Hidden Piece (2)
Hidden Piece (2)
Back in my old world, I was in a traffic accident once. It wasn't exactly a raw deal.
It was an accident I could have avoided, but I stuck my neck out where I shouldn't have and paid the price.
I ended up with a permanent leg injury. The insurance payout and settlement were enormous by my standards, so I shut myself in my room.
I lost my part-time job because my legs were shot, but the money in my hands was massive, so it wasn't an issue.
Thanks to that, I could move out of the goshiwon and into a decent studio apartment.
It was a much nicer environment for being a shut-in.
Going outside required a wheelchair or crutches, which was beyond inconvenient.
Staying home suited my disposition anyway.
Lazing around in bed was comfortable, but I'm the type of ungrateful bastard who wants to lie down the moment he sits, so once I got comfortable, I started secretly craving some entertainment too.
So, I started poking around for things to pass the time, and one of the things I found was a game called Savior.
It was the first PC game I ever properly got into, after sometimes fiddling with puzzle games on my phone.
At the time, I felt like a wild native encountering a new civilization. It was insanely fun. So I got deeply hooked.
That's why I never looked up strategy guides on the internet. I felt like if I followed someone else's walkthrough, the fun I was having would vanish.
I think it might have been the most carefree and happiest time of my life.
"This is near where the boss spawned. It should be around the center, I think."
Baek A-rin, who was leading our party, spoke up. A fair bit of time had passed since we packed up our temporary base.
We ran into a few cadets during the move. Given our party's strength, we could eliminate them all without trouble.
Come to think of it, even while I was being chased, I never ran into any of the main-role types.
If I'd been chased by a main character on the first or second day, I probably would have been eliminated. Looking back, I realized I was absurdly lucky.
"I guess all the important things are gathered in the center."
"Certainly, keeping them in one place would make management easier."
The center of the 1st floor. It seems even the center has prime real estate value, what with bosses being summoned nearby and Hidden Pieces existing here.
After suppressing the swelling excitement at the thought of maybe snagging a Hidden Piece, I followed Ellia's guidance and brought the party here.
We'd returned to the spot we fled in a frenzy after killing the boss.
Of course, I didn't come back empty-handed. I explained my reasoning instead of throwing a reckless tantrum.
There's something special in the place Ellia found. I'd share the reward appropriately if they helped me.
A question came right back at me.
How do you know about that?
"Seeking the Black Dragon's Pearl... is that the Headmaster's teaching method?"
Baek A-rin suddenly murmured.
Seeking the Black Dragon's Pearl (探驪得珠).
It's a four-character idiom meaning to obtain a great profit by taking a great risk—literally, to seek a black dragon and obtain its pearl.
"So they focus everyone's attention with a boss worth the same points, while separately informing us of a special reward's location... Certainly, if you can just hold out, it's both a trial and a reward. Good deal."
In short, it's the obvious truth that the higher the stakes, the greater the payout upon success.
"How are we supposed to h-hold out after drawing that much aggro?"
At Baek A-rin's muttering, Hong Yeon-hwa, who was standing at the rear watching for ambushes, retorted with a sullen tone.
Walking right behind Ellia, I nodded internally. In reality, even though I was lucky, I'd almost been done for on the second day.
Persuading the party hadn't been hard. I had an invincible excuse.
An unprecedented Special Admission Cadet. A cadet personally chosen by the Headmaster.
That identity served as a brilliant excuse. Because I'm the only Special Admission Cadet. Because no other notices are coming down to me through the professors.
Did the Headmaster actually tell me where the Origin Egg was? No. I don't even know the Headmaster's face in the first place.
It's the same in recorded history. The Headmaster's heroic deeds prove they exist, but for some reason, even historical records never show the Headmaster's outward appearance.
That part actually helped me. In the original work, the Tower Master of Growth never revealed themselves in any situation.
I don't know about this time... but seeing how they've neglected the Special Admission Cadet they personally brought in, they seem to be taking a similar stance to the original.
No one here can see through my lie. The only ones who could verify it are me and the Headmaster, and the Headmaster is keeping silent.
The only difficulty in persuading them was that, with my mouth being the way it is, I had to write letters on the ground to explain everything.
Sign language felt awkward in many ways since it had been so long.
"Here."
Ellia, who had been thoroughly scanning the surroundings, spoke. The party moved, pushing through the forest.
Soon, my senses also picked up on a strange location. The underbrush tickling my thighs cleared away. An open space appeared, and a breeze suddenly blew in.
"It definitely differs from the structures I saw before."
Looking around, Baek A-rin said that.
A wide clearing revealed itself after pushing through the undergrowth.
In the very center lay a stone altar imbued with strange mana, surrounded by eight pillars.
Now that my spatial perception was broken, I couldn't discern its exact shape. The knowledge I have is merely what I saw in the original work.
But I could feel it.
Three black pillars surrounded the central stone altar in a triangle.
They felt black. The sinister and menacing mana within them made me perceive them that way.
Five white pillars surrounded the stone altar in a pentagon.
They felt white. The sturdy and firm mana within them made me perceive them that way.
"Ha-yul, is this the place?"
Before entering the clearing, Baek A-rin, who had checked the area with magic, turned her head and asked. I paused to sense the mana from the pillars, then nodded.
"Then we're entering."
Following those words, the party moved. I swallowed hard and followed along.
'How will this go?'
Even though I confidently persuaded them to come here, I actually wasn't sure either.
The first one to discover the Origin Egg was the 3rd Iteration.
The 1st Iteration had truly tasted the bitterness of a raw start. The 2nd Iteration was too busy growing by wrestling with cadets to have any leeway.
The 3rd Iteration, however, finally had the leeway to explore the internal map of the Tower of Growth, and in the end, they became the first to discover the Origin Egg located in the map's central area.
That's what happened in the game.
I know I can't just dismiss this information now that the game world has become reality. But still, isn't it a game?
Would it really be the same in reality? Would the reward really just appear on its own? I had such doubts in a corner of my mind.
What if there's no reaction even when I approach? I'd have no choice but to use the Headmaster's name again.
- Wuuung!
My worries turned out to be groundless.
The moment I stepped into the clearing, the five white pillars let out a vibration. I felt the ground tremble distinctly through my legs.
The party's steps halted. Their gazes, asking whether we should continue in, fixed on me.
I nodded and moved once more. Stepping on the flat dirt, I advanced toward the altar.
Even as I did, the pillars kept emitting vibrations. It wasn't the ominous sort that triggers a sense of crisis. It was a strange analogy, but it felt like a welcoming.
Finally, I arrived right before the altar.
I listened closely for a moment. The white pillars were emitting vibrations. In the original game, there was no such effect. What was the difference?
...Actually, it wasn't something to think deeply about. This is the Tower of Growth anyway, so even if it's dangerous, worst case I'd just get disqualified and spat outside.
Steadying my heart a bit, I reached out toward the altar.
A cool sensation met my palm, along with the roughness of the unmaintained structure's surface.
"......"
Nothing happened. Was it a dud? Just as I thought that, a refreshing mana rose from the altar where my palm touched.
Mana, feeling like smoke, billowed out from the cracks in the stone altar. It wasn't as good as my own mana, but it was high in purity.
The seeping mana slowly dyed the surroundings. The expanding range of mana gradually enveloped the three black pillars and wrapped around the five white pillars.
- Creak, clunk
A mechanical noise, like something unoiled and creaking, reached my ears. The source was inside the altar.
The altar shuddered. The vibrations intensified.
Seeing the altar rattle like an aspen leaf, I stepped back just in case.
Before I'd even managed a few steps, the rattling stopped.
A brief moment passed, and then the altar crumbled from one side.
A cloud of dust rushed over with a dull noise. I covered my nose and mouth with my hand.
But my senses were drawn elsewhere. Inside the collapsed altar, there was an object exuding a strange mana.
It hadn't been detectable before the altar collapsed. Even though I knew it was there from the game's lore, I couldn't sense it until now.
It was elongated and round like an egg, yet larger than a human head. Its mana quality was difficult to describe in words.
'The Origin Egg.'
It's here. It was really here. A Hidden Piece that only existed in a game was also in reality.
It felt like my closed eyes were sparkling with an illusion.
I quickly stepped over the collapsed stone debris, picked up the Origin Egg, and cradled it in my arms.
Given its size, it was hefty. It was actually quite heavy, but with my current physical abilities, it felt light as a feather.
I stroked the surface of the egg cradled in my arms. A smooth yet faint warmth transferred through my palms.
"Oh-ho."
While I was checking the Origin Egg, Baek A-rin, who'd been standing a bit away, suddenly approached and tapped the egg with her finger.
I flinched at the sudden cold energy, but I composed myself and showed the egg to the curious party.
"This egg is the reward?"
- Nod
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had strode up just as close, asked. When I gave a nod, she continued with a peculiar look.
"I'm not sure just from looking at it. What exactly is this egg used for?"
"Maybe it's an ingredient for making elixirs?"
"Is that so? I've heard monster eggs are used quite a bit..."
After waiting for them to speculate about its use among themselves, I picked up a tree branch lying nearby and wrote letters on the ground.
"Huh?"
I sensed Hong Yeon-hwa blinking. Baek A-rin and Ellia had similar expressions.
Ellia read the letters written on the ground. The question was as if she was checking if she'd read it correctly.
"A gacha?"
At her question, I drew a circle around where I'd written 'gacha' with the stick, affirming it.
The Origin Egg.
A Hidden Piece whose basic description says it reads the user's origin and does something or other.
When used, you obtain a random item of a certain grade or higher.
It spits out everything from miscellaneous elixir sets to top-grade artifacts that are hard to find even in the late game.
In other words, it's a premium random gacha.
"Hmm..."
After hearing the explanation, everyone had somewhat odd looks on their faces.
After mulling it over in silence for a moment, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly blurted out.
"Wanna take a bite?"
"...!"
Horrified, I hid the Origin Egg behind my back.