The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 21

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 21

At the northwestern edge of Edlen City, Hanbit and Yeonwoo, having finished their business in the forest, arrived at a cliff overlooking a canyon.

It was so deep that the flowing river looked like a mere thread.

-That's freaking scary;

-Living up to the name "Swordsman of the Wind" lol

-I'm ashamed to admit it, but I peed a little.

-There was a place like this?

-Perverts are good at finding places like this. lol

The dizzying height was well conveyed to the viewers.

Yeonwoo just stood there with his mouth agape.

[Quest]

You heard news about the master of Swordsman Balder.

If you earn his recognition, you might be able to learn a very special skill.

Objective: Find the Swordsman of the Wind in Edlen Forest.

Reward: Unlocks a chain quest

The Swordsman of the Wind, mentioned in the quest.

As the viewers said, this place truly lived up to his name.

"Is this really the right place? Please tell me it's not."

"This is just the entrance. We have to move further along the path."

"Oh, there was a path?"

Yeonwoo breathed a sigh of relief.

Hanbit bent his knees and looked down, saying, "If you're scared of heights, you can stay in the city."

"S-scared? I'm not scared at all. Really."

-He's totally scared. lol

-Not scared (Help me)

-But where's the path?

-Isn't it down the cliff?

-Isn't that considered exploration?

The viewers tried to find the continuing path.

Of course, there was no way such a thing existed.

'A lot of them came.'

Glancing back, he saw a large crowd in the forest.

They were the people who had been following him since he left Edlen.

Ding-!

[SafetyFirst has registered a 10,000 won challenge mission.]

[Bungee jump without a rope lol]

Just then, a message announcing a challenge mission popped up.

"Hey, that's just a mission to die. Hey, skip this one."

Yeonwoo shook his head in disbelief after checking the contents.

And another message popped up.

Ding-!

[?? (Anonymous) has registered a 30,000 won challenge mission.]

[Jump with Roper lol]

"What? Don't joke around! I'll never... Hey? Why are you making that face?" Yeonwoo, genuinely flustered, looked at Hanbit's face.

That look in his eyes and that smile meant he was about to do something.

"Wait. Wait a minute. That's not it, really. If we fall from here... Ugh!"

Thud-

Hanbit grabbed Yeonwoo's arm and kicked off the cliff.

Naturally, they plummeted down.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!"

-Crazy. LOL

-He was a good streamer.

-They're falling so fast. lol

Whoosh-

The two continued to fall.

"Heeeeeey!" Yeonwoo, screaming next to him, was practically crying.

'Almost there.'

Hanbit continued to check their altitude while facing the wind.

And right before they hit the ground.

Ripple-

Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed.

"Ugh... Huh?"

Yeonwoo, who thought he was dead for sure, looked around while lying face down on the ground.

It was a huge cave-like structure with sunlight shining through in places.

A thin, stone tower-like object stood tall in front of them.

A spiral path stretched from the bottom all the way around it.

-?

-What is this?

-Why didn't they die?

-Where are they?

-What's that?

The startled viewers also struggled to grasp the situation.

Hanbit, calmly getting to his feet, looked at the chat window and said, "Mission success, right?"

"...Ah."

Yeonwoo, who was in a daze, came to his senses.

Then, looking at Hanbit, he yelled, "Hey! I thought I was going to die!"

"But you're alive, aren't you? Just take the prize money."

"...Alright."

Yeonwoo sighed and immediately completed the challenge mission.

Ding-!

[Cuckoo has donated 1,000 won.]

[Those who were secretly following are jumping off the cliff. Over 300 people now.]

-It's real. lol

-Are they crazy?

-So many came.

-But why are they dying?

-Explanation-guy Black Dragon, please make an appearance.

A donation message relayed the situation outside.

It seemed the players who were following also jumped off the cliff after Hanbit.

"It's probably because they don't have this."

Hanbit showed the camera a piece of cloth with a green sword pattern drawn on it.

It was an item he received from the swordsman.

"Wasn't that just a piece of cloth?" Yeonwoo asked curiously.

Hanbit shook his head and said, "This is like a spirit realm, and this is the entry ticket."

"...A spirit?"

"You'll see. Let's go meet the Master first."

"Where is he?"

"He's right there."

Hanbit pointed his finger at the top of the stone tower.

A small human figure was visible at the very top.

"That's the Swordsman of the Wind? So we just have to climb that path and we're done?"

"We're done once we climb it. Let's go."

"...Huh?"

-That's it?

-Then it's a noob skill, isn’t it?

-He was going on about a spirit realm and all that.

-Is he serious? lol

Doubts arose at the overly simple method.

Yeonwoo followed behind Hanbit, who was walking ahead.

"Hey, it's not some lame skill, is it?"

"Why? Does it look too easy? You were screaming like you were dying earlier."

"Oh, come on, that's different. If the condition is just to follow the path, isn't it easier than other skills?"

Yeonwoo, who had high expectations for the skill, couldn't hide his disappointment.

It seemed he was hoping for something more spectacular.

Hanbit stopped in front of the entrance and asked, "Do you want to go first?"

"...Why suddenly?"

"It's quite a spectacle when you see it from the inside. It'll be captured better if you film it yourself."

"Really?"

Tempted, Yeonwoo stepped forward with a slightly brighter face.

He took a few steps.

Whoosh-

Something grazed his cheek.

"...Huh?"

Yeonwoo, frozen stiff, turned his head with a creak.

An iron arrow was embedded in the opposite wall.

"Eek!"

A beat later, the startled Yeonwoo quickly returned.

Standing behind Hanbit, he shouted in frustration, "Hey! What was that!"

"You said we just have to follow the path, right? Isn't it easy?"

"Oh, come on! You knew, didn't you?"

-Damn, it was a trap. lmao

-???: It's easier than other skills.

-Ah lol Easy to die.

-Can't you just see it and dodge?

-No, just get hit lightly.

Hanbit, looking at the chat window, took out a bow from his inventory.

"Why the bow?"

-A head-on fight lmao

-Is he going to shoot the master and make him fall?

-Crazy. lol

Stretch-

Hanbit silently nocked an arrow and drew the string.

Ping-

As he let go, the arrow flew at high speed.

It struck the wall of the spiral path.

Ping-

Ping-

"...What are you doing?"

"Let's go. Follow along."

"Huh?"

After shooting a few arrows, Hanbit calmly started walking.

He had already passed the path where Yeonwoo was standing.

"Did you… disable the traps?"

"Follow me closely. If you fall, you can't come back up."

"What does that even... Hey! Look out!"

Rumble-

A huge boulder rolled in from the front.

Hanbit raised his hand and shouted while looking at the ground "Fire Burst!"

Boom-

The stone floor crumbled with a large explosion.

Thud-

The rolling boulder fell right into the hole.

-That's awesome for a Rank 2;

-Ah, damn Rashtan

-Info) Rashtan employees also jumped off the cliff to get here.

-Isn't that obsession at this point?

The news about Rashtan particularly caught his eye.

It seemed they were all kicked out by Aitzbel in the end.

"Let's go."

Thud-

Hanbit jumped over the collapsed path and started climbing again.

Yeonwoo glanced down, gulped, and followed behind.

Ping-

Boom-

He continued to use his bow and magic to overcome the traps.

After using up all his arrows, he just moved forward with his sword drawn.

Whoosh-

Clang-

Flying arrows, iron maces, and harpoons couldn't reach Hanbit.

He dodged them all with minimal movements.

Yeonwoo, following from a distance, asked with a bewildered expression,

"Hey, did you memorize everything? Is that in the novel?"

"How can I memorize all that? I just dodge when I think I'm screwed."

"No way..."

-Sense of impending doom lmao

-Can you even see and dodge that?

-Is his dynamic vision that of a cat's?

-As expected of the king cat.

-If he was a puppy, he would have already cleared the path.

He responded playfully, but he actually did memorize everything.

Or rather, it was impossible not to know.

Crash-

As he passed the last boulder trap, he finally reached the end of the path.

"That was long."

With a leisurely complaint, Hanbit stepped onto the top of the stone tower.

In the center, an old man with white hair was meditating with his back to them.

[Asla, the Swordsman of the Wind]

"Don't come any closer."

A low voice was heard before he could even move.

Hanbit simply sat down where he was.

"Hey?"

"You sit too."

-Waiting game ON

-He's prickly;

-Even just looking at his back, he's a total master.

-Let's rebel.

-Time to use your chuunibyou.

Yeonwoo, after observing the situation, also sat down on the floor.

"I think we've finished the test you prepared."

"..."

Despite Hanbit's words, the swordsman didn't answer.

'We really went through a lot, didn't we?'

That man, Asla, had a social phobia.

Forcing his way closer would only result in being expelled from this place.

When he didn't know the circumstances and the solution, he was banished for almost a month and barely managed to learn the skill.

And after 10 more playthroughs, he possessed Asla's body.

'I know what's inside you best.'

Possession inherits all the thoughts and experiences of the original owner of the body.

Although it was accompanied by immense confusion, humans were adaptable creatures.

Enough to grasp the design and location of all the hundreds of traps.

Whoosh-

Hanbit took out a bottle from his inventory.

And he wrapped it with the cloth the swordsman had given him.

He lightly pushed the bottle, making it roll.

The bottle, spinning round and round, bumped into the old man's hand.

"Alcohol?"

The old man, glancing down, recognized the contents.

He stared at the bottle for a moment, then said in a cold voice, "Take it away. I don't drink alcohol anymore."

"Then roll it back this way."

"..."

-?

-Why isn't he answering?

-He told him to roll it back?

Despite Hanbit's words, he remained silent.

And as if he hadn't heard, he looked away.

'A dog would sooner quit pooping.'

He started drinking under the pretense of overcoming his social phobia.

But he had no intention of fixing his drinking, which had become almost an addiction.

That old man simply liked alcohol.

It was his disciple, Swordsman Balder, who was greatly affected by it.

"Aren't you going to drink it?"

"Hmph. Do you think my will would be broken by such a thing as alcohol?"

"You're going to drink again in the evening anyway."

"...Ahem."

-LMAO

-Busted.

-Abstinence (3 hours)

His fingertips, as he cleared his throat, were still touching the bottle of alcohol.

Hanbit took out another bottle and rolled it towards the old man.

"Try it. It's probably all alcohol you've never tasted before."

"I've tasted all the alcohol in the world. A fledgling like you couldn't possibly satisfy me."

"Just try it. If you don't like it, I'll leave."

"..."

At the persistent insistence, the old man's fingers twitched.

Glancing at it, he said as if he had no choice, "Fine. If I don't like it, get lost."

Pop-

The old man snatched a bottle and pulled out the cork.

"Hmm."

His back twitched as he smelled the aroma.

The old man slowly brought the bottle to his mouth.

A cautious first sip soon went down his throat.

Gulp-

"...!"

Suddenly, he jolted.

The old man, holding the bottle in his arms, quickly picked up another one from the floor.

-Old man?

-It's hilarious how he's hugging the bottle. lol

-???: Take it away.

-???: I don't drink alcohol anymore.

The viewers started laughing at his actions contradicting his words.

The old man, oblivious to such things, focused solely on the alcohol.

Gulp-

"...!"

The old man's back trembled even more violently as he tasted the other drink.

Gulp-

Gulp-

He started chugging the alcohol, switching between bottles.

And when all the bottles were empty, he slightly turned his body.

"...Don't you have any more?"

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]