The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 79

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 79

"Ahh!"

The division manager, writhing in pain, could only scream.

Whoosh-

"Ugh!"

As he pulled his arm away, he lost his balance and fell on his butt.

"You crazy bastard! You want to get reported!"

"Is that all you can say?"

The repeated swearing was so stupid it was laughable.

Hanbit turned his head and looked at Kim Jaeha.

"Are you okay? Your hand must hurt."

"...Ah."

Startled by the sudden situation, he looked down at his hand.

His nails were biting into his skin as his fists were still clenched.

"I'm sorry, Black Dragon. You caught me at a very bad time."

"Black Dragon? You mean that guy?"

At that moment, the division manager, who had been rubbing his arm, opened his eyes wide.

"Hey, Kim Jaeha. You should have told me, you idiot. I almost misunderstood."

Greed flashed in eyes that had just been full of anger. He seemed to be mistaken that this situation would be somehow beneficial to the company.

"We seemed to have a bit of a misunderstanding, so let's just forget about it. I wonder if the CEO is around."

Taking out his phone, the division manager took a few steps back.

He seemed to be calling the CEO.

"You were working under a guy like that?"

"......"

Kim Jaeha was speechless at Hanbit's bewildered question.

Glancing at the division manager, he looked away.

"But who are these people?"

"Ah, let me introduce you. This is Roper, and this is streamer Avantgarde."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Roper."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Avantgarde, a streamer who loves RP."

Following Hanbit's introduction, the other two exchanged greetings with Kim Jaeha.

In the meantime, the division manager quickly approached.

"The CEO has his phone turned off. Shall we go upstairs and talk? I have enough authority to..."

"Mr. Kim Jaeha, would you like to come to our company?"

"What?"

Yeonwoo's question, which interrupted the division manager, surprised both Kim Jaeha and Hanbit.

"Is this your final decision?"

"People who are passionate and desperate are essential to the company."

Yeonwoo nodded confidently.

Then, the stunned division manager opened his mouth again.

"...What did you just say?"

"Mr. Kim Jaeha, we want to recruit you."

"Ha."

The division manager sighed in exasperation.

Then, in an irritated voice, he shouted, "These kids really think this place is a playground! You're going to offer 250 a month to trash like that? Get it?"

"If you come to our company, we can give you a basic salary of 500. We have many performance-based pay systems and benefits that I'll explain to you in detail later. It'll be much better than working under a person like that."

"Damn it, these kids really..."

The enraged division manager flushed red and lunged forward.

A fist swung towards Yeonwoo.

Hanbit, timing perfectly, pulled his junior’s arm just before the fist connected.

"Ugh!"

With the target lost, the division manager staggered and lost his balance.

The division manager, who had fallen over, glowered in pain.

His anger shifted to Kim Jaeha.

"Hey, Kim Jaeha! What the hell are you doing standing there like that? Do you think you can do anything if you leave here?"

"...That's right."

Kim Jaeha, who had been initially startled, stopped hesitating for a short moment.

Looking down at his hand, he lightly clenched his fist again.

Then he looked up at Yeonwoo.

"If you'll have me, I'd really like to work there."

"Hey!"

The division manager shouted at the answer.

Kim Jaeha took a step forward with a determined look on his face.

Looking at the fallen division manager, he said with an expressionless face, "I'll quit as you said."

"What?"

"You told me to quit if I didn't like it. I'll talk to the boss. Since I'm such useless trash, he'll probably approve my resignation immediately."

Stunned by the attitude he had never seen before, the division manager was speechless.

Seeing that, Kim Jaeha straightened up and stood.

"Don't worry about the miscellaneous projects you pushed onto me. They all seemed like doomed plans anyway."

"What? What did you just say?! Kim Jaeha! Don't you dare walk away! Hey!"

His face flushed red, the division manager yelled after him as he walked away.

As he walked, Kim Jaeha turned back slightly and said, "It was hell while it lasted, and I never want to see you again."

* * *

"Who would have thought this day would come."

The four of them found a seat in a corner of a barbecue restaurant near the station.

Kim Jaeha, who was drinking cola, had a refreshing expression, but it also seemed a bit complicated.

"I thought you might want to drink. Are you okay?"

"I have to assist you when I get back. This is enough."

Kim Jaeha shook his head at Hanbit's question.

Seeing that, Avantgarde opened another cola bottle and said, "It's true that the post-resignation dopamine is the best. Now that you can just focus on RP, you'll be happy! Here, have a drink!"

"Ah, thank you. I'll have one too."

He couldn't get used to the two of them exchanging colas.

Hanbit, who was eating meat, looked at Yeonwoo and asked, "So, is the company really starting now?"

"Yes. I've finished registering the company and all the necessary procedures."

"Really? What's the company name?"

"DD Studio."

"DD? What does that mean?"

"Of course it's Dark Dragon."

"What?"

His eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected statement.

"Are you seriously naming it after my character?"

"Dark Dragon sounds cooler than Black Dragon... Just kidding. Using you as the face of the company is the most effective. I'm going to make the company a success no matter what."

"......"

Hanbit, who was about to get angry, didn't say anything.

Yeonwoo's expression was serious, unlike usual.

Ultimately, he, who was going to run the company, would have to shoulder the responsibility on both shoulders.

Especially now that he had brought in a new employee.

"...What should I do?"

Kim Jaeha cautiously spoke up, listening to the conversation.

He had yelled at the department head in a fit of anger.

Although he didn't regret it, he now had to face reality.

Even though Black Dragon and Roper had offered to take him in, he had no way to prove his worth.

"I'll tell you."

Yeonwoo took out his smartphone and searched for something.

Then he showed the screen to Kim Jaeha and continued.

"This is the actual contract."

"You mean the contract?"

"I've been thinking about it since talking to Hyung. Take a look."

"...Alright."

Surprised, Kim Jaeha turned his gaze to the smartphone screen.

A list of neatly organized items was displayed.

Clearly stated was the regular employment status.

Below that, the contents required for the employment contract were visible.

"......?"

As he read through, his eyes stopped at the salary item.

With a surprised expression, Kim Jaeha asked Yeonwoo, "The salary... are you serious?"

"The basic salary of 500 is fixed. Due to the nature of the RP business, there will be more opportunities for incentives."

Even the basic salary was double what he had earned at his previous company.

Incentives were a matter for the future, but the minimum guarantee was 50% of the base salary.

It was an absurd structure where he would even receive a portion of the income if he generated his own performance.

"What do you get out of this?"

"Don't worry. I'll get my money's worth out of Kim Jaeha. Do you see the job description?"

"I can see it, but..."

There were only three items listed in the middle job description.

Play RP with Black Dragon and appear on streams as an assistant.

Market research of items distributed within RP and collection of various information.

DD Studio's exclusive blacksmith.

He was confident he could handle the first and second items since he could just follow Black Dragon's instructions while playing the game. He was also familiar with market research and information gathering as he had done it alone at Taeyul Corporation.

The problem was the last item, blacksmithing.

While he was on that path himself, he was far behind other company artisans.

It wasn't something you could achieve with just will and effort.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can meet your expectations."

Kim Jaeha handed the smartphone back, apologizing.

Although the conditions were too good to pass up, he didn't want to deceive the two of them.

Reading his expression, Hanbit said firmly, "You'll be able to meet expectations. In the future, you'll be the greatest blacksmith among players."

"...Yes?"

They weren't just words of encouragement.

It was a conviction without a doubt.

It could be felt in his voice and expression.

"In Dwarven Metallurgy, Mr. Kim Jaeha is the most important. The opportunity is given to the first person to achieve the feat."

"Me? I couldn't find it before..."

"That's because the conditions weren't right. It's also related to the second episode."

"Yes? Are you saying it's related to the main story?"

Kim Jaeha's eyes widened at the unheard-of story.

"To be precise, an NPC is involved in the middle. We'll use this to speed up the timeline."

"There's an NPC like that…? Is it someone I haven't seen?"

Avantgarde jumped up from his seat.

The existence of an unseen NPC.

He'd explored every corner of Ifrit, regardless of the main quest's progress.

"You probably haven't seen them. But I can't tell you the details."

"Why? Suddenly? I didn't do anything..."

"It's not that. It's a skill that will become an asset to the company. I'm a bit hesitant to reveal it."

Gorik the Dwarf.

He was a friend of Camon and had helped him create magical equipment. To meet him, you had to meet certain conditions.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Avantgarde, nor was it particularly dangerous.

He just didn't want to create even a small variable.

Dwarven Metallurgy was that important to Hanbit.

"I won't tell anyone! No, I won't meet anyone until the Ifrit episode is over!"

Avantgarde was desperate.

He didn't want to miss anything in this opportunity to be with Hanbit.

"Anyway, I'll share it with you later, so it's just for a day or two that we'll be apart. We'll finish the episode together."

"But..."

Avantgarde looked around for a solution with almost teary eyes.

His sincerity was transparent.

"Ah!"

Then, Avantgarde's expression changed as if he had thought of something.

Turning his head towards Yeonwoo, he proposed a solution.

"What if I just join DD Studio?"

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]