The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-117

Seol looked at the messages about his points after clearing his 16th Adventure.

[Your information is set to Private.]

[You have 3,456,300 Points.]

‘I have over 3 million points now.’

Seol wasn’t sure whether his point total was high or low, but it clearly wasn’t an easily approachable number, judging by how similar the numbers of other Adventurers were.

Seol responded indifferently to his points. Still, even he couldn’t help but react to the following messages.

[You have surpassed 3,000,000 Adventure Points.]

[You have earned the Inaugural Achievement 'Further Beyond'.]

[You have earned the Inaugural Title 'Trustworthy'.]

‘Inaugural Achievement… and an Inaugural Title!’

Seol received an Inaugural Achievement and an Inaugural Title when he surpassed one million points as well.

The Title he received then was ‘Affluent.’

It was a great title that gave him additional skill points at the end of every Adventure, which played a key role in increasing the gap between Seol and the other transferees.

He couldn’t use his skill points yet because of the events he had been swept into, though.

[Adventure Points Leaderboard

1. Private (3,456,300)

2. ILikeBeingAlone (811,710)

3. Private (800,220)

4. DeadTreasuredTree (776,390)

5. WhoAteAllTheMangoes (720,440)]

Somi’s party was completely shocked after seeing the leaderboard.

“Thr…Three million points… that’s insane… that’s you, right, oppa?”

“Weren’t we just on the same Adventure? Then, did our points increase that much too?”

“Gyeongtaek, are you not on good terms with your brain or something? Think about how much Seol oppa contributed to the Adventure and how much we contributed…”

“Ah… you’re right.”

Somi immediately corrected Gyeongtaek’s misunderstanding.

And it was as she said.

Even if the Adventure was done by a party, their points weren’t shared equally. It was calculated based on each individual's contribution.

The system awarded Adventure Points based on how perfectly you performed your role for the Adventure.

Also, since this Adventure wasn’t something that would give a transferee like Seol a lot of Adventure Points. Adding the fact that he completely dominated this Adventure and its points, it was unlikely for Somi’s party to have received any proper amount of Adventure Points.

The reason Seol received a lot of Adventure Points this time was likely from the previous Adventure he went on before the Sudden Adventure.

It was also thanks to Sudden Adventures giving out additional points, unlike the normal Adventures.

However, there was no way someone new to parties, like Seol, would have known any of this.

“Hyung, how did it feel to surpass a million points?”

“...I don’t know?”

“I still have a lot left until I can cross that…”

Gyeongtaek had a sad look on his face.

Seol didn’t even give a lick of attention to Gyeongtaek and immediately focused on something else.

What caught his interest was his new title.

[[Inaugural Title: Trustworthy]

Related Achievement: Further Beyond (Adventure: N/A)

Bonus Effect: Endless Hordes (Unique).]

‘...What? A unique effect?’

Except for special situations, unique effects only appeared on items that were Peerless-quality or higher.

As such, it was extremely rare for a unique effect to appear on a title like this.

‘Is this effect… a passive one?’

The effect’s description stated that all allies within a large radius had a 10% increase in their damage, healing power, and healing rate.

“......”

Seol’s face stiffened after seeing the description.

“Hyung? What’s wrong?”

“Oppa?”

- OH SHIT LMFAOOOOO

- Damage and healing increased by 10%??? Is this fucking real? LOOOL

- Don’t talk to me right now! I’m enjoying reading this!

- Is it like an aura? This is crazy… If it applies to all of his allies, it should even apply to an entire raid party too, no?

- It’s way too efficient… And this is just a passive? No cost?

- He’s just gathering Inaugural Titles like it’s nothing now…

Gloooow…

A geometric pattern appeared beneath Seol’s feet.

The pattern flashed several times before evaporating like smoke and circling Seol.

The energy of the pattern combined with the black energy of Seol’s shadows created an entirely new force that felt mystical.

And that same new force spread to all of Seol’s party members.

[Passive: Endless Hordes activates.]

[Passive: Endless Hordes is applied to CollegeStudentsMustDie.]

[Passive: Endless Hordes is applied to OnlyIAmCatless.]

[Passive: Endless Hordes is applied to Yerin’sDad.]

“...Huh?”

“Endless Hordes? What is this? It says I have a buff.”

“Damage and healing increased by… 10%? That’s insane… You had a skill like this, Gyeongtaek?”

“Why would I party with you if I had a skill like that, noona?”

“Hey! I would have partied with a celebrity if I had a skill like this too, alright?”

“I doubt they’d include you even if you had a skill like this.”

“You little… get over here!”

As the party members talked with each other about the new buff, Seol checked if the buff applied to other things as well.

[Passive: Endless Hordes is applied to Karen.]

‘...This effect applies to summons as well!’

Even though Seol was a solo player, he was practically a one-man party.

As such, damage, healing power, and healing rate were all important effects for him.

But to think that one title gave all of those effects at once… Seol didn’t expect anything this spectacular.

“Huh? Hyung? Why are you laughing?”

Karen waved her hands at Gyeongtaek.

“Don’t worry about it. He does that from time to time.”

- Snowman’s summons became used to him…

- To be honest, I get chills whenever he laughs LMFAO

[You begin your Rest.]

[Your Key Location Rest is starting.]

[Break 7. Recovering Nobira.]

[Break 7. ‘Recovering Nobira’

In The World of Eternity, Nobira, the Ruins City, is located in South Pandea. Despite the lingering pain from the scar inflicted by the Sulfur Skull Tribe, the city is gradually reclaiming its former glory.

Numerous facilities are still lacking compared to its prosperous past. However, thanks to the multitude of new challenges, Adventurers are increasingly gathering in the city.

Adventurers must take plenty of rest and training here, or at another rest location, before preparing for the next Adventure.

Objective: Rest and maintenance.

You will be tired upon failure.

Remaining Time: [About 30 days]]

Somi spoke up the moment they entered the city.

“Oppa, have you decided where you’ll stay yet?”

“Why are you asking that, noona?”

“Because I thought it might be nice if we stayed in the same place…”

“Ah, it’s that, isn’t it?! The thing you said before about making connections and all that!”

“Shh! Shut your fucking mouth, Gyeongtaek!”

“You heard that too, didn't you, hyung? She’s finally revealing her true colors! Oh, right! Noona, did you forget how you insulted ‘Private’ near the end too? Did you forget that?”

“....Ah, right.”

Somi said she would break whatever she couldn’t have and even insulted Private enthusiastically near the end.

She did all that, not knowing Private was right next to her.

- Guys, this is why you should mind your own business.

- What?

- Mind your own business!

Seol ignored the rest and simply answered Somi’s first question.

“Where I will be staying?”

“Yes, your lodging.”

“I don’t think I’ll be staying too long. I planned on leaving Nobira soon.”

“Huh? You weren’t going to be staying around here?”

“I wasn’t. Is there a problem?”

“N-No, there isn’t, but… Oppa, why don’t we at least have a meal together…”

“Yeah, hyung. You can leave. Just let us treat you to a meal before you go. We could only return safely thanks to you. I feel like this would hang over me if I just let you go like this.”

“Hm…”

Seol glanced at Karen.

Karen shrugged in response, signaling that it was okay.

“Alright, then, let’s have our meal now. Where would—”

“We’ll pick the restaurant! Um…”

- The best place to go when you want to treat someone to a meal? McDonalds.

- You have to be careful at McDonalds, though. The fries disappear before you realize it LOL

- Seriously, LOL. It’s like they have a mind of their own…

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

The restaurant had a somewhat clean interior.

Seol wasn't sure if it was due to the materials used in constructing the restaurant, but the interior felt cozy. What greeted him wasn't an unpleasant scent, but rather the warmth of others.

“So, you blew it all?”

“Yup, blew it all.”

“Then why’d you come back?”

“Well… I don’t know?”

“Hahaha! I can’t believe your reason for returning to Nobira after that terrible experience is, ‘I don’t know?’! That’s incredible!”

Seol was shocked.

‘It’s quite crowded. It wasn’t like this when I left.’

Seol felt it too.

Nobira was slowly recovering its life.

However, he did not expect it to recover this quickly.

“So… you’re going south?”

“I am.”

“Where? Audenin?”

“Probably?”

“If it’s Audenin… There’s a guy named Park Changsik there.”

“Is he someone famous?”

“Have you never been to Audenin before?”

“I haven’t. Have you?”

“No?”

- She’s acting like she went there though LMFAO

- No? (Bold)

“I just heard rumors. All rumors.”

“How exactly are you hearing all of these rumors, though?”

Seol was surprised that someone much weaker than him knew more than him.

However, the answer was much simpler than he expected.

“You know about the transferee community, right?”

“I do. But shouldn’t it still be hard to hear news about the communities in different locations?”

“It turned out that it wasn’t too difficult as long as you’re in the same country. Don’t tell me you’ve only been using the community in the Adventurer Association, oppa.”

“I have.”

“Hahaha! Did you hear that, Gyeongtaek? It turns out that oppa’s much more innocent than we thought.”

“Hyung… I’m shocked.”

Gyeongtaek really did have a shocked look on his face. It was as if his face screamed that there was no way his hero would be like this.

Munho coughed and then taught Seol what he hadn’t known.

"Ahem… So, you're aware of the feature to message your friends, right? It's that. I'm surprised you didn't know, Seol, especially since I was aware of it too."

“Ah, that.”

Seol knew the friend system existed.

However, the thought of using it never even crossed his mind.

Since he solely focused on becoming stronger individually, he ignored the trivial systems as pointless.

“You know how you can use the Association to message back and forth between friends, right? That’s where most of the information is exchanged.”

“I see.”

It was rare for Seol to consider someone a friend.

Not only did he possess a unique way of thinking and his own mental world, but there weren't many opportunities for him to connect with the other transferees.

In fact, Seol found himself much closer to his summons than to any of the other transferees.

“It's much more convenient than you think. So I'm still in contact with this person I met during my early Adventures, you know? And even though they're in Audenin and I'm here, we're still in touch and keep each other updated on news.”

“Hm…”

“So, on that note…”

Somi looked around.

“C-C-Can I…”

“Can I add you as a friend, hyung?”

“Dude! Step in line! And who would agree when you—”

“Sure.”

“Nice!”

“...Huh?”

It wasn’t a bad exchange for Seol, either.

Seol was confident he could use the intangible information they gave him and transform it into something tangible.

Well, it was worth it as long as they didn’t ask for stupid requests.

Seol tried drawing the line there.

“However…”

Somi quickly interrupted Seol.

“You don’t need to help us. Just… business? Yeah, think of it as just business! We’d only send you messages when we have something to offer or news to tell. In exchange, we’d hear about news from you as well. Wh-what do you think?”

Seol nodded in response.

It was a business that he would never lose from.

[You have become friends with CollegeStudentsMustDie.]

[You have become friends with OnlyIAmCatless.]

[You have become friends with Yerin'sDad.]

Somi bounced in her chair in excitement.

“Oppa, I’ll make sure to keep your identity a secret.”

“...What? Well… I do dislike things getting annoying.”

Now that Seol was much stronger than before, he could handle situations before they even reached that point.

Even so, he continued to conceal his true identity. It appeared that Seol didn’t enjoy the attention.

“I-I’ll keep your identity a secret, I promise. I’ve seen stuff about the loneliness of being strong before… in books.”

“...Is that so?”

“You’re alone, aren’t you?”

- Not at all.

- He has a happy family.

- Yeah, a nuclear family (of four).

- Nuclear (combat ability) family (of four).

Somi gave Seol wistful eyes like she understood her. However, at the same time, someone entered the restaurant.

Creaaak…

Step… Step…

“So you were here.”

A familiar voice.

Judging by how the people surrounding them whispered to each other, they weren’t any ordinary person.

Seol turned around and faced the voice as if he had expected them.

“Mira.”

Gyeongtaek immediately whispered to Somi.

“Woah… It’s Yu Mira.”

“She must have returned from Yognatun.”

“It’s my first time seeing her in person. But… did she always have that scar near her eye?”

“What do you think? She’s not that pretty in person, huh? I’m prettier, right?”

“She has like… an aura to her. This is crazy, her points are so high too.”

“...Hey, we’re people who are friends with the Private, alright?”

“Don’t you think she’s his friend as well?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at it? They’re strictly business.”

Seol gave Somi’s party a look. Somi and Gyeongtaek immediately nodded and waved their hands, letting Seol know he was welcome to leave.

Creak…

Seol followed Mira outside of the restaurant.

She was calm, way too calm.

“Was there something else left?”

“Ah, I didn’t call you about business between us. It’s a separate problem. Well… I guess it’s more accurate to say it’s your problem, Seol.”

“A separate problem?”

Mira’s next words shook Seol to the core.

“Hamun left.”