Viral Hero Quest and Internship Blues
Internet community RPG (Record Project Gamers). True to its name, it was the central hub for all things RP, buzzing with endless topics day in and day out. Then, one post that grabbed everyone's attention went up.
<Hidden Skills and Guaranteed Hero Quest Alert.>
A chuunibyou noob showed up, and this guy's broken AF. Dozens of recommended skills plus a bunch of hidden ones. Hero guaranteed quest is the fire magic route from Atsbel—check the screenshot. Curious? Hit up Roper's stream lol.
-? What's this?
-Your photoshop skills are insane tho?
-Fr lol, look at that blurry text.
-Who's Roper anyway; total flop, no viral
-This is legit. Watch the stream.
-Ban for promo;
In RP, skills and skill trees were the most crucial elements. Over two years, countless players had poured their efforts in, yet the number of uncovered hidden skills remained tiny. Even basic fire magic—a normal skill—had routes no one knew existed. So, the post's claims were hard to swallow.
"What a joke."
Kim Jaeha, fiddling with his tablet, let out a hollow chuckle. He worked in his company's dedicated RP department. Reaching for anything valuable—items, info, whatever made money—was par for the course. He'd seen plenty of these ridiculous bait posts before.
"And who's Roper?"
An unheard-of streamer. Probably some flop they called a "하꼬," but it piqued his curiosity just a bit. Purely idle interest, nothing more.
Click.
Searching "Roper" pulled up a decent number of posts. Ninety-nine percent were about the monster "Sloper."
"Streamer's... all from today, huh."
A few posts clustered around today's date. Every title hooked "hidden" or "hero" something.
"Black Dragon?"
The nickname "Black Dragon" popped up in every Roper post. That chuunibyou comment must've been aimed at him.
"MomChad? Middle schooler?"
As posts got more recent, keywords like "Black Dragon" and "MomChad" spiked. RP required parental consent for minors, but it wasn't off-limits to them.
"Huh?"
Kim Jaeha's casual scroll started to falter. Every refresh added more quest keywords—and mounting proof from people claiming they'd gotten them.
"...No way."
Sensing something off, he slapped on his gear fast. His other hand hunted for Roper's stream.
***
"......"
Left alone, Juyeonu froze in place. Hanbit had dropped the hero guaranteed quest bombshell and bailed.
-MomChad legend. Lmao
-How old's Black Dragon?
-Look at the nick. Lol straight middle schooler.
-Nah, feels like a buff unemployed dude?
"Whoa?"
Scratching his head, Juyeonu's eyes locked on viewer count. It'd hovered around 50—now it was 800.
"...Oh."
Hanbit's antics in that short window were unprecedented in RP history. If it spread to RPG community, it'd be the ultimate promo.
"Welcome, everyone! Black Dragon hyung will be here soon—just hang tight!"
Grinning into the camera, his hands flew. He hammered texts via his linked phone messenger.
'Please, hyung. Please.'
Tomorrow's stream would draw crowds, sure—but most viewers were still skeptical. He needed to seal the deal now.
Ding-
Phone alert synced from messenger. Hanbit's name at the top. He checked frantically.
「Kang Hanbit」
「Heading out first. Be there tomorrow evening—see ya.」
'...Screwed.'
"Tomorrow" hit like a gut punch. Protagonist ghosts in this hype? Viewer count climbing felt like mounting pressure.
-When's Black Dragon coming?
-Drag him here before I start flaming.
-Why's the room suddenly packed?
-Viewbots?
-Love this place—no emote spam.
Chat spiraled into chaos, unreadable. After racking his brain, Juyeonu made a tough call.
"Whew."
Deep breath, then a smile to the camera. Viewers had breached 1K. He wanted calm, but he was a flop streamer till recently.
"Sorry, folks. Black Dragon hyung has an emergency. Gotta continue tomorrow."
-?
-Wtf you saying.
-So it was MomChad?
-Deadass
-Baited us hard.
-Flops gonna flop lol
Negativity poured like artillery. No way for him to stem it.
Ding-
Another alert. From Hanbit again.
「Black Dragon」
Sender name switched to character nick—odd. He checked quick.
"Ah."
Short message drew a sigh of relief. Frozen face cracked into a grin.
"Alright, viewers—calm down a sec. Black Dragon hyung left a little gift."
-Gift?
-Bullshit
-Dynamic duo scam?
-Lemme hear it at least.
-Ok fine
"Gift" cooled the inferno chat a tad. Aggro messages got buried fast.
"Some of you might wanna rush Atsbel's quest, right? But no clue on the antidote, yeah?"
Regaining poise, Juyeonu steered the flow. Hero-grade guaranteed skill quest? Enough to make eyes spin.
"So, hyung spilled how to get that antidote first. Curious?"
-?
-He really gave away the method?
-Sure
-Peak bait;
-My dog wouldn't fall for it.
Handing over the method, not just a hint? Skepticism lingered, but it bought time till tomorrow night.
"Believe it or not, up to you. I'll pin the message to channel notice. Signing off—see ya tomorrow!"
He ended stream, uploaded the screenshot.
「Black Dragon」
「Quest antidote from 'Bomb Slime'. Clear it before I arrive? I'll hook you up with special info.」
***
Next morning. Up early, Hanbit finished Mom's breakfast and headed out. Caught a bus right on time to Songdo.
"Phew."
A complex sprawling like a village, bit outside downtown. Central building topped with "Enk Technology."
A mid-tier semiconductor firm with solid name recognition.
'Felt too easy getting in.'
Even experiential internship had a process. But the interview? Basically reciting his resume.
'Whatever, let's go.'
Straightening his clothes, Hanbit stepped inside.
Design department as directed—folks already hustling.
"What? You haven't fixed this yet?"
"Sir? Team lead said check this circuit first."
"Hey, who went to the lab yesterday?"
Warzone vibe, no room to wedge in. But standing idle? No one'd notice.
Quick think, then Hanbit spoke up.
"Morning. Kang Hanbit, starting internship today."
"......?"
Strange silence after the unfamiliar voice. Broke by a guy in the back.
"Oh, intern's today? Why doesn't HR communicate?"
"Uh... it was in the meeting notes."
"Yeah?"
Dismissive to subordinate, then back to papers.
"Mentor is Lee Minho. Take him, set up conference room."
"Got it."
Guy near entrance stood, approached with tired face.
"Lee Minho, your mentor. Ask anything."
"Thanks."
"Desk here's yours. Paperwork later. No time now—drop bag, let's move."
Bag down, they headed to conference room. Littered with trash and papers.
"Field work yesterday, missed office. I'll clear table—you do whiteboard, Hanbit."
"Everyone out on field?"
"Nah, my job."
"...On it."
Loaded reply spurred Hanbit to work.
Busy tidying—
"Why just you two today?"
Middle-aged guy with coffee entered.
"Morning, team lead. Intern from other day started today—helping out."
"Right, that."
Sip, then eyed Hanbit up-down. Tongue click, took head seat.
"School? Seoul?"
"Incheon Yeonju University."
"Incheon, huh?"
Interest visibly dipped post-school check.
"Parents do what?"
"Dad passed, Mom at restaurant."
"Hm."
Bored now, eyes to materials. Blunt, but Hanbit unfazed.
"Haven't intro'd. Kang Hanbit. Will learn hard during internship."
"No need for hard. Ditch passion, just do orders."
"......?"
"Don't work hard"? Weird. Team lead sighed, explained.
"Experiential interns are show-and-tell. Teach too much, company loses. Don't chase learning."
Gov youth employment policy—forced quotas on big firms.
"Still, for experience, I could study basics simply..."
"Minho, babysit intern? Fix your shit first. Senior act needs skill."
"...Sorry."
Minho bowed to sharp jab. Team lead shook head, sighed.
"Team lead, straight here?"
"Good morning!"
"Knew our lead's diligent."
Others filed in, bootlicking. Hierarchy clear.
"You done? Out."
"Yes."
Chin flick sent Hanbit out. Back at desk end, leaned into chair.
'Future's already visible.'
Experiential internship like gig work? Knew that. Applied to pad resume a line.
Issue: even that line felt doomed.
'Gotta self-teach.'
No hand-holding? Eyes and ears open. Compared to isekai intel hunts risking life, this was child's play.
Fired up, Hanbit sorted thoughts in the quiet office.