Chapter 38: Hidden Piece (6)
by AfuhfuihgsA chill crept in from behind.
Tap, tap…
The sound of beastly footsteps.
Something was dragging sharp claws along the ground as it moved.
Judging by the sound, it was likely a four-legged creature.
Just from hearing it approach, she could vaguely guess what kind of enemy it was.
‘…What now?’
She’d come all this way just to harvest a tree, and now this.
‘Let’s just hide.’
She crouched low and ducked into the nearby bushes.
Holding her breath, she carefully peeked between the leaves.
And then—she saw them.
“…That’s creepy.”
The creatures that appeared were unidentifiable monsters.
Thin and bony from head to neck.
Eyes glowing red without pupils, grotesque hands tipped with long claws.
Their pale skin looked like thin, torn parchment, stretched over jutting ribs.
They looked like rabid dogs in monster form.
‘Those claws are scary, but they seem squishy.’
The claws and fangs suggested high attack power, but their defense looked weak.
Their chests looked flimsy, like paper.
But there wasn’t just one or two of them.
Three… no, five…
The number kept growing until it stopped at nine.
Nine total enemies.
That was quite a lot.
‘…Huh?’
But their movement was odd.
One moved forward, then the next followed, and then the one after that.
Almost like a programmed patrol pattern.
‘Is this designed so you take them down one at a time?’
Maybe.
Maybe the devs made it that way to keep players from getting wiped all at once.
‘Guess it’s a player’s duty to play along with the devs’ intentions.’
One of them approached the bush she was hiding in.
Its narrow torso came into view.
She could feel the monster’s threatening breath, and it made her tense.
But its defense really did look paper-thin.
She just had to take them down one by one.
Clink—
She gripped her heavy, clunky pickaxe.
It wasn’t technically a weapon,
but for monsters with defense that low, one hit would probably do the job.
‘Hyaaah!’
With a mental shout, she swung the pickaxe with precision at its torso.
CRACK—!
The monster’s body snapped and collapsed to the ground.
In seconds, it dissolved into smoke.
GRRR—!
Aggroed, the second monster charged in.
The pickaxe was still buried in the ground from the first kill.
This was dangerous.
But she’d anticipated this.
She pulled a hand axe from her inventory and hurled it with all her strength.
It flew in a straight, spinless line and embedded right between its eyes.
Squeal!
A direct hit to the forehead.
The monster staggered and fell.
She retrieved the axe and ducked back into the bushes.
Seven left.
Two of their buddies had “gone to heaven,” but the rest hadn’t noticed.
The monsters kept patrolling mechanically.
As long as she didn’t enter their aggro radius, she’d be fine.
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
She carefully approached the next one.
Thwack! Thwack!
Her pickaxe never missed, and her axe always found its mark.
The monsters moved and struck sharply,
but they were still predictable enough to react to.
Holding her breath, she slipped into the gaps of their routine.
One by one.
Squeal!
Her pickaxe embedded into the head of the last one that lunged.
“Phew.”
She wiped the sweat from her brow.
Even though this was a game, the devs had actually coded in sweat.
They were definitely freaks.
Anyway,
All nine monsters, defeated.
‘It wasn’t exactly easy.’
Their claws were more threatening than expected.
She hadn’t been hit thanks to good dodging,
but one mistake, and she would’ve been the one to die.
It had been harder than anticipated.
“Guess I’ll head back.”
But…
She’d just beaten some strong monsters. So where was the EXP?
Something felt off.
Still, no use whining about it.
And more importantly—
She’d gotten the hidden piece. That was what really mattered.
“A-Amazing…!”
The village chief’s eyes went wide when she showed him the white spiritwood.
“You really brought it! You avoided all those monsters? You’re better than you look!”
“Wait, you asked me to get it. Why are you so surprised?”
The chief smacked his lips like he had nothing to say.
“Just means you did a great job… Ahem. Got any silver ore?”
She pulled out a piece of silver ore Raidel had given her.
White spiritwood and silver ore.
That should complete the quest.
“But silver ore’s everywhere just outside the village. Why’d you make me bring it?”
White spiritwood was one thing, but silver ore was practically lying around.
The chief cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well… I was just too lazy.”
“…Excuse me?”
“When you get old, your back aches, your joints throb, and even walking to the next house is hard.”
She was speechless.
What kind of NPC was this enslaved by laziness?
Then again, maybe it was some sickly accurate realism.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ll give you something nice.”
Apparently noticing her judging stare, the chief went to a corner.
He pulled out a dusty box and rummaged through it.
The whole scene had a stingy vibe.
“This is your reward. An artifact you won’t find in a podunk town like this!”
What he produced was a bizarre mask.
A smiling, unsettling face.
The eye holes were hollow, and it was streaked in black and silver.
“This is the ‘Mask of Deception,’ an artifact. The moment you wear it, you become someone else.”
“I become… not me?”
It sounded like some kind of riddle.
But the effect said it all.
『Mask of Deception』
[When equipped, you appear as an NPC for a certain duration.]
– Can skip certain quests
– Allows infiltration into enemy zones
– Alters NPC reactions during interaction
– Under certain conditions, triggers ‘Deception’: Can fool hostile NPCs
‘…Looks pretty fun.’
Maybe it was because the mask looked creepy,
but its effects were super unique.
The ability to trick NPCs especially caught her attention.
‘Wait a sec.’
Could she trick this chief right now?
“By the way, it won’t work on me. Don’t bother.”
The chief shook his head like he’d read her mind.
Guess it really didn’t work on him.
Makes sense—she wasn’t hostile with him anyway.
‘Should I punch him?’
She stared at his mustache—specifically his philtrum.
If she hit him once, maybe he’d turn hostile?
‘No, that’s too much.’
The deception effect only triggered under specific conditions.
It wasn’t like you could just use it on any enemy.
And she didn’t even know if the chief could be attacked.
Besides, she’d be staying in the beginner village for a while.
Punching the chief and getting marked as an enemy would only hurt her.
While she debated useless thoughts—
[System Notice – Hidden Piece Discovered]
[‘Silverhair’, congratulations on discovering the hidden piece!]
[You’ve uncovered a secret no one else found, opening a new chapter in the Pixel Wars streamer server!]
[Your achievement will be forever recorded in the history of the Pixel Wars streamer server.]
A soft rumble spread through the village,
and bold text appeared at the top of her vision.
Yup. It was definitely the hidden piece.
With a system-wide announcement, it was official.
But wait—was she the only one who could see it?
If everyone else saw it too…
“Gasp.”
Even before the notice disappeared, she felt a strange energy from the window.
Slowly, she turned her head.
In the distance, thunderous footsteps approached.
The news had spread—other streamers were stampeding toward her.
“There she is!”
“It’s Silverhair!”
Famous, high-profile streamers.
In other words: people completely obsessed with content.
Being the first to find the hidden piece?
Perfect YouTube material.
No sooner had the notice dropped than they all swarmed in like mad.
Worse, she was right in the center of the beginner village—by the chief’s house.
Anyone nearby could reach her in seconds.
They were rushing in like starved barbarians.
‘…This is a lot.’
All for the content.
Seeing them charge in, high on madness and greed,
her hand instinctively moved to the logout button.
Scarier than a horror game.
[Do you want to log out?]
[Yes]
Silence.
She’d half-instinctively logged out.
And felt instantly relieved.
‘I’ll just talk to Ha-yoon later.’
Maybe it was because she’d become more introverted.
Once she was familiar with someone, it was easy to talk.
But crowds like that were overwhelming.
…Then again, anyone would panic and flee if mobbed by lunatics.
‘Well, this way Ha-yoon gets the content.’
Whenever she appeared on Raidel’s stream, she got a generous share of the donations.
Sometimes, even more than Raidel took herself.
With that kind of support, the least she could do was give her some stream-worthy material.
Whether out of practicality or loyalty,
she owed Raidel a lot.
‘Can’t call her right now though.’
Raidel had looked exhausted.
She’d been on a hidden piece hunt all week.
She said she was going to sleep, then logged off.
If she called now, she’d definitely be in dreamland.
‘I’ll just reach out when she logs in later.’
“…And that’s how it happened.”
Yoo Seo-yeon finished her story.
So she really had waited for Raidel to log in.
[Wow, I actually gasped IRL lololol]
[What were those monsters anyway lololol]
[That chief is so lazy lmaoooo]
[Still, Silver Noona’s got loyalty…]
[Of course. Loyalty = Silver Noona.]
Viewers were amazed by the epic saga.
But Raidel frowned slightly.
‘Something’s off.’
(TL Notes: – “기만의 가면” is translated as Mask of Deception. – “백령목” continues to be translated as white spiritwood, a unique magical tree in the game world. – “곡괭이” (pickaxe) and “손도끼” (hand axe) are translated directly for clarity, as they are common tools in RPGs. – “도네이션” refers to viewer donations, often real currency given during streams.)
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