The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 91

“...”

Hanbit looked at Liwei, surprised by the unexpected turn of events.

“Didn’t you win the match?”

“With those intruders interfering, it's a void. I can't accept an unfair match.”

-That's cool.

-He's giving it to him;

-A likeable advance team player.

-Extreme principles wow

Regardless of Liwei's thoughts, it was a welcome gesture to be given the material. A strange sense of unease was probably just his imagination.

"Thank you."

Hanbit took the leather and put it in his inventory. As he took out a potion to drink, Liwei spoke up.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"What?"

"We should continue the match."

"...Ah."

-Lol

-You gotta do it.

-The man who doesn't give up;

-Give him that.

-I respect Liwei.

The unease he had felt was explained. There was no way Liwei would leave without concluding the match. In other words, they had to continue until a winner was decided.

"Black Dragon!"

Suddenly, Avantgarde's voice came from the path beyond the forest. Judging by his haggard state, he seemed to have been attacked by the Nesto guild as well.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! The guys who were after me were pretty persistent..."

Avantgarde, who had rushed over, explained that he had been attacked by four people. Seeing that they had even split their forces, he could tell how serious Trigger was about killing him. In the end, he had gone back to prison without achieving anything.

"So, how do you want to settle this match?"

Liwei, who had been observing the conversation, spoke up again.

But he couldn't think of anything right away.

"How about cooking?"

"Cooking?"

Hanbit questioned Avantgarde's sudden suggestion. Was there an element of competition in cooking?

"Oh, you mean that event?"

Liwei seemed to understand and nodded.

"Okay, let's do that."

"Let's do what? What event is it?"

"It's a cooking event held in Ifrit, as the name suggests. You make food with the given ingredients and are judged by points."

-Is it something like regional cuisine?

-The prize keeps changing.

-They're all so unique. lol

-Does Black Dragon know how to cook?

-Liwei doesn't seem like the cooking type?

Viewers, who seemed to know about the event, posted various comments.

‘I guess it doesn't matter as long as it's a competition.’

He was more surprised that Liwei had agreed to the suggestion.

Hanbit asked Avantgarde, "There was something about prizes in the chat. Do you know what it is?"

"I'll check."

He quickly started searching.

The results were out soon.

"It says it's a Lava Seed Soup and a Frostproof Cooking Glove."

"...What?"

Hanbit's eyes widened when he heard the name of the prize.

‘I'm so lucky.’

There were a few preparations needed to proceed with the Ifrit event. With the fangs and leather, and now these two items as prizes, things would be much easier.

Hanbit looked at Liwei and asked, "You're confident in cooking?"

"I'm better than the average person. Or we can change the competition. It's not fair if I keep deciding."

He offered to let Hanbit choose.

But Hanbit had already made up his mind.

"No, let's do cooking."

* * *

The large open space of Ifrit's shopping district was bustling with people.

“I’ve never seen so many people here before. It must be because of the two of you,” Avantgarde said, looking around at the crowd.

The atmosphere suggested that only a very small number of people had originally planned to participate in the event.

“Let’s sign up anyway.”

The three of them moved to the registration desk and signed up for the event.

Of the 100 spots, 30 were already filled.

“Thank you for signing up. The main ingredient provided will be the Kompu mushroom, and you will have one day to plan your dish and prepare your ingredients. The competition will start at 4 PM tomorrow, so please don’t be late.”

After the explanation, the procedure was finished.

Immediately after that, the surroundings became noisy.

“Get out of the way!”

“I was here first!”

“Ah, just get lost!”

As soon as the three finished signing up, the people waiting nearby rushed towards them.

The tense atmosphere almost escalated into a fight.

-This is crazy;

-Kill each other.

-Why did they sign up?

-If Black Dragon and Liwei are doing it, they want to do it too. lol

-They must think there's something hidden in the reward?

As the viewers said, their intentions were clear. It was only natural, considering what Black Dragon had shown so far. And it was also true that the reward was valuable.

[Prize]

Lava Seed Soup

Frostproof Cooking Glove

A flyer posted next to the registration desk listed the details of the prizes.

The soup was a buff item that increased resistance to cold.

The glove, as the name suggested, was a glove that wouldn't freeze.

While there were no hidden stats, where to use it was important.

“Let’s move on.”

The three left the open space and headed towards a quiet alleyway.

Meanwhile, Avantgarde was searching for information.

“Cooking with Kompu mushrooms... it won’t be easy.”

Kompu mushrooms were a local ingredient of Ifrit. They emitted an incredibly foul smell, but the taste itself was excellent. Most people vomited before they could even eat it.

“Interesting.”

Liwei looked simply amused.

It seemed like he was quite confident in his cooking skills.

“Well, I’m going to get the ingredients first.”

Thud-!

With those words, Liwei disappeared immediately.

It was an action HAnbit had grown accustomed to.

“We should get the ingredients too.”

“Yes? Have you already thought of a menu?”

“I have an idea.”

“Oh…”

There weren’t many dishes that could be made with Kompu mushrooms. So, it was more important to focus on the basics rather than trying something too complicated.

“Would you like me to share a recipe?”

“No, as a participant, I should figure it out myself. I'm confident in my cooking skills, so I'll find a way.”

-Are you a home cook?

-A cooking pro wow

-I just order delivery when I live alone;

-lol so true

Avantgarde looked really confident.

It was definitely better for everyone to use their own methods, especially in a competition.

“Shall we wrap it up here for today? It’s already late.”

“Yes, I need to hurry up and try different things.”

It was already 2 am.

It was time to end the stream.

“Well then, let’s meet at the competition venue. Thank you for watching, viewers. I’ll start the stream again tomorrow afternoon.”

-Okay

-Bye Dragon

-Bye

Click-

Hanbit turned off the game and took off his gear. He felt quite tired from all the running around.

“Phew.”

He got up and went to the living room.

His mother’s room was closed

“Tomorrow's the day.”

Tomorrow was the day they were going to look at a few houses that his mother had picked out.

With the 99 million won he'd gotten from the auction, there had been a bit of an argument about how to spend it.

His mother had wanted to use it solely for him, her son.

But this time, Hanbit's voice had been stronger.

"Moving... "

Although he'd wandered from house to house in another world, this place felt different.

"Let's get some sleep."

Feeling a bit excited, Hanbit quickly took a shower.

He fell asleep almost immediately after throwing himself onto the bed.

* * *

"Thank you. We'll see you again when we sign the main contract."

The next day.

After looking at properties from early morning, Hanbit and his mother had finalized a lease agreement.

It was a 200 million won house, something he hadn't even dreamed of until recently.

It was twice as big as their old place.

And because they had ended things amicably with the landlord of their current rented room, they could move in quickly.

"Mom, you still look like you're dreaming."

His mother's expression was brighter than usual as they left the real estate agency.

Every day, as she commuted to work, she would pass by real estate agencies. The properties displayed on the glass walls were once just unattainable hopes. She had always looked at them with a bitter feeling.

"This is just temporary. I'll earn more money and buy a house."

"This is more than enough for us. Use the rest for whatever you need."

"I'll just earn more. Let's be rich too."

"...You're really something."

His mother laughed, amused. Then, looking at his confident face, she said, "Be good to that Luna girl."

"Suddenly?"

"What's sudden about that? Do you think 100 million won is just someone's pet's name?"

She had been told the whole story about the source of the 100 million won. And she had also been given a brief summary of his conversation with Luna.

"The most important thing is people. Be good to those who are good to you, and sometimes help others without expecting anything in return. That's how you attract good people and shine."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mom. Let's go."

Feeling the conversation might go on too long, Hanbit led his mother out to the street.

‘People...’

He didn’t completely dismiss his mother’s advice.

It was just that the experiences he had accumulated over a long time had hardened him like calluses.

‘Back then, I had to do everything alone.’

In his 55 cycles of reincarnation and rebirth, the flow was mostly similar. He was always the one ahead, and with great power came great responsibility. Even if he had companions, he would eventually have to face death alone.

‘Things are different now.’

The existence of companions that didn't exist in the past. His coworkers, including Yeonwoo, and other players who had been kind to him were completely new relationships.

He didn't know yet what impact this would have on him.

"Mom, I'm going to go for a walk. You should go to the store."

"Okay."

His mother headed straight to the restaurant where she worked.

Left alone, Hanbit turned his attention to his smartphone screen.

[Entec Technology HR Team]

Hello, Kang Hanbit.

Thank you for your hard work during your internship at Entec Technology. However, we have confirmed that you have violated company regulations regarding moonlighting. Accordingly, the company has gone through the disciplinary process and made the following final decision:

Disciplinary Action: Termination of Employment Contract

Reason for Discipline: Violation of company regulations regarding moonlighting

Termination Date: Your internship will end on XX/XX/20XX.

While we understand that this decision is difficult for you...

It was a message that had arrived early in the morning.

Rather than feeling any particular emotion, he felt more relieved.

He had packed everything the day before, so he didn't need to go back there.

‘I should go to a record shop.’

Feeling a bit lost, Hanbit decided to visit a place where he could sell RP items.

Maybe he could find something useful by chance.

‘The subway would be the fastest.’

Hanbit turned and started walking towards the subway station.

Bzzt-

His phone vibrated.

“Who is it?”

An unfamiliar number was flashing on the screen.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a scam call, but decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?"

“Hello, is this Kang Hanbit?”

"......?"

The person on the other end knew his name.

He didn't know who it was, but there was a sense of formality in their voice, so he didn't want to hang up.

"Yes, this is him. Who is this?"

First, it was important to figure out who the other person was.

If they started saying anything strange, he would hang up immediately.

He thought as much, but the following conversation completely caught him off guard.

“I'm Han Yongwoo, the executive director of Entec Technology.”

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]