything other than greetings."

"Well then, I guess she's just being friendly."

-Yeah, just say hello. lol

-It's something that she even greets you. lol

-But he's persistently asking, though;

-That Ranger has quite the personality.

-I heard he insults your family with his facial expressions.

-Really, just look at him now.

At my response, the Ranger's face completely crumpled.

"Hey! Say something!" Yeonwoo whispered, nudging him in the side.

He seemed to want to avoid making an enemy of the Ranger, but things had gone wrong from the start.

Hanbit, who had been provoked first, was simply responding to the fight.

'Well, shall I tell him the answer?'

The difference between the Rashtan members and Hanbit was crystal clear.

The proficiency in Fireball, the Rank 1 skill.

It was just a matter of maxing it out.

"Did you max out your proficiency?"

"Proficiency?"

"Fireball. You have to master it completely to move on to the next one, don’t you?"

"That's the same condition for everyone. You couldn't have maxed out your proficiency either."

"But I did."

"...What?"

At the blunt remark, the Ranger's expression turned strange.

Hanbit opened the skill window and displayed it on the screen.

"Look at the stream."

"Hold on."

He was already watching Hanbit's stream and shifted his gaze.

His face was quickly painted with shock.

"...You really maxed out your proficiency? How is that even possible!"

-?

-He maxed it out?

-He maxed out all the other skills too?

-Why are there stars on everything;

-Report this hacker.

-You can't hack in RP. It's never been done~

-And Black Dragon is the one who does it.

Not only the Ranger, but the viewers also showed surprised reactions.

Since he had achieved his initial goal, there was no need to hide it anymore.

"I told you, it's skill. And if you're going to use the information I revealed, compete fairly. You're from a major corporation with an advance team, aren't you?" Hanbit rebuked him with a hint of disdain.

The Ranger narrowed his eyes and said, "That's impossible. Aren't you just trying to dress up luck as skill?"

"Well, then luck is a skill too. Or do you lack both?"

"Such childish provocation."

"I do have a baby face."

"..."

-Baby face. LOL

-Info) The Ranger is 30 years old.

-Info) His character looks similar to him in real life.

-Isn't he mid-40s?

-The advance team is fighting against time;

Gnash-

As if he was watching the stream, the sound of the Ranger grinding his teeth could be heard.

The harsh comments from the enraged viewers were his own doing.

The Ranger glared at Hanbit and said in a low voice, "We'll definitely meet again soon."

Whirl-

The Ranger swirled his shimmering cape and entered Artsvel's General Store.

Then, seemingly venting out his frustration, he yelled, "Don't just stand there dumbfounded, keep talking to her! Don't miss any possibility!"

A pitiful instruction given to his employees.

Hanbit let out a chuckle.

'Try all you want.'

Artsvel was someone who wouldn't budge an inch when it came to magic education.

Effort, effort, and more effort.

She was a teacher who wanted her students to gain qualifications by steadily building their skills without greed.

She once said that she had seen many people die trying to get ahead of themselves.

'You want to learn the next magic quickly? I'll give you a chance, but keep in mind. If your practice isn't up to par, I'll never teach you again.'

When he learned magic for the second time, he was driven by greed and heard these words.

Of course, it was premature, and she truly never taught him magic again.

In that playthrough, he had no choice but to quickly learn other skills.

'The historical accuracy is amazing.'

Even with the game system involved, Artsvel was still Artsvel.

No matter how much Rashtan struggled, this fact would never change.

Rather, the more they tried, the more her likability for them would plummet.

"Hey, that was too harsh!" Yeonwoo said with a sullen face, as they moved a bit away from the shop.

Hanbit simply patted him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up. I'm rooting for you."

"But I wasn't the one fighting?"

-LOL

-Official) Streamer Roper declares Rashtan as his main enemy.

-But he really seemed really pissed off, lol

[Cuckoo has donated 1,000 won.]

[Breaking news) 6 Rashtan members kicked out by Artsvel. lol]

-Look at them clinging on. lol

-They must have had pretty high likability for helping her mom. lol

-Artsvel's expression was getting more and more grave.

-Typical of them) They even went for the fourth and fifth time.

The unfortunate news wasn't even worth paying attention to.

Looking around, he said to Yeonwoo, "Let's stop by somewhere for a bit."

"Huh? Aren't we looking for the Swordsman of the Wind?"

"There's something I need to get before that. Follow me."

The two walked along the main road.

And when they reached the central plaza, Yeonwoo, who was following behind, stopped.

"Huh?"

His gaze was fixed on the front of the Adventurers' Guild.

A sizable crowd was gathered there, buzzing with excitement.

"Why are there so many people here?"

"Ah, right. You wouldn't know, would you?"

"Know what?"

"That person over there in the green robe. She's an advance player named Raphina, one of the few Elementalists."

-Oh?

-Why is Raphina here?

-There are two advance players;

-Look how pretty she is.

-She's also famous for having a good personality.

-Ranger, reflect on yourself.

A female human was visible where Yeonwoo pointed.

As the viewers said, a gentle aura emanated from her as she smiled at the people around her.

Hanbit glanced at her, then turned his head and asked "You said there are only a few Elementalists?"

"That's right. Only a select few can use spirits."

-It's famous for being super hard content.

-It's an ordeal just to meet a spirit.

-You really need to connect with them to use them.

-I still can't do it after 2 years. lol

-It's better to just learn regular skills.

-Don't you use no mana when using spirit skills?

-Yeah, that's what makes it so OP.

The viewers poured out the information they knew.

A bit more than what was written in the guidebook.

But there was a fundamental problem with their understanding.

'...To use spirits.'

If he had to pick the most important element in this world, it would undoubtedly be the spirits.

Hanbit himself had invested a lot of time and effort to interact with them.

Not to use their power, but to borrow even a little bit of it.

The overwhelming feeling he experienced when he first connected with a high-ranking spirit was still vivid in his memory.

"You said her name is Raphina? How strong is she?"

"She's an advance player in the 4,000s, specializing in water magic."

"Magic? I thought she was an Elementalist?"

"I heard she hit a wall with the Elementalist skills at Rank 3. Of course, they're good, but the Elementalist title is more of an honorary title. There aren't even 100 players who can handle spirits in the first place."

-It's rare, but you can't use Elementalist skills as your main.

-Yeah, it can't be helped since it's still a low-rank spirit.

-But it's Hero rank, so isn't it pretty good?

-It's comparable to a Rank 4 regular skill.

-So what. Raphina uses Rank 6 magic.

-Let's keep it for show.

-Elementalist skill effects are pretty, though.

100 people out of hundreds of millions of players.

The extremely small number proved the rarity of spirits.

'So Rank 3 is a low-rank spirit?'

What was directly connected to a spirit's power was its rank.

Low-ranking meant it was still in its infancy.

Even a mid-rank spirit could show quite satisfactory power.

Of course, it might be a different story if the skill rank was extremely high.

"Are you interested in spirits too, hyung?" Yeonwoo cautiously asked while he was lost in thought.

The power of spirits wasn't just something to be interested in, but something to strive for with all your might.

Only Hanbit knew that the first step towards that would soon be taken.

"Of course. It would be nice to have the power of spirits, wouldn't it?"

"It would be nice, but... this is completely different from magic. It's a game, but it applies the theory of innate talent?"

Yeonwoo emphasized the importance of innate talent once again.

Even in this world, spirits were beings with extremely high barriers to entry, so there was nothing new about that.

"What about her? Is she one of those who benefited from this innate talent theory?" Hanbit asked while looking at Raphina, the advance player.

Yeonwoo followed his gaze and nodded in response.

"She's incredibly blessed. She connected with spirits of two attributes."

"Two attributes?"

"Yes. Water and wind, and it took less than six months for both. Other Elementalists take at least a year for one, so it's really amazing."

"That is amazing."

Connecting with spirits of multiple attributes isn't easy.

Because of their distinct tendencies and personalities, it's difficult to borrow their power simultaneously.

Moreover, to have moved the hearts of two spirits in just six months was a truly remarkable achievement.

Even Hanbit took quite a long time to successfully connect with all attributes.

"You said she couldn't get to the next rank? How long has she been stuck?"

"Uh... about 10 months, I think. It seems she hasn't maxed out her proficiency yet."

"Hmm."

Yeonwoo focused on the skill proficiency.

But Hanbit's thoughts were a little different.

'It's probably not a matter of proficiency.'

Spirits are very complex and unpredictable beings.

It's highly unlikely that a spirit of the next rank would readily lend its power just because you've accumulated proficiency like with normal skills.

In other words, it means you have to become closer to the spirit itself.

"Is she the number one Elementalist?"

"As far as we know, yes. The top-tier advance players strictly filter the information they release to the public."

Only one player will clear the RP and gain ownership.

In a situation with a multitude of competitors, information becomes a well-honed weapon.

He suddenly became curious about their thoroughly hidden world.

What kind of people were the top-tier advance players?

Perhaps someone among them had found even a small clue about Erport.

A hope arose within him.

"Ah, she's leaving now."

Seemingly done with her business, Raphina, who had been conversing with others, moved to another location.

If she's an Elementalist, there might be a chance to talk to her someday.

If needed, it might be good to trade information with her then.

After all, there's a strange sense of camaraderie with someone who can connect with spirits.

"Let's go too."

"Come to think of it, you said we were stopping by somewhere?"

"We're going to the grocery store, and then we're going to search the forest for a bit. It'll take about 30 minutes."

"Huh? Are you looking for something?" Yeonwoo expressed his curiosity at the mention of searching the forest.

Recalling old memories, the corners of Hanbit’s lips curled as he said, "I need ingredients to make alcohol."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]