The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 18

"Monopolized?"

Hanbit was puzzled by this unexpected news. Was that even possible in this game?

"What did they do?"

"I'm not sure. They said they suddenly cleared it all at once a little while ago... Let me take a look."

Yeonwoo quickly logged into the RPG community forum. His expression hardened instantly.

"What, are there insults or something?"

"It'd be faster to find posts without insults."

Yeonwoo put his smartphone back on the table. Hanbit clicked on a post and let out a hollow laugh.

"It's on fire."

< They swept all the Hero rewards in Rashtan. >

It was a first-come, first-served reward.

Limited to 100 Hero skills.

Now, if you get the quest from Artsvel, the reward will show up as Rare grade.

It might drop to Advanced or Normal if you're even later.

Those bastards.

-This sucks. Black Dragon, Roper, you bastards!

-No wonder I couldn't find a single Bomb Slime. Damn it.

-I wasted my time for nothing.

-So, in the end, Rashtan's lackeys manipulated it?

-Bomb Slimes still aren't spawning.

-└ Bow down to Rashtan.

-└ I have to buy monsters now, not hunt them. Lol

-Those corporate trash.

-21 hours of grinding... I'm feeling empty.

-I was imagining getting rich by being the second to clear it;

-So, when are Roper and Black Dragon going live? Tell me, seriously.

The comments were clearly divided into two categories. Half were curses and lamentations directed at the company, while the other half were criticisms aimed at Black Dragon and Roper. The atmosphere was already convinced that the two were in cahoots with the company.

"There were only 100 Hero grade skills."

"Yeah. Ah, this is really messed up."

The reward of Hero grade skills was a huge motivator for players. If one company had swept them all, especially through manipulation rather than skill, the sense of deprivation would be immense.

"We need to start the stream quickly. I don't care if I get cursed at, but you shouldn't, hyung."

"What, are you going to manage it for me?"

"It's not right for them to criticize you based on speculation. They were all praising you when they were getting information."

Yeonwoo expressed his displeasure with a frown. Hanbit chuckled and said, "Why are you getting so worked up? We can just tell them it's not true."

"They obviously won't listen to just words. There will be a lot of trolls coming in just to stir up trouble."

"Really?"

Yeonwoo shook his head as if he could already see the future. Were there really that many people who would cause a commotion just for fun? He was a bit curious.

"More importantly, what about the corporation that monopolized the rewards? Anything about them?"

"It's a German company called Rashtan... They only posted a statement on their website. Saying they took all the Artsvel quest rewards."

A very simple announcement was indeed posted on Rashtan's website.

< We are the true conquerors of the Artsvel quest. Don't even think about following us. >

"What kind of chuunibyou is this? They're ridiculous."

Hanbit scoffed at the automatically translated announcement. The word "true" placed before "conquerors" was clearly meant to mock him.

"An advanced team? How successful is this company?"

"Their Ranger is a mid-9,000s advanced player, so they're on the weaker side among the competitors. They might have tried to boost morale with this incident."

"Hmm."

The competitive relationships between companies were outside of Hanbit's interest. However, this company, Rashtan, had provoked him first. Even if he released information, they would probably try to monopolize it to death. Hanbit was not the type to be taken advantage of, nor the type to just let it slide. It was only right to pay them back.

"What about your stream? Are you going to keep streaming for the time being?"

"Until I finalize my company plans, I'm going to be your manager and cameraman, hyung. Especially today, since the trolls will be going crazy."

"That's fine. It's not like there's no way to deal with them."

"...You're thinking of a proper method, right?"

Yeonwoo saw the look on Hanbit's face that suggested he was about to do something again. Since he had already shaken the RP world on his first day, Yeonwoo felt both anticipation and worry.

"Come to think of it, I should tell you a bit about streaming."

"Streaming?"

"First, it's important to increase your regular viewers. When you start streaming yourself, there will be things to consider, like reactions and other stuff..."

Yeonwoo began to recite the necessary advice. Hanbit, who initially intended to do whatever he wanted, listened quite seriously.

"Do you get the general idea?"

"Yeah,” Hanbit, who had been listening quietly, nodded. He then said in a confident voice, "I'll still do whatever I want."

* * *

Returning home, Hanbit immediately delved into the guidebook he had purchased. By the time he checked the information he wanted and the things he would need later, quite a bit of time had passed.

Ding-!

[Hyung, you're late?]

As soon as he logged into RP, Yeonwoo's message popped up. Several hours had passed since they parted ways.

Hanbit looked around and walked into the forest as he replied.

[I was looking through the guidebook. Is that adventurer A who wrote it an advanced player? What about their company affiliation?]

[They are an advanced player, but they haven't revealed their level. Affiliation... solo, maybe? I'm not sure about that either. But why do you ask?]

[Just curious. I need to check something, so I'll contact you later. Let's start the stream then.]

[Okay. I'll be working on some things, so call me when you're ready.]

With that reply, Yeonwoo's online status disappeared. Hanbit closed the window and walked deeper into the forest.

'It's quiet.'

As he went further, he arrived at the cliff where he had caught the Bomb Slimes. Due to the news of the monopoly, there were few players exploring the area. He went down and examined the crevices of the cliff.

'No slimes either.'

At least a few should have spawned by mid-morning. It was strange that even ordinary Bomb Slimes were nowhere to be seen.

Hanbit started running along the cliff. After about 10 minutes, something caught his eye.

'Found it.'

A tree hidden within the thick bushes, almost impossible to reach. There was a hole under the gap covered with roots.

Click-

Hanbit hid all UI and information and pressed the record button. Lowering his stance, he squeezed his body and went inside.

It was a narrow passage, just enough for one person to barely pass through. Following the dim path, he came across a large cavity.

'As expected.'

What came into view was a dark brown mucus.

Next to it, and behind it, more of the same creatures were gathering in one spot. Even in the darkness, it was clear they were Bomb Slimes.

Gurgle-

Something was moving in the spot where the swarming slimes were converging. It looked like the wall was wriggling, but it was actually a massive body undulating.

[Elite: Bomb Slime King (Lv.7)]

'That's impressive.'

The monster called Bomb Slime King. It was the king of the slimes, growing its size by attracting ordinary Bomb Slimes. Given its preference for large trees, it shouldn't have been in a place like this.

Crackle-!

Just then, a small spark flew from the slime king. Hanbit zoomed in with the camera and focused on the ceiling above it. A black disc with some kind of mark engraved on it was embedded there.

'...A monster attractant?'

It was a single-use item that could be obtained from a dungeon in the north. As the name suggested, it had the effect of attracting nearby monsters.

'I get it now.'

Someone lured this Bomb Slime King here and used the attractant. This caused the slime king's inherent trait and the monster attractant's ability to overlap explosively in this space. No wonder all the Bomb Slimes in the area had gathered here. If someone had monopolized this, the culprit was obvious.

'It even has the Rashtan logo.'

Hanbit zoomed in further and examined the mark engraved on the attractant. It was the logo he had seen on Rashtan's website, plastered right there on the attractant. Did it have to be engraved on the item, or were they confident they wouldn't get caught? Either way, leaving it there was foolish.

Click-

Hanbit stopped recording and raised his hand.

"Fireball."

Whoosh!

A red fireball flew towards the giant slime. Hanbit quickly hid behind a low mound of dirt.

Boom-!

True to their name, the Bomb Slimes exploded spectacularly when hit with fire. Peeking out, he saw that they had all disappeared. As expected, they were too easy to kill if that was all he focused on.

Ding-!

[Experience increased by 7,720.]

[Level increased by 4.]

[4 Stat Points awarded.]

'Just how many were clustered together?'

Unlike ordinary Bomb Slimes, which didn't give anything, the Bomb Slime King yielded a large amount of experience. He thought it was just a bit big, but there were far more slimes than what he could see. It must have continued to gather even after Rashtan left.

Ding-!

Just as he was about to leave, more messages popped up. Hanbit looked and found new notifications.

[Title: "Adversary of Bomb Slimes" added to the list.]

[Achievement: "Elite Monster Subjugation" achieved.]

[1 Stat Point awarded.]

"It gives rewards here too."

[Adversary of Bomb Slimes]

Increases damage dealt to Slime monsters by 5%.

Unlike the 55th recorder, this was his first title earned through gameplay. Since its effect applied just by having it, it would be good to collect as many as possible.

Thud-

Hanbit pushed through the debris and headed out of the cave. The important thing now was the Rashtan Corporation's monopoly incident.

"No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense."

Sitting at the base of a tree, he organized his thoughts. The guidebook didn't mention this hidden space. However, Adventurer A must have known about this place.

[Gentromber]

Gentromber, the NPC mentioned in the guidebook, was a miner who had personally excavated this place long ago. If Hanbit hadn't met him living alone on a mountaintop in another region, he wouldn't have even known his name.

In other words, Adventurer A didn't disclose all the information.

'Yeonwoo said that user was solo... Does he have information that he sells separately, not included in the guidebook?'

There was no need to disclose everything in a guidebook. The key was the level of knowledge Adventurer A possessed. The strangely abundant information, the ambiguous accuracy, and even the completely wrong parts all bothered him. It would be even stranger if it wasn't intentional.

Click-

He opened his friend list and sent a message and the recorded video to Yeonwoo.

[Come to Artsvel's general store in an hour. Upload the video I'm sending you now anonymously to the community site.]

* * *

"Hyung, I was really surprised. I didn't know there was such a place."

In front of Artsvel's general store, Hanbit and Yeonwoo had their characters standing there while talking on the phone in real life. It was a simple matter of just putting their gear into sleep mode.

"The reaction was quite something, huh?"

"Of course, seeing that, they can't help but curse Rashtan. Their website probably crashed, too."

A post containing the recorded video had been uploaded to the RPG community forum.

< Where did all those Bomb Slimes disappear to? >

Whose doing is it? You decide.

-? Why are they there?

-Info) Bomb Slime King only spawns in the shade of the central giant tree.

-Info2) Slime King attracts and absorbs other Bomb Slimes.

-Isn't that monster attractant the Rashtan logo?

-They deliberately dragged it all the way there and set it up?

-That's some dedication;

-How did they even put it in there?

-???: We are the true conquerors of the Artsvel quest.

-└This was aimed at Black Dragon. Lol

-└Creepy bastards;

-Didn't I tell you? Roper and Black Dragon have nothing to do with it.

-Look at them changing their tune after accusing innocent people. Lol

The post exploded with views and an endless stream of comments. The heated atmosphere showed no signs of dying down. Of course, to Hanbit, watching from afar, it was an amusing comedy.

"So, the misunderstanding is cleared up. Now all that's left is to learn the next fire spell."

"...What?" Yeonwoo's voice changed at Hanbit's casual remark.

"What do you mean? What about the proficiency?"

He reacted as if he had heard something truly absurd. Hanbit replied nonchalantly, "I filled it all up."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]