The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-204

BOOOOOOOOOM!

With a thunderous boom, a powerful bolt of lightning struck the earth from the ceiling.

Yahum’s body was scorched entirely black like a shadow.,

However, this was Seol holding himself back.

“No! The Ghost King will be furious with you if you do!” shouted one ghost.

“S-Stop it now! You won’t be safe either if Yahum dies!” shouted another.

The ghosts piped up one by one.

While Seol would typically dismiss words like that as nonsense, what they were saying was actually true.

In the past, while Seol was still a player, there was an instance of the individual in charge of the western promotion spot dying during the equipment promotion. The pieces involved all died not too long after.

Thuuuud…

As Yahum began to fall headfirst to the floor, the ghosts panicked and rushed to grab him.

However, upon seeing Seol stop Yahum's fall, they froze in place.

They were worried that Seol would crush Yahum’s head like a watermelon if they did anything.

“Relax. I won’t kill him,” said Seol.

“Human!”

“But… I am going to make it easier for us to have a conversation.”

Seol then pulled out Gemma’s Pot from his inventory.

“G-Gemma’s Pot!”

“Stop him!”

It was the same pot used to seal Lamu, the Thunder Ghost.

While Lamu, the Thunder Ghost, was significantly weaker than Yahum, Gemma’s Pot was undoubtedly a powerful item capable of sealing him.

If Gemma’s Pot with Lamu sealed within it was valued at 100, Lamu alone would only be worth 10, while the remainder of the value would be attributed to Gemma’s Pot.

It was an extremely valuable and powerful item, which was obviously why the ghosts would be so scared and surprised.

“Jamad.”

“Got it…”

As Jamad murmured to recite a spell, the charms on Gemma’s Pot began to glow.

Gloooooow!

Light filled the room, causing the ghosts to wail and scream.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Fwooooooosh…

Yahum turned to smoke before immediately being sucked into Gemma’s Pot.

[You have sealed Yahum, the Ghost Door’s Master.]

[You have proven your worth, allowing you to request a suitable reward from the Ghost Door’s Master.]

[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.]

“D-Damn it!”

“Yahum!”

Seol then asked the ghosts a question while holding onto Gemma’s Pot.

“What are you doing?”

“...What?”

Seol gestured toward the four pillars.

“Get rid of it.”

“W-We can’t…”

Raise…

Seol lifted the jar higher, readying himself to drop it.

“F-Fine, we’ll do it!”

Excluding the two ghosts who had died, the remaining ghosts swiftly moved to pull out the pillars from the ground.

Rumble…

“Hyung!”

“Snowman!”

Seol stood apathetically, wiping the rest of the blood from his mouth.

For someone who just fought with Yahum on their own, he was extremely calm.

Yeo-myeong and Filia ran toward Seol, trying to figure out the situation.

“A-Are you alright?!”

“We have to leave! They’re…”

“But… where did that ghost from earlier…”

Tap tap…

Seol tapped on Gemma’s Pot.

“All we have to do now is wait.”

“...What?”

“Yahum will wake up soon. We just need to wait for that.”

The two seemed to have recovered from their mental shock during Seol’s battle with Yahum.

The first thing Seol caught was how quickly they relaxed.

‘There’s still a lot of things they need to fix.’

Though they had both grown significantly since their last meeting, in Seol’s eyes, they were still lacking.

‘Still…’

When Seol took into consideration that this Adventure could only be selected after acquiring 5 Peerless-quality items, perhaps they were growing at a fine pace.

A few seconds later, Seol shook Gemma’s Pot.

Clatter…

Clatter…

[Urgh…]

“Looks like you’re finally coming back to us.”

Yahum’s voice sounded like he was in a cave somewhere.

[What… happened? Did I lose?]

"Wouldn’t it be more worrisome if you ended up in there after beating me?"

[Hehehe… You’re not wrong about that. Argh… How hard did you hit me? I can’t remember anything at all.]

“Yeah, I completely crushed you,” smirked Seol.

[Hehehehe! But why didn’t you kill me? What are you plotting?]

“It’s because one of the ghosts told me that if I killed you, they would tell the Ghost King.”

[Ah, right! The Ghost King… Yeah, they would have hated you if you killed me. Even I can't get a grasp on him at all. But more importantly…]

Clatter…

[Where the hell did you come from?]

- We’re asking the same thing…

- He entered Pandea at the same time as everyone else…

- He’s a bit weird, though.

- Definitely a returner LMFAO

- Maybe you should read less webnovels…?

Seol answered with a lukewarm response.

“It’s not like that at all. I’m the same as the others.”

[No… You’re different. I can sense it, something about you is definitely different.]

Seol turned his gaze away, trying to ignore Yahum’s persistent questioning.

“So… How is it in there? Cozier than you thought? I bet it is, if you’re asking about things like that.”

[Ah! It’s cramped! Really cramped! I’d rather kill myself than spend the rest of my life in a small place like this!]

Clatter…

[I’m sure you also have a reason for sealing me, though.]

“Of course.”

[What is it? What are you trying to get from freeing me?]

Seol then saw multiple options.

[[Yahum, the Ghost Door’s Master, seems willing to listen to your request. What would you like to request from him?]

1. I want to take the soul of an item that someone else left behind.

2. I want to enhance the soul of one of my items.

3. I’m interested in the ghostly fire.

4. Where does the Ghost Door lead?

……]

“I want you to enhance my equipment.”

[The same request as the others who came with you, okay! Which one would you like strengthened?]

The words that came out of Seol’s mouth next shocked Yahum.

“All of them. Everything I brought here.”

[Y-You must have lost your mind!]

“Why else would I have let you live?”

[......]

Seol had brought a total of 5 Peerless items here.

‘If I cleared the Adventure normally, I would have only been allowed to upgrade one Peerless item.’

However, Seol had fulfilled the absurd condition of not only creating a situation where he would fight Yahum but also defeating Yahum without killing him.

[...I would need to ask the Ghost King myself.]

“What?”

[The Ghost King could claim all the upgrades later if he finds it problematic. I’m just asking him now in case it becomes an issue.]

Clatter…

Fwoooooosh…

Black fog poured out from Gemma’s Pot before eventually…

[Okay. The Ghost King has permitted it as well.]

“They did?”

[Yeah. So unseal me already.]

Seol glanced at Jamad.

“Jamad.”

“Got it.”

And as Jamad began to chant once more…

Fwooooosh…

Yahum was freed from Gemma’s Pot.

Crack…

“I was only in there for a bit, and my body already feels so heavy. Hehehe… Why don’t I…”

CRAAAAAASH!

Yahum stomped on the pot, crushing it completely. He then looked at Seol and the others before turning around.

“Follow me, humans.”

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Thud…

Thud…

With each step Yahum took, cherry blossom petals fell from the sky onto the night path.

However, there was nothing around them. It was pitch black.

“Stick close, humans. You’ll die if you get lost here,” warned Yahum.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly as I said. This place is filled with grudges, a place where ghosts are born. Hehehehe…”

Yeo-myeong and Filia flinched upon hearing Yahum’s warning and immediately took another step toward the center of the path. In contrast, Seol took another step toward the outside.

Raise…

He then lifted a hand into the darkness.

In an instant…

“Come here!”

“Let’s stay together!”

Countless hands appeared from the darkness and tried to pull Seol in.

Fwip!

He then quickly pulled his arm back out.

“Hehehe… What do you think?” said Yahum.

“It’s fairly interesting.”

“I’m more interested in you and how you’re not afraid of ghosts.”

Seol nodded in response.

As Yahum stated earlier, this place was swirling with rage and hatred; their emotions ran hot like lava.

Even though Seol and the others had done nothing, the ghosts were ferocious, as if they had done something to provoke them.

However, the ghosts quickly cooled down once more, quieting down as if they wanted nothing to do with the humans.

Fwooooosh…

Cherry blossom petals breezed past them.

It was beautiful and mystical, yet it also felt pointless.

“You would have died,” said Yahum, over his shoulder. His words caused everyone to look at him.

“I’m talking about you two,” he continued.

Yahum was clearly referring to Yeo-myeong and Filia.

The two then looked at each other before looking at Yahum.

“You two wouldn’t even have been able to defeat one of my 12 ghosts. If it weren’t for that human over there, you two would have died. You would have been cut to pieces and become ghosts yourselves.”

“......”

“...Yeah.”

“It’s a difference in ability, like the difference between an adult and a child. You idiots might not have realized it, but that human over there has been protecting you this entire time. Well, hehe… I guess that isn’t my business, though.”

Yeo-myeong and Filia knew that truth as well. Everything here had been unfolding according to Seol’s plans.

Yahum was a massive ghost, whose mere presence made it difficult for them to breathe.

Despite that, not only did Seol defeat him, but he also managed to return after stuffing that colossal ghost into a tiny jar.

What more needs to be said? They practically existed on separate planes.

‘He’s just… too strong.’

Just when they thought they had caught up to him, Seol felt even further than ever.

In a time of perpetual violence and turmoil, Seol felt like the sole guardian of order.

Yahum then spoke to Yeo-myeong.

“You! You can’t control your anger, huh?!”

“......”

“You’re unskilled and clumsy. But a clumsy swordsman will only ever cut their own fingers…. Hehehe!”

Yahum then said a word to Filia.

“To think you’d come here with such a weak heart… What you deserve is punishment, not a reward, but… You were lucky! You met him.”

“......”

“However, luck is also one of the most important things in life, after all. That is not a fault.”

Yahum then stopped.

“We’ve arrived.”

The only thing present was a single altar.

“Hand over your equipment.”

The first to hand over their items was Filia. After placing her bow on the altar, Yahum began to chant.

Hehehehehehehehehehe!

Kyahahahahahaaha!

As the ghosts began to scream and wail, a viscous, string-like thing began to enter Filia’s bow.

Fwooooosh!

The bow erupted into a ghostly flame before quickly dissipating.

Seol was lost in thought after seeing that.

‘So that’s the ghostly fire…’

The ghostly fire wasn’t exclusive to the Ghost Door.

‘But… it is exclusive to ghosts.’

Many ghosts of the East were capable of controlling ghostly fires as such. However, it was rare to find someone who wasn’t a ghost using it. Regardless, the Ghost Door was a special case that utilized the ghostly fires for others.

It wasn’t clear whether this flame was spiritual or natural, but its eerie power was undoubtedly effective.

‘Its effects also depend on the ghost that was imbued into the item.’

It was extremely similar to possession. Just as people took on the traits of ghosts when they were possessed, equipment possessed with ghosts also acquired a portion of the ghost’s powers.

Through the ghostly fire, a ghost would end up possessing your equipment.

Items that underwent this process were marked with ‘Haunted’ at the front of their name to signify it.

However, despite the initial negative connotations associated with the word ‘Haunted,’ having a ghost possess your items was actually beneficial.

Firstly, the item would improve over time, adjusting to the wearer’s level.

Additionally, it also provided more bonus effects.

Peerless items, while powerful, were extremely difficult to enhance and improve.

As such, this was one of the few instances in Pandea where you could enhance and add additional effects without any risk.

“Take it. Next.”

After Yeo-myeong’s sword was improved as well, Seol handed Yahum all of his Peerless items.

“...I don’t think I’ve ever been robbed like this before.”

- What are you saying, huh?! Wanna go back in the jar?!

- Put the money in the bag, don’t do anything stupid.

- He practically brought a tank to rob a bank…

Kyaaaaaaa!

“Well, it’s much better than dying and returning to the Ghost King…”

Fwooooosh!

Seol’s items became covered in flames.

Yahum then continued to talk while observing the flaming weapons.

“Foolish human, wanting this many haunted items... will surely cause an abnormality in you as well.”

“Abnormality?”

“Like seeing things that shouldn’t be seen... You’ve essentially taken a step into territory that mustn’t be entered. In fact…”

Yahum then turned around.

“The ghostly energies might become imbued into you, allowing you to control them.”

“Are you saying I’d turn into a ghost?”

“You’d be half-human, half-ghost, hehe… Well, that’s only in the worst case, so you don’t need to worry so much. Don’t be scared already…”

Yahum hoped that Seol would be at least a little frightened, but unfortunately, his expression didn’t change at all.

In fact, he looked as confident as ever.

“I’m not.”

“Hahaha… Why does that confident face irritate me so much? Alright, it’s done!”

[Peerless: Breath is improved to Haunted-Peerless: Breath.]

[Peerless: Flare is improved to Haunted-Peerless: Flare.]

[Peerless: Atonement is improved to Haunted-Peerless: Atonement.]

[Peerless: Fire Monkey is improved to Haunted-Peerless: Fire Monkey.]

[Peerless: Crown of Order is improved to Haunted-Peerless: Crown of Order.]

[You have earned the Inaugural Achievement 'Ghost's Guest'.]

[You have earned the Inaugural Title 'Ghost Door's Guest'.]

[You have earned the special achievement 'I Don't Believe in Ghosts'.]

[You have earned the special title 'Sleep Paralysis'.]

Seol’s items were radiating a different color than before.

Seeing this, along with the intense energy emanating from them, he began inspecting each item one by one.