The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-198

Fondness for Graves, Kleptomaniac, Scent of Money, Hoarder, etc.

As Seol wondered which of Gollun’s traits he would acquire, he had just one wish.

‘Please don’t give me Kleptomaniac.’

And then, he saw the messages.

[You have inherited an unlucky skill.]

[You have inherited Tendency: Kleptomaniac.]

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

“God damn it…”

- LMFAOOOOOOOOOO

- Look at his face, HAHHAHAHAAHHAA

- The Nerf Snowman Party is popping champagne right now.

[‘Robbed’ has donated 1500 Madness!]

[Want me to… call 911 for you?]

- Why? Ah… is it because… you stole my heart?

- Stop.

[‘Got You’ has donated 1200 Madness!]

[I’ve been waiting for this day for 23 years… I finally caught you, scumbag!]

- He can’t enter towns anymore, LMFAOOOO

- Nah, he should just be like, “And?” whenever someone tries to press him about it.

- I mean… he is strong enough to get away with it.

Tendencies were like tattoos branded onto your pieces. They weren’t something you could turn on and off.

As such, it was now inevitable for Seol to have conflicts with whoever he met.

‘Why did it have to be this one…’

It wasn't Gollun's fault either.

Seol doubted that even he would want to pass on this skill to someone else.

He felt horrid as he imagined the headache this skill would cause in the future.

However… they were followed by more messages.

[Tendency: Kleptomaniac is affected by your incredible finesse with your hands.]

[Your thievery skill drastically increases.]

[Targets you steal from will have a much harder time noticing your theft, thanks to your enhanced sneakiness and swiftness.]

[You will target valuables first.]

“...Whoa.”

- What do you mean, “Whoa”? LOOOOL

- I… will become the greatest thief ever!

- Snowman was supposed to be the good guy, though…

Even so, the core problem remained, nothing had changed.

And almost as if in response to Seol's concerns… more messages began to appear.

[Tendency: Kleptomaniac is affected by Shadow Hand.]

[Tendency: Kleptomaniac is changed to Tendency: Shadow Theft.]

[You are now able to use Shadow Hand to steal, all effects applicable to it are applied.]

[Shadow Hand is affected by your incredible finesse with your hands.]

[Shadow Hand is now even stealthier and swifter than before.]

Still, those weren’t enough to appease Seol’s worries.

“......”

Seol silently waited, hoping that more messages would follow, but that was it.

‘This is going to be a pain… I might end up fighting other transferees because of this.’

Seol now had to keep his distance from other people to avoid fights.

While he could easily defeat most transferees, it wasn’t always guaranteed to be easy.

‘Still… I don’t want to give up resting in cities…’

To put it bluntly, Seol would have to camp outside to avoid other people. While most transferees, including Seol, were accustomed to sleeping outdoors now, cities offered benefits beyond just sleeping in inns, making this adjustment challenging.

- There’s no need to worry so much.

It was Ur’s voice from the Shadow Space, comforting Seol.

“What?”

“It’s annoying, but it’s fine. We can just alter it.”

“Alter… it? Are you able to deliberately alter skills?”

“Yes, but I won’t be able to alter much if you want me to forcibly change it. Even so, it would be worth the time to do it.”

If Ur truly was capable of altering skills, even changing just a single word would be more than enough to make this skill better.

‘If I could just remove the ‘unwittingly’ part… It would all be better.’

Regardless, through this Adventure, Seol learned that inheriting his old piece’s unfulfilled desires didn’t always lead to a happy ending.

* * *

Not too long after, there was a small commotion at Azelphog’s Adventurer Association.

“They really were plotting for it, huh? I heard that transferees in Adeline are working hard toward getting rid of Las Cabras as well.”

"They're basically telling them to go back to where they came from. Adeline's not letting them in to prevent their city from turning into a breeding ground for criminals."

“It’s a war… a total war. But how was it possible for Adeline to drive them away this quickly? I heard Las Cabras was already teetering on the edge.”

“Adeline might have been staying quiet because the surrounding countries were all becoming active, but… Las Cabras went too far. That’s why they attacked them immediately the moment the incident happened.”

“I doubt they have any options left since they’re getting pushed back from all directions…”

“That’s good, though! Those damned criminals should be wiped out, that’s the only way! All those damned transferees acting like this is their country should…”

“Quiet… Everyone here is a transferee.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. Huh…?”

The man quickly rummaged his pockets.

Grab… Grab…

The man checked all of his pockets, finding nothing.

“What’s wrong?” asked the other man.

“Th-that’s weird…”

“Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“I… I lost my wallet.”

“Are you sure you didn’t leave it behind at the restaurant we were at?”

“I definitely remember taking it with me…”

“Look harder then. Check the floor too.”

“Haaah… Where did I drop it?”

“Man… I’ll go to the restaurant and ask them for you, alright?”

“Th-thanks.”

At the same time, Seol sat in the corner of the Adventurer Association, checking the community function.

“...God damn it.”

He was also confused about what to do as he held an unknown person’s wallet in his hand.

- LMFAOOOO He missed the timing to return it!

- ???: Ah, so… I didn’t notice it either…

- ???: What? Are you going to report me to the police? What do you mean? Shit… Karen, use Sunset Draw!

- You gotta use an Exceptional Skill to kill them for sure LOOOL

Place…

“Did I drop it on the floor around here…?”

As the man searched under the table for his wallet, Seol placed it on the table without him noticing.

“Argh, where did I… Huh? Did I really not notice my wallet on the table? Let me see… My money’s all there too… God, I’m such an idiot.”

- I’ll let you go this time…

- I’m taking all of your money next time!

- (unintentional) Robin Hood.

Luckily, the man seemed to have glossed over it.

“Fuu…”

Originally, Seol had planned to meet Yeo-myeong here after his Adventure.

However, things didn’t go as expected. Yeo-myeong was currently absent from Azelphog.

✉️[Friend <Yeo-myeong>’s Letter]

[Send Date: A day ago]

[Title: Hyung, I’m sorry. I’m leaving first.]

[I’m sure you already noticed the situation when you came back, but... the situation in Adeline is evolving quickly. Las Cabras is currently being pushed back by Adeline’s hard-line response.

Strong transferees are also joining Adeline to help dismantle the cartel, but Las Cabras is putting up a fight as well, resulting in injuries on both sides.

Since I was partly the reason for everything happening, I couldn’t just sit still and went there to help.

Normally, I would have waited until you finished your Adventure to tell you in person, but there was no time, so I’m leaving this letter behind. When you come back...]

‘Hm…’

Seol couldn’t believe the current situation.

It wasn’t just about Yeo-myeong’s letter; after all, Seol was also at fault for not informing Yeo-myeong how long he would be gone in the first place.

Partly, it was because Seol himself was uncertain, as his recent Adventures had gone longer than he had originally expected.

‘If he left yesterday, I could still catch up to him, but…’

Yeo-myeong had written down where he was headed in the letter as well, so Seol would just have to follow behind him.

It was fine if Seol didn’t catch up to him either. The entire situation would likely be handled during the month break, and Seol could just rendezvous with Yeo-myeong after it was all over.

‘Las Cabras’ headquarters.’

As Yeo-myeong would eventually head there, another option Seol could take was just to head directly there from the start.

‘He’s become much more aggressive in the time that I hadn’t seen him. Well… I guess it’s fine since the next Adventure is near there anyway.’

The Adventure that Seol planned to go on with Yeo-myeong was on the western side of Adeline so there were no issues with that whatsoever.

Before leaving to rendezvous with Yeo-myeong, Seol checked the community.

[(NEW) [<IHateForeigners>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: So who was it?]

Which of you fuckers destroyed Marcelo’s mansion? I already heard it wasn’t Adeline’s soldiers.

- This entire situation is because of them.

- They could still kill the rest of those cartel members LOLLLL

- I’m scared of the transferees who think they can do everything on their own…

- This is like a middle school fight LOL. No matter how strong you are, you can’t beat a gang on your own. What are you going to do about numbers? LOL

- Beat ‘em up! Beat ‘em up!

- I mean, they shouldn’t have acted up in the first place LOOL. Who are they to try and control other transferees? LOL

- Transferees have knives too, you know? Las Cabras is brutal? So. Are. Transferees.]

It seemed that Seol’s actions had a bigger effect than he thought, triggering a swift chain reaction toward Las Cabras.

[(NEW) [<ThisIsWhyGamingIsDead>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Hmmmmmm… This reminds me of something…?]

I came down here from Nevenia, and there was a similar incident there.

- They probably ran away from Nevenia because it looked like a civil war was going to happen there LOOOL

- And? How was I supposed to choose where I was transferred to?

- MB. What did you have to say, though?

- When I was in Nobira, there was a really fucked up Pandean named Heka. He had his own faction and fought with another guy named Kibo. We thought that Heka would win because he had more men than Kibo.

- Ah… ‘That incident’.

- But the moment they began their fight, Heka had his head cut off. We still don’t know who did it or what happened. It’s clear Kibo sent someone, but… regardless, Heka was stupidly strong but was killed off instantly. After that, the rest of his faction crumbled away. But isn’t this… similar to what happened to Marcelo?

- I mean, I guess…? Marcelo did die off randomly, though…

- I thought it was infighting in the cartel, but I guess not?

- Las Cabras is fucking stupid, though LOL. How were they going to take control of the transferees without having someone who’s extremely strong? Do they think the rest of us are just idiots? We already go through shitty adventures once a month…

- We weren’t idiots…?

- I am.

- Me too.]

[(NEW) [<FreshNews>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Is this real?]

I can’t calm down at all… I’ll come back in a second.

- Dumbass.]

[(NEW) [<FreshNews2>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: I came back after calming down.]

Nevenia completely shut down their borders.

The transferees and Pandeans at the border are fighting.

- OMG…

- Civil warrrrrrr!

- Civil warrrrrrrrrr!

- What do we do?!!!!!!

- I’m in Adeline though~

- Same hahaha

- As long as it isn’t me~~~]

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Two weeks after Adeline and Las Cabras began their battle, in Ilastan, a city located toward the far west of Adeline...

“Fuuuu…”

Fwooosh…

As she released the bowstrings, a single arrow whizzed through the air.

Splaaaaatter!

An individual's head exploded from the impact. Whether they were fortunate or unfortunate for not even being able to scream is unknown.

“Twelve…”

Fwoooosh…

She released the bowstrings once more.

Splaaaaaatter!

The same scene repeated itself, like a video stuck on loop.

“Thirteen…”

She gathered her breath, her body completely hidden in the camouflage.

She was currently waging war against Las Cabras.

‘Well, I guess I’m already at war with them if I’ve killed this many of them.’

“Hrgh!”

Fwoosh!

Baaaaam!

“Krgh…”

Baaam…

“Urgh…”

“Watch out for the arrows! D-Damn it… They’re above us! They’re shooting at us from above!”

“Find them!”

[Filia used Withdraw.]

[You cannot be sensed by detection skills.]

“Fifteen…”

The individual drawing her bow once more was Filia, an individual Seol worked with while facing the Black Knight. She was currently taking care of the cartel members in Ilastan.

However, it wasn’t just her alone.

She was working with other transferees as well as a small force from Adeline.

Fila had become stronger.

Normally, she would ignore circumstances like these to concentrate on further growing stronger. After all, it was a more efficient use of her time.

‘Why am I here…’

Though she wasn’t suffering from amnesia, she often struggled to remember what had brought her to this point.

However, it didn’t take long for her to remember it.

‘That’s right… I have to be here.’

- Uh… N-Next time, can we…

- I’m sorry. We won’t be going on any Adventures together after this.

- Ah, okay! Okay, s-sure.

She recalled a much younger girl who awkwardly scratched her head in response to her refusal.

- If it’s just at a rest location… Let's see each other around.

- R-Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!

- You don’t need to thank me…

- Thank you, unni!

Filia despised being tied down.

As she always strived for freedom, she also did not give affection to others easily.

However, she was currently entangled in something that didn't involve her at all.

‘......’

A week ago, the same girl that she had been talking to had died. She had become a victim of Las Cabras’ misdeeds.

She couldn’t give a reason why, it was just… instinctual.

This was the pinnacle of inefficiency, but she didn’t hesitate to join them.

It wasn’t necessarily out of a sense of justice either, it was just…

Fwooosh…

“Sixteen.”

She had killed a total of sixteen people today.

“It pisses me off…”

The situation… Herself…

As Filia was about to draw another arrow, she paused.

She noticed the space itself rippling near her.

Step…

A man appeared from it.

It was Proud, the man known as Ilastan’s Cabra.

“There you were.”

“......”

Filia’s fingers began to tremble.

The man in front of her exuded much more pressure than the cartel members she had been attacking.

‘He’s strong…’

She quickly tried to build distance between them.

Fft!

Rope extended from her hand.

[Filia used Evasive Maneuver.]

[Quickly move to where the rope lands.]

Fwiiirl…

As Filia turned behind her, she noticed the man smiling. The tattoo on his face began to glow.

Click…

[Proud used Alchemy: Armor.]

[Equip yourself in enhanced armor.]

Proud quickly transformed into an armored knight.

Filia scowled as she ran further and further away.

“Come on,” laughed Proud. “Why don’t you shoot at me too?”

“......”

“Hahaha… Are you scared?”

She would need a much more powerful attack to pierce through heavy armor like that. Not to mention the fact that she had already exposed her weak point.

‘Should I retreat for now?’

That single second was more than enough of an opening for Proud.

As Proud raised his fist, multiple people had climbed up to where Filia was.

“Trying to run away now?” mocked Proud.

“Urgh…”

His underlings began to scream and shout at her.

“We’ll drag you down to the ground!”

“You won’t die an easy death…”

Proud smiled sinisterly as his underlings continued their threats against her.

“You can run away if you want, but… We’ll also need to have our own fun. I’ll make you scr—”

Suddenly…

FWOOOOOOOOOSH!

An unidentified black object hurtled toward him. Even though Proud could see it, he knew he was too slow to dodge.

“...What?”

Proud quickly raised a shield that surrounded him.

[Proud used Alchemy: Turtle.]

[Reduce all damage taken by 25% for 2 seconds, but suffer a 30% decrease in movement speed for 5 seconds afterward.]

Craaaackle…

A turtle shell-shaped shield surrounded Proud.

However, it moved too slowly to fully envelop him before the black object collided with him.

BAAAAAAAAAAM!

An intense heat radiated from it.

Fsssssss…

Filia quickly turned toward the direction of the attack, trying to realize the situation.

Sizzle…

The makeshift roof she made was completely destroyed, and the cartel members were all dead.

‘Wh-what just… Proud is…’

Proud was also nowhere to be seen.

‘Did Proud just… completely melt…?’

Someone then approached Filia.

“I’m still having a hard time holding back, sorry. Are you alright?”

“Who are you…?”

“Can’t you remember me?”

Filia was confused as she tried her best to remember the red-headed elf.

“Are you from back then…?”

“So you did remember me!”

A man then followed behind the red-headed elf.

“It’s been a long time, Filia.”

“Snowman…”

Filia’s expression instantly shifted, turning into a scowl.

Seeing that, Seol checked his hands.

He had a rather thick brown wallet in his hand.

“That’s… my wallet…”

“Ah.”