NOVEL NEXT Chapter 354
Thanks to An-sae’s support, I was able to prepare all the equipment.
I had enough funds, so it wouldn’t be a problem to head out for some gear now, but it was definitely going to be quite the hassle.
It probably wasted a lot of time too. For me, whose biggest enemy was time, the goal was to catch a dragon faster than anyone.
But there was still time left. No news of a dragon sighting had come in yet.
“Finding a dragon isn’t that important, anyway.”
What mattered was being the first to kill the dragon.
The hidden class I was aiming for, Dragon Slayer, could only be obtained by being the first to take down a dragon.
It felt a bit odd to call it ‘hidden’ considering the achievement condition was already revealed.
“Isn’t finding a dragon’s nest also rewarded? Like, being the first to discover a dragon’s lair and getting the title ‘Pioneer’ or something.”
“That could be possible.”
I found myself nodding unconsciously at An-sae’s sharp intuition. They were sharper than I thought.
I had been thinking that An-sae was a bit slow-witted, but I needed to completely revise that assessment.
Seeing them already preparing equipment for me, they were far from clueless; they were an absolute ace. With such a loyal supporter, I said with a satisfied smile,
“Then I’ll gladly let An-sae take the reward for finding the dragon. I only need the Dragon Slayer.”
[Are you seriously asking An-sae to find the dragon now?]
[An-sae is practically a slave lol]
[Poor An-sae, they fetched all the equipment for youㅠㅠ]
[The way you’re acting generous is legendary]
[??? : You can have the Pioneer title; the Dragon Slayer is mine!]
[Finding a dragon will probably require riding around all day…]
I clicked my tongue at the viewers misinterpreting my kindness.
“I didn’t mean it that way! You guys just can’t take things literally. You’re so twisted, your perspective on the world is all bent out of shape.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s not what the Boss meant.”
An-sae chimed in to back me up from the side. Truly, An-sae was a loyal supporter.
I knew I had a good eye for people. I recognized it when I was fishing alone at a lonely dock.
“Alright then, An-sae, get ready. You’ve got all the equipment, right?”
Just as I was feeling excited about setting off on an adventure, An-sae shook their head.
“I can’t go, Boss.”
“What?”
[Ah lol Boss spent all the money preparing equipment]
[Should’ve given them more money;;]
[??? : Does this guy not know how much it costs to prepare equipment?]
“Does this guy even know how much money it costs to gear up?”
“I mean, if it’s full-on max gear, it must’ve cost a pretty penny, lol.”
“Look at that broadcast host, totally flustered, haha.”
Is that so? Was that the case?
“Ahh… I see, I was short on cash. I’m so sorry! I spent all the money on my gear!”
“No, that’s not it.”
What came from An-sae’s mouth was a realistic reason I hadn’t even considered.
“What will happen to our casino and the remaining employees if the boss leaves and I become an adventurer?”
“Ah….”
“Right?”
“Are you throwing away the casino? Abandoning your employees?”
“Just ditching them like a dog, lol.”
“But… Kayak really is such a loser.”
“Actually, the broadcast host is the employee, and An-sae was the boss all along, haha.”
“Oh, so that’s how it was?”
“Indeed, Hako’s love is Camilla, haha.”
“Self-proclaimed boss: Runs off on an adventure, abandoning the casino and everything else just because a dragon showed up.”
“The real boss: Wants to go on an adventure but gives it up due to all the responsibilities and realistic problems.”
“The true boss An-sae, dedicated to the casino, sobㅠㅠㅠ.”
“That’s some extraordinary sense of responsibility…”
“Looks like An-sae has some strong feelings for the casino.”
And indeed, our business that started from begging had progressed through the casino to a block factory, racetrack, and even a maid café.
If both the upper management—An-sae and I—were to leave, all those enterprises would come to a halt.
That means the employees tangled up in that would also be stuck in unemployment for some time. It seemed An-sae naturally foresaw this too.
Looking at An-sae, I spoke in a solemn voice.
“An-sae.”
“Yes, boss.”
An-sae must have sensed something unusual in my tone, responding with focus.
“I’m entrusting you with the casino, racetrack, maid café, and block factory…”
“…!”
“Please take good care of them until I return.”
[??? : Sweet! Jackpot!]
“But wasn’t An-sae already managing those things?”
“Seriously, haha, the broadcast host only worked at the start—now they just lounge around and enjoy life.”
“What’s this old guy talking about?”
“Is the Queen of Shadows An-sae now? Whoa.”
An-sae, who had been quietly waiting in front of me, looked at me with emotion.
“Damn, boss…!”
“That’s right! I will definitely return as a dragon slayer—”
“If you have time to talk like that, just hurry up and leave already!”
“Eh.”
Bam—
I was kicked out of the casino I built.
*
“Why’d you kick me out so ruthlessly? An-sae can be surprisingly merciless, right?”
“Right?”
[Let’s keep the construction division strict.]
[Look at them sulking because the skit wasn’t accepted, haha.]
[Look at them kicking me out as soon as I got casino rights, lol.]
[Already the boss of the pants, right?]
[I’m inheriting the position, Boss….]
[??? : Get out of my casino!]
[In fact, An-sae was secretly waiting for a chance to kick Kayak out and become the boss;]
[If I catch the dragon and come back later, there might not be a boss position left, haha.]
[Traditional cliche where the right-hand man betrays you, wow.]
“Eh, no way. An-sae wouldn’t do that, right?”
I briefly imagined it: me catching the dragon and returning as the Dragon Slayer.
However, contrary to my expectations of a warm welcome, An-sae greeted me with a cold face.
“Oh… you came back alive. It would have been better if you died while catching the dragon.”
“Kyaaa!!! How can you say that, An-sae! I was so nice to you!”
A scream involuntarily escaped at the horrifying imagination.
[Ugh, haha, legendary delusion, lol.]
[Suddenly going crazy, Kayak.]
[Why has the Broadcast Host been so caught up in delusions lately?]
[For real, where did the cool-headed gamer Kayak go?]
[Taker server RP turned into this mess after talking about fantasy settings.]
[Delusions while roleplaying is super fun, why? Haha.]
[Surprisingly, their acting skills are good enough to be a shame to watch for free, lol.]
[The Broadcast Host is also a talented person to the point of rivaling a musical.]
[Watching a performance from my room is great, yeah.]
“Yes, just kidding. If I lose the casino, it can’t be helped. I’ll hand the business over to An-sae and live as a dragon slayer.”
Having a positive mindset is important in anything.
The casino? Is that really important? I entered the server all alone, recruited An-sae, and begged to establish the casino!
So, creating a few businesses isn’t a big deal for me.
[Han Do-jecheon donated 10,000 won!]
– I was thinking too casually like this and got stabbed in the back by a friend and lost my company. For the viewers watching, don’t be like Kayak.
[Whoa, wow.]
[Life is all about practical experience.]
[Haha, there’s no time for friends when a company is at stake.]
[In a world where you sell out your family, trust a friend?]
[At this point, it’s almost certain the Broadcast Host gets betrayed.]
[If betrayal happens, An-sae will go down, and that’s bad.]
“Yes, um. Han Do-jecheon’s words make sense. Life isn’t easy… So, should we head to the village square first?”
It was to gather information. The dragon is definitely sleeping somewhere in the server, but its location isn’t specified.
After heading to a place with lots of people, I planned to listen to their stories and then investigate the map based on my deductions.
After listening to the stories of the people there, I planned to search the map here and there through reasoning.
[Reasoning? Oh no.]
[Isn’t this just brainless grinding?]
[The map is too vast to search one by one.]
[There should be some clues.]
While chatting with the viewers, I arrived at the village square before I knew it.
“Oh.”
Is it because a new dragon has appeared? The square looked different from before. Previously, it looked like a peaceful town hall, but now…
[Looks like an adventurer’s guild.]
[Did it change with the patch?]
[Taker really cares a lot about the server.]
Users chatting in groups around a round table, and the Taker sitting at the counter, seemingly receiving inquiries.
“Isn’t it probably in a cave since it’s a dragon?”
“Don’t you have any more hints, Taker?”
“Yes, none. If you all can’t find it after some time, I’ll give more clues then.”
So the Taker is playing the role of the guild receptionist. Usually, women take on roles like that, though.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now. Getting the information was the top priority, regardless of whether the Taker was a receptionist or not.
“So the chances of it being in a cave are high…”
[Go join the conversation, Teacher.]
[How does “Isn’t it probably in a cave?” turn into “The chances of it being in a cave are high”?]
[Is eavesdropping considered information gathering? Hmm.]
[Let’s talk to the Taker.]
That’s when I was deep in my reasoning.
“You’ve got a full set of equipment, huh?”
The Taker at the reception counter casually came over to speak to me.
“Yeah, well. Gotta catch the dragon.”
“Of course you’re going to catch it… but I feel like I haven’t seen Kayak in the dungeon city much.”
“Why’s that?”
The Taker continued as if it were obvious.
“Well, the dragon is kind of set up like a final boss among raid bosses, so you need to have a combat level over 90 to realistically take it down.”
[Aah!]
[What’s the broadcast host’s combat level?]
[Isn’t it under 90?]
“Aha, I see.”
“So what’s your combat level, Kayak?”
With curiosity, the Taker asked, and I responded in a casual voice.
“37.”
“Oh, 37… that’s quite decent—wait, 37? You plan to catch a dragon with that?”
Hearing my reply, the Taker seemed flustered and stammered.