Ugh... The Dingy 4th Floor in Jongno Alley
Seoul's Jongno district, the rickety old building's fourth floor. In the office lit only by a single desk lamp, a vibration buzzed through the air.
"Ugh..."
Kim Jaeha, who had passed out with his head buried in the cluttered desk, groped blindly for his phone. Finally grabbing his smartphone, he pried open his heavy eyelids halfway.
「Black Dragon」
「Sorry to bother you when you're busy. If you have time, could you log in now?」
"...Ah."
The moment he saw the name, sleep vanished in an instant. He hadn't replied to the previous message either. And the reason lay in this suffocating situation weighing on his chest.
"This fucking sucks."
Right after Black Dragon's auction item hit the RP Trader. Kim Jaeha had urgently reported it to his department head. He wanted to bid under the company's name somehow, to open up a business connection.
But the response was as repulsive as ever.
'This bastard's just trying to blow company money again. Hey, you in cahoots with Black Dragon? Trying to skim some off the top?'
Even if he succeeded in contacting Black Dragon, the company would have to provide real benefits. This investment would bring massive returns. He tried persuading with every argument under the sun, but the department head spat curses and ignored the proposal.
Such a pathetic, incompetent decision. He couldn't even lift his head toward Black Dragon, who had acted in good faith.
Doing this for a scumbag like the department head and the company—it filled him with shame.
"Haa."
Letting out a deep sigh, Kim Jaeha stared at the piled-up documents. Two sleepless nights in the office sorting through mountains of import-export paperwork and double-checking figures. Handling two departments' worth of work regularly dragged him into this hellish routine.
He hadn't even checked the streams since Black Dragon cleared the episode.
"Haaa."
Slumped in his chair, Kim Jaeha's gaze drifted to the ceiling. Why was he still at this company? When, where had it all gone wrong? Those thoughts swirled through his mind.
'Oppa, can't come home tonight either?'
'You eating properly?'
'Yuna keeps whining she wants Daddy.'
The brief call with his wife. He wanted to go home, eat a warm meal, hug his adorable daughter.
But reality—sleepless nights force-feeding himself half-cooked instant ramen—was utterly bleak.
"Maybe I should quit."
They say salarymen always carry their resignation letter in their pocket. But someone with a family to protect couldn't pull out that white envelope.
He could job-hunt, sure, but even that was riddled with uncertainty.
"...Back to work."
Returning to harsh reality, Kim Jaeha turned to his stacked tasks. First, he sent a short reply to Black Dragon.
「Sorry.」
***
The edge of Edlen's forest.
Standing there, Hanbit faced a tall man.
"Allow me to greet you properly once more! I'm Avant-garde, the streamer who loves RP!"
The same appearance as the one he'd seen at the department store. The nickname Avant-garde floated clearly above his head.
"Hey. You got here pretty fast."
"Of course. I always keep Black Dragon's stream open. It's a shame Roper had to step out."
Before Avant-garde arrived, Yeonwoo had logged off to handle startup business. He seemed to be in the final stretch, given how busy he was.
'Must be a crazy demanding company.'
He'd wanted to bring Kim Jaeha along too, but only a curt sorry came back. From the vibe, it was probably like Lee Minho's situation with his mentor. Looked like he'd need to meet them in person.
"Hmm..."
Glancing around briefly, Avant-garde stepped a bit closer.
"Shall we move somewhere else first? The crowd's growing."
The people milling about nearby were impossible to ignore now. At least Rainzer, that pissed-off guy, wasn't in sight—unexpected, but whatever.
"How'd these people even find this spot? I blurred the screen and everything before moving."
"Ah, Black Dragon's location gets relayed across the community."
"...Relayed?"
At the odd statement, Hanbit pulled up the community. He checked a post and scanned the comments.
<Anyone wanna share Black Dragon's location in comments?>
Just logged into Hateboard, and he's at Atsbel's shop right now. Anyone who sees him, share in comments gg
-Crazy stalkers whoa
-Getting something else from Atsbel?
-Says he's heading to a dungeon now?
-Out of Edlen, moving.
-Found the dungeon here, marked it.
-About to tackle the dungeon.
-What a insane dungeon lol;
-Clear done.
-Out of the dungeon.
-Blurring screen and moving.
-Now at 11 o'clock from Edlen dungeon...
…….
'These people are nuts.'
He'd expected someone might tail him. But real-time broadcasting like this? No way he saw that coming.
Sighing, Hanbit looked at Avant-garde.
"I get how it happened, but they'll chase us anywhere we go."
"Ah, no worries. I've got these."
He pulled out two red cards. The familiar hourglass pattern on the surface was something Hanbit knew well.
"Those Teleport Cards, right? Where'd you get 'em?"
Items that randomly teleported you within a set range. Hard to find or obtain in the Raven Kingdom.
"As expected, you know them! Got these in a rural village called Bananba."
"Whoa, you found that place? You used one before?"
"Tried one, but the random teleport's a bummer. Seems best as an emergency escape."
"Hmm."
Magic tools that got iffy treatment because of the lack of control. But Hanbit knew how to use them properly.
Especially perfect if he could deploy them in the next episode.
"Wanna sell 'em to me instead? Gold or cash..."
"Oh, no no. If you need them, they're yours!"
Avant-garde handed them over without a second's hesitation. Strangely, there wasn't a whiff of ulterior motive.
"Just giving them away?"
"It's my pleasure. When you called me in, it really touched me. If it weren't mid-stream, I might've teared up."
-Black Dragon's just a good dude...
-Avant-garde's a viewer, been camped in Edlen for days just to catch Black Dragon.
-What's a viewer's crime?
-Crime of picking the wrong streamer lol.
Avant-garde's eyes shone with sincerity. You could feel his desperation from the repeated donations and messages.
"Then I'll gladly take them. Thanks."
"No problem at all."
He had plenty to offer Avant-garde in return, so Hanbit accepted the kindness. The two cards went into his inventory.
"Crowd's gotten bigger. What now?"
Avant-garde glanced around again. The growing number of players were now openly staring.
"Just ignore 'em and keep going."
"Pardon? You sure?"
"Long as they don't suddenly attack. Shall we head into the forest?"
"Perfect! Nothing beats a stroll in RP, right?"
Avant-garde nodded eagerly, delighted. It hit Hanbit then—his main content was traveling the world.
Anyway, they agreed and started walking along the path. After a bit of trekking through the forest amid various exclamations, Avant-garde cautiously broached the subject.
"Mind if I ask why you called me?"
"Why?"
"When you cleared the episode and the world message popped up, I figured you'd go with big corps or frontrunners. Fairly resigned myself."
An average streamer with about 10k viewers. A vet from RP launch, but small fry compared to the heavyweights. He hadn't chased stories or growth like others.
"You've donated a ton and kept messaging. And we've met IRL—that's a connection."
"I thought it was a dream back then. If your family wasn't there, I might've rambled on cluelessly."
-?
-IRL meetup?
-Where, I'm coming.
-Stay holed up in your room like always.
-Chatty much...
-He'd do it anyway...
Avant-garde reminisced happily. Watching him, Hanbit decided to revise his opinion.
"Strip away the RP world stuff, and I'm just a noob. Still a ton I don't know about the system or players."
"Templates won't constrain you, Black Dragon... But from past episodes, info and ties to other players matter a lot. Some spots you can't solo."
"Team up?"
"Sometimes teams, sometimes factions clashing. Of course, like your truth route in Edlen, you could flip the script entirely!"
His words started in worry but ended in excitement. Hanbit got where he was coming from, but solo viability depended on the situation. Unreached stories were unpredictable.
'Shorter time's always better...'
Checking the map, Hanbit pondered the future briefly. Folks said his pace was fast, but honestly, it felt lacking. Goal was catching the frontrunners.
As that thought crossed his mind, Hanbit asked Avant-garde,
"Heard you've traveled everywhere. How far you been?"
"Covered most of the western continent with Raven. Peeked at the central Holy Nation out of curiosity, but east is blocked off. So much going on."
His travel content meant countless players and NPCs encountered. Surprisingly wide unexpected network too, apparently.
'Jackpot.'
Hanbit was surprised by the unexpected perks. Totally different from Luna's intel. And roaming various spots? Might have info even he lacked.
Mulling it over, Hanbit tossed a question back.
"Flip side—why'd you keep reaching out? Need攻略 info or something?"
"Absolutely not!"
Avant-garde waved his hands frantically in denial. Then, more serious than ever, he continued.
"I just wanted to get close to someone who knows the truth of this world!"