In the gaming world, we call hidden items, spaces, or skills that developers intentionally place as "hidden pieces." Though difficult to find, they're meant to be discovered, so it's beneficial for us to utilize them.
Messages hidden according to developer intentions are called "Easter eggs." While rarely helpful for gameplay itself, they reveal background information or hidden content, making them worthwhile discoveries.
And then there are things unintentionally created by developers—errors or bugs. If they significantly impact gameplay, we call them cheats. Of course, if the developer approves of the bug, it could be called emergent gameplay, but if neither intended nor approved, it's simply a cheat.
A system error. An item accidentally created without developer intent. A mistake born between the spaces of 0s and 1s. In that sense, this object was both a bug and a cheat.
That's why it shouldn't be here. This is reality, after all. A world where errors, bugs, and such things shouldn't exist.
While hidden pieces and Easter eggs can be rationalized as belonging in their spaces, errors cannot. The space itself feels alien and doesn't match the concept of Chunghoe Castle. It's literally just a hole that appeared suddenly, nothing more, nothing less.
"Then what is this?"
Thanks to this, I briefly wondered:
"Is this place really inside a game?"
Perhaps I wasn't transmigrated to another world, but simply fell into a game. Not a world of atoms and particles, but one of 0s and 1s. Those I thought were people are merely electronic brains, and everyone except me is a virtual character. In that case, such errors would naturally exist, like wall-glitch bugs in games.
But after thinking briefly, I shook my head.
"No, that's not it..."
I'm overthinking this. Without proper evidence, such thoughts only give me headaches. And though I have no proof... I wanted to believe this world was another real world. That way, what I'm doing would at least seem meaningful.
Anyway, moving on.
The effect of this broken text item was simple: nullifying the Authority of the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King, and causing temporary unconsciousness. For a bug item, its effect was tremendous. Sometimes, thanks to the nullification effect, I could easily take down the Four Heavenly Kings. When they're incapacitated for minutes, imagine how much damage I could inflict.
But I hadn't used this item much. It had a fatal flaw.
"It brings back memories."
When I first discovered this item and used it out of curiosity, I was amazed by its incredible power and uniqueness. Initially, I thought it was a hidden piece left by the developers.
[Inappropriate play detected!]
[Deleting character for sanctions!]
If only that damn message hadn't appeared.
"What the hell?"
That's how my character died. The cause of death wasn't a fierce battle with the Demon King or the end of the world, but administrative sanctions.
I think that was after defeating the third of the Four Heavenly Kings. It had taken me two weeks just to get that far. But the developer bastard deleted my character just for using one item.
Having wasted two weeks, I naturally sent a complaint email to the development company. How could they do this? I didn't know. Isn't it your fault for not preventing the error? No one could stop my fury then. I even sent a 5,700-character complaint.
But the response was:
[Action not possible.]
[We apologize, user. Our development company has a policy of unconditional suspension for using this item.]
That was it. Essentially saying I used the bug, so I should accept the consequences. Looking back now... why did I even play such a crappy game? I couldn't understand myself.
Anyway, from then on, I started carrying this unidentified item whenever I found it. Sometimes I even organized and saved the locations where this bug appeared.
Partly to spite the developers... and because while using it was problematic, simply carrying it wasn't an issue. And even considering character deletion, I couldn't give up the item's effectiveness.
Using it almost certainly meant deletion, but I could still defeat the boss before that happened. Whenever I faced a life-threatening crisis, I always used it. If I was going to die either way, I wanted to take down at least one more boss.
So that's what this item was. Something that could turn the tide of battle, but also destroy oneself in the process.
"Wait, then..."
My thoughts naturally continued.
"What happens if I use it here?"
Shivers ran down my spine. Could it be that if I use it here, I'll be deleted too? The stone before me suddenly looked like a harbinger of doom.
"...I'll take it for now."
Despite everything, I put the stone in my pocket.
[▣△뭻▲※궯#@&∑ 흭?듫밻]
It seemed too valuable to leave behind. And as long as I just carried it, there wouldn't be any problems.
"I should buy a personal subspace later."
I muttered as I left that strange space. My current bag has spatial magic on it, but since it's shared with the team, I'm hesitant to put it in there.
"Hero! Hero, where are you?"
As I returned to where I was before, I heard someone calling for me. Looking around, I saw the Saintess searching for me. It seems the bedroom exploration was finished.
I went behind her and lightly tapped her shoulder.
"I'm right here."
"Eek! You scared me! Hero, where were you to suddenly appear like that? My heart nearly stopped."
She was startled as if she'd seen a ghost. I thought I was being considerate in my approach, but she was that surprised...
I pointed to the hole I had just come out of.
"I was in there."
"Huh? Where?"
"Look, right there. That hole."
"Where exactly..."
She stared at the wall with the hole for a long time. The hole was right below her line of sight. Despite the answer being right in front of her, she couldn't find it for a long time.
"...Ah!"
After a long while, she finally discovered the hole and was startled.
"What... what is that!?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Why is it emitting such an ominous aura...? Is it connected to the Demon King's room or something...?"
"What are you..."
At this point, I felt something was off. I couldn't help but notice.
Her inability to find the hole for so long, and her trembling with fear upon discovering it—it all seemed unnatural. Especially since there was only a small stone inside.
"There must be some mechanism in place."
If I had to describe it, it seemed like recognition hindrance and cognitive distortion magic were applied. Certainly, with such protection, it felt extremely suspicious.
"I'll have to investigate this later."
Having decided this, I rejoined the party members with her. As we approached the entrance to the Audience Chamber, I could see them gathered together, chatting.
"So, Lily, your group's only findings were a few strange books?"
"Yes! I was hoping for magic texts, but all we found were novels! And the content was so weird—some kid not even 20 suddenly becomes the world's strongest Archmage—"
"Well, it seems your side didn't have much luck. Don't worry though, our side had quite a good harvest. If we sell all this, we won't have to worry about budget for a while."
They were sharing their results with each other. I joined in and passed off the laboratory results appropriately. Besides what I had hidden away, there were plenty of reagents and books to share. I could just hand over enough research materials to satisfy them.
After tallying our farming results, we prepared to leave.
"Well, we've defeated the enemy and gathered valuable items... let's prepare to return."
"Really?!"
Lily continued with a bright face.
"Ah~ Finally leaving this wretched place! I was about to go insane, I tell you! I'm never even looking in the direction of this castle again!"
It seems her experience at Chunghoe Castle was truly terrible. Well, spending all day surrounded by bugs with no clean spaces would be mentally taxing. The others seemed to feel the same, with faint smiles appearing on their faces.
"Ah, finally..."
The Saintess's reaction was particularly noteworthy. Beyond just smiling, she even shed tears of joy. Her sapphire eyes, moist with emotion, held a depth even I couldn't fathom.
Is she that happy? Well, given how much she hates bugs, her feelings might be especially profound. We were finally returning to the Empire.
But unlike their feelings, my heart was only troubled.
"...Sigh."
So we're going to the Empire after all. I've endured their unfair treatment diligently. Now it's time to endure the nation's unfair treatment.
Moreover, thinking about having to cut out those corrupt nobles already gave me a headache.