The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-43

Blaine had concluded that this matter was important enough to use a mind spell on his apprentice magicians. He then looked at Seol with a serious expression on his face.

Seol recognized that Blaine wasn’t saying this baselessly and listened carefully.

“But why…”

“It’s because it’s something my apprentices cannot know. Luckily, there happened to also be no one else around us.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Snowman, this belt works by restraining the powers of nine spirits and using them in harmony.”

“I know.”

A description like that was written in Griz’s blueprints as well.

It worked like that in principle but Seol himself didn’t know how it worked specifically either.

Blaine nodded and looked at Space with great interest. “It is a tremendously genius idea but unfortunately, there’s an issue.”

“An issue?”

“It is impossible to balance. It’s because you used the Venta and Shades which are different from the normal, peaceful spirits. Furthermore, they are still fully conscious.”

“What problems could they cause?”

“I can’t predict exactly what will happen, but… once they are off balance, the spirits’ individual powers could eventually merge into one.”

“...And Space would be unable to restrain them then.”

“Exactly… You realized it right away. As expected from the owner of the extraordinary belt.”

- Good job, Blaine!

- Yeah, equipment like that really needed a drawback LOL

- Space (Abomination)

- THANK YOU!

Seol placed his hand on his chin and thought for a second. Blaine then added a few words.

“There wouldn’t be a problem if you were able to maintain that balance yourself but since I assume you don’t have a supernatural power related to spirits… let me propose something to you.”

“A proposal?”

Blaine nodded before continuing. “What do you think about making a deal for that item with us, Aquarius?”

“Hm…”

It was hard to tell if Blaine had hidden intentions. In the first place, Seol wasn’t sure whether his words were true or not.

A few moments later, Seol saw options.

[Blaine, a high-ranking magician, has offered you a proposal. How do you respond?

1. Accept it.

2. Reject it.

3. [Required: Negotiation 1] Ask if he has any other offers.

4. [Required: Merchant] Haggle.

……]

Seol checked the options then answered Blaine without hesitation.

“I refuse.”

“It makes sense… I too would look for another method if I had a rare item like that.”

- Is this guy trying to trade or not? LOL

- Blaine (Integrity+Incorruptible)

- How much would it go for though?

- I bet you can retire with how much money you get from that…

- It was way too little gold to agree to.

Blaine was sad for a moment before saying more.

“However, I hope you do not take my warnings lightly. That belt will inevitably cause problems someday so be careful. Ah, also…”

Blaine used magic to create something in his hands.

Fwoosh…

It was an ice sculpture in the shape of a vase.

However, despite it being cold, it didn’t look like it would melt.

Seol held the sculpture in his hands.

[You have acquired an invitation to the Aquarius Magic Tower.]

“If you ever need to visit Aquarius, use this invitation. Being unfriendly to outsiders is an unfortunate custom of the Magic Towers after all.”

“I doubt I’ll ever visit a Magic Tower though.”

“You never know how things go in life, no? There might come a time where I could help you or you could help Aquarius.”

“...I heard Zodiac repays both kindness and hostility in double.”

Blaine laughed.

“You are exactly right. To be honest, we repay a lot more hostility than kindness but it’s not like we ignore the kindness we receive. Anyway, I will be looking forward to your visit. I feel like we have many things to do together.”

Flick!

Blaine then flicked his fingers again.

[Blaine canceled Brain Freeze.]

The magicians woke up drowsy.

“Huh?”

“Was it because I was tired…? I apologize, what were we talking about?”

“Fryn, our guest has captured all of the different spirit types. I want you to record it exactly as such.”

“Really? I understand, Master.”

Float…

Fryn closed her eyes to concentrate and a feather pen nearby started to float and record on a sheet of paper.

Write…

- Snowman complete (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, White, Black)

“Let’s see… Wow, that’s incredible. This is the first case of someone capturing all of the different spirit types since we asked for support. Hold on a second… a Shades? Master!”

“Yes, it seems like the reason the Adventurers who came to help us went missing in the forest was because of that evil, black spirit.”

“Oh my gosh… Were you threatened by the Shades too, Snowman?”

Seol shrugged. A shrug might’ve meant that he agreed to it but it also showed he was indifferent to it.

Fryn’s eyes opened wide in shock after seeing him shrug.

“E-Even for us, Shades are a difficult spirit to face… So how did you capture it…”

“I just got lucky.”

“Still, how…”

Blaine glanced at Fryn.

“Fryn, it seems that Snowman does not particularly wish to disclose that. Do not pester him.”

“I-I’m sorry. Okay, then! As a reward for your help, you will receive items, some gold coins, and consumables. Would you like to receive them now?”

“Yes, please.”

The moment Seol responded, a massive treasure chest appeared before him.

Click!

[You have successfully completed supporting the barrier stone’s repair.]

[You have captured or killed nine different types of spirits.]

[This will be recorded.]

[You have earned the achievement 'Indiscriminate'.]

[You have earned the title 'Spirit Hunter'.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have received skill points.]

[You have acquired Shades’ Grace.]

[You have acquired Venta’s Mantle.]

[You have acquired Gloves of Spirit Protection.]

[You have acquired 788 gold coins.]

[You have acquired 122 silver coins.]

[You have acquired 12 medium red potions.]

[You have acquired 10 medium blue potions.]

……

Seol received a weapon, a cape, and gloves.

Seol was shocked after taking a glance at these items.

“These are…”

The rewards were way too good.

It wasn’t a problem that the items were good, but…

All of the items were items that were commonly used by summoners. It was almost like they prepared them knowing that Seol was going to use them.

Blaine followed up almost as if he was expecting that reaction from Seol.

“Every rare item in the world inevitably passes through the Magic Tower. I hope you can think of this as a gift to commemorate our first meeting, Snowman.”

“Items like these… thank you.”

Seol expressed his thanks for Blaine’s generous gift before disappearing into the light.

Glooow…

After he disappeared…

“It seems like what happened in the Pointy Mountains wasn’t a lie, Master,” said Fryn.

“So you also felt something from him.”

“I’ve met countless Adventurers coming to aid us with the barrier stone and I’ve met quite a few unusual people but… I had yet to meet a special person.”

Dull…

Fryn’s eyes became cloudy.

It was because of her unique Characteristic that gave her special treatment even in the Magic Tower.

“Are you saying that he’s special?”

“I don’t know, but… I just got that feeling from him.”

“That feeling would be accurate.”

“Does that mean you also felt something from him, Master?”

“I just… have the same feeling as you.”

“He’s special.”

“We’ll see when he visits the Magic Tower.”

“Huh? How would he visit the Magic Tower when he doesn’t have an invitation? What do you…”

“…”

“Master! I told you to not use Brain Freeze on me!”

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Glooow…

Seol appeared on a path to the forest near Nobira.

Now that the transferees were all on different Adventures, it was rare for them to return at the same time.

That was the reason why Seol was alone there.

[Next is the Points Leaderboard up to Adventure 6.]

Ding

[Your information is set to Private.]

[You have 920,600 Points.]

[Adventurer Points Leaderboard

1. Private (920,600)

2. Daerim-DongHamFist (450,080)

3. AttackonDwarf (391,810)

4. Firefly (380,270)

5. FreshmanOrientation (377,400)]

Because this was the Points Leaderboard for the Adventurers in Nobira, it was filled with people he didn’t know.

What especially caught his eye was the fact that Rank 2 to Rank 5 all had similar points.

What also caught his eye was that he had an overwhelming lead, double the Rank 2’s points.

The former could be explained by the skill level amongst transferees becoming standardized and the latter could be explained by Seol still being unrivaled in his skill despite that.

- What’s with this point gap lol

- Kuku… It seems that I, Frieza, conquered Nobira as well.

- Wait, this might just be the case in the South.

- Seriously, I heard there were quite a number of players who had over 700,000 points.

- Yeah, even barely going over 700,000 points would make you a monster, but…

[You begin your Rest.]

[Your Key Location Rest is starting.]

[Break 3. Nobira, the Ruins City.]

[Break 3. ‘Nobira, the Ruins City’

In The World of Eternity, Nobira the Ruins City is located in South Pandea.

A city where many treasures and commodities excavated from ruins come and go because of its adjacency to the Great Forest. It also has one of the bigger black markets and large auction houses in the South.

Adventurers must take plenty of rest and training here, or at another rest location, before preparing for the next Adventure.

Objective: Rest and maintenance.

You will be tired upon failure.

Remaining Time: [About 30 days]]

After roughly 20 days, Seol finally arrived in Nobira.

And before he entered Nobira, Seol first checked his rewards.

‘First, the title.’

[[Title: Spirit Hunter]

Related Achievement: Indiscriminate (Adventure: Incomplete: Color Study)

Bonus Effect: All stats increase by 5% when facing a spirit-type monster. There is also a low chance of inflicting the ‘fear’ status effect when facing a spirit-type monster.]

A normal, ordinary title.

Seol nodded and checked the real reward, the equipment he received.

[[Venta’s Mantle]

Quality: Rare

Recommended Level: 12-20

Defense: 20

Durability: 70/70

Weight: 0.1kg

A cape made to imitate the ability of Venta, the Light White Spirit. No matter how dark a cave is, you do not need to worry as long as you have this cape.

Basic Effect: +10 Wisdom, +8 Constitution

Bonus Effect: Illuminates in dark areas.]

An item for Adventurers.

‘It’s a pretty rare effect too…’

- This effect is so nice lol

- I bet people will walk in front of him so they don’t go blind though

- He goes on Adventures alone anyway…

It was annoying enough carrying around a torch but carrying around a torch in battle would’ve been extremely annoying. Thankfully, with this cape that lights up, he won’t have to worry about a situation like that anymore.

[[Gloves of Spirit Protection]

Quality: Rare

Recommended Level: 14-20

Defense: 35

Durability: 80/80

Weight: 0.1kg

A pair of gloves made out of extremely light materials to minimize discomfort.

It might not be suitable for defense but the bonus effect is quite powerful.

Basic Effect: +3 Intelligence, +8 Wisdom, +5 Constitution

Bonus Effect: Once a day, you can nullify a physical attack if the physical attack would cause a ‘minor injury’.]

“Is this really a rare quality item?”

- I’m asking the same question right now.

- That’s insane… The basic effect was good enough but the bonus effect is insane…

- Guys, you have to think of it in a differently.

- What? You don’t think it’s good?

- How often do you receive a minor injury during an Adventure? They’re all serious injuries lol.

- I mean taking a single punch from Jamad would be a severe injury LMFAO So would this only activate when you trip on something or something like that? LOL

- Yeah, this is it LOL

Seol already realized the weak point of that effect like his viewers did but he wasn’t too disappointed.

‘What’s important is that the effect is on my gloves.’

Armor, pants, and gaiters…

Since the effect wasn’t tied to one of those, or his weapon, it was pretty much a free bonus effect.

‘A situation could come up where a hidden weapon hits my arms or legs…’

Even if Seol had Jamad and Karuna, there were still situations where he could be injured.

In those scenarios, this glove’s effect was considerably useful.

Seol equipped the cape and gloves right away. Finally, he looked at the black crystal ball.

Even at a glance, Seol could tell that the weapon was quite powerful.

The reward with the highest quality this Adventure was the Shades’ Grace.