Chapter 37: Hidden Piece (5)

It was a mask, swirled with black and silver.

Patterns of unknown meaning were etched into its surface in low relief.

At a glance, it clearly wasn’t an ordinary item.

“This is it. The reward I got for finding the hidden piece.”

Yoo Seo-yeon casually handed over the item.

[Delbung, don’t run off with it…]

[Is Raidel’s hand trembling lolol]

[If she steals it, legendary lololol]

[Swallowing hard, Raidel earns a like lolol]

[It’s fine]

[It’s fine]

“What, I’m not gonna run off with it! What do you take me for?”

A streamer, pulling a runner? Not happening.

Raidel shook her head and brought up the item on screen.

『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

“A mask that makes you look like an NPC, huh?”

Raidel examined the item.

‘Disguised as an NPC. So it can bypass quest conditions?’

‘That means some areas can be cleared without combat.’

‘Fooling NPCs is a truly unique skill.’

‘If used right, this could seriously change the game flow.’

‘Might be hard for players who play straight-laced.’

‘But perfect for people who like to break the intended route.’

‘…And if it’s Seo-yeon, definitely the latter.’

Raidel exhaled quietly.

She’d been realizing it more and more lately:

Yoo Seo-yeon’s playstyle wasn’t traditional—more like chaotic-neutral.

Not someone who brute-forced with physical skill,

but someone who played creatively, unpredictably—tightrope-walking.

In short: a dopamine junkie.

Sure, the straight path was safer. But this one was way more fun.

Of course, chaotic-neutral play without skill was just plain trolling.

But Yoo Seo-yeon had proven herself plenty.

Even during Chain Roller, she’d skipped entire stages with bizarre strategies.

In Raid & Master too, she loved the rogue-skill builds of Rogue Master that nobody else touched.

And she’d shown incredible performance with them.

So this item actually fit her perfectly.

‘Knowing her, she’s gonna use that to pull some weird stunt again.’

[NPC bait gear lololol]

[No idea how strong it is, but it looks fun at least lololol]

[Fr, looks fun lololol]

《‘WahWahWah’ has donated 10,000 won!》

– It’s strong. Once more quest lines open up, it’ll be super useful for sure.

[Yeah, if used well it’s probably OP]

[Zeronix must’ve thought it through if this was made a hidden reward]

[This is one of those items whose value really depends on how you use it]

[Isn’t it kinda underwhelming for a hidden?]

[Hmm, I guess it’s just okay.]

Most people thought it was a fun item,

but a few felt it was underwhelming for a hidden piece.

Naturally, it wasn’t as flashy or directly powerful as a weapon.

Still, most agreed it was a surprise.

‘Feels like it’ll be useful.’

Sure, it seemed like an item that depended on the user’s skill,

but with the right hands, it could give you a huge edge in quests.

And that alone meant it wasn’t a bad item by any means.

“Alright! Silverhair, thanks for showing the item. That was a real treat.”

Raidel handed the mask back.

“But honestly, more than the item itself, I was curious about how you got it.”

The real mystery was how she’d found the hidden piece.

Unlike the item, which could be shown in a minute,

the process of obtaining it required some explanation.

So Raidel had asked to see the item first, to keep the viewers calm.

With her streaming experience, she’d instinctively made the right call.

Now that the item was shown, it was time to hear the story.

Yoo Seo-yeon nodded.

“Well, as soon as I started the game, a bird flew at me.”

“Oh, that bird?”

[The one that rushed you?]

[Didn’t it just charge at Delbung ‘cause it was mad? lololol]

[All the other streamers saw it too]

Raidel nodded.

A bird had suddenly flown by not long after the game began.

It came so fast it might as well have been a bullet.

Luckily, it wasn’t a monster.

It screeched past her ear in a blink.

Not just her—other streamers saw it too.

Some wondered if it was a clue, but it was just a bird.

A single bird with no obvious purpose gave no real information.

So everyone, including Raidel, had ignored it.

“But that bird… was carrying a piece of white spiritwood in its beak.”

“Huh?”

Raidel tilted her head.

Carrying what now?

It had passed by so fast she’d barely registered it was a bird.

Forget the spiritwood—she hadn’t even seen it holding anything.

[??]

[It was carrying something?]

[The bird had something in its beak?]

《‘DellyPunch’ has donated 5,000 won!》

– I didn’t even know it was a bird lololol

[Fr lololol]

[I only realized from the cawing sound]

Same with the chat.

No one, not even Raidel or the viewers, had realized the bird was carrying anything.

Some hadn’t even realized it was a bird.

“I didn’t notice it was holding anything…”

At that, Yoo Seo-yeon tilted her head, then nodded as if she understood.

“Maybe it was because it showed up right at the start and surprised everyone?”

‘Could be.’

It had appeared so soon after logging in—maybe people were just overwhelmed.

Still…

Raidel wasn’t totally convinced, but she kept listening.

---

The village chief’s tutorial quest.

It was simple: gather wood and stone.

But he had specifically said he’d give a better reward if you brought white spiritwood and silver ore.

Raidel had figured it was a quest meant for late-joiners.

“Of course. Bring me some white spiritwood, and I’ll give you the one and only equipment in this village.”

But now, that line came back to her.

If it was truly a one-of-a-kind item,

there was no way everyone joining later could receive it.

Only one piece of equipment.

So it wasn’t a newbie quest.

It had to be tied to the hidden piece.

Silver ore was common.

The key was the white spiritwood.

That’s what needed to be found.

---

The raft glided across the water more smoothly than expected.

Rather than floating, it felt like skating across a solid surface.

‘No seasickness. Nice.’

In real life, she’d be swaying with the waves, ready to hurl.

‘They removed all the unpleasant stuff, huh.’

Feeling the immersion of the game, I gazed out over the water.

The dazzling sky reflected off the ocean, swirling gently beneath the raft.

Like being at a tropical resort.

It was easy to see why Pixel Wars was so popular and considered AAA.

(TL note: AAA games are high-budget, high-profile video games typically produced and distributed by major publishersThey are known for their large development teams, extensive marketing, and often, cutting-edge technology.Examples include titles like God of War Ragnarok, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077.)

Of course, she hadn’t built the raft to take a vacation.

‘That bird definitely flew off in that direction.’

A piece of white spiritwood—presumably—was in its beak.

It had flown straight through the sky as if trying to show her.

Where the bird flew—that’s where the spiritwood had to be.

Luckily, she’d remembered the direction clearly.

‘It can’t be too far, right?’

Even if it was a hidden piece, this was still a starting quest.

It wouldn’t be ridiculously distant.

Sure enough, a small dot appeared on the edge of her vision.

At first, she thought it was an illusion across the horizon.

But as the raft drew closer, the dot gradually took shape.

An island.

Its form was… unnatural.

Neither round nor jagged.

Almost as if drawn onto the sea with a giant set square,

its outline formed a near-perfect octagon.

There were no other islands nearby.

The moment she saw it, the corners of her lips lifted.

“Artificial-looking.”

Landfall.

The raft bumped gently against the shore and came to a stop.

She stepped cautiously onto the water’s edge.

‘Looks cool, actually.’

Despite its artificial exterior, the inside of the island was modeled like a forest.

The breeze rustled through the leaves, and sunlight bathed the grass warmly.

The trees were tall and their branches thickly tangled,

but shafts of light poured through, coloring the forest with a soft glow.

Past the woods, not far in—

“Is that it?”

A lone tree stood at the center of the island.

It was small.

Compared to the towering trees around it, it looked even more tiny and frail.

About the size of a person’s torso.

Its surface was white. Not just ordinary white.

It was glossy and smooth, like it had been carved from porcelain.

As sunlight hit it, a silvery glow softly spread across its bark.

“White spiritwood looks snow-white, with such a unique form you’ll know it at a glance.”

The village chief’s words echoed in her mind.

It might not look snowy, but

you could tell it wasn’t just any tree.

[You have obtained ‘White Spiritwood’.]

『White Spiritwood』

[A tree imbued with the spirit of an ancient forest. Contains primal magic.]

“Nice!”

That confirmed it.

Hidden piece acquired!

Her heart pounded.

A satisfied sigh escaped from deep inside her chest.

Why no other streamer had figured it out was a mystery,

but this really was the hidden piece.

There was only one white spiritwood here.

And the moment she harvested it with her hand axe, it vanished.

“Now I just have to go back…”

Just return it to the village chief.

Then—

A chill ran down her spine.

Like someone was watching her. A sharp killing intent.

She instinctively crouched and looked around.

Maybe it was the shift in mood, but the once warm and peaceful forest now felt hostile.

At first, she saw nothing.

But then—

Tap-tap…

Footsteps of wild beasts began to echo from between the trees.

(TL Note: The mask’s Korean name ‘기만의 가면’ is translated as Mask of Deception. The item’s effects suggest stealth mechanics familiar to RPGs or stealth-action games. Also, white spiritwood (백령목) remains a recurring magical material in this arc.)