The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 182

[Influential figures in Timbrian extend their reach of influence.]

[Individuals facing hardships seek out a powerful adventurer who could alleviate their concerns.]

……

Seol’s vision was flooded with such messages.

It seemed the more Adventure Points you gathered, the more occurrences like this tended to happen.

‘If my identity gets revealed, I could get dragged into more annoying things.’

It's almost a rule of thumb that people ask for money when they find out you've won the lottery, after all.

Seol imagined a flood of people seeking help with dangerous, non-rewarding adventures.

“Huh? Huuuh? Did you see that just now?”

“Yeah. It’s my first time seeing this… I wonder what this means…”

“Me too…”

Seol slipped past the transferees on the main street.

‘It seems that the messages weren’t only sent to me… were they sent to all of the transferees?’

Even if they were, since the transferees and the city's residents didn't particularly have a way of distinguishing Seol, he could keep things quiet as long as he was cautious.

Seol then checked the message that had initially caught his eye—the message about his title.

[[Inaugural Title: Someone Better]

Related Achievement: There’s Always Someone Better (Adventure: N/A)

Bonus Effect: Gain additional skill points for your Adventure rewards. There is a high chance to receive 1 additional skill point and a low chance to receive 2.]

- Ah… another effect to give him more skill points 😠

- The bonus he keeps getting! More skill points!

- Honestly, his other titles and skills don’t seem that broken compared to the ones that give him additional skill points…

It had a similar effect to Affluent, a title Seol received when he first reached one million points.

Therefore, it wasn’t too strange that he received a similar one for reaching ten million points.

However, there was a slight difference from Affluent.

‘There’s a… slight chance to give 2 additional points? Then does that mean… there’s a chance to receive four additional skill points when I go on a Linked Adventure?’

This meant that Seol had a chance to earn double the stats that he would normally acquire.

And given that skill points were what transferees perceived as the symbol of becoming stronger, the effects of this new title were truly remarkable.

‘This is exactly why you have to always be ahead of the others.’

With the introduction of transferees, the World of Eternity that Seol knew became increasingly tailored to the strong.

The system ensured that winners always gained more, offering them opportunities to grow faster.

Fortunately, Seol found himself ahead of those who were already considered ahead. With this title, which gave him even more skill points, he could easily maintain that lead.

‘Then for now… I should go visit the Adventurer Association.’

The place where information is gathered. The Association’s Community function was a place where new information constantly spread.

* * *

After stepping into the building, Seol immediately checked the mood.

The adventurers all seemed to be on edge.

‘What’s going on?’

The Adventurer Association's Community function operated in two ways. The first was accessed through a fixed machine, but in more developed cities, mobile devices were also available for people to use while walking around the building.

In Timbrian’s case, it was the latter.

Thanks to that, the Community in Timbrian was quite active.

[(NEW) [<IDoItToo>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Woah…. Woaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

Fuckkkkkkkkkkk! Who’s the person with 10 million points?!

- They’re in our city! I saw it! They’re in the city!

- Info) But this is a large city. There are a lot of people who come and go every day….

- They’re not your friend just because you’re in the same city, alright? LOL]

[(NEW) [<PocketMonster>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: This is unfair…]

Why is there a Dragonite in Pallet Town…

- Professor Oak: Who’s that Pokemon~ WTF is that?!

- Are you reading this, individual with the 10 million points? If you can, tell Raphtalia to run away from you and find a different hero…

- Raphtalia is mine, though?]

[(NEW) [<No!>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Godzilla’s here!]

Godzilla arrived! It’s Godzilla! Ruuuuuuuuun! He’s going to eat all our points! Ahhh! He’s going to step all over us!

- Crush…

- Godzilla’s OP, but my money’s on King Kong.

- How the fuck would King Kong beat Godzilla when Godzilla can shoot laser beams out of his mouth??? Who’s the dude with 10 million points, though?]

[(NEW) [<ThinkSmall>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Let’s think about this logically.]

Do you think you can clear an Adventure on your own if you have 10 million points? Yes/No?

- No. Do you think Adventure Points could replace numbers?

- But points are numbers, though…

- I see! Then it’s possible!

- How did they gather 10 million points so fast, though? Did they just go on one long Adventure after the other?

- Even large-scale Adventures divide the points based on the members. It’s then divided again based on your contributions. If you divide one thing and then divide it again… it’s kind of like how your wages get taxed.

- You can cheat it, though.

- How?

- You could decrease the number of transferees a lot by bringing people from Pandea. There are a lot of people who do that too.

- Oh, really? Still, that's even riskier. Even Pandea's residents are after the transferee rewards now, lol.

- Seriously LOL! I’ve had people I’ve signed contracts with pull out a knife at the last moment.

- That’s scary… Is this Compton or something? Lmfao

- Regardless, I can’t understand how someone was able to build up to 10 million points…]

[(NEW) [<StoryTeller>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: I’m going to tell a story.]

A friend of mine is affiliated with the Libra Tower.

And I’ve just received exclusive, valuable information from them.

You know how the Libra Magic Tower recently hired a bunch of mercenaries, right? And you also recall how they rejected any mercenary groups with transferees in them because they feared information leakage, right?

Apparently, it was all for a large-scale Adventure.

- Oh shit… tell us more.

- Please!

- There was apparently a single transferee there in that large-scale expedition.

- WTF They’re just monopolizing the points! So that’s it!

- They really just abused it like that?! I won’t recognize someone who cheats the system.

- They cleared it in the end, but most of them died. Does that still count as cheating the system?

- Nope. It was a fair adventure. 😅

- But apparently, the transferee was the one who carried the Adventure even though there was an Aspect Magician with them. Maybe the person with 10 million points was the person who went on it? It makes sense, time-wise as well.

- You just made me lose all of my faith in you lmfaoooo

- How did a transferee carry the Adventure when an Aspect Magician was there? LOOOL

- Don’t believe it if you don’t want to.]

‘Information’s spreading faster than I thought.’

Seol was relieved to see most transferees being skeptical.

After all, it could become quite challenging to do anything if information about him spreads to the others.

[(NEW) [<IHeardItToo>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: I heard the same thing, so it must be real.]

There are also rumors about the transferee being that Aspect Magician’s apprentice.

- WTF… they must be a magician then, right? I bet they shoot lasers out of their hands. Meanwhile, our party’s magician’s only barely better than a lighter.

- I can do something like that but the efficiency is shit lol. It devours mana, the power is mid, and controlling it is hard.

- But if they really are an Aspect Magician’s disciple, didn't they make it the furthest out of any of us? Or maybe not? I did hear rumors about someone who entered the royal palace…

- Oh, them, LOL, You’re talking about Nevenia, right? The person who went in there as the representative of transferees.

- Yeah. But I don’t remember making them our representative?

- Me neither. I never asked them to be my representative…?

- Who picked them then?

- Total bullshit, that’s what LOL. Did none of you realize how messed up Nevenia's political status is? They all preach "harmony" and "communication" while trying to squeeze as much out of us as possible.

- I want them to be taken down already, seriously... I need to leave Nevenia soon too. I've heard rumors about transferees collaborating in the outskirts and near the borders, possibly planning a rebellion.

- But the princess is nice! The prince and the old ass king are annoying, though.

- Haah… I would kill them in one hit, I swear.

- Palace Guard Lv52: What did you say?

- Please end it in one hit ^^]

[(NEW) [<Global Era’s Post]

[Post Date: Just now]

[Title: Forget the 10 million points and the civil war brewing…]

Everyone knows that it’s a global era now, right? Foreigners are crossing the border.

- Seriously, lol. I see a bunch of foreigners.

- It’s kind of funny how we can communicate with them. How do they all speak Korean?

- More accurately, they speak the Pandean language. There’s a language tab that forms when you come across a foreigner, and it says ‘Pandean Common’ on it.

- We just thought we were speaking Korean this entire time.]

As the other posts were all just pieces of untrustworthy information, Seol quit reading through them.

‘Still, I learned that I should leave Nevenia soon.’

Getting caught up in a civil war wouldn't only halt his growth but also entail hardship after hardship.

And the other issue…

‘I’ll be running into foreigners soon.’

Seol believed that many transferees were in the other regions. After all, it would have been odd if only Koreans were transferred.

However, his understanding was only half correct.

While foreigners were spread throughout Pandea, the survival rate for transferees wasn’t very high.

Not only were there numerous instances of Pandea's residents and transferees clashing with each other, sometimes taking up an entire region, but there were also many transferees who found themselves in ruined areas, making surviving itself a challenge.

Furthermore, numerous areas had abnormally high Adventure difficulties.

As a result, only 5% of the original transferees managed to survive up to this point.

The Koreans who ended up in Nevenia were fortunate to land in a region with ample space and moderate difficulty, ideal for growth. That was the only reason why they had comparatively more survivors than others.

Seol, often embarking on Adventures alone, realized that these issues didn't directly concern him. Therefore, he activated the Community's other function.

As expected, he had received letters from Gyeongtaek and Somi.

✉️[Friend <OnlyIAmCatless>’s Letter]

[Send Date: 10 days ago]

[Title: Hyung, can we talk when you get back?]

[I wanted to get some advice about something…]

‘...What?’

Seol read through the rest of Gyeongtaek’s letter.

[ - I lost contact with the people I've traveled a bit with. They're the same group you saved when you rescued me in Illia. What’s on my mind… is the Timbrian noble who gave us that initial request. They invited us to House Gatiff’s manor as a token of thanks when we completed the mission. I had other business, so I didn’t go, but... I think my friends visited them a few times even after that initial visit. And not too long after that, they all vanished into thin air.]

‘Hm… that is suspicious.’

Seol then read the next letter.

✉️[Friend <OnlyIAmCatless>’s Letter]

[Send Date: A day ago]

[Title: Hyung, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to wait for you.]

[I’m getting too worried that something happened to them and sitting around like this is just making me worry more, so… I’ll leave you another message if everything goes well!]

“...Shit.”

Gyeongtaek did not send any more messages after that.

Seol then quickly read through Somi’s recent letter.

✉️[Friend <CollegeStudentsMustDie>’s Letter]

[Send Date: A day ago]

[Title: Oppa, if you’re in the Timbrian area, could you tell me if anything happened to Gyeongtaek…]

Stand…

There was no time.

After writing a letter to someone as a safety measure, Seol swiftly departed the building.

* * *

“What did you just say?”

“I asked you if a man with that appearance visited this manor yesterday.”

“Y-You… Do you have any idea where you are?”

The Gatiff manor's gatekeeper became furious, as if he were a member of House Gatiff himself.

- He literally just walked up to them and asked LMFAOOOO

- Snowman-style interrogation technique.

- Working undercover! By putting them under the dirt >:)

- I’m sure he’s just that busy~

- But honestly, I’d do the same if I was him.

- Why?

- If they feign innocence, kill them. If they say yes, ask them where they are now.

- Gyeongtaek could be dying while he’s asking around, so…

- Don’t you know you just make it harder on yourself if you’re weak? Snowman’s strong enough to plow through these guys like a bulldozer.

"I heard my friend was close with the young lady of House Gatiff. And I also heard he visited this manor yesterday."

“I don’t know… Even if that is the case… I don’t know why I should tell you anything.”

“......”

"To simply barge into House Gatiff’s manor, as if they aren't the very pillar of Timbrian..."

Seol stared daggers at the arrogant gatekeeper.

“Wh-what are you…”

“You will tell me.”

“Y-You little…”

Suddenly, a woman who appeared to be the "young lady" Seol mentioned earlier emerged.

“Please stop, Sir Joraz.”

“B-But Lady Seras, he’s…”

“I will handle it myself,” said Seras. “Excuse me, but… Are you perhaps Snowman?”

Seol felt a chill.

Neither of the two before him had shown any threat. He was simply concerned that she knew about him.

“Do you know me?”

“I heard about you from your younger brother. He always talked about you, as if it was a habit, but… I never thought I’d be meeting you like this.”

She was likely referring to Gyeongtaek.

After all, he always took pride in his relationship with Seol.

“I’m here because of him.”

“I shouldn’t keep a guest waiting outside like this. Sir Joraz, please allow him entry.”

“Ha… Haha…”

“...Quickly now.”

“Y-Yes! Understood.”

Joraz unwillingly opened the gate for Seol.

"I just happened to be enjoying some refreshments. I've also baked these cookies myself, so I would like to hear what you think of them."

“...Okay.”

If Seol had met her under different circumstances, ones where Gyeongtaek wasn’t involved, there was a good chance he would have let down his guard.

Step…

Step…

The manor’s interior appeared normal.

There were no other words to really describe it other than tidy.

However, Seol noticed something.

The air here felt extremely heavy.

Seol wasn’t the only one who felt something off.

- Found it!

Ur insidiously laughed from inside Seol’s Shadow Space.

- I never imagined we'd find so much Shadow Essence gathered like this... There are shadows concentrated somewhere here. Soon, you'll be reunited with that wolf who loved you so dearly.

Ur then ended with one final statement.

- Take control of the shadows here.

Seol slowly nodded as he looked around the interior more.

“I hope you aren’t too disappointed by our lacking welcome. Your visit was rather abrupt…”

“Why would I? More importantly…”

“Yes?”

Inhale…

Seol inhaled the air around him.

Or, more accurately, the scent that had been permeating the manor's halls.

‘This smell is coming from her, not the manor itself. This smell…’

Seol retrieved a crumpled letter from his inventory. He then took in its scent.

‘It’s the same smell.’

Seol had long memorized the letter's contents. It belonged to Malacus, the Shadow Hunter, who was present when Seol awakened his Exceptional Skill.

A letter that Seol retrieved from his corpse.

- Hello, I am Malacus. I cannot see. I hope for your generous understanding despite the messy handwriting. I am from a small noble family in Timbrian, and I am it's…*

*TL/Note: Malacus’s letter has slightly changed due to a translation error.

‘Now that I think about it… Malacus was from Timbrian as well.’

- They have a black rose tattoo on the back of their hand. It was impossible to tell their gender through their voice, and they weren’t too big either. They smelled like medicine. I remember all of those perfectly. I have also left that person’s scent in this letter.

The moment Seol realized that Seras Gatiff was related to Malacus’s tragedy, a message entered his eyes.

[You have received additional information on Hidden Adventure 'Stockholm Syndrome'.]

[Once the conditions have been met, a Sudden Adventure will activate.]

‘...There’s something here.’

“What’s wrong?” asked Seras Gatiff as she settled herself onto the reception room’s sofa.

“It's nothing,” Seol smiled.

Faaade…

Seol silently released invisible crows into the manor from his shadows.

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