The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 266

Grrrrrrrr…

Cruuush…

A massive foot stomped down, with sharp claws far too unnatural to be called human.

Crush…

“They disappeared! They were just here, though.”

“......”

“What should we do? Where did they disappear to?”

Monsters with countless ferocious teeth, towering over humans, radiated a foul, evil energy.

These creatures, who arrived at the plateau, were what the East called ghosts—monsters of unimaginable strength.

And now, they roamed the area where Seol and Hye Myeong’s party had just been.

“Kill them! I want to kill them!”

“I want to drink blood… their blood!”

Fssssssss…

A massive entity moved past them, but the ground neither rumbled nor shook from his movements.

It was as if a shadow had simply, swiftly passed.

He was the one who had launched the black meteor at Seol. His very presence radiated an overwhelming amount of ghost energy.

“Shade, they disappeared! What should we do?!”

Fssss…

His name was Shade, one of the three generals of Hwagmu’s ghost army.

He took a second to look down at the ghosts under his command.

“...It doesn’t matter. I can still sense their presence.”

Fwiiiirl!

He then transformed into a small child.

“We will catch them here.”

“And after that? What will we do after that?”

The ghosts eagerly looked at Shade after asking that question.

Each of them craved the bodies of the living. They looked toward Shade hungrily, eager for his response.

“......”

“Well? Tell us, Shade!”

While Shade was leading the ghosts, he was different from them. He was special.

His emotions did not change too much from simple appetite or cravings.

The three ghost generals were exceptionally special and far superior to the other ghosts. Even so, it was the leader's duty to ensure his men’s morale remained high, and Shade had no intention of neglecting that responsibility.

“Enjoy slaughtering them… have a ravenous meal…” said Shade.

“Hehehehehehehehe…”

“Yes! Let’s catch them!”

But then, a ghost with a runny-looking face, as if it had been boiled too long in hot water, pushed past the others to say something.

“What is all this?”

At their feet were several scrolls, knocked over by their arrival.

Most of them were Mi Ah’s drawings, ones they had to abandon due to the dangerous situation.

While they were invaluable to Mi Ah, they were worthless to the ghosts before them.

“Burn this place down.”

“Hehehehehe!”

Blaaaaaaaze!

As a ghost ignited its body, it burned down the camp Hye Myeong had set up.

Meanwhile…

- In three days, evil will arrive at the ruins.

Despite Seol focusing intently on the Golden Divine Statue, it did not continue after that. Watala’s statue had closed its mouth after saying what it needed to.

With that, Seol had no choice but to read the information he was given.

[Adventure 33-(Special). ‘Watala’s Inheritance’

Through the strange powers of Mi Ah, a member of the Soul Eyes Tribe, you have been transported into the world of her drawing.

As you prepared to search for the Luminous Bell, a magical bell, you encountered an unexpected situation.

A day before the Ruins of Watala were set to open, you were ambushed by a mysterious group.

But that wasn't all.

Perhaps sensing the impending danger, the Golden Divine Statue, acquired from the Ruins of Watala, opened the doors to the ruin a day early, allowing you and your party to take refuge inside.

Despite the sudden chaos, there is still a way to overcome it.

Find the Luminous Bell.

Objective: Acquire the Luminous Bell or defeat the enemies

Caution. This Adventure is very dangerous.

Caution. This Adventure can change at a moment’s notice.

Remaining Time [Unknown]]

‘Damn it…’

There was less time than Seol had initially anticipated.

‘I thought we’d be able to have a few trips to the ruins, at least…’

However, since things often seemed to go poorly for Seol, he wasn’t too shaken by it.

Instead, he felt relieved that he had remained vigilant.

‘That power… It was definitely Shade. But why is he already…?’

Shade, one of Hwagmu’s three ghost generals from the past, had gone missing.

Some believed that Hong Cheon had struck a deal with Shade or that he had returned to the ghost realm in hiding, but they were all wrong.

Shade had died here, at the Ruins of Watala.

Hye Myeong used the Luminous Bell to kill him.

Or at least that was what had happened in the past.

‘We have yet to acquire the Luminous Bell, and Hye Myeong still hasn’t awakened all his powers. This is the worst possible scenario.’

Mi Ah’s warnings were right.

- The world within the drawing is an entirely different one. You cannot expect the events of the past to unfold exactly as they did. Every decision you make will have both positive and negative consequences.

- Then that means… there’s a chance things could turn out differently? What about the issues that might arise if we replace this Luminous Bell with the complete one from the past?

Things had already deviated from the past. Something dire was unfolding, something that could jeopardize Seol’s chances of success.

‘Three days…’

Seol had to clear at least half of the Ruins of Watala within three days.

Only by acquiring the Luminous Bell would they be able to properly face off against the threat.

- Snowman, just open the door! Can’t you just go out and kill them all?

- Seriously, why not?

- I don’t know what it is, but… I’m sure he could, right?

There were two reasons why Seol hesitated fighting Shade.

First, Shade was roughly as powerful as someone in the mid-Immortal Rank. While it was difficult to compare him directly to Phantom, who was also Immortal Rank, considering Phantom had been weakened from being awakened recently, Shade was likely much stronger.

Second, and this was the biggest reason…

‘I… have the worst matchup with Shade.’

Shade’s characteristics differed from Phantom’s.

While Phantom was a swordsman honed for sharpness, Shade was a theurgist focused on resilience.

While Seol was well-matched against theurgists, the real problem was that Shade commanded ghosts.

“What should we do, Kang Seol? Who are they?”

Seol paused his thoughts there.

His companions were trembling in fear.

He was the only one who fully understood the situation, which meant he had to bear the weight of their worries.

“It seems they are also aiming for the ruin.”

“Ghost energy… Are they ghosts?”

“...It’s likely.”

Chi Woo clicked his tongue.

“Hm… What should we do, then? What if we wait here and ambush them?”

“That wouldn’t work. They have someone strong with them.”

"...Someone even you might have a hard time facing?”

“I’m not entirely sure."

“That’s worrisome. What can we do then?”

Point…

Seol pointed ahead.

“Clearing the ruin.”

“What? How could that…”

As Chi Woo was about to ask, ‘How could that be the correct option?’ he closed his mouth upon realizing the situation.

Mi Ah was alive as an adult in the future, meaning she did not die in the ruin.

If she had been able to overcome this situation in the past, it would have likely been because they had managed to clear the ruin.

The only difference then and now was the number of her party members.

Chi Woo nodded in response.

“Alright. What do you think, Seol Hong?”

“I don’t think we have any other options,” responded Seol Hong. “Let’s do as Seol says.”

Seol Hong’s party had absolute trust in Seol.

Because of this trust, they decided to delve further into the ruin, with Mi Ah and Hye Myeong joining them.

In truth, since Hye Myeong was essentially Mi Ah’s guardian, she had no choice but to accompany them as well.

“Well then…” said Hye Myeong. “I will do my best to remember the way and guide everyone.”

Hye Myeong took the lead.

* * *

Step… step…

The ruins were more winding and complicated than they had initially expected. They would descend stairs, climb hills, and walk in circles, often ending up back where they started.

“I think we returned to where we started?”

“...There was originally a hard trial here. That’s probably why I’m not able to remember it correctly.”

Seol nodded, reminiscing what Hye Myeong had to go through to acquire the Golden Divine Statue.

‘A moving coffin, nightmares of being lit on fire, black pots… Hye Myeong really did go through a lot to clear it.’

Despite the immense difficulty of acquiring the Golden Divine Statue, Hye Myeong cleared the trial even before gaining its powers.

Sssssss…

Thud…

“Kyaaaaaa!”

A venomous snake with a distinct triangular head suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

However, its head was cut off before it landed on something.

Seol had taken care of it.

Mi Ah began to tremble before hiding behind Hye Myeong.

“I’m scared…”

“Don’t be, Mi Ah. These people from the Artifact Association are as strong as I am.”

“But…”

“You’ll be safe as long as you stick right next to me. Let’s just keep going slowly, alright?”

“...Okay.”

After comforting Mi Ah, Hye Myeong joined Seol's party, walking alongside them.

As they moved forward, Seol noticed a wall ahead.

Inscribed on it were letters in a language none of them could understand.

Suddenly, the Golden Divine Statue opened its mouth.

- Learn that the mind and body are one.

“...What? What did it just say?”

- ……

It then fell silent again.

- It’s starting to piss me off, LMFAO

- It just said what it wanted to say and then left, LMFAO

- How a homeschooled kid talks to other people.

The ruin was massive.

Despite walking for a long time, they had only arrived where Hye Myeong found the statue.

They arrived at what seemed to be a large auditorium.

“You know, when I first acquired the Golden Divine Statue…” began Hye Myeong while rubbing it.

“Ah, yes?”

“I received someone’s memories. They’re probably Watala’s memories, right?”

“......”

Hye Myeong continued.

"Due to an innate limitation, Watala reached his physical limit quickly. However, once he realized this, he devised another approach..."

Tap, tap…

Hye Myeong tapped on his temple.

“His mind.”

“Hm…”

“He used his mind to make up for his lacking body. Hm… Maybe, how I’m saying it is too confusing?”

“No, keep going.”

“Watala became well-versed in the ways to use his mind. He gave his entire life to fight evil, and left everything behind here, in his ruin.”

The studies that Watala mastered rested here in this ruin.

Hye Myeong rubbed the statue once more.

“A part of Watala’s powers is also resting in this statue.”

However, Seol did not seem too surprised.

“I see.”

“...Don’t you want it? To reach higher?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.”

Hye Myeong’s eyes trembled.

Seol could sense that Hye Myeong was about to say something unexpected.

“What if… this statue should have ended up in your hands?”

“......”

“This statue didn’t show me any path whatsoever. What if you can unlock the powers inside of it, then the evil that’s…”

“Hye Myeong,” interrupted Seol.

"I could have narrowly taken this power from you, just out of sheer luck. Maybe the true owner of this statue all along was..."

“Don’t shift it onto someone else.”

“...What?”

Seol looked directly into Hye Myeong’s trembling eyes.

“The statue belongs to you.”

“......”

“It is already in your hands. Nothing can change the fact that it belongs to you.”

"...Hahaha! Yeah, you’re right. I might have just been trying to dump everything onto you. My head feels a lot clearer now after hearing that."

The Golden Divine Statue belonged to Hye Myeong.

It was a past that must not be changed.

The two smiled before continuing forward.

* * *

Walk…

Walk…

They then arrived at an area far grander than where they had just been.

“This place is…”

“Yeah, this is probably where the bell you were looking for is. There’s probably a trial prepared here as well, though.”

“...Yeah.”

Seol was completely shocked.

‘This is… different from the trial that I know?’

They had arrived at the Second Trial of the Ruins of Watala.

It should have begun in a completely dark room—at least, it had in the past.

‘Damn it…’

Seol bit his lips while looking at the Golden Divine Statue. Something was written on the walls here as well.

The statue slowly opened its mouth.

- An infinite mind can enter a body as small as a speck of dust.

“...And?”

- Watala is not concerned with the imperfections of the body. Instead, it understands that the body can transform the mind into something as small as a trickle of water or as vast as an entire ocean.

The Golden Divine Statue then explained the goal of this trial.

- Watala will now test your body.

Seol, Hye Myeong, and Chi Woo all exchanged glances.

Whoever faced the trial first had the highest chance of getting injured.

Step…

Hye Myeong stepped forward.

“I’ll challenge it first.”

Nod.

As Seol and Chi Woo nodded in response, Hye Myeong stomped on the ground hard.

Bam!

“Haaa!”

Clatter…

As he stepped into the deep groove, the tiles began to move.

Fwoosh!

Fwooosh!

The trial revealed itself to them.

‘Each of the tiles have a different design.’

On them were symbols of lotus flowers, egrets, turtles, and pine trees.

Step.

Boooom!

As Hye Myeong stepped on the tile with a turtle pattern, a pillar shot up from the ground.

“Hrgh…”

Hye Myeong narrowly dodged the pillar aimed at his chin.

Fwoosh…

Hye Myeong began radiating a golden light. He judged that even he could be injured if he let his guard down.

In the end, he made the right decision.

Hye Myeong accidentally stepped on the egret tile and lotus tile from losing his balance.

Rumble, rumble!

An iron ball shot out as the ground beneath him shook.

Baaaaaam!

Hye Myeong was unable to react to the iron ball in time after losing his footing.

Baaam!

Hye Myeong was sent back to the starting line after having his arm struck by the iron ball.

“Argh…”

“......”

Hye Myeong teared up slightly. Despite surrounding his body with ki, it was far from enough to mitigate the damage.

Hye Myeong then looked at Chi Woo, who nodded in response.

“Okay,” said Chi Woo. “Next is Kang Seol.”

“Me?”

“It’s best for us to have as few attempts as possible. Let’s go!”

- Chi Woo, LMFAOOOOOOO

- Chi Woo is a MacGuffin. It’ll be over easily if he steps in. Phew… Thanks, Chi Woo!”

- Chi Woo, the MacGuffin! He will never reveal his powers! So cool!

Even Seol was a bit nervous. It was his first attempt, after all.

“Alright.”

Step!

‘It definitely wasn’t the turtle.’

There had to be rules to it.

‘Then… I’ll go with you!’

Seol stepped on the pine tree tile.

Step!

An iron ball shot out.

‘It wasn’t? Or do the rules change each attempt?’

Seol leaned to dodge the iron ball.

‘I should just step on whatever then.’

Step! Step! Step!

Lotus flower, egret, turtle.

Rumble…

Fwip!

Click…

The lotus flower tile pressed down as an arrow was fired from somewhere.

Seol expertly turned his body midair to deflect the arrow before landing on the turtle tile.

Crush!

‘Is it the turtle tile then?’

Seol was confused. He was certain that it wasn’t the turtle tile. What rules was this following?

Fwip!

Seol leaped again.

This time, to a turtle tile.

However, this time, he heard a different noise.

Fwooooosh…

“Ah…”

An iron pillar shot out from ahead, knocking Seol back.

“Kyaaaaa!”

Mi Ah quickly covered her eyes, scared.

[Bones of Origin consumes the impact.]

[Bones of Origin currently has an empty stomach.]

[Bones of Origin digests all of the impact.]

Baaaaaaam!

Thuuud…

Seol was sent flying from the impact.

Skid…

Chi Woo gulped after seeing Seol skid on the ground.

Gulp…

“Uhh… Then next, I…”

“Hold on,” stopped Seol.

Chi Woo’s eyes brightened.

Crack…

“I think I figured it out,” said Seol, cracking his neck.