The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-54

Even lightning on a sunny day would shock Seol less than his current situation.

“Hamun?”

Hamun watched Seol with calm eyes. He then spoke.

“My master, Orgo, spent his entire life regretting handing over swords to evil individuals. He told me that the greatest virtue a blacksmith could have isn’t talent but an eye for people.”

“......”

“I… still do not trust you. And as such, I will ask you a few questions. If you answer them incorrectly, I will melt this sword and erase it from this world.”

“Hamun!”

What a wild thing to say that he would melt the sword.

- He’s fucked looool he just had to run into a troll.

- You’re pissed? You’re throwing? Oh, you’re running it down mid? LOL

- A ridiculous situation where you outsourced something but they ended up taking your copyright LMFAO.

- It’s still a rare item in the end though. Let’s just give up on it and kill him.

- How dare he fuck around with THE PRIVATE?!

- Did you all see the veins on Snowman’s forehead? LMFAO He’s about to explode.

For a moment, Seol thought that Hamun had gone too far.

However, you always had to listen to the end. Seol held back his anger and asked a question, “What made you come to that decision?”

“This sword… is a sword that would bring forth a lot of blood if it fell into the wrong hands.”

- What the fuck is this bullshit? Is he really doing this over a rare quality item? Tsk tsk.

- Just kill him already!

Since Hamun had already handed Seol the helmet, he had a clue as to why Hamun acted like this.

‘It’s because of me.’

It’s because I was fooled by evil people into selling swords to them.

Even though Seol thought he and his works were separate entities, that wasn’t the case for Orgo.

Orgo had an extremely difficult time mentally. It was to the point that he just wanted to die peacefully in a remote area instead of attempting Ascension.

Seol, seeing Hamun’s strange actions, started to feel bad for Orgo. Hamun was only able to go this far, perhaps even further, because he witnessed his master’s pain in front of him.

Ultimately, if Seol had just been a bit wiser when he played as Orgo, Hamun wouldn’t have acted like this.

And as Seol was Orgo, he felt sorry for Hamun.

That’s why Seol decided to talk to him instead.

“I understand.”

Hamun let out a sigh then made a request to Seol.

“Please, call out your shadow.”

Glow…

Frrs!

Karuna, swordless, was summoned in front of Seol.

Karuna’s cool blue eyes were observing Hamun.

“What do you plan to do with this sword?” asked Hamun.

Karuna replied instantly.

“I plan to follow my master.”

“So you have no will. In the end, it depends on you, Snowman.”

Seol watched Hamun.

Once again, Hamun asked the same question.

“Snowman, what do you plan to do with this sword?”

“......”

‘I don’t know the answer.’

And to Seol’s dismay, not a single option came up.

A multiple-choice problem had now become a short-answer problem. Seol had no hints either.

‘What words did Orgo leave Hamun with?’

Seol didn’t have any special conversations with Hamun as Orgo other than the normal conversations.

And as such, it was possible that Hamun didn’t take this question from Orgo.

‘It could also be words that Orgo left for Hamun after I let him go and before he disappeared from the world.’

Regardless of whichever it was, Seol had to make a decision.

“Answer me. What do you plan to do with this sword?”

Seol just said what naturally came up in his mind.

“...I don’t know.”

“...What do you mean?”

“I don’t know yet what I’ll do with this sword.”

“You don’t know yet?”

“If I face an enemy, I’ll cut them down. And if I have something to protect, I will use the sword to protect it.”

“So you’re just going to do whatever you please? Are you so unsure about your own self?”

“I think it’s rather strange to be so sure about the future when we know nothing about it. Does this satisfy you as an answer?”

“...My master left me a few words.”

Hamun stiffened up with the sword in his hands.

Orgo, his master and the massive mountain he can never hope to overcome.

Orgo was disappointed in the world and left a few words for Hamun before he disappeared.

- Hamun, I have spent my life being fooled by many. I fell for their false promises and caused a lot of anguish on this continent.

“If you’re not sure, ask them. Ask them what they plan to do with the item you have created,” said Hamun.

“......”

- Is there meaning behind that?

Hamun closed his eyes and recited his master’s words.

“Those who are filled with conviction, do not need your items. And those who need your items will not be certain.”

- Those words contradict each other, Master. Master! Please don’t leave me!

- Resolve yourself, Hamun. One day, someone will come to represent your value to the world. Though I have failed, I pray that you succeed.

Seol felt a change in Hamun.

Hamun no longer felt cold to him.

And then, Hamun opened his eyes and said, “Snowman, I will give this sword to you.”

Toss!

Seol received the sword.

Flap…

The sheath, which had been hidden by the white cloth, was revealed.

The sheath had an elegant and gorgeous pattern on it.

Seol was surprised that Hamun was able to make something as amazing as this in such a short period of time.

[You have acquired ‘Peerless: Breath’.]

[You have acquired an item that didn’t exist in the world previously.]

Seol froze for a moment at the two sentences on the interface.

“Hold on, what…?”

“You have the right to swing this sword.”

Seol believed that the best the Moonlight Sword could become after enhancing it was Treasure quality, but…

It was above that.

[‘What the fuck?!’ has donated 300 Madness!]

[What the fuck is this?!!!!!!]

- P-P-Peerless?

- I thought it was a bug and did a double-take.

- A fucking Peerless item came out like this?

- What the fuck, Hamun?!!!!!!!!

[‘You got me’ has donated 300 Madness!]

[I thought he was being super stingy over a rare item but it was a peerless item… He fucking got me…]

- I now understand why Hamun was acting like that.

- If it was me I would’ve asked a hundred questions.

- Hamun… so you were a good guy after all, huh?

- Hamun: Hamun of a bitch~

- I can’t believe that actually made me laugh I’m so ashamed of myself hahaha

Seol’s eyes naturally started to inspect Breath’s details.

[[Peerless: Breath]

Quality: Peerless

Recommended Level: 15-30

Damage: 89-100

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 1.8kg

A sword birthed through the meeting of the sword that Karuna, the Moonlight Knight, used and the miracle of Hamun, Orgo’s Successor. It has been enhanced through melting down Orgo’s first work, Storm. Despite the sword’s energy increasing massively, many mysteries still lie within it.

Basic Effect: +24 Strength, +19 Dexterity, +28 Constitution, +10 to All Stats

Bonus Effect: First Strike (Unique), Danger is Opportunity (Unique). There is a fixed 25% chance of landing a critical strike on a wounded target. The range and power of your attack skills is increased by 10%.]

- HDTMS? (How Does This Make Sense?)

- My jaw’s on the floor right now.

- Woah! That's insane! LMFAO Even Space wasn’t this good! Do you have no shame?!

- Huh? That’s because that’s a belt lol. This is an item for a major slot. I don’t need to say that twice, right?

After seeing the details, Seol handed over the sword to Karuna.

[Karuna, the Moonlight Knight equips ‘Peerless: Breath’.]

After equipping Karuna with Breath, Seol then spoke to Hamun.

“It’s an excellent sword.”

“It’s been so long since I put in an effort like this that I’m exhausted now. Since my job’s done now, I’ll take my leave.”

“Thank you.”

“Come drop by sometime. It’s been a long time since I stopped working as a blacksmith, but I can still help you out from time to time.”

“Then please, I would appreciate that.”

[‘A Charming Individual’ activates. You receive additional favorability.]

[You have acquired ‘Hamun, Orgo’s successor’ as a helper.]

[‘Hamun, Orgo’s successor’ is a Heroic rank.]

[Helpers have a chance of appearing in all Adventures.]

[They will help you differently based on their favorability toward you.]

As things progressed, it worked itself out like this.

Players had to acquire all of the information and opportunities themselves in this unforgiving world. And as such, there was a world of difference between people who had information and connections and those who didn’t.

‘Hamun became a helper? For rolling such awful luck, things were going extremely well.’

‘A Charming Individual’ was a title Seol received when he gained Mael, a troll, as his helper.

It seemed like this title’s effect of increasing favorability gained played a huge role in Seol acquiring Hamun as a helper.

‘Now that I think about it, Mael hasn’t appeared at all yet.’

Since it was still extremely early in Seol’s journey, Mael could realistically appear whenever, and when Mael does appear, Seol will receive suitable help from him.

‘Regardless, it’s going perfectly right now.’

Seol was someone who kept an eye out for information and knew how to use it well, but at times, he would be swept away by some mysterious flow.

Still, whenever that happened, something good would always follow.

It was to the point that Seol was now starting to even doubt himself.

‘Maybe it’s just more efficient if I do whatever I want to do at that time?’

Hamun, who was lingering around in Seol’s vision for a while, disappeared into the horizon before Seol noticed.

- That was a NICE in-person trade.

- Hamun: The item has been sold. I’m deleting this post.

- Not every trade is like this though. Someone could be pretending to be nice to steal all your money. Be careful everyone~

Seol checked Breath’s unique effects.

‘First Strike’ made it so that your opponent is unable to counter if you attack them first.

‘Danger is Opportunity’ increased your damage by 50% for five seconds after you have been hit.

‘They’re both ridiculous effects.’

Considering this was still the early game, it was impossible to find anything better than this.

Not only that, these effects didn’t even compare to the skills you would receive from investing skill points.

‘I should check the helmet now.’

Because Seol was so surprised by the sword, he almost forgot to check the helmet.

[[Helmet of Cool-Headedness]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 8-20

Defense: 110

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 5kg

A helmet that Hamun, Orgo’s successor, made using spirit stones. Though the spirit stones’ powers have been weakened due to corruption, the expert craftsmanship has brought out as much power from them as possible.

Basic Effect: +10 Strength, +12 Constitution

Bonus Effect: You are immune to the ‘Panic’ status effect, Your dynamic visual acuity is enhanced.]

“Hm…”

- Hm? Did he seriously just hm??? I definitely heard him hm?!

- What kind of crazy person scratches their head at a treasure-quality item?

- His standards are way too fucking high now lmfao

- That’s because the item he looked at right before was Breath… Baskin Robbins might have 31 flavors but Seol’s going to get 29 more peerless items lmfao

- I can’t believe Karuna got a Peerless item before his own master…

[Karuna, the Moonlight Knight equips ‘Helmet of Cool-Headedness’.]

“How is it?” asked Seol.

He asked to hear Karuna’s thoughts about receiving a new helmet and sword.

Seol was hoping that Karuna would respond in a friendly manner, but it was a blunt one, typical of Karuna.

“Good.”

- These two are the same, seriously…

- Argh, it's so frustrating.

- What did you expect though? Lol Did you think Karuna would do a headspin or something?

As Karuna equipped himself with his new items, Seol eased up a little.

He now felt like regardless of whatever dangerous situations came, he wouldn't be easily subjected to them.

‘A dangerous situation like what happened in Griz’s laboratory won’t happen anymore.’

Seol could still clearly recall the scene of Jamad being surrounded by monsters alone.

Back then, despite Seol thinking he had become stronger, an unexpected situation caused a huge incident.

Thanks to Karuna’s new equipment now, something like that wasn’t going to happen for a while.

Seol, after concluding his business with Hamun, finished preparing for his next Adventure.

And now, a familiar sensation surged through him.

Hummm…

[You begin your next Adventure.]

[Your 9th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 9. Necromancers' Secret Ceremony.]

[Adventure 9. Necromancers' Secret Ceremony.

As ever, you are searching for Chao near the Great Forest. Chao’s trails have unquestionably been cut off near the Great Forest and there still remains a place you have yet to search.

However, among the many traces she left behind, there is a particularly unusual lead that caught your eye. You have followed those clues to a secret campsite deep in the Great Forest and plan to thoroughly investigate everything that’s happened here.

And here, you just so happened to find traces of necromancers.

Objective: Find out what has happened at the campsite. Find traces of Chao.

Remaining Time [23:59]]

As Seol was being transmitted by being surrounded by countless particles, he saw messages on his interface.

[Insight activates.]

[There are traces of a wagon passing through here.]

[Insight activates.]

[Someone has left traces here.]

Seol focused on the second insight message more than the first one.

When Seol looked at where Insight had activated, he saw a tree that had a knife scratch on it. It was clear that someone had intentionally left it there.

It was likely made by someone who was either leading the wagon or the guide who was leading them.

And if it wasn’t them…

‘It’s Chao.’

then it would certainly be Chao’s traces.