Chapter 27: A Hidden Room (1)
Jake was cutting down a tree while Richard casually sat behind him for a talk.
"Oh, so you're already adapting to the new schedule?" Richard asked after learning about Jake going to college.
He had noticed that Jake had been off his game schedule for a few days and had only logged in to spend time with Odin and the crafting table, which was again so unlike him.
Jake explained that he had to choose between working or continuing his studies.
After Richard learned that Jake's father had convinced him to study more, the newbie developed a respect for Edward, as he knew how difficult it was to persuade Jake.
"I won't log in in the mornings and early afternoon. And I decided to attend the archery club on Monday and Wednesday, so I will probably log in during the evenings on these days. I also will see how my studies go and how much time assignments take me, so this schedule is just a mere skeleton," Jake said.
Richard hummed, "What are you going to study?"
"A human," Jake replied.
"What? Really?" Richard blinked, confused.
"Ah, I mean humanities," Jake smiled and corrected himself before sweeping his steel ax to cut down the tree and explaining what humanities covered.
This course included classes that Jake believed would help him in the game. Of course, he took his father's advice to heart and considered his future, but it was hard to think of anything other than archery and the game's content.
Once he put his heart into something, he would really go for it—that was what Jake had to fix in his adult life.
The problem was that he didn't know what he wanted to do in the future. It was a typical problem for many people his age, and lots of answers just told him to try anything at this point.
Which brought Jake to humanities classes that should give him a view of new possibilities and also somewhat aid him on his path to the top in the Legend Enigma Online. Just history alone should help Jake learn from people's past mistakes and prevent him from repeating them.
Since the game was based on medieval times with the touch of magic and old, unique culture inspired by the old times, Jake believed his plans were viable.
Richard nodded, "There's a saying that those who don't know history know nothing about themselves. Sounds to me like you've made a good choice."
Jake swung his ax for the last time, took a few steps back not to get injured from the tree's fall, and replied, "Thanks."
He wiped the sweat off his brow. Once the tree fell, Jake would ask Richard for help to bring it to their safe zone to manufacture various utensils, arrows, and convenient stuff.
That said, today's tree was quite different.
On the stub, Jake could see various rainbow sparkles. It was odd cause he had never seen it before.
[You have found a hidden room related to your legendary quest, Legendary Summons Quest.]
Excitement overtook Jake as the secret quest had been triggered! It washed all his exhaustion and even seemed to have filled his stamina bar!
Turning to look over his shoulder at the newbie helper, Jake asked, "Is that why you told me to start cutting down a path here?"
Richard raised his hands to fake ignorance, "I didn't know about a hidden room at all."
Jake chuckled, "Liar."
It was a room related to the legendary quest, but anyone cutting down the trees would have been able to find it.
Perhaps whatever was hidden inside that room had different uses depending on a player's status and quests, but Jake was nearly convinced that Richard had purposely told him to start making a path toward the Unconquerable Mountain here because of it.
He put his hand on the stub, prompting a game system window.
[Would you like to enter the hidden room?]
"So it's a teleportation. Right, I'll rest and then enter the room.]
[You have denied the prompt.]
Resting and preparing for the hidden room would take him an hour.
It was mainly because Jake wanted to summon his pet to tell him about the potential battle. He also didn't think he'd fight today as it wasn't in his plans, so Jake decided to warm up his battle instincts before heading for the hidden quest.
Upon receiving a call, Odin appeared beside his master and instantly rushed to his side to nudge his nose into his leg.
Odin hadn't been summoned during Jake's stubborn soldier arc, which made him feel abandoned. After all, he was just a puppy, so anything too abrupt in his life was too influential on his heart.
In a nutshell, he felt lonely.
Jake did his best to fix that.
"I'll enter the hidden room," Jake said while patting the wolf's head, "I'll probably need your help, so prepare for a battle and be ready to accept my call at a moment's notice."
Woof! Odin decisively replied.
Beside them, Richard warmly smiled at the duo.