The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 345

Seol paused for a moment to think about Janet's question.

'How much Madness do I have?'

Since he hadn't visited the Madness Shop in a while, he must have accumulated quite a considerable amount of Madness. He could tell just from the smile lingering on Janet's lips.

How her pupils kept staring at the flashy equipment probably meant that she wanted Seol to buy some expensive items.

'First, I don't need any equipment…'

The equipment available in the Madness Shop probably wouldn't be of great help in dealing with Azanic.

Most of the equipment Seol was wearing were peerless items that had mostly been further enhanced. The value of high-ranking items, even with minor enhancements, skyrocketed.

A sane person wouldn't replace a useful piece of equipment by spending a lot of Madness.

"How much Madness do I have?"

Janet hesitated a bit before speaking.

"Seven…"

"Seven?"

"About seven hundred thousand…"

700,000 Madness.

'Did I get 500,000 Madness since last time?'

The last time Seol checked his Madness was just before leaving the South. So he had been accumulating Madness for quite some time. Moreover, considering the scale of the Adventures he had gone through after coming to the East, the staggering number of 700,000 Madness seemed almost natural at first glance.

'I won't be lacking Madness for a while.'

Janet smiled brightly and guided Seol so he could comfortably choose items.

"Your situation is dire… the Dragon, Azanic, is chasing you… and you're currently hiding in Sleepyhead’s Underground Garden…"

"Do you know everything?"

"About Azanic?"

"You even know about Sleepyhead. I've never talked about that place's owner."

Tap—!

Janet opened her fan and concealed her sneer.

"We know everything. After all, we sell everything except for trust and conscience."

"Don't you also sell those…?"

"If the price is right."

Janet spoke as if she were looking at a pitiful person a dragon was chasing. However, to him, the situation was no big deal.

"There are a few things I don't understand."

She poked at Seol's reaction.

"You can get away from Azanic, can't you?"

"…"

"Why are you trying to confront him? Even though you know it's impossible."

It wasn't just Janet who wondered this.

People watching dangerous acrobatics would often get shaky legs despite staying on the ground. Although they enjoyed watching the wobbly acrobat standing on the rope, they also felt distressed.

Seol smirked.

"It's possible. If things go according to the plan."

"We are always watching you. The reliable troll, the wizard, and the knights. They're all interesting beings. But… I'm the most curious about you."

Janet looked at Seol and said.

"Why are you doing this? You already are…"

"Because there's a reward."

"What…?"

Seol casually replied.

"Every action is followed by a reward."

"You're crazy…"

Step… Step…

"What you're looking for is probably this way."

Seol stopped at a place filled with numerous seeds and unidentified crushed powders.

Seol touched and smelled them to check. And there was one that caught his attention.

"This…"

"So you recognized it right away."

"Well, I've used it before…"

This was definitely Intact Vitality Powder.

In the early days of being transferred, it was the substance that made black flowers grow to a monstrous size in just a day. It was something he obtained as a reward after solving a problem that had taken place in one of Griz's secret laboratories.

Sniff, sniff…

While sniffing it, Seol tilted his head. The smell seemed slightly different from before.

"You noticed the change too?"

"Did you improve it…?"

"Yes! Because it has commercial value! We'll do anything if it's profitable. Now, if you sprinkle the power and then spread your fingers, the plants will grow massively before you can even finish spreading your fingers."

"I'll buy it."

"The amount…?"

"How much do you have prepared?"

"About two carriages."

"I'll take it all."

Janet smiled.

Seol found dealing with her very comfortable. It seemed that before coming, she thought about what he would need and how much.

'How could she have everything prepared as if she had anticipated this…?'

Seol thought that after watching her smile and preparing other items.

Maybe her very existence could be more dangerous than the impending threat of the Azanic.

'Well, that doesn't matter right now.'

If a bit more time passes, there might be an opportunity to hear more about the deals entangled with the Gods.

"Hmm… I'd like to see some seeds."

"Seeds? Ah! Seeds…"

"Don't you have any…?"

Grin.

Clap—!

More carts continued appearing.

"There's no way."

Seol couldn't help but be surprised by how many seeds she had prepared.

"If you have any seeds you want…"

"Pungpung-i, Stench Weed. Ah, do you have more of this?"

"Ah… You're mainly looking for cheap ones…"

"I'm looking for what I need."

"I obviously have more. Shall I give you all?"

"Please do."

Since the quantity was considerable, his Madness would probably decrease considerably even if their prices were low.

'I really need Steel Silvergrass…'

The seeds Seol bought were Steel Silvergrass.

As he began getting a lot of Steel Silvergrass, Janet said while walking to him.

"This is out of personal curiosity…"

"Hmm?"

Janet quietly expressed her personal question.

"Do you happen to know what happened in the Underground Garden in the past?"

"Something that happened in the past…?"

"I tend to focus on everything about each customer I have. You being chased by Azanic and fleeing to the Underground Garden were things I already anticipated. Thanks to that, I studied what happened there in the past."

"…"

This was probably why she was a top-notch merchant. Se used her vast information to find the items the customers would need the most.

However, sometimes, she had a tendency to delve too deeply.

"In the Forest of the Slumbering, there was a huge monster called Immortal by the people…"

"I'm not really interested in that story."

"But aren't you curious…?"

"It isn't a story related to me, is it?"

"Well… I suppose so.

Seol also knew it—the huge monster named Immortal. A monster that used to bother him whenever he came to the Underground Garden.

One day, that monster followed him to the Underground Garden. And that was the day when that monster died.

The reason the Forest of the Slumbering didn't have an owner was probably because of that.

"The items you're choosing seem related to that, so I got a bit carried away. Is there anything else you're looking for?"

"I was looking for an item like this…"

Seol whispered the items he was looking for to Janet. Janet hesitated for a moment before replying.

"This one's a bit pricey…"

"And this one, too…"

"This one as well, but…"

She asked, looking perplexed.

"What are you planning to do with these? There seems to be no connection at first glance."

Grin…

Seol answered while smiling.

"Wasn't it that you knew everything?"

* * *

Wriggle… Wriggle…

Seol woke up from his dream, jolting up as if he just had a nightmare. He looked around the field, looking for someone.

There was no more time to hesitate. That's why he immediately took action.

'He must be here. It should be about time he appeared…'

Perhaps he would run into Jamad and Tantuinu, who left before him, but it didn't matter if that happened. However, as things didn't go as expected, Seol started feeling anxious.

But just then.

"What are you looking for?"

Seol flinched and turned around.

A being that looked like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland stood upright on two legs, looking his way.

It wasn't clear if one should call it a rabbit-human, a human-rabbit, or just a giant rabbit…

Soon, options appeared before Seol.

[[The one standing before you is definitely a resident of the Underground Garden. Maybe you can get the information you want from him. What would you like to ask?]

1. Who are you?

2. Could you tell me how to get out of this place?

3. Could you explain this place to me?

4. How was the Underground Garden created?

…]

"Who are you?"

Although he already knew the answer, there were steps he needed to take—just like how you needed to input specific values in an equation to get the desired answer.

"I'm the Field Guardian! I'm in charge of taking care of this vast field! You're a human! You suddenly appeared! Is there anything I can help you with?"

[[The rabbit who introduced himself as the Field Guardian seems willing to help you. You need to state your request.]

1. Would you join me in the battle?

2. I want to take over the Underground Garden.

3. Could I get some flowers from this place?

4. Could you tell me what's beyond here?

…]

"Could I get some flowers that grow in this field?"

The first step he needed to damage Azanic was to obtain some flowers from this field.

"Flowers? What kind of flowers are you looking for? What color?"

Options appeared before him.

Several colors were listed, but Seol clearly stated what he needed.

"I think it was light purple."

"Light purple…? What about the scent?"

"The scent…"

Seol started picking out the characteristics of the flower one by one—a light purple flower with a scent so faint that it was almost imperceptible, large petals, and an extremely bitter taste. Additionally, it had something that looked like a droplet attached to the stem.

As Seol went through the numerous options, the Field Guardian suddenly said.

"Ah… I know! The flower you're looking for!"

"Really?"

"Yes! It's called Blink Flower! But the Blink Flower is…"

The Field Guardian gloomily said.

"It's very rare. Even for me! So… it's precious!"

"Precious…"

He was almost there.

"Precious things must be exchanged for other precious things! So…"

"You can tell me."

"Do you have anything sweet?"

"Something sweet…?"

With a playful act, options appeared again.

This time, he needed to guess what the Field Guardian was looking for.

Although Seol knew what the Field Guardian wanted, he still asked following an order.

"What color is it?"

"Bloody red!"

"Is it a living creature?"

"No! It's the fruit of a certain tree!"

"What does it look like?"

"'It looks like a pine cone! But much harder."

"What does it taste like?"

"It tastes heavenly! Eating it makes it feel like your mouth is burning hot but quickly subsides."

Looking back, it was seriously a lousy explanation. Seol smiled wryly, recalling his past struggles with the Field Guardian.

'I can't believe I didn’t argue with him after hearing such an explanation…'

Suddenly, he couldn't help but feel that his past self was impressive.

"Where does it grow?"

"Hmm… I'm not sure… Maybe somewhere hot?"

The last option appeared.

[[What sweet thing is the Field Guardian looking for?]

1. There's nothing like that in this world.

2. Could you explain again? Slowly…?

3. [Required: Unidentified Hard Fruit] Is this what you're looking for?

4. [Required: Unidentified Plump Fruit] Is this what you're looking for?

…]

Seol took out a fruit from his belongings.

[You have given the Field Guardian a Sulfur Dragonfruit.]

[The Field Guardian's reaction is…]

"Oh? How did you know? This is it!"

[The Field Guardian is satisfied!]

He had bought a Sulfur Dragonfruit from the Madness Shop.

Since it was something that grew in volcanic regions and only in areas where harsh sulfur fumes rose, obtaining the fruit was extremely hard.

'It's also damn far away.'

Since where one could get it was quite a distance from the Underground Garden, even if someone correctly identified it from the description, they would still need to leave the Underground Garden to get it.

Originally, he would have needed frequent trips to and from the Underground Garden to meet the condition. Who would go through such a hassle just to get a herb?

However, there were those who had to come here to get it.

'After all, this is the location of the Transmission Adventure.'

The Transmission Adventure—Adventurers who had reached a certain level in their Class had to go through one to proceed to the next stage.

After completing a Transmission Adventure, one usually reaches the position of 'Master.'

'But in my case… it's a bit special.'

Seol had obtained the title of Master much earlier than others.

It was thanks to Mirei, who taught him the Night Crow.

Thanks to having learned an Exceptional Skill, he obtained the title before achieving the usual necessary conditions.

But he was the exception. Most people had to go through a Transmission Adventure.

'And here is…'

The Underground Garden of the Forest of the Slumbering. This was where Assassins, Druids, and Botanists were given a Transmission Adventure.

Perhaps, as people's skills improve, this place will become busier than it is now.

'It's going to be tough.'

In the Underground Garden of the Forest of the Slumbering, where the Transmission Adventure took place, what one got depended on their efforts. The more someone unraveled the hidden annoying secrets of the Underground Garden, the stronger beast they defeated, or the more dangerous plant seed they obtained.

[You have acquired a Blink Flower.]

[Handle with care. It's a toxic plant.]

"Ah… But the Blink Flower is a dangerous weed… Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's okay."

And someone would get an even more sinister poison.

"Because I already knew it."

This place was where one of Seol's legendary ten pieces had conducted their Transmission Adventure.