The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-101

Seol stood in shock. He hadn’t expected this.

“Master?”

“If I knew it would be like this, I would’ve burned this room down a long time ago.”

“R-Right?”

Seol sighed, looking up at the sky.

Behind that sigh, Seol released not only his annoyance at the wasted time, but also a sense of relief.

‘Still, I could find Chao.’

It was a relief that Seol could find Chao’s traces in the end.

The only things he lost were the sleepless nights waiting for Chao and the time spent investigating other Adventures.

Obviously, even that was frustrating.

However, when Seol looked at it purely in terms of results, it was handled well in the end.

Seol spent the Remaining Time he had left sleeping, eating well, and resupplying.

And like that, five days had passed.

Glooow…

And his body began to be transported elsewhere.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

[You begin your next Adventure.]

[Your 15th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 15. Tardy]

[Adventure 15. ‘Tardy’

Through many twists and turns, you had encountered Chao.

Chao left you with one request before leaving. Unfortunately, you were slow in returning after fulfilling her request.

You have arrived in Nobira far later than the promised time.

Fortunately, you are now on your way to a location she arranged for your next meeting.

However, you are uncertain about what will happen there or the circumstances she may have found herself in.

Objective: Break through the Wall of Awakening.

This Adventure is dangerous.

Remaining Time [N/A]]

For the first time in a while, it was an Adventure without a time limit.

Seol was transported into a forest without any signs of life.

Seol first believed that this was the Great Forest.

‘But… What is this smell?’

The smell of a burning car?

No, it was something else… Something much more familiar…

‘Cigarettes?’

Not too long after, Chao appeared while puffing smoke out of her cigarette.

“Yo! You’re late! Why were you so late?”

“Chao?”

“Did everything go well?”

Seol pulled out the Sleeping Medicine from his inventory.

“It went well. There was a problem on the way back, so I only arrived in Nobira about a month ago.”

“A problem? Ah, those trolls?”

“Yes. By the way, did you fight with the Sulfur Skull Tribe?”

“No? Some weird-looking trolls appeared out of nowhere on my way to meet you, so I just left as fast as I could.”

It was strange.

To Seol’s knowledge, Chao was strong.

She was much stronger than any ordinary Shadow Summoner.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Ah, are you trying to ask why I didn’t help out in Nobira?”

“Did I make a face like that?”

“Yeah, very obviously.”

Seol wasn’t trying to berate her at all. He was simply curious.

“That’s because… it doesn’t involve me at all, no? Not to mention, I’m a very busy person.”

She was the same type of person as Seol.

“You’re busy?”

“Of course! Why else would I request something from a junior Shadow Summoner I just met?”

“Then, did you also know what was happening in Wet Fog Town?”

“Somewhat? But I couldn’t solve it because they went into hiding. Uh… I think her name was Sarah, right? Wasn’t she cute?”

“She was a good person.”

“...She’s not dead, right?”

“She was close to dying, but we managed to catch him before he could.”

“That’s a relief. What were his final words, though?”

“He just… asked why he couldn’t have been saved like the townspeople. He was sad about his fate.”

“Still, that doesn’t justify ruining other people’s lives. You’re better at handling things than I thought, junior?”

Seol had handled Chao’s request well.

This meant that Seol also had a right to request something from her.

“Then…”

“Hold on, that was the first stage. The real test is differ—”

Click.

Unsheathe…

“Should I just kill her, Master?”

“Hahaha! How loyal! It’s quite nice to see. So, um… what I’m trying to say is… woah, woah… you should put that sword away… yeah? That’s a cool sword, though. Is it new? Regardless, let’s use our words like intellectuals. Let’s not be so cruel between people of the same classes.”

Sheathe.

Karen sheathed her sword.

Seol had somewhat expected things to go this way. There was no way an Adventure would be classified as ‘dangerous’ if all he had to do was break through the Wall of Awakening.

“Fuu… Do I have to do something else as well?”

“Yeah. Well, I wouldn’t say you have to do it, but… well, I guess you do have to do it.”

“What is it?”

“Become my test subject.”

Click.

Unsheathe…

“Like I said, could you put that sword…”

“What do you mean by becoming your test subject?”

“Yeah, so I’ve been researching something for a while, and it's nearing its final stages now.”

“So?”

“The problem is that the research requires a Shadow Summoner of a certain level and a powerful summon who is on the same page as them.”

“Can’t you do it then?”

“Well… I have some problems of my own. Regardless, that’s why I was looking for someone else. And I just so happened to catch suitable test subjects in my net, and it just so happened—”

“To be me?”

Nod.

Chao nodded and bashfully smiled.

Seol looked at her expression and thought.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Huh? No… well… yes.”

“What?”

“It is.”

“How dangerous is it?”

“It isn’t dangerous, physically. It’s just dangerous, mentally.”

“Like I said, how dangerous?”

“You’ll have to die… once.”

“Haha.”

“Hahaha, it’s funny, right?”

What did she mean by having to die once?

Seol then remembered something from deep within his memory.

“Is that why you stole that false death device from Griz’s Laboratory?”

“Woah, you know that far? Then this will be much easier to explain. You’re right.”

“Do you know how to use it?”

“Somewhat. I confirmed that it was working.”

“So, what does becoming your test subject imply?”

“It’s simple. We’ll use the False Death-Inducing Device to separate your consciousness far away from you. In some ways, you would be returning to your purest form. After that, you’ll escape while connecting your mind to your shadow. Simple, right?”

- What the fuck is she saying, LMFAO?

- It’s that easy.

- This reminds me of Bob Ross telling people that it’s easy to paint…

- I gave up… meeting Chao was just a mistake.

- It seems like it wasn’t meant to be…

“What are the odds of success?”

“It’s probably different based on who’s doing it, no? Personally, I think that you have a fifty percent chance of surviving.”

“Those aren’t bad odds.”

“Because you’ll either succeed or fail.”

“......”

- You either die… or die.

- She really is something LMFAO

Seol scratched his chin.

“For now, I understand the situation. So, what are the rewards if I were to become your test subject?”

“I knew it! I like being straightforward like this, it becomes clearer like this. So… what would be a good reward…”

Chao thought for a while before hitting her palm with a fist like she had finished thinking.

“I’ll teach you an ‘Exceptional Skill.’”

“I’ll do it.”

“Hahaha! I knew we would get along.”

- I might die? I won’t do it.

- Exceptional Skill? Bet.

- Who’d say no? LMFAOOO

- How could anyone say no? HAHAHAHA

Exceptional Skill.

Like Karen’s ‘Sunset Draw,’ Exceptional Skills were on a completely separate level from ordinary skills.

Exceptional Skills were better than normal skills in every way, such as destructive power, efficiency, specialness, and ingenuity.

That was what an Exceptional Skill was.

Furthermore, not only was it very difficult to learn, but only very few people ever shared their Exceptional Skills with others.

It was to the point that a person’s Exceptional Skill was also practically their identity.

Even when an individual learned an Exceptional Skill early in their Adventures, the power of that Exceptional Skill remained effective in later Adventures, as well.

“Is it one of Gregory’s skills?”

“Nope, it’s not.”

“Then is it a skill you made yourself?”

“It is.”

Chao was skilled enough to create her own Exceptional Skills.

Seol looked at Chao in another way again.

She wasn’t just a skilled expert, she was an extremely skilled expert.

“Since the False-Death Inducing Device is at my hideout, why don’t we head there while we talk?”

“Is it far?”

“It’s not that far.”

“Still, why did you create a hideout? Are you being hunted down by someone?”

“Well… hm… why don’t I explain that on our way there, too? For now, let’s start with some basic training?”

“Training? Sounds good.”

Seol was ready to do whatever training it took to learn an Exceptional Skill.

- A monster that hands out Exceptional Skills…

- Exceptional Skill Monster. ESM! ESM! TSM!

“Alright, gather around here. Bring out all of your summons, too.”

The surroundings started getting dark as Seol headed closer and closer to Chao’s hideout.

“Now, you will be sharing your true feelings with each other. You could share old stories, too!”

“Huh? That’s the training?”

“Simple, right?”

- I can’t watch this LMFAO

- Chao = Mike Tyson. Snowman and his summons = Pigeons.

- Now kith.

“Why are we doing this training?”

“How much do you know about your shadows?”

“My shadows? Well…”

Seol didn’t know much.

Rather, it was more accurate to say that he barely knew anything.

“If you don’t want to lose your way while under false death, you have to know everything about your shadows. Their regrets, grudges, lives, etc. You might never wake up again if you’re hiding secrets from each other, alright?”

“Hold on—”

Clap!

Chao clapped her hands once, then started to drift away.

“Now, I’ll give you guys room to share some quality time.”

After Chao left, the only thing that followed was an awkward silence.

This was simply a natural reaction to suddenly being asked to talk about oneself.

- Scratch… Scratch…

- Uh… guys…

- Could anyone say something…

The first to break the silence was Karen.

“Then… what about starting with that?”

“With what?”

“The thing Jamad mentioned last time when we were with Mael. He never got into the specifics. What about starting with that?”

- My father was drafted into a war and croaked there, while my mother died young. The funny part was that the previous generation offered my mother’s corpse to the dragon as a snack.

- Silence…

- Fucking Karen…

- Karens can’t read the room LMFAOOO

Jamad thought for a second, then nodded.

“Not a bad idea.”

“Right?”

“It’s been a while since I talked about the specifics of this. In fact… this might be the first time after becoming chief of the Rock Molar Tribe.”

Jamad quickly began talking about himself like he was excited.

"Even in my earliest memories, I was an orphan. My father died after being drafted into the war before I could walk, and my mother succumbed to a chronic illness."

“...Could I take back what I said?”

“I don’t mind, but I think learning about each other, even if it's just a little, is the best way to get out of this annoying situation.”

“That’s true. You can keep going.”

“Did you know this? Trolls offer their dead to whoever they worship as a sacrifice.”

Jamad calmly continued.

“My mother was offered as a sacrifice to Tancreed, the Earth Dragon. And like that, I was alone. I had no brothers, no parents.”

“......”

“I knew about the tradition, but I couldn’t understand it. My ancestors left and established themselves in the Pointy Mountains because they couldn’t stand being ruled by the Old Gods anymore. However, the only thing that’s changed was the object of worship, from the Old Gods to a dragon. We were still the same, worthless. We were… a contradictory race who had to endlessly serve others.”

Seol only had bits and pieces of information about the trolls. As such, this was also his first time learning about this.

“When I was still young… So, before Tancreed entered her slumber, she visited the tribe once.”

- Go away! Get out of here!

- J-Jamad, that stupid fool!

- Stop it! N-No!

- Are you trying to kill our tribe?!

“I threw a stone at Tancreed. While everyone bowed down to her, I was the sole troll who held his head high and threw a stone at her scales.”

“That’s incredible.”

- Please forgive us, Tancreed! He’s just a young child, he has yet to learn about your—

- K-Kill him! Drag him out of here!

“I told her to bring back my mother. I called her a barbaric lizard… I’m sure I said something like that, but I don’t remember what exactly I said back then anymore.”

“How did you manage to survive?”

- You’re… I see. So you are her child.

“She let me onto her back and took off with her wings. And then, she took me somewhere before letting me off.

- This is…

- I remember your mother, little life.

The young Jamad stood in front of a tomb covered in wreaths.

“It was my mother’s grave. Though my tribe offered her to Tancreed as a sacrifice, Tancreed buried her. I cried in misery. That was my first, and will probably be my last time crying.”

“Why did you cry, though?”

“A sense of inferiority. I cried because of how inferior myself and my race were. She was a much more noble and beautiful existence than I had ever imagined. I was a member of an inferior race who lost control after losing his mother and tried to injure that noble dragon… I was an inferior life form.”

“......”

“Then, Tancreed told me this.”

- You have good eyes.

- I-I apologize, Tancreed.

- It’s a big world, child. Right now, everything will be painful and difficult. After all, you are still small and weak. However…

“And like that, she had become my life’s goal.”

- One day, your time will come. You will later learn about the reason for your life, the reason for all life. And through that, you will reach the truth. Work hard, little life.

That was why Jamad despised the Old Gods’ powers and tried to do things by himself.

Seol learned a bit more about Jamad through that today.

“Regardless, that was how I was born. After that, I was given the Curse of Brothers and accepted it as my fate. I guess the results of that aren’t too good, though. Still, I’ll finish my story there. I want to hear about your stories now.”

Before Seol could even respond to Jamad, Chao abruptly appeared.

Thump!

“Gasp… Gasp…”

And then, she shouted in urgency.

“They’re coming! We have to leave here, immediately!”

The Adventure’s first danger had arrived.

[The main contents of ‘Tardy’ have changed.]

[’Tardy’ has changed to ‘Those Who Chase the Shadows’.]