Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Village Chief's Hidden Safe
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His body went stiff.
If his ears weren't playing tricks on him, that was definitely the sound of a door opening.
And not just any door—it was the front door of the village chief's house on the first floor.
That's where the noise was coming from.
"Village chief, you in there?"
A familiar voice.
It was none other than the village blacksmith, Houton.
'No way, why is that guy here right now?!'
The village chief had mentioned, right before heading out, that there was a problem with the village drainage ditch he'd asked him to fix.
Yet the very person in charge of that drainage ditch had shown up here.
'Did they miss each other somehow?'
That was the only explanation that made sense.
"Hey, village chief!"
"……."
"Jeez, the drainage ditch you asked about before has an issue. Where the heck did you go?"
Was Luke's guess spot on?
He could hear Houton's footsteps grumbling around the first floor.
'If they really missed each other, he'll confirm the chief's not here and head right back.'
And that wasn't all.
Houton's presence here meant the village chief, who'd gone outside, hadn't solved the problem yet either.
More likely, they were both wandering around the village, unable to find each other.
Which meant it would take even longer to fix that drainage ditch issue the chief had mentioned.
For Luke, that was nothing short of good news.
'The problem is, he might wonder why I'm not down here where I should be...'
But he could just play it off like he'd gotten tired of waiting and left first.
'Perfect.'
In fact, this bought him even more time.
If Houton would just leave, he could proceed with his work even more smoothly.
Luke believed that without a doubt.
Thud!
But then, the sudden sound of footsteps climbing the stairs made his face twist in dismay.
'What the hell.'
Why?
What reason could Houton possibly have to come up to the second floor?
'Damn it, what the fuck?!'
He had no idea.
All he knew was that he was in danger of being caught.
His mind went blank white at the realization.
"Maybe you're on the second floor and that's why I can't hear you?"
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
It seemed Houton planned to check the second floor before leaving.
Thump!
He had to hide.
If he stayed put, he'd be discovered.
Luke knew that better than anyone, but he couldn't figure out where to conceal himself.
Thud!
'Damn it all...!'
And finally, the moment Houton reached the top of the stairs.
"Hey, village chief!"
"……."
"Hm?"
The completely empty second floor greeted him.
"Tch, not here either."
He looked around, but there was no sign of anyone.
With nowhere on this floor either, it was clear the chief wasn't home.
Only after confirming it with his own eyes did Houton head back down the stairs.
Creeeak.
That was when Houton finally left the house.
Silence once again filled the interior.
But only for a moment.
"Whew, nearly had to clean up a body right from the start."
Luke popped out from under the cloth covering the picture frames, shattering the quiet.
'Man, if it were the old days, I'd have just gone on a rampage, killed everyone, and raided the safe.'
Of course, he could still do that now.
But with his infamy hidden, there was no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
These days, he could snag items and experience without killing anyway.
'No choice, then.'
Kill or get caught—and that was game over.
Until he geared up properly and leveled, he'd have to dodge crises like this.
"Hoo, that bastard Gu Hwi."
Luke cursed Gu Hwi under his breath as he looked up at the ceiling again.
'That ceiling's pretty damn high, huh.'
Indeed.
It was too high to even touch the ring, let alone inspect it closely.
With his current stats, even jumping his highest wouldn't reach it.
'Maybe there's something... something...'
Something to reach that ring with.
'Ah?'
There was.
A stick in the corner of the room.
A wooden stick shaped just like a filial son's hand caught his eye.
Grab.
'This'll do it!'
It was long enough.
To reach that ring.
'Looks just like a door handle, and there's even a square slot nearby. No way I'm not pulling this.'
Luke gripped the stick and stretched his arm up high.
The wooden stick hooked onto the ring right away.
When he pulled with all his strength, a gap slowly began to open.
Rumble.
The crack widened more and more.
At the same time, something started descending toward the floor.
'A ladder?!'
That's right.
It was a folding ladder, pulled down by the ring.
As it lowered to the floor, Luke's eyes went wide.
'Who'd have thought there was a folding ladder built into the ceiling of this house.'
If he hadn't examined the ring properly, he'd never have found it.
'Maybe that filial son's hand being here isn't a coincidence.'
The village chief himself probably couldn't reach the ceiling either.
Luke speculated as he returned the stick to the corner.
Then he slowly climbed up the ladder.
Thump thump!
Ahh.
This exhilarating pounding in his chest.
'Going all out with a hidden ladder in the ceiling. Not a bad setup.'
Though it hadn't fooled him, of course.
'Safe, big bro's coming. Hold tight!'
His mouth was already watering.
Luke wiped his saliva and reached out quickly.
His hand soon arrived at the end.
At the same time, the hidden space in the ceiling came into view.
'Ooh...'
There it was.
A square box.
Slowly revealing itself from the darkness.
'Heh heh heh, so this is where you were hiding!'
His greedy eyes darted around.
It was the exact same design as the contribution reward box he'd gotten before.
'Solving the regret of missing that contribution reward like this!'
That's why Luke eagerly pulled out his key.
He inserted it into the lock and turned.
Click!
The lock released.
A smile spread across his face.
But the moment he opened the safe's lid.
'Huh?'
His grinning expression quickly soured with disappointment.
'What? This isn't the contribution reward.'
No, it wasn't.
There was no contribution reward as expected—just unfamiliar clothes and a map inside.
'The clothes look like high-end gear, at least...'
Even he, in his second year, had never seen gear like this.
He'd frequented the auction house, but this was his first set item like this.
'Ancient Hunter? Not just any hunter—what the...? Tch, whatever, it's high-end, so I'll take it.'
Pheasant or chicken, right?
Luke decided to settle for this.
All that was left was a single map at the bottom.
'Even a map? Looks like he was saving it for some quest reward.'
Luke pulled out the map with curious eyes.
And as he naturally checked its details.
'What?'
An utterly unexpected description made his face stiffen.
"Ah, damn it."
"What's up, Choi? Another bust today?"
"Why ask the obvious? Look at Choi's face— he's pissed 'cause he got nothing."
The back row of the capsule room was especially noisy.
It was the trio of regulars, treated like VIPs just like Seokwoo.
Forty-something gamers led by Choi Hopil.
They chattered loudly as they entered the break room.
"That's just... huh?"
He was about to light his cigarette.
His gaze shifted to Seokwoo, who was already there.
"Whoa, Seokwoo, you here too? You've been showing up a lot lately."
"Ah, Uncle Hopil."
"Something wrong? Why the hell you look like you bit into shit?"
"Just some personal stuff."
"Kid, I can tell—you struck out today too. Sigh, our luck's rotten. This capsule joint's cursed, I swear. How else do we all bomb like this? Right?"
Gotta switch capsule rooms soon.
Hopil grumbled as he left the break room with the others.
Silence filled the space again.
Seokwoo, left alone, finally looked up with a sneer.
'Cursed my ass.'
Besides, he hadn't bombed.
If anything, he'd come out ahead.
That was the problem.
'Who'd have thought that would turn up there...'
Village Chief Hamilton.
The secret safe hidden in his ceiling.
One of the things from there was now Seokwoo's headache.
Flick, sizzle!
Flickering flames.
Smoke rising upward.
His heavy gaze sank into it.
Seokwoo muttered lowly around his cigarette.
"Hidden scenario."
One year ago.
Agas's first main scenario was revealed.
No one knew the source or reason.
It just burst into the world all at once.
The main quest, chronicling Agas's history, drew players' attention easily, and with high reward expectations, gamers flocked quickly.
The frontrunners were the top rankers, of course.
Backed by Agas's top ten guilds.
At first, most expected them to monopolize the quest.
Level gaps.
Manpower invested.
Everything was on another level.
But that prediction shattered soon enough.
'Impossible. How do you even clear this?'
'Even all top rankers together couldn't. The difficulty is straight hell—real hell!'
'Not just difficulty. Main scenario needs dozens of prerequisite quests. No idea what they are, but one's for sure: we're all out of order.'
Indeed.
Agas's main scenario.
Even the flying-high rankers couldn't pass the early parts and got stuck fast.
The issues: hellish difficulty.
And dozens of route-specific prerequisites.
Like an ant hill with scores of entrances.
Different paths, but all leading to the same end.
The main scenario was structured just like that.
Rankers realized each route had blocked paths numbering in dozens, each needing prerequisites.
Prerequisite quests.
What could they be?
As they plunged deeper into the maze, dropouts surged, and interest in the main quest seemed to fade.
But two months later.
'I think we've found the prerequisite for the main scenario. It's this hidden scenario. We'll auction quest info publicly in a few days. Please show interest.'
A ranker's broadcast statement poured oil on the dying embers.
'Hidden scenario?'
'Hidden quests exist?!'
'Yes! To progress the main, you need hidden scenarios first!'
The main quest's dozens of progression routes.
Each one was actually a hidden scenario.
From then, the top ten guilds moved shrewdly to dominate the main quest.
Buying up hidden quest info and sources for monopoly and first glory.
But other guilds and rankers checked them, and the hidden quest race continued even now, a year later.
And in Agas's second year.
'Who knew that map was a hidden scenario starter item.'
Another hidden scenario had fallen into Seokwoo's hands.