The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]

Chapter 1

"Kang Hanbit! I’m leaving!"

"Ugh..."

He opened his eyes to the loud voice.

Hot sunlight was pouring through the thin curtains of the window.

"Ugh, I feel sick."

Kang Hanbit, clutching his head from the hangover, got out of bed.

Silence flowed as he opened the door.

His mother had already left for work.

Gurgle-

Hanbit poured water into a cup and sat down at the table.

His military uniform lay crumpled in the laundry basket in front of the veranda.

"Because of that damn goddess..."

Two years ago.

Hanbit, sucked into the light, returned to the exact day he was kidnapped.

His family, friends, and everything else were the same, and the world was as peaceful as he remembered.

Except for one thing.

It was the day after his discharge.

"How many times do I have to go to the army?"

Out of dozens of regressions, possessions, and reincarnations, he had been a soldier five times.

Including this time, Hanbit had served in the military six times.

It was even more frustrating because he enlisted at the age of 25.

It was all because of that damn goddess.

"Ah."

Hanbit, soothing his queasy stomach, slumped back in his chair.

He had somehow managed to complete his military service.

Perhaps thanks to his experiences in the other worlds, he was able to get through his military life without any major issues.

Now there was only one immediate problem.

"I'm worried about getting a job."

Hanbit had countless experiences that others couldn't even imagine.

The problem was that they were a bit ambiguous to use in this ordinary Earth.

After all, those were worlds where swordsmanship, magic, and monsters existed.

The knowledge from his college major, which had flown to the back of his mind, was difficult to regain even if he put in the time.

Perhaps the only thing he gained was building up his physique in the army.

Bzzt-

A vibration sounded from his room.

Hanbit, who was blankly staring at the ceiling, lifted his heavy body and went to get his smartphone.

"Joo Yeonwoo"

"Hyung, let's drink again today?"

A short message popped up on the screen.

His junior by four months in the military and five years in age.

It had been 10 hours since they had been drinking like crazy to celebrate Hanbit's discharge.

"You crazy bastard. I'm old and frail."

Hanbit typed a casual reply and flopped onto the bed.

The vibration rang at the same time.

Bzzt-

Bzzt-

"What, is that all you got?"

"Are you scared?"

"Scared?"

"Ahh."

The constant vibrations and the incoming text messages didn't stop.

He was quite a mischievous guy, but Hanbit was incredibly grateful to him.

The sense of detachment and emotional problems stemming from his return from the other world...

Thanks to Yeonwoo, he was able to enjoy his military life quite a bit despite being thrown into that chaos.

Bzzt-

Just as Hanbit's worries were starting to prolong...

The vibration rang again.

"I was kidding about the drinks. I have a discharge celebration gift for you. Aren't you curious what it is?"

"A gift?"

His eyebrows rose slightly at the welcome word.

Hanbit grabbed his smartphone and sent a reply.

"Where are we meeting?"

* * *

"Hyung!"

A cafe in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

Hanbit, arriving by bus, spotted Joo Yeonwoo's face.

"Why a cafe? You don't even like coffee."

"This place has delicious chocolate parfaits. I ordered one for you too."

Yeonwoo grinned, seemingly pleased with himself.

Considering he hadn't lost that smile throughout his entire military service, Hanbit was used to it by now.

Even if the parfait was melting into a gooey mess.

"How early did you get here?"

"Oh? It melted a lot. I'll order a new one."

"It's fine. I can eat it like this."

Hanbit pushed Yeonwoo back down onto his seat as he was about to get up.

Looking at the soggy chocolate parfait, he took a sip and asked.

"So, what's the gift?"

"Wow, you're talking about the gift right away? I'm hurt."

"Then I'm going home."

"Ah, wait, wait. Okay, okay."

Yeonwoo grabbed Hanbit's sleeve and hurriedly changed his words.

He knew Hanbit's personality too well – he always meant what he said.

"Here it is."

Yeonwoo took out a white card from the bag he had brought.

The words 'Lv.2' were engraved on it.

"What is this?"

"Didn't I tell you? There's this really fun game."

"That RP thing?"

"As expected, you remembered."

Record Project.

Commonly called RP, it was a virtual reality game released right after Hanbit enlisted.

He had heard about it from Yeonwoo, of course, but also from news and articles.

<The Legacy of a Billionaire Returns as a Game to Shake the World>

Chairman of Tenta, the world's No. 1 company by market capitalization, Michael Welton.

His hidden legacy, which was revealed to the world five years after his death.

The development team 'Zero', who created the game Record Project, posted an announcement on their website at midnight yesterday.

The announcement revealed the will of Michael Welton, who founded the game company, and the shocking details of the game...

The virtual reality game secretly created by the billionaire caused a shock.

Keywords like 'divine technology', 'scientific revolution', and 'new era' were thrown around.

The world's first and only perfect virtual reality game became the talk of the town.

"So what does this have to do with RP?"

"This is a card that lets you get an RP Gear."

"Gear? You mean that expensive thing?"

A special device was required to access Record Project.

Since there were performance differences depending on the price range, Hanbit had seen news about quite a few private companies popping up.

They were supposedly making gear based on the core technology released by the game company.

"It's level 2, so with various discounts, it's about 5 million won. It's a gift, so please accept it without feeling burdened."

Yeonwoo's expression as he continued his explanation was nonchalant.

Of course it was, because the young man in front of him was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

He lived in a different world from Hanbit, who had to worry about ordering even a single chicken.

"Doesn't your house need a security guard? Give me a job."

"Oh? Will you really come? We have plenty of empty rooms."

"..."

A sincere answer to a playful question.

It seemed like he would actually pay him a salary, but this wouldn't do.

He returned the card and said.

"No, it's okay. You just want to play the game together, right? I don't have time. I'm starting an internship right away."

The mountain of debt inherited from his father, who had passed away... It took his mother a full 20 years to pay it all off alone.

But even in those hellish circumstances, she raised her only son with all her might.

Hanbit wanted to repay that sacrifice as quickly as possible.

"No, when did you get that? What about the interview?"

"There was only one thing I could do during my last vacation. It's an experiential internship, but I need to add another line to my resume."

"Wow, hyung, you're really... amazing."

Yeonwoo was at a loss for words after hearing the story.

He recalled the things Hanbit had done during his military service.

"What's so amazing? Job seekers are always in a hurry and busy."

"You always went out and worked part-time during vacations and off-base leaves. And you sent all that money to your mother."

"It's better than just playing around. But I couldn't have done it without the company commander."

Very few people in the unit knew about Hanbit's situation.

It was partly thanks to being in a remote, independent company, but it was also possible because the company commander was such a good person.

He even went as far as to introduce Hanbit to jobs in the vicinity through his acquaintances.

"But what was your mother's reaction? If it were my mom, she would have cried."

"...Reaction aside, she didn't use a single won. She created a separate account and saved it all there."

"Wow... It's like a family from a drama."

Hanbit's efforts during his military service had not come to fruition.

He had roughly explained it as his remaining salary, but his mother had noticed something was strange.

In the end, all that money was being kept safe in a brand new bank account.

"Anyway, the game is a no-go. I need to work harder now."

"To work harder than this, wouldn't you need a clone or something?"

"I wish I had one. I have to go to school once in a while too."

"Hyung, you've already filled all your graduation credits, you just have to show your face there. RP is really fun, can't you play with me even just on weekends?"

Yeonwoo, who saw right through Hanbit's situation, didn't back down easily.

It wasn't just about having fun; the game RP was too special.

"I'll sell it second-hand and turn it all into chicken? Just take it, quickly."

Hanbit forcibly handed the card to Yeonwoo.

With a gloomy face, Yeonwoo let out a deep sigh and said.

"You really won't regret this..."

"Will the game feed me, will it earn me money? This hyung needs to focus on Earth Online. Got it?"

"So, you're saying it's okay as long as you can make money, right?"

Yeonwoo, who had been listening to the nagging, suddenly grinned and raised his head.

Hanbit knew that the gloomy look was an act, but he was curious about what was going on.

"Of course you can. If you do that with a thousand won, ten thousand won, I'll hit you."

"Hey, even an elementary school kid would be disappointed with that amount."

"...Let me hit you just once."

"Huh? No, wait. Why!"

Hanbit got up and grabbed Yeonwoo's head, shaking it.

Returning to his seat, he continued the conversation.

"So, you're saying I can really make money?"

"Ouch, I'm dizzy. Then it's real. If you're lucky, you can earn a few hundred million... no, maybe even a few billion?"

"... Billion?"

The dizzying amount banished even the remnants of Hanbit's hangover.

Even though his young junior was playful, he wasn't the type to spout nonsense.

Straightening his posture, he asked with a serious face.

"Tell me more, Sergeant Joo Yeonwoo."

"Shall I, Corporal Kang Hanbit?"

Grinning, Yeonwoo took out his smartphone and placed it on the table.

An app was open on the lit screen.

"It's called RP Trader, a trading app dedicated to Record Project."

"Trading? You mean selling items?"

"Anything. Items, information, recruitment, you can buy and sell anything you need."

The screen swiped with the continued explanation.

There were so many words, the screen was filled with dense lists.

Of course, what caught his eye the most were the amounts written at the end.

Just as Yeonwoo had said, there were quite a few items that reached hundreds of millions of won.

"Are all these real transactions?"

"Why do you think they call it a revolution? RP is on a different level."

"Huh."

Hanbit let out a sigh, unable to take his eyes off the screen.

After observing for a while, he asked, as if he couldn't understand.

"Why would anyone spend this much money on a game?"

"The number of registered users exceeds 300 million, and companies and celebrities are flocking to it. It was only natural for a huge market to be created."

"What do you mean companies are involved? It's a game, right?"

"You know how influential RP is worldwide. Getting on the rankings is publicity in itself. And the most important thing is this."

Yeonwoo touched the screen and flipped through the pages.

Then, a notice from the Record Project homepage appeared.

<Record Project Clear Reward>

According to the will of founder Michael Welton, the full ownership of this game will be transferred to the first player who clears Record Project.

The scope of ownership includes copyrights and intellectual property rights, trademarks, licenses, code and technology, related services and operating rights, etc.

This is concluded as a legal contract with the player's consent upon creation of a game account.

This is guaranteed by the three international arbitration bodies indicated in the contract.

"...Is this real? They're giving away the whole game?"

Hanbit was dumbfounded, recalling the news he had heard somewhere.

Giving away ownership of the game just for winning it.

He couldn't even imagine the value of the game with hundreds of millions of users.

"Isn't this nonsense? It could be a publicity stunt."

"The authenticity has already been confirmed. Legal experts have confirmed it, and the arbitration bodies have also released a guarantee."

"This is ridiculous."

He still couldn't grasp it, but it didn't seem like a lie.

Anyway, the important thing was that a solid market had been formed.

Ultimately, if it was an environment where he can make money, it was a different story.

"Okay. I'll give it a try."

"Really?"

"I have nothing to lose, right? Since you even gave me this."

"I knew you'd join me."

Yeonwoo smiled at the long-awaited answer.

He had wanted to play the game with Hanbit ever since he was in the military.

Yeonwoo, who liked fantasy elements, would casually bring up topics like magic and swordsmanship.

But the only one who truly engaged with him in those conversations was his senior standing before him.

No, to be honest, he was surprised by the amount of knowledge Hanbit had, which he had no idea where he learned it from.

"I think this game needs an expert like you, hyung."

"I told you I'm not one."

"It's easier to just accept it."

Yeonwoo grinned and sucked up the rest of his chocolate parfait.

Getting up from his seat, he picked up his bag and said.

"Shall we go then?"

* * *

The two left the cafe and took a taxi to Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

They arrived in front of a unique building made of blue glass.

At the top, the name Record Shop was prominently embedded.

"What is this place?"

"It's a place where you buy and sell things related to RP."

"Things?"

"There are official materials released by the company, and goods made by players."

Yeonwoo went up the stairs of the building first.

Hanbit also followed, examining the unique structure.

"Why is it so big?"

"You'd faint if you saw the US branch. Western geeks are really intense."

"Really?"

He had heard somewhere about the passion of the so-called Western geeks.

It was hard to fully understand, but considering the market size of the game, it wasn't strange.

If he were to get an item worth hundreds of millions, he would probably sing praises too.

Swish-

Yeonwoo quickly moved forward, breaking through the enormous crowd.

He moved through the vast building as if he had memorized it, without hesitation.

"Here it is."

The place he arrived at following Yeonwoo was a space filled with books.

"Books?"

"You can think of them as guidebooks."

The shelves right in front were filled with rows and rows of the same book.

Hanbit picked up a copy and looked at the author on the cover.

"Who is Adventurer A?"

"He's like the father of newbies. A lot of them would have quit if it weren't for this guidebook."

Joo Yeonwoo explained in an excited voice.

If he was this knowledgeable about the game, he could have gotten ahead on his own.

Hanbit was impressed.

Though he wanted to nitpick a bit about the naming sense.

"He's an amazing person."

"Right? Take a look. It's organized neatly. It's perfectly organized by the world..."

"Okay, okay, hold on."

Hanbit suppressed the excited Yeonwoo and opened the book.

The page started with a clean background illustration.

Next to it was a concise table of contents.

Flip-

Turning the page, a map appeared along with the world's terrain.

But then.

"Huh?"

Hanbit's expression turned strange for some reason.

"Hyung, what's wrong?"

"No..."

Even at Yeonwoo's question, he couldn't speak properly.

The shapes of the continents and seas were too familiar to be seen for the first time.

Even the place names written here and there were all things he knew.

"...Erport?"

As Hanbit turned the pages, an unforgettable name caught his eye.

The unknown existence he had to find according to the Goddess's will.

It was definitely that name, the one he hadn't even seen the face of.

"Shit, what is this?"

Hanbit, frantically searching through the guidebook, let out a curse.

Countless contents that matched his still vivid memories.

As unbelievable as it was, he couldn't help but realize.

This game.

The Record Project was the same world where he had repeated his regression.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Starfall]