The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 53

[(NEW) [<Zealot>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: The Wolf has appeared!]

After the Wolf appeared, the world became peaceful. Maybe calling someone a wolf… is a compliment? Praise God Kibo!

- I was so scared, I thought I was going to die… Once I heard about the news, I stopped drinking with the bar owner and hid behind the counter with him.

- I thought my heart was going to explode lmfao. They were fucking brutal though… It was like watching two rival gangs fight each other.

- I thought Heka was a maniac and Kibo was an innocent person but I was completely wrong…

- Is this ‘gap moe’?

- Why weren’t you stabbed that night? What a shame…

[ (NEW) [<Shitposter>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: It’s a complete monopoly now… It’s fucked for transferees]

Monopolies ruin the market.

Wolf? Lion? I don’t care who’s in charge. I just didn’t like the fact that one person was trying to control Nobira.

Now, the Wolf has taken over Nobira like you guys wished. But what do you think will happen next? Will he really take care of the transferees like you guys wished? You naive idiots… Kibo taking over Nobira isn’t a good situation at all!

- Okay, next Heka.

- Heka(Dead): LOLLL Did you really think that Kibo would take care of you guys?

- It’s always these fuckers who never stepped out of their rooms that act like this LOOOL Have you ever even seen Heka? I have. He stabbed all of my party members.

- Stop trying to make Heka seem better than he was, you fucking loudmouth lmfao What did you do that night? If you did nothing then just accept the results lol.

- The person who posted this probably hid in their room while crying that night.

- I bet they ordered food through room service too. Even the inn owner probably thinks that they’re pathetic.

- Seriously lol

[ (NEW) [<DieHeka>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: Die Heka!]

Huh? He died? Why did this work?

- Huuuuh?

- Why don’t we make Wolf's Night an official holiday in Nobira? Lol.

- I was able to get a glance at Heka when he was at a bar and he looked like a fucking ogre lmfao.

- So who killed Heka?

- How would we know? But according to the rumors, it wasn’t Kibo. It wouldn’t make sense logically when he was busy during that time killing Doju.

- So Shur killed Heka? How would that make sense?

- It wouldn’t. Shur has no chance against Heka.

- Then who could it be? It isn’t a transferee, right? It’s much more believable that Heka was ganged up on by a group of people than a single transferee.

[ (NEW) [<ExtraExtra>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: A carrier pigeon has arrived, coo… coo…]

Here’s what we know currently about the Wolf’s Night.

1. It ended in the overwhelming victory of Kibo’s faction.

2. Heka’s faction has split apart and even ran away from Nobira to avoid being killed by people with grudges.

3. Doju is officially dead.

4. Heka is officially dead.

5. Kibo killed Doju.

6. It still isn’t known who killed Heka.

7. There is a rumor that the person who killed Heka is ‘Private’ or another transferee.

- Private? Han Yeo-myeong?

- Ah! Private!

- Some people are saying that Yu Mira killed Heka.

- Are you kidding me? LMFAO! Saying that Yu Mira killed Heka is like saying that a lion was killed by a house cat.

- Why aren’t there any witnesses?

- Probably because they killed all of the witnesses too?

- Don’t say something so scary 😨😨😨…

- Either that or Heka died in a separate, completely random location.

[ (NEW) [<SuperpowerFlavor>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: Another story.]

There’s information that Heka was last seen in a bar on 3rd Street.

And apparently, they were picking a fight with somebody? Maybe the person who Heka picked a fight with killed him?

- You don’t think Heka killed them instead?

- Look at the way he’s hiding shit tsk tsk… stop instigating me.

- What the fuck is he saying? LOL

- Apparently after that happening in the bar on 3rd Street, Mira was seen leaving the bar carrying Heka’s head and going to Kibo. So it’s a very credible rumor.

- Then does that mean Yu Mira killed Heka? I didn’t think she was someone like that but she’s damn scary…

[ (NEW) [<Prophet>’s Post]

[Post Date: A day ago]

[Title: I know the truth.]

I can’t believe there are rumors about fucking Yu Mira killing Heka of all people now LMFAO

Fuu… I can’t give you the specific details because I don’t want to reveal my own identity but, I’ll at least say this…

Private killed Heka. ✌️

- What the fuck even is this post?

- Yeah, suuuuure lol

- I’ll at least say this… fuck off ✌️

- I’m telling you, Private killed Heka.

- Yeah, yeah. Try to stop crying first before you keep talking.

The posts were all about Kibo and Heka as well as Private and Yu Mira.

‘As expected, there’s nothing about Chao.’

Seol went through the community every day, hoping for news about her, but found nothing.

In the end, Seol went in circles before eventually returning to that place.

It was the only place in Nobira where Seol found traces of her along with a mess of other information. In the end, Seol returned to her research room hidden in the manor.

The area surrounding the manor was the same as before.

It was a creepy area with unmaintained weeds. Even the broken glass was the same as before.

Seol wasn’t sure if it was because Chao paid a lot upfront, but it seemed like no one even came near here.

Slide…

Seol swiftly slipped through the broken windows once again. He wasn’t sure if it was because he already went through this once before, but options didn’t show up this time.

Creak…

“Fuu… In the end, am I back here again?”

It was a place filled with mountains of enigmatic designs, drawings, and distracting phrases.

Glow…

Fwirl! Fwirl!

Seol brought out a black energy to summon Karuna and Jamad.

“What is it again? Don’t tell me you’re going to make me do the same thing as last time?”

Seol bashfully looked elsewhere at Jamad’s fierce gaze.

“Damn it. Do shit like this on your own, please.” Despite Jamad’s gruff reaction, he then started to carefully inspect everything from one corner to the next.

- This is why I watch Snowman nowadays.

- I became addicted to Jamad’s tsundere behavior…

- He complains a lot but he’s always sincere with his work kekeke

Karuna also started to inspect the contents on the wall without complaint.

Seol and his summons spent about an hour like that.

Even though working in silence could be considered a blessing at a job, at this point, Seol was starting to get bored.

Seol then forcefully created a reason to talk to Karuna. “Karuna.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Aren’t you uncomfortable without a sword?”

Karuna then responded to the question as if it were something obvious.

“I can protect you without a sword too, master.”

- Ah! (Gasp)

- I’m touched! Promotion for you!

- Haha, you really know how to butter me up, Karuna!

Jamad, hearing that, entered the conversation with a smirk on his face. “How loyal.”

“Do not mock me, troll,” Karuna replied

“Ah, did it sound like that to you? It was a compliment in the purest sense.”

It was amazing to Seol that despite their constant bickering, they worked perfectly in tandem with each other in battle.

“Master.”

“Why? Did you find something?”

“It’s not that, but… this pattern… I feel like I’ve seen this before.”

“A pattern?”

“Yes. I do not recall exactly where I remember it from, but it definitely exists somewhere in my memory.”

Because there were so many patterns on the wall, Seol hadn’t carefully inspected all of them one by one.

Since Seol just so happened to be bored and because Karuna had found a clue to something, Seol investigated the pattern Karuna directed at.

The pattern was of an odd flame inside of a circle.

“It’s my first time seeing a pattern like this,” said Seol.

“Ah, is that so?”

“But… are you sure that you really remember this pattern?”

“I am. I can feel something strongly from this pattern.”

- It’s just… All of my memories before I became a disciple feel hazy like a fog.

Karuna couldn’t remember his past.

On one hand, Seol was surprised that the pattern in front of him was something that Karuna, someone who lost his memories, remembered, but on the other hand, Seol became more interested in it because of it.

‘Now, let’s see what’s written about it.’

Near the pattern were some words that Chao left behind.

- What advantages does the summon’s class give in terms of unity with the summoner? And is it really a sure solution for overcoming the instability in unity?

‘What does this mean?

It was practically a foreign language.

Seol annoyedly scratched his neck and read the next part.

- There are people trying to take advantage of the Great Forest’s vitality. Vitality is the source of life and is often used by those who reject death.

‘The Great Forest’s vitality…?’

- Someone is hiding in the Great Forest. They’re either the remnants of Eternal Life or maybe, another group entirely. Regardless, I might be able to get my hands on a powerful shadow if I could just take advantage of them. I’m confident that the ones who are hiding are those who reject death… Necromancers.

Necromancers were hiding in the Great Forest.

‘Why?’

- What is their true objective and where did the corpse they were trying to revive come from? It definitely seems worth my time to investigate it.

At that moment, Seol was forcibly assigned an Adventure.

[Adventure ‘Necromancers’ Secret Ceremony’ is scheduled.]

[Because this Adventure is a 'Linked Adventure' you cannot choose your next Adventure.]

“Huh…”

Seol wasn’t sure whether to be happy that he found a clue or confused that he was forcibly assigned an Adventure.

Seol, without thinking, looked at Karuna. Karuna’s strong gaze looked back at Seol.

It was almost like… he had to go there.

Jamad, standing behind Seol, spoke.

“It looks like that lump of steel is interested in that pattern… What do you think about going there next?”

Karuna glanced at Jamad before turning back to Seol.

“Yeah, let’s go here next,” said Seol.

“Thank you, Master.”

Along with Karuna being interested, the fact that Seol had no other information to make a different decision made taking on this Adventure the correct decision.

Even so, the awful travel luck Seol got when he arrived in Nobira and being forced to take on this Adventure combined made it a unique situation.

‘A forced Adventure with bad travel luck, huh… that’s a bit worrying.’

Obviously, Seol was prepared for a variety of problems, but even if he was prepared, he couldn’t help being anxious.

‘I should try to find Chao as fast as I can and leave Nobira,’ resolved Seol.

* * *

Seol received news from Hamun faster than he expected.

A couple of days before embarking on his new Adventure, Seol received a message from Hamun through Kibo.

“Your items are ready,” said Kibo’s subordinate.

“Could you notify him that I will go to find those right now?”

“Of course.”

Kibo’s subordinates were very respectful.

They were respectful normally as well but they were more respectful now after the incident with Heka.

The difference was especially noticeable in Mira. Even though Seol already knew her rambunctious personality, Mira had been nothing but respectful now to the point it was almost too much.

‘It’s a bit uncomfortable…’

Seol wasn’t sure whether they were simply showing respect to him or just flat-out scared.

Obviously though, both were bad.

Seol later found out that Kibo had ordered them to act like that.

Regardless, Seol was currently heading to where he first met Hamun. The cool night air made the quiet streets look even more uninviting.

“Ah, have you arrived?”

“Hamun.”

“There’s no need to come inside. Your items are complete.”

Hamun exited his house, hiding his hands behind his back.

Seol could see two items behind Hamun covered in a thin cloth.

“Take this.”

Toss.

Seol grabbed the item that Hamun lightly threw.

[You have acquired a 'Helmet of Cool-Headedness'.]

Judging by how the helmet’s name had changed, Hamun was successful in his repair.

However, Hamun hesitated in handing over the most important item, the Moonlight Sword.

“...Hamun?”

“I will tell you the problems with this sword.”

“Was there a problem with the Moonlight Sword?”

“Yes, and more accurately… the problem still remains in the sword.”

“What kind of problem is it?”

Hamun looked at the cloth-covered sword with curious eyes.

“The sword was made in such a way that I can’t decipher the era in which it was made or the techniques and spells used to make it. Not only that, despite the fact that it is a heavily evolved work, many things about it are suppressed.”

“Suppressed?”

“Not only does this sword suppress its own strength, it even suppresses the strength of the owner.”

“...That was possible?”

“It is something that I also thought was impossible until now. It's just one wall after another…”

As Hamun spoke more about the Moonlight Sword, doubt started to arise within Seol.

‘Now that I think about it…’

Karuna was a summon that Seol acquired in his first Adventure. And as such, it was normal for Karuna to be weaker than the summons he would acquire later in his journey.

However, Seol didn’t see any signs of Karuna becoming weaker. In fact, the more Karuna grew, the more he changed.

Karuna’s stats only soared higher by the day and his expertise in battle was unrivaled.

However, as it was Seol’s first time playing a Shadow Summoner, he wasn’t sure if this was just information that he lacked or if Karuna really was unique.

And if by chance Karuna truly was unique, there was no way that the Moonlight Sword Karuna held very dear would only be a rare quality item.

That was the doubt that started to grow within him.

Hamun continued, holding the sword in both hands.

“I was able to remove many spells, but there are many more incomparable spells left on it. I’m curious as to what the sword would look like when it has been stripped of all of its spells.”

And then, something that Seol didn’t expect happened.

Hamun held the sword tightly and said…

“Therefore… I cannot hand you the sword like this.”