Chapter 8: The Unrecovered Plot Point

***

Even as I approached the Virgin City Tower without any warning messages appearing, I felt my heart throb for the first time. When I realized that no one was guarding the main gate, I felt a second jolt in my chest. The third time was when I couldn’t sense any signs of life inside the damaged building. The fourth time was when I discovered the boss’s room, which was still intact. And the fifth time,

"Wow... it’s really here."

When I found a small safe, about the size of a mini-fridge, my heart leaped. The memory was accurate. I recalled the boss saying, “Well, I should at least take the safe...” when he heard that two people were right outside the door, fumbling around.

I placed the safe on the table and gently touched it. It looked quite solid, made of iron, but for some reason, I felt I could break it.

This villain3 I possess (who is now a square-jawed man) has the characteristic of being "slightly strong." In this manga, characters described as "strong" can easily lift boulders the size of a house.

'Should I try breaking it?'

I grabbed the top of the safe and applied a little force.

Then,

Crack.

The safe crumpled instantly.

"Ah, as expected."

I might even be able to tear it open.

After a few minutes of wrestling, I managed to open the safe’s door wide.

"Wow..."

Inside the safe, stacks of cash were neatly piled up. Next to them were bags, ready for easy transport.

"How much is all this?"

At a glance, there were dozens of stacks of bills.

Of course, I couldn’t immediately determine the exact amount. I only knew that the currency unit here was "gold," and this was the first time I had seen actual bills.

"Well, I can count them slowly."

I hummed a little tune as I gathered the money.

When I slung the bag full of money over my shoulder, a sense of fulfillment welled up from deep within my chest. It felt like a ray of light had pierced the difficult path of survival.

But right then,

Thud, thud.

The sixth thing that made my heart race happened.

And this time, the tremor was far more intense than the previous five. My heart nearly dropped.

"Excuse me, are you a thief?"

It was the first time. I was so startled that my body froze.

I tried to calm my racing heart and stiffly turned my head back.

A man stood where my gaze fell. He was neatly dressed in a suit, with eyes that were horizontally elongated, a typical "slit-eyed" character.

He was looking at me with a strange smile.

"Don’t worry. I don’t really plan to do anything to you."

"..."

His calm tone did little to calm my heart. Instead, it raced even more.

The reason was simple. I recognized him.

"Do you have anything else in the bag besides the money?"

"..."

Instead of answering, I slowly shook my head.

"Can I check?"

Nod, nod.

I put the bag down and took two steps back.

He approached and opened the bag.

"You’ve packed it well."

"..."

"By the way, how did you get here? Do you have some connection with the mafia? Or perhaps your true identity is...?"

I calmed my racing heart and managed to speak.

"Just... a thief... that’s all."

"Hmm."

The name of the slit-eyed character in front of me is Haka. He is an extremely mysterious character. His true identity is so shrouded in mystery that even I, who read the manga almost to the end, hardly knew anything about him.

To put it simply, he is the first "unrecovered plot point" in this adventure.

From the beginning, he was portrayed as someone with great potential, but he disappeared without a trace, leaving no impact. In my opinion, it was clearly the author’s mistake, but according to the author’s logic, he was one of the characters who couldn’t prove their worth and thus disappeared.

Over time, he lost his early charm and began to show all sorts of bizarre behaviors. He went from being ruthless, sinister, and playfully murderous to a comical character.

The author probably couldn’t help it. There must have been a story prepared for him, but for various reasons, it was left untouched. After that, he became a character that was hard to use. The only option was to use him as a comedic character.

However,

"Actually, that was a lie. I do plan to do something to you."

But for now, he wasn’t showing any bizarre behavior.

At least the current Haka is a highly mysterious and threatening character, powerful enough to threaten even the main characters.

"I’m sorry, but I do need to do something to you."

He smiled and slowly approached.

What should I do?

A warning bell rang in my head. Be careful, or you might really be killed.

I steadied myself.

'It’s still okay. There’s a chance.'

This guy is dangerous, but he’s also a bit eccentric. From what I remember, he doesn’t kill people outright.

"I’ll give you a chance. It would be too unfair to end it here. I’ll give you a riddle. If you solve it, I’ll let you go. If not, well... you know."

Right, just like now.

The absurd and sudden riddle proposal. But this is one of his habits and one of the main settings the author intended for this character.

When I nodded, he smiled and gave me the riddle.

"I have four brothers, making us a total of five. I am skilled in deception, trickery, and sowing discord, and I love hide-and-seek. I always look at the world with three questions in mind. Who am I?"

"Do you know the answer?"

I remained silent.

In fact, I knew the answer as soon as I heard the riddle. This was one of his regular riddles.

But I hesitated because I didn’t know how many people at this point could solve it.

The answer to this riddle, the "creatures," only appear in the middle to late parts of the story. Their "lair" is on the opposite side of the Westland where the main characters are currently traveling. Even there, they are described as a legendary race, so rare that they are hardly seen.

To be honest, it was almost a setting error for this character to ask about them at this point. The fact that he has a connection to them is even more questionable.

If I had to guess why this setting was applied... perhaps the author, after conceiving this race, wanted to use it immediately and decided to reveal it through this character. Since this character was the most mysterious at this point, the author probably thought it could be resolved later.

However, this setting ended up being a curse for the character. If it remains unresolved for years in the main story, it becomes a plot point, not a plot point.

Anyway, solving the riddle wasn’t the problem. The problem was whether I could survive this unpredictable character.

"Silence means you don’t know the answer, right? Then, unfortunately, this is where it ends."

But I had no other choice.

I muttered as I looked at the approaching character.

"Kobold."

"Then, goodbye... huh?"

"Kobold, kobold. Is that right?"

"Wha... what?"

"Can I go now?"

I quickly slung the bag over my shoulder while he was taken aback.

"Wait, wait!"

He urgently grabbed me.

"One more! Can you tell me about the five gods of the kobolds, their unique abilities? If you can answer this, I’ll let you go!"

Is he serious?

Of course, the answer was easy.

"Trickster god, liar god, capricious god, braggart god, spoiler god."

"..."

"Is that right? I’m going."

He seemed shocked. He stood there, mouth agape, as I grabbed the bag and left the room. Perhaps there was a setting conflict in his mind.

In any case, it was a very fortunate turn of events for me.

'I need to run, right?'

I immediately started running as fast as I could.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was chasing me.

A while later.

When I returned to Rosemary’s shop, I reflected on my encounter with the character.

I met an unexpected character and was in danger of dying, but I managed to survive unexpectedly easily.

At that moment, I had a rather positive thought.

'Could this be a good thing?'

Regardless of whether it would lead to anything, this character appears quite often in the early chapters. He also has a significant influence in episodes related to the "Black Shadow." One of his many identities is a "Black Shadow Secret Agent," so his appearance here is likely related to that.

If he remembers my existence, could I become a new plot point?

Another thought.

If I pick up this "unrecovered plot point" and weave it into the story?

'The author might like it.'

Not just him, but as I move forward, there will be many plot points that remain unrecovered. If I can weave them into my story, I might gain the author’s favor and the readers’ as well.

After all, plot points are elements that attract readers’ attention. When a plot point becomes a subplot and the subplot becomes part of the main story, all the spotlight will be on the character at the center of it.

Right, me.

"Hmm."

Of course, it was just an idea for now. I needed to carefully observe the situation and make a judgment.

I decided to stop thinking about the character. It wouldn’t lead to any conclusion anyway.

And to be honest, the loot I brought back kept distracting me.

I smiled and opened the bag.

I’ll count the money first.

*

"Mr. Square-Jaw! Goodbye!"

"Sure, take care."

I greeted Rosemary, who had come to see me off, and climbed onto the horse I had prepared.

Still calling me "Square-Jaw" to the end.

Despite multiple requests to change it, she stubbornly refused. Her brazen face was an added bonus.

Of course, there was no serious problem with her intelligence. It was probably a system setting. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of being mocked.

Hmm.

In any case, it was time to leave.

I unfolded the map Rosemary had given me.

I was curious about how the map of the unexplored areas would look, but it was disappointingly simple.

The terrain was vaguely drawn, with large and small dots scattered here and there, indicating the size of the cities.

"Well, at least I have this."

I already knew the direction to the major city.

I put the map away and immediately set the horse in motion.

Three hours later.

I arrived at "Big City," the largest city in the area. The name was absurdly straightforward.

When I entered the city, I was surprised by two things.

First, the vast difference in the level of civilization between cities.

This is possible because this is a world from a manga. Despite being called a city, the only advanced technology in Virgin City was guns. Horses and carriages were the primary means of transportation.

However, this city was completely different. Cars and trams were running right in front of me, and the people’s clothing was much more modern. Despite not being far away.

Second, the city’s appearance was not unfamiliar.

This was quite puzzling. I had never seen this city in the manga because the main characters had never been there.

Some buildings and places were so familiar that I could recall the scenes where they appeared.

After some thought, I came to a conclusion.

This city is a patchwork of the various cities I have seen in the manga.

"Amazing."

In a way, it makes sense. This city exists in the author’s mind as a "major city" or a "modern civilization city." Without a specific design, it would naturally be a rough composition of the cities in the manga.

As a result, I easily found my destination.

[Big City Special Potions Shop]

As expected. The special potion shops that occasionally appeared in the manga usually had a unique and intuitive appearance. They were designed so that anyone could recognize their purpose at a glance. There was one similar to this here.

I immediately entered the building shaped like a large bottle.

Special potions that modify humans and grant supernatural powers artificially. Just the description sounds illegal and like something that would be sold on the black market, but in reality, it’s the opposite.

The interior was very sophisticated, with employees greeting me with wide smiles. The products were neatly displayed, from bestsellers to new arrivals, and there were even discount items.

Even more,

"Customer, are you looking for something?"

"Um... I’ll just look around for now."

"Sure, let me know if you need anything."

Even the employees were following me, which was a bit overwhelming.

I quickly avoided the employee and started browsing the potions in a corner.

After a while,

"Hmm."

I was a bit surprised. The product descriptions were much more detailed than I expected.

In the manga, special abilities don’t play a significant role. "Unique abilities," which are more advanced, exist, so special abilities are mostly used by early villains.

Of course, there is an episode in the middle where a character with a special ability becomes the main focus, but the emphasis is more on the character’s personal history than the ability itself.

In other words, the manga never introduced the settings of special abilities in such detail.

However, the descriptions were filled with information about the abilities granted by the potions, their utility and limitations, duration, whether they are one-time use, and side effects. Honestly, before seeing this, I didn’t even know there were one-time use potions and permanent ones.

There were thousands of special potions just in the display. If all these potions were different and each had its own detailed description, it would mean the author had created an enormous amount of settings for special abilities. It could be several hundred pages of A4 paper.

My surprise didn’t end there.

"Wow... crazy."

I doubted my eyes.

"Ten million gold?"

A set of ten one-time use special potions cost ten million gold. I had taken five million gold from the mafia’s safe,

What, what, it wasn’t even a potion that granted a significant ability. The potion was called [Ugh! Smelly Grasshopper Potion], which allowed the user to emit a foul odor for less than an hour.

And this was the cheapest one. The more powerful and longer-lasting ones were so expensive that I couldn’t even buy a few individually.

'I’m in trouble.'

I had planned to stock up on useful special abilities to prepare for future chapters... but it seemed I needed to revise my plan.

I fell into deep thought.

What should I do now?

Of course, the answer was simple.

I needed to earn more money. I still had plenty of time.

The problem was the method.

"Phew..."

After much deliberation, I bought two special potions, spending a whopping three million gold. It was almost 60% of my total wealth, but I had no choice. It seemed to be the fastest and simplest way.

I looked at the two special potions in my hand.

[Hehe, Can’t See Me! Invisibility Potion] and [Yap, Get Light! Weight Reduction Potion].

"Whatever. I’ll figure it out somehow."

My plan was simple.

Rob a bank.