The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 35

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 34

The tavern "Morning Dew" in the Edlen shopping district.

All sorts of conversations were exchanged in the crowded space.

"City development fund? What city development fund!"

"What else would it be? It's just a way for the nobles to line their pockets. Don't you feel it's gotten worse since Brook became mayor?"

"There were even rumors that the guy was a puppet. It was better when Mayor William was around..."

"Can't we escape to the Holy Kingdom? We could live a prosperous life in such a powerful nation."

Words spoken without restraint while downing drinks. They were quite dangerous topics for commoners to discuss.

"Was there a place like this? I vaguely remember it."

"It's probably because it's not a particularly meaningful space. This is my first time here since 2 years ago."

Yeonwoo and Kim Jaeha, sitting at a corner table, shared their brief impressions. After showering Artsvel with apologies and compensation, the three of them moved to this place for a conversation. They were able to arrive quickly as it was the closest tavern to the shop.

"By the way, what should I call you? Isn't Kim Jaeha your real name?"

"I'm used to it because of the company. You don't have to worry about it."

-ㅠㅠ

-An office worker's name is indeed public property.

-It's a relief that at least their faces are different.

-Who uses their real face in the game, lol

-Ranger:?

-Avantgarde:??

-There are more crazy people than you'd think.

"..."

Hanbit, suddenly labeled a crazy person, closed his mouth. Was it fortunate that there were at least some streamers who used their real appearance?

"Then, Mr. Kim Jaeha, let's continue our talk about the hidden skill."

"Ah, yes!"

Kim Jaeha stiffened at the mention of Dwarven Metallurgy. He was glad that Black Dragon was showing interest, but the information he had was meager.

"You said the first discovery was an achievement, can you tell me more about it?"

"To be precise, it wasn't an achievement, but a small metal plate that looked like a military ID tag. It had the same words written on it as the achievement description."

"A military ID tag? Do you happen to have it with you now?"

"Of course."

Nodding, Kim Jaeha took something out of his inventory. A thin metal plate about the size of two fingers was placed on the table. Threaded with a thin string, it resembled a military ID tag. Hanbit grabbed it and grinned.

[Heard the cry of iron in the snow.]

A familiar texture and a sentence vividly etched in his memory. There was no need for doubt. This metal plate was definitely the key to learning Dwarven Metallurgy.

"Where did you find it?"

"It was halfway up a snowy mountain in the northern part of Ifrit."

"That snowy mountain, the one with a lot of mineral veins? With many mine entrances?"

"...How did you know that?"

Kim Jaeha's eyes widened at the question. It was Yeonwoo who answered instead.

"Black Dragon hyung is very knowledgeable about this world. He's memorized an entire web novel."

"I saw it on the stream, but... is that really possible?"

"I find it amazing too."

-lmao

-Basic qualities of a pro.

-The bar has been raised;

-Actually, maybe pros are the popular ones.

-You popular guys, don't touch this.

He was used to the stereotypes that were arbitrarily piled on him. Anyway, the important thing was that Kim Jaeha was the first discoverer.

"Dwarven Metallurgy. You said you ultimately failed to find it, right? Did you miss anything?"

"...I believe we did our best. Not only my colleagues and I, but countless other competitors were also involved."

"If it was a company-wide effort, then the

"That's right. But after hearing what they had to say, it looks that the framework of that program was provided by the RP game company. As if they wanted us to dig into the company's secrets."

"That's... strange."

This wasn't the first time the RP game company had made a move that was difficult to understand. From Hanbit's perspective, it felt like the shadow of the Goddess. And this time, that feeling turned into certainty with Lee Minho's next words.

"This is the important part. When I used the data you collected, Hanbit, a strange pattern was found in the code. It was something that didn't appear in the data from other departments."

"A pattern?"

"Take a look at this."

Lee Minho spread out a document filled with complex programming language on the floor.

He pointed at one section with his finger and said, "The other code wasn't at a level I couldn't understand. But I couldn't even understand the meaning of this pattern that keeps appearing, even though it's unnecessary code."

"...Wait a moment."

Hanbit focused his attention on the spot he was pointing at. Code that was difficult to discern with just an undergraduate’s knowledge. As he frowned, Lee Minho held out another piece of paper.

"Look at this too. I've gathered the patterns that are spread throughout the code."

Hanbit shifted his gaze and examined the new data. At that moment, something occurred to him.

'...Is this perhaps...'

Having discovered something, Hanbit gradually moved his gaze further away. Then, the complex code began to appear in a different form.

Rustle-

Hanbit busily looked around, examining the pattern with a wider field of view. Up close, it was a complex programming language, but to his eyes, a different outline was faintly taking shape. It was like solving a puzzle with lines and patterns hidden everywhere.

'...They really went to all this trouble.'

Reaching a conclusion, Hanbit let out a sigh. The identity of the strange pattern Lee Minho had discovered was the language of the other world. They had hidden a single word within this complex and vast pattern.

Taking his eyes off the data, Hanbit looked at Lee Minho and said, "There's a word hidden in this pattern."

"A word?"

"Yes. It's a character used in the game world. It was in the appendix of the original web novel... that I read. I can't see it now because it's disappeared from the internet."

"...?"

Lee Minho had a dumbfounded expression, but he soon turned his gaze back to the pattern. After concentrating for a while with a frown, he raised his head.

"If it was in the appendix, it must be difficult to remember... Do you happen to know what the word is?"

A question that seemed to contain a bit of hope. It was an obvious concern, but Hanbit had spent far more time using the language of the other world than his native tongue.

"Fortunately, I remember."

Recalling old memories, he nodded.

After checking the pattern once more, he said, "The word written is Edlen. A city in the Raven Kingdom."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]