Liora's Desperate Plea
“I’m telling you, my friend really disappeared!”
At the adventurer guild’s reception desk, a yellow-haired girl named Liora was shouting desperately.
“I’m not saying it’s a lie, but this is a guild for posting requests, right? I need the exact reward and details to pass it on to the adventurers.”
“I said I’d prepare it later somehow! Can’t the guild cut me some slack?”
“That authority belongs to the guild master, and they’re out right now.”
“Then tell me where the guild master is! I’ll go meet them myself!”
“Sigh.”
Miel, the guild staff member listening to the girl’s plea, let out a deep breath. She pointed to a group of adventurers chatting at a corner table.
“We don’t know the guild master’s location. If you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you ask them directly?”
“What?”
A rough-looking adventurer with a highly irritable expression. His half-drunken face made even approaching him seem daunting. It was doubtful he could handle a proper request anyway.
“Those guys won’t do. Maybe some other adventurers...”
“Oh, here to post a request? Got the paperwork?”
Liora looked back at Miel, but she had already turned to another customer. She didn’t even spare a glance this way.
“Ugh.”
Glare as she might at the heartless staffer, Liora bit her lip. Plona had left a note saying she was going to gather herbs and vanished. Liora had searched the forest, but monsters infested it, making a thorough sweep impossible.
“Sis is out right now, too...”
Her sister-in-arms Atsbel was away. She’d be back in a few hours, but there was no guarantee Plona would be safe that long.
“Sigh.”
Taking a deep breath, Liora steeled herself. She approached the rough adventurers in the corner.
“Nobles and all that crap, they’re all fucking scum! I could snap my fingers and they’d drop dead!”
Bam!
The drunken adventurer slammed his fist on the table, fuming. The man across from him smirked.
“Wanna get arrested? Insulting nobles gets you the mayor Brooke’s harsh punishment.”
“The mayor’s bullshit! That lucky bastard who lucked into the seat without any real talent...”
“Hold on.”
Liora suddenly cut into their conversation. Both adventurers’ eyes snapped to the girl who’d appeared out of nowhere.
“What?”
The man scowled irritably. But the other one caught on to something.
“Isn’t this the slum rat? I think I’ve seen her before.”
“...”
Even amid the crude insults, Liora suppressed her anger. She had to endure this now.
“I want to hire you for a request.”
“A request?”
“What?”
She got straight to the point, and both reacted at once. Their faces showed interest, but something felt off.
“My friend went into the forest and vanished. Help me search, and I’ll pay the reward in a few days. As much gold as I can scrape together...”
Bam!
Before she could finish, a deafening crash rang out. One adventurer had kicked his chair.
“Now slum brats are giving us requests? You think we’re pushovers?”
The man’s pride was genuinely wounded, his scowl deepening from a mix of inferiority exploding under noble disdain.
“...You’re not pushovers. I’m just worried my friend’s in danger.”
“Oh? In a hurry, huh?”
His companion, watching from the side, joined in. Tapping the table with a finger, he grinned unpleasantly.
“Five million gold.”
“What?”
“Five million gold, and we’ll go find her for you.”
“...”
The absurd amount left Liora speechless. Seeing this, the man asked teasingly.
“What’s wrong? Too much? Want a discount?”
“...What do I have to do?”
“Smart rat, huh.”
He placed a dagger from his belt on the table.
“Take this and go to the noble we tell you about.”
“A noble? You mean kill a noble?”
“Kill? Nah, just scare ’em a bit. Say it was kids’ prank, and it won’t be execution.”
An even more ridiculous demand than the five million gold. Messing with a noble like that meant severe punishment. No mercy for “kids,” especially slum ones— their lives meant nothing.
“...”
Liora, who knew this well, felt her mind whirl in confusion. The gap between nobles and commoners, commoners and slum-dwellers, showed first in punishments. But nobles among themselves? Totally different story.
Her head filled with worries for Plona, Liora’s judgment clouded as she spoke.
“If I do what you say, you’ll take the request?”
“Obviously.”
The man nodded, claiming no lies. His companion snickered from the side.
“Fucking psycho.”
“Hoo.”
With a short breath, Liora reached for the dagger on the table.
At that moment—
Tap. A hand shot out from behind, grabbing her arm.
“You don’t need to do that.”
Liora whipped around at the voice. There stood the adventurer Black Dragon.
“...Huh?”
And clinging to his right hand was a small girl—the very Plona she’d been desperately searching for.
“Sis!”
Plona let go of Black Dragon’s hand and rushed into Liora’s arms. Finally grasping the situation, Liora steadied her weakening legs and sighed in relief.
“Thank goodness...”
***
“Almost got interesting.”
“Tch.”
The two adventurers who’d been tormenting Liora left the guild. They’d have laughed if she’d actually died, even if it was just twisted entertainment.
-Crazy bastards;
-Why mess with Liora?
-No proper beatdown?
-How do you even?
-Reevaluate Julio getting kicked lol
-That’s pushing it;
The viewers watching poured out their scorn for the two. Mere passing NPCs, but no guarantee they wouldn’t meet again. Next time, their heads probably wouldn’t stay attached.
Hanbit turned to the two girls clinging tightly together.
“Let’s go. I’ll walk you back.”
“...Yeah.”
“Okay!”
Hanbit led them outside. As they headed to the slums, he explained what had happened.
“That was way too dangerous...”
Learning Plona’s situation, Liora dropped her gaze, her face gloomy.
“I’m fine! The adventurer was super fast and cool!”
Plona beamed innocently. As they moved away from downtown, a bit of life seemed to return.
“Don’t ever go out alone again. Just ask me for any herbs you need.”
“But then you’d be the one suffering, sis!”
“It’s no hardship at all! I...”
Liora trailed off, unable to continue. Biting her lip, she gripped Plona’s hand tighter and pressed on.
“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Plona’s safe.”
Deep in the slums, Liora bowed formally with genuine gratitude. Chuckling at the sight, Hanbit knelt before Plona.
“Don’t go out alone next time. I don’t wanna hear that awkward polite talk again.”
“Got it!”
“Argh...! Hurry up! We’re going too!”
Blushing furiously at the teasing, Liora spun away in feigned anger. Plona, still holding her hand, waved goodbye with her free one.
Then an alarm chimed, followed by a message.
Ding—
[Quest completed.]
[Sub quest unlocked.]
[Sub Quest #1]
You greatly helped Liora, who was desperately searching for Plona. She won’t forget this favor easily.
Objective: Wait for the next meeting.
Reward: Sub Quest #2 unlocked -?
-And that’s it?
-When’s the next one?
-Gotta push main quest now?
A vaguely concluded sub quest. But Hanbit had no intention of touching the main one. For now, waiting for the next meeting as stated was best. Rushing blindly would only worsen things.
“You look busy?”
Hanbit glanced at Yeonwoo, who was furiously typing.
The recipient shot back with a baffled look.
“You know who’s to blame, right? Just making the list takes forever!”
Yeonwoo was sorting through the flood of inquiries and offers even during the stream. Far more than expected, apparently.
“Log off and do it. I’m ending the stream anyway.”
“Already heading out?”
-This early?
-Where you going?
-Ditching us?
-Nooo
-Rak
-Nooo
-Rak
The chat exploded at the sudden end-stream news. Today had been short, but there was a reason for the early exit: a meeting tomorrow with his sunbae, Lee Minho.
‘They downgraded to rak chat quick.’
Eyeing the nonstop rak spam, Hanbit pondered. With today’s donations and prize money, it wasn’t something to brush off lightly. The issue was the content gap ahead...
“Ah.”
Then, an idea hit Hanbit. A way to satisfy viewers and positively influence the sub quest.
He addressed the chat with his plan.
“Alright, then. For the failed mission penalty, I’ll do a quick one-on-one lesson. About an hour should do.”
-Whoa.
-Mission succeeded tho?
-Legendary Black Dragon
-We stan.
-Pick me pls.
-All my luck on this.
-Hand
-Hand
-Foot
The shocked viewers desperately hoped to be picked. But conditions were clear: anyone who’d donated even 1 won to challenge missions or general support.
“Hyung, you’re really doing this?”
Yeonwoo sidled up, whispering. Apparently, a personal session with Black Dragon had skyrocketed in value.
“Just one hour. How do we do the draw?”
“Haa... Hang on.”
Realizing he couldn’t dissuade him, Yeonwoo explained step by step. The streaming system’s raffle feature made setup quick.
[Raffle targets set.]
Thousands qualified. Hanbit hit start after checking chat.
Rrrumble—
The name tags spun like a roulette wheel. Viewers held their breath.
-Pls
-Pls pls
-Life-changing hour
-Pick meeeee
-Let it be me
Rrrumble—
As seconds ticked, the spin slowed. When it finally stopped—
Ding—!
[Kim Jaeha]
The raffle ended with the nickname tag.
***
“Holy shit!”
Kim Jaeha, hands clasped watching the stream, jumped up cursing in shock. His nickname ‘Kim Jaeha’ was clearly on Black Dragon’s raffle result.
The dream outcome from sinking 100,000 won into the challenge mission.
[Congrats, Kim Jaeha. Come on over. If you can’t make it to Edlen, DM Roper.]
-Fuck, jealous.
-Ugh.
-Life’s unfair.
-Luck-based game.
-Luck is life.
-Who even is it?
-Viewer, duh.
Other viewers vented envy at his win. Swept in strange superiority, Kim Jaeha quickly donned his gear from the bed.
“Hoo.”
Excited, but this was still an extension of work. Stay calm for business.
Vrrr—
Lying back, the gear hummed to life. Steel resolve, Kim Jaeha dove into the RP world once more.