Chapter 140 - An Unexpected Connection (1)

"Hmm, it's a bit tight."

Ain touched the equipment, which felt a bit awkward.

It was her first time wearing leather-type armor.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"Not really… but it feels as if someone is constantly squeezing me."

"Isn't that uncomfortable…?"

"I'm not sure."

The tips of Ain's mouth were up while she touched her waist.

The armor looked like a uniform or a dress optimized for battle.

The outer part was covered with fabric, so it had that unique item's luxurious aspect.

Thanks to Hyun wearing 'The Robes of the Praying Priest,' they both looked like rankers.

"Should we make other pieces as well?"

"Hmm… But we don't need more shoes or accessories."

They decided to make other items in the future after getting other good ingredients.

They decided to fill the other options with good rare items from the shop.

Hyun and Ain went to choose items together, and more than three hours passed by.

'Good, we're well-equipped.'

He began thinking about the other Guild members after finishing up buying his and Ain’s equipment.

'Well, I guess Salon will buy his own.'

Even if he didn't get involved, Salon already had good items, so there was no need for him to worry about it.

'Should I buy a few things for TarrTarr?'

Hyun thought about the money he'd earned through YouTube.

The views on the channel were growing each day.

After seeing the videos that had been uploaded to the channel, Hyun had realized something important…

Even if the material was good, you couldn't ignore the power of a video editor.

Although TarrTarr was in middle school, he was already as good as a professional editor.

…No, he was better than a simple video editor!

He produced videos that were only possible if you had good video editing skills and skills that were almost as good as a ranker.

'Well… He did get into Master-tier once, so his gaming sense is better than the average person’s.'

It seemed like he could produce high-quality videos because he'd been alongside the guild members and understood how they played.

At that point, he couldn't think of asking someone else to edit the videos.

All of his information was in the unedited footage, so he couldn't easily trust and ask someone else.

Hyun thought TarrTarr deserved a reward, so he picked a few items.

Hyun picked a simple weapon, armor, shoes, and other things.

He spent 5000 gold.

Most items had the option of reducing skill cooldown times.

After all, reducing cooldown times was the most important option for a Death Knight.

If TarrTarr used every item, his cooldown times would be reduced by 30%, and with the effect of «Assimilation», it could become 50%.

"Good, the preparations are perfect!"

Hyun realized he'd forgotten something important after returning to the private room.

"Hyun, don't you have something for me?"

"Huh?"

Hyun realized his mistake after Louise, who was playing alone in the garden, went running toward him.

Fu- Ain made a victorious smile while wearing a dress that was like luxurious armor.

Louise was ready to cry after seeing Ain’s equipment.

"You two had a good time alone… And I don't even get a present…?!"

"N-no. I also prepared something for you. Let me see…"

Hyun quickly began searching through his inventory.

'Isn't there anything useful?'

Hyun began sweating.

He only had items Louise couldn't use or shouldn't use.

Hyun's eyes shone after a while when he neared the bottom of the inventory.

'A unique magic wand? When did I pick this up?'

There was a small item at the bottom he hadn't noticed before.

He didn't remember the details very well, but since he had it, he’d probably picked it up somehow. It would be better if he gave her at least something, so Hyun took it out as if he'd thought about it before.

"It's a present, Louise! I got this item for you!"

"Oh…!"

[Black Knight's Wand]

Louise happily accepted the small magic wand.

Swosh-!

But the moment she grabbed it, it began to grow.

It took him some time to realize that it wasn't that it grew in size but that it had been folded down before.

The small magic wand suddenly became almost two meters long.

Black Knight's Wand (Unique)

Minimum Requirements : [Lv. 150] [Strength: 100] [Magical Power: 100]

Durability (330/330)

Attack : 238

Magical Power Increase : 15%

Strength Increase : 15%

- You can cause physical ailments with just 15% of damage.

- Can grow up to four meters in size.

"Oh? Didn't I give you that?"

While Louise looked at the weapon, confused, Hyun suddenly heard Ain's voice and remembered where he had gotten the item.

That's right. It was the Iluna Quest's 2nd place prize.

Slam!

Louise couldn't use a weapon with a strength requirement of 100 and fell to the ground.

Hyun scratched his head while looking at the scene unfold.

"That was the first present, and I'll give you the second one later."

The next day, Hyun bought her a white pair of gloves.

Louise seemed really happy to receive a present that went well with her white-colored clothes. Thanks to that, Hyun felt a little less guilty.

A few days before challenging the quest…

'What's this?'

As soon as Hyun logged in to Asrian Online, he saw he'd received a message from someone he'd never talked to before.

The name of the sender was ‘Robert Connor’. According to the message, he was one of Asrian's Developers…

'What does a developer want to talk with me…?'

Hyun tried to remember if he'd done something that could've caused trouble for them.

‘Did I take advantage of a bug?’

He'd used a few shady tactics, but nothing worthy of a ban!

‘Did my playstyle trouble the developers?’

From what he’d heard, developers didn't like users who monopolized the game's rewards.

‘Am I going to receive a restriction or maybe receive a warning?’

Hyun began worrying and thinking about many possibilities, but after reading the message, he realized he was worried about nothing.

The message, which began formally, didn't seem to have the intention of warning him, but it was the opposite.

「Thank you for enjoying Asrian Online. The reason why I've sent a message is…」

The message had a gift attached to it.

[Experience Potion]

- If you use it, your experience will go up by 100.

'It doesn't seem fake.'

There wasn't something like an experience potion in Asrian.

It may not have been something impressive, but with it, the sender had proved he was a developer.

That's what confused Hyun even more.

The more he read the message, the more confused Hyun became.

「That's why we want you to participate in the project of creating an 'Asrian Concept Video.' If you're willing to participate…」

‘Steven? I think that I've heard that name before.’

He wasn't sure who he was, but it seemed like someone famous was going to participate in the project… but he wasn't that interested in it. After all, he was really busy preparing for the Duke's Quest.

He was already busy with the quest, so he had no free time to worry about other things.

If the sender weren't a developer, Hyun would've thought it was spam email and blocked the sender.

But there was one reason why he couldn't immediately refuse.

「If you participate, we promise we'll give you a big reward, not just a small present.」

The developers had promised him a big reward.

That's right. It wasn't a random nobody, but a developer!

'Big reward? What could that be?'

Hyun's heart began beating faster.

What if the reward was an important item? It was worth checking out.

Hyun quickly replied.

He thought it would be better if the answer were concise.

「What's the big reward?」

It was a one-line message.

He was about to turn around after sending the message when…

"Hmm?"

Hyun's eyes narrowed.

It had been only a few seconds since he’d sent it, but a reply had already arrived.

He read the answer.

「Nice to meet you, Hyun, it seems like you've just logged in. Did you think about my proposal?」

Hyun quickly began thinking.

「Hmm. First, I'm not really sure about what the project is about… but rather than that, wouldn't it be more important for you to tell me what the reward is?」

「I see. That's a reasonable question.」

After saying so, the developer fell into thought.

Had he been too forward?

While Hyun was worrying about that, the developer sent another message.

「I think it would be better if we met so I could give you a more detailed explanation… Do you have some time?」

「Meet in person?」

Hyun suddenly became annoyed.

He was preparing to clear the Duke's Quest in a few days, and he wasn't sure how much time it would take to meet someone in real life.

「I'm kind of busy these days, so meeting in person would be a little bit hard.」

「Are you busy right now?」

Hyun looked around the private room.

Early morning…

The guild was empty because Salon was sleeping, and Ain and TarrTarr were at school.

Only Louise was there, taking a nap in the private room.

「I'm free right now, but I have things to do soon.」

「That's good to hear. I'll prepare the place.」

「What?」

"…?"

「So what's the reward?」

Hyun tilted his head.

He'd sent another message, but there wasn't a reply, even after five minutes.

'Did he go to the bathroom?'

While thinking that was possible, he tried to relax a bit and wait.

'I'll go to the bathroom, too.'

[Changing to rest mode!]

Hyun's view changed when he sat his character on the sofa.

The private room's surroundings started to blur, and it was as if everything was dragged to a point.

…

A few moments later…

Without making any noise, Hyun's body magically disappeared from the sofa.

He wasn't sure what kind of force it was since it wasn't a teleport or a warp.

A new place soon appeared in front of Hyun… Hyun, no… Hyun's body, which was in rest mode, appeared on top of a chair in a new place.

There were two people he'd never seen before in front of him.

* * *

Games, movies…

There hadn't been many cases of the two fields working together; it was the same even in Asrian.

The two areas began getting involved after Kwon DaeHo became interested in the movie industry.

"A movie…"

Steven Young.

Kwon DeaHo burst into laughter after reading a column from the movie industry giant.

Steven Young had been able to correctly see the potential of Asrian.

"Yes. The movie industry still has a bigger influence than video games in this era."

Movies were the best way to approach the world. It was the easier way to approach a huge mass of people.

Many people didn't play video games, but there probably wasn't anyone who didn't watch movies.

When he heard Steven was going to participate in the festival, a certain thought crossed his mind.

How fast could the movie industry make Asrian grow?

Wasn't the idea behind the important announcement to make Asrian more widely known worldwide?

To think that one of the movie industry titans was so interested in Asrian!

As soon as he realized that, his plans began moving faster.

Kwon DaeHo smiled after he finished making some calculations.

____

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried for more updates!

____