The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 42

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 42

"Why are you so late?"

Arriving at the underground waterway, Hanbit faced Lia standing at the entrance.

-Oh.

-Lia hi

-Lia.

-Is she going too?

Viewers showed a welcoming reaction to her sudden appearance.

Hanbit, who had already expected this, pretended not to know and asked, "Are you going in too?"

"How can I just leave after seeing something like that? Ruby might run away again, and if children like Flona get lost..."

Lia added various reasons and tried to join the investigation.

Her efforts to persuade him looked just like her age.

"It will be dangerous inside."

"I know. It felt like monsters or people could pop out at any moment."

She answered while touching the dagger attached to her waist.

Her appearance, as if she was ready to fight at any moment, wasn't just a bluff.

Although Lia herself would be more wary of people than monsters.

"Okay. But don't suddenly run off."

"What am I, a cat?"

Lia made a dumbfounded expression, but there were quite a few precedents.

At least it would be a little less now that they had trust in each other.

"I'll wait here."

Around the time the conversation ended, Kim Jaeha spoke up.

Since he had already cleared Episode 1, spectator mode was his limit.

"You can log out. I'll contact you if anything urgent comes up."

"Ah, then I'll finish up the work I was doing. I'll be watching the stream, so please speak comfortably."

Kim Jaeha accepted the offer, saying that he was taking care of company work.

The fatigue seemed to be emanating from the side profile of the character logging out of the game.

It was a shame that today was Saturday.

"Let's go."

After Kim Jaeha left, Hanbit stepped into the waterway with the remaining two.

At that moment, a message popped up with an alarm.

Ding-!

[Entering the quest field.]

"That's a relief. I was worried that other players might interfere."

Yeonwoo, checking the message, breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparently, only party members who are progressing through the quest can enter this place.

It would certainly be convenient if there were no distractions.

Drip—

Drip—

The stench wafting along with the sound of dripping water.

The darkened atmosphere naturally put them on guard.

"Hyung, what's inside that waterway? It's not a dungeon, is it?" Yeonwoo, who was following behind, asked cautiously while looking around.

"It's not a dungeon. It's like a secret space."

"A secret space?"

—What is it?

—Are there monsters?

—It seems like Lia knows something too.

—Yeah, I saw the summary post too.

The viewers, continuing their speculation, mentioned Lia.

It all started with a post on the community.

<Anyone who saw Black Dragon’s stream?>

When he was opening the new map in the waterway, Lia collapsed and something like a ring fell out of her bag.

I zoomed in on this, and it looks similar to the Noston family crest?

Check it out even if the quality is a bit broken

I also uploaded a short clip.

—Huh?

—Isn't Noston the family of Mayor Brook?

—It's similar, but isn't it a bit ambiguous?

—Is she Brook's hidden daughter?

—Or maybe she's the daughter of the former head of the family?

—No way?

—?All of his relatives were executed.

—?This satanic bastard seems to know.

—Potato quality;

—I think she just stole it.

—?If that were the case, she would have sold it on the black market.

Players analyzed the captured data and discussed all sorts of opinions.

Most concluded that it would be unrelated to the Noston family.

Since Lia was known as a resident of the slums and a pickpocket, it was natural to think that she had stolen it.

"It's still the same."

Lia, who was walking ahead, stopped in front of the collapsed wall.

It was the space where they had discovered the cat, Ruby.

Shing-

Hanbit drew his sword and checked the result once again.

Even though it was still incomplete, it was indeed a magnificent object.

"I'll take the lead, so follow behind me. If you run off, the waterway investigation is over."

"...Okay."

Lia nodded, clutching the bag containing the ring tightly.

It was because she remembered the spark that had suddenly erupted when they first came here.

Hanbit, watching her, stepped beyond the collapsed wall.

"Let's go."

Passing through the collapsed wall, Hanbit walked ahead.

It was a path not much different from the waterway they had walked through.

"It's not much, is it?" Yeonwoo, who was following behind, said in a puzzled tone.

He had expected the environment to become harsher the deeper they went.

-Hmm.

-Maybe there's nothing to investigate?

-Yeah, there are many quests where you just go to the end of the map and go back.

Viewers speculated that it would be one of those meaningless places.

But the real deal started now.

Swoosh-

As Hanbit stretched out his hand, Lia and Yeonwoo stopped.

Crack-

An unpleasant sound came from the dark path inside.

What appeared next was a pitch-black skeletal monster.

[Enhanced Black Skeleton (Lv.32)]

Three skeletons with swords and shields in their hands approached, creaking.

The viewers who saw them were puzzled.

-Level 32?

-Is this really Episode 1?

-Black Skeletons are originally just level 25;

-Look at how good their weapons and shields are.

-Enhanced (quite a bit)

-I think you took a wrong turn.

This situation was too abnormal.

The average level of Black Skeletons was 25.

But with the modifier 'Enhanced', it became 32.

Moreover, since the appropriate level for Episode 1 was known to be around 15 to 20, they weren't even supposed to appear in the first place.

Creak-

"Eek!"

While they were wary of the front, a skeleton also appeared from behind.

Yeonwoo, who was close by, was startled and raised his weapon.

The skeleton rushed towards him, its eyes flashing.

Clang-!

Yeonwoo hurriedly raised his sword and blocked the sudden attack.

The impact was much stronger than expected.

Creeeak-!

"No…!"

Despite his strength-focused stats, his feet were gradually pushed back.

It was difficult to be on the offensive.

Its strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Black Skeleton.

"This is crazy!"

Thud-!

Yeonwoo, gritting his teeth, raised his foot and struck the skeleton's shield.

Creating distance with the recoil, he raised his sword once again.

‘I can leave him be for now.’

As he had shown in the fight with the Nesto Guild, Yeonwoo's combat sense was decent.

Even if he couldn't win, he would be able to hold out.

Creak-

At that moment, the skeletons in front also started to move.

It wasn't Hanbit who responded to their attack first.

Thud-

Lia approached the back of one of them in an instant.

The dagger in her hand was thrust into its chest without hesitation.

But the attack didn't land properly.

Clang-!

The dagger bounced off with a sharp sound.

"Ugh!"

Lia grabbed her wrist at the impact and stepped back.

Crack-

The attacked skeleton turned around, its red eyes flashing.

Its movements were faster than expected.

Whoosh-!

The skeleton swung its sword at Lia.

She watched the attack until the very end and dodged it by lowering her body.

Then, she dug in again and thrust her dagger.

Clang-

"Tsk!"

The attack, carried out while mitigating the impact, didn't work this time either.

Lia bit her lip in frustration.

Whoosh-

Then, another skeleton rushed in.

Even in a battle that was close to a melee, Lia dodged the attacks with quick speed.

—Whoa

—Lia fights well too.

—She's really fast.

—If only she had a bit more strength.

—It would be broken if she had strength on top of that speed;

Viewers poured out praise for her fighting, which they were seeing for the first time.

As her movements were honed for survival, she was able to cope with any situation.

Swoosh-

A faint wind flickered on the blue-white blade in Hanbit's hand.

Thanks to the melted spirit stone, a portion of Sylph's power was continuously maintained.

‘Shall I give it a try?’

The weapon was made with specs far better than expected.

Hanbit had the confidence to bring out its maximum performance.

Thud-

Kicking off the ground, he approached one of the skeletons fighting Lia.

He swung his sword towards the monster's shield.

Swish-

A line drawn widely from left to right.

Creak-

The attacked skeleton tried to turn its head and counterattack.

At that moment.

Slice-

Suddenly, a long horizontal line appeared on the shield the monster was holding, and it split apart.

Crack-

Despite sensing something strange, the skeleton tried to rush in, its red eyes flashing.

But its action couldn't continue.

Tilt-

Its upper body tilted forward before it could even take a step.

Soon, its body separated and fell to the floor.

—?

—Crazy. lmao

—He sliced it along with the shield?

—Is that even possible?

—The sword is amazing.

—Water Drop Blacksmith is the future.

The chat window became chaotic at the unexpected result.

Hanbit approached the upper body of the skeleton that had fallen to the floor.

Stab-

Holding his sword upright, he plunged it towards the skeleton's chest.

Crack-

The tip of the sword pierced through the spine and lodged itself.

The red core inside easily cracked and was destroyed.

[Experience has increased by 1,000.]

‘…This is too good.’

Hanbit pulled out his sword and admired it.

If he had only used the spirit stone, he would have needed to grow and reinforce it a bit more to achieve this kind of performance.

Indeed, using the greatsword and dagger of the Nesto Guild member as materials was a good decision.

Crack-

At that moment, the two skeletons, sensing the death of their comrade, moved.

It was because they felt more danger from Hanbit than from Lia, who they were fighting.

Thud-

Regaining his stance, he kicked off the ground towards the charging enemies.

Swish-

Slice-

The sword was drawn in just two motions.

This time, it pierced through the skeletons' chests, causing them to lose power instantly.

"So easily...?"

Lia stared blankly at the enemies that had fallen to the ground.

The dagger in her hand was lost for direction.

"Hyung, do something here too!"

Hanbit turned his gaze at the urgent voice.

He saw Yeonwoo, struggling against the two skeletons that had now appeared.

"Hang in there."

"I've already used all my strength! Hurry up and help!"

—Hahaha

—Good luck

—You can do it, Roper.

—It seems like they'll win soon (the skeletons)

—Go for it! (Skeletons!)

He waved his hand and cheered, and the viewers joined in.

He wanted to tease him more, but Yeonwoo was reaching his limit.

Whoosh-

At that moment, a skeleton approached Yeonwoo's blind spot while he was asking for help.

The moment its sword struck down towards his neck.

Thud-

Hanbit immediately kicked off the ground and approached.

"Ugh!"

As he pulled on the neck of his armor, Yeonwoo lost his balance and fell backward.

At the same time, Hanbit drew his sword sharply.

Slice-

Once again, the skeleton's red core was sliced along with its shield.

Changing direction, Hanbit thrust his sword towards the remaining one.

Crack-

The skeleton, about to strike down with its sword, had its core destroyed before it could even react.

Confirming their deaths, Hanbit turned his attention to Yeonwoo, who was lying on the ground.

"Get up quickly. We have to go further."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]