80. Off to the Private Zone
“Alright, let’s proceed like this.”
The recruitment of Avant-garde, which had been pushed forward almost on a whim, flowed as smoothly as water. He hadn’t been affiliated with any MCN to begin with, so his personal decision was all that mattered.
“Thank you. I never imagined I’d become family with the two of you like this.”
Avant-garde wore an expression of deep emotion. While reviewing the contract, he offered Juyeonu a few suggestions. He advised against giving streamers too much freedom when bringing them into a company—apparently, it had caused quite a bit of trouble at other places.
Watching this, Kang Hanbit turned to Juyeonu. “So, what do I do now? Does being under the company change anything?”
“Just keep streaming as freely as always, hyung. The company only handles non-streaming tasks and video clips. Oh, and I’ll send the official contracts to all three of you tomorrow. Since you and Kim Jaeha need to handle your resignations first, just keep me posted on the progress.”
Juyeonu quickly added various explanations. Unlike Avant-garde, who was openly thrilled, Kim Jaeha nodded solemnly. After all, he wouldn’t truly escape his boss at Taeyul until the resignation was finalized.
“Now that we’ve sorted that out, there’s one more thing. I’m planning to head to the private zone today. Ifrit will come after that.”
Kang Hanbit gave a brief explanation about the private zone. Fortunately, Kim Jaeha seemed to have looked into it a bit himself.
“To claim the first-clear title here, we’ll need to put in a lot of effort.”
Avant-garde focused on the first entry. Without knowing what lay inside, being the first to step in held significant value. It was safer to check it out ahead of time rather than regret arriving late. Of course, they’d have to play it by ear depending on the situation.
“First entry matters, but I’m not rushing in blindly. No one’s even reported finding or entering a zone yet.”
The private zone was an important challenge, but he had no intention of repeating pointless attempts. It was completely unknown territory for Kang Hanbit too, after all.
“Oh, and you two don’t have to come along. It’d be a loss if you died for no reason.”
“I’m in. You’ve accepted me into the company—I’ve got to give it my all. Dying a few times is fine.”
“You have to take me! A private zone? The word alone gives me chills!”
The option he’d offered just in case turned out to be meaningless. They’d have to see it for themselves before making plans anyway.
Kang Hanbit nodded and looked at the two. “Then let’s head to the private zone together.”
***
An hour later.
Back home, Kang Hanbit connected the effector he’d received as a gift from Avant-garde and logged into the game.
“Ah, you’re here now.”
“We’ve been waiting!”
The voices came from right in front of him. Avant-garde and Kim Jaeha had already arrived.
“Hey. It’s a bit far, so it took some time.”
“How’s the effector?”
“Honestly… it’s impressive.”
The 20-million-won effector showed clear results. It felt exactly like boosting his gear by 0.5 levels.
“Glad it helped. I’ll make sure to pass it on to the manufacturer.”
“Thanks. Let’s form the party first.”
To get things moving, the three formed a party. Looking at their nicknames, Kang Hanbit turned away and said, “Drop the formal speech now. I’m younger anyway, and we’re coworkers at the same company.”
“Is that really okay…?”
“The boss’s personality is like that, and I prefer the hyung-dongsaeng vibe anyway.”
“…Alright, then? My speech was getting too stiff anyway.”
Kim Jaeha nodded with a much more relaxed expression. But Avant-garde was different.
“I’ll stick to formal speech. I can’t lose my sense of awe.”
“……”
His resolute demeanor made it hard to argue. He couldn’t force casual speech in a family-like company.
“Got it. Do whatever’s comfortable. Now, before the crowds show up, let’s use this.”
With no one around yet, Kang Hanbit quickly pulled out the Dream Nautilus.
The compass, which had used a multicolored shell yesterday, had changed slightly from before.
[The compass is ready to guide you to your desired location.]
[Please enter your destination.]
The effect of the compass awakening from a good dream. Kang Hanbit immediately entered “private zone” as the destination.
Change happened right away.
Flash-!
A pure white light burst from the compass’s glass face. It stretched out in a long line, pointing somewhere.
“Whoa! So this is the compass’s power!”
“It’s pointing really far.”
The two stared at the light in wonder. Kang Hanbit followed it to the end and nodded inwardly.
It’s that place, as expected.
The cave in the mountains west of Ifrit, which he’d seen mentioned in the community. The direction alone confirmed it.
Pocketing the compass again, Kang Hanbit looked at the two. “It’s pointing to the cave we talked about. Let’s start the stream first.”
“I’ll post the announcement right away, then.”
Avant-garde quickly typed on his channel. Kang Hanbit hit the stream start button even faster as they began walking.
-Oh.
- Dragon hi.
-hi hi
-From Avant-garde’s.
-Who’s the guy next to him?
-Hammer man?
-Yeah, the blacksmith dude.
Viewers flooded in within a minute. The chat was pouring in at a frenzied pace.
“Hey everyone. Sorry I’m late—had some business. You probably know Kim Jaeha, and next to him is the streamer Avant-garde from yesterday.”
“Hello! I’m streamer Avant-garde, lover of RP! As I posted in the announcement, I’m doing a collab stream with Black Dragon today! Wait, no—actually, I just joined Roper’s company!”
-?
-What’d this guy say?
-He joined a company?
-Announcement posted 15 secs ago then boom;
-This dude went all in, even the company.
-Our Banga’s embarrassing anywhere he goes….
-So what’s the plan today?
-Fr, that’s the real question.
The viewers’ reactions heated up for a different reason. But the mood soon shifted positively.
[HighVoiceBanga donated 100,000 won.]
[What’s this?]
“Oh, HighVoiceBanga! Thanks! Grab a seat.”
Avant-garde reacted first to the donation alert. It seemed like a regular donor to his channel.
“Thanks for the donation. Anyway, this is our first joint stream, so we’re heading straight to check out the private zone.”
-Now we’re talking.
-Saw it on RPG?
-Yeah, popular post about a cave.
-But no one’s entered yet.
-Just new terrain, right?
Viewers were already hyped for private zone exploration. The cave talk had flooded the community too.
“Like you said, we’re going to the cave. Let’s head out.”
Kang Hanbit took the lead down the forest path. The goal was simple: reach the Ifrit area as fast as possible.
“This way to the river?”
Avant-garde guessed the destination without opening the map.
“Yeah. There’s a way to cut travel time there.”
“Whoa…! There’s something like that?!”
Adding the explanation brought out reflexive admiration. But viewers were skeptical.
-?
-Such a thing exists?
-First time to Ifrit takes 30 mins at least.
-Map’s huge.
-One drink~
-Later spots take hours. lol
A world vaster than any other game. Advanced teleportation magic tools existed, but most were limited to walking, horses, or carriages. For now, they needed unconventional methods.
“Over there.”
The three resumed walking toward the winding mountain path. At a sharp bend, the upstream of a massive river appeared.
“Whoa, never thought I’d come back here.”
Avant-garde, who’d been here before, sighed faintly. The fierce rapids rushing downstream were intimidating.
“…Just to be sure. The time-saver isn’t that, right?”
Kim Jaeha, standing beside him, asked as if he’d guessed it. Avant-garde felt the same.
“For some reason, I think I know. This is weirdly tense.”
Anyone who’d watched Black Dragon’s stream would vaguely recall the scene. A step behind, Kang Hanbit raised both hands.
Then he pushed their backs and said calmly, “Let’s go.”
Splash-!
The two plunged into the water spectacularly. Kang Hanbit followed right after.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Wooo…!”
Swept by the rapids, Kim Jaeha and Avant-garde yelled in their own ways. Avant-garde’s reaction was almost like riding an amusement ride.
-Is he actually insane? lmao
-Scene I’ve seen before.
-Roper with PTSD gets props.
-Banga’s hyped af, cringe;
“Grab that!”
As they hit incredible speed downstream, a long branch stretched out ahead. Kang Hanbit’s shout reached the two ahead.
“Hup!”
Kim Jaeha grabbed it first and climbed up. The high-stat Avant-garde followed lightly, grinning like it was fun.
Thud-
After Kang Hanbit pulled himself out last, the three moved to solid ground.
“Whoa, thought I was gonna die for real.”
Kim Jaeha slumped to the ground, slicking back his wet hair. The vivid terror of being swept away made him forget it was just a game for a moment.
“Never thought I’d experience this! I’ll use it often now.”
The satisfied Avant-garde planned to do it again. It was the best in terms of cost and time—though bad luck could mean drowning.
“Let’s move.”
Kang Hanbit shook the water from his clothes and led the way into the forest. The map showed the target cave wasn’t far.
“No one’s found anything yet, huh? They’ll check other spots too, right?”
Kim Jaeha, following and scanning the community, spoke up. Suspected private zone spots had multiplied. Kang Hanbit checked rising posts too, but the cave was the only new one.
“Heard anything, Avant-garde?”
“Nothing major. Most people were asking me for info.”
A streamer who explored the world’s corners. His fame drew plenty seeking him out, betting private zones hid in unreachable places.
After some such talk, they arrived at the base of a low, rising hill.
“There it is.”
Hundreds of people crowded near the cave entrance. Kang Hanbit pressed on, meeting the gathering stares.