The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-86

Everyone in the room went silent after hearing Seol say that he would be leaving to get Hamun back.

Shocked, Yeonhui asked back, “Th-then… does that mean…”

“We’ll be chasing after them.”

“It’s too late. It has already been a week since Nobira was ambushed.”

“They must have crossed the border by now.”

“Doesn’t matter,” responded Seol.

“A-Are you planning on crossing the border? Why?”

“Just like how you guys plan on protecting Kongory, I plan on protecting what’s mine. What else is there to do when your things have been stolen?”

Slide.

Seol put on his hood once more. Karen, who was next to Seol, wore her hood as well and followed Seol outside.

“You just have to take it back.”

Creak.

Thud.

As there was no one holding the door, Seol left with a thud.

The people in the room were completely silent even after he left, like a storm had passed by.

“He’s insane. He must think he’s the main character or something.”

“Why? I thought he was cool.”

“Let’s see if you can say that again when he comes back as a corpse? We’ll see.”

“Did you think that you’d look cool saying that about someone else going into a dangerous situation while you’re just comfy at home?”

“...What did you just say?”

“Huh? You heard that?”

“Are you trying to—”

Slam!

Yeonhui slammed the table, cracking it.

“Haha… was I too loud?”

“Quiet.”

Yeonhui resolved herself once more before talking to Yeo-myeong.

“It seems like… I have done a discourtesy to you, Yeo-myeong.”

“......”

“It also seems like trying to recruit Snowman was too tall of a task. Please, blame me for acting rashly.”

“...It’s fine. Noeul, let’s go.”

“Uh, y-yeah…”

Yeo-myeong grabbed Noeul’s hand and tried to lead her out of the room.

“Oppa, it hurts…”

“Sorry, can you go back to our lodging for now?”

“Yeah, alright.”

Yeo-myeong, without realizing, was holding Noeul’s hand tightly. He then let go.

And then, Yeo-myeong started running in the direction he expected Seol to go.

“Han Yeo-myeong?”

“Isn’t that Han Yeo-myeong?”

There were more and more people who recognized him now.

Was it because of Seol’s advice? Or was it because of the powers hidden in his black hand?

Regardless, the rate at which he became stronger was overwhelmingly faster than the other transferees. Even the alliance members recognized that Yeo-myeong was exceptional, even among exceptional people.

And in an instant, he had become the symbol of Kongory.

Though something like this could have made anyone arrogant, that was not the case for Yeo-myeong.

He was happy simply to be able to protect his younger sister, Han Noeul, in a safer location and keep her alive.

After running through lifeless alley after lifeless alley, Yeo-myeong was finally able to reach Seol.

“Gasp… Gasp… Hyung!”

“Did you chase after me?”

“Yes! I did! Hold on! Could you please just wait for a second?”

Yeo-myeong was resolved to protect his younger sister, Noeul.

She was the only thing that he had left.

So why? Why did he call for Seol? What Yeo-myeong wanted was fixed in Kongory.

Seol simply looked at Yeo-myeong.

‘He’s changed a lot.’

He was no longer the same immature person who asked for his help.

Not only was his equipment much better than before, probably due to clearing multiple difficult Adventures, but he also had a sharp air about him.

“What is it?”

“About today… I’m sorry. It was my mistake. I knew you hated things like that, I just—”

“It’s fine. It’s not like there was nothing to gain for me either. Thanks to you, my goals became much clearer.”

“Ah! Are you talking about how you’re going to rescue Hamun?”

“Yes, and I plan to.”

Yeo-myeong looked at Seol, directly into his golden eyes.

“L-Let me help you too.”

“What?”

“Let me help you. After all, you saved my life.”

Seol understood him.

Even so, he couldn’t accept the request.

“Yeo-myeong, you can’t help me.”

“I… I became stronger. I’m not the same person I used to be.”

Seol glanced at Karen.

Karen, understanding Seol’s intentions, stepped forth.

“Look, uh… I know that you’re confident but Master’s right. You won’t be able to help him.”

“You can test me if you want.”

“Yeah, I'll test you.”

Dash!

Karen disappeared into a blur and reappeared behind Yeo-myeong.

“Hrgh!”

Unsheathe!

Yeo-myeong’s black hand quickly unsheathed his sword from his sheathe.

“Hm?”

Karen flinched for a second, surprised by the unnatural reaction speed, but she quickly pulled out her own sword as well.

Clang!

“That’s a pretty fun ability.”

“Don’t look down on me. Here I go!”

“Alright!”

Clang!

Claaaang!

Clang!

In an instant, Yeo-myeong unleashed a combo that was able to push back Karen. In a fight between swordsmen, using a skill could result in death. As such, Yeo-myeong did not use any skills.

‘If it’s a pure fight like this without any skills, I can win!’

Yeo-myeong was confident in his victory.

After all, his haunted black hand was something powerful that made him levels above any other swordsman he faced.

Claaang!

But after a while, there was a shadow cast over Yeo-myeong’s face.

Rather, it was Karen who looked relaxed as she took on every attack.

‘Why? Why…’

Yeo-myeong continued swinging without realizing what was happening.

After all, all he had to do was just scratch her clothes with his swords. Even that would be enough to show his growth.

But…

Kick!

“Urgh…”

Karen found an opening to kick Yeo-myeong’s chest.

“Sorry, did it hurt?”

“I’m alright. Let’s go again. Hrah!”

Claaang

Clang!

But no matter how many times Yeo-myeong tried, the results were the same.

His sword could not reach her at all.

It was like her body was a mirage and the only thing facing him there was her sword.

If he couldn’t reach her, she was no different from a mirage anyway.

Kick!

With another loud sound, Yeo-myeong toppled over.

“Urgh…”

Clatter…

Karen had lightly kicked his lower body, toppling him over.

“You’re done, right?”

“...I lost.”

“You’re quite fast, but the rest is a mess. You’ve never learned swordsmanship, have you?”

“...I haven’t.”

“Your attacks are obvious and too light. Even if an attack is fast, it’s useless unless there’s weight behind it.”

Yeo-myeong did not have any swordsmanship skill and his Strength was low.

Since they were on the game board, that might have been a better explanation for him.

“You were right… I don’t think I’ll be able to help you.”

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to protect your sister? Why are you trying to follow me then?”

“I don’t know either, I just… I’m just anxious.”

“Because you’re worried about falling behind?”

“Yeah, probably.”

As Yeo-myeong laid on the ground, he saw the clear sky and Seol.

“You are precisely correct. You’re falling behind.”

“What?”

“What would you do if I said that I would kill your sister?”

“Well…”

He couldn’t stop Seol.

He wouldn’t be able to do anything other than watch as Seol killed Noeul right before his eyes.

“That’s the truth behind the anxiety eating you away. The alliance… a safe location… all of it is useless unless you are strong yourself.”

“What should I… What should I do then?”

“Staying here won’t help you at all. I think it might be a good idea for you to travel far away from here.”

“But my sister would be alone here then.”

“That isn’t something I can help you with. Well then…”

As Seol tried to leave, Yeo-myeong stood up to hand him something.

It was a small statue.

“What is this?”

“It’s an item that allows us to know where each other is. It’s because… I probably won’t be staying in Kongory anymore, hyung.”

Seol placed it into his inventory and said goodbye.

“I’ll see you again. You must stay alive until the next time we meet.”

“Yeah! I promise!”

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Immediately after splitting with Yeo-myeong, Seol purchased two healthy horses.

“What? Do you know how to ride a horse? Do you need me to teach you?”

“I didn’t know it, but I had talent in it.”

“Where are you going to go then?”

“Well…”

Going to Nobira now would be fruitless as the only thing there would be the remains of a pillaged city.

‘Where should I go if I want to track them down?’

Seol thought for a moment before picking a direction.

“We’re going to Fortress Gulia.”

“Are you talking about the fortress near Wiggleton?”

“You remember it?”

“Kibo told us, no? The bread was so tasty that I was shocked. It’s easy to remember things that shock you.”

“That sounds like something my idiot brothers would have done to remember things,” chimed Jamad from the Shadow Space.

“You’re only able to say that because you didn’t try any of the bread. Ah, do trolls even eat bread?”

“Trolls and humans have a similar diet. Except for the fact that we eat other races too.”

“Urgh… gross.”

“Yeah, I don’t like this part of my race either.”

Since there weren’t any wagons headed to Gulia from Kongory, Karen and Seol had no other option but to go there on horseback.

Luckily for them though, the roads were well-maintained so it was unlikely that there would be any problems.

The two slowly reared their horses before heading north.

“By the way, why are you interested in that Yeo-myeong guy?”

“I have a use for him later.”

“Even though he’s that weak? His hand was special, though.”

“I was talking about his hand too.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense, then. I was thinking that he talked way too much about his sister, for someone you were interested in. I don’t really like people like that either.”

Jamad chimed in once again.

“He’s exactly like a certain somebody who talks about Karuna a lot, though.”

“This and that are two different things! We’re twins!”

“I don’t get what the difference is.”

“Regardless, Master. Is there something we can do if we go to Gulia?”

“It’s the place closest to the trolls and we can look around Gulia to see if there’s any plans we can join there… something like that.”

“And if there isn’t a plan to go fight the trolls? What are you going to do then?”

“What else? Go there alone.”

“Hahaha! You’re crazy, really.”

Just then, Jamad coughed to catch Seol’s attention. It seemed like he was hesitating to say something.

“Ahem… Hm… I have something to say.”

“About what?”

“About the current situation.”

“Like what happened in Nobira?”

“Yeah, that. I have an idea as to why that happened. I also have an idea about their current location.”

“...What are you talking about?”

Jamad spoke as if he was rummaging through his memories.

“It’s a tribe that used to be allied with the Rock Molar Tribe. Well, we did have a conflict of opinion and I had to run away from there, though…”

“And?”

“The tribe alliance is spread all over the continent. But in truth, it’s not like we talk to each other frequently. Like, what would two tribes, who exist on opposite sides of the continent, do if they talked to each other?”

Seol was quite interested in what Jamad was talking about.

In fact, even for a troll, it was difficult not to be captivated by what Jamad was saying.

“And that’s why we created the Great Tribe Meeting.”

“The Great Tribe Meeting?”

“You can think of it as a meeting between the biggest tribe in the area and the other tribes in the area.”

- They’re talking about it like it’s some Homeowners Association meeting LMFAO

- We’ll be talking about someone’s tacky garden gnomes next…

- Jamad, the HOA Chairman. LMFAO

Seol then asked Jamad a question.

“The biggest tribe near Nevenia would be… the Sulfur Skull Tribe?”

“Huh? You know about them?”

“Ah, it’s just because they’re well-known.”

“Yeah, they’re undoubtedly the strongest tribe near Nevenia. Regardless, what I was trying to say was this. There were discussions about what's happening now in the Great Tribe Meeting a long time ago..”

“What?”

“It’s something that the young successor of the Sulfur Skull Tribe had proposed. Well, it was rejected then, though.”

- Why are you only saying this now?

- Maybe his memory wasn’t good because he didn’t have tasty bread?

- Ah, that makes perfect sense then.

“Open the map.”

Unravel.

Seol followed Jamad’s instructions and opened the map. Jamad then continued to talk while looking at the map.

“Right now, they’re probably… here.”

“The Yognatun Volcano?”

It was a volcano not too far from the kingdom’s borders.

Yognatun was also an active volcano. It was the reason why no civilization had taken root in the area near Nevenia’s borders.

“Isn’t this… where Purga is?”

“Yeah, it’s one of the places where Purga, the Old God, resides.”

Purga, the Old God.

He was the god of fire and sulfur, and supposedly resembled a massive fire monkey.

His power, since ancient times, has been a calamity in and of itself.

Because of that, no one was bold enough to upset Purga, and the Yognatun Volcano continued to blaze, allowing no one to approach it.

However, Jamad then said something to Seol with absolute certainty.

“The Sulfur Skull Tribe plans to use Purga by offering him the sacrifices they’ve captured.”