The Hidden Park (3)

I stared at the message that had just appeared, my face bewildered.

"Hidden existence?"

The glowing object in front of me was unmistakably a scythe.

"Ssaem! What on earth is happening?"

"Everyone! Stay right there!" "How can you send just one person? That explosion was so loud, of course we'd come!"

It seemed the children had all rushed here after the blast earlier.

Actually, not just the kids.

Although the Grim Reaper was terrifying, a few people were wandering around nearby, perhaps out of curiosity.

"So that glowing scythe is supposed to be a hidden existence?"

Even after looking again, it still looked like a scythe. How could that be a hidden existence?

But then, suddenly.

The light from the scythe vanished in an instant, and in its place something entirely different had appeared.

"A person?"

Where the scythe had been moments ago, someone who looked like a person had taken its place.

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

"It doesn't quite look like a person, though. Those ears are a bit too pointed," Jin-hwan observed.

"Really?"

Upon closer inspection, those large, pointed ears didn't fit the human description at all.

And above the person's head, the text appeared.

[Elf]

'An elf?'

It was the kind of elf one might see in games or fantasy novels.

Elves, after all, are something everyone wonders about.

How handsome and beautiful they would be.

This world's beauty wasn't enough to describe them.

And it was true.

As soon as the being in front of me turned its head toward us, a beautiful face appeared, with a sound like "shala rala rala" echoing.

Long silver hair, small red lips like cherries, large clear eyes radiating Western beauty, a straight nose.

And that fantastic body line... ugh.

Anyway, the perfect elf was walking toward where I was.

"You are the one who saved me."

"Huh? Ah, yes. That... yes."

"Thank you."

It was probably the first time I'd spoken to such a beautiful woman, so my voice trembled.

And separately, the message appeared.

'Huh?'

I thought I must have misread it for a moment.

A key?

An elf as a key? This couldn't be right.

"Ssaem. Why are you spacing out like that! That Grim Reaper is still moving!" "Huh?"

Jin-ri looked at me with pity and pointed at the Grim Reaper.

She probably thought I was staring blankly at the elf... but I was, to some extent.

Of course, it was mostly because I was stunned by the message saying it was a key.

'First, let's deal with that guy.'

Was the scythe really a weakness?

The Grim Reaper that had disappeared didn't look as intimidating.

I quickly approached the Grim Reaper and thrust my knife into it.

- Monster Dismantling!

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The Grim Reaper was being ruthlessly butchered by my flashy knife play.

Was that scythe the only weapon of that creature?

The Grim Reaper didn't resist much and just took the attacks.

Its health seemed decent, but even so, it was slowly being worn down by the continuous knife strikes.

Kueeek.

[You have killed the Grim Reaper ★. Reward: 1500 coins will be given.]

[Level has increased by 2.]

[You have obtained Point 2.]

The Grim Reaper lost its life.

Since it was a high-level one, the reward was quite generous.

'Can this one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be eaten too?'

The dead body was still in materialized state.

Soon, as Nam-hoon's skill wore off, it would disappear, but for now, perhaps I could eat this Grim Reaper.

'If I can eat it, I can't miss it!'

When would I get another chance to eat such a Grim Reaper?

I had to eat it now!

Clack!

I immediately took out a fork from my inventory.

Others looked at me with curiosity, wondering why I was pulling out a fork after killing the Grim Reaper.

Then their expressions soon twisted or they quickly turned their heads away.

Chomp. Chomp.

I started eating the Grim Reaper's body quickly.

Anyone seeing this for the first time might find it gross.

That's why Jin-hwan quickly covered Ji-ah's eyes.

"Oppa. Why are you covering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my eyes?"

"It's not something you should see, Ji-ah."

"Ji-ah?"

"Yeah. You shouldn't look."

Of course, I didn't want to show this to Ji-ah... but calling it "Ji-ah" was a bit too much.

What was the taste of the Grim Reaper?

It was hard to describe.

To be honest, it didn't taste particularly different.

Perhaps because it was originally an intangible being.

If so, maybe eating a real soul would give a similar taste.

'Invisibility.'

I got a special ability that was exactly as I expected.

It seemed different from Nam-hoon's Ghostification, but it was still something.

By the way, my eyes landed on the Luck stat among the increases.

'Did my Luck finally rise?'

Even after devouring countless monsters, my Luck had never increased before.

It was surprising that it rose this time, but I didn't feel it like other stats.

When strength increases, you feel stronger; agility makes movements smoother, and so on for health and wisdom.

But Luck.

Even though it increased by 30, I didn't feel any difference.

Was it even useful?

'Well, better than nothing.'

It would have been better if other stats had increased, but this was still something.

Moreover, the Grim Reaper didn't give a gift item, did it?

'Now, what is this?'

'Oh!'

A really good item had come into my hands.

Among the options, attack nullification.

It nullifies any attack and prevents damage.

Of course, the probability is 10%, but even so, it's almost cheat-level.

And there's the barrier creation ability.

Applying a barrier to objects, not people, was a bit odd, but there might be times to use it.

"Jin-hwan. You can take your hand off Ji-ah's eyes now, right?" "......"

"Jin-hwan?"

"Yes?! Why... why?"

"You can take your hand off Ji-ah's eyes." "Ah!"

Jin-hwan was still covering Ji-ah's eyes.

Why was he doing that? When I took my hand off and looked at him, I understood immediately.

'She's really beautiful.'

The reason was the beautiful elf staring at us.

Is this the feeling when you see actors on TV?

Elves with appearances not of this world... well, not really, but I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the beauty of this elf.

"Anyway, men are... Ssaem, snap out of it, seniors."

"That's right!"

As we were staring blankly, Ara and Jin-ri looked at us with pitying eyes, but what could we do?

'Now that I think about it, it said it was a key...'

The elf was the key to the Hidden Park.

It was hard to understand, but I slowly approached the elf.

"Haha. You were a bit distracted, weren't you?"

"No. But was that your ability?" "Yes. That's right. My introduction was late. I'm Min-seong."

"I'm Elena."

Elena.

Kueu.

Her name was pretty, too.

Kueum.

Thinking about it, I felt like I was acting too shamelessly in front of the students, so I should restrain myself a bit.

'But how do I get out of here?'

Leaving the Hidden Temple's key aside, I had to get out of here first.

And perhaps reading my thoughts, a new message appeared.

With that message, a gate to exit appeared where the Grim Reaper had been.

As soon as the exit gate formed, people who had been hiding and watching this side started appearing one by one and rushed into the gate.

'Now, where did those people go?'

The people who entered before us.

I hadn't seen them inside.

'From the message earlier, does that mean there are other "keys"?'

Probably those people had obtained keys to other Grim Reapers or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other routes.

I didn't know if those keys were from elves or not, but it was still a good thing.

I didn't want unnecessary battles where someone tries to steal the key.

"Alright. Let's all go out."

Let's quickly exit before the gate disappears.

"What... what's this?"

When I came out, the atmosphere was weird.

The outside was completely different from when we entered the gate.

"Why are the eyes... suddenly..."

"It's snow! Snow!"

"It's already piled up to my ankles?"

What was happening outside?

The snow had covered the Gopchang Alley.

Blizzard was still pouring from the sky.

'No one is here.'

The people who were originally here seemed to have gone somewhere.

It made sense; with snow falling, it was strange to see people wandering outside.

'Suddenly snow? What happened.'

Of course, it was winter and snow was falling, so it wasn't strange.

But it wasn't like it was suddenly snowing heavily, and we hadn't been inside the gate for long.

"Ssaem. Shall we check the bulletin board?"

"Yeah. Let's check."

It was certain that something had happened when we entered the gate.

So, there must be something written on the bulletin board.

First, I found a suitable board in a nearby Gopchang shop and quickly activated the bulletin board.

"What's this event?"

"Senior! Click quickly."

"Events aren't bad, right?"

Of course, events wouldn't be bad.

Didn't we have a chance to acquire additional jobs last time?

When Jin-hwan clicked the event window, the title of the post that appeared.

[2] Happy Christmas / Posted Today: 'Is it already Christmas?'

How much time had passed.

Without a sense of date, I hadn't realized so much time had passed.

Indeed, this snow seemed fitting for the Christmas event.

'What kind of event is it, really?'