The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]

Chapter 3

-What the...?

-Is this a bug?

-Is he hacking?

The chat sped up, filled with questions.

The window that had popped up for recommendations was overflowing with icons.

Hanbit, looking at Yeonwoo's gaping mouth, asked, "It's not just three?"

"No, hyung, how did you do that?"

"I don't know."

-Don't know?

-Is this some new type of bragging?

-Reporting him. Good luck.

-Report complete.

The viewers reacted as if he was trying to deceive them.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Yeonwoo leaned close to the screen. He stuttered, his voice rising in pitch, "H-H-Hidden! Hidden skills!"

"Hidden?"

"The shining icons! These are hidden skills!"

Surprised by Yeonwoo's intense reaction, Hanbit examined the list. Shining icons appeared at the bottom of the list. And there weren't just one or two.

-Holy crap. LOL

-Has anyone ever seen hidden skills in the recommendations?

-This is a real bug.

-But what's the point of hidden skills appearing? He can't even get them.

-The fact that the list popped up is the problem, you game noob.

The chat window erupted in chaos as viewers began to argue. It seemed that these "hidden skills" were quite valuable.

"Hyung, if you get these, we'll totally blow up!"

"They're just recommendations."

"They're not just recommendations! Look how many icons there are!"

Yeonwoo enthusiastically pumped his fist.

Ignoring him, Hanbit turned his attention back to the list.

'They really drew them well.'

Even though the icons were simple, he could guess what each skill was. Fortunately, they seemed to correspond with the techniques from his otherworldly experiences.

'The ones obtainable in Edlen are... about this many, huh?'

Hanbit scanned the icons and quickly made a decision. Past experiences aside, this was his first step into this particular game world. What was the same and what was different from the worlds he had experienced before? What was the Goddess up to? How could he make a lot of money?

To reach the answers to these various questions, a solid foundation for growth was important.

"Let's start with fire magic. Where do I get the quest?"

"Huh? You're going with magic?"

"Why? Is it bad?"

"No, it's not bad, but..."

-Magic?

-Maaaagic?

-Is he a romantic?

Unexpected reactions popped up in the chat.

Seeing Hanbit's puzzled expression, Yeonwoo scratched his head and said, "In this game, proficiency is as important as skills. And building proficiency in magic is insanely difficult."

"Proficiency?"

"It's like experience points that you accumulate by using skills. You need to accumulate a certain amount to move on to the next skill. The problem is, there's no way to know how much proficiency you've accumulated."

"What? Then how do you know when you've reached the required amount?"

"When you’ve maxed out the proficiency, an asterisk appears next to the skill name. Only then do you know it's full."

-Basically, he's gonna be grinding forever~

-Respect if Black Dragon uses the same magic for 2 months.

-He'll probably be crying and switching skills in a few weeks. LOL

"Hmm."

Observing the atmosphere, Hanbit roughly understood the situation.

"Is this realistic?"

"Realistic?"

"...No, I mean, it makes sense."

Any kind of skill requires effort to master. Hanbit's experiences and memories of relentless training were proof of that.

'It took me a while in the beginning too.'

It was natural that talent and effort were needed to learn something. However, with magic, who you learned from was even more important.

"Who's the teacher? Can I choose?"

"Teacher?"

"You have to learn magic directly. There has to be someone to teach it."

-What?

-New pattern;

-First ever magic written/practical exam in RP.

-He'll be getting private tutoring later. LOL

"Why are they being sarcastic again?"

"Hyung!" Yeonwoo hurriedly stopped Hanbit from pointing at the mocking chat window.

He brought up the map and checked the NPC list.

"The NPCs have crazy good AI, but they don't teach skills. Usually, you get skill books by completing quests and achievements. You can use them naturally just by equipping them."

"...Is that so?"

Acquiring skills was so much easier here compared to the other world. He almost blurted out, "It wasn't like this in my day." If it had been implemented the same way here, most people would have given up.

"Anyway, let's go. We're going to the general store, right?"

"Huh? How did you know? You can get fire magic from Julio, the general store owner."

"...Julio? Why would we go to him?"

"Because he gives the magic book quest?"

The two looked at each other with puzzled faces.

Hanbit said in a bewildered voice, "Isn't he just a scammer?"

"...A scammer?"

"That bastard is pure evil. The magic book and everything else is probably fake."

-Julio sobbing. LOL

-He does look shady, but no slander

-Scammer NPC (not a scammer)

-Provides magic book (actually gives it)

Mocking comments popped up again in response to Hanbit's firm accusation.

[Julio has donated 1,000 won.]

[I'm suing you for whatever crime this is.]

"Thank you for the 1,000 won donation!" Yeonwoo immediately reacted to the brightly flashing chat message.

"What? Did you just make money?"

"That's right. There's a commission, but anyway, you earned about 500 won."

"Oh..."

-Oh, here we go. LOL

-So cute.

-The amount will be different when you hit it big with hidden skills.

-That was just a bug;

-It's not even his stream in the first place?

The number of viewers increased slightly to 30.

Hanbit was impressed.

'He's actually making money.'

He had earned 500 won just by idly chatting and doing nothing. This fact was incredibly fascinating to Hanbit. Although he still didn't quite understand how it all worked.

"But you said 1,000 won is nothing to you?"

"Eh, business is different. It's good for you to change your perspective too, hyung. That's how you achieve great things, you know?"

He had tried to gauge the mindset of this silver-spooner, and the answer he got was "business."

But Hanbit had no intention of changing his perspective.

"I've always valued every penny. If you and 1,000 won fell into the water, I'd save the 1,000 won first."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

-LOL

-Roper < 1,000 won

-Could easily assassinate Roper for that money.

Yeonwoo couldn't help but chuckle at the absurd answer. Of course, such conversations were all too familiar to them.

Pointing at the map again, he changed the subject. "Anyway, Julio is the only one who gives the fire magic quest. Let's go quickly, even if you don't like him."

"No, wait a minute."

Hanbit pushed Yeonwoo's face away as he tried to pull his arm. Then he started examining the NPC list on the still-open map.

Scroll-

Edlen was a big city with many NPCs. Scrolling down the list, Hanbit stopped at the bottom.

[Artsvel]

"Found it."

"Found what?"

"The magic teacher."

"..."

Yeonwoo was speechless at Hanbit's confident declaration. Looking at the chat window, which was now filled with laughter, he leaned closer and whispered, "Hyung, that setup isn't bad, but if you keep it up, people will start calling it repetitive."

"Don't talk nonsense about setups."

Pushing Yeonwoo's face away again, Hanbit turned his gaze to the familiar streets. The map in his head was more detailed and accurate than the one on the screen.

"If you don't believe me, fine. I'll show you with results."

"Well, I'd be happy if you did, but are you really looking for a magic teacher?"

"Of course."

-Look at his stubbornness;

-Looks like he needs to find a game teacher first. LOL

-LOL Roper teaching someone something.

The chat window was still filled with mockery and criticism. Among them, the last chat caught Hanbit's eye.

-Spoiler) He's going to struggle like hell and then end up going to Julio anyway.

After a moment of contemplation, he looked at the camera and said, "Shall we go to Julio first then?"

"Huh? Really?"

"I said I'd show you with results. We can just prove he's a scammer. You guys will acknowledge it then, right?"

-Oh. LOL

-Plus one point for not chickening out.

-500 points for the training camp meta.

-I'll give you 10,000 won if he's really a scammer.

"Is that for real? 10,000 won?"

Hanbit specifically picked out the last chat.

[ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won.]

[ㅇㅇ I'll really give it to you. But if he's not a scammer, you have to do a girl group dance.]

"I'm fine with that."

Even with the condition of dancing, Hanbit readily nodded. There was no reason to refuse when someone was offering him 10,000 won for free.

"This is going to be fun."

Yeonwoo was already imagining Hanbit dancing. He wanted to clip it and tease him with it every day.

"So, we're going to Julio's, right? I'll lead the way..."

"Forget it, just follow me."

Hanbit ruffled Yeonwoo's hair and walked ahead. His steps were light, as if he was walking down the streets of his hometown.

"Huh? We're going this way?" Yeonwoo asked as Hanbit abruptly turned into an alley.

"Just come."

Hanbit continued through the maze of alleys. A short while later, they arrived at a general store located on the main street.

'...Wow, it's exactly the same.'

The store was recreated with an absurd level of accuracy. Through the window, he could see the store owner inside.

[Julio, the General Store Owner]

He focused on the owner's appearance more than the name floating above his head. The greedy face and the gems plastered all over his clothes. It was an exact match to the first time he saw Julio in the other world.

Crack-

Seeing that face, his fist clenched reflexively. The day he was imprisoned for the first time in his life. He couldn't forget the horrible memory of falling into that bastard's trap.

"How's the interaction in this game?"

"Interaction?"

"You know, in games, there are things you can't do, like messing with NPCs."

"Ah, if you're talking about freedom, don't worry. It's faster to find things you can't do than things you can. But if it affects the game progress, it's your loss."

"Is that so?"

-The freedom level is insane.

-Freedom comes with responsibility.

-For real, some people got banned.

-Lots of people got thrown in jail too. LOL

-There are quite a few cases where people's quests got completely blocked.

Looking at the viewers' chat, he got the gist. In short, it was like they were saying, "If you think you can do it, go ahead."

Hanbit opened the shop door and walked in.

"Welcome."

The owner, Julio, rose from his seat politely. Even his fake smile was disgustingly accurate to the original.

"You're still doing this here? You piece of trash."

"Excuse me? How could you say such a thing..."

-Crazy. LOL

-Surprise attack with insults;

-Is the AI glitching out? LOL

Julio was flustered by the sudden outburst of profanity.

The artificial intelligence given to the NPCs... Hanbit didn't know much about it, but he had heard that its performance was quite good. If they had brought that other world here as it was, then Julio's personality and tendencies would be the same too.

"You're the one who gives the magic book?"

"Ah, you need a magic book."

At the mention of magic books, Julio's expression returned to normal. He looked over the shelves and continued speaking with a regretful look.

"I'm so sorry. It seems the last one was just sold."

He took a step closer to Hanbit and said with a smile, "It's not much of a substitute, but I can give you a tour of the store. In return, would you do me a favor?"

"A favor?"

"Yes. While I was dozing off, a thief broke in. Judging from this, it seems to be the work of my rival, Artsvel. I'd like you to help me catch him."

Julio took out a small brooch. On the back of it was a symbol that looked like a signature.

Ding-!

At the same time, an alarm rang in his ears. Then, a holographic window appeared, displaying lines of text.

[Quest]

Julio's money bag has been stolen.

Use the discovered evidence to catch the culprit.

[Objective: Apprehend Artsvel, the General Store Owner.

Reward: 100 gold, Introduction to Fireball Magic Book (1st Rank-Normal), 50 experience points

Time Limit: None]

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]