Cown's Final Gambit
This situation wasn't in his memories. Hanbit immediately approached Liora. The box at his feet looked like neatly sliced wooden planks.
"What happened?"
"...While watching you and Plona, something came to mind."
"Something came to mind?"
"When I was little, Cown gave me a white wooden sword as a gift. I was thrilled and went around poking at tree cracks and stuff, but I kept breaking things in this workshop. Camon just laughed it off."
Liora pointed at the sword hanging from Hanbit's waist.
Only then did his jumbled thoughts fall into place.
This creates a new variable.
One thing starkly different from the countless past experiences he'd repeated: the newly forged sword.
He hadn't intended it at all, but the sword's mere presence had apparently triggered Liora's hidden memory.
"Can I see it for a sec?"
"Yeah."
Liora handed him the note she was holding. It was several thin sheets of paper stacked together.
<If you've found this, I assume you're someone quite close to Lady Libentia. Did you succeed in punishing Brooke and Bares? Or did you fail? Even if so, there's no need for disappointment. There's one final option.>
The first page contained words of encouragement and a meaningful hint. Hanbit flipped through the stacked pages one by one.
Attribute Manifestation of the Spirit King.>
Srrk—
<The scroll below contains an item that can forcibly activate the power dormant in the ring. It will erase your enemies from the world before they even realize it. But the user will surely die, so only use it with resolve.>
Srrk—
<This technique comes from my close friend and craftsman, the dwarf Gorik. If you seek a slightly more distant future, head to the Amethyst Forest's Hedric Kingdom. Show him this scroll and note, and he'll help.>
-DwarfHam whoa
-Even prepped self-destruct; ;
-Roper's time to shine.
-I'll remember this.
"……."
The note ended there. Hanbit couldn't tear his eyes away, his mind a whirlwind.
Of all times, this shows up now?
He knew Gorik the dwarf and Camon were close friends. He also knew Gorik possessed the technique to activate Attribute Manifestation.
But he hadn't anticipated the scroll appearing at this point in time.
"What does it say? Using this kills you?"
Liora, reading along, asked in confusion. Hanbit pulled the scroll from the box and nodded.
"It's waking a completely dormant power. Using this ring and scroll to forcibly activate it."
"……."
It was news to Liora too. Even the original owner, William, probably hadn't foreseen this.
"Hah. Such a thing was possible?"
Asla, who had sidled over to inspect the scroll, let out a sigh. Gorik's technique was on another level entirely.
"...He thought of everything."
Atsbel, who had approached quietly, wore a bitter expression. She wasn't connected to Camon, but she understood his sentiment.
"It's a choice befitting a last resort. It must have been Camon's best option."
Cown nodded in understanding. If he'd lost both William and Libentia, he might have used it himself.
"...I absolutely hate this. The person using it dies too, right?"
Liora frowned, voicing her displeasure. More than anything, she didn't want the people around her to leave her anymore.
Shk—
Hanbit, listening to the conversation, tried to store the scroll in his inventory. At that moment, an alarm rang out.
*Ding—*
[Sub Quest opened.]
[Sub Quest]
You've found a way to activate the Attribute Manifestation in the ring. Should you use it? Or proceed as planned?
Goal: Choose an option and decide your path.
1. Use the scroll.
2. Do not use the scroll.
Reward: Sub Quest settlement
-Huh?
-Sub quest here?
-Settlement right away;
-Pick 1 if you're bold.
-Hwaiting(Roper)
-Safe bet 2 gg
The newly appeared sub quest had the chat arguing over choices, but Hanbit's mind was already made up. He immediately selected option 1.
*Ding—*
[Sub Quest completed.]
[Sub Quest settlement completed.]
[Main Quest branch point reset.]
[Main Quest total rewards increased.]
[Main Quest #12 completed.]
[Progress increased.]
[Main Quest #13: Preparation]
Decided to force an official trial using evidence from Brooke. It'll take time until Bares's verdict. In the meantime, maybe do something with the Norton ring and scroll? Pondering various possibilities over time seems fine.
Goal: Mull over ring usage while awaiting results.
Reward: None
*Current Progress: 85%
*This quest can be cleared by pressing the 'Complete' button. Connects to cutscene, proceeds to Main Quest #14.
-Rewards increased again?
-Whoa, 15% left. lol
-But what if we use the scroll?
-Big decision?
-Sylph, do it.
-Master, do it.
-Already did it all;
The reset branch point and the episode with 15% left had viewers fixated on the scroll that caused it. It explicitly stated the user would die.
It was certainly a path to losing a life, but a method existed.
Shk—
Hanbit tried to put the scroll in his inventory. Liora grabbed his arm.
"What, why take that?"
"No plans to self-destruct, so don't worry."
"It says you die if you use it! Plus, only I can use the ring!"
She cited her reason, hoping he'd spit out the scroll. It was perfectly valid, but it didn't apply to Hanbit.
[55 Regressions' Recorder]
The experiences accumulated by the Recorder are unlocked.
1. Proficiency of all experienced skills accumulates at extreme speed. Performance boosted based on experience level.
2. All Spirit Affinity activated; effects from spirit power exponentially increased.
3. Freed from equip/use conditions for all experienced items. (Stat gap performance drop remains, minimized.)
4. Unlocked (Keyword: NPC)
The third title effect from defending against Nessto Guild's attack.
He'd used the Norton ring dozens of times too. To fend off the Holy Nation's repeated assaults in the future, he'd had to eliminate the Attribute Manifestation.
However, this title didn't nullify the risks of use.
"Hold onto the ring for now."
"Not 'for now'—no one but me can use it!"
"For now."
"No……."
Liora trailed off in absurdity. Hanbit stored the scroll in his inventory and turned toward the exit.
"Gonna step out for a bit."
***
"But can this be used as a guide?"
As they stepped out onto Edlen's streets, Yeonu, following Hanbit, asked.
"A guide?"
"It's totally different from the guidebook now, right? But people who entered via story—can they copy what you did?"
-Fr lol
-Just do this and that. Easy, right?
-No way. Let's write a guide and roast 'em.
-Tha... that... stop....
[HappyChild donated 10,000 won.]
[???: Made 10 volumes nice and plentiful since it's tough.^^;]
-Arrrrgh.
-Spare me.
-One innocent newbie vanishes.
Mention of guides brought back recent memories for viewers. Watching reactions, Hanbit smirked.
"Can't help it if you like it so much. I'll compile it into about 20 parts. Sound good?"
-Huh?
-Ease up, you bastards.
-But I like it.
-Agreed
-Story's brutal without a guide?
Other opinions started mixing in. Hanbit thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Not 20 full parts, but I'll sort the essentials. This'll be for downtime, though."
-Free service gets respect.
-Ep 1's cleared anyway, no biggie
-Newbies, suffer.
-Good luck. lol
Leaving room eased viewers into agreement. They were chill since most had cleared Episode 1 anyway.
"Guide's up to you, but what about the scroll? Got a plan, right?"
"Tell me how to use this first."
"Usage? Suddenly wha—"
Yeonu glanced at Hanbit's screen, then continued more puzzled.
"RP Trader? Why this now?"
Record Project's dedicated trading app. Any player would be interested, but not in this conversation flow.
"Gonna find an item to modify the scroll."
"Scroll mod... Oh, Ether Ink?"
"You know it?"
"Episode 3? Quest item there. Drop too, pretty common."
-Yeah Ep 3 quest.
-Sucks for scroll mods though;
-Enthusiastic but clueless grandpa.
-GreenBeard one-trick. lol
Viewers reacted plenty, recognizing the name.
Green Beard... Got it.
Hanbit pieced it together from chat.
Common item regardless—good news.
"Usage first, then."
Yeonu explained the Trader step-by-step. Well-linked to the game, no hassle. Unique part: in-game gold and real money both as currency.
"But how to mod the scroll? Even proper use is under 5% efficiency."
"Efficiency?"
"Ink strengthens scrolls, right?"
"...Ah."
Player-learned tech only gave minor scroll buffs. But crafting/modding scrolls wasn't that simple. It demanded advanced skills for desired results.
Shk—
Hanbit typed into the Trader search.
[Ether Ink]
Search results: 68,640
That many?
Common, sure, but more than expected. Player numbers made sense.
Dirt cheap too.
50k gold each. No burden, so Hanbit bought extras.
[Purchased 3 Ether Inks.]
*Ding—*
Alarm with reduced gold and mailbox icon. Three Ether Inks arrived.
"Let's get to work."