The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 360

Shin Rip nodded after listening to Seol's request.

"Very well. This will be a good experience for you. Pack your things, as I don't think we will be returning here for the time being."

"Understood."

Seol finished his business and walked away.

"See? Wasn't I right?"

"The energy around him has definitely changed… He used to look like a bird with broken wings that couldn’t fly. But now, it feels as if his wings have been forcibly attached. It's true he was given two months… but that alone doesn't explain the change…"

"Hihi… I guess it's something good. Maybe he's been thinking? We can check what his method is while hunting. It doesn't seem like he's going to hide it."

Nod…

After agreeing with Shin Hyun, Shin Rip moved to pack his things.

'Finally…'

Seol had been engaged in only two activities for the past two months.

First was disassembling the night beasts to understand their structure. This was something he could grasp with just a glimpse. Although Shin Hyun emphasized the importance of understanding the night beasts, nothing particularly special was hidden within them.

'Or that was the case until last week…'

Surprisingly, the night beasts had a secret.

'The night beasts… can move even without souls.'

This was a secret he discovered while doing a lot of disassembly and weird actions.

'I wonder if Shin Rip and Shin Hyun know about this.'

They had been doing this process for many years and knew its importance. It was very likely they were aware of it. However, whether they took it seriously or not was another issue.

'The power they wield isn't the same as mine.'

For Seol, this secret was quite shocking.

Only a week after discovering this, Seol had tasted the flavor of a new stage. Of course, it was one related to shadow summoning, not a human one.

'They say that the thirsty will end up digging a well… In the end, I did find a way.'

Shin Hyun's words about those who handled shadows entering the Pitch Black Labyrinth and inevitably dying weren't an exaggeration.

Becoming physically stronger wasn’t something that could be achieved quickly, and his summoning arts were useless here.

Like how smartphones become useless in a mountain valley with no signal, the situation here for shadow summoners was frustrating.

Seol had been disassembling the corpses of night beasts every day. After disassembling them, he sometimes entered them before their forms collapsed like containers. He even held them in his mouth.

The viewers were curious about how Seol was still alive. After all, he had done many bizarre actions that couldn't be spoken of.

And those actions eventually led to a clue.

'Why can't I use my shadows, but the night beasts can move?'

Such a question arose.

That was also one of the reasons why he had been comparing the two.

It was because their natures were different.

Although they were both sticky and pitch-black, Seol's power was 'Shadow' while what composed the night beasts was 'Darkness.'

He wasn't sure if that was the correct name of the attribute, but he decided to call it that for the time being.

Trying to mix them would be like mixing water and oil. Drinking it would only make his stomach ache.

Anyway, the reason why he wanted to follow them while hunting was to advance this theory further.

Seol was confident that the key to breaking through the labyrinth was here.

'And…'

The power he had absorbed from the night beasts while handling the corpses had greatly increased his shadow power.

His abilities, like shadow summoning, had increased by at least one level, serving as excellent sources to increase his proficiency.

Additionally, the other extra shadow abilities he hadn't touched, thinking they were a waste of skill points, were also created.

'It feels as if I were following a skill tree… But one that doesn't even consume points.'

For Seol, this place was nothing short of a gold mine.

No matter how far Seol walked, gold chunks stretched endlessly before him. Even if he fell, he would land on more gold. However, there were still limits to how much stronger he could grow this way, so he needed to draw closer to the first secret he noticed.

Swoosh…

After He finished packing, he noticed that his belongings were quite modest.

【Hey…】

Agony, sitting on a rock in the garden, said to him.

【There's something I must tell you.】

"Yes?"

【Yaksha is still in the same state.】

"What?"

【Yaksha… No matter how much I try to eat it, it doesn't decrease. What should I do? Did Agony do something wrong?】

Agony had a habit of swallowing anything, whether weapons or souls, and taking away their power.

Seol wished that Agony would take away Yaksha's ability to steal the swordsmanship of others.

'Are Peerless items impossible to absorb?'

Swoosh…

He took out Yaksha's mask from his belongings. Although it seemed to have reduced in size, the difference was so minimal that it was barely noticeable.

Seol looked at Agony and asked.

"You can't swallow it?"

【…】

Agony extended its mouth. It looked as if it were about to vomit. It probably determined that it couldn't swallow Yaksha, so it told him.

"I guess I have no choice. I'll try to find out the reason."

【Okay!】

* * *

Night fell.

Grr…

Boom…

BOOM…

The night beasts that had been asleep awoke and roamed through the forest.

"Stay close. Some have faint presences, after all."

"Yes."

Seol followed behind Shin Rip and Shin Hyun while observing his surroundings.

"Huh…?"

He felt a gaze watching him from somewhere.

He could feel an intense evil from somewhere over ten trees away. And, sure enough, the shape of a huge night beast faintly emerged.

"Right in front of us…"

"I know. It seems you aren't completely used to using your eyes."

"Yes…"

Boom… Boom… Boom…

KWAA—!

The night beast charged at them with a scream, exuding an intense killing intent.

The most dangerous thing about it was its soul.

'It's a strong one.'

In the past, he would have struggled against it.

The night beast charged forward while breaking the trees between them.

It seemed that it was intending to devour them in one go.

"Uh…"

For a moment, a line appeared.

Shin Rip had united the sky and the earth with a movement.

"Ugh!"

[Shin Rip used Iaido: River Split.]

[Swiftly draw your sword from its scabbard into a strike that deals massive damage to a single target.]

[This attack cannot be dodged.]

[50% fixed damage is applied to large opponents.]

Slash!

The night beast was split in half.

'Oof…'

Clank…

The night beast, now split in half, wriggled. The soul contained within it had already been extinguished.

"Burn it."

- Cool!

- Does Shin Rip stream?

- To think I hadn't seen this until now… This is what I call a real swordsman ㅠㅠ

- My eyes feel purified. Has anyone else even reached that level yet?

- At that level, even Snowman would be defeated in one attack.

- The winter would be over almost instantly, hahaha.

- ???: Summon… Cough… You coward!

- Shouldn't he try to learn swordsmanship?

- It seems you're thinking the same thing as I am.

Seol slowly approached the fragments.

"What are you doing? Burn it. The big ones will soon scatter into the labyrinth's Darkness."

"I'm not going to burn it."

"What…?"

Whoosh…

Seol closed his eyes and absorbed the huge Darkness.

[The shadow reacts to Passive: Sticky Shadows.]

[The shadow has been absorbed.]

[Shadow Space increases by 50.]

[The Darkness' grace has descended.]

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

…

Shin Hyun tilted his head upon seeing Seol absorb the Darkness.

"Hihi… Oh? So you've been doing this fun thing for two months?"

"Yes."

"Hasn't there been any side effects?"

"No."

"What do you think, hyung-nim?"

Shin Rip pointed at what Seol hadn’t absorbed yet.

"If you're going to do it, finish it."

"Understood."

While Seol absorbed the other debris, Shin Hyun approached Shin Rip and said to him.

"I knew that guy was out of the ordinary from the start…"

"To think he would absorb the labyrinth's Darkness… So there was a reason why he wanted to follow us hunting."

"What do you think? At first, I thought he was just a reckless guy who came here without knowing the dangers of this place…"

"I've also changed my mind a bit."

"Hihihi… It seems we've saved the guy the labyrinth will hate the most."

"Absorbing the labyrinth itself and getting stronger… How far do you think he can go?"

While Shin Rip and Shin Hyun were talking, Seol approached them and said.

"I'm done."

"Alright. You said there's something you wanted to check. Has it been resolved?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then, it's done. I'll start clearing this area, so follow slowly, and don't forget that we must eliminate the debris."

Shin Rip stepped forward first.

From behind, Shin Hyun patted Seol on the shoulder.

"Since you've come this far, you can't just watch, right?"

"Yes?"

"You can handle the small ones yourself, can't you?"

"Yes…"

In truth, Seol was also hoping for that.

After all, what he wanted to check had resulted in a negative.

'If Shin Rip and Shin Hyun defeat them, I won't obtain Darkness.'

Ultimately, he needed to gather Darkness himself to proceed to the next stage.

Given such circumstances, the idea of being given the chance to hunt small night beasts himself sounded very sweet to him.

"Of course, it's only the small ones. The medium-sized ones might be too risky even if you somehow win. I'll leave the small ones to you, so don't get too excited."

Crack…

Paf—!

Shin Hyun disappeared in an instant.

He was so fast that it looked like he evaporated after being struck by lightning.

Seol walked in the direction where Shin Rip and Shin Hyun had just been.

Soon, night beast corpses began appearing everywhere.

No matter how many they killed, more appeared in abundance once night came.

Whoosh…

Whoosh…

Like a vacuum cleaner, Seol rapidly absorbed the labyrinth's byproducts.

Grrr…

A night beast appeared from behind Seol.

Even at first glance, it was the weakest one.

Paf—!

Without hesitating, Seol severed its limbs.

[You used Unsettling Energy.]

[When used on a weapon, its sharpness will reach the maximum possible, and attacks will deal additional negative damage.]

Slash—!

Slash—!

Seol used one of the auxiliary abilities he obtained from absorbing night beasts for over two months.

He had also obtained numerous other abilities besides this, making his attacking methods quite diverse.

Seol cut off the limbs without severing the neck to immobilize it.

He wanted to verify another thing.

Whoosh…

GRAARRGG—!

[You have collected Darkness.]

[You have accumulated a bit of Darkness.]

[The shadow reacts to Passive: Sticky Shadows.]

[The shadow is being absorbed.]

[Shadow Space increases by 30.]

[The Darkness' grace has descended.]

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

[Awakening! You've learned a new skill.]

[You have learned Passive: Friendly Shadow.]

…

And that was to absorb a living night beast.

Although the process was quite tricky, it was surprisingly possible.

'It's a bit burdensome.'

It seemed that he shouldn't use it on medium-sized or larger night beasts.

'So even if I absorb it immediately, Darkness won't necessarily accumulate.'

It seemed that the absorption was recognized as a form of hunting.

Seol was lost in thoughts when he suddenly felt the air around him becoming heavier.

'Hmm…?'

Whir…

[Beldre used Vicious Killer.]

[You suppress the sounds created in an area.]

[Damage dealt from preemptive attacks increases.]

…

"What is that…?"

Paf—!

Paf—!

Two people appeared at a distance from Seol. They were people Seol had seen before.

"Those masks…"

They were two of the five Conquerors who had entered the Labyrinth before the Federation—the two among them who were wearing masks.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"So you were still alive. Let me ask a question."

Someone other than the one who had just spoken asked.

They had quite a shameless tone.

'Why are they here?'

They should have proceeded to the next gate if they were still alive. However, not only were they alive, but they also hadn't attempted to break through it.

He couldn't help but wonder why.

He might have thought there was some catch if they had overwhelming strength. But they weren’t that strong.

The power they possessed didn't feel that significant. However, they were definitely stronger than average.

'These guys… maybe they aren't transferees?'

Until now, everyone who had entered and exited the labyrinth were transferees. That's why, at first, he naturally thought they were transferees.

'Even so, the Pitch Black Labyrinth isn't an easy place. How…'

Seol looked at their masks.

It seemed their masks allowed them to see through the Darkness.

One of his questions had been answered.

'Night beasts are only active at night…'

So, if they could see ahead, surviving might be possible.

"Have you come into contact with God's Hand?"

"God's Hand?"

"Answer me."

Seol frowned at the absurd question.

The gods were hanging around in the Heavens. Why would their hands be in this place?

From that, one could guess that they weren't literally talking about the hands of gods but something else.

What kind of Divine Relic could have such a grand name as God's Hand?

'Wait a minute… Could it be?'

Seol thought he probably knew what they were looking for.