Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Birth of an Unknown Hero
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Early in the morning, the employees began filing into the conference room.
Dark circles shadowed their eyes.
Each one looked utterly exhausted, as if they'd pulled an all-nighter with overtime the previous evening.
Operation Team 1.
The reason was simple.
Among the hidden scenarios, these quests had the most brutal activation conditions.
And someone had triggered the hidden quest concealed in Parten.
In completely reverse order, no less.
The news hit like a bolt from the blue, throwing the operations team into chaos.
But that was only the beginning.
'What? A user rejected the quest?!'
Quest refusal.
'User code is locked? What kind of nonsense is that?!'
Locked user data.
'Hold on, why is this happening...? Shit, why are all the other dormant scenarios and quests getting modified and deleted?!'
Sudden alterations and deletions to existing scenarios and quests.
'And why the hell is the lord dead now? He was a named NPC! What? Nearly half the dark wizards are dead too?!'
The lord and dark wizards suddenly massacred.
With one disaster piling on another, the operations team was thrown into full emergency mode.
'We pulled an all-nighter investigating until last night, and we still haven't figured out a damn thing.'
'Ugh, we haven't even confirmed 10% of the changes yet. At this rate, I'll collapse first.'
It was hell like no other.
As the staff wore expressions like they were on their deathbeds—
Screeech!
Team Leader Park Gwangho finally entered the conference room.
"Team leader, you're here."
"...Yeah, Jeongmu."
"Yes, sir."
Gwangho's dark circles were just as bad as the rest.
At his call, the man with the severe 2:8 part jumped to his feet.
"Start the report."
"Understood."
Jeongmu always handled the briefings.
With that, Jeongmu began reporting the current situation, and soon the aftermath of the incident flowed from his lips.
"It's been a day since the incident. The experiments in the lord's mansion are gradually coming to light through the escaped NPCs. The remaining dark wizards and their cohorts are trying to cover it up, but they'll likely be rounded up soon by the royal investigation team dispatched..."
"What about the user code?"
"Yes, we've requested upper management to unlock it for now. But judging by the lack of response so far, it'll probably take quite some time."
"Sigh. Anything else?"
"Ah, I checked the codes logged in the records yesterday. Based on some of the items there, we can estimate the user's level at roughly 20 to 30."
"..."
Silence fell.
Gwangho let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair.
He rubbed his forehead, then spoke again.
"So, what you're saying is... a level 20-something user stormed into the lab, butchered half the dark wizards, then took out the named NPC lord too. That's it?"
"..."
"Even the top rankers flying high right now couldn't pull that off, and some no-name user did?"
"..."
"We don't know who took the poison source? Or how they even triggered the quest? Nothing?"
"..."
Jeongmu had no answer.
Gwangho sighed deeply once more.
"This is driving me insane."
It was the worst.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
The secret experiments.
The dark wizards leading them.
And the fact that the lord himself was a dark wizard.
Once the rumors caught on, they blazed through every community and forum without stopping.
The royal investigation team dispatched.
The incident wrapped up swiftly under the investigation team's hands.
As the lord's vile deeds came to light, Parten drew even more attention from the masses.
"This is Small City Parten right now! With a massive influx of users due to the incident, I'm here live in front of the lord's mansion for coverage... Oh, the investigation team is coming out!"
Broadcast stations scrambled to cover the news, just as the team emerged before the reporters.
Their average level was over 200.
Not a single piece of gear looked ordinary.
One representative unfurled a long scroll.
"Baron Valkins Regull of Parten, his heinous atrocities are too vile to even speak of..."
The lord's crimes.
The dark wizards and other accomplices.
They began publicly announcing every detail of their findings.
"They used slum residents as test subjects? Insane."
"Total scum."
"They fooled the entire city while running those experiments? Unbelievable."
The shocking truth.
Users and NPCs alike reacted with outrage.
"Doesn't really concern us."
"Let's just go grind levels."
Some users shrugged it off indifferently, but most trembled in fury, fiercely condemning Baron Valkins' house.
Naturally, interest surged toward whoever stopped the experiments and slew the dark wizards.
Yet, strangely, the representative said nothing about that until folding the scroll.
"What? Who stopped the experiments then?"
"Slum folks said someone freed them and took on the dark wizards solo."
"They won't reveal the hero who deserves acclaim?!"
"Boooooo!"
Perhaps that's why.
Jeers against the investigation team grew fiercer by the minute.
But it didn't last.
Soon, the representative revealed the truth about the hero, silencing the crowd.
"The nameless hero rescued the residents alone, dispatched the dark wizards, and vanished without a trace. Leaving not even a single clue."
The moment an unknown hero was born.
Meanwhile.
The mysterious hero, Seokwoo, was staring at his phone in the capsule lounge.
Not long ago.
The rare-grade gear dropped from killing the named NPC Regull.
Nightmare Boots were, simply put, made for mages.
Mana stats.
Increased mana regeneration too.
Options easily worth over 500k cash.
'Phew, at least a few months of capsule fees covered.'
Selling the low-grade spell scrolls, magic tomes, and materials too would pad the funds even more.
'Got pretty lucky all around.'
Especially the Thief-only field skill.
Its perfect timing turned an impossible infiltration into reality.
'It did stir up some noise, though...'
Seokwoo looked up.
The lounge monitor showed Parten live-streamed.
Users and NPCs gathered before the mansion.
The investigation team announcing results and future plans.
His identity was safe, but things had blown up regardless.
'Whatever. I was planning to leave Parten anyway.'
Current level: 32.
He'd skyrocketed from raiding the lab.
Level.
Gear.
Funds.
Everything was about ready in Small City Parten.
All that remained was heading to the hidden scenario marked on the map.
Leaving Parten now was perfectly timed.
'No point sticking around a crowded spot and inviting trouble.'
So, hop on a carriage and bail from Parten.
Ding-ding!
Then.
A messenger alert chimed.
[Haneul: Oppa, when can I see you in-game again?]
[Haneul: Ah, with Mira too, of course!]
It was Haneul, Mira's friend.
'Huh, way more chatty online than in person.'
Seokwoo eyed the chat, then replied.
[Seokwoo: Soon]
[Haneul: Really? Then can we add friends then too? We missed it last time.]
[Seokwoo: Yeah]
[Haneul: Yay!]
[Haneul: (Emoticon)]
A cute bear bobbed in the chat window.
Haneul's emoticon.
'Friend of Mira's, friend add's no big deal.'
They might even party up often with Mira.
Seokwoo ended the chat and left the lounge.
"Huh?"
When did she switch with Jonghyuk?
Bora was slumped over the counter.
"Whatcha doing."
"...Hey, long time no see."
Her eyes half-lidded.
Dark circles underneath.
She greeted with a slight head lift, looking dead tired.
"You look like a zombie. Busy night or something?"
"Just stuff."
"Take it easy. Here."
Seokwoo handed her a vitamin drink.
Bora took it with a surprised glance.
"I'll enjoy—"
"Ring me up quick, gotta chug it and log in."
"..."
Predictable.
Bora glared venomously, sighed, and scanned it.
"I knew expecting anything was stupid."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing, sir. Here's your change, dear customer."
"Uh, yeah. Okay."
Her smile felt ominous.
Seokwoo faltered briefly, then took the drink.
As he turned—
"Got a question."
Bora spoke up.
"What, you a dog?"
"Ugh, quit joking."
"Fine, if I know it. Shoot."
"That Agas."
"Yeah."
"Is hunting there always that tough?"
A question about Agas.
'Ah, explains the exhaustion.'
She'd asked about Agas before too.
Probably been grinding it non-stop since.
The late-night sessions showed.
Seokwoo chuckled softly at her question.
"Hunting's tough, yeah. Depends on the class, though."
"What about priest?"
"Hm, priest?"
"Uh, just... curious how a priest hunts solo. Random thought. Forget it if you don't know."
Bora mumbled and slipped into the back storage.
'Priest solo hunting? No clue.'
Probably just idle curiosity.
Seokwoo shrugged and headed to his usual capsule.
That's when.
Two guys emerging from capsules across chatted loudly.
"Demian and Kaum territories are throwing down soon, right?"
"Yeah, lowbies under 50 are already swarming for the cash. Heard two rookies are joining too."
"Damn, can't pass beyond those territories then."
Demian and Kaum in the south.
The war news hardened Seokwoo's face.
'Demian and Kaum...'
The path to the hidden scenario marker.
A route he absolutely had to pass through.