The Hidden Supply Box

The back alley of the shopping district. Between the shattered concrete debris and the scattered, mangled signs, a deep shadow hung heavy over the ground. I pressed my body against the back of a sign, keeping my eyes fixed on the path ahead. Lee Seol-ah clung tightly to my back.

Blue holographic windows began to flicker into existence within my field of vision.

At the crosswalk, barely ten meters away, three red Orcs were prowling. I slowly drew my Shadow Fang from my waist. 'Three of them.' With my current strength, it wouldn't be too difficult. Just as I finished a quick simulation in my head and prepared to move—

Grab.

Lee Seol-ah urgently tugged at my collar. Her face had turned deathly pale.

"...What are you doing?"

Her shoulders flinched at my voice. Lee Seol-ah whispered silently, her lips barely moving.

"Y-you can't go that way."

"Why? I can take out three Orcs easily."

"It's not because of the monsters! The floor... the whole road is going to collapse!"

Lee Seol-ah pointed at the asphalt in front of the crosswalk. To the naked eye, it looked perfectly fine. There was nothing but broken debris scattered around. There were no signs of collapse whatsoever.

"From that crosswalk line to over there, it's a trap terrain. It looks fine on the outside, but the inside is completely hollow. The moment you step on it, you'll fall straight down into the underground parking lot."

I narrowed my eyes. A trap terrain? I stared intently at the crosswalk again. Beneath the spot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where the Orcs were positioned, the Spoiler window displayed new text.

'...Insane.' A chill ran down my spine. Lee Seol-ah was right. A real trap. 'The things this world has.' It was a reality I hadn't imagined. A floor that looked completely normal.

"Then what do you suggest? The other paths will be crawling with even more monsters."

"There's a way. We can go that way."

Lee Seol-ah pointed to the side of the building. There was an old, large ventilation shaft in the corner.

"If we tear that vent open and go inside, it connects to the underground sewer. If we go that way, we won't be seen by the Orcs, and we can safely reach the front of Exit 3."

I nodded. Her words didn't end there.

"Besides... there's a hidden supply box in the middle of that path."

"A supply box?" My brow furrowed. This was also something I was hearing for the first time. "What is that?"

Lee Seol-ah answered, glancing around cautiously. "I-I don't know exactly either. Just that it contains items necessary for survival..."

"Items necessary for survival..." I had a rough idea. As the name suggested, it would contain essentials. Simple water or food. I gave a short nod. But my questions didn't end there.

"But why go out of your way to tell me that? If you had stayed quiet, I wouldn't have known, and you could have taken it for yourself later."

At my question, Lee Seol-ah hunched her shoulders. She hesitated for a moment before blurting out the truth.

"W-well... I don't have the combat power to break through to that point on my own anyway. And above all... I have to clearly show you that I'm truly useful, so you'll protect me until the end..."

She looked at me with a sheepish smile. It seemed she wasn't just hoping for the end of the tutorial. I shifted my gaze to the ventilation shaft. At that moment, the Spoiler window reacted with a ping.

'It's real.' Was it a characteristic of her trait? She definitely seemed to see more than the average person. '...She might be a bigger help than I thought.'

I tucked my short sword back into my belt and spoke dryly.

"Lead the way."

"...Pardon?"

"Guide me to the vent. All the way to the supply box."

As soon as I gave the go-ahead, Lee Seol-ah's face brightened. "Y-yes! Leave it to me! I told you I'm really useful!"

She moved quickly toward the vent. I couldn't help but let a smirk tug at my lips. Her claim of being useful wasn't a lie. A hidden piece, and a great guide to boot. 'Not bad.'

"Um... could you pull this? It's heavier than it looks..."

"Wait."

CRACK!

I tore the vent cover off in one go.

SCREECH—

With a metallic groan, the entrance to the musty sewer opened. Damp air stung my lungs. The stench assaulted my nose. Even though it was quite dark, Lee Seol-ah moved forward without issue.

The blue system window in the air illuminated the path. The more I saw it, the more amazing the ability was. To think it applied not just to people, but to the terrain itself. 'No wonder it's EX-grade.'

Just as I was marveling at the Spoiler trait—

Squeak!

An unpleasant friction sound echoed in the darkness. Lee Seol-ah flinched and stopped in her tracks. "W-wait. There's something ahead..."

Before she could even finish, new text updated before my eyes.

The sound of something cutting through the sewer water. At the same time, a rat the size of an adult man's thigh lunged out. It was exactly as predicted. The creature kicked off the left wall and flew toward my neck.

An ordinary person would have panicked, but I was different. 'I see everything.'

I tilted my upper body slightly to dodge its teeth. At the same time, I lightly swung the short sword in my right hand upward.

SLASH!

"Kieeeeeek!"

The rat, sliced in half in mid-air, crashed into the mud. Lee Seol-ah, who had been about to scream, froze solid.

"Uh...?"

"Keep going."

I said indifferently, wiping the blade on the wall. Her eyes widened. "No, you didn't even look and just slashed something that flew out of the darkness... how did you do that..."

Lee Seol-ah muttered as she walked on. Her tone was a bit more relaxed than before. Three more rats popped out after that, but they couldn't slow us down. They were nothing more than experience points.

Perhaps a bit of the tension had faded; Lee Seol-ah carefully moved closer to my side and spoke.

"Hey, by the way..."

"What."

"We're in a party and even signed a contract, so what should I call you? I can't just keep saying 'hey' or 'you'... Oh, I'm Lee Seol-ah."

As if trying to lighten the mood, she asked with a sly smile. She had a bolder personality than I thought. I looked ahead and spoke dryly.

"Park Si-woo."

"Aha! Okay! From now on, leave the navigation to me, Si-woo!"

"'Leave it to me' my foot. Spend your time watching your surroundings instead of talking nonsense. Don't get bitten for no reason."

"Yes! Understood!"

Lee Seol-ah chattered away and began scanning the area. I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. Well, it didn't feel bad. It was a sense of familiarity I hadn't felt in a long time.

After walking for another ten minutes or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so, Lee Seol-ah stopped in front of a dead-end wall. It was an old red brick wall covered in moss. There didn't seem to be a path beyond it.

"This is it." Lee Seol-ah pointed to the center of the bricks. "There's an empty space behind these bricks. And I can see a box inside."

I stared silently at the spot she pointed to. As I fixed my gaze, text appeared immediately.

There was nothing left to be surprised about now. Was this also included in the 'Spoiler'? A question arose, but well, good things are good things.

"So." I asked, and Lee Seol-ah tilted her head.

"Yes?"

"I know there's a box inside, but how do we get in? I don't see an entrance."

Lee Seol-ah rolled her eyes, looking flustered. "Uh... well? I don't see that far... maybe we should just try breaking it?"

'Hmm... maybe her proficiency is still low?' She could see terrain and objects, but couldn't quite figure out the unlocking mechanism yet. I reached out without hesitation and pushed the third and fifth bricks in.

Clunk, click-click-click.

A heavy friction sound echoed. A portion of the wall rotated smoothly like a revolving door.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Gasp...! H-how did you know that!?"

Lee Seol-ah stared in shock, her eyes wide. It was understandable, since I'd opened it so easily. I spoke as if it were nothing.

"A hunch."

"What? A hunch? No way, that's impossible..."

My gaze turned to the space inside. There sat a wooden box exuding a faint golden glow.

"Wow... it's really there. It's amazing, hiding things like this."

"Didn't you tell me to come here?"

"...I've only been an explorer for a day, you know."

Lee Seol-ah exclaimed and approached the box. My own heart rate began to quicken. A supply box. A sense of anticipation was unavoidable. I flipped the lid of the box open.

SHINE!

As the light faded, two items lay inside the box. One was a shabby leather pouch. The other was an old, leather-bound book. I immediately read the Spoiler window that appeared over the items.

'A subspace pouch...' I picked up the leather pouch. An item commonly seen in games. To think it would appear here. It wasn't exactly huge, but it would be a massive help. 'A better reward than I thought.' I had expected simple bottled water or food.

At that moment, I felt a hot gaze from the side. "Wow..." It was Lee Seol-ah. Her eyes were locked firmly onto the pouch and skill book in my hands. She seemed to recognize what these two things were. I looked at her and asked, "Why, jealous?"

She flinched at my voice. She looked at me, then hurriedly waved her hands. "N-no! Not at all...!! I couldn't even use them anyway...!! I wouldn't have even made it here alone. It would have been hard to even get in here."

Lee Seol-ah met my eyes and smiled. "Instead... you must never forget that I'm the one who let you find this. I've added my stake to your growth!"

"Stake?"

"Yes! Later, when we reach the Safe Zone, even if I become a bit of a burden, you can't just say 'what have you ever done' and throw me away or say something else! I let you have this amazing... no, I helped you find it. Right?"

I was dumbfounded by how confidently she spoke. But I didn't hate it. I curled the corner of my lips and replied, "Fine. I'll count it as you earning your keep."

"Yes! You promised!"

Lee Seol-ah let out a sigh of relief and smiled sheepishly. I turned my gaze and picked up the skill book left in the box. There was no reason to hesitate. "Use."

The skill book turned into a stream of light and seeped into my body. In an instant, several sword paths were added to my mind. The trajectory of swinging a short sword. The snap of the wrist, the angle of penetration, the shift in the center of gravity.

"Oho..."

I drew Shadow Fang from my waist. The grip felt much more natural than before. I swung it, following the sword paths that had appeared in my mind.

SWISH.

The sound of the blade cutting through the air. A faint afterimage of the short sword remained. 'Check status window.'

Lee Seol-ah asked with an exclamation. "How is it? What's different?"

"A little."

"Eh... that's a boring reaction... after I gave you all that..."

I let out a dry laugh and sheathed Shadow Fang. "Boring? Let's go."

"Yes, understood! If we go straight this way, it leads right to the Exit 3 underground waiting room!"

Lee Seol-ah took the lead again. With the pouch and the skill, the unexpected harvest made my steps feel much lighter. If it weren't for this girl, these were items I would have just walked past. I decided to raise my evaluation of her by one level.

'At this rate, she's basically a 2020-model navigation system.'

It wouldn't hold a candle to a 2026 model, but hey, it wasn't bad.