After walking a bit farther, a high wall came into view. The path they had been following led straight to a massive gate built into a long, seemingly endless wall that wrapped around like the Great Wall of China. What kind of obvious linear path was this? Usually, there were buildings along the sides of a road, weren’t there? This was blatant hand-holding.
[What brings you here?]
A large red emblem, shaped like a person wrapped in lotus petals, was painted on the gate. It appeared to be the insignia used by the merchant guild. The grand entrance, easily three times Jaheun’s height, was guarded by four gatekeepers. All of them were massive, burly men with fierce expressions. Jaheun responded just as the village chief had instructed.
“We’re workers from Gravekeeper Village.”
[Oh! Welcome. We’ve been short on hands, so this is perfect timing.]
The gatekeeper beamed and opened the door. Beyond the wall lay buildings, storage areas, all sorts of bundles and crates, and a bustling crowd of people. At a glance, it was clear the place was quite large. Whether this was always the case or just a result of the cleanup efforts was unclear, but it was definitely noisy and chaotic. Limousine had expected a base for bloodthirsty killers to be strictly run and orderly, so he was a little thrown off by the atmosphere that felt more like a high school sports day.
[The Chief Overseer is on the second floor of the main building. He’ll tell you what to do.]
Following the directions, they found the Chief Overseer, who greeted them enthusiastically. Looking like an overworked office employee, the overseer wasted no time in rattling off a list of tasks as if he’d been waiting for them.
[Welcome. We’ve got so much to do for this long-overdue cleanup, I didn’t know what to do. You two are a huge help! The most urgent tasks are the main courtyard cleanup and cleaning the interior of the Huá Shēng Hall. Sigh, but that’s not all—we also need to wash all the dishes from the Zhì Shí Hall, fix the gazebo roof by the back garden pond, and someone from the 6th Warehouse cleaning crew got food poisoning, so we need someone there too……]
It seemed any worry about being questioned for not being regulars was unnecessary—the guy clearly only cared about working them to the bone. From their side, it was a relief not to have to come up with any elaborate excuses.
Let’s split up and start looking for the insignias. Limousine and Jaheun exchanged glances and raised their hands.
“I’ll take the Huá Shēng Hall.”
“I’ll clean the courtyard.”
Not knowing what was what, they just picked whatever. The Chief Overseer gave them detailed directions for where to go. Once they left the main building, they parted ways at the entrance.
[Party] Limousine: Let me know if you find one
[Party] Jaheun: Okay
Jaheun, who had volunteered for the courtyard cleanup, had a shorter route than Limousine. He arrived quickly and, as instructed, first approached the head of sanitation, who was managing the courtyard.
The sanitation chief was a brash-looking middle-aged woman. She was in the middle of a scuffle with someone, and when the conversation didn’t go well, she smacked the other person on the head with such force it didn’t sound like human flesh hitting human flesh—it was more like a thunderclap. She spotted Jaheun shortly after.
[Who are you?]
“I’m a worker from Gravekeeper Village. The Chief Overseer told me to help with the courtyard cleanup.”
Do I get smacked like that if I mess up the cleaning? Can an NPC even hit your HP? Jaheun used the most polite tone he’d mustered in recent days. Whether she liked the courteous response or was just glad to have a new worker, the sanitation chief greeted him cheerfully.
[Finally, someone decent. Welcome! You came at the perfect time.]
It was probably the latter.
[Cleaning the courtyard may not look like much, but it takes a lot more effort than you’d think to do it properly. The area’s huge, and it’s a lot of work. Maybe that’s why no one seems to do it right.]
As the sanitation chief rambled, Jaheun casually glanced around. There were about ten NPCs who seemed to be involved in the courtyard cleaning. With that many people, he figured he could easily pretend to clean while sneaking around to look for the insignias.
No matter how hard it was, this was still a game, and NPCs existed to help the player. The problem was that the courtyard was too open—there was no obvious place to even guess where the insignia might be. Still, there had to be a reason the Chief Overseer had specifically assigned this area…… Could it be underground? Would it be too suspicious if he pretended to clean while digging around? Or maybe……
[So! I’ve come up with a brilliant idea.]
The sanitation chief’s voice suddenly rose, bringing with it the tension of a major announcement. Even Jaheun, who had been lost in thought, turned his attention to her.
[We’ll give a reward to whoever does the best job cleaning the courtyard!]
A reward? What kind of reward? True to his nature as a ranker, Jaheun stared at the sanitation chief, highly attuned to any mention of loot. The woman, brimming with confidence, pulled out a small doll from her coat. Even at a glance, it was clearly high quality.
[Behold…… a doll modeled after our merchant guild’s beloved Young Master Lìng Hóu! Complete with his autograph stitched into the inner lining!]
“……”
Jaheun’s face went cold. It was the most useless reward in the world.
In contrast, the surroundings erupted.
[Crafted with the utmost care by our guild’s top artisans…… This doll is classified as a premium-tier item in our catalog, and it even comes with a certificate of authenticity!]
[Wooooow!]
[Wooooow!]
From the sound of it, this ‘Lìng Hóu’ was incredibly popular among the merchant guild members. The sanitation chief hadn’t even finished speaking before the place exploded with cheers and applause. The courtyard instantly turned into a scene straight out of a bustling marketplace. Jaheun, clueless about the hype, was left completely out of place amidst the unexplained frenzy.
[Hey, why the long face? This is a Lìng Hóu doll we’re talking about!]
“Uh…… yeah……”
Even as the young NPC beside him tried to share the excitement, Jaheun just couldn’t join in. It was like accidentally ending up in the standing zone of a concert for a singer you’d never heard of. As he sat silently chewing on his loneliness, the youth who had spoken to him grew more desperate.
[Man, you’ve got no taste! That thing’s a treasure!]
“I mean……”
Jaheun’s patience finally snapped under the weight of what felt like a full-on otaku convention.
“It’s just a doll…… It’s not even useful.”
Unfortunately, that comment slipped out just as the crowd had begun to settle down again.
Meaning: everyone heard it.
[……]
[……]
A deadly silence fell over the courtyard.
Jaheun could feel he had seriously fucked up—but having just spoken his unfiltered, honest opinion, he had nothing more to add. A tragic display of poor social skills.
[So the new guy doesn’t like the reward, huh?]
The sanitation chief’s once-friendly face had completely vanished, replaced with a cold, cutting stare aimed straight at Jaheun. Maybe he should have just cheered a little. Regret came too late.
‘But I don’t even know who that is……’
Still hadn’t learned his lesson.
“……I still plan to clean properly.”
Under the strange pressure, Jaheun blurted out a promise he didn’t even mean. The sanitation chief scoffed in return. She radiated an intensity that allowed no room for excuses.
[Ha! If you want to get this doll, you’ll have to work twice as hard as anyone else. I’ll be watching you closely.]
But I said I didn’t even want it…… Jaheun was about to object again when a system notification popped up.
< Hidden Story: The Greatest Courtyard Cleaning Under Heaven >
Let’s all pitch in and clean up!
Earn Cleaning Points by pulling weeds, catching bugs, and sweeping.
The sanitation chief in charge has, for once, decided to offer a generous reward as motivation. Try your best to take 1st place and win the prize!
You must earn the most points within 2 hours.
Check the leaderboard in front of the courtyard for score updates.
(Due to story progression based on player choices, the difficulty has been increased. You must score more than double the second-highest score to be recognized as first place and claim the reward.)
– Achieve 1st place [0/1]
Warning! Failing the quest will result in expulsion from the Merchant Guild.
Ah. Fuck……
Shouldn’t they have shown that before the dialogue……?
💔
Jaheun, now forced into cleaning hell thanks to a completely avoidable social disaster, was left gnashing his teeth, while back on the other side, Limousine finally arrived at the Huá Shēng Hall. After entering the wrong halls several times due to the overwhelming number of them, he finally stood in front of the right one, grumbling the whole way.
Seriously, why the hell can’t this be in Korean if it’s a Korean game? Who even reads Chinese characters anymore?
Cursing the game’s lore, Limousine stepped into the Huá Shēng Hall, which appeared to be a type of dormitory. Judging from the interior—red lotuses carved into every pillar, gold-gilded murals on the walls—it seemed like it was reserved for those with high status.
“Supposed to clean the inside of this place……”
The Chief Overseer said to find the manager first. Limousine wandered around, looking for someone who looked like they were in charge. But all he saw were silent workers sweeping up here and there—no supervisor in sight.
This wasn’t going anywhere. Limousine started heading upstairs, on the logic that the higher up someone is, the higher up they physically live.
And the further he went, the more extravagant the decor became. Fabric woven with golden thread, curtains beaded with ruby-like jewels…… Limousine couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. This didn’t look like a place for a janitor’s office.
[Who are you?]
A chilling voice rang out from behind. Cold metal touched the side of his neck.
He froze, but his mind raced. NPC? Combat encounter? Could he use an invulnerable skill?
After weighing his options, Limousine decided to surrender. If this person had the authority to draw a weapon, they were likely from the merchant guild—attacking them wouldn’t end well. Even if he could kill them, what if they were flagged as non-attackable? He’d just raise aggro and get screwed.
[The top floor is strictly off-limits. If you were a regular worker helping with the cleaning, you would’ve spoken with the manager on the first floor.]
The manager wasn’t even there, and no one stopped me from coming up here…… Limousine had plenty to say in protest but didn’t dare speak them aloud. His instincts told him.
Say the wrong thing here, and you’re taking the hard route through this quest.
[Speak. If you lie, you’ll be executed on the spot.]
No way was he going to fail this early. He needed something plausible…… some reason he’d be allowed up here. Damn it—what about that stupid Rén Hé Sect insignia……
“In……”
[In?]
Wait, no—he couldn’t mention the insignia. He snapped out of it just in time to stop himself from saying something suicidal. What else started with ‘in’……? Pressured and panicked, Limousine’s brain short-circuited, and his mouth moved without approval.
“Interior designer.”
[Oh?]
That was…… truly…… the dumbest thing he could’ve said.