Chapter 39 : Bug (1)

‘Something feels off.’

There was a sense that the flow wasn’t quite right.

Starting from the point where Yoo Seoyeno took down nine monsters with a pickaxe,a small sense of incongruity lingered in her mind.

‘So… you’re supposed to clear the Village Chief’s quest to get the basic weapon and shield, right?’

That was the most fundamental flow of the game.

Complete the tutorial quest, gear up with the minimum equipment, and then start the game.

But in Yoo Seoyeno’s case, that order was reversed.

She headed to the island first to obtain the hidden piece, Baegnyeongmok,

and there she encountered nine wild dog-type monsters.

‘To fight those monsters… you obviously need a weapon, don’t you?’

A proper weapon—at least the one you get as a reward from the tutorial.

Even just the beginner’s wooden longsword and shield were necessary to put up a fight.

Those were the only usable weapons early on.

But if you complete the tutorial and get the weapon, you can’t get that hidden piece.

Even if you go back with Baegnyeongmok and Eungwangseok,you’ll only get a message saying the quest has already been completed.

In the end, for the narrative to make sense,there shouldn’t be any combat during the hidden piece quest.

Making someone fight without even providing a weapon would ruin the quest’s quality.

After thinking for a moment, Rydel came to a conclusion.

‘Those nine monsters… I don’t think they were meant to be killed.’

The fact that she got no experience points after defeating them was suspicious too.

The situation where you’re expected to fight without a weapon also felt off.

So maybe, those monsters were designed to be avoided using a different method—but Yoo Seoyeno forced her way through them.

Though it wasn’t clear from just hearing the story and not seeing the video,she somehow had a feeling that this might be the case.

In truth, it was a nonsensical thought, but still.

‘If it’s Seoyeno, she might be able to do it.’

She felt that Yoo Seoyeno could probably smash a pot with a pickaxe and hatchet.

Rydel knew better than anyone how incredible Yoo Seoyeno’s physical abilities were.

The godly control she displayed in Chain Roller, the overwhelming combat sense in Raid and Master.

Things that seemed impossible by normal human standards, Yoo Seoyeno would do without breaking a sweat.

‘She might have just done it with sheer physical strength.’

Yoo Seoyeno calmly said, “It was manageable,”but Rydel found it hard to take her words literally.

It had definitely been a battle of abnormal difficulty.

Could it be that Yoo Seoyeno cleared it using nothing but her physical prowess, and with a gathering tool, no less?

If Rydel’s guess was correct, then this wasn’t the playstyle intended by the developers.

It was completely ignoring the standard route and breaking through using nothing but an individual’s transcendent abilities.

‘…Well, it doesn’t matter, I guess?’

Rydel shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake off the complex thoughts.

As long as the destination is Seoul, it doesn’t matter which way you go.

There’s even a saying that there are scissors that can break rocks.

She decided to just understand it as a magic trick and move on.

With a forced smile, Rydel folded away the small question mark in her mind.

***

First Hidden Piece acquisition in the streamer server!

That fact set the entire community on fire.

[Silver Hair Hidden Piece Joins the Gallery LOL]

[Wow, I was just refreshing the Zeronix broadcast page and got totally surprised LOL Silver Hair really did something big!]

For real?

Not clickbait?

Nope, it’s an official post on Zeronix’s broadcast page.

It’s real.

What’s Silver Hair, you nerd?

Isn’t she a foreigner?

Is she a girl?

[Pixel Wars Streamer Server’s First Hidden Piece Finder ‘Silver Hair’ << Is this the one?]

[Isn’t she the random person that Delbung brought in with a golden ticket, who hasn’t even started streaming yet?]

Yep, that’s right~.

Rydel brought in an elite mercenary.

Didn’t other streamers recruit Pixel Wars pros too?

[Streamers Who Wasted a Week of Time Are Crying LOL]

[Did they just throw their time in the toilet? LOL]

For real LOL I’m curious about the starting members’ expressions.

One week of hidden piece fails 😞 😞 😞 😞 😞.

Huh?

[But how did Silver Hair find it in the first place?]

[Didn’t she take a raft out to the sea? Wasn’t Baegnyeongmok underwater?]

I don’t know because Silver Hair hasn’t streamed.

Wasn’t she a streamer though?

She’s preparing, but the Soopjijik app isn’t working!

Yeah, they said something about needing to pass some tests before streaming, but the permit hasn’t been approved.

The processing is so slow.

Maybe Delbung will start streaming soon and reveal it?

Yeah, Delbung used the golden ticket, so maybe they’re trying to set up the broadcast?

I can’t stand it, ahhh!

[Breaking News: Rydel Officially Confirms: Silver Hair’s Hidden Piece Hint Came Out Right at the Start]

[Rydel just started streaming, and Silver Hair joined right away to tell the story LOL]

[As soon as she started, she said a bird was holding Baegnyeongmok and flew right to it.She followed the bird’s direction.]

But didn’t other streamers say the bird passed by so fast that they couldn’t even see what it was holding?

LOL.

She saw that?

Was it a bird?

?????

I just thought something was passing by, so I didn’t think much of it LOL.

Wait, how did she even see that?

What was the bird holding?

[But how did she deal with the monsters?]

[She said right after pulling out Baegnyeongmok, 9 monsters appeared.

Their claws were so long, and even a brush against them was a one-hit kill.

She said these wild-eyed dogs came pouring out, and she thought she’d die with just one hit.

And she defeated them all with just a pickaxe?

Is it even possible to do that without a weapon?

If it’s a hidden piece, the monsters must be really strong.]

Maybe the monsters were weak?

For real, there’s no video.

Even if 9 chihuahuas showed up, they could just say they were tiger-like monsters and lie.

Do you think a video will come later?

Even if she doesn’t stream, the admins can still see it.

Yeah, Frost said he’s saving it separately, just in case any issues come up.

[It’s a hidden piece, so it can’t be weak monsters, right?]

[Frost openly said hidden pieces are hard to get.

Everyone expected the monsters to be tough.

No way she’s bragging about killing weak monsters.]

Seeing what Silver Hair did, it doesn’t seem like a lie.

Yeah, for sure, the game was weird, but her physical skills are solid.

Most of the sentiment towards Yoo Seoyeon and Silver Hair was positive.

Although, right after getting the hidden piece for Rydel, Silver Hair bolted out.

This left Rydel with unresolved curiosity during her sleep time.

But this too was brushed off in a way that felt kind of justified.

Of course, the fact that Silver Hair had a very pleasant voice played a huge role in this.

Overall, the vibe was mostly positive.

However, not everyone felt that way.

[Honestly, doesn’t Silver Hair seem like she’s hacking? This doesn’t make sense, damn.]

[This newbie, who hasn’t even played for a day,finds the hidden piece that 10 streamers couldn’t find after playing nonstop for a week?

And the hint was a twig brought by a bird, which no one else even noticed?

LOL.

How do you explain that without using something like ESP hacks to highlight the object?

It feels really artificial, right?]

For real, I wasn’t the only one thinking this.

No matter how talented someone is, there are physical limits.

This one is just.

If it’s not eagle-eye level vision, she couldn’t have seen it with that speed, right?

Are the people defending her just naïve?

I’ll stay neutral, but the suspicion is a fact.

[Is it possible to kill 9 monsters with just a pickaxe and hand axe? LOL]

[As the fans are saying, the monsters must have been really strong.

That’s why it’s even more unbelievable.

The Pixel Wars monster AI isn’t that dumb.

Is it really possible to kill 9 monsters with just a pickaxe?

She figured out their attack patterns?

A newbie who’s never played the game?

LOL]

[Has anyone actually seen Silver Hair play? Isn’t everything just hearsay?]

[The most important thing is this.]

So, has anyone actually seen Silver Hair go to the island, kill monsters, and get the hidden piece live?

No, right?

In the end, isn’t everything just Silver Hair’s own word?

LOL.

There’s no personal footage, so why is everyone worshiping her like this?

Rydel also used a golden ticket to get her in, so of course, she’s going to defend her.

This is the key point.

Yeah, there’s no evidence.

[Haters are just talking nonsense.]

[Anyway, didn’t Zeronix and Frost say they saved the footage?

What’s the problem?

Silver Hair can’t stream, so they saved the gameplay footage separately.

Zeronix isn’t a fool… would he just sit back while hacks are being used?

Anyone who thinks this doesn’t make sense is just talking trash.

Haters, shush.]

Haters, shut up.

LOL.

But Zeronix is probably too busy to monitor right now, right?

Yeah, we don’t know yet.

They’re probably just auto-saving the footage.

Shut up, what do you know?

***

“Hey, little brother.”

With a low and tired voice, Zeronix called out to Frost, who was sitting next to him.

His eyes were fixed on various community sites.

“Yes, hyung.”

Frost, who had been checking various data, immediately turned his head.

“That… ‘Silver Hair,’ the person I mean.”

Zeronix hesitated for a moment as if choosing his words carefully.

“This is starting to look like a hack accusation. What’s going on? Is it true?”

As per the community’s opinion,Zeronix hadn’t been able to monitor Yoo Seoyeon’s gameplay directly.

He had been too busy.

He had meetings with the Forest Jjik executives, and he also had to review feedback from other streamers.

He couldn’t check the screen of a user who hadn’t even started streaming yet, and was still half a regular person.

“If this is a hack, we’re screwed. You, me, all of us.”

This streamer server was a large-scale project launched with full support from the platform.

The ‘hack controversy’ that could put a damper on its early success was a disaster that had to be avoided at all costs.

It was a problem directly tied to the server’s overall credibility.

Hearing the seriousness in Zeronix’s voice, Frost made a subtle expression.

“Hyung, so, um… how should I explain this?”

After a moment of hesitation, Frost spoke up.

“I think you just have to see it for yourself.”