Chapter 33 : Hidden Piece (1)

“Huh?”

A bird, chirping as it flew by, quickly passed by my ear.

Incredible speed.

I thought maybe it was a monster launching a surprise attack as a game starting event.

Of course, it didn’t actually attack.

The bird, flying at an immense speed, quickly disappeared into the sky.

‘It looked like a seagull.’

It was so fast that it was hard to even make out its shape.

The only odd thing was that it seemed like it was trying to build a nest, as it was carrying a white twig in its beak.

But it probably didn’t mean much.

I passed the beach and entered the forest.

After going through the forest, a small village appeared.

It was kindly labeled “Beginner Village.”

It’s probably a place meant for the tutorial.

As I entered, I saw a small blacksmith shop, a general store, and a place labeled “Village Chief’s House.”

As expected from a beginner village, it was modest.

There wasn’t much there.

In places like this, it’s customary to visit the Village Chief’s house first.

“I-I’m coming in.”

Even though the person inside was just an NPC, I felt like I should knock before entering.

I still wasn’t used to VR.

If it were a PC game, I wouldn’t feel out of place smashing through doors and whatnot.

When I opened the door and entered, I saw an elderly man.

He looked like the kind of man who would clearly say, “I am the Village Chief.”

He stroked his white mustache and, with a mechanical tone, began to speak.

“Welcome to the Beginner Village, young lady. I have something to ask of you.”

His voice was so dry.

It felt as if he had repeated the same lines hundreds or thousands of times.

I could really feel that he was an NPC.

“It’s a simple task. Gather 30 pieces of wood and 20 pieces of stone. In return, I’ll provide you with gear to hunt monsters.”

A quest window popped up in front of me.

[Tutorial Quest: Village Chief’s Request]

Objective: Gather 30 pieces of wood and 20 pieces of stone.

Reward: Beginner’s Wooden Sword, Beginner’s Shield, Experience Points.

“Use this for gathering.”

The Village Chief handed me an axe and a pickaxe.

They were simple and crude-looking tools.

It was clear at a glance that they were tutorial items.

“Yes. 30 pieces of wood and 20 pieces of stone, right?”

The Village Chief nodded briefly.

I was about to leave the Village Chief’s house.

Then.

“Wait a moment.”

The Village Chief’s dry voice stopped me.

I turned around.

“Yes?”

The Village Chief was still sitting in his place, staring at me intently.

But this time, there was something subtly different about his gaze.

“By the way…”

The Village Chief slowly continued.

“Why not bring something a bit more unusual, rather than just wood and stone?”

“Something unusual? What do you mean?”

The Village Chief twisted his mustache, then said meaningfully.

“Baegnyeongmok (White Spirit Tree) and Eungwangseok (Silverstone).”

I blinked in surprise.

Wasn’t this just a typical, formal tutorial quest to gather resources?

Did it have a hidden element?

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to ask honestly.

There’s no need to be cautious with an NPC.

“If I bring those, will I get something good in return?”

The Village Chief smiled faintly.

“Of course. If you bring me the Baegnyeongmok, I’ll give you a special piece of equipment that’s the only one in the village.”

“Where can I find the Baegnyeongmok and Eungwangseok?”

The Village Chief grinned and answered.

“That’s something you’ll have to find yourself. Isn’t the fun of these things in exploring on your own?”

This NPC suddenly became quite cheeky.

Until just now, he had been giving the quest in such a dry manner, but now his attitude changed when it came to the hidden element?

“If you bring me one Baegnyeongmok and one Eungwangseok, then you don’t need to gather the wood and stone. Well, if you can’t find them, you can just bring the wood and stone instead.”

The original quest wasn’t disappearing.

At worst, it was a break-even situation.

No need to refuse.

“…Alright. I’ll go look for them.”

“That’s the spirit. By the way, Baegnyeongmok is a white tree, like snow. It has a unique appearance, so you’ll be able to recognize it easily.”

The Village Chief nodded with a satisfied look.

I left the house again.

“Silver-haired lady? You’ve come in…!”

As soon as I left the Village Chief’s house, I heard a familiar voice.

Rydel.

Her character, customized to resemble her in real life, was waving at me weakly.

She looked exhausted, almost like a zombie.

“Ah, Rydel. Thanks for the invite.”

“Hehe, no problem. The viewers love it, and I’ve benefited a lot too. Well…”

Rydel said that, then yawned before quickly holding it back when she saw my face.

“You can yawn if you want… You look really tired.”

“Ah, yeah… I stayed up all night doing Hidden Run to find the Hidden Piece…”

“You stayed up all night?”

“Yeah. But it wasn’t just me. I think other streamers were doing it too. Haaam.”

This time, Rydel couldn’t hold it in and yawned.

“It’s better to find the Hidden Piece early on because it gives you an advantage in widening the gap.”

Just as she said.

If you can earn a special reward early on, it’s far more advantageous than getting it later in the game.

You can get a big head start.

Once you’re ahead, you can stay ahead in everything.

“So… did you have any progress?”

Rydel let out a deep sigh.

“No. I didn’t find anything. It was all in vain.”

Her voice was filled with exhaustion and frustration.

“I really have no clue where it is. There are clues, but they’re all so vague…”

Rydel scratched her head with an awkward expression.

“With clues like that, don’t you think the producers made it too hard to find?”

At my words, Rydel gave me a tired look and smiled faintly.

“That could be it. But still… if I find it, it’ll be a huge win.”

I nodded in agreement.

Right now, the Pixel Wars streamer server is a big hit.

The top-tier viewers of Soopjijik were all watching the Pixel Wars streamer server.

Pixel Wars itself is a popular game.

Plus, a lot of money went into making the server, and famous streamers are participating.

So, it’s only natural that the attention is focused here.

If someone finds the Hidden Piece first, they’ll get everyone’s attention.

It’s a great way to make a strong impression on viewers.

The reward for the Hidden Piece is one thing, but the attention it brings is also very important for streamers.

That’s why everyone is putting their lives on the line to find the first Hidden Piece.

“So, are you going to do a Hidden Run again today?”

When I asked, Rydel seemed to hesitate for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Well… I’m going to run for just one more hour, then take a nap. If I keep running like this, I might get killed by a monster…”

I couldn’t help but smile.

In that state, it definitely seemed like sleep would come before the game.

“Oh, by the way. I heard something strange when I was getting a quest from the village chief.”

“Something strange?”

“You know the basic quest, right? The one about gathering wood and stone.”

I recalled what the village chief had said and explained.

“Well, the village chief mentioned an additional condition. He said if I bring back ‘Baegnyeongmok’ and ‘Eungwangseok,’ I would get better rewards. I was wondering if you knew anything about it, Rydel.”

It definitely sounded like a quest related to the Hidden Piece.

Even though Rydel had been running around for a week, I thought maybe she might know something about it.

“Everyone’s been going crazy over that right now.”

Of course, that quest wasn’t one I alone had received.

It seemed like other streamers had received the same quest.

“We’ve all been sharing information, and we’ve chopped down every tree on the island, but we haven’t seen any Baegnyeongmok or whatever it’s called.”

Rydel said with a dry laugh.

“Not even a single one. We even chopped down bushes growing in rock crevices, but still nothing.”

“They say it’s a tree as white as snow…”

“Yeah. There’s not a single white tree around here.”

“Then… what about the Eungwangseok?”

I wondered if the Eungwangseok was just as hard to find.

“That’s easy. If you go to the mine near the village, you’ll find plenty of it. It’s scattered around just a little ways out.”

Rydel said that and rummaged through her bag.

“I’ll give you one.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Hehe, no need to thank me. It’s just a bit rarer than regular rocks…”

Rydel, who had said that, spoke as if offering advice.

“But this is just my opinion, Eunpals. If you’re thinking of looking for Baegnyeongmok, I think you should give up.”

“Huh? Is there a reason for that?”

“It’s something that’s been circulating among streamers right now, but I don’t think Baegnyeongmok is something you can get in the early stages.”

She continued, as if she had done quite a bit of research.

“I think it’s something that’ll appear later, or after you play the game for a while. It’s probably hard to find in the early stages, but in the later stages, it might just be a common item.”

“…So, you’re saying it’s not a Hidden Piece, but a quest for latecomers?”

“Wow, you got it without me even saying much? Have you played games like this before?”

Rydel said with an admiring tone.

A device for latecomers.

Players who enter later in the game are bound to be behind the players who were invited earlier.

But, if Baegnyeongmok isn’t a rare item, and like Eungwangseok, it’s something that will be easily obtainable later in the game.

A streamer who invited the latecomer can gift it without any pressure.

They will get a better reward than the streamers who handed over wood and stone to the village chief, and start with an advantage.

This would allow them to catch up to the early players, at least a little.

If you think of it as the production team’s consideration for the latecomers, it all fits perfectly.

To confirm if I was right, Rydel nodded and let out a small exclamation.

“You got it right away. This is roughly the kind of thing that’s been circulating among the streamers.”

So, it’s a quest that’s impossible for now.

It’s designed to be completed later in the game.

The reason why it’s given as a tutorial quest is for the latecomers to complete it.

“So if you’re aiming to clear the village chief’s quest right now, it’s a waste of time. You should just focus on gathering wood and stone and look for another Hidden Piece…”

“Wait.”

Baegnyeongmok was a tree as white as snow.

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

Other streamers also seemed like they hadn’t found one either.

“But there was one. A white tree.”