The Burning Books Trap
“Hyung, don’t lie about this. I’m really hurt.”
Juyeonu’s voice turned unexpectedly gloomy as he spoke in a pitiful tone. But the truth was the truth.
“I really filled them all. They’re the lowest 1-rank skills to begin with, right?”
“Things get way harder as you go up. But any magic takes at least a month, I’m telling you!”
“Maybe they’re fakes?”
“Forget fakes—even real skills can’t be maxed in a day!”
There was real frustration in his outburst. Hanbit manipulated his skill list to display it on screen.
“See?”
Fireball (1-rank Unique) ★
Basic Archery (1-rank Unique) ★
Basic Swordsmanship (1-rank Unique) ★
Swiftness (1-rank Unique) ★
“What the…? Does that even make sense? No way, is it a bug? It has to be a bug, right?”
Juyeonu looked genuinely flustered. One of the conditions for acquiring 2-rank skills was proficiency. All his skills had already surpassed the threshold.
The power of 55 Regressions’ Recorder was at play, but no one knew about that.
From afar, it really did look like a bug.
‘No, are the operators watching?’
Hanbit suddenly glanced into empty space with that thought. The devs from Team ‘Zero’ and the game company were surely connected to the Goddess somehow. So it wouldn’t be strange if they were monitoring him. Their intentions remained a mystery, though.
“Hyung, why are you staring into space? Explain the skills already!”
Juyeonu waved his arm, pressing him as he watched. Hanbit shrugged off his thoughts.
“It just happened. Oh, and don’t mention the proficiency on stream yet.”
“‘Just happened’? But why hide it? You’d pull insane aggro.”
“It’s a smokescreen. I need others thinking I couldn’t max proficiency.”
Maximizing the info gap required enemies’ misconceptions and carelessness. Especially if he wanted to screw someone over.
“More importantly, you saw them earlier, right? Those guys watching only us.”
“They weren’t even hiding. Someone uploaded a recording anyway, so I’ve seen all the characters.”
A video on the RP site. A group of players talking to Atsbel and getting rewards. Apparently recorded by accident by a player who fell asleep with recording on.
“Yeah, all Lashten people.”
“Perfect. That’s my target anyway.”
“…Target?”
Juyeonu froze, sensing something ominous.
“They picked the fight first, right? So I’m gonna show ’em something fun.”
“Show what? They’re a huge corp with an advance team! We’d just lose if we push it!”
“Hear me out first.”
Hanbit laid out his planned scheme. Juyeonu’s eyes went wide as he listened.
“For real?”
“Dead serious. Just play along with the vibe.”
“Of course. We screw Lashten risk-free. Good thing you kept it chill, hyung.”
Juyeonu nodded with a sigh of relief. Setting aside right and wrong, a newbie picking a fight with a mega-corp was insane. But if Hanbit’s proposal panned out, it’d be the best outcome.
“Alright, going live now.”
“Don’t get tense. Just be natural.”
“No worries. I’m good at this.”
His voice sounded oddly excited as the call ended. Hanbit donned his headgear again.
Flash!
The screen returned, and Juyeonu was right beside him. A camera and broadcast overlay had appeared in midair. Accepting the stream prompt, viewer count skyrocketed. Hitting ten thousand was instant.
-Why so late?
-super late lol
-shut up and explain
-who hasn’t seen the vid?
-do your homework first;
The chat was still chaos, scrolling fast. Juyeonu skimmed it and greeted first.
“Hey everyone, Roper here. You all know Black Dragon hyung’s next to me, right?”
-How tf is the name Black Dragon?
-they got mega trolled, but yeah Black Dragon class
-yeah the trolls were Lashten
-those greedy bastards
-fr real, rat bastards
The unfiltered chat barrage shifted to bashing Lashten. Many had finally verified the truth.
“Calm down first. We needed to check what happened too. Bottom line: zero ties to Lashten. If we were colluding for monopoly, we wouldn’t have gone public.”
-I believed you guys
-yeah that’s sus
-not me tho
-no relation at all?
-yeah let’s grind
-what now?
-finding swordmaster mentor today~
-street streaming til we find him~
The recording’s power was strong. Water-muddying attempts got buried easily.
“Oh, before swordmaster hunting, got something to do.”
-Something?
-what?
-double fuck Lashten prez ok
-why back at Atsbel’s tho?
-gotta show face
Hanbit casually entered Atsbel’s shop. She had her back turned again but spotted him soon.
“Black Dragon?”
Atsbel paused her ledger work. Her face lit up with clear delight.
“Liora ran off again. That girl never listens.”
RP built player-NPC stories meticulously. It felt truly real.
“You’ll live together soon enough.”
“…Hope so.”
Atsbel nodded with a bittersweet tone. She stood, brightening her expression.
“So, what’s up today? Need more help?”
“Wanna learn the next magic. Cool?”
“Next magic? Sure thing.”
-?
-wtf why so easy?
-straight to 2-rank?
-what about proficiency?
-trolls broke Black Dragon’s spirit lol
The simple reply and exploding chat left viewers shocked and confused. But Hanbit knew how dangerous this conversation was.
Slide—
Atsbel dragged a box from the back to the counter and opened the lid.
“Here’s the second magic tome.”
Ding!
[Quest]
Learn the second magic from Atsbel.
The book unlocks after 5 minutes.
Objective: Use Atsbel’s magic tome
Rewards: 10,000 gold, Fire Burst (2-rank Hero), 3 stat points, 3,000 EXP
-Hero again?
-not first-come this time?
-has to be
-then Lashten hogs it all ffs
-they’re in cahoots irl?
‘So that’s how it works.’
Hanbit nodded at the quest details. Using the tome was a game mechanic different from his past, but just a method difference. The 5-minute lock created a grace period, reflecting Atsbel’s true intent.
“Think it through properly. No regrets.”
“Got it.”
Despite her warning, Hanbit accepted. He approached the box and pulled out a tome. A small keyhole was carved in the stiff cover’s center.
‘Yeah, they’re dying to know.’
Hanbit glanced outside. The crowd was thicker now—definitely Lashten corp folks waiting for him to use the tome first.
“……”
Atsbel said nothing, just watching him silently with the tome.
Click!
After 5 minutes, the keyhole clicked. Hanbit flipped the cover casually.
[Use it? (Yes/No)]
The familiar hologram popped up. He tapped ‘Yes’ without hesitation. The book vanished in smoke, and Fire Burst registered in his skills.
[Quest completed.]
[First clear adjustment: Rewards maximized.]
[10,000 gold → 20,000 gold]
[Fire Burst (2-rank Hero) → (2-rank Unique)]
[3 stat points → 6 stat points]
[3,000 EXP → 7,000 EXP]
[Level up by 2.]
[2 stat points granted.]
“Done.”
-Done my ass
-first clear again? Unique again?
-it actually worked?
-reality check hitting hard lol
-Lashten pissed af
-gonna DDoS their site fr
-start with Julio
Viewers vented fury they couldn’t hold back. The returning first clear and Unique grade weren’t surprising letdowns.
“If you hit a wall, check Ifrit’s magic lab. Might find answers.”
“Thanks. See ya.”
Hanbit bid Atsbel farewell and exited. Simultaneously, people poured in—132 total. Lashten members who’d monopolized the prior quest.
Probably 100 Heroes, rest Rares.
‘Rainzer’s here too.’
The advance team Rainzer with his golden bow. He grabbed a tome from the box. Soon, red books filled the others’ hands.
Five minutes later.
Click!
The locks released with a cheerful sound. They exchanged glances and flipped covers together.
That instant.
Whoosh!
Their books burst into bright red flames.
“Huh?”
“What the hell!”
“My tome!”
Auto-translation carried their voices clearly. Shocked Lashten employees frantically tried dousing the fire.
But the blaze devoured the books fiercely.
“Do something!”
“It won’t go out!”
“Damn it!”
-?
-why theirs burn?
-idk but buuurn lol
-nothing beats a good bonfire
-hey Lashten do it again
-???: True Conqueror or w/e
Chaos in the cramped shop. From afar, it was hilarious.
“Everyone out!”
Even advance member Rainzer was in the same boat. He tossed his tome and grabbed gray powder from inventory.
Swish!
Powder sprinkled over the roaring flames. No effect whatsoever.
“Whoa, they’re all gonna burn. Such a waste.”
-Black Dragon sensei soulless
-waste is waste lololol
-but why only Black Dragon’s work?
-no gifts for bad kids
-fr shoulda been good lol
Hanbit watched leisurely. Only missing popcorn.
“The box! Still open?”
“It’s closed!”
“Talk to her again!”
Lashten gave up on the hopeless tomes. But the box stayed shut. Talking to Atsbel changed nothing.
“Check anyone who hasn’t accepted the quest!”
“Yes!”
At Rainzer’s order, rear staff rushed forward. Their faces filled with dismay upon checking.
“R-rewards downgraded to Rare magic!”
“What?”
Rainzer quickly scanned their screens at the unexpected report.
[Quest]
Learn the second magic from Atsbel.
The book unlocks after 5 minutes.
Objective: Use Atsbel’s magic tome
Rewards: 5,000 gold, Fire Burst (2-rank Rare), 1 stat point, 1,000 EXP
Overall nerfed rewards, including skill grade. Confirming it real, Rainzer raised his voice.
“Anyone who succeeded the quest? Anyone?!”
“Uh… no one.”
50 had accepted with Rainzer. Absurdly, their collective failure exhausted the first-clear chance. The Hero magic vanished entirely, unclaimed.
Whoosh!
Then Rainzer whipped his head outside. He stormed toward Hanbit with fury.
“Let’s talk a sec.”