“I know where the hidden reward is.”

With a rough hand, the one that seems like the leader grabs my hair.

The man has bent his body forward and is looking down at me. His entire face is covered in a brown beard, like a darkish mushroom that grew in a public bathroom that hadn’t been cleaned for over 5 years.

In simpler words, frighteningly dirty.

“The hidden reward… what?"

“Yes, the secret hidden reward."

Honestly, I just said whatever came to mind at that moment. It’s a pretty common trope in LitRPG novels, a secret reward stashed away inside the tutorial.

If I had answered with something along the lines of ‘Please don’t kill me!’, I’d probably get beaten up. There’s also the fact that they have to bring me to the ‘fairy’ for some reason, so, for now, I have to say whatever I can to gain their interest.

The man looks around, before putting his face right next to mine.

“Well… where is it?"

The bait has been successfully bitten.

“The hidden reward is in Deksmakd."

“What?"

“Fodosl. The hidden reward is in Moekoew."

I swirl my tongue around in my mouth, spitting out a foreign sounding location.

Suddenly, from the right, one of the men approaches me, rearing a fist back.

“Do you think this is a fucking joke?!"

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Wait."

The leader puts a hand up, before looking at me. Through the dim lighting, I see a flash of greed in his eyes.

“Ah, do you not understand me? I’ll write it down."

Offering to write it down, I lower my body and write on the tiled floor. I don’t have any writing utensils, but there’s a lot of blood. Hopefully not mine.

Dipping my finger into a pool of blood, I draw a bunch of random squares and circles. After finishing, I slightly turn my vision to observe the reactions.

“What the…"

One of the men reaches into his pocket, pulling out a phone. After fiddling around, the flashlight setting is turned on.

“What the fuck is this?"

I clear my throat, trying my best to hide my smile.

“Gentlemen, it’s only natural that you are unable to understand. This is ancient fairy language, after all."

“F-Fairy language…?"

“The fuck?"

The men make a commotion, and before they reach the notion that they got ripped off, I speak again.

“In order to fully secure the hidden treasure, I had specifically used ancient fairy magic to seal it."

“Magic…"

“Yes, fairy magic."

If it isn’t obvious, this is a lie. If you're wondering why I specifically picked fairy magic, it’s because these men have already witnessed first hand the power of ‘fairy magic’.

“But how can you use fairy magic? Aren’t you a human like us?!"

One of the men pushes forward, spraying spit everywhere.

“Well, I’m actually a servant of the fairy that you saw before."

Immediately, the gazes of the men shrink, and a few even take a couple steps backwards. In their heads, they’ve made a connection, a false one.

“So that’s why she wanted us to bring you to her."

The one that seems to be the leader taps his chin, pretending to make a thoughtful expression.

“Say… Do we, uh, need to understand that ancient fairy language thing to get the hidden treasure?"

“Yes. Of course.”

“Then let’s make a deal… you bring us to the hidden reward and open it, and we won’t bring you to that fairy."

The man smiles, putting his yellowed teeth on full display.

“Deal."

As I say the words, I reciprocate the smile with one of my own.

He’s fallen for my lie nicely.

“I think we’re going to be good friends. So, where is this hidden treasure, exactly?"

“I’ll tell you the directions."

The man grabs my arm and forces me up. A horrible pain spreads from my left ankle, and I can't hold back my scream this time.

“Oh. Your leg is messed up.”

The man clicks his tongue.

“New guy! Support him."

“Yes sir."

A young man, who I assume to be the new guy, comes over to support me, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

[Overcame the crisis with cunning eloquence.]

[Warning. Actions taken during the tutorial will henceforth affect your stats.]