The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-69

[The accumulated fatigue makes your body feel heavy.]

[A problem may occur if you don’t get sleep.]

[It has been 5 days and 16 hours.]

Karen, who was by Seol’s side, looked at him with a strange glint in her eyes.

“Your beard grew a lot.”

“Yeah?”

“I mean it makes sense since it wasn’t an easy journey. Still, this was why I said we should rest at some towns on the way.”

“We didn’t because there weren’t any suitable towns on the way to the canyon. If we wanted to do it, we’d have to go around.”

“Is that why you’re so lethargic?”

“By the way, how much time passed?”

Karen had a confused look on her face as Seol asked an obvious question. She side-eyed him as she slowly gave a response.

“A bit over five days? Why?”

“Nothing. It was tiring, huh?”

“It was fun. Except for the time I fell into the swamp.”

“Hm…”

Seol was trying to confirm something using Karen’s responses.

He was trying to confirm how his summons experienced the passage of time.

‘If I act under the assumption that summons are originally residents of this world… then they would likely experience it completely.’

For example, using this Long Distance Adventure as an example…

Even though five days and 16 hours passed, it didn’t even feel like an hour to Seol. As such, Seol had an incomplete experience of the past five days.

And in comparison, Karen fully experienced the five days directly. She experienced the swamp, the cries of animals at night, and the dead animal’s corpse, everything had fully happened for her.

‘It’s surprising…’

Since it was a fantasy world, space and time likely bent to the gods’ will.

Even if Seol and Karen were affected by severe distortion, Seol could do nothing other than accept it and move on.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that my summons are in control even through the Long Distance Adventure.’

Since Seol couldn’t control his body through the Long Distance Adventure, he couldn’t predict what situations he’d face. But since his summons were still active, he was doubtful that he would end up in that big of a predicament.

‘Cooking and Insight helped too.’

Tanning, Butchery, Herbalism, and Survivalism were all helpful talents and there were many more that existed other than Cooking, but none of them came close to Cooking’s potential.

“First, let’s set up camp.”

“You’re not going to search right away? Ah, is it because it’s already night?”

“Yeah, and I’m tired from the journey.”

“Alright, then I’ll look for a place to avoid the wind.”

Fwoooosh… Fwooosh…

Their clothes fluttered like a flag on a flagpole.

The cool canyon greeted them with a majestic view and sharp, fierce winds.

Furthermore, messages appeared when Seol arrived at the canyon, notifying him that his Adventure had started.

[You begin your next Adventure.]

[Your 11th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 11. Her Last Descendant.]

[Adventure 11. ‘Her Last Descendant’

You have received a request from Hamun to acquire a rare material. As his request originated from your request, you gladly agreed to it.

Hamun passed you information that south of Nobira, in the Shade Canyon which stands on its lonesome, traces of a descendant of Anachindria, the Spider Queen, have been found. Hamun was quite confident about this as well.

You, believing that information as well, went alone to the Shade Canyon, a place that most adventurers avoid as it is the most dangerous of dangerous locations.

You plan on investigating whether the legend of Anachindria was actually true and if her descendant really had reappeared after all this time.

And, if possible, you plan on acquiring a lot of the blood of the ancient monster as well.

But for now, you must start by looking for the traces of the legends.

Objective: Acquire the blood of Anachindria’s last descendant.

Hamun’s favorability toward you will drop upon failure. The Red Lotus Sword will not be reforged upon failure.

Remaining Time [About 30 days]]

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

“A month, hm…” Seol thought for a moment while rubbing his chin.

‘I’m sure there’s a reason why they gave me so much time.’

A few reasons popped up in Seol’s head. Finding the traces of the fire spider could just be so difficult that it was practically like reaching for the stars. Another reason was that the fire spider was so powerful that it took all that time to defeat it.

‘I’m sure it’s the former though.’

Because the canyon was so jaw-droppingly massive, finding a single spider in a place as big as this was incredibly difficult.

“Over here! Come on!”

“Yeah.”

Thankfully, as it was still near the entrance to the canyon, there was a suitable resting place for travelers.

“Haah… it’s cold.”

“Let’s light a fire. We have ample firewood anyway.”

“Still, we should still save them if we can.”

“We might have lost our food but we still have a bunch of oil and wood. It’ll be alright.”

“Fine, let’s just use it then. Alright, this should be good.”

After the campfire was set up, it was ignited very quickly.

It was because Karen lit it up.

The fact that Karen did this of her own volition despite Seol not giving her orders surprised him a bit.

“You must be tired. You should rest too.”

“No, I’m fine. Who’s going to keep the fire going if both of us rest?”

Fwirl!

In response to Karen’s words, Jamad popped out of the Shadow Space.

Stretch…

The moment Jamad came out, he stretched his arms out.

“I’ll do it. Staying in a dark place all day like that makes me want to stretch.”

“Thanks, Jamad.”

“Hmph. It’s nothing.”

Jamad warmed up by the fire, facing it. As his large body protected the fire from the winds, the fire grew larger.

“Oh… you troll! You’re really reliable in moments like these!”

“Well, there is a reason he trusts me the most.”

“...Really?”

Karen then looked at Seol with furious eyes.

“I thought you hadn’t yet?”

“What?”

“I thought you hadn’t accepted me as your master.”

“Well… that’s true. Hahaha.” Karen scratched her head.

Crackle… Crackle…

The more the campfire burned, the more Seol felt his fatigue.

Nod…

After a few seconds, Seol couldn’t overcome his drowsiness and collapsed onto the bedding he prepared earlier.

Karen and Jamad simply blankly watched the campfire.

- So awkward…

- This is so uncomfortable…

- Can we… be friends?

- The normal development is them ending up dating…

- SHIPPERS GET OUT. SHIPPERS GET OUT.

- Okay, bye… 🏃🏃🏃…

- (Spits)

Jamad, who had been enjoying the silence, glanced at Karen and asked her a question.

“Not yet?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Accepting him as your master.”

“I don’t know… what I should do.”

Karen leaned back onto some baggage and hugged her legs.

“I don’t know either.”

“What’s so complicated about this? What’s stopping you?”

“Haha… Why? Are you going to get rid of whatever’s stopping me?”

“No, that’s something you have to do yourself.”

“Man, and I was so looking forward to it.”

“You can stop it with the jokes now.”

Karen saw the serious look on Jamad’s face and pouted.

“Troll, did you immediately follow that human after you became a shadow?”

“Of course. I hate lukewarm relationships.”

“But why? From what I saw, you were probably someone who was high up for a troll.”

“Hah… you’re right. But, I ended up losing to that guy over there who’s sleeping without a care in the world.”

“Huh? Doesn’t that just mean you lost to Karuna then?”

“It’s different. I lost to Snowman.”

“I think you just don’t want to recognize Karun—”

“No, you’re the one that doesn’t want to recognize him. Are you worried?”

“......”

“Worried that you’ll eventually end up recognizing his skills.”

“Don’t cross any lines.”

“If you’re having a hard time deciding, let me talk about myself.”

Jamad then looked at the campfire with reflective eyes.

“The Rock Molar Tribe that I ruled was indomitable. No one could freely enter our land and we only grew stronger by the day.”

“How strong was your tribe? Was it big?”

“We were, we ruled over an entire mountain. Does that suffice as an answer?”

“Wow… you were more amazing than I thought?”

“Regardless, I thought that I could control everything as the tribe’s leader. I thought I could control the way we thought and our strength as well.”

Jamad grabbed a small rock and tightened his fist.

Crumble…

And as he released it, the rock had become sand.

“But I was mistaken. Even though Snowman had only infiltrated my tribe for a day, he had made my tribe’s name disappear overnight.”

“......”

“You might be right. I did lose to Karuna. But I definitely had an opportunity then, and I poured everything into it. I really, really could have beaten him. Though Karuna is strong, I was stronger then.”

Jamad grinned.

“But, things didn’t turn out that way. I was defeated by Karuna and my tribe disappeared. The reason why I serve him after becoming a shadow? It’s simple. It’s because I admitted it down to my bones. My tribe, my brothers, and everything else… What defeated me wasn’t Karuna but him.”

“Was it simply because you lost?”

“No, it’s because of how he did it. That annoying bastard uses every single method at his disposal to achieve his goals. And in the end, he always does it.”

“......”

“After I became a shadow, when I watch what he does… I find myself stepping forward before I realize it. I, Jamad, chief of the Rock Molar Tribe, was stepping forth to help him.”

Karen, who had been listening earnestly to Jamad, responded as she believed Jamad had finished talking.

“It was a nice story. I enjoyed it.”

“But what I’m curious about is you. Are you simply just tied down here because your brother is?”

“Hm… That’s what I’m not sure about. I wonder what Karuna likes so much about a guy like him that he sticks by him?”

“Don’t reach a conclusion so hastily. He might be physically weak but he is a deep thinker.”

“Hahaha! Yeah, I’m sure he is. Judging by how someone like you is following him.”

Crackle…

Chirp…

The chirping of a bird could be heard from far away.

Though the campfire warmed everyone near it, it wasn’t warm enough to reach someone’s heart.

Karen’s head drooped before telling a story.

Her own story.

“Do you have dreams?”

“What?”

“I’m asking you, troll. Have you had dreams since you became a shadow?”

“No, I haven’t had one.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have dreams?”

Karen nodded

Chirp…

Once again, it was the sound of another bird.

“I do. Awful dreams at that.”

“I want to hear about it.”

“It’s nothing much. I just dream about my time in Montra.”

“You’re talking about that fallen empire. Isn’t it about time you let it go? I don’t think I’ve ever heard Karuna even mention Montra.”

“But you know… I can’t do it. The burning capital… the horrific sounds of those usurpers… and… I can’t forget Jin. Am I weird for this?”

“A bit. You just have a good memory.”

“It’s hard to forget something so awful.”

“A bit. You’re also probably someone who’s slow to take things in.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

Karen then looked at the temporary sword she was given as her equipment.

“On our way here, I tried doing a bunch of things, y’know?”

“What kind of things?”

“Like… resolve! Because I need to keep that bastard alive until at least Karuna comes back, right?”

“I would’ve done that even without you though.”

“I’m uneasy if it’s just you. I’m just… uneasy. Ah, I wasn’t trying to talk about this…”

“Then tell me.”

“I can’t pull out my sword.”

Jamad quickly turned around like he was shocked by Karen’s ridiculous statement.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Do you think I’m joking?”

“What do you mean you can’t pull out your sword? Why wouldn’t I think it’s ridiculous?”

“I don’t understand it either. But… When I try pulling out my sword for someone other than Jin, I…”

Karen pleaded to Jamad with empty eyes.

“The sword… is heavy. It is so, so heavy.”

“I think I’m going to go crazy.”

“Hahaha… that’s what I’m saying.”

Chirp…

Crackle…

The bird’s chirping broke the silence once again.

But with the chirping, Seol woke up while rubbing his eyes.

- (He was listening)

- (He was pretending to be asleep)

- (You should’ve seen his nostrils flare)

“Ah, we were just about to wake you.”

“Yeah, we can worry about sleep later.”

Karen and Jamad reacted as if they expected him to wake up that early and then, Karen looked at the sky.

“The chirping. You woke up because of that, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“Yeah, and it’s getting closer.”

Chiiiiiirp!

Seol looked up at the sky.

“I think it’s coming here. Is it because of the campfire?” said Seol.

The shadow of the massive bird was coming closer to them.

“It’s aiming for us! Oi, protect Snowman!”

“Got it! I’ll put out the fire first, though!”

Fwoosh…

When Karen waved her hands, the fire was extinguished.

But in that short moment, the massive bird had already rushed toward them.

“Duck!”

CRAAAASH!