Chapter 37: Twilight Guide’s Secret

Clatter!

I picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground.

Twilight Guide.

‘Is that the name of this sword?’

There was a groove on the back of the blade, shaped like a key, so I guessed it was a quest item to be given to an NPC.

‘Then maybe the owner was nearby?’

But there was no one in the desert.

It was a strange situation since the NPC should have appeared by now.

“Sigh… I can’t believe my well-earned strike was a self-destruct. Does that mean every time I attack, I have to self-destruct? What is this, seriously!”

“Pfft. It was kinda cool, wasn’t it? It wasn’t bad!”

“Not bad my foot! Anyway, let’s go back, User! The dungeon’s over! Let’s go!”

“Let’s go! The dungeon’s over!”

Gobori and Rose spoke.

But we didn’t return to the stage.

I tilted my head, puzzled by the strange situation.

“Isn’t there something going on? That’s why we’re not going back, I think.”

“Huh? Nah, it’s just a famous bug in this dungeon!”

“A bug?”

“Yeah! Ever since the old days, there’s been a bug where you can’t return from this dungeon. We kept asking for a fix, but Valhalla just left it as is. Isn’t that typical Valhalla?”

Rose shrugged as she answered.

‘So it was just a bug?’

Unable to accept that explanation, I held up the sword and asked, “Then what about this sword? It wouldn’t have just appeared for no reason.”

“Hahaha! You think other users didn’t wonder the same? They guessed it was related to the sword, maybe a hidden event, but nothing ever came out of it. That sword? If you go to the next dungeon, there’s an NPC who buys it for 30,000 gold. That’s its purpose, yep.”

“That’s all? Just sell it for 30,000 gold?”

“It’s a whopping 30,000 gold! That’s pretty generous early on!”

Gobori’s eyes went wide as he said.

[Mission Clear!]

[+1,000 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+290 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+130 Steel Shard]

[+100 Diamonds]

[+15 General Cards]

The screen simply displayed the list of rewards obtained.

Remembering something, I continued speaking, “Right. Like last time with the Orc, if we wait… if we keep waiting, maybe something…”

“Yeah. Other users tried that. Nothing happened even after 24 hours.”

Rose flatly denied it.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment.

“User! The dungeon’s over! Let’s go!”

“That guy’s got no chill! Stop going AFK! There’s nothing there, so why keep holding out!”

Gobori and Rose shouted.

But I couldn’t let it go.

I kept switching between the desert and the screen, doing various things.

“Huh?”

Then I noticed something strange.

I compared the screen and the desert as I walked, and finally found the spot where both backgrounds matched perfectly.

A wild dog’s head statue at three o’clock.

A broken wing statue at nine o’clock.

The scene matched the background exactly as seen on the screen.

Standing here, I could see the exact same scene as the screen.

“But one thing.”

One difference.

Every statue in the dungeon was facing left, but the statue shown on the screen was facing right.

‘Could this be a hint?’

It was the only difference in a perfectly matching scene.

“Ugh! It’s so hot! Hot! I’m dying!”

“You’ll cool off if you die. Want to try?”

“Shut up! Psychopath goblin!”

“No use worrying about it.”

Rose and Gobori chuckled.

I immediately approached the hawk statue, trying to turn it to face the same direction as on the screen, but “ᄀᄀᄋᄋ.

It didn’t budge.

It seemed my strength alone wasn’t enough.

“What are you doing, bro? Sweating in this heat?”

“Look! Our Dolsoe has gone mad! It’s this hot here!”

Gobori and Rose said.

Huff

***

After struggling for a while, I gave up.

It was impossible with my strength.

Unless Pae wang or Kkotdori came, there was no way to move the statue.

“Huff. I just thought the statue was strange. Wanted to see if there was something here. There doesn’t seem to be a hole to fit a key, right?”

“The statue’s strange? How?”

“Huh? Well…”

I hesitated for a moment, embarrassed.

Oh no.

That was a mistake.

The statues on the screen and in the dungeon faced different directions.

‘How was I supposed to explain that?’

“Huh? Really?”

“Eh? It’s true.”

Both of them also noticed something was off.

‘What was it?’

Just as I was about to ask what they figured out, “Wow! Bro! You’ve got incredible eyesight! Only this statue’s shadow is strange! The sun’s on the right, but the shadow’s on the right too!”

“You saw that? Not even a centimeter difference? Amazing!”

Gobori and Rose shouted.

‘The shadow was strange?’

Ah.

It was true.

Since the sun was high in the sky, the shadows were short, but the hawk statue’s shadow was cast to the right—the same side as the sun.

Opposite of the screen’s statue.

That was an impossible scene in reality.

[Huh? This statue! Something’s off!]

‘Hmm?’

Then the characters on the screen started speaking.

The first to speak was Ghost Gobori.

[Oh! Really?]

Rose’s character also displayed text.

‘Could it be…’

If this was an Easter Egg that required the heroes’ help?

If it was a strategy that required cooperation between the user and the heroes?

I could also get involved.

Looking at the air, I shouted loudly, “User! This statue is strange! Please help us!”

[This statue is odd! We need help!]

My character on the screen said.

I was basically talking to myself, but if this was a strategy, something should happen.

[It seems the heroes have discovered something!]

The statue on the screen glowed with a golden light.

‘Was this a signal to click it?’

I rapidly clicked the sparkling statue.

Kugugu…!

The statue in the dungeon began to shake, following my finger.

“Oh! It’s moving! The statue is moving!”

“User, you’re controlling it! You heard our voices!”

Rose and Gobori cheered.

[Oh! The statue is moving! The statue is moving!]

[Press faster! The statue is moving!]

The characters on screen added to the encouragement.

Right.

This was the hidden event’s strategy.

The heroes gave hints, and the user moved the statue.

It was a strategy requiring cooperation.

“Faster! Move the statue!”

[Faster! The statue is moving!]

I urged myself on, continuing the interaction.

I mashed the screen rapidly without letting them notice, and

Kugugu… Kwang!

Finally, the statue buried in the sand lifted into the air.

“Oh!”

Thunk!

Then the airborne statue fell down.

It was the moment the statue, buried in the sand, revealed its full body.

[Unearthed a Mysterious Statue!]

“We did it! Cleared the hidden content!”

“What? What’s the reward? Give it quickly!”

Gobori and Rose cheered.

“Bro! Look! Look there!”

At that moment, Gobori pointed at something.

The full-body hawk statue revealed on the sand.

On its chest was a hole shaped like it could fit a key.

It matched perfectly with the sword I held.

“This was the bait? Are we solving it?”

“Wow! As expected of you, User! Solving even the unsolved bait! Truly legendary!”

Rose and Gobori gushed excitedly.

[Discovered the statue’s keyhole!]

[Used Twilight Guide]

***

At the same time, a message appeared on the screen.

It meant I should use ‘Twilight Guide’.

When I pressed the keyhole on the screen, the key in my hand flew up.

Click! Kugugu…

Then it turned by itself, opening a door on the statue.

The massive statue opened, releasing a brilliant golden light.

[Achievement: Discovered the Chamber of Gold and Sun.]

[First Server Achievement Unlocked!]

[+100 Diamonds]

Thunk!!

And just like that, I returned to the stage.

“Oh!”

“Ooh!”

“Oooooh!”

The three of us marveled as we returned.

Dulv, watching nearby, also couldn’t hide his amazement.

“Oh! Amazing! A strategy where heroes and user unite to solve something! I’ve never seen this before!”

“Wow! This is an achievement no one else but our User could have cleared! Listening to the heroes’ voices—this is totally our User’s style!”

Dulv and Gobori said.

“What’s the reward? What did we get? Show me quick! What did we get!”

Rose flapped her wings excitedly.

Well.

Since it was such a complex structure, the reward should be substantial, right?

I checked the rewards on the screen.

‘Huh?’

But there was nothing special.

Only the diamonds from the achievement, no special rewards.

[Available Expedition Areas]

[LV. 41: Raging Spirit Maw]

[LV. 45: Chamber of Gold and Sun] [Special!]

[LV. 43: Golden Palm Oasis]

Ah.

But there was one difference.

The dungeon called ‘Chamber of Gold and Sun’ that hadn’t been there moments ago was now available.

Since it was labeled ‘Special,’ this dungeon was probably the reward.

“Maybe the true reward was the trust between us and the User. This was just the chance to confirm that.”

“This crazy goblin is talking nonsense again. That’s not a reward, is it?”

Gobori and Rose bickered.

Fine.

No reason to hesitate before the reward.

I controlled the screen and headed to the dungeon.

Thunk!

“Oh?”

“What is this? What kind of dungeon is this?”

***

As we entered, the two of them tilted their heads.

The dungeon began in pitch darkness.

It started on pitch-black stairs.

Behind us was an exit with light, probably inside the statue we just opened.

“Oh. Could this be inside the statue we just opened? A special dungeon. This must be the reward?”

I said slyly to start the conversation.

“So this dungeon is the reward? Oh! Looks like it! It’s my first time seeing this place too!”

“Pfft. I’m curious. Should we go down?”

“Haha! I, Gobori, will lead! Let’s go!”

Excited Gobori took the first step.

Though the blackness made it hard to see the ground, the golden sword in my hand shone softly.

It seemed it had returned to my hand after opening the statue.

“Oh?”

“Huh?”

Gradually, the surroundings brightened.

The walls all around were made of gold.

Every stair was made of gold.

The light from the ‘Twilight Guide’ spread, illuminating the entire area.

“Wow. This is all gold. Amazing.”

“Hmph. They made it flashy. Can’t take it anyway. Just a carrot on a stick.”

Gobori and Rose muttered.

True enough.

The gold here was a backdrop created by Valhalla, an illusion, so no point in coveting it.

We all took it lightly and continued down the stairs.

Crunch, crunch… crunch, crunch…

“Huh?”

But then a strange noise spread around.

It sounded like hundreds of bugs crawling.

A sharp sound climbing up the stairs.

“Something’s coming up?”

“Hey! Turn on some lights before we start! Why are you setting a horror mood like this!”

Gobori and Rose tensed up.

Gripping the golden sword, they stared ahead.

They intended to fight using the sword to light the way as much as possible.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch!

“Eeek!”

“What the heck is that!”

Soon, countless golden lumps climbed up the stairs.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch!

But they weren’t real gold lumps.

They were bugs with exteriors resembling gold.

“Phew, beetles! Man-eating beetles!”

“Aren’t those the ones that eat flesh? I’ve got no flesh! Yikes!”

Gobori and Rose seemed familiar with them.

They raised shields to block the front.

“Gobori!”

“Yes, yes?”

“When I give the signal, start bombing them! I’ll take care of the front!”

“Understood, bro!”

Gobori snapped to attention.

“Rose! Stick to me! Don’t fall behind!”

“Keep them from getting on me! I’ve got nothing to eat, so they’ll kill me instantly!”

Rose clung on, terrified.

Huff

The stairs were narrow, so the enemies could only come from one direction.

I raised my shield and took a deep breath.

We had to suppress them quickly using this narrow passage.

“Fire!”