Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: An Old Mentor
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Last night, Wonderland was ablaze over a single hot topic.
What the? Whats with todays trending item?
Sheet music? Why sheet music all of a sudden?
Users loitering around the auction house muttered to themselves as they looked at the Trending Item on the display board.
Usually, the trending item of the day was legendary-grade equipment or a weapon that no one could easily afford.
But sheet music? What kind of strange situation was this?
Huh? Whats this? Am am I seeing this right?
The effect is too good. Are farming buffs usually like this?
Meanwhile, the buff effect of the sheet music was unbelievably powerful.
And it was for a farming buff, something they had never seen before!
Even compared to the sheet music of most high-rankers, theres almost no difference in the effect, is there?
Theres no comparison. Its a buff from a wind instrument, a completely dead build, so its value is probably much higher in terms of rarity, right?
But are there any rankers who use wind instruments?
Well, maybe a ranker like Song Hayul is pushing a new wind instrument build?
Over string instruments? Really?
The reactions were generally similar.
The sheet musics performance was unbelievable; it was the first time they had seen such a powerful farming buff; a new ranker must have appeared, and so on
It was the same on the internet forums.
WTF I just found something insane is this a bug? (999)
A post that had gone up on the farmers board the previous evening had become a trending topic overnight, generating countless comments.
A friend of mine is a big-shot farmer, and he said hes never seen an effect like this in three years lol
Isnt it a bugged item?
Nope, Wonderland has its own reporting system, so you cant post hacked items.
Thats why all the gold farming operations went bust haha
Then what are the people above talking about?
Who knows lol
The reactions here were much the same.
The sheet musics performance was insane, it had to be a bugged item, and so on
It was such a hot topic that it summoned users from other classes, not just farmers, for an in-depth discussion.
Why buying the trending sheet music is a money-making move (99)
Not everyones going to hire a traveling minstrel, so Ill explain based on the phonograph.
You all know a phonographs performance is 70 of a live minstrels, right?
But this sheet musics effect is still insane even when played on a phonograph.
It reduces stamina consumption by a whopping 21 and farming time by 14.
And the reduction chance for heatwave and heavy rain events is still there, with no penalty haha
If a high-level farmer plays this and does infinite harvesting, theyd make back the cost of the sheet music in no time and even turn a profit, right?
More importantly, considering the skill ranks theyd gain, its practically creating money out of thin air.
Its already over 200 gold. If its too expensive, just do a group buy.
Buffs stack between party members, right? Thats what Id do lol
fr, saw this and Im going to make a group buy post right now
Hey, wanna do a group buy with me??
OK, see you on the board
That day, users endlessly posted, fueling the discussion.
No matter which board you went to, refreshing the page would show a new post about the sheet music every five seconds.
(Recruiting) Anyone want to group buy? Ill buy it if you pay upfront (31)
(Recruiting) Starting group buy, will show my phone number and ID. No scams X (99)
Lol the price of the sheet music is skyrocketing in real time hahahaha (4)
Upvote if youre a Wonderland forum user enjoying the drama on the farmers board lol
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.
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After debating the sheet musics performance and whether it was a bugged item for a long time
They finally arrived at one ultimate question.
But who the hell is the person who listed the sheet music? (22)
I did some research, and an effect like that requires at least rank 7 in sheet music crafting.
In Korea, there are only about 1000 users with rank 7. And most of them are string instrument users.
So if you exclude the string players, there are probably only a few dozen, maybe a few hundred people left
If you look carefully, it could be a ranker we all know.
The topic was the identity of Yuhyeon.
For the record, no high-ranking minstrel uses a wind instrument.
The rankings only show the main weapon, so theres no way to know what sub-weapon they use lol
Seriously, isnt it Song Hayul?
222 With her rank and wealth, it wouldnt be strange for her to own multiple instruments.
Why would a member of a first-clear raid party need a farming buff? lol
Then maybe Rei?
The names of all sorts of famous minstrel rankers were even brought up.
From the top domestic ranker, Song Hayul, to the foreign ranker, Rei.
But amid the various differing opinions, there was one fact everyone agreed on.
Whatever the case, with this level of skill, theyre definitely at least ranker-level.
That Yuhyeon was an incredible talent hiding his identity.
That he had at least the ability of a ranker, or perhaps was a super-tier player with a legendary class.
Whatever it was, the consensus was that this was a formidable individual with extraordinary abilities.
The Farmer Boom is coming soon
Why a farmer boom? Its a minstrel boom hahaha
The National Farming Association supports the creation of farming sheet music
And at that moment, Yuhyeon
was lying in bed, sleeping peacefully.
He was completely unaware that the community was on fire because of his sheet music.
Umm.
Of course, even at that moment, the price was soaring to astronomical heights.
Two days passed.
Waking up early in the morning, Yuhyeon habitually threw open the window.
Ugh, its raining.
Of all days, it had to be raining on the day he had an appointment.
On days like this, the best thing to do was to rest quietly at home.
The saying it never rains but it pours wasnt for nothing.
Its just a drizzle, so itll probably stop soon.
He then patted down his blanket and began to get ready.
He put on a pair of clean, well-ironed dress pants and a neat shirt to match.
It was a formal and clean look, a far cry from the clothes he wore to the capsule room.
Whew.
Next, he styled his hair with essence cream.
It was an effort to present a clean image, as a good-looking rice cake is also good to eat.
It was an obvious truth that there was nothing wrong with making a good first impression.
Okay, done.
Yuhyeon had two places to visit today.
One was a workshop to have his violin maintained, and the other was Sam Entertainment in Apgujeong.
The day had come to finalize the official contract for the hymn he had composed.
Team Leader Park Jeonghu: I will see you today at 3 PM. Please contact me when you arrive at the office building.
Team Leader Park Jeonghu: Also, if its not too much trouble, could you please bring your violin?
That was why Yuhyeon was dressing more neatly than usual.
He had already been asked to participate in the concept meeting in addition to signing the contract.
I hope it goes well.
A freelancers contract was as fragile as a piece of paper; nothing could be certain until the seal was stamped.
Crafting a good first impression and getting his violin maintained before visiting the entertainment company were all for that reason.
Is he going to ask me to play?
Of course, he hadnt asked why he needed to bring the violin.
The client had requested it, so he simply agreed, thinking it was the right thing to do.
The day will be over by the time I get back.
By the time he finished all his business and returned, the item in the auction house would probably be sold.
By then, both the price of the item and the result of the official contract would be decided.
This moment, in both Wonderland and reality, might be the moment he proved his worth.
The moment he proved his value as a composer.
Fighting.
Steeling his resolve, Yuhyeon picked up his violin case.
After getting ready, Yuhyeon headed to the instrument street in Seocho-dong.
It was the only designated Music and Culture District in the country, a place where the scent of classical music still lingered strongly.
The so-called home of Korean classical music.
Here, it wasnt an uncommon sight to see people carrying instrument cases.
From a cheerful female student in a school uniform to a man in formal attire heading to work.
They were likely musicians on their way to the Seoul Arts Center or various art academies.
I thought Id be standing here one day.
There was a time when Yuhyeon thought he, too, would walk this street as naturally as they did.
The venue for his planned recital had been the Seoul Arts Center, after all.
If only he hadnt gotten into an accident on his way back to Korea after the competition.
Will I ever go back up there?
Yuhyeon looked over the Seocho-dong area with a nostalgic gaze.
He said this, but he already knew he would never stand here again as a violinist.
Yet, he didnt feel sad or depressed.
There are many ways to make music.
There was plenty of music he could make, even if it wasn't with a violin.
The composing he had started to make a living had eventually led him down the path of a composer.
Its nice to see it after so long.
In truth, what did it matter where the place was?
What was more important was that he could still make music.
Yuhyeon shook off his lingering feelings and moved on.
It was around here
The place Yuhyeon was looking for was a string instrument workshop located in a secluded part of the instrument shopping district.
It was the shop run by Master Kim Seongdeuk, the man who had exclusively taken care of his violin.
Upon finding the shop, Yuhyeon stood still and looked up at the sign.
He had been fine on the way here, but now that he had arrived, he couldnt control his trembling heart.
It was only natural, as the master was like a savior to Yuhyeon.
What? You need your strings changed again?
What kind of kid comes in for a string change every two weeks?
As a child, he practiced so relentlessly that he would visit the workshop at all hours for maintenance.
The master would change his strings, a significant expense at the time, for free, and later even gave him a handmade instrument.
Back then, to the little boy struggling with repair costs, the master had said this:
Im not so hard up that I need to take a snot-nosed kids money.
You can pay me back when youre successful. Until then, repay me with your playing.
If you really feel bad, just play a song for me before you go.
Pay him back when he became successful.
Just let him hear his favorite music a few times.
That was enough, he had said.
Do I dare go in?
Ten long years had passed since he had cut ties with this master, his savior.
Although he had his reasons, it was surely enough to make the master feel disappointed.
He felt so apologetic that the various gifts he had brought just in case seemed meaningless.
I should apologize properly first.
But even so, the right thing to do was to apologize first.
Only by reflecting on past mistakes could one make a new beginning.
Hoo.
With that thought, Yuhyeon was about to open the workshop door.
Creak!
Just then, the door opened from the inside, and a wrinkled old man walked out.
He held a spray bottle in his hand, looking as if he had come out to water the plants.
Hm?
Their eyes met.
A silence fell between them.
The master was the one to speak first.
Youre here.
Slowly, in a very deliberate tone.
Youve been through a lot.
That is what he said.
Master
Yuhyeons eyes welled up.
Im so late. Im sorry.
No sound registered, yet it was as if he had heard the voice with perfect clarity.