The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 206

With the adventure complete, Seol, Yeo-myeong, and Filia returned to a nearby location.

“Thanks,” Filia told Seol. “I was quite confident before, but… it seems I wasn’t nearly as strong as I thought I was.”

"Filia..." Yeo-myeong nodded in agreement. "Seriously, hyung, how did you get so strong? I was confident in the effort I put in, but it didn’t even come close to matching yours."

The two had undoubtedly gone through trials, it just came nowhere close to what Seol had gone through.

‘I’ve been through a lot, yeah…’

Seol understood the importance of pushing yourself at the lower levels, as it made you much stronger in the long run.

He felt the significance of this once again.

“I’ll be going then,” said Filia. “I have somewhere to go to right away. Thanks for everything, Snowman.”

“I… should also be going to Marie now,” said Yeo-myeong. “Hyung, seriously, thank you.”

In an instant, the two left Seol all alone.

Though Seol had no way of knowing why they left so quickly, it was likely because they felt pressured being so close to him.

- The strong are always alone… kukuku

- I just thought the same thing LOL

- Snowman had been alone a lot, though LOL

- Stop being so mean to them! Yeo-myeong at least opened the door for Seol!

- The gap between them was bigger than I thought…

As Seol entered the city, he noticed another commotion.

“Did you see the points?”

“The guy with the 14 million points? Yeah.”

“How did they get it so high?”

“Let’s see if there’s a way to transfer points. I doubt it would be possible otherwise.”

In truth, Seol had been wary of entering cities even before he received Kleptomaniac.

‘My points put too much attention on me…’

While it was understandable for the influential figures of the city to investigate Seol, he couldn’t understand the transferees who were traveling from town to town in search of him.

There was only one instance when a few people recognized him, but the situation that followed was completely ridiculous.

They not only asked Seol to become their master but also requested that he share information instead of monopolizing it and even tried to borrow money from him.

- I’m telling you, I’ll pay it back!

He still remembered the faces of the people who boldly made such requests.

There was an old saying that deranged people would ask for money from tigers, and the people he met were perfect examples of that.

‘It would be annoying if transferees recognized me…’

As this was no longer a game board but real life with people instead of game pieces, Seol had to have a way to deal with them.

‘I feel like I should deal with this soon, and… Huh?’

As Seol began rubbing his chin, he stopped, feeling a strange, unfamiliar sensation.

“Ah. I forgot I had this.”

The gloves that Seol had literally stolen from Yahum.

Seol was fortunate to be stronger than Yahum. If he wasn’t, that decision would have spelled his end.

‘Though I guess Kleptomaniac did something good for once.’

Seol planned to fight Yahum the moment he stepped into the Ghost Door.

But thanks to Kleptomaniac activating, not only did he get a reason to fight Yahum, but he also got an additional item for free.

‘You never know how things end up in life…’

To think a Tendency reserved for stealing people’s wallets could be used to pick out a rare item…

‘Still, there’s no guarantee it’ll be beneficial the next time it activates. I should be careful.’

Seol then read through the item’s descriptions.

“Let’s see…”

[[Haunted-Peerless: Yahum’s Dokkaebi Gloves]

Quality: Peerless

Recommended Level: 35-43

Defense: 130(+35)

Durability: 120/120

Weight: 0.1kg

A pair of gloves woven by Yahum himself.

They have absorbed his ghost energy, granting the wearer some of his knowledge.

Basic Effect: +30(+10) Intelligence, +27(+10) Wisdom, +32(+10) Constitution

Bonus Effect: Flash! (Unique), Life Experience (Unique), Experienced Newbie (Unique). Haunted - Yahum’s Ghost Energy (Unique).

[Flash!(Unique)]

- The odds of Awakening increase massively while in combat.

[Life Experience(Unique)]

- The chances of an Awakening remain the same even if your opponent is weaker than you.

[Experienced Newbie(Unique)]

- New skills created from Awakening have their proficiencies set to ‘Adept’ immediately.

[Haunted - Yahum’s Ghost Energy(Unique)]

- You are now able to somewhat control ghost energy.]

‘They’re all pretty unique options.’

Most importantly, Seol received multiple effects related to ghost energy, including the title he received earlier.

Usually, accumulating multiple effects like that would also create a skill, but Seol hadn’t received anything yet.

‘I guess the ghost energy in the item wasn’t enough to make one?’

All Seol could currently manage was slightly handling the ghost energy released from the items.

At most, he could condense it, but nothing more.

‘Well, I should be able to understand it more later.’

Now that Seol was in the city, he needed to decide on his action.

He could enjoy his rest first and take time before carefully considering his options, but… having no plan worried him more than anything.

As such, he immediately headed to the Adventurer Association.

It was more crowded than usual.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“You should’ve seen how Kaio died, haha! He was practically a chunk of meat.”

“It turned out well in the end. Adeline’s really good for things like this.”

It seemed the city’s mood had changed with the end of the cartel.

‘I’m sure it’s for the better… right?’

The first thing Seol searched for was news about the cartel’s end.

[(NEW) [’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: My glorious brothers in arms…]

This is all thanks to God Emperor Tyrant King Genius Sir Bren surgically removing the cartel like an expert surgeon!

If you didn’t participate in the war, spend the rest of your days thanking Sir Bren every day!

- Okay, so you didn’t participate lmfao

- Huh? How’d you find out so quickly 😲

- You made me spit out my drink when you said Bren LMFAO. Did he even kill any notable members of the cartel? I’m pretty sure it was all the transferees.

- He’s a very simple guy who charges through the streets on horseback… Don’t make fun of him too much.

- He’s a good kid, though!

- I heard Crow was a fucking monster, though. Even the rumors about them are crazy…]

[(NEW) [’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Something I found funny just now.]

I never felt an ounce of national pride as a Korean, so why do I feel so much pride from being a citizen of Adeline? I think it's partially due to people calling the path we used from Marcelo to Kaio 'The Path of Freedom'...

- Are you a real person? LOOOOOL But me too.

- Only Adeline stepped in for us 😭

- Look at what’s happening in Nevenia LOL. Adeline’s a saint compared to them.

- We might also be looking better because they look so shitty LOL

- Who cares~ We’re all just wandering adventurers anyway~

- Nevenia’s in a civil war, so no one can wander in there anyway~]

Fortunately, most people viewed the dissolution of the cartel as a good thing. Additionally, it seemed that not much information about Seol had been spread.

But… Seol also learned something about Nevenia while checking the news about the cartel.

‘Is the civil war that bad?’

Seol was quite interested in Nevenia’s current affairs as he was originally from there.

[(NEW) [’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: The situation in Nevenia’s pretty interesting lol]

Did everyone hear the news?

- Nope

- Want me to tell you?

- Ye.

- The king, Hain III, is dead.

- WTFFFF LOL

- The prince announced his succession to the throne while also announcing a major national reformation plan. It’s now Hain IV.

- What about the princess?

- Well… it ended up in a pretty funny way.

- What do you mean?

- You know how the kingdom is a mess because of the rebellion, right?

- Right…? That’s also why they closed down their borders, no?

- He’s blaming everything on her.

- WTF? That worked???

- It did.]

[(NEW) [’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Detailed Explanation of Nevenia’s Current Situation]

I’m Vin Diesel, and my family explained everything about the situation below.

The core of the problem is that Hain IV has an awful personality and is surrounded by corrupt subordinates.

Unfortunately, the princess does not have priority over the throne, so not only does she lack legitimacy, but all of the powerful corrupt officials have sided with Hain IV, making her position weak.

The prince is also likely using the succession as a plot to eliminate the princess. Apparently, a few loyal advisors were making moves to follow her.

- That’s interesting! So what happened next?

- The princess ran away and the prince is hunting her down. Transferees are also hunting her down.

- Huh? Why?!

- Hain IV made a bunch of policies to get along with the transferees while rising to power. And while he did that, he also pinned all of the crimes on her.

- That’s insane… How do the transferees there not know that, though?

- They do know it. They know it’s probably false, but they’re just going along with it. They just want someone to take out their frustrations on.

- It's an obvious choice for them, though. What could they possibly do to Hain IV? The princess is a much easier target to deal with. I'd also pick Hain, who has power, over the princess, who is weak.

- Do you think justice exists in real life? LOL I bet transferees will come running with their pants down if Hain IV promises them items.

- He’s already declared that he would give a national treasure to the transferee who captures the princess. It’s a mess now because of it, though lol.

- Those pigs… oink…

- Don’t tell me you’re also…

- Oink oink! 🐷

- Isn’t that too much, though? Are there no transferees helping her like how Adeline did with the cartel?

- The cartel was transferees, and Hain IV is a king LMFAO. Who the hell would fight him? What insane transferee would fight him now when the civil war is dying down with Hain III’s death…]

Justice... Trust…

There were a variety of other lofty values as well.

However, with the introduction of the transferees into Pandea, the worth of such ideals fell drastically.

The world quickly changed, now revolving around efficiency and violence.

Seol sighed, “How unfortunate.”

Seol mostly thought it was a shame that the princess’s life was on the line due to such underhanded methods.

But what could he do? The world now revolved around efficiency and violence.

- It’s unfortunate, but…

- There’s nothing he can do.

- As long as it isn’t me~

Seol then checked the letters addressed to him.

Seol’s inbox was filled with messages from Gyeongtaek and Somi, two individuals he frequently communicated with.

They were mostly updating him on their activities and asking how he had been.

And…

‘Who is this from?’

There was also an anonymous letter.

Seol quickly checked his surroundings before opening the letter.

- It’s Earl Brispin.

The author of the letter immediately revealed themself.

‘So it was Earl Brispin. But why…’

Why did Earl Brispin send me a letter?

Seol had received help from Earl Brispin multiple times. Not only had the Earl introduce Seol to Frannan, whom he now considers a close friend, but he also helped settle the House Gatiff incident in Timbrian.

‘Now that I think about it, I also somewhat received help from him during the Black Knight incident too…’

The two might have had a closer bond than Seol had initially realized. Regardless, he continued reading through the letter.

- You haven’t forgotten our promise, right?

Promise… Promise…

Seol tilted his head in confusion, trying to recall the past. He then continued to read through the letter while picturing Earl Brispin's face in his mind.

- As I mentioned earlier, this is an investment for the future. All I ask is that you lend me your ear when I find myself in an urgent situation down the road. That would suffice.

After finally recalling those words, Seol read the letter once more.

- I'm sending you this letter now because of that promise. While I would have preferred to discuss this in person, the urgent situation necessitates this letter.

Seol was completely shocked after reading the following line.

- I am currently with Princess Riona.

‘Princess… Riona?’

There was only one princess whom Seol knew of with that name.

- I was hoping you would help us escape from that cursed Hain IV. We would rendezvous at…

Refused.

This was a request that Seol had to refuse.

‘I could be marked as a traitor if I mess up, and… and… it’s a completely ridiculous request. It would be dangerous, even for me. I should never, ever accept a request like this.’

- However, I understand that you would also need a suitable reason to help us. We currently have a black statue that was taken from the kingdom’s secret storage room.

‘Black… statue?’

Seol began recalling countless statues that fit the description Earl Brispin gave.

Thanks to his excellent memory, he could remember the exact names of the statues by recalling just a couple of characteristics.

- The statue is of a blindfolded woman holding herself in her arms. Though I don’t know its exact name, it is undoubtedly an incredible item.

“Damn it… God fucking damn it…”

A statue of a blindfolded woman holding herself in her arms. If Seol added the fact that it was black, he was 100% certain of what it was.

The first thing that Seol remembered was the item’s origin.

‘It’s… from the Church of Eternal Life.’

- Apparently, it was from the Church of Eternal Life, and…

‘I have to go. That statue is...’

- there are even rumors that the Immortal carried this statue around.

‘...mine.’

The black statue was something the Immortal had used in the past.

The statue’s name?

‘Joy of the Fallen’.

Seol could feel his heart sink.

“No… I should never go on an Adventure like this.”

The viewers were excited by Seol’s words.

- You’re not going on it, right? LOL

- Brispin’s going to die, Snowman~ I guess it’s fine as long as you don’t die~

- You should just go west already~ We’re supposed to head west.

- They should be the ones handling it! They’re fully grown adults too, aren’t they?

- Hurry up and erase the letter already kekeke

- Someone donate! Tell him not to go!

- He can’t even hear us.

- Ah… look at his face… he made a decision.

It all began with one letter.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

After a while, near the border between Adeline and Nevenia…

“Fuu… I always get nervous around this time.”

“......”

“Don’t ask about me too much, alright? Ordinary people will get hurt once they learn who I am.”

The bearded man continued, posing a question to the other man walking beside him.

“More importantly… You’ve got more guts than most people. Is this for your lover?”

“......”

“You could at least answer something. There’s no need to hide it from me.”

“......”

“Ah, I think I’m going to lose my mind… Am I working with a golem right now?”

- It just had to not be meeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

- But it was only meeeeeeeee!

- I’m the only one who’s fuckedddddddd!

The bearded man then stroked his chin before turning around.

“All of you, get ready. Get into the clothes we prepared beforehand.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the bearded man's command, everyone inside the carriage began changing into different clothes.

“Fuuu…”

“I’ve helped a lot of people cross the border, but… it’s my first time dealing with a case like you,” said the bearded man.

“......”

"I can’t believe there’s someone trying to sneak into Nevenia from Adeline. I would’ve expected the opposite, not this. Haven’t you heard about the princess’s plot to rebel against the king? It’s surprising, really…"

With his face covered in a strange mask, Seol finally responded to the broker.

"...I’ve recently learned that there aren’t any absolutes in life."