The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-39

Thud…

Thuuuud…

The cave shook as the existence that filled up its entirety revealed its grotesque appearance.

It was massive, like a gorilla walking upright on its two legs, and was completely covered in white hair.

“A yeti? That’s a yeti? I-Isn’t this dangerous then?”

“It might be dangerous if it was a normal yeti but a spirit’s controlling it right now.”

“A spirit? Huh? You’re right?”

A dark spirit was glowing in an indigo hue on top of the yeti’s head. It was seated on the yeti’s head and watching Shpatz.

The yeti was calmly sitting down in the middle of the cave, doing nothing.

Crackle!

It was like the two spirits were having a heated conversation with their abilities. Static and cold air would flow back and forth, the chill even freezing some of the surroundings.

“What are they talking about?” asked Seo-ryeong to Seol.

“I don’t know either.”

“I just assumed you would since you knew everything up to this point…”

“If I had to guess though, I’d assume they're engaging in a war of nerves…”

Crackle!

Fwooosh…

The spirit releasing cold on top of the yeti…

Seol was sure of it. That spirit was probably Frosy, a Frost Indigo Spirit.

- Shpatz are spirits who control a large amount of territory. However, they can’t stand anyone entering their territory and always tries to chase others out. Most gentle spirits just listen to that childish spirit’s request but sometimes, they don’t.

‘Griz was right.’

It was clearly a territorial battle. And Seol was standing between them, trying to read the mood.

Crackle…

Electricity flowed through Seol.

Shpatz had finished its conversation with the spirit and was talking to Seol.

[Frosy’s mean. They don’t listen to me.]

“What would you like me to do?”

Seol waited for Shpatz to give a request.

In the worst-case scenario, Shpatz might even request Seol to fight Frosy.

However, luckily, Shpatz gave a reasonable request.

Crackle…

[You have to have a battle of strength against Frosy’s baby. Shpatz is weak so I can’t even beat that baby.]

Using ‘baby’ as a word to describe that massive yeti sounded a bit awkward to Seol but it was clear that he had to fight it in some way.

“Like an arm wrestle?”

Crackle…

[Arm? It’s probably that?]

“I’ll help you if I can include another condition.”

Crackle…

[Condition?]

“If I beat Frosy, they also need to grant me a request.”

Shpatz must have delivered that message to Frosy as well since it nodded its head not too long after.

Crackle…

[They agreed! Frosy must think that their baby would never lose to you! But… truthfully… I don’t think you’ll win either… sorry.]

“Then let me help you with that. Because I… never said that I’d be the one doing it.”

Crackle…

[Huh? Then who? The girl next to you?]

Frosy had already created an ice table for arm wrestling. It was crossing its arms and watching Seol and Shpatz with a triumphant look on its face.

And then… Seol flicked his hand.

Swirl…

There was a black glow in his hands and in an instant, a giant, black troll appeared. The troll was rivaling the yeti in size.

“This ba– I mean, friend will be taking my place.”

Frosy's eyes were shocked open for a moment before starting to nod with a smile on their face. It was clear that they were okay letting Shpatz try as much as they wanted.

Jamad grabbed the yeti’s hand per Seol’s request.

“I can’t believe I have to do something so pathetic.”

“Our lives are on the line even now, Jamad.”

“Hmph.”

Jamad’s massive size was a huge shock to Seo-ryeong who was standing next to Seol as well.

“O-Oh my god…”

Her mouth was agape as the only thing she could do was watch the two giants’ muscular arms.

Shpatz raised their hand.

It was the signal that the match was about to start.

And then…

Lower!

Shpatz lowered their hand.

“Hargh!”

“Kuwraaah!”

An extraordinary battle of strength between a shadow and a yeti had started.

“Krwah!”

THUD!

The yeti was stomping its feet as it tilted its body to bend Jamad’s arm.

Stomp! Stomp!

The yeti snorted air out of its nose in a puff to the point that it was visible to the others.

Still, Jamad was completely immovable. He watched the yeti for a second before leisurely turning around to Seol.

“Hey, can I end it here now?”

Seol shrugged.

The yeti was immensely powerful but it was still sorely lacking in strength to challenge Jamad, the Rock Molar Tribe’s irregular.

“Haah!”

Jamad tensed up and slammed the yeti’s hand down on the table in an explosive burst.

SLAM!

Crumble…

The ice table broke.

Jamad had broken the table while defeating the yeti.

“Kwruaaah!”

Seol wasn’t sure if Jamad held back or if the yeti was just that durable but neither was hurt.

Shpatz pointed at Frosy with a gleeful face.

It was clear from Shpatz’s reactions that it enjoyed beating Frosy.

Frosy was stunned. The only thing they did was look back and forth at Jamad and Seol.

Fwirl…

Seol returned Jamad and looked at Frosy and Shpatz. Shpatz, remembering their promise, spoke to Seol.

Crackle…

[Thanks for solving my worry! So, what’s your request?]

Fwoosh…

Frosy was also looking at Seol with similar eyes.

“Come with me,” smiled Seol.

Crackle…

Fwoosh…

Frosy and Shpatz both had a horrified look on their faces.

Spirits were unable to break their promise. It was a fact that was known all throughout Pandea to the point that it was considered common sense.

Frosy, who promised to listen to Seol’s request if they lost, and Shpatz, who promised to listen to Seol’s request if he helped them, were both in the same situation.

Crackle…

[...Well, it is a promise.]

The two reluctantly nodded their heads.

Click.

Frssss…

The two spirits were absorbed into the Three Spirits.

[You have captured Shpatz, the Static Yellow Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Yellow’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 4]

[It has taken the ‘Yellow’ spot in the Three Spirits.]

[You have captured Frosy, the Frost Indigo Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Indigo’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 5]

[It has taken the ‘Indigo’ spot in the Three Spirits.]

And then…

Glow…

[Three Spirits has changed to Five Spirits.]

The belt started vibrating before glowing in five different colors.

“Kwuargh!”

Frost’s baby, the yeti, was shocked by the light and quickly scurried deeper into the cave.

Seol turned away from the yeti and checked his new belt.

[[Five Spirits]

Quality: Rare

Recommended Level: 10-20

Defense: 30

Durability: 140/140

Weight: 0.2kg

A belt with the power of five spirits. It was designed by Griz and completed by Snowman.

Basic Effect: +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity, +10 Constitution, +10 Wisdom, +10 Intelligence

Bonus Effect: Spirit’s Blessing (Unique). It will continue to change as you absorb more spirits.]

Seo-ryeong was shocked by Seol’s belt changing again.

“Y-Your belt is doing that glowing thing again?!”

“Yes, it is.”

“Aren’t you amazed? Your belt was making noises too, ahjussi!”

“I’m not an ahjussi and yes, I’m amazed too.”

- You gotta calm them down when they cry~

- Yeah, you can shut up now.

- Wow. It. Is. So. Amazing.

- Why does it feel like the two haven’t gotten any closer at all? LOL

- Snowman! You’ll never be a shounen manhwa MC with his own harem if you keep playing hard to get!

- Tsk tsk… It’s also not fun if the couple don’t have any chemistry with each other!

Seol had already collected five different spirits into his belt.

‘Yellow and Indigo were the most aggressive spirits so capturing the other spirits will probably be easier than it was just now.’

The only spirits left were the Waterdrop Blue Spirit and the Evening Violet Spirit.

Seol was feeling a sense of accomplishment since he was extremely close to his goal.

However, he was only happy for a second. He then asked Seo-ryeong a question.

“Seo-ryeong, why aren’t you capturing spirits?”

“Ah… It’s because I ran out of the spirit containers that I brought… I’ll just go back with you though. I’m already so deep in the Great Forest that I…”

“Sure.”

Seol couldn’t tell how strong she was but right now, she was in the middle of the Great Forest.

Escaping the Great Forest alone was something that was dangerous to anyone who wasn’t Seol.

Seol understood why she wanted to escape with him.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Seol kept up with his rigorous schedule.

However, since there were no longer any spirits who could attack him during the day, he was much more relaxed than before.

After the night, Seol headed toward his next objective, a small stream that flowed through the forest.

Pitter… Patter…

Kyahahaha…

It sounded like a small child’s laughter. However, since there probably weren't any children traveling alone in a dangerous forest like this, it was a spirit.

“...Found it.”

It was Seol’s next objective, the Waterdrop Blue Spirit.

Most low-rank spirits had child-like appearances.

Seol took off his outerwear, rolled up his pants as much as he could, and entered the stream. Seol acted in an extremely friendly manner, the total opposite of how he acted toward Shpatz.

Kyahaha…

Splash!

The spirit splashed water all over Seol the moment it saw him.

Seol was completely soaked.

[[A Waterdrop Spirit has played a trick on you. What do you do?]

1. Kill it.

2. Get out of the stream.

3. Ignore it.

4. Accept its challenge.

5. [Required: Spiritmancer] Demand it to obey you.

……]

“Huuuh…?”

Seo-ryeong expected Seol to become furious but he was the exact opposite.

Splash!

Splash! Splash!

Seol played with the spirit like an uncle playing with a niece or nephew. He flung the spirit into the water and splashed water at it.

Kyahahahaha!

The spirit must’ve had fun with Seol playing with them. It was constantly laughing and following Seol around.

And just when Seol was starting to get tired, the Waterdrop Blue Spirit laid down like it was tired too.

“Gasp… Gasp… Do you want to come with me?”

Nod.

The Waterdrop Blue Spirit smiled as if it was satisfied.

Click.

The spirit container opened and the blue energy was sucked inside.

[You have captured Popo, the Waterdrop Blue Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Blue’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 6]

[It has taken the ‘Blue’ spot in the Five Spirits.]

* * *

Blaze… Burn…

Seol lit a campfire to dry off his wet clothes and to set up camp for the night.

Seo-ryeong let out a giggle after looking at Seol who was completely drenched. Her laugh was the kind of laugh that made others around her smile as well.

“Do you have any nieces or nephews? You played with the spirit so well.”

“I’m an orphan.”

“Ah…”

“I often played with the younger kids at my orphanage.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. You know… sometimes the kids cried because my face was too scary when I played with them.”

“Pfft… I guess… Haha… that wasn’t fix… pffffft… fixable?”

“It still is like that, huh? If I could fix it so easily, I would’ve fixed it a long time ago. Ah, have some cocoa.”

When Seol handed over the cup, Seo-ryeong naturally accepted it.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

- Woah… Woah… This is a nice picture~

- This artwork is from 17th Century Netherlands, the Dutch Golden Age…

- Finally! Is it finally time for the mood to…

- What a sweet guy!

- Even if it’s Seol there’s no way he can break this mood LOL

Sip…

Seo-ryeong took a sip of the cocoa and enjoyed the warmth that came from it.

Her face started to get red as she tried to speak to Seol.

“So… Seol… from now on…”

“Shh. Something’s coming.”

“What?”

“Quiet!”

“Okay…”

- It’s gonna be Bear Grylls lol

- Please be Bear Grylls hahaha

- Oh? I think something’s really coming?

- Argh, why did it have to come now?

Glow… Glow…

A spirit radiating violet light approached the campfire.

Seol immediately stood up the moment he noticed the spirit.

He then forwardly asked the spirit, “Would you like to come with me?”

- Do you really think that would work? LMFAO That’s practically the same as asking a stranger to marry you.

- This is exactly why you can’t get a girlfriend tsk tsk

- Seriously, way too forward…

- Read the room dude 😑

Seol’s viewers criticized his actions.

They believed that since Seol had tried his best to wait for the opportune moment before asking the spirits to follow him previously, asking a spirit forwardly like that would obviously result in a failure.

Nod.

However, contrary to their worries, the Night Violet Spirit nodded their head immediately.

‘Koo might be a difficult spirit to find but it’s the easiest to capture.’

- Wh-what?

- Yes! Okay ^^

- I’m sorry I acted like I knew something…

- Wait a second… Then…

Click!

Frssss…

[You have captured Koo, the Night Violet Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Violet’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 7]

[It has taken the ‘Violet’ spot in the Five Spirits.]

Finally, it was time for the spirit pouch to reveal its true form.

[You have gathered the energy of seven spirits.]

[Five Spirits has changed to Masterpiece: Rainbow.]

“Wh-what? Seol, your belt is…?!”

Glooooooow…

Seven different colors of light radiated from the belt and filled up the night sky. However, light didn’t only just radiate from the belt. It also started to envelop Seol.