Chapter 46 …
The next day.
As always, Dohyun woke up early and diligently. After finishing his morning jog and a light breakfast, he immediately headed for the capsule.
Only now did his day truly begin.
Just like yesterday, he was excited to play God of All Seasons, but his expression today was a bit strange.
Blank, maybe. That would make sense—what he’d learned was shocking.
‘I can’t believe God of All Seasons makes that much money…’
He knew it was a historically unprecedented hit game, so of course it would be profitable.
But 1 billion won?
If the monthly income was 1 billion, that meant nearly 12 billion a year.
Even after taxes and other deductions, close to 10 billion would remain.
He’d heard that even among the top ten guild masters, there were teenagers who earned more than Myeolsal—so just how much were they making?
‘They said a big chunk comes from NewTube and broadcasts, right?’
Commercials, TV appearances…
If guilds in God of All Seasons were basically businesses, then top-10 guilds would be operating at the level of major corporations.
Considering all those revenue streams, even the 1 billion figure might honestly be an understatement.
‘It really is an era where you can get rich from games.’
“A second world.”
“It swallowed the real world.”
He had always heard grand descriptions like that, but only now—after hearing the numbers—did it truly sink in.
The world he had always dreamed of had finally arrived… and he had spent this golden period in the military.
Everyone had to serve and protect the country, sure—but he couldn’t help feeling bitter.
Still, it was fine.
‘I’m late, but it’s not impossible.’
Mountain climbing was the same.
Anyone who turns back before reaching the summit will never see the view from the top.
He had already taken first place once—why couldn’t he do it again?
And Dohyun had six traits and a one-of-a-kind god.
One of them was even a unique trait.
‘Let’s hit it again.’
1 billion a month?
No—if he was going to aim high, he might as well dream of 10 billion a month.
For now it was just a dream, but goals were better when set big.
With that in mind, he had also done some light research on NewTube, which would be the first step toward that 10-billion goal.
“Streaming? You can just record. Easy to start. If you want higher quality you’ll need editing and money… but that’s basically for people going pro.”
“And just in case—you’re not getting carried away, right? Not everyone blows up just because the money’s good, so don’t expect too much.”
…In truth, he had learned more from Hyuna than from his own research.
To be fair, there wasn’t much more he could realistically look into.
He didn’t have money to hire an editor, and even if he learned the process, it wasn’t something he could master overnight.
Still, he had roughly set his direction.
“Content? Hmm… it varies. Something you can do without connections? Maybe raid videos? If your mechanics are good, people will still watch even in low-level zones.”
Mechanics-carry videos.
This was Dohyun’s strongest area. More accurately, it was pretty much his only option.
Interesting content required connections, and Dohyun had none—nor the confidence to produce that kind of content.
‘For now, I’ll at least record.’
If he filmed it, surely it would be useful someday.
He planned to record whenever he had the chance.
After all, once his ranking rose later, even ordinary hunting footage would gain value.
‘It would’ve been nice if I recorded before running the hidden dungeon…’
That part was a little disappointing, but thinking about it, maybe it was for the best.
Otherwise, it would’ve been hard to travel with Jihad.
For now, he would think about it slowly.
Right now, more importantly—
[Loyalty decreases by -2.]
[Loyalty increases by +2.]
[Loyalty increases by +1.]
[Loyalty increases by +1.]
“…What the heck happened to this guy?”
The moment he logged into the game, Dohyun couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the message log.
All he had done was log out and back in—what kind of emotional roller coaster was this?
From the timing, it seemed the loyalty dropped by 2 right after he logged off, then increased by 4 in the Guardian Room…
The drop he could understand—that was just the guy’s personality.
What puzzled him was the increase.
‘Why did it go up so much?’
Come to think of it, he had heard that the Guardian Room was designed to be a space where guardians could relax.
A system meant to ease the burden for users struggling with loyalty management.
Apparently, it worked for Jihad too.
Well, considering the guy had been hiding underground for centuries according to his settings, anything would probably feel nice.
‘But why was he hiding in the first place?’
His innate bloodline and everything about him was full of mysteries.
Still, thanks to this, Dohyun could relax a bit.
[Loyalty: 20 / 100]
He had reached his target of 20, and the warnings about betrayal had disappeared.
“—Oh, you’re here, Master.”
Right on cue, Jihad Black cautiously spoke up.
It seemed he had been summoned from the Guardian Room when Dohyun logged in.
His bleary, half-asleep appearance made him look like a shut-in dragged out of bed in a hurry.
Must’ve had a great sleep.
After staring at him for a moment, Dohyun spoke bluntly.
“Watch your tone.”
“No, Master.”
“…Whatever. Just speak comfortably.”
“…Is that okay?”
Dohyun nodded roughly instead of answering.
“…Then, Master.”
“Yeah.”
Jihad Black’s face briefly brightened—clearly happy not to have to say “Master-nim.”
Then he hurriedly tried to compose himself, and Dohyun chuckled.
‘This much should be fine.’
As long as it wasn’t things like “hey,” “you,” or “human,” it didn’t matter.
You couldn’t just beat them down all the time.
Besides, the guy’s awkward formal speech was more uncomfortable anyway. Casual speech was easier—as long as he didn’t get too cocky.
His loyalty was already over 20, and regular discipline would keep him in line.
Of course, if loyalty dropped, that might change.
“Where are we going now—huh?”
Jihad asked carefully.
Dohyun grinned.
That was obvious.
“Time to collect the reward.”
The reward for the chained quest ‘Dungeon Break.’
It was time to pick up the long-awaited Low-Grade Skill Draw Ticket.
* * *
[You have cleared the chained quest ‘Dungeon Break.’]
[As a reward, you obtain 10 gold, a certain amount of EXP, and a Low-Grade Skill Draw Ticket.]
‘Finally got it.’
Dohyun clenched his fist at the long-awaited ticket.
It might only be a low-grade ticket, but right now every skill was precious.
Even Charge Slash—no, even the basic skill Smash—he was using them to the fullest.
‘Didn’t level up, huh.’
It would’ve been nice if the level had gone up cleanly, especially since there were no more quests.
This really made it clear how the EXP requirement ballooned at higher levels.
Up to level 20, one quest used to give a level.
“Well done. Now the monsters won’t look down on our Raven so easily. Hoho.”
“Thank you.”
“Since we’ve met such a talented hunter, how about staying for some tea?”
“No, I have work piled up. I’ll take the sentiment though.”
“Just as I thought! You finish a task and immediately head to the next—my eye for people never fails!”
Ding—
[Title ‘Max Affection From the Start?’ activates. Affinity increases further.]
[Zrinna’s affinity is extremely high.]
Still chatty as ever, Zrinna kept talking while Dohyun prepared to leave.
If he sat down, he’d lose an hour to small talk.
‘No way.’
As mentioned before, Dohyun was a hardcore gamer who found even ten hours insufficient.
There was no way he’d waste precious time like that.
Just as he hurried toward the door—
“But who is that beside you? Yesterday you were alone… a new companion?”
“…Yeah, something like that.”
Dohyun glanced sideways and nodded.
Zrinna stroked his white beard with interest.
“Oh? Looks young, but must be a very talented mage. Hoho.”
“Kiruk!”
“…Hm? Kiruk?”
“Oh, my companion has rhinitis. His nose must be blocked. I have business, so I’ll be going.”
“…Eh? Very well.”
Cutting him off, Dohyun stepped outside and sighed.
Then he shot a sideways glare.
“Want to die?”
“Sorry, Master. For a human, he seemed to know a bit, so I—”
“Be careful.”
“…Sorry.”
Jihad shrank back, avoiding eye contact.
Dohyun sighed and looked around.
A goblin walking through the village should have drawn attention—but surprisingly, no one really cared.
Some glanced their way, but that was it.
‘Looks like the effect is working well.’
It was all thanks to the robe Jihad was wearing.
Black Goblin Shaman’s Robe—the support gear Dohyun had obtained.
The face-recognition interference magic attached to it was active.
Not just the option—the robe itself covered the entire body.
No matter how small, people would assume he was human, not a goblin.
‘I dropped it, but he’s the one wearing it.’
Kind of funny when he thought about it.
Originally it belonged to that guy—Dohyun killed him, got the drop… and then gave it back.
What kind of situation was that?
“Kiruk, kiruk!”
Only Jihad was excited to have his clothes back.
Dohyun frowned.
“Quiet.”
“…Kiruk.”
Jihad immediately covered his mouth with both hands, looking dejected.
It wasn’t just petty irritation.
Even with the recognition interference, the goblin sounds couldn’t be helped.
A small guy walking around making goblin noises was bound to raise suspicion.
‘I’ll keep this on him for now.’
A bit unfortunate, but Dohyun couldn’t wear it yet anyway due to level restrictions.
And he didn’t even have magic skills yet…
‘Plus I don’t have to gear him up—two birds with one stone.’
Technically, Jihad shouldn’t have been able to equip the robe either—but when Dohyun tested it before entering the village, it worked.
[Recognized as Black Tribe.]
[The creator’s power removes equip restrictions for the original owner.]
Not just the robe—even the Soul Orb could be equipped.
Just what kind of tribe were they?
Still, saving on gear costs wasn’t bad.
“So where are we going, Master?”
“You’ll see.”
“Aren’t you supposed to do that card opening thing quickly?”
Jihad tilted his head.
He’d been so eager about card pulls earlier—why was he wandering the village instead of opening it immediately?
“You wouldn’t understand. It’s a user thing.”
“…?”
Still curious, but sensing he might get hit if he pushed, Jihad shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, Dohyun focused ahead.
‘It was around here somewhere…’
He reopened the community post and walked for several minutes.
Soon, he arrived and grinned.
Bustle, bustle—
It was just an ordinary back alley.
No shops, nothing special.
Yet the place was packed with people.
And all of them were staring into the air, riding emotional highs and lows.
“Ugh! Didn’t get it!”
“What the hell—how do you pull a normal skill from a random ticket!? Who said this place was lucky!?”
“Yesss! Hero-grade!! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lady Rene!”
“Rare grade, nice! This is the power of a lucky spot… holy shit!”
Some cried.
Some laughed.
Every city had at least one.
A card-pull hotspot.
That was the true identity of Irade Back Alley.
