Chapter 33: Hidden Piece (1)

“Hm?”

A bird flew by with a sharp screech, brushing past my ear.

It was fast—ridiculously fast.

For a moment, I thought it was a surprise monster attack to mark the start of the game.

But it didn’t actually attack.

The bird zipped across the sky at blinding speed and disappeared into the distance.

‘It looked like a seagull…’

It had flown by so quickly that I couldn’t even make out its shape.

If there was anything odd, it was that the bird had a white twig in its beak—maybe it was looking to build a nest.

Probably not important.

I left the beach and headed into the forest.

Beyond the trees, I spotted a small village.

A friendly sign labeled it “Beginner Village.”

It must be the game’s tutorial hub.

As I entered, I saw a small blacksmith, a general store, and a house labeled “Village Chief’s Home.”

Simple and modest, fitting for a beginner’s area. Not much around.

It’s kind of a given—first stop should be the chief’s house.

“E-excuse me, I’m coming in.”

Even though I knew the person inside was just an NPC, I still felt the urge to knock.

Still not used to VR.

If this were a PC game, I would’ve just broken down the door without a second thought.

As I entered, I saw an old man.

Even at a glance, he screamed, “I’m the village chief.”

Stroking his white mustache, he spoke in a robotic tone.

“Welcome to the Beginner Village, young lady. I have a task for you.”

His delivery was incredibly dry.

Like someone who had repeated these lines hundreds, maybe thousands of times. Definitely an NPC.

“It’s a simple task. Bring me 30 pieces of wood and 20 stones. I will provide you with equipment to hunt monsters.”

A quest window popped up.

[Tutorial Quest: The Village Chief’s Request]

• Objective: Gather 30 Wood and 20 Stones
• Reward: Beginner Wooden Sword, Beginner Shield, Experience Points

“Use this for gathering.”

The chief handed me an axe and a pickaxe.

Basic and rough tools.

Clearly tutorial-grade items.

“Okay. Thirty wood and twenty stones, right?”

He gave a short nod. I turned to leave.

Then—

“Wait a moment.”

The chief’s dull voice halted me. I turned back.

“Yes?”

He remained seated, staring at me.

But something felt slightly different.

“By the way,” he said slowly.

“Are you perhaps interested in bringing something… special instead of just wood and stone?”

“Something special? Like what?”

He twisted his mustache and spoke with a sly expression.

“White Spiritwood. And Silver Ore.”

I blinked.

Wasn’t this just a completely routine tutorial quest?

Was there a hidden element?

After a brief pause, I asked bluntly. No need to be shy with an NPC.

“If I bring that, do I get something better?”

The chief smiled faintly.

“Of course. Bring me the White Spiritwood, and I’ll give you the only one-of-a-kind equipment in the village.”

“Where can I find the White Spiritwood and Silver Ore?”

The chief grinned.

“That’s for you to discover. Isn’t the fun in exploring and finding it yourself?”

Now he’s acting sly.

A moment ago, he was handing out the quest like a vending machine, and now he’s brimming with personality?

“If you bring me just one White Spiritwood and one Silver Ore, you won’t need to collect the wood and stones. But if you can’t find them, just bring the regular materials.”

So the original quest doesn’t disappear.

At worst, I break even.

No reason to refuse.

“…Alright. I’ll try looking.”

“Very good. For reference, the White Spiritwood looks just like snow—a pure white tree. Its appearance makes it easy to spot.”

He nodded in satisfaction, and I stepped out of the house.

“Silverhair? You’re hereeee…”

As I exited, a familiar voice greeted me.

Raidel.

Her avatar, customized to resemble her real self, was waving at me groggily.

She looked exhausted. Like a zombie.

“Ah, Raidel. Thanks for inviting me.”

“Hehe, no worries. The viewers love you, and you’ve helped me a lot too.”

She tried to stifle a yawn when she saw my face.

“You can yawn, it’s fine. You look super tired.”

“Yeah… I stayed up all night looking for hidden pieces…”

“You pulled an all-nighter?”

“Mhm. And it’s not just me. I bet all the other streamers did too. Haaahm.”

She couldn’t hold back the yawn this time.

“Finding hidden pieces early gives you a huge lead.”

She’s right.

Getting a special reward early on is a massive advantage.

It puts you ahead in everything.

“So… did you find anything?”

Raidel sighed deeply.

“Nope. It was a total bust.”

Her voice was full of fatigue and disappointment.

“I can’t even get a hint. There are clues, but they’re all super vague…”

She scratched her head awkwardly.

“Sounds like the devs might’ve hidden it too well.”

I commented, and she gave a weak chuckle.

“Probably. But you know… if someone finds it first, it’ll be huge.”

I nodded.

The Pixel Wars Streamer Server was blowing up.

Top streams on Soopjijik were all coming from this server.

Pixel Wars is already a popular game.

Add in a massive custom server funded by big money and filled with top-tier streamers? Of course it’s drawing eyes.

The first person to find a hidden piece would be in the spotlight.

The reward is one thing.

But for a streamer, that attention is priceless.

Everyone is going all in for the first hidden piece.

“So, are you going to hidden-run again today?”

I asked.

She looked conflicted for a moment, then sighed loudly.

“Mmm… maybe for an hour. Then I seriously need to sleep. If I go on like this, I’m gonna get clapped by monsters…”

I chuckled. She really did look like she needed rest more than anything.

“Oh, right. I heard something strange from the village chief.”

“Something strange?”

“You know the basic quest to gather wood and stones?”

I recounted what the chief had told me.

“He said if I bring White Spiritwood and Silver Ore, I’ll get a better reward. Do you know anything about that?”

It was clearly reeking of hidden piece energy.

Considering Raidel had spent a whole week on this, I wondered if she had heard anything.

“Everyone’s freaking out about that.”

Of course, I wasn’t the only one to get that quest.

Apparently all streamers got the same prompt.

“They shared info and chopped down every tree on the island, but nobody found that White Spiritwood.”

Raidel laughed wryly.

“Seriously, not even one. They even chopped bushes growing between rocks just in case. Still nothing.”

“They say it’s a white tree…”

“Yeah. But there’s not a single white tree anywhere nearby.”

“Then… what about the Silver Ore?”

Was that also ridiculously rare?

“Nah, that one’s everywhere. Just head out to the nearby mines and it’s all over the place.”

Raidel rummaged through her inventory.

“Here, have one.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Hehe, no need to thank me. It’s just slightly rarer than a rock.”

She then added a cautionary note.

“But just a heads up, Silverhair. If you’re thinking of hunting down that Spiritwood, you might want to give up.”

“Huh? Why?”

“There’s talk among streamers that it’s not even meant to be found in the early game.”

She’d clearly been doing her homework.

“People think it might show up in distant areas or way later into the game. It might be rare now, but become common in the late game.”

“Whoa, how did you guess that? Have you played a lot of games like this?”

Raidel’s voice was full of admiration.

A balancing mechanism for latecomers.

Late-stage players are always behind those who joined early.

But if something like White Spiritwood becomes easy to get later on, streamers invited later can give it to the village chief and catch up quickly.

They’d get a better reward than the early players who turned in basic wood and stone.

It’s the perfect form of developer generosity.

When I asked if my theory checked out, Raidel nodded in admiration.

“Exactly. That’s the general consensus among streamers.”

So, it was a quest designed to be impossible now, but doable later.

A reward meant only for late arrivals.

“So yeah, if you’re thinking about finishing that village chief quest now, it’d probably be a waste of time. You’re better off collecting basic stuff and aiming for a different hidden piece…”

‘Wait.’

White Spiritwood. A tree as white as snow.

Raidel just said there wasn’t a single white tree around.

None of the other streamers had found one either.

‘But I saw one. A white twig.’