Hidden in the Grey Streets
As we stepped out of the Adventurer's Guild, the streets of Lumen were bustling with life as if nothing had happened. Around the massive fountain in the center of the square, merchants' calls and the constant shuffle of passing footsteps echoed without pause. But that vibrant scene lost all its color the moment you stepped just one block away.
“This way. Stick close behind me.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
I turned my back on the dazzling main street and headed toward the northwest slums of the city, where even sunlight barely reached—the so-called Grey Street.
The moment we entered the narrow alleyways between buildings, the tightly packed shanties and dilapidated structures cast deep shadows that seemed to swallow the sky. The stench of something rotting and an unidentifiable foul odor stung my nose, and Seria instinctively pulled her robe collar up to cover hers.
The good items in this game were always hidden in shitholes like this.
Lumen had the typical layout of a starter city for new players. The area around the square was for picking up and turning in quests, the shopping district was for maintaining gear, and this Grey Street was the zone for progressing certain quests.
Most players would raise their level a bit more, get better equipment, and only then come here to clear the related quests. But I had no intention of waiting.
My first goal was to secure the skill book that had been left abandoned deep in the Grey Street before any specific quest triggered.
As we trudged deeper into the alley, stepping on the sticky mud, I began to feel eyes watching us from every corner.
“Well, well. Who do we have here? Looks like a lost young master and his little lady.”
Of course it came to this.
The moment we rounded the corner of a crumbling wall, three men in dirty leather armor blocked our path. In their hands were crude weapons—a rusty dagger and something like a metal pipe. Classic back-alley thugs.
“You two don’t look like you belong around here. Gotta pay the toll to pass, right? Hand over everything you’ve got nice and quiet, and we’ll let you keep your lives.”
The bald man in the center cackled as he swung his dagger through the air with a few sharp flicks. I felt Seria flinch behind me, clutching tightly at the hem of my cloak.
I let out a small sigh and stopped walking.
“Toll, huh.”
“That’s right! Start by tossing that coin pouch at your waist on the ground. And let’s get a look at the little bitch hiding behind you. If she’s any good, we’ll put her to good use!”
The thugs’ gazes shifted toward Seria’s hooded robe, and vulgar laughter erupted.
Annoying. Let’s get this over with quickly.
Shing— I didn’t draw my sword. Instead, I gripped it sheath and all and walked straight toward them.
“This bastard, is he deaf or— URK!”
Before he could finish, it was already over. With an Agility stat of 12, my movement was far too fast for these sluggish thugs to track. I closed the distance in an instant and drove the end of the sheathed sword hard into the bald man’s solar plexus.
“Kek… ugh…!”
The bald man’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes rolled back as he dropped to his knees. Frothy spit mixed with blood dribbled from his mouth from the internal damage.
“B-Boss! You son of a bitch!”
The two men on either side panicked and charged, raising their metal pipes. I lightly ducked under the pipe swinging in from the right, then stomped down hard on the attacker’s shin.
Crack—!
The sound of bone breaking rang out as the man screamed and rolled across the ground. The last thug stumbled backward in terror, but I had already grabbed him by the collar.
“So, the toll’s been paid in full, right?”
“H-Hiiik! P-Please spare me! We were blind, we didn’t know— ACK!”
I hurled his body like a sack of garbage onto his fallen comrades. The entire fight had taken less than ten seconds. The three thugs who had blocked the alley now lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.
I’d felt it when I beat Marcus at the guild, but the ring’s strength boost had clearly pushed my power far beyond that of an ordinary person.
You have subdued the back-alley thugs.
A small amount of experience has been gained.
“Let’s go, Seria.”
“Ah… yes!”
I strode forward again, stepping casually over the fallen thugs. Seria followed close behind, casting a cold glance down at the men writhing on the ground.
The deepest dead-end alley in the Grey Street. In front of a massive brick wall that blocked every direction, only abandoned wooden barrels and piles of trash gave off a foul stench.
“This is it.”
“In a dead end like this… is there really something here?”
“You’ll see.”
I pushed through the trash pile and approached the brick wall. Near the center, I carefully ran my fingers across the moss-covered, worn bricks.
Fifth from the bottom, third from the left.
In the original game, this was the hidden physical gimmick that let you enter the secret location without the key normally obtained by killing Kasim, the boss of Lumen’s back alleys.
I found the specific brick and pushed it in with force.
Creak— Clunk!
The brick sank inward, followed by the sound of gears engaging. Then came a heavy rumble as part of the blocked wall rotated inward, revealing a dark passage just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
“Oh my…”
Seria’s mouth fell slightly open in disbelief.
“Follow carefully. It’ll be dusty inside.”
I lit the torch hanging on the inner wall of the passage and took the lead. The tunnel stretched deep underground. After descending a long set of stairs, we reached an old room covered in dust and spiderwebs.
It was an underground sanctuary once used in secret by a heretical cult and later abandoned. In the center, atop a worn altar, sat a heavy iron chest thick with dust.
“Found it.”
An item that could explosively boost a player in the very early game with no conditions attached. I walked straight up to the altar and smashed the firmly locked iron chest with the hilt of my sword.
Clang—!
Crash!
The old lock shattered instantly and fell to the floor. I carefully lifted the lid.
Inside, resting neatly on an old rug, were two items. One was a thick tome bound in red leather. The other was a platinum necklace glowing with a soft blue light.
Without hesitation, I reached for the tome first.
◈ Requires Stamina 25 or higher
◈ Ancient combat manual used by a knight order of old
◈ Grants powerful offensive and survival skills that consume the user’s stamina
A heroic-grade skill book. A satisfied smile spread across my lips. In the original game, skill books were incredibly rare items that were hard to obtain even with money. On top of that, the requirement was Stamina 25 or higher. It was a condition that ordinary damage dealers or balanced knights could never meet in the early game. But for my freakish stat distribution that had been dumped entirely into stamina, it fit like a perfectly tailored suit.
Do you wish to use the skill book Iron Wall of Blood?
“Use it.”
At my answer, the red tome emitted a brilliant light and shattered into countless particles that flowed into my body.
Blood Strike (D): Consumes 10% of current health to envelop your weapon in powerful blood energy and attack. Deals massive additional damage that ignores defense, proportional to the health consumed.
Blood Veil (D): Passive. Absorbs 5% of damage dealt to enemies and converts it into health.
“…This is insane.”
I cheered inwardly as I read the skill descriptions floating in the air. Consume health to deal burst damage, then recover health in proportion to the damage dealt. It was a perfect infinite engine and an overpowered passive that let a tank break past its limits and become a true damage-tank hybrid.
As the red aura radiating from my body slowly subsided, Seria stared at me with wide, startled eyes.
“Sir Graus…? What was that light just now…?”
“I just got a little stronger. More importantly, come over here.”
I picked up the remaining item from the chest—the platinum necklace glowing with a soft blue light.
◈ Stimulates the wearer’s dormant mana pathways to help open them
◈ Intelligence +3
◈ An artifact that greatly aids those who walk the path of magic
This hidden piece chest was originally designed to provide two different items in case a party had a mage. I approached Seria, who was still wearing her robe, and personally placed the platinum necklace around her neck.
“Ah…! Oh…”
The moment the cool metal touched her skin, Seria’s shoulders trembled slightly. As if the necklace had found its rightful owner, a faint blue wave of mana began to resonate near her heart.
“I don’t need it. It’s yours.”
“S-Something this precious and beautiful… are you really giving it to me? I’m just a baggage carrier…”
Seria’s hands shook as she touched the necklace at her chest, her voice cracking with emotion.
“I told you yesterday. You’re not just a baggage carrier.”
I placed both hands on her small shoulders and bent down to meet her eyes.
“This is an investment to keep you by my side. You’re going to become incredibly strong. Once you’re pulling your own weight properly, you can pay me back for all the meals then. Got it?”
A single transparent tear finally slipped from Seria’s large purple eyes. Still clutching the necklace, she bowed her head deeply toward me.
“Y-Yes…! I will… I will definitely become strong. I’ll become the most useful person to you, Sir Graus. I’ll become someone who will never… never be abandoned.”
At the same time, inside a room in Lumen’s massive guild building.
“What did you say? That bastard Marcus came back beaten to a pulp?!”
Barkan, the exploration team leader, kicked over the wine glass in his hand and shot up from his ornate chair. The subordinate kneeling on the floor trembled like a leaf as he answered.
“Y-Yes, sir! Right in the middle of the guild… and it was that knight bastard we used as bait in the labyrinth yesterday! He took Marcus down in a single blow!”
“Don’t spout bullshit! That guy knocked Marcus out in one hit?”
“A-And… that silver-gray-haired bitch you were planning to keep for yourself, Boss… he’s got her with him too.”
Barkan’s face twisted into a terrifying scowl.
“Fuck… daring to stab me in the back? Round up a dozen or so useful guys right now and go after them. Cut that knight bastard’s limbs off and kill him. Strip the girl naked and drag her here immediately!”
“Yes, sir! We will carry out your orders, Boss!”
Barkan growled as he nervously stroked the massive greatsword at his waist.