In Heroic Academy, there were various Hidden Pieces.
Items hidden deliberately by developers or items that could be obtained by meeting special conditions and visiting specific locations.
Simply put, they were items that couldn’t be acquired through ordinary gameplay.
‘It may not sound like much, but when you actually try, it’s no easy task. Finding them takes at least a few days, and there are almost no clues.’
True to the notion that they couldn’t be obtained through typical gameplay, just relentlessly pushing through the main story wouldn’t even yield a clue.
The same applied to side quests. The only hints could be found in descriptions of junk items or in conversations with NPCs.
‘It’s unimaginably terrible. You have to break through those unfriendly secrets just to get one item.’
Honestly, how many NPCs could there be in one game?
Analyzing every single one of their dialogues to find Hidden Pieces was no easy feat.
‘But even those Hidden Pieces are nothing compared to achievement items. You can find them if you put in the time and effort.’
While playing Heroic Academy, Ian had found and knew the locations of most Hidden Pieces.
Of course, part of it was due to using information from veteran players rather than his own effort… but wasn’t finding them what mattered?
However, there was one item even Ian couldn’t obtain until the end.
‘The achievement item that can be acquired from the City of Disaster, Brookers event… that was my only regret.’
It wasn’t that he had no information. Ian knew how to obtain it and what its effects were.
But until he cleared the game, Ian couldn’t get his hands on that item.
The reason? Wasn’t it obvious?
‘Why? Because I played it nearly 40 times and died each time.’
To get the achievement item, one needed to perfectly understand the stage and play as if toying with the enemies.
For Ian, who barely managed to clear it, it was a hard feat to accomplish.
Of course, if he had the determination to uncover everything in Heroic Academy, it might have been possible.
‘But I wasn’t that determined.’
Hadn’t he found the game by sifting through various academy genre games?
Replaying the stage that caused him so much suffering was something he just couldn’t bring himself to do.
That was why.
‘All I could do was derive satisfaction from the photos veteran players posted in the community.’
The reason Ian gave up on getting the achievement item in Brookers was that he thought it wasn’t meant to be.
He believed he would never get it and that deriving satisfaction through others was the end of it.
‘But… to see this here.’
Looking at the green orb in his hand, Ian smiled.
He knew well what this item was.
‘Unyielding Will… an item that can be obtained only by clearing the fight with the host without taking a single hit.’
In the original game, Baron Velos lost his life injecting the host with a syringe, and the enraged host called forth a horde of zombies, which the player had to survive for 10 minutes.
‘It was an event of avoiding or somehow enduring the incoming zombies.’
At that time, Ian chose an unconventional method.
‘I used a bug. Not an external program, though.’
He found a spot where zombie attacks hardly reached by coincidence and stayed there.
Occasionally, he got hit by the zombies’ blind attacks, but it wasn’t a problem since he could withstand them by using prepared potions.
Though it was an easy clear, he unfortunately didn’t get the achievement item.
But now it was different.
‘Well… I only beat the zombies without getting hit.’
Hadn’t he one-sidedly beaten them? To make matters worse, Vanessa, cornered, even sacrificed the zombies.
The achievement would have been automatically cleared.
After finishing his thoughts, Ian looked at the green orb.
‘As far as I know, breaking the orb grants a strong passive resistance to mental attacks.’
In reality, dealing with zombies in the game often came with minor debuffs like fear.
Surviving 10 minutes without taking a single hit meant overcoming all such debuffs, so it wasn’t strange to receive such a reward.
‘Anyway, it’s good. Resistance to mental attacks isn’t easy to come by.’
It was certainly a satisfactory reward.
The reason was evident from why warlocks and shamans were shunned by the world.
‘They weren’t shunned because they used abhorrent magic or because they were unjust. It was because they attacked human emotions.’
Unlike the body, which could be strengthened through training, attacking the mind was not something that could be easily improved no matter how much one trained.
‘That’s why warlocks and shamans have been ostracized. It’s not just because people find their methods repugnant. It’s also because of the fear of their deadly powers.’
If they grew stronger, they would undoubtedly seize control. So, instead of outright prohibiting them, society made them abandon dark magic and curses themselves.
‘Of course, this may work for humans who must coexist, but it’s different for demons.’
For demons, who could easily deal with humans, there was no way to avoid learning such tactics.
Thus, most demons adopted at least one form of mental attack.
‘It’s possible to defend against them. Even obtaining a strong resistance effect requires tremendous effort.’
Facing the demons in the future, this would be an invaluable reward.
Ian, having confirmed the reward, lifted his gaze to those on the upper floor.
At the same moment, he saw it.
“Finally done.”
“…Really… you did it.”
Bianca, panting and smiling, and Baron Velos, struggling with his aching body, were there.
Ding!
[Quest completed!]
[You have obtained Unyielding Will!]
The notification that the City of Disaster, Brookers, was finished.
***
“Sister Bianca! Here you are! I was so worried running around recklessly.”
“…Oh… yeah.”
After the incident, Bianca was finally able to face her companions again.
Ariel approached with a bright smile while her companions, relieved, took a moment to catch their breath.
However, Bianca paid little attention to Ariel.
“Are you okay, Sister? Are you still upset? I’m sorry… but I had my reasons too.”
“I’m not angry. I’m just tired.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’d like to rest, so could you leave me alone for a bit?”
“Uh, okay.”
Bianca distanced herself from Ariel without any particular fuss.
While she was hurt, the feeling she had previously, where she smiled just by seeing Ariel, was now replaced with indifference.
In the past, just being near Ariel had made her feel secure and not lonely.
‘It’s different now. Rather…’
Because she felt comfortable being with Ian and Neltalion.
Though they hadn’t known each other for long, the brief time had made her realize that Ariel was not who she had thought she was.
‘I know it’s shameless and embarrassing to think this way after being hostile towards Ian just a few days ago.’
On the other hand, Bianca was also relieved to realize the truth, even if it was late.
‘If I had realized it a bit later…’
She might have developed a deeper relationship with Ariel.
Now, their relationship had evolved slightly from friends, but if she had learned Ariel’s true self after crossing boundaries, she might not have been able to endure it.
‘Looking back now, my father’s words were never wrong.’
After the incident, Bianca wandered through the now chaotic mansion and headed towards her father’s office.
Though it had changed considerably over time, the memories of this place remained unchanged.
Entering the room, Bianca touched the lower part of the right wall, lost in thought.
“I used to get scolded a lot here. If I caused trouble, I would be sent here to stand in the corner.”
Unlike the shrewd Vanessa, Bianca had a gentle nature.
Being gentle could be a compliment, but it could also mean being naive, couldn’t it?
Her father, a representative of dark magic, knew well how harsh the world could be, and he couldn’t leave Bianca to her own devices.
‘He always said that. I needed to become more ruthless. I had to build proper human relationships.’
The nagging of her father, which she had grown tired of, was not unpleasant to Bianca.
‘Thinking about it now, all those words were for my benefit…’
Even amidst his busy schedule, her father devoted himself to his daughter.
That’s why she had often followed his advice. Even when she knew he was working, she would visit him unannounced and boast about her progress in dark magic.
Every time, her father would sit her next to him and give her light praise.
‘…I miss him.’
Bianca wiped away tears that had started to flow and took out a photograph from her pocket.
A photo of her younger self being embraced and smiling by her father.
Bianca repeatedly stroked the old, faded photograph and opened her trembling lips.
“I’m here, Dad… It’s been a long time. I’ve grown a lot, haven’t I? I was so young the last time we met…”
Tears choked her voice, but she held back the sobs and looked around the space where she had spent time with her father.
‘He always used to sit me here and lecture me. To meet good people. To find someone I could rely on in society. That the true value of a person lies in being genuine and unmasked.’
Looking back now, she wondered if there could be anything more important to say in life.
At the same time, she felt ashamed. Despite all the advice she had heard, she had been with Ariel.
“But now, I’ve met someone I can rely on. I haven’t practiced dark magic much. But I’ve improved a lot compared to before. Would you like to see?”
Though her father was already gone and would not see it, who knew? Like the spirits she had communicated with, her father might be watching from somewhere.
Bianca gathered her mana. She hadn’t used it since the fall of her family, but there was no difficulty.
The spell she cast was “Memory Tracking”, a magic spell that allowed her to view the past through the eyes of the lingering spirits present in the area.
There were more complex spells, but the reason for choosing this one was simple.
‘Maybe I can see Dad.’
It was also a relief to recover a memory she might have lost forever.
Realizing that she had gathered enough mana, Bianca cast the spell.
At the same moment, her field of vision shifted.
Unlike the present, which had lost its light, the antique decorations and the light from the skylight remained as they were in her memories.
It was a moment to dive into nostalgia, but… unfortunately, she couldn’t.
“What… what are you talking about?”
‘I-Ian? Why are you…’
The sight before her made everything else fade away.
Ian stood before a man lying on the ground, bloodied, with his sword drawn and a trembling voice.
The man lying before him was…
“Dad?”
Her father, Count Matip.
Why? Why was Ian pointing a sword at her father?
In that moment of confusion, their voices were heard.
“Please… end my life.”
“I can’t. How could I kill you, Count Matip?”
“You must. It’s the only way to save my daughter… I beg you. Please.”
Her father gasped for breath as he pleaded.
“Kill me, Ian.”
