I'm the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I'm not the Mastermind

Chapter 2

Hidden piece.

A fragment hidden by the developer in the game, an Easter egg.

One that can only be discovered by satisfying certain intricate conditions deliberately hidden.

That was exactly what a 'hidden piece' was.

In the case of 'Hero of the Academy', special conditions like traits, items, combinations, quests, and more had to align perfectly for it to be unlocked.

While there were easy conditions, most required satisfying complex ones. Even...

'It's not always something good that gets unlocked.'

There were instances where one had to play with their total health reduced by 50%, or play while poisoned and constantly needing an antidote.

My current situation was probably one of those.

But.

"Who would have thought there'd be a hidden piece that forcibly changes your dialogue... Amazing."

Of course, it's not all bad.

Seeing a hidden piece that activates as soon as the game starts is a new experience for me.

About 1,950 hidden pieces still remained undiscovered.

Playing the game with this bizarre hidden piece, I might be able to discover dozens of them.

But...

'The biggest problem is that this is reality.'

Slit eyes, twisted speech, a constantly smiling face, and an ominous aura to boot.

At first glance, it's a suspicious character.

I had no idea how this hidden piece would affect future events.

"Well, no need to worry about that."

I've become a character in the game, and my speech is automatically corrected.

This is an undeniable reality.

It means I have no choice but to move forward.

There's a lot that's unpredictable, but fortunately, there's also a lot that is predictable.

After all, I'm a veteran player of this game.

With that thought, I felt at ease.

It seemed more due to the power of the [Mental Defense] skill than having organized my thoughts.

"Anyway... what should I do next?"

'Hero of the Academy' is a game based on progressing through quests.

One progresses by clearing given quests and receiving rewards, or intentionally failing them to receive penalties.

'If there's no quest, the range of hidden pieces I can utilize decreases...'

That's when it happened. A large blue window popped up before my eyes.

[For the Sake of Clearing]

-You have been invited into the game for satisfying special conditions.

You know too much about the game, hence a penalty is imposed.

Penalty: A hidden boss appears.

When the main characters enter each episode's boss room, a portal to the hidden boss room opens.

Inside the portal, a hidden boss stronger than the original boss exists.

(The abilities of the hidden boss can be checked in the information window.)