The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-176

Claaaang! Claaaaaang!

Countless chains poured down from the ceiling to restrain Ur, who had turned into a spirit. There were so many of them that it felt like every chain in the world had been called upon.

“No! Stop it!”

Clatter clatter!

The expedition party cheered and shouted in excitement.

“You fucking demon! Die already!”

“Rot in there for the rest of your life, you damned monster!”

Clatter clang!

Ur was ensnared in chains, like an insect caught in a spider’s web.

As the bindings tightened around him, he was gradually moved to a place next to his old body.

“Gasp… gasp…”

“Snowman!”

Thud!

Seol fainted from the shock of using the magic words.

* * *

The world in Seol’s dreams felt like a watercolor painting.

His peripherals smudged and wavered as the colors slowly turned monochrome.

- It’s my turn!

- Hahaha!

Seol was rolling dice with the gods.

‘This dream again…?’

Even though this was a memory Seol no longer wanted to remember… Why was he recalling this now?

Seol looked expressionlessly at the game board. However, a new expression quickly formed.

A very surprised expression.

‘I’ve never… seen this board before?’

- Hahaha!

- You damned Cagon bastards! How dare you do that to my piece!

- That’s why you should’ve been careful!

Cagon.

Seol heard the name ‘Cagon’ from their lips.

Seol initially believed it was his first time hearing that name, as he had no memory of it, but it seemed like in a corner of his memories... a place named ‘Cagon’ surely left a mark.

‘I knew Cagon?’

No, Seol did not.

Even now, Seol did not know where Cagon was, since when it existed, or what kind of place it was.

‘Then why does it feel familiar?’

It was unfamiliar, yet it felt familiar.

Seol didn’t know how to accept these facts, much less describe these strange feelings.

“...up.”

Suddenly, he had a headache.

‘Urgh…’

“Wake up!”

“Please!”

As his dreams shattered into pieces, Seol opened his eyes.

“Haah…!”

In front of him were Frannan, Chameli, and countless other members of the expedition party.

“He woke up!”

“What a relief! Hrgh… I really thought… I really thought something bad had happened.”

“Did anyone think a promising young talent like him would actually die? Hahaha!”

“It’s all good now!”

The expedition party members all excitedly talked to one another.

"Now, if we can all just escape safely, I'll have a story to tell for the rest of my life!"

“I’m done. After this job is over, I’m going back to my hometown.”

"Regardless of what happens, I just want a hot bath. I don’t know how long I’ve had blood on me."

Despite their journey's awkward start and initial guardedness toward each other, after enduring countless trials together, they now shared a comfortable sense of peace, as if they had been lifelong friends.

[‘NODPSBREATHINGMACHINE’ has donated 1500 Madness!]

[Is everyone alright now?]

- Mom, what should I try to be when I grow up? Mom, what should I try to be when I grow up?

- Try to become Snowman! Try to become Snowman!

- I lost my mind so much I think I was knocked out…

[‘MadnessEatingHippo’ has donated 1200 Madness!]

[He cleared this? Is this for real?!!]

- How the hell did he read the magic words?!

- If you were going to do that… why make Kiki…

- The difficulty of this Adventure was ridiculously high… and he still cleared it…

- He’s making me want to send him off into weirder places now…

[‘Peerless’ has donated 1000 Madness!]

[One is gone now. Today is a sad day.]

- But it’s alright! We cleared it! We beat the dungeon!

- You assholes are only interested in items 😭 Think about Koko

- Right, Koko 😭 I miss you already!

- Don’t go already!

Seol received countless donations.

His viewers, sensing the Adventure's ridiculously high difficulty, judged that the odds of Seol clearing it were low.

But Seol managed not only to overcome that absurd difficulty but also to do it excellently.

“The seal is…”

“Look, over there!”

Chameli excitedly pointed at the ceiling.

“......”

Ur, who had wielded control over their lives, was now ensnared in chains to the extent that it was appropriate to say that he was buried in them.

“This is all… thanks to you, Snowman.”

[You have sealed Ur.]

[The Haunted Ground’s Lost Keepsakes has been generated.]

[You have satisfied the Adventure Objective.]

[If the Remaining Time runs out or if you choose to take your reward, you may choose to finish your Adventure here.]

A large chest formed by Seol’s feet.

“So this is the ‘transferee reward’ I heard so much about.”

“Yeah, it must be! Still, it’s so novel…”

“It’s thanks to these that transferees can quickly grow and adjust to our world.”

“Exactly.”

“So, what are you doing? Why aren’t you opening it up?”

As Seol was the only transferee in the entire expedition party, people gathered around him and his treasure as if they had witnessed something incredible.

Though Seol didn't particularly enjoy opening his rewards in front of others, if he could boost the expedition party's morale after enduring such a long and arduous adventure, he didn't mind confirming his rewards in front of them.

Click…

[You open the Haunted Ground’s Lost Keepsakes.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have received skill points.]

[You have received skill points.]

[Affluent’s Bonus Effect activates.]

[You have received additional skill points.]

[You have received additional skill points.]

[Sly Blood-Hue Snake activates.]

[You have received additional skill points.]

[You have received additional skill points.]

[You have acquired Deep Underground Belt.]

[You have acquired Thunder Ring.]

[You have acquired Stompy's Rock Head.]

[You have acquired Cape of Tenacious Vigilance.]

[You have acquired Atonement.]

[You have acquired 27 ancient gold coins.]

[You have acquired 3 extra large red potions.]

[You have acquired 12 large red potions.]

[You have acquired 4 large blue potions.]

[You have acquired 4 potions of dark sight.]

……

“Oho… So that was how it worked?”

“D-Don’t get too close to it! Don’t touch it either! Those all belong to the transferee!”

“I’m just trying to see it, come on… ah, I see… so that’s how it worked.”

“I’ve worked with transferees before, so I knew how it worked, but… I’ve never seen a chest as big as this…”

- Huh? Are they filming a movie?

- Am I going to be on TV?

- Everyone’s trying to get a peek LOOOL

Seol didn’t mind their envious eyes and simply focused on checking the important items.

[[Deep Underground Belt]

Quality: Abomination

Recommended Level: 35-44

Defense: 70

Durability: 180/180

Weight: 0.1kg

A belt embedded with a gem found deep underground, born from the humidity and darkness. This item causes the wearer to have nightmares.

Basic Effect: +10 All Stats, +30 Constitution

Bonus Effect: Stat increases are doubled at night.]

- Even though his old belt is gone…

- We got a pretty good new one…

- It’s not bad at all!

- I thought Snowman’s next belt was going to be shitty after Space, but… he basically became a tank?

- Seriously, LOL is it because of the high levels? Also, losing Space’s unique effect sucks, but this one has really nice stats.

- It’s also an Abomination. I bet Snowman gets more stats out of it now.

Seol did need a new belt after Space had been destroyed.

Without hesitation, Seol quickly equipped the Deep Underground Belt.

[You have currently equipped 3 Abominations.]

[All of your stats increase by 10.]

[All of your skills have their mana costs decreased by 10%.]

[Shadow Space increases by 1,000.]

As the viewers suggested, Seol didn't find his new belt lacking at all, especially since it also applied the Abomination bonus.

‘No longer having the unique effect is a bit of a shame, though.’

Even so, it was difficult to shake off the feeling of loss, considering how exceptional Space's unique effect had been.

[[Thunder Ring]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 33-40

Resistance: 60

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 0.1kg

A ring imbued with lightning energy.

Basic Effect: +18 Wisdom, +14 Constitution, +15 Spirit

Bonus Effect: The wearer's lightning abilities are enhanced.]

- This one’s for Jamad.

- Can’t Snowman wear it too?

- Snowman doesn’t have lightning spells, though.

- Yeah, it’s Jamad’s.

As such, the Thunder Ring was given to Jamad.

Seol equipped Karen with Stompy's Rock Head, which, despite its name, was a steel helmet. Then, he handed the Cape of Tenacious Vigilance to Jamad.

The expedition party was confused and perplexed by Seol's distribution of items.

“He’s giving all of those good items… to summons?”

"I just checked their gear. All of his summons have incredible equipment!"

“Where did he get all of them?”

And the final item that everyone was looking forward to…

This item had a particularly different aura than the others.

Slide…

“This is…”

“Oh my god…”

It was a necklace adorned with a black gem at its center.

[You have acquired Peerless: Atonement.]

[You have acquired an item that didn’t exist in the world previously.]

[[Peerless: Atonement]

Quality: Peerless

Recommended Level: 35-45

Resistance: 120

Durability: 140/140

Weight: 0.1kg

The heart of sin.

A necklace forged from malevolent energies and an ominous sense of guilt.

Basic Effect: +20 All Stats

Bonus Effect: Repentance (Unique), Share Pain (Unique), Confession (Unique). 50% chance to negate curses. If unsuccessful, reduce the curse's duration by 50%.

[Repentance (Unique)]

- If dealt over 30% of your maximum health from one attack in combat, gradually recover 80% of the damage taken.

[Share Pain (Unique)]

- While engaged in close-quarters combat, there is a certain chance to transfer a portion of the damage taken back to the opponent. This damage cannot be reduced.

[Confession (Unique)]

- When the wearer is afflicted with a new Abnormal Status, there is a certain chance to remove all Abnormal Statuses currently afflicting them.]

- Ring the broken item alarms!

- Koko Class 1! Announcing a Koko Class 1!

- Pant… Pant…!

- WTF… these effects are insane…

- Obviously, he would get another Peerless item when his old one got destroyed LOL

- It’s a bit unfortunate he didn’t get two of them 😀

- These are literally the best utility effects.

- BiS! He already got the Best in Slot necklaces! It’s over!

“......”

“Th-that necklace is… shining?”

“Frannan?”

“Y-Yeah…?”

“You’re drooling…”

Frannan nodded, realizing he must have looked rather unseemly while staring blankly at Seol's new necklace.

"Ahahaha... sorry about that. More importantly, so this is why transferees were growing at an unprecedented pace."

“Yes… it really is incredible.”

After awkwardly rushing through the Peerless item’s effects, Seol stood up.

“Why don’t we get going now?”

"Yes, let’s. We can always talk about what happened outside."

“The way out is…”

Rumble!!!

Suddenly, Alcatron began rumbling.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“Why is Alcatron…”

Thuuuuud!

“Damn it… Something must have happened! Everyone, gather up!”

“The walls are crumbling!”

“Hands! Grab each other’s hands!”

“Gather around the pilgrims!”

Crackle crackle!

There had been signs of Alcatron giving away before as well…

“At this rate…”

Rumble rumble!

Crash collapse!

Craaaash!

The walls collapsed onto the expedition party.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

“No way…”

“This can’t be real…”

“How could this be?”

The expedition party fell into a panic.

After a deafening rumble, Alcatron collapsed, leaving only the area where the expedition party stood surrounded by bedrock.

“There’s nothing!”

“There’s no way to escape!”

Chameli, upon hearing from the relatively uninjured party members that they couldn’t find a way out, sank to her knees.

“Is it really okay for a person’s feelings to go back and forth like this? I’m not dreaming, am I?” said Chameli.

“......”

She sighed after seeing Ur’s sealed body.

“If it wasn’t for his seal, we would’ve been buried by the rubble as well,” continued Chameli. “You really never know how things end up…”

The expedition party then approached Frannan.

“What should we do, Sir Frannan? We’ve already run out of food…”

“The bigger issue in a small area like this is our lack of oxygen.”

“Are we… really going to die like this after going through so much?”

“Not…”

Frannan tried to say something but couldn’t. Even he didn’t have a method to make it out.

“Haah…”

Frustration also struck Seol.

‘Damn it… I should’ve considered the rumblings sooner… was the ground unstable?’

Seol initially suspected that the collapse was caused by Ur freeing himself from his seals, but it became apparent that the two events were unrelated in the end.

“Everyone…”

“Mael?”

Mael was carefully observing something in the corner alone.

“Did… Kiki not die earlier?”

“Huh? What are you…”

“I’m asking in case I’m misremembering something.”

“K-Kiki died, yes.”

Mael then pointed into the shadows.

“Then what’s that?”

A monkey with glowing eyes stared at the expedition party.

Something had taken the form of Kiki and was now looking at them.

“Ohohoho… All of you seem to be in a rather difficult position.”

“Bornuil?!” shouted Frannan. “Oh my god!”

“You were alive?”

“Libra is alive!”

The expedition party was filled with an indescribable feeling of excitement upon seeing Bornuil, whom they believed to be dead, return through Kiki’s body.

“Ohoho… quite a dire situation.”

“Bornuil, how did you end up in that body…”

“As Ur was being sealed, I did this and that… But, well… is that really important right now?”

“O-Of course. Then do you know of a way to escape this situation?”

“Ohohoho… I do not have a way to escape this situation, no.”

“You damned old man!” yelled Frannan. “Who the hell do you think you’re playing with?!”

“S-Someone, stop Frannan!”

Seol replayed Bornuil’s words in his head while looking at Kiki.

And then, he asked a question.

“May I ask a question, Bornuil?”

"Oh? I always welcome questions from young ones like yourself."

Seol raised an eyebrow.

“Are you… the only one in that body?”

Bornuil laughed in response.

“...So you noticed. I am not the only individual inside this body. Now, why don’t you come out now?”

The monkey’s expression quickly shifted.

It was an expression filled with annoyance and discontent.

“Serves you right…”

“That voice… Ur!”

“Weren’t you sealed?!”

“No!”

As everyone began to shout and scream in fear, Bornuil calmed them down.

"Ohoho! Calm down, everybody. Ur's body has been perfectly sealed. The only thing within this monkey's body is his consciousness that he barely managed to send out. He was in such a rush that even I, this sleeping Bornuil, thankfully managed to go along with him. But regardless, the important thing is that his powers are sealed inside that body. In fact, I have more control than him in this body."

“In other words, it was an emergency escape.”

“Phew… I was so shocked.”

“I thought we had to fight him again…”

“But to survive through taking over a monkey’s body… I respect his will to live, at least.”

- Fucking… I thought they’d have to deal with that 3 times in a row LOL

- Who would ever go through something like that hahahah…

- I was scared for a second, though. It would have been impossible if they had to fight him now.

- So… he’s just a monkey now? LMFAO

- He was trying to run away but got so scared that he messed up LOOOL

- Ooh ooh! Ah ah!

- I want to try asking him if he wants a banana HAHAHAHA

- Bleh~ I can’t believe you’re a monkey hehehe

“It does. And…”

The monkey suddenly began to tap its head.

“Don’t tell them!”

“Ohoho… I’m going to tell them.”

The monkey began to struggle as if it were an actor pretending to play two roles.

And then, after a while…

It seemed that in the end, Bornuil won.

“He knows a way for all of you to escape from here.”

Ur furiously shouted after Bornuil finished his words.

"I told you not to tell them!"