The Unexpected Hidden Path

"Is this even possible? I was just curious about the Blessing, so I used it, but suddenly my dagger vanished. Did I cause a huge problem?"

"You used a Blessing and the dagger disappeared?"

As she nodded along, I opened Poru's status window to check. There wasn't really a Blessing that just deleted weapons, though there were some that consumed weapon durability to increase power. But the starter daggers were set to have infinite durability and were indestructible—I’d specifically designed them so that no Blessing or magic could affect them. I had no idea what kind of Blessing could cause a glitch like this.

"Whoa."

"Hm? Did you find the problem?"

"Ah, n-not yet."

I was genuinely awestruck by Poru's ridiculous status window. How lucky does a person have to be to roll Blessings like that? The first one was a unique personal Blessing, so that was fine, but the second and third were top-tier. I hadn't officially tiered them, but I’d never seen someone roll those two together randomly. Even during testing, no one had ever gotten a setup like that.

"Hmm..."

"Ack, you don't know? How? Did I cause a huge disaster?!"

"No, it's fine. Could you show me that one more time?"

I summoned a starter dagger and handed it to her. Honestly, when I looked at the Blessings, I didn't see anything that should cause a problem. During testing, even when the dagger was pushed to its limits, it just increased the damage output; it never vanished.

"I just did this."

I watched as she held the dagger and stretched her arm toward the sky. There was nothing unusual. Then, as the Blessings linked together...

"Ah."

I watched as the dagger in Poru's hand burst into flames, crackled, and then disintegrated into polygons before vanishing. Seeing that, I finally understood why. I never imagined this could happen, but Poru had managed to pull off this difficult feat.

"Did you figure out the reason? Why did it happen?"

"Mhm. Let me explain."

Seeing her face light up with curiosity instead of worry now that I’d found the issue, I smiled, summoned a new dagger, and explained. The starter daggers were indestructible, un-upgradable, and soul-bound, making it impossible for them to disappear under normal circumstances. However, when Poru created Sword Qi, her Blessing triggered, coating the blade in the Fire-attribute. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This momentarily changed the dagger's elemental property. Normally that would be impossible, but her high Fire-attribute dominance and the magic output boost made it happen. Even though what she used wasn't technically magic, the invisible effect of the magic output boost was enough to overwrite the dagger's properties.

"So, the system judged it as a problem and deleted the dagger. Daggers aren't supposed to change, but since an attribute suddenly appeared, it flagged it as a bug."

"Oh... I see! I understand!"

Seeing Poru's face—which clearly showed she didn't understand a single word—I chuckled and selected the dagger object to modify its code for future summons.

"I know the problem now, so I'll fix it quickly. You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can keep playing."

"Really? Then I'll trust you! Mama is the best!"

Just as I was about to apply the fix, she suddenly hugged me and lifted me off the ground, then set me back down. My brain went blank for a second. Eh? Isn't your sense of personal space a bit too nonexistent?! I was so flustered I just stammered, and she laughed as if I were cute before running off toward the dungeon. I wobbled, then shook my head. We’d only talked for a short while, but that one action had exhausted me.

"Haa..."

Since the fix was the priority, I opened the development console and inserted the code to update the dagger's information. The AI's proactive judgment was both a blessing and a curse; it followed instructions perfectly, but it wasn't very flexible. I added a line of code to ensure the starter dagger wouldn't be deleted even if its state changed. Since weapon attribute changes weren't supposed to happen this early on, it was a truly unforeseen event.

"Phew, that should be the end of it for her. Hehe, there shouldn't be any more problems, right?"

Just as I was about to head back to the operator space to rest after solving the first issue, the call notification rang again. Ah, my rest... no, it's fine. Just one more time. *Ding-ding-ding.* I looked at the continuously ringing call bell with a grimace. Seriously, what kind of problems could there be this early on? Why is everyone calling me?! But since I was the one who created and opened this content, I had to grit my teeth and answer the calls. I wish there were actual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bugs—at least then I’d have something to develop and feel productive! Otherwise, it’s just mentally draining. Please, if it’s a general inquiry, call someone else, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not me!

It was a long-standing wish.

"Haa, haa."

Dealing with people isn't easy. Honestly, half the calls weren't even real questions; they just wanted to say hello and get noticed by me. Even though it showed I’d succeeded to this extent, it wasn't easy.

"Ugh..."

"You seem to be having a hard time."

"Ah, Manager."

"Please, just call me Meteor."

I offered a weary smile at the manager who had appeared by my side. So many things had happened... but it wasn't a bad feeling. Since most people were kind, there was more fun than hardship. The person who had intentionally acted like a malicious complainant was a real pain, though...

"Were there any inquiries about problems you couldn't solve?"

"It's only the first day, so not really."

"Phew. That's a relief. Then I'll go back to monitoring the broadcasts... wait, what?"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"No, it looks like I'm seeing something that shouldn't be visible..."

I looked at the broadcasts again. Most users were in the dungeons, gathering resources or hunting monsters. There were also some life-skill users fishing or farming, so the distribution was fairly even. But there was one strange screen. It was showing a location that shouldn't be accessible yet. A hollow with a black knight statue, and a black sword embedded in front of it. It was definitely a place that shouldn't be reachable right now.

"... This is a place that shouldn't be reachable in such a short time."

"Did a problem occur?"

"W-wait a second."

I hurriedly rewound the broadcast to see how they got in. It had only been an hour, and they’d already found a hidden location? And it was a place you were supposed to reach only after clearing a quest! How did they get there so fast? With their current growth, they shouldn't be able to reach it!

"No, what in the..."

"?"

"... I really didn't see this coming."

Rewinding the broadcast, I saw how they managed to reach the hidden location. A person without high stats, just climbing a mountain without any preparation—it was truly incredible.

"No, seriously... is this for real?"

"That's Haena. She's someone who excels in strange ways."

"Oh... you know her well?"

"Market research is a virtue a manager must possess."

Seeing him push up glasses that weren't even there, I realized he must wear them in reality. Still, I knew she was an unconventional person, but to find a hidden area this quickly? I’d put so much effort into getting to that point! It felt a bit sad to have it taken away like that.

"Ugh! I want to stop her...! But I don't want to stop her. What should I do?"

"Hmm, you should follow your heart, but what exactly is that place?"

"Oh... one of the highest-grade hidden areas in the server?"

"........."

I avoided his gaze, which was filled with disbelief. Fine, it was my responsibility for not preventing it because I didn't think anyone would go there. But who would think someone would start by doing nothing and just climbing a mountain? No, even if they climbed the mountain, no one would have thought they’d find that tiny hole and squeeze their body inside.

"B-but even if she gets there, there's a bigger trial left, so she won't be able to take it, right?"

"Hmm. I wouldn't be so sure."

"... Eh? Why?"

"Because Haena is a former ranker."

"A ranker?"

"Yes. The game service has ended, but she was once a ranker in a virtual reality RPG."

At Meteor's words, I watched the broadcast with an anxious expression. Ayy, even so, she hasn't properly set up her Blessings or equipment yet, so how could she clear it? It was nonsense. Even if I wasn't particularly skilled, I’d needed at least mid-tier equipment to clear it; I couldn't even imagine her clearing it in that state. But if she really caught it with that equipment, it would be amazing, but it could also cause problems.

"Ugh, my stomach hurts."

"Well, isn't this the charm of content? Or is it very dangerous if she clears it now?"

"Hmm... it's not that dangerous, but if things go wrong, she could truly monopolize everything. And I'd have to remove the linked quests, too."

"That would be dangerous. Then shouldn't you go and stop her now?"

"But... even if it was a different method, she put in the effort to get there, so it feels wrong to just stop her. And I want to treat that as a valid route."

Adventure is best when it has unexpected results. That's why I included hidden elements. That's why I didn't want to interfere. I wanted to support that challenge. My heart was full of anxiety, but I didn't want to take away her opportunity.

"Hee, I can't watch. Please watch it for me."

"But you made it yourself; shouldn't you see for yourself whether she clears it or not?"

"... That was just talk. I'll be watching, so don't worry."

I focused on Haena's broadcast. It was a strange state where the desire for her to succeed and the desire for her not to coexist. But I was expectant. What kind of emotions would the viewers, and Haena herself, feel when they faced it directly?

"Ah... hehehe."

The person next to me seemed to look at me as if I were a bit strange, but I couldn't help but laugh. So, overcome it! No, don't overcome it! No... ugh! Just let it be whatever it will be! Anything would be fine.