The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 363

He almost carelessly agreed to Shin Rip’s proposal.

The labyrinth was a place filled with the deceased. Those who were alive could probably be counted with one hand.

'Are they asking me to bring a deceased to the world of the living?'

It was a troublesome request. He was told to retrieve a ghost hand belonging to the deceased.

However, those two deceased seemed to suggest that Shin Yu was different from them.

If they went all the way to say that to him…

"I will do my best."

The serious Shin Rip and the lively Shin Hyun smiled at Seol’s words.

"Thank you very much."

They were peculiar siblings. Of course, Shin Yu was among those peculiar siblings.

'Even so, to think he would find and wake them up in such a brutish manner…'

What would he have been doing if he hadn't found Shin Rip and Shin Hyun? No, he wasn't that kind of person in the first place.

The Shin Yu, he recalled from Shin Kang's memories, was the kind of person who would stubbornly do what he wanted, even if it was by force.

'In this case, luck played a big part…'

It was a miracle that had been created because it was Shin Yu.

"Is there any part of the training you’ve been struggling with?"

While Seol briefly recalled the past, Shin Rip asked him about the training.

He paused for a moment and then said.

"I'm planning to think it through myself."

Shin Rip and Shin Hyun showed slightly surprised expressions.

Even though they had never taught him anything directly, they were prepared to. Yet, he still declined their offer.

"Hmm…"

"Oh…"

Nod…

"It was an excellent decision. Then, I will leave it to you for the time being. If you need help, feel free to ask. We're going to help as much as possible."

"Thank you."

However, before leaving, Shin Hyun said.

"Hihi… For now, we're going to do it that way. But I'm not sure about Shin Yu…"

Shin Rip glared at Shin Hyun.

"Have you met that kid?"

"I was asked about some humans wandering around the labyrinth."

"What did you say…?"

"I just gave an adequate answer."

"How did he react?"

"Indifferently."

"Hmm… Okay."

Shin Rip left Seol with concerning words.

"Shin Yu has a stubborn side, so he might try to test you. If you encounter someone you can't oppose, it's probably him. Shin Yu won't try to harm you, so we won't step in either. In fact, us stepping in might provoke him more."

Shin Yu might come.

Seol felt uneasy but replied that he understood.

* * *

After that, life returned to how it used to be—just like before he met Shin Rip and Shin Hyun.

He trained and rested during the day and hunted at night.

However, the way he hunted had changed. He shifted from swordsmanship to summoning.

CRACK—!

"First, one…"

The cries of a night beast echoed.

Whir…

[You have collected Darkness.]

[A small amount of Darkness has been accumulated.]

[The shadow reacts to Passive: Sticky Shadows.]

[The shadow has been absorbed.]

[Shadow Space increases by 30.]

[The Darkness' grace has descended.]

[The proficiency of shadow-related abilities has increased.]

…

Every night, Seol hunted at least twenty night beasts.

The Shadow Space had grown immensely, but this would only be useful once he came out of the labyrinth.

'Their numbers aren't decreasing at all.'

Despite doing his best to hunt every night, the number of night beasts had gradually increased to the point where their growth was noticeable.

There was definitely a reason for this.

'It's because there’s still a limit to how many night beasts I can hunt.'

Usually, people hunted in a place where they were advantageous. If the hunter gets wounded, it wouldn’t be a hunt anymore but a battle.

Seol sorted the night beasts based on their sizes. He called the small ones rabbits, the medium ones wolves, and the large ones tigers.

At his current level, hunting wolves was risky due to the possibility of getting wounded. And hunting tigers could result in his death.

The hunts Seol was doing were closer to rabbit hunting.

'I still need to be careful not to encounter medium-sized ones.'

If his night beast were defeated, he would be the next to fall.

After hunting for about a month, he realized something.

'At this rate, I have been repeating the same routine every day.'

He needed to devote his nights to hunting night beasts and spend his days resting and training.

Due to his concentration faltering from time to time, he often had meaningless days despite training.

Although the intention of learning through experience was good, he didn't have enough time to handle the results.

Through hunting, he gradually gained more Darkness, and now his Shadow Space had reached a whole other level than before he entered the labyrinth. At some point, he came to realize something.

He didn’t truly grow even if he absorbed more Darkness and summoned more and bigger night beasts.

He needed something else.

Regardless of how much Darkness he absorbed or how many night beasts he controlled, it was pointless if he couldn’t even defeat the medium-sized ones. And right now, he couldn’t even control his night beasts properly.

'I need to improve hunting efficiency…'

It was simple.

He had two options.

He needed to find a way to deal with only the small night beasts while avoiding the medium-sized ones that hindered his progress—or summon a large number of night beasts stronger than the medium-sized ones.

'It's impossible with just practical experience.'

All of this was hard to learn just by hunting.

It was easier to break a rock with an egg by finding a way to make the egg as hard as the rock, rather than repeatedly hitting the rock with a fragile egg.

Of course, both were daunting tasks for him at the moment.

'Now, I need more insight than practical experience.'

He needed to go beyond improving efficiency and reach a new stage. Any improvement in efficiency and the other benefits should only be seen as additional effects.

'To survive the labyrinth, I need to contemplate…'

Contemplation…

He needed to use all the weapons he had.

Having made his decision, Seol informed Shin Rip and Shin Hyun that he would reduce how much he hunts at night in exchange for increasing how much he could train during the day.

Shin Rip and Shin Hyun were concerned about the possible further increase of night beasts in the labyrinth but said that it would probably be okay since they were there.

As they said, even if all his efforts failed, he could still avoid the worst-case scenario because of them.

'It's reassuring to have someone to rely on.'

Even if he failed, he was guaranteed the worst outcome wouldn't happen.

Therefore, he needed to challenge himself even if he failed.

He briefly summarized his immediate problems.

1. With his current skills, hunting even one medium-sized night beast was tough. There was also the risk of injury.

2. Even if he could overcome one medium-sized night beast, he couldn't reduce their numbers as fast as the Shin brothers.

3. He still couldn't properly handle the strength of his night beasts.

'This is something I can solve if I improve my ability to control the night beasts.'

So he focused on it it.

However…

'How?'

To strengthen something, he needed materials. There was nothing in this world that could be achieved with just spirit and hard work.

Unless creating something out of nothing was possible, he needed something that could allow him to perfect his night beasts.

The fastest and most certain way was to teach or pass on what he already possessed.

'What do I have…?'

Seol enumerated the things he had.

The power he obtained in the Labyrinth of Penance—Blood of Origin. Now that his shadows were sealed, this was probably the thing he had with the greatest potential.

He also had experience commanding powerful summons. In a broader sense, the night beasts were also his summons, so they might undergo a similar process.

In addition to that, he had the experience of creating creatures, Strength of the Mind, and his Shadow Space, which had grown after entering the labyrinth.

Plus, the unfulfilled desire of his pieces he had recovered.

It was true that the unfulfilled desires he had obtained so far weren't of much help in combat, so he probably didn't need to consider them.

Anyway…

"First…"

He started with the Blood of Origin.

He was no longer bound by time. His circumstances no longer dictated his actions.

Even in a situation without any visible answers, he nodded and made up his mind.

He would one day break through the labyrinth, and by then, he would surely be stronger.

He just needed to train while envisioning that clear future.

Seol might not be the fastest or strongest among those walking this path.

However, he was the only human who had found the 10th path that led to Ascension.

If it came to finding paths, he was unparalleled.

"Now… What should I do with you…?"

Seol poured his blood into the body of the night beast.

The research was just starting.

Another half month had passed, and Seol scratched his head.

"Hmm…"

He hadn't paid much attention to the Blood of Origin and was now reflecting on not having done so. He hadn't thought much about its potential before.

'Well, I had a lot back then, so… Hmm… Should I have entered the Door of Blood?'

If he had done that, he would have surely become stronger much faster than he has now.

'When I was Finn Modria…'

His abilities synergized well with the Blood of Origin when he was a Priest, so he naturally became stronger.

But honing the Blood of Origin as a summoner was very uncomfortable.

His blood…

Seol set his goal—to grant the night beasts the same ruthless resilience he had.

He thought the Blood of Origin was the key, but nothing happened by injecting the night beasts with his blood.

Since his blood had just coagulated in the night beast, he assumed some side effects had happened.

Blood was stagnating inside the night beast’s body.

'Blood should flow… Flows… Hmm… How can I make it flow…?'

He was planning to make the Blood of Origin flow into the body of the night beasts.

However, it wasn't easy.

You couldn’t create a stream just from pouring water; it would only form a stagnant pool—unless there were a path for water to flow through.

'Wait… path?'

Seol closed his eyes and observed how the Blood of Origin moved inside his body. By using the heart as an engine, the Blood of Origin moved along the blood vessels.

He had a completed organ from the start, and the Blood of Origin used that organ excellently.

'Can't I just copy that?'

Clap—!

Whir—!

[You summoned a night beast.]

[The night beast’s combat power scales with the summoner’s stats and the amount of Darkness used.]

Seol summoned a night beast the same size as him.

Seol sat cross-legged, placing his hands against the night beast.

On the outside, it looked like two identical people facing each other, like a reflection.

Of course, even if it did look like that, the inside was completely different.

Seol was full of all sorts of unnecessary things, while the night beast was just full of Darkness.

When he finished hunting, Seol always returned to the same place and sat in the position. Sometimes, he even fell asleep there.

Shin Rip and Shin Hyun sometimes joked about his strange behavior, but deep down, they cheered for him.

Another month had passed.

"Oof… I'm finally done drawing it."

When learning to draw, people often copied—drawing along a completed piece and imitating it as closely as possible.

The night beast in front of him was the sight he had been trying to complete by pouring in a lot of time and effort.

He managed to make a Dark Core that would act as a heart.

[An organ based on the Dark Core will be fused with the night beast.]

[Blood of Origin flows through the night beast.]

[Blood of Origin’s resilience is proportional to the founder's level.]

…

Seol quickly brought his ear close to the chest of the night beast.

The Dark Core was located slightly off from where a human's heart was. Fortunately, he could change the position of the Dark Core in real-time during combat.

Badump… Badump…

- There's you, inside me.

- Ah, my heart…

The Dark Core functioned normally.

Now, whenever he summoned a night beast, he could simultaneously summon an organ like this.

"Okay, then…"

Seol waited for night to fall, eager to check the results of his hard work for the past two months.

* * *

Crack—!

Grrr…

A medium-sized night beast cried out.

A wolf was facing the night beast created by Seol.

The vegetation around it snapped and flew away every time it swung its arm.

Whoosh—!

BOOM!

If it was caught even once by that fist, Seol's night beast would have gotten crushed like it usually was.

That's why he had always fought defensively.

'But…'

WHOOSH—!

It was time to put the results of the past two months to the test.

CRACK—!

The wolf's fist crushed the night beast's abdomen—its fist pierced through with its fingers wriggling.

'Now!'

Whir—!

The pierced abdomen of his night beast regenerated at an incredible speed.

Seol’s night beast grabbed the wolf’s arm before it could retract it.

"Yes!"

Clap—!

Seol summoned another night beast.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Grrr…

Fwoosh—!

The newly summoned night beast grabbed the wolf's restricted arm and brutally crushed its head.

Now, Seol had accumulated enough Darkness to control two medium-sized night beasts.

The wolf fell to the ground.

Seol's night beast opened its mouth and started to absorb the corpse.

Whir…

[The night beast has collected Darkness.]

[A small amount of Darkness has been accumulated.]

[The shadow reacts to Passive: Sticky Shadows.]

[The shadow is being absorbed.]

[Shadow Space increases by 50.]

[The Darkness' grace has descended.]

[The proficiency of shadow-related abilities has increased.]

…

Before, he needed to go through the cumbersome process of retrieving things himself, but now, he had improved that process.

- Okay, so what's the next bug?

- He's a genius programmer.

Seol felt his chest swell with emotion.

It felt like his hard work over the past two months was finally being rewarded.

BOOM… BOOM…

However, an incident suddenly happened, as if someone didn't like him enjoying that sense of fulfillment.

'What…?'

He heard heavy footsteps from a distance.

It was as if it were telling him, I'm going there, so wait for me.

The footsteps he heard from afar were like those of a medium-sized night beast. In other words, it was a wolf.

'If it's a wolf, I should have the advantage…'

Seol turned his head in the direction the opponent was coming from to prepare for battle.

Just at that moment.

He saw a flash.

'What…?'

Paaf—!

The heads of both his night beasts floated up.

'This can't be…'

Although the opponent was a night beast, it was a creature he hadn't seen before. To think it would have such overwhelming strength.

At this point, Shin Rip and Shin Hyun should have appeared. However, the Shin brothers did not.

Even though he could feel they were near him, they didn't show up.

'Ah… Don't tell me…'

- Shin Yu has a stubborn side, so he might try to test you. If you encounter someone you can't oppose, it's probably him. Shin Yu won't try to harm you, so we won't step in either. In fact, us stepping in might provoke him more.

Seol recalled the words Shin Rip had told him two months before and looked at the being that had decapitated his Night Beasts.

It was definitely a wolf.

However, one of its arms looked a bit bizarre.

While its other parts looked as if they were crudely made from clay, its right arm was delicately made… just like a human’s.

Seol laughed in disbelief upon realizing who his opponent was.

"So it's you… Shin Yu."

Swoosh…

The wolf turned to Seol.

It was holding a large branch in its right hand. It soon began scribbling something on the ground.

Swoosh…

Swoosh…

It was writing.

Its right arm was holding the branch and scribbing.

- Do you know me?

"Well, I know your brothers a bit."

Swoosh…

- I see. I also know you.

Swoosh…

- But you're too weak.

Seol ground his teeth.

To think he would suddenly appear and mock him.

Even though it was their first reunion after a while, Shin Yu was the same as always.

The viewers chuckled at the sentences that Shin Yu had written.

- Hahaha! Uncle, if you fight my nephew, you can win anytime! My nephew is weak. His reach is short!

- That was cute. But it was helpless against my body shot! Make sure to protect your belly with a magazine next time.

- 2 months? He didn't even last 2 seconds, hahaha.

Seol tried to think positively.

After all, this was a test from the genius swordsman, Shin Yu.

It was understandable that the night beasts couldn't withstand it.

'Thanks to that, I discovered which parts need reinforcement…'

He could consider this as a good experience. After all, if he had carelessly faced the wolf, he would have realized that too late.

Swoosh…

- You won't be able to leave the labyrinth.

That's if he hadn't written this.

Seol looked at Shin Yu with a cold, hardened expression.

His malicious words stimulated Seol's competitive spirit.

"Do you want to make a bet…?"

Swoosh…

- A bet?

"Yes, a bet. Whether I'll be able to escape the labyrinth or not."

Swoosh…

- Good. If you lose, become my conversation partner. What should I wager?

Swoosh…

Seol wrote something on the floor while smiling and left.

Whir…

In an instant, the night beasts' heads had been restored, and they were absorbed back into Seol's body as he left.

The wolf that Shin Yu fused himself with stood still for a moment, looking at the words that Seol had written.

What Seol wanted from Shin Yu if he won the bet…

A single word was written on the floor.

- You.