The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

“Let me… huh?”

The woman named Fryn must’ve noticed how exceptional the multiple spirit container was since she kept fiddling with it.

Griz was a genius who had a completely unique way of thinking. His inventions reflected him and also ignored all preconceived norms.

‘Did they realize Griz made it?’

The two magicians looked at each other before speaking to Seol.

“There aren’t any issues with it, but…”

“But?”

“Could you please tell us where you got this?”

“It’s a bit troublesome to say where I got this from since they disliked being disclosed,” said Seol.

Seol was able to expertly deflect the question since it was one that he expected.

“Darn… Sigh, it makes sense. There’s no way an expert who’s capable of creating something like this normal.”

“Anyway, did you finish registering it?”

The man tried to come up with a reason to ask for more information but realized that Seol would have to see him one more time before he left. The man then sighed a breath of relief before answering Seol’s question.

“Well… yes, here you go. All you have to do now is bring spirits, dead or alive, in the spirit containers.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, right. There’s also been a troublesome issue that has arisen nearby recently.”

“A troublesome issue?”

“Some of the Adventurers who have come as support have disappeared…”

“Have they gone missing?”

“That has been the conversation internally. However, we would need some time to do a search operation since the Magic Tower is also in a busy period.”

The magician was basically telling him that if any problems arose while he was in the forest, they wouldn't be coming to help him. Seol had to take care of his own survival himself.

Seol sighed, nodded, and then entered the forest.

* * *

The environment here was definitely influenced by the spirit flood.

Certain areas of the forest had trees growing in strange, eerie shapes and the tiny stream overflowing with water. There were also not only swamps that could swallow your entire foot but also cracked earth with heat rising from it.

‘It’s a mess. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that it’s the Great Forest at a glance.’

As long as the spirits were using the forest as their playground, the forest would rapidly die. In fact, it could already just be on the verge of death.

Seol opened the Multiple Spirit Container Belt’s blueprint he received from Laboratory 81.

The blueprint was filled with Griz’s friendly explanations of everything.

On it, was written how the spirit pouch worked, which spirits had to enter which container, and the firepower you could expect.

In fact, the blueprint even explained to you how you could coax each corresponding spirit.

And as expected from the genius of the continent, you could really tell his wit and intelligence in what he wrote.

After reading through the gist of the blueprint, Seol was able to surmise why the belt was left incomplete.

‘He was too lazy to do it.’

There was something about it written in Griz’s explanations as well.

- I wasn’t able to confirm it myself since I was inspired by something else but since it is theoretically sound, there shouldn’t be any problems as long as you follow what’s written on the blueprint…

After that were a bunch more lengthy excuses for why he wasn’t able to complete the belt.

‘Anyway, first is the Spring Green Spirit, right?’

Now that Seol knew how to use the spirit container, there was no reason to sit still. Seol wasn’t the type of person who hesitated when he had a clear goal either.

The first thing that Seol did was enter the forest to capture the Spring Green Spirit. It was widely known as the most docile after all.

Fwoooosh…

The further Seol walked into the forest, the thicker the vegetation got.

The dense vegetation blocked off some sunlight until it reached a point where sunlight was absent.

However, Seol preferred that.

Seeing through the darkness was easy for Seol and the spirit he was looking for was one that was also easier to find in the dark.

It was humid and it smelled like rotting trees and leaves.

And like that, Seol’s first day passed by.

Crackle… Crackle…

Seol lit a campfire at night to escape the cold and simply fell asleep.

He didn’t need to particularly prepare anything for the possible dangers as Jamad and Karuna would continue to stay on guard as he was asleep.

It was at times like this when he was really glad he took the summoner class.

Three days had passed.

The tight schedule he was trying to follow started to exhaust him.

‘So this is why they gave me a month.’

The Great Forest was indescribably massive.

And it was only thanks to the barrier stone being nearby that there weren’t that many monsters. If it was deeper into the forest, he would’ve had to face countless monsters by now.

And at that moment…

Fwooosh…

‘Huh? The wind…’

It smelled strongly like a wet forest.

Shhhhhh…

As Seol was starting to think that it was creepy, he saw a light from a deeper part of the forest.

‘A green light?’

Chime…

A clear sound rang in his ears from the distant green light. It almost sounded like a marble rolling away.

Seol headed straight toward the light.

‘It’s here.’

When he finally arrived at where the light was radiating from, he discovered spirits glowing green.

Chiiime… Chime…

That sound from before was coming from their bodies.

These spirits who radiated green light were about a meter tall, about the size of an average child, and somewhat reminded Seol of chubby acorns.

Chime…

One of the spirits came and approached Seol. It was like the spirit was trying to tell him something with its eyes.

Obviously, since Seol didn’t learn Spirit Language, he wasn’t able to understand it and could only make guesses.

And almost as if it was to ease his uncertainty, he saw options.

[[You have discovered a Spring Green Spirit. What do you do?]

1. Kill it.

2. Kidnap it.

3. Attempt to talk to it.

4. Follow it.

5. [Required: Spiritmancer] Demand it to obey you.

……]

The only normal options were options 3 and 4 and since communication was impossible with only one person knowing the language, Seol chose to go with option 4.

Seol then followed the spirit while being cautious and mindful of his actions.

Chime…

The Spring Green Spirit petted the trees and even hugged Seol’s leg, mistaking it for a tree.

- Come here little acorn~

- C-Cute…

- Krgh… My heart… That’s a dangerous lifeform.

- Run away! Snowman is super brutal!

- He’s licking his lips while watching you guys! Be careful!

Seol chased after the Spring Green Spirit, thinking of it like watching over a niece or a nephew.

He did that for two days.

Even if he thought of it as his adorable niece or nephew, watching over it for two days straight would stress anyone out.

Still, Seol kept following three steps behind the spirit with a smile on his face. He had a smile despite the fact anyone would be bored by this process.

And as he was mindlessly following the spirit, he had a thought. He remembered a time when he experienced something similar.

‘I see.’

He experienced something like this when he rolled the dice outside of The World of Eternity.

Seol had just finished a battle that resulted in cut flesh and splattered blood all over the battlefield. After that Adventure, he decided to take a step back from being at the central events of the world and took on a relaxing Adventure. The feeling he had when he was on that relaxing Adventure was the same feeling he had now.

Perhaps the five difficult Adventures he went on before tired him out more than he thought they did.

Seol could feel his distracting thoughts and anguish all flush away.

[You have spent a long time with a Spring Green Spirit.]

[Your Spirit permanently increases by 1.]

[Your resistance against mind-type spells increases slightly.]

Seol hadn’t been aiming for this but still smiled when he saw the message.

He then continued to chase after the Spring Green Spirit.

The spirit had just been having fun for the past two days but was now starting to return wetness to the dried-up land.

Originally, the Great Forest was rich with water.

The fact that a forest like this became so dry meant that it was probably the other spirits’ tricks.

Chime…

The Spring Green Spirit petted the earth.

And when it did, something shocking happened.

Slosh…

A large area quickly became damp, grass and flowers sprouted up.

But it looked like the spirit became tired because of what it did. It had trouble keeping its eyes open now.

Rub… Rub…

The Spring Green Spirit used magic once again despite its drowsy eyes. A few seconds later, it had a flower crown in its hand.

Tap. tap.

“You want me to duck?”

Nod.

The Spring Green Spirit put the flower crown on Seol’s head when he ducked.

And then it stared at Seol. Almost like it had finished its business and was waiting for Seol to say something.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Nod.

Seol opened one of the spirit containers on his waist.

Click.

Frssss…

The Spring Green Spirit was sucked inside of it.

And as the spirit container glowed green, Seol received a bunch of messages.

[You have captured Chiring, the Spring Green Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Green’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 1]

[It has taken the ‘Green’ spot in the Spirit Pouch.]

* * *

Crackle… Crackle.

Seol had a blank look on his face as he stared at the campfire in front of him.

‘Are 2 spirits really everything that I’ve captured?’

Currently, he had captured green and orange.

A month was a tighter timeframe than he originally thought. Since Seol had already used 5 days, he had to speed up.

If it was any other Adventure, he would’ve already returned to Nobira by now.

“Spring Green and… Morning Orange, right?”

After the Spring Green Spirit, Seol captured the Morning Orange Spirit.

Even though capturing two spirits in the span of five days would’ve made the other Adventurers drop their jaws in awe, Seol was disappointed.

‘Is the Night Spirit not going to come tonight either?’

The Night Violet Spirit.

It was a spirit that you could run into if you were active at night but it was a mistake to assume they were easily found.

Still, as long as Seol kept it up, he should probably run into at least one before the Remaining Time ran out.

‘Well that’s that, but… Griz’s belt only becomes functional after you capture the 3rd one, right?’

The spirit pouch became stronger with each spirit container you filled up.

Still, the minimum required to activate it was three spirits and Seol still had yet to reach it.

“Fuu… hm?”

Rustle.

Seol definitely felt a presence in the bushes. It was almost like they were trying to reveal themselves.

“Who are you?”

“Ah… I… you don’t need to be on guard.”

Rustle…

A woman, who looked like they could be a college freshman, walked out of the bushes.

Seol assumed that she was lost in the forest after noticing the scratches on her body.

“I’m sorry but could I please come warm up by the fire?”

Seol paused for a second. He then looked at her and gestured toward the fire.

“Come sit.”

“Thank you!”

“Did you get lost?”

“Yes, I did…”

The woman was completely like a drowned rat.

There was blood splattered here and there on her face and shoes. And judging from the quiver on her back, she was likely an archer.

The two faced each other from opposite sides of the campfire while warming up.

Seol then asked a question when the timing felt appropriate.

“Where’s your party?”

“I don’t have one. I came here alone from the start…”

“I see.”

“But thanks to you, I’ll at least be able to sleep comfortably tonight…”

“What’s your name?”

“Han… Han Seo-ryeong. What about you, ahjussi?”

“I’m not that old. My name’s Kang Seol.”

“Ah… yeah.”

“Here, have some cocoa.”

“Thank you…”

Sip…

Crackle… Crackle…

As the awkward mood continued, Seol only continued to poke the ground.

- What a shock! Snowman’s real name was Kang Seol…

- Kang Seol? Doesn’t that also mean snowfall in Korean? No wonder! I was wondering why he named himself Snowman haha

- What the hell kind of name is Kang Seol lmfaooo 🤣

As his viewers continued to talk about his name as it was their first time hearing it, Seol heard a sound from afar.

Thud. Thud…

The earth shook.

Something was definitely approaching them.

Thud.

“Huh? Uh… over there…”

“I heard it.”

Thud…

The late-night intruder was quite bad at stealth.

Other than the fact that it was stomping around everywhere, it also glowed brightly and was massive.

It might’ve been smaller than Jamad but it was definitely bigger than Karuna.

“I-I think it’s a spirit…”

“Yeah, me too.”

“H-How many are there?”

“I can see it.”

“Sh-should we run away? What do we… th-the spirit container!”

- Th-the Poké Ball!

- It’s kind of funny how she’s all flustered.

“No, we can just sit still.”

“What? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Just think of it as a bee.”

- A fucking big bee

- How the fuck are you going to call that a bee lol

About five to six swaying lights came right next to Seol and Seo-ryeong and stood still. They then calmly sat down next to the campfire to warm up.

Most spirits don’t attack humans unless they were attacked first. Playing tricks was another story though.

‘And it wasn’t like I made the campfire for no reason.’

Fire Red Spirits went wherever there was a fire.

Obviously, Seol didn’t expect a whole group of them to come either though.

Seo-ryeong and Seol both just sat still, doing nothing other than stare at the campfire.

As he was starting to feel tired, Seol noticed that a Fire Red Spirit sitting next to him was looking down at him. It might’ve been a giant spirit but they were innocent, like a pure lamb

The spirit looked obviously tired.

“Do you want to go inside this and sleep?”

Nod.

Seol opened the spirit container.

Click.

Frssss…

Seo-ryeong’s eyes were wide with shock as she watched Seol.

In her eyes, Seol was practically a tamer, expertly leading the spirit to do what he wanted.

‘I did it!’

[You have captured Pojo, the Fire Red Spirit.]

[You have procured ‘Red’.]

[Currently Captured Spirit Types: 3]

[It has taken the ‘Red’ spot in the Spirit Pouch.]

Seol finally fulfilled the requirements for it.

And after that, the message that Seol had waited a long time for finally showed up.

[Multiple Spirit Container Belt (Incomplete) is changing.]