The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-40

Seven different colors of light exploded out from the belt and engulfed Seol.

Fwirrrrrrl…

“I-Is the belt… okay?”

Seo-ryeong couldn’t keep her mouth shut while watching Seol.

And slowly, the light started to die down.

Eventually, even the light that had surrounded Seol dissipated.

Seol then checked the changed belt.

[[Masterpiece: Rainbow]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 10-20

Durability: 140/140

Weight: 0.2kg

A belt with the power of seven spirits. It was designed by Griz and completed by Snowman. It is perfectly balanced and succeeded in realizing the designer’s intentions.

Basic Effect: +15 to All Stats

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

- It’s complete! Finally! You don’t even need to look at the effects to tell how good it is! That’s why I didn’t read the effects!

- SHEEEEEEEESH GRIZ! Isn’t +15 to All Stats way too OP?!

- Six spirits gave a +10 to all stats so why does the seventh spirit give a +15?!

- Is Spirit’s Barrier different from Spirit’s Blessing?

- It says that the cooldown gets decreased, the active duration gets increased, and the damage it can absorb is also increased…

- It also says that the speed the belt reacts is also increased.

- That’s crazy…

- Griz is so generous….

- Mom, when I grow up, I’ll be like Griz! Mom, when I grow up, I’ll be like Griz!

The light surrounding Seol’s body might have disappeared but the belt was still brilliantly radiating seven different colors of light.

It was obvious at a glance that this was no ordinary belt.

Seo-ryeong looked at Seol’s belt in a peculiar way for quite a while. Seol ignored her gaze and returned to the campfire.

Burn…

Touch.

When Seol touched his belt, it stopped radiating light.

A glowing belt would probably make its wearer an easy target so Griz had included a function to control how much light gets emitted.

‘I can’t believe this belt gives +15 to All Stats…’

Normally, an effect that gave +15 to even a single stat was reserved for items like weapons or armor.

So how overpowered would a belt that gave +15 to All Stats be?

‘My Wisdom stat is super high thanks to it though.’

Seol’s Wisdom was already extremely high.

But now, Seol’s Wisdom stat was high enough to be on a completely different level from the summoners who raised their stats in a balanced way.

Having a high Wisdom stat meant that Seol was able to control more summons, control higher rank summons, and have even more Shadow Space.

‘I should even be able to get a new summon soon too.’

At the current rate he was growing, he definitely had an opportunity to acquire a new summon soon.

In Seol’s case, having a lot of Shadow Space in excess meant that he could acquire a summon who was powerful enough to demand that much Shadow Space.

But then… as Seol was thinking to himself while looking at the campfire, Seo-ryeong asked him a question.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I don’t know… the Remaining Time runs out at noon the day after tomorrow so I have to think about it.”

“Ah… I see.”

“But Seo-ryeong…”

“Yes?”

“It might be rude for me to ask this but why was there blood all over your clothes?”

It was something that Seol had been curious about since the moment she joined him. From the moment she walked up to the campfire with desperate, dying eyes, Seol had been on guard against her.

Seo-ryeong was silent for a second. She then met eyes with Seol and made a strange expression.

“I was originally in a party of two. I had a friend with me.”

“A party of two, huh… and a friend?”

“I met a girl here who was the same age as me. And since we were the same age, we decided to be friends. You know how people start to rely on each other more during times like this…”

Seol’s expression only got more dreary the more she continued.

‘Why is she alone now then?’

She was alone because something had happened to her party member. Seo-ryeong, who was aware of that truth, had a cloud cast over her face.

“We went too deep into the forest. We were anxious because we weren’t able to capture any spirits.”

“And?”

She bit her lip.

“We met a monster that crept into the Great Forest. We were barely able to defeat it, but… she suffered a severe injury. I messed up when I tried treating her. And… that’s how she died.”

“…”

It was an ordinary death.

Something that could happen anywhere in this new world.

Pandea was a world where death loomed much closer.

“But she… tried saying something to me with her dying breath.”

“What did she say?”

“...I don’t know either. She died before she could say it.”

Crackle… Crackle…

The campfire crackled.

“What do you think she was trying to say to me? That it was my fault? To always feel guilty about letting her die?”

“There’s no way we can know now.”

Seol was awkwardly trying to console her.

“Still, it might be better if you think of it in a more positive way.”

“...A more positive way?”

“Well, she might’ve been trying to say that you were a good person and that it wasn’t your fault…”

“Pfft… Do I look like a good person?”

“Yes, I’m sure you were a good person to her. At least that’s what I could tell from my assessment of you.”

“Also, what do you mean by ‘were’? Are you saying that I’m not now?”

“No comment.”

“What the… Seriously. Ahem… If I do my best to look at you with rose-tinted glasses, I also think that you’re a better person than my original assessment of you.”

Seo-ryeong often laughed when she talked with Seol.

The reason she was unable to leave the forest could have been because of her fear. Her fear that she might die an ordinary death like her party member.

Seo-ryeong regained some energy through talking with Seol. She then asked him a question.

“By the way, do you know about this?”

“About what?”

“Apparently, there might’ve been eight different types of spirits who came to the physical realm when the barrier stone broke.”

“Eight types? Not seven?”

“Yeah, apparently someone met a white spirit. I think it’s hiding around somewhere, but…”

“What’s its name?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Seol immediately thought of Griz’s blueprint from Seo-ryeong’s story.

‘Venta, a White Light Spirit.’

It was a difficult spirit to run into.

Furthermore, if you included the fact that it hunted humans, most would prefer to not run into it at all.

However, Seol wanted to find Venta more than anyone else.

‘If I can find Venta, Rainbow’s effect will get much stronger.’

Seol’s belt, Rainbow, already was incredibly powerful with just seven spirits.

Not to mention, the ‘It will continue to change as you absorb more spirits’ bonus effect hadn’t disappeared yet.

This meant that Rainbow could still absorb more spirits.

‘What effects will I get if I’m able to capture Venta as well?’

Seol then became suspicious of something. He immediately asked Seo-ryeong a question.

“But… how were you able to find out about this?”

“...She told me.”

“Ah. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I just brought it up because I thought you would be interested in it.”

“I’m definitely interested in it.”

Seol nodded seriously. Seo-ryeong then slowly continued to speak more.

“I think… it was probably over there. It’s a place not too far from here.”

The white spirit in Seo-ryeong’s story had a high probability of being Venta, a White Light Spirit.

Seol’s heart started to pound faster at the thought of coming across Venta’s traces.

“Do you… want to go?” asked Seo-ryeong while reading Seol’s mood.

“Do you remember where it is?”

“I’m not sure if I can trust my memory, but… I do have an idea.”

“Then let’s go.”

Seol nodded his head once more.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Rustle… Rustle…

Seo-ryeong led the way, rustling through the bushes and stepping on leaves.

“It’s a bit far, right?”

“It’s not, I’m fine.”

“Was it around here? Uh… Maybe it’s not here?”

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

“Hold on a second, I’m trying to remember…”

“You can take your time. Spirits are quite easy going by nature so they don’t move their territory unless they have a reason.”

“Even though you’re saying that it just sounds like some whining…”

“That’s just your feelings.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Seo-ryeong smirked before turning around to find her way.

As long as she was an archer, Seo-ryeong likely had a tracking-type skill in her list of skills. And with that, she should be able to find the location soon. If she didn’t have a tracking-type skill, well… she made a huge mistake when setting up her character.

She looked around her surroundings before slowly, quietly approaching Seol.

“I found it. I remember her telling me that it was around here… She also told me that there was a whole colony of them deeper in their territory.”

“So they must be around here.”

“Yes. It was probably… that way? I think it’s that way at least.”

“Yes, then let’s go over there first.”

Seol followed her through the forest.

Not too long after, the dense forest cleared up and Seol saw an open hill.

“Huh? D-Do you see that over there?”

“I do.”

“It really… existed.”

Fwooosh…

It was a magnificent scenery. And in that scenery, Seol could see spirits glowing in a white light playing with each other.

‘Found you, Venta!’

Seol hid himself as he confirmed Venta’s existence. As he was watching them, he was recalling the words Griz left on the blueprint.

- Venta and Shades are unlike the other spirits, they’re very special. First, because Venta’s energy structure is different from other spirits, they can’t hunt alone.

Also, because Venta have an energy consumption problem, if they don’t supplement themselves with the energy of other creatures, they become weaker. That’s why most of the time when a barrier stone in the physical realm breaks, it’s because of them. The easiest creatures with energy to hunt are humans after all.

“Huh? Aren’t there… humans over there?”

“Hm?”

“Do you know them? Why are they acting like that over there?”

Three people were turning their backs on Seol at the edge of the hill.

It looked to be a party of three men. They were huddled together like they were watching the bottom of the hill together.

‘They were the people who were whispering about me back then.’

He didn’t have the best first impression of them but they didn’t seem like the people from the Predator Guild who tried their best to intentionally backstab him.

They were just ordinary people that could be seen anywhere.

- But that doesn’t mean Venta hunt directly themselves. The spirit with the most energy amongst the Venta, their leader, become a Shades. Yeah, I know, right? They become a Shadow Black Spirit. Light and Shadow… Fufu… It’s quite romantic if you think about it. If only I didn’t have a mountain of work, I would’ve gone to find them myself…

Regardless, there’s normally one Shades leading a group of Venta. The Shades is in charge of the majority of the hunt. However, just because only the Shades is in charge doesn’t mean that you could look down on the group.

Seo-ryeong must’ve deduced that the hill was safe because there were people there. She slowly continued forward while talking to Seol.

It was the first time during their time together that Seol saw her be so enthusiastic.

“A-Ahjussi… Can I approach them first?”

“You want to approach them first?”

“Yes, you’re slower than me after all. I’ll go investigate it and if it’s dangerous, I’ll run away. Still… you’ll help me if it gets dangerous, right?”

Seol nodded.

Seo-ryeong’s determined look made it seem like a request he shouldn’t refuse.

- It’s rare to run into a Shades but there’s two ways you could run into one.

1. You might run into one when one of the members of a weak group separates for a while.

In this circumstance, the Shades steals the party member’s body and memory. It cleverly imitates the corpse like a parrot and it definitely isn’t a bad actor either. Then, the Shades acts like the party member to lead them to the group of Venta to hunt its target with the Venta.

Sneak…

Rustle…

Seo-ryeong took a low stance as she approached the group of Venta. Judging by how she was hidden well, there probably wouldn’t be an issue.

- 2. You might run into a Shades while you’re traveling alone.

In this circumstance, the Shades could behave in two different ways. First, if the person traveling alone is weaker than the Shades, it would hunt it immediately by itself. They often take the appearance of other dead people when they do so.

However, if the person is stronger than the Shades, it tries to build a friendly relationship with them to lead them to the group of Venta. They really are quite clever, aren’t they?

Rustle… Rustle…

Snap!

Seo-ryeong stepped on a branch.

Even though she was being cautious, she had made a mistake.

“Urgh…”

However, even though Seo-ryeong disrupted the peace, no Venta from the group approached her.

And because of that, she was able to approach the people at the edge of the hill.

- How do you know if someone is a Shades? It’s easy to notice as long as you’re cautious. Shades don’t have shadows. Scary, right? Haha… Ah! But just because they don’t have a shadow doesn’t mean that you can call them out on it. If you do that, they’ll just run away and hide. And you won’t be able to reach the group of Venta if you do that, right?

So if the person reading these notes isn’t me, if you were strong enough to get your hands on these notes, then you’re probably strong enough to capture a Shades on your own.

It seemed like Seo-ryeong was having a conversation with the people.

Even though Seol could only see the back of their heads, except for Seo-ryeong’s, he could tell that they were having a conversation by the way Seo-ryeong laughed here and there.

- If you are able to arrive at a Venta colony by chance, remember my words. If you’re not a Shades…

“Seol, come over here! I think it’s safe! These white spirits aren’t attacking me!”

- the person who brought you here is.

“I don’t want to.”

Pause.

Seo-ryeong stopped waving her hand at Seol’s response.

“What? Why…”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

“What do you…”

“And I’m finally asking this now, but…”

“…”

Seol’s golden eyes pierced through Seo-ryeong.

And then… he let out a heavy sentence.

“Why don’t you have a shadow?”

Seo-ryeong did not have a shadow.