Real-World Recognition
“Avant-Garde, you say?”
The familiar name jogged his memory, flashing through a few sponsorships and viewer reactions in his mind.
“Ah, you're the one who's been donating so often, right?”
“You remember me! I'm that Avant-Garde!”
He let out a booming voice full of joy, naturally drawing eyes from all around.
“Could you keep your voice down a bit? I don't want to advertise that I'm a streamer.”
“Ah, sorry about that. I got too excited on my own.”
Avant-Garde scratched his head apologetically.
“You're here again today?”
The clerk greeted him casually, like an old regular. He must come to this store often.
“Of course! And I even got the luck of meeting Black Dragon in person!”
Avant-Garde's voice rose again in excitement.
Kang Hanbit quickly slipped his card back into his wallet and said, “We're good on the payment, right?”
“Yes! We'll deliver the product to your address at your convenience.”
“Then make it 3 PM.”
“Got it. And, um...”
The clerk, who had been jotting notes furiously, pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from somewhere.
Then, in a hushed voice, “If it's not too much trouble, could I get your autograph?”
“...Autograph?”
The totally unexpected request threw him off. He wasn't a celebrity, and he sure wasn't famous enough for autographs.
“I've been watching since you got that hidden skill. I'm a real fan... would it be too hard?”
“Ah...”
It was hard to turn down such a sincere plea. The problem was, Hanbit didn't have an autograph.
Should I just write something?
After a moment's thought, he recalled one thing: the signature he'd used consistently in that other world through regressions, possessions, and reincarnations. It was script from there too, but even if no one could read it, that wasn't an issue. If anything, it wouldn't overlap with anyone else's—perfect.
“Sure, I'll do it.”
“Really? Thank you!”
As he took the pen, the clerk's voice brimmed with delight.
Hanbit fluidly scrawled the signature, his hand moving from pure muscle memory onto the paper.
“Whoa, so that's Black Dragon's autograph? It's super unique.”
The clerk, peering right there, sparkled with awe. It was basically a glyph, so of course it looked exotic to others.
“Bro, what's going on?”
Just then, Juyeonu and Mother approached the counter from checking out gear.
Their eyes naturally drifted to the signature on the paper.
“Huh? What's that?”
“Did you write that?”
Juyeonu voiced simple curiosity, while Mother recognized her son's handwriting. The habit of drawing that circular motif hadn't changed even in that world.
Hanbit decided to bail from the spot pronto.
“Alright, we'll be going. Make sure the stuff gets delivered safely.”
“Of course! Good luck with the stream today! I'll be watching!”
“...Thanks.”
Hearing a viewer's cheer in real life felt oddly surreal. Were all those chat rioters just normal folks out here?
“So, what really happened?”
Once outside, Juyeonu asked again.
Averting his gaze, Hanbit mumbled awkwardly, “...The clerk recognized me as Black Dragon and asked for an autograph.”
“I told you, Mom. It was bound to happen. With your face plastered everywhere, how could it not leak?”
Mother narrowed her eyes, as if she'd called it. She sighed, but seeing her son give an autograph was strangely thrilling.
“Haha, a star's got that special something. Makes my presence fade into the background.”
Then a man's voice came from behind.
All eyes turned to see Avant-Garde standing there with a grin.
“Huh? Avant-Garde...”
Juyeonu recognized him instantly from his face—another one who'd modeled his character after his real self.
“That voice is pure Roper. Nice to meet you!”
Avant-Garde, spotting Juyeonu's identity too, handed over a business card.
He pulled out another and turned to Mother. “Hello, ma'am. I'm Avant-Garde, streamer of RP game content. In a broad sense, you could call me Black Dragon's coworker.”
“Oh, hello. You're such a polite young man.”
Avant-Garde's charm smoothly steered the conversation.
Hanbit, watching in bewilderment, cut to the chase. The guy hyped up contact requests in every stream donation—he had to want something.
Or so he thought.
“Well, now that I've said hi, I'll head out.”
“...Pardon?”
Avant-Garde was bailing way sooner than expected.
Reading Hanbit's puzzled look, he flashed a warm smile. “You're spending your day off with your mom—I shouldn't intrude more. Catch you next time.”
And with that, Avant-Garde vanished into the distance.
Watching his back, Hanbit asked Juyeonu, “He didn't pitch anything?”
Avant-Garde's name hadn't been on that 100-person list. Maybe his terms weren't competitive, but he didn't seem the business type anyway.
“Just 'give me your contact once, I really wanna talk.' That's it.”
“Huh. What kind of streams does he do in RP? Story clears?”
“Nah, more like wandering maps, travel vlogs.”
An Avant-Garde was someone who craved seeing variety over pushing ahead. Wanting to chat with Hanbit probably tied into that curiosity.
“If he wants to talk, just do it. He seems nice enough.”
Mother chimed in—it wasn't a big deal.
Hanbit glanced at the business card in his hand, then slowly looked away.
“I'll think about it.”
***
An hour more of browsing later, Hanbit headed home with Mother. The Level 3 gear arrived almost right away.
“This thing costs a fortune, huh.”
Mother marveled from the side. A bit bigger and more intricate than his old gear, but simple compared to its 30 million won price tag.
“That's why I figured Mom would try to stop me.”
Before hitting the RP store, he'd told her about wanting high-end gear as an investment. She'd nodded readily—better to prep fully.
She still felt the same.
“Why would I butt in on money you earned? And those viewer donations? Gotta spend 'em wisely for the streams.”
Mother brushed off any worry as obvious. Money from her son's hard work was his alone—no parental meddling.
She'd been startled by today's gift, but he wasn't one to blow cash frivolously.
“Time for streaming? I'll prep dinner in the fridge so you can heat it up quick—don't forget to eat.”
“Got it. I'll eat even if it's late.”
Having watched him these past days, Mother knew he skipped meals. Worried, but glad he was so immersed and enjoying the game and streams.
“Whew.”
Back in his room, Hanbit laid out the new gear on the bed. Worth every penny—each part was impeccably crafted.
What to do with the old one?
The Level 2 from Juyeonu was still worth 5 million used. Better use for it than selling.
Vrrrm—
Settling in, Hanbit powered up. Vision went dark with mechanical whirs, then light flooded in—Edlen's scenery snapped into view.
Squeeze—
He clenched and unclenched his fist slowly. Twisting and testing, he cycled through moves to gauge the difference.
The results stunned him.
The immersion is this good?
The step-up in performance was night-and-day. Like shedding sandbags—Level 2 felt weighted by comparison. Motions were finer, inching toward perfection.
Level 4 would blow this away too, huh?
Next tier was Level 4, the last buyable off-shelf. Capsule gear was for elites and celebs only.
“Bro!”
As he tested more, Juyeonu logged in. Hanbit hit stream start right away.
“Ahem, hello. Can you hear me?”
-Dragon!
- Hey hey
- Waited forever lol
- Main quest gooo~
- Ending the story today, right?
- Think so?
Viewers flooded in, chat exploding.
To refocus them, Hanbit pulled up the quest.
[Main Quest #8: Assembly]
With Asla's help, you'd repelled the Holy Nation assassins' attack.
To judge Bares and Brooke's crimes, you need the king's sword—the Royal Knights' power.
Meet the old retainers Cown gathered and unite your resolve.
Goal: Plan with William's retainers.
Rewards: 50,000 gold, 15,000 EXP, 2 stat points
*Current progress: 66%
*Quest available in 12 hours.
The story charging toward the first episode's back half had three goals.
One: Judge Bares and Brooke to clear William and Liora's names and restore their status.
Two: Protect Liora from Bares and Holy Nation assassins.
Three: Keep the Spirit King Salion's trace in Norton's ring from enemy hands.
Failing any meant no proper finale. Especially with Bares and Holy Nation competing for the trace—Liora was in deeper peril.
That's why Asla was crucial here.
“But can't we just stash Liora in that secret room till the story wraps? No one'd find it.”
Juyeonu asked after scanning the quest. Logical, but it wouldn't play out easy.
“Not fully safe. Assassins fought there—once prepped, they'll collapse the whole area.”
“Then you hold the ring. Or give it to Asla.”
“Ring returns to Liora if distance grows. It's blood-bound.”
-Tough af
- Nothing goes right lol
- Lure with ring, have Asla wipe 'em?
- If multiple assassins?
-Then hand it over.
-Cut losses lol
Viewers spewed guesses and takes. But all fell within Hanbit's past trial-and-errors.
He wouldn't claim perfection, but experience didn't lie.
“Time to move.”
Hanbit headed to the rundown building in the alley.
At the underground secret space entrance, a message popped.
[Transitioning to cutscene.]