The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 33

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 33

"Hello! I am Kim Jaeha from Taeyul Corporation!"

Hanbit, who was waiting at the meeting place, turned his gaze at the loud voice. There, a human male was standing at attention and bowing.

"Hello. You're from a company, I see."

"That's right! Thanks to this great opportunity, I was able to come and meet you!"

-Hmm...

-He's from a company?

-Like Rashtan, it's the corporations that are the problem.

-They haven't done anything here yet, lol

-But haven't we heard of Taeyul somewhere?

-Small company names are all the same.

-There's also Taewool Corporation lol

Perhaps because he revealed his company affiliation first, the viewers' reactions weren't very positive. This was because the negative memory of Rashtan was still fresh in their minds.

"Taeyul? I think I've heard of it somewhere..."

Yeonwoo, who was working a little distance away, muttered to himself. He wasn't sure how famous the company was, but it wasn't very important right now.

"What do you want to learn? I think it would be better to do practical training rather than theory."

"Anything is fine with me!"

"Anything?"

At the vague answer, Hanbit thought for a moment. What was currently possible in the form of practical training was archery and swordsmanship. Most people wanted to go the hidden route, so swordsmanship would be better, right?

"Then let's do swordsmanship. Did you learn magic from Julio?"

"No, I skipped magic!"

"Good. Shall we go to a place where we can practice?"

"Yes!"

With Kim Jaeha's enthusiastic response, the three of them moved along the road. It didn't take long to reach their destination.

"Hyung, isn't this the general store? You said you were going to teach swordsmanship?"

Yeonwoo, seeing the familiar place, stopped and asked. This was because it was Artsvel's shop.

"That's right."

Nodding, Hanbit opened the door and went inside. The shop owner was organizing the goods on the shelves.

"Artsvel."

"Huh?"

Called by her name, the blonde woman turned her head. Upon discovering Hanbit, Artsvel gave a faint smile.

"Black Dragon? What brings you here?"

"Lia isn't here yet, is she?"

"Why Lia?"

Artsvel, still unaware of the situation, asked in a puzzled tone. Shaking his head, Hanbit pointed beyond the window and said,

"Lia will come and tell you later. More importantly, can I use the backyard for a bit?"

"The backyard?"

"I need a training ground, and there's no suitable place. It's swordsmanship, so it won't get messy."

"The backyard is a bit cramped because of the boxes... If you don't mind, feel free to use it. Just be careful with the boxes."

"Thank you."

Having received permission, Hanbit went out to the backyard with Kim Jaeha. It was indeed crammed with wooden boxes, leaving little space to move freely.

"You've learned swordsmanship, right? Take out any sword."

"Yes!"

With a spirited shout, Kim Jaeha took out a sword from his inventory. It was of better quality than expected.

"What's your level?"

"52!"

"Quite high, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. It's actually quite low considering I've been playing since the first day of launch."

-He was a starting player?

-But 52?

-You're forcing yourself to play the game.

-Forced RP detected.

He waved his hand and shook his head. It was certainly a low level for an early player.

"We'll do this for an hour from now. I've written the theory in the strategy post, so let's focus entirely on practice. Take your stance."

"Yes!"

Kim Jaeha took his stance, gripping the sword with both hands. However, there was something clumsy about his posture, more awkward than other players.

"Is the sword not your main weapon?"

"Well... I use a hammer. It's kind of a romantic thing..."

He said, scratching his head. He wasn't sure what kind of romantic notion it was, but it seemed like teaching him swordsmanship wouldn't be easy.

"It's better to hold the sword like this."

Hanbit stepped closer and personally corrected Kim Jaeha's posture. When that was done, he stepped back again.

"The reason I chose a narrow place is to restrict movement. Try to move delicately so you don't touch your surroundings."

"Understood!"

"Then let's begin."

Thud-

Lightly kicking off the ground, Hanbit closed the distance in an instant. Kim Jaeha's reaction was delayed by the speed, which felt even faster than it looked on the stream.

"Ugh!"

The attack rushed in before he could even move properly. By the time he tried to swing his sword a beat late, the tip of Hanbit's sword was already pointed at his neck.

"This means you're dead. Balder's stats are adjusted to the player, so he'll be faster than this. You need to read his movements in advance."

"...Understood."

Nodding, Kim Jaeha gripped his sword again. He had a certain amount of pride in the two years he had spent immersed in RP. Because of that, he couldn't imagine himself being unable to do anything like this.

"Please, again."

"Yes. I'll start with a downward slash to the right."

Thud-

Kim Jaeha was noticeably more serious than before. As Hanbit gradually adjusted his attack speed, he glanced inside the shop.

'She's here now.'

Lia's face was visible through the window. She had come to talk to Artsvel and was glancing at the training scene. It wouldn't seem special to anyone else, but Hanbit had chosen the backyard of the general store as the location in anticipation of this situation. As Lia's interest and curiosity grew, this episode would unfold in a completely different way.

"I'll try going a little faster."

"...Yes!"

Hanbit continued the training, pretending not to notice her gaze. Focused on the onslaught of attacks, Kim Jaeha didn't notice the spectator who had come secretly.

* * *

"..."

50 minutes later.

Kim Jaeha, having dropped his sword, stared blankly at his hand. Out of the hundreds of Black Dragon's attacks, the number he had successfully blocked was zero. There was no other way to put it, it was truly zero.

Clench-

His initial purpose for coming, which was for business, had somehow faded into the back of his mind. He hadn't checked the chat window for a while now. It was obvious that they would be making fun of him, bringing up his title as an early player.

"What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing."

Shaking his head at Black Dragon's question, Kim Jaeha lowered his posture. Just before picking up the sword that had fallen to the ground, words suddenly came out of his mouth.

"Would it be alright if I tried using a hammer?"

"A hammer? Hmm."

Black Dragon fell into thought for a moment. However, it didn't seem to be a big problem, as he nodded.

"It wouldn't be bad to experience the remaining time with an unfamiliar weapon. You can use it."

"Thank you."

Putting the sword back into his inventory, Kim Jaeha took out his main weapon. A bronze hammer with a long handle. It was an item he had personally crafted with great care.

"Can we try it in duel mode?"

"Duel mode?"

-Oh.

-Hammer Man is pissed. lol

-Salaryman's Fury.

-It's frustrating to not be able to do anything for 50 minutes.

-Really show him what an early player is all about.

RP basically imposes penalties on PVP. There were two ways to avoid this. One was to allow the opponent to attack first. The other was to use duel mode for mutually agreed PVP.

"Alright. Let's spar for the remaining time."

"Thank you."

Ding-!

[Kim Jaeha has requested a duel.]

[Do you accept? (Yes/No)]

The message arrived immediately. As he pressed the 'Yes' button, his opponent's nickname turned orange.

Taking his stance, Hanbit said leisurely, "You can come at me anytime."

"Then... excuse me!"

Thud-

Kicking off the ground, Kim Jaeha leaped upwards. Clenching his teeth, he brought the hammer held in both hands down forcefully.

Crash-!

With a powerful impact, the hammer head struck the ground. However, Black Dragon was no longer there.

Thud-!

"...!"

A sword, thrust from behind his head, appeared in his vision. His eyes widening, Kim Jaeha swung his hammer again.

Whoosh-

The arc drawn towards the empty air hit nothing. Black Dragon had reappeared in front of him once more.

"When facing a fast opponent with a hammer, it's better to change your grip. If you have a secondary weapon, you can also use the hammer as a decoy."

"I'll prove it with my own method!"

Thud-

Kim Jaeha kicked off the ground again. His hammer was enveloped in a yellow light.

Whir-

With a resonating sound, the hammer was swung with great force. And the moment Hanbit stepped back.

Bang-!

A fierce attack struck the spot where he had been standing.

Rumble-

The ground shook with tremendous vibrations. The impact spread to the surroundings.

Crash-!

Kim Jaeha's attack shattered the numerous boxes, making a mess. It was an active skill he had unleashed as a last resort, having been continuously pushed back. Unfortunately, it didn't inflict even the slightest damage on Hanbit.

"Hmm."

Looking at the chaotic surroundings, Hanbit scratched his head. And then he voiced what he had been thinking.

"Do you perhaps have little combat experience? Or maybe you're not suited for it..."

"No, wouldn't anyone be the same in this situation?!"

Kim Jaeha yelled in frustration at the implication in his voice.

"I'm not trying to imply anything, just expressing my concern. It's better to use your time efficiently. How are you with other things besides combat?"

"From the beginning..."

He clenched his fists, his voice trembling. Unable to hear him clearly, Hanbit took a step closer. Then, Kim Jaeha abruptly lifted his head and cried out.

"From the beginning, I'm a blacksmith!"

"...Yes?"

-Huh?

-Oh.

-He was a blacksmith?

-Why didn't you say so;

-You've been through a lot. lol

The viewers were also taken aback by the shocking confession. Blacksmithing, one of the main life professions. Although minimal hunting was necessary, combat was by no means an important skill for them.

"You should have said something earlier. I just thought you were an early player and went harder on you."

"I thought I'd be okay... Talk about a frog in a well."

The seemingly lost 2 years of playtime made him gloomy. While he was contemplating whether consolation was needed, an alarm sound rang in his ears.

Ding-!

[Seolmyeongchung has donated 1,000 won.]

[Information) Taeyul Corporation is the first company to find the Dwarven Metallurgy skill route. Of course, they failed miserably in obtaining it.]

-Ah, that's right.

-That was Taeyul Corporation?

-I remember now that I hear it.

-It was a hidden skill, so it was a shame.

-Yeah, no chance, right?

"Dwarven Metallurgy?"

The name of a skill that Hanbit also knew well came up. He had seen it in the recommended skills, but he couldn't obtain it right away.

"Ah, I remember now. It was before I started playing the game, but the community was quite noisy about it,” Yeonwoo also added, nodding his head.

"If they found the route, does that mean they found the quest?"

"To be precise, it was a related achievement. Finding the hidden skill quest with that is a completely different matter. Even with all the competitors jumping in, no one could find it in the end."

"Really?"

He didn't know what kind of achievement it was, but he roughly understood. Recalling old memories, Hanbit looked at Kim Jaeha.

"Was it the company that was looking for Dwarven Metallurgy?"

"...Yes, that's right. Although it's all in the past now."

He nodded, as if there was nothing to hide. His expression became even more gloomy, stirring Hanbit's interest.

"If you're an employee, then you must have been looking for it back then, Mr. Kim Jaeha?"

"Ah, yes. Actually, I was the one who first discovered it..."

"The first?"

That word couldn't be missed. Dwarven Metallurgy was a highly valuable skill in many ways. This was because the condition of being 'first' played a big role in obtaining it.

"I'll send you a friend request, accept it."

]

"Yes?"

"If you're from a company, you came here to make connections anyway, right? Or do you need more one-on-one training?"

"No, that's not it."

Kim Jaeha shook his head firmly. He looked so genuinely innocent that Hanbit almost laughed. He sent a friend request to Kim Jaeha's nickname.

Ding-!

The name was immediately added to the list. Kim Jaeha just stared blankly, seemingly unable to believe the situation.

‘Lia is gone.'

Lia was no longer visible through the window. Instead, the shop owner was standing there with a cold smile.

"Ah."

Looking at the wrecked backyard, Hanbit sensed danger. He pulled the dazed Kim Jaeha back into the shop.

"Sorry. This guy will compensate for everything."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]