The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-167

A being covered in black.

Not only that, but the only part of the warden’s face that moved was their mouth, almost as if they had never had eyes, a nose, or ears.

They were strange and suspicious.

First, Seol distanced himself from the warden as fast as he could. Once he deemed it safe, he read through the new information he had received.

[Adventure 22-2. ‘Get Caught and You’ll Die’

The warden, yet another dangerous figure of Alcatron, has appeared before you.

Their true identities and origins are of no importance. What matters is that they are undoubtedly a troublesome existence. You must keep that in mind.

Currently, you possess no information.

Objective: Survive.

Caution. This Adventure is very dangerous.

Caution. This Adventure can change at a moment’s notice.

Caution. This Adventure is expected to be an extensive journey. As such, there is a high possibility that you will not be able to rest properly.

Remaining Time [11:55]]

‘I have less time than before, and… well, I’m glad that the Objective is clear, at least.’

“Giiiiiiii…”

The warden slowly moved his feet as he looked around.

‘In other words, I need to head down to B2 while avoiding the guard, right?’

Seol thought for a moment before eventually asking himself.

‘But why do I need to avoid them? They don’t look that much stronger than the prisoners here…?’

“Giiiiii!”

Dash!

The warden quickly ran somewhere after discovering something.

‘They’re fast!’

Even though the warden had been slow as a snail just moments before, the instant they found their target, they hunted them down swiftly like a panther.

The warden sprinted in the direction opposite of Seol

Kieeee!

The prisoner, their face concealed beneath layers of bandages, bolted in shock upon spotting the warden.

“Giiiiiaaa!”

Kieeeeeeee!

The prisoner tried their best to escape, but the guard was faster.

Thud.

It was a light tap. The warden’s long arms just barely reached the prisoner’s body.

Writhe… Grow…

Bulges began to grow on the prisoner's head, protruding in various directions.

Pop!

And like that, it exploded.

‘....What was that?’

[Intermediate Insight activates.]

[You have identified hidden information about the wardens.]

[You have acquired new information about Get Caught and You’ll Die.]

Seol read through the warden’s information with his Eyes of Foresight.

[[Upper Floor: Warden]

Rank: Rare

Estimated Level: Unknown

A being influenced by the special magic of Alcatron. They are practically invincible as long as their spells remain intact. They are especially strong against the prisoners of Alcatron.

Basic Skills: N/A

Unique Skills: [Alcatron: Physical Damage Resistance], [Alcatron: Elemental Damage Resistance], [Brand of the Sinner], [Sear Brand]]

‘What kind of monster is this?’

Seol, inwardly thankful that he hadn’t fought the warden, then turned to Ner.

Ner shrugged his shoulders.

“They need to be in charge of the prisoners on the upper floors, after all. They should be stronger than them, no?”

“Do they patrol like this often?”

"No, I've only seen them by chance here and there... regardless, you should never fight them. As long as they're on the upper floor, they're practically invincible."

“Upper floor? Then are there no guards on the lower floors?”

“Nope. It would be pointless.”

“How come?”

“Because the prisoners down there are stronger than the guards.”

“......”

Seol couldn’t hide his shock.

‘Do the prisoners become much stronger once I reach the lower floors?’

“Well, regardless… I think whoever’s behind this succeeded in entering the heart of Alcatron.”

“The… heart?”

"Like the control room. Judging by how the wardens are following their commands... The guards are essentially puppets that follow orders. You need access to the control room to manipulate them.”

“Then is it impossible to escape from Alcatron?”

"I'm not entirely certain, but likely, yes? It wouldn't make sense if you couldn't control who enters and leaves with access to the control room, right?"

Seol nodded as he thought of other things.

‘I hope Mael and Chameli are safe.’

Seol worried they might have encountered a warden.

‘But there's nothing I can do. Each of us became responsible for our own lives from the moment we entered here.’

Seol no longer had any questions for Ner. The rest, such as more details about the wardens and the way down, were left for him to discover on his own.

‘Alright, then I should…’

Fwirl!

Seol's plan was to utilize his creations. After crafting crows of suitable sizes, he dispersed them in various directions.

‘With this, it’ll be easier to keep track of the guards too.’

Caaaw…

Flutter…

Seol dispersed six crows in different directions.

‘...I can see.’

However, it wasn’t as if the crows could see clearly through the darkness.

The darkness was thick and heavy. The crows could barely make out outlines in the dark, unable to discern anything else.

But… whenever Seol activated the Eyes of Foresight…

Glooow…

The crows gained the ability to see over quite a distance.

‘They don't last long, and it's mentally taxing, so I can't do it for 24 hours, but... even this is huge.’

Seol could now scout his surroundings as if he had gained a bird's-eye view of the entire floor.

“Giiiiii…”

Seol spotted a guard with one of the crows.

‘Now… why don’t I try something out?’

Caaaw…

Seol commanded a crow to circle around a guard.

10M.

‘A bit closer…’

7M.

Flap flap…

5M.

Grab!

The guard quickly reached for the crow.

Crumble…

Seol immediately canceled his creation.

“Giii?”

The guard looked around confused but soon returned to its usual dull self.

‘So they detect you once you’re within 5 meters. I just need to be careful of that then.’

Seol also concluded that it would be better to avoid the other prisoners if possible. After all, he didn't want to attract the guards’ attention.

‘This... seems like I'd have a very low chance of running into other people from the expedition party..’

Currently, Seol’s odds of running into a prisoner or warden were much, much higher than running into his comrades.

‘It's probably better to head down to a lower floor as quickly as I can, then rendezvous afterward.’

Now that Seol had settled on a goal, he continued to search with that in mind.

“Oho… you could do something like this too?” said Ner.

“I know how to do a lot of things.”

“That’s incredible…”

Since Seol had his crows watching his surroundings, there was no chance of him running into any enemies. Unfortunately, though, he also didn’t run into any of his allies.

‘Did they all head down already?’

However, that was just wishful thinking. Seol then began to spot corpses, seemingly former members of the expedition party.

Seol checked each and every one of them, scanning their faces to see if he recognized any.

Fortunately, if "fortunate" is the right word... they were all people he didn’t recognize.

Twitch…

Seol, through one of the crows, sensed the flow of air nearby.

‘Maybe… that’s the way down?’

Just as Seol began to feel relieved from finding the stairs heading down, someone grabbed the crow.

‘...What?’

Someone had grabbed the crow and was now observing it.

‘It’s a prisoner!’

However, this prisoner was much different from the ones he had run into before.

He appeared human. Though his lips were sewn shut, his face definitely resembled a human’s.

Just as Seol was about to read the prisoner’s information with the Eyes of Foresight…

Crush…

“Urgh…”

The prisoner crushed the crow with his grip. Seol quickly ran toward the spot where the crow had been destroyed.

“...Found you.”

As expected of the way headed down… a prisoner was wandering around it.

‘But… he doesn’t look normal at all.’

Seol looked around, but the only living being in sight was that one prisoner.

‘......’

Everyone else was a corpse.

‘Maybe he came upstairs after the second transfer and killed every member of the expedition party he ran into?’

[[2nd Floor: Humer, the Puppeteer]

Rank: Heroic

Estimated Level: 31-35

A powerful prisoner of Alcatron.

The puppets he wields are stronger than they were while living.

Basic Skills: [Marionette 2], [Sew Flesh 1], [Stitch 3], [Forced Dance 2], [Separation Anxiety 4], [Intestine Explosion 5]

Unique Skills: [One Consciousness 2]]

The man with the sewn mouth made a bizarre expression as he raised his puppets.

[Humer, the Puppeteer, used Marionette.]

[Those bound to him move to his will.]

[Marionettes gain powerful physical abilities.]

“Guahhhhh…”

“Ahhhhhh…”

As the man moved his fingers, the corpses lying on the floor began rising.

“......”

Seol then spotted a familiar face amongst the corpses.

- Y-You’re Aspect Magician Frannan’s apprentice… right? It’s me, Yoran!

It was Yoran, the magician Seol had just been with. Unfortunately for him, he arrived at the entrance to the second floor before Seol.

The marionette wearing Yoran’s skin began to groan.

“K-Kill… me…”

Seol’s face stiffened.

Ner, seeing this, began to warn Seol.

“Isn’t he… the puppeteer?! Watch out, he’s—”

Glooow…

Fwirl! Fwirl!

The black energy in Seol’s hands transformed into the Twin Knights. Karen and Karuna, who had been observing the situation, did not hesitate to unsheathe their swords.

Slice!

Slice!

Swords began to swing at incredible speeds.

Slice Slice Slice!

Splaaaattter!

And it took only moments for all of the puppets to turn into lumps of meat.

Humer, shocked, began to stumble away while extending his hands out in front of him, as if he were trying to push them away.

Swoosh…

Slash!

With one swift swing, Karuna sliced off both of Humer’s hands. Karen instantly followed up with an attack on the defenseless Humer.

Slash!

Humer’s head fell from his body, his eyes wide with shock, unable to comprehend the situation.

It was over in an instant.

In just the blink of an eye, a Heroic-rank prisoner from the second floor lost their life.

Ner was shocked after seeing it.

"What? Was Humer this weak? That shouldn't be... More importantly, you were a summoner?"

“......”

“Why are you so angry—Ah! That guy. We ran into him just a while ago, right? What a shame. He just had to get unlucky and run into a prisoner from the 2nd floor…”

Ner tried to console Seol.

Seol then saw a few options before him.

[[You have found the way down to the lower floor. What do you do?]

1. Go downstairs.

2. Don’t go downstairs.

……]

There were only two options.

And Seol chose the former. He slowly made his way down the stairs.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Alcatron, Floor B2.

Wardens patrolled this floor as well.

Seol, with fewer crows than before, scouted the second floor in the same way.

The prisoners on this floor were all Heroic-rank or higher.

Obviously, they weren’t challenging opponents for Seol, but because there was a chance that the wardens could be drawn into it as well, he proceeded cautiously.

Crush!

Another one of Seol’s crows had been caught.

- Why do they always get caught? LMFAO

- I think the crows should unionize so Seol can’t abuse them anymore.

- ???: Union! Power! Union! Power!

- ???: Let’s create a win-win relationship with our creator! Labor rights…

‘What is it this time?’

This time, the crow wasn’t immediately destroyed. After all, the person who discovered it was Seol’s ally.

Mael seized the crow.

“What…. Snowman? I knew you’d be fine. Are you around here?”

Seol made the crow nod its head. He then recalled the other crows before immediately heading to Mael.

"Phew... I was worried. Because of the warden or whatever it’s called making a fuss..."

“Have you seen the vicar?”

"I haven’t run into her yet, which makes me worry. More importantly, though... have you fought some of the monsters on this floor yet?"

“I have.”

"They... were humans. This makes me also think that Alcatron was a prison built by humans as well."

“It’s very likely, yes.”

"With the current circumstances, most of the expedition party will likely die. It's best to resolve this as quickly as we can."

Seol and Mael nodded to each other before exchanging information. However, truthfully, since Mael didn't know much, it was mostly Seol sharing his information with Mael.

And for those reasons, Mael’s eyes shone with each detail Seol gave him.

“I see…! So my assumptions of Alcatron being an ancient prison were true! Alcatron was likely built by humans but was abandoned for some reason or another, or... forgotten entirely. Regardless, what a cruel game. To think our lives are just the playthings of someone’s will…”

“In the end, to solve this…”

“Libra can be delayed. We must first look for Alcatron’s control room or…”

Mael nodded.

“We could kill whoever’s behind this.”

“Alright.”

“Then for now…”

Rumble…

“It can’t be… right?”

“Please… Please don’t be…”

[Rumble…]

Seol and Mael both grimaced as they prepared for the space to distort once more.

Blink. Blink blink.

“Huh? We’re fine.”

“Phew… I’m glad that we weren’t being transported again.”

Agony laughed at them from inside the lantern.

[Pffft… I enjoyed watching the two of you cower.]

“......”

[Your worried expressions were quite the sight.]

But then…

Rumble…

“...Huh?”

“What?”

Rumble rumble rumble…

CRUMBLEEEEEE!

The ground beneath their feet cracked and crumbled, especially under Seol. Fissures surrounded him, leaving him no time or space to escape.

“Snowman, grab my hand!”

“Damn it…”

Mael quickly reached his hand out in an attempt to catch Seol, but it was too far.

Agony cried as it fell into the abyss.

[Ahhhhhh!]

And like that, both Seol and Agony fell into the darkness.

Fwirl!

The most that Seol could do to prepare for the impact was enter the Night Crow form.

[Hidden Adventure ‘Alcatron's Great Collapse’ is now active.]

* * *

Thud…

“Krghhhh…”

Even Seol wasn’t spared from the impact of falling through the ground. As he waved his lantern around, Agony remained unresponsive.

Agony was likely knocked out.

Seol shook his head and slowly got up.

“Urgh… Where… am I?”

- 3 in a row, really?

- I can’t believe they just collapsed the ground beneath him LMFAO

- They got tired of distorting space so they just broke it 😀

Pant pant… pant pant pant…

“A dog?”

Seol was definitely hearing the sound of a dog panting around him.

Grrrr…

It really was a dog.

Grrrrrrrr…

There were no other words necessary to describe it.

It really was just a dog.

‘A dog? But… is it on guard?’

A black dog circled around Seol, on guard but not approaching.

Seol, while surprised that a dog had survived Alcatron, recognized that it wasn’t the most important thing right now.

‘How far did I fall?’

Turn… Turn…

As Seol looked around to confirm his surroundings, the dog stole glances at Seol.

“...Tch.”

Seol dug into his inventory before pulling out jerky made from monster meat.

Throw!

The dog swiftly and easily caught the piece of jerky that Seol had thrown at it.

- Nice catch!

- I’m going to fall for him LMFAO

- But why is a dog here?

Seol smiled at the dog, but his expression froze shortly afterward.

Giiiii…

A warden appeared from behind the dog.

‘Damn it, a warden! They must have also fallen down here!’

Wardens were hostile to any and every living being around them. As such, unfortunately for the black dog, its life would soon end here.

Whine?

As the dog slowly walked closer to Seol for another piece of jerky, it spotted the warden behind it.

“Watch out!” said Seol.

His words were clearly intended for the dog.

After all, if the dog was like the prisoners on the first floor, it wouldn’t take even a moment for the warden to make it pop like a balloon.

But that was only if… the dog was like the prisoners on the first floor.

Crunch! Snap!

In an instant, the dog sunk its teeth into the warden’s neck before ripping out chunks of its flesh.

“...What?”

The black dog let out a deep growl as it feasted on the warden’s blood.

Grrrr…

The dog grew in size as its eyes grew more violent.

Snap… Crunch…

As the dog grew larger and larger, until it was even bigger than Jamad, Seol activated his Eyes of Foresight.

Ding.

[A wonderful discovery! You have discovered a mysterious lifeform.]

Seol quickly scanned through the dog’s information, searching for a way to survive it.

“Oh my god… Transcendent-rank? Not to mention…”

Grrrrrrr…

Bark! Bark!

“The 4th Floor? I’m on Floor B4?”

Seol currently found himself on Floor B4 of Alcatron after falling through the floor. His allies, the ones who could save him, were still on Floor B2.

Completely shocked after witnessing a warden's death, Seol recalled the conversation he had with Ner earlier.

- Upper floor? Then are there no guards on the lower floors?

- Nope. It would be pointless.

- How come?

- Because the prisoners down there are stronger than the guards.

Grrrr…

The black dog slowly inched closer to Seol.

It had grown to a point where it clearly wouldn’t be satisfied with jerky anymore. It would definitely be satisfied by Seol though…

‘Still… if I can play my cards right…’

Toss!

Seol threw another piece of jerky like earlier.

Pant pant…

The black dog seemed confused as it slowly regained its appetite.

It almost looked at Seol as if he were a goose that laid golden eggs.

‘Damn it… that was the last piece of jerky I had…’

- He’s fucked!

- Blackie: Give me all your food >:)

- Give me food unless you want to become my food >:)

As Seol scrambled through his inventory for something to replace the jerky, a growing worry gnawed at him. If he took any longer, the dog would simply eat him instead.

‘Damn it… If it’s come to this… It’s better to use this here than to die while saving it!’

Grab…

Seol quickly pulled out a certain item from his inventory, just moments before disaster struck.

It was an item he had purchased from Janet at the Madness Store.

[You used the Love-Hate Deer's Sachet.]