The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-193

Gollun, the Grave Robber.

He was one of Seol’s pieces, the first to etch the name 'Snowman' into the memories of the gods who enjoyed the game.

Gollun started out as just another of Seol’s ordinary pieces. He was, at least... until his peculiar traits revealed themselves.

[You have earned Tendency: Kleptomaniac.]

[From now on, you will unwittingly take other people’s belongings.]

[You realize that you have a fondness for graves.]

[You will only feel fulfilled by uncovering all graves.]

Seol could finally decide on Gollun’s path after having these two abilities awaken.

The adventurer—no, rather, a grave robber—began uncovering graves from that day forth.

While Lian's potential grew exponentially after his Innate Talent was revealed, Gollun's Tendency caused Seol many headaches.

Firstly, he couldn’t enter cities or towns because of his kleptomania.

Essentially, he was no longer allowed to rest or stockpile on necessary materials from stores.

If Seol ever carelessly wandered into a town, Gollun would inevitably be adorned with other people’s possessions, like fruits on a tree, and spend the entire day being pursued by the town’s guards.

Not to mention, Gollun was essentially incapable of taking on ordinary missions.

If Gollun stumbled upon signs of a grave during an Adventure, he would disregard everything else to uncover it, even the Adventure’s Objective, as if he only had a single brain cell.

However, shadows only exist in the presence of light.

[You are now able to smell the scent of money.]

[You can quickly find hidden treasures.]

[You have earned Tendency: Hoarder.]

[You are no longer able to sell the items that you collect, but in exchange, hoarding them in a specific location will increase your stats.]

Seol had earned this effect while uncovering a tomb with Gollun.

This skill marked Gollun's transformation from a caterpillar into a soaring butterfly.

While the 'scent of money' effect didn’t always trigger, when it did, it practically guaranteed extraordinary riches within the tomb, like discovering a colony of barnacles clinging to the hull of a ship.

With his new ability, Gollun could gather treasures more swiftly than ever.

And Hoarder.

Unable to enter cities, Seol was forced to sell Gollun's items to wandering traders or on the black market. As such, he could never fetch a fair price for them.

But what other choice did he have?

It was pointless to hold onto useless items, after all.

But now, with Hoarder, there was no longer a reason to sell the treasures. In fact, just gathering them was much more beneficial, even if it meant purchasing some.

Seol began unearthing graves to store the treasures he acquired from them in the designated spot, increasing his stats and enabling him to take on increasingly more dangerous tombs and graves.

With a clear path to success, Gollun rapidly grew stronger through this method.

Gollun's hoard grew massively, turning him strong enough to overpower anyone at his level.

However, it wouldn’t continue for long.

It became an open secret among the players that Gollun stored his treasures at a certain location, and people began searching for them.

Not only were other tomb raiders and ruin hunters on the lookout, but even ordinary adventurers joined the search for Gollun's hidden hoard.

In fact, even trolls and player-killers joined the fray.

It would have been at least somewhat manageable for Seol if it had been only them, but even notorious Pandeans began their hunt for Gollun’s treasures.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

[Adventure 25. ‘Grave Robber’s Tomb’

By chance, you've stumbled upon the entrance to an unguarded tomb. You venture into the darkness, still unsure if this is indeed someone's grave.

The air smells damp, and your feet feel heavy.

What secrets lie within this tomb?

At this moment, it's impossible to discern.

Objective: Discover something of significance.

Remaining Time [About 3 days]]

Seol began by taking a deep breath.

Though he was underground once more, like in his two previous Adventures, the air was different from theirs.

It was damp, but not stuffy. It was dark, but not to the point that it was unnerving.

‘Is it because I’m familiar with this place?’

Seol had no reason to worry, as this tomb and its traps were all something that he made, after all.

“It’s been a while.”

- Have you been here before?

“No, I just get that feeling.”

Seol didn't necessarily have the best memories about this place, so he chose to ignore it entirely. Even when there were talks about players targeting Gollun's treasures, even after his death, Seol paid them no mind.

‘It's not like there were any particularly important treasures either.’

While Seol wasn’t fully sure, as it was impossible to test, he got the sense that he was already stronger than Gollun at his peak.

And when you consider the fact that Gollun hoarded these treasures, believing they were too valuable to discard yet not good enough to use, Seol would be fortunate to find even one useful item.

While the items here were definitely valuable and useful for many Adventurers, they held little appeal for Seol.

Despite this, no other adventurer would likely want to come here.

‘It wouldn't be worth it for them, after all.’

The items Seol stored here as Gollun weren't just treasures.

There were also sentinels Gollun prepared as countermeasures for theft and treasures that could be dangerous if mishandled.

As there was little value in raiding this tomb despite its numerous dangers, it was natural to conclude that people wouldn't want to visit it if given the chance.

‘The only reason I came here is because of Gollun… I need to retrieve his will.’

Crack…

As Seol stepped on a skull, it shattered beneath his feet.

Nonetheless, he continued forward.

[Intermediate Insight activates.]

[There is a trap nearby.]

Seol knew exactly what it was.

It was likely the old arrow trap he had installed long ago. It was shoddy and mostly served to just weed out the laughably weak.

‘I doubt it would even work anymore…’

Seol was in control of Gollun a long, long time ago. There was no way the trap would still be operational.

Step…

Ffft!

“......”

An arrow shot from the trap as Seol stepped on the plate.

Seol turned his head to the side, dodging it, before continuing.

Step…

Step…

Fft!

Fffft!

Seol had initially thought it was just his bad luck, but... they were all operational.

Fwirl!

Seol used Shadow Hand to retrieve an arrow embedded in the wall.

He was shocked after seeing them.

‘These… aren’t the arrows I prepared.’

Someone had tampered with Seol’s traps.

This truth completely shocked him.

Seol would have understood if someone had disarmed his traps entirely. After all, he had resupplied and fixed his traps as Gollun had done multiple times before.

But… had there ever been an instance of someone tampering with it and resupplying it with more arrows?

Was someone trying to become the new owner after Gollun’s death?

Step…

Fft!

Step…

Fft!

Seol continued to think while leisurely dodging the arrows.

‘Is… Gollun still alive?’

It was impossible.

Seol was there for Gollun’s death, after all. No one knew this fact better than Seol himself.

Then… that means that someone else is maintaining this tomb.

After Seol passed through the area filled with arrow traps, Insight activated again.

[Intermediate Insight activates.]

[There is a trap nearby.]

‘The next traps were pitfall traps.’

Seol remembered them clearly, as these traps were annoying to reset.

“......”

Every last tile had been rearranged.

‘Someone tampered with these traps like the arrow traps from earlier.’

Seol, who originally entered this tomb solely to retrieve Gollun's unfulfilled desires, grew interested in the mysterious person behind it all.

Seol intentionally stepped on a tile.

[It’s a trap!]

[The ground beneath you collapses!]

Crumble…

A large area beneath Seol's feet crumbled away, but he was fine.

Seol was too swift to fall for traps like these now.

Seol looked down at the pitfall from above. It was quite deep and dark, so he wasn't sure at first, but through the Eyes of Foresight, he quickly spotted something down there.

“...Huh? That corpse…?”

Steel spikes pointed up at the bottom of the trap, and Seol spotted the corpses of people who had fallen for it before.

However, what interested him currently was the newest corpse that had been placed next to them.

‘...That one died recently.’

Its flesh had begun to rot but hadn't completely deteriorated yet.

It was definitely a fresh corpse. It hadn't been long since they died.

“...How interesting.”

- He said it was interesting!

- LOOOL I wonder what he found so interesting…?

- It’s kinda creepy…

It didn’t matter whether the corpse belonged to a transferee or a Pandean. What mattered now was that uninvited guests were still visiting Gollun’s tomb.

Fwip!

Step!

Crumble…

[It’s a trap!]

[The ground beneath you collapses!]

Fft!

Seol swiftly dashed from one tile to another like a panther, ignoring everything else.

After clearing the pitfall traps in an instant, Seol swiftly began navigating through the other traps as well.

Whether a large boulder came rolling down at him, the ceiling caved in, or he found himself locked in a room filled with poisonous mist...

‘They’ve all been properly maintained.’

Seol had already cleared through a number of traps.

And now, he was looking at his next one.

It was placed in an open area. A maze, the pinnacle of traps, faced him head-on.

- Whoa, it’s nice to see a maze again LOL

- You can clear it easily by just sticking to the left wall.

- But I won’t.

- Why not?

- Because it won’t be fun?

- This guy seems… pretty fun?

Surprisingly, Seol could immediately recall his memories of building this maze the moment he saw it.

Back then, the gods were interested in Seol after witnessing how much Gollun grew and how he continued to embark on Solo Adventures.

- What is he doing alone right now?

- Setting traps.

- Traps? Why would you… What is this?

- A maze.

- A maze… huh? Wow… it’s so large…

- What do you think?

- …There are more traps, right?

- Huh? Ah… yeah.

- How do you maintain them all?

- Ah… I just so happened to come up with something earlier…

Seol was brought back from the past and found himself sprinting through the maze.

[[You are currently in a maze. Which direction do you go?]

1. Right.

2. Left.

3. Forwards.

4. Go back.

……]

“The right…”

Fwip!

[It’s a trap!]

Fwoooosh!

Snap! Snap!

Seol continued forward after deflecting all of the incoming arrows.

“Left this time.”

As he headed left, he was blocked off.

[It’s a dead-end.]

“......”

- He was confidently wrong!

- It’s all about confidence, baby!

- It’s kinda shitty… but I respect it!

Seol then began running around the maze as if he had realized something.

Fwip!

[It’s a trap!]

Fwoosh!

[It’s a dead-end.]

- This is a bit weird…

- Didn’t he just pass through here?

- LOL! Scary topics aren’t allowed.

- This is…

Seol reached a conclusion.

‘The maze… is moving.’

The maze was set up completely differently from how he had initially arranged it. Seeing that, he let out an empty laugh.

“I wondered what it was…”

Seol looked around him before continuing.

“Come out, you rat bastards.”

It was completely silent.

“I already know everything. Come out already.”

- Rat… bastards?

- Was Seol in the mob?

- Don’t tell me… it was another transferee?!

- Is Las Cabras already here?

Seol then heard the skittering of rats all around him.

Squeak… squeak…

Rumbleeeeeee…

And at the same time, the walls began to rumble as the maze shifted.

- What the hell?

- The maze is angry!

Rumble rumble…

As the maze continued to change, Seol recalled his past once more.

- So you’re going to be raising grave rats here?

- Yes, they're smart, so I'm sure they'll maintain it like it was their own house. They've frequently appeared in ruins as well.

- But... that's because they really do believe it is their house. They're quite annoying monsters too... And don't they also grow through eating treasures? Are you sure this won't cause any problems in the future?

- That’s why I prepared something for that as well!

The maze's walls began to surround Seol like an MMA ring, preventing him from walking in any direction. After a short second, the entire earth beneath Seol collapsed.

[It’s a trap!]

Rumble…

Seol gripped the wall as he fell to slow down his descent.

Rumble rumble rumble…

Fft.

He finally landed on the floor.

It wasn't too deep, not as much as Seol expected it to be.

Squeak… squeak squeak…

Large, people-sized rats waddled toward him, glaring at him the entire time.

Behind them loomed a particularly fat rat, exhaling noxious fumes with each breath.

Squeak… squeak…

“You shouldn’t be taking customers anymore when we’re closed down,” said Seol, casually.

Squeak… squeak…

Normally, grave rats didn’t grow this big.

‘I bet they ate the treasures on the other side as well.’

The massive grave rats drooled as their gazes fixed on Seol.

Fwirl…

Seol summoned Karen.

[Hidden Adventure ‘Like Master Like Rat’ is now active.]

Squeaaaaaak!

As the swarm of rats charged at Seol, he issued an order to Karen.

“Burn them all down.”

Karen gripped her sword tightly.

Flaaaare!

[Karen’s Passive: Best Friend activates.]

[Passive: Sudden Appearance activates.]

[Karen’s skills influence Koko, the Happy.]