The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

[[Adventure 2-1. ‘The Exiled’]

There are many unfortunate lives in the Pointy Mountains. They are those who have been exiled from the Rock Molar Tribe.

You have met with one of those exiled and have discovered that he is infected by a horrible endemic disease. The exiled, through much research, learned that the ‘Corpse Finger Mushroom’, a mushroom that grows on the cliffside of the Pointy Mountains, was necessary to cure the disease. If you are able to find that mushroom for him, he will help you.

Objective: Find the Corpse Finger Mushroom and deliver it to the exiled.

Remaining Time ⌜10:59⌟]

‘Did it work?’

The exiled in front of him was shaking, like he had been struck by lightning. He was overcome with emotion after hearing that Seol would do something for him.

Seol gave a nod then walked out of the mud hut.

Side Quests, otherwise known as hidden quests, were another mechanic of The World of Eternity.

The ‘The Exiled’ side quest was a bit different from most normal side quests.

‘Because this one gives you a helper as a reward.’

Helper.

As the game piece embarks on their adventure, they sometimes turn the NPCs into their helpers.

The helpers, depending on their Favorability, actively or passively help out the character.

The helpers themselves have ranks as well and according to Seol’s memories, the exiled was quite high-ranked.

That was the reason why Seol is using his precious time to help out the exiled.

Seol was trying to use the side quest to overturn the situation he was put into.

After he accepted the side quest, he checked the remaining time on the main Adventure.

Right now, it was just a little past 3 p.m.

If he was even the tiniest bit slow, there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be able to get the item that he wanted.

Seol, feeling the pressure, rushed up the mountain.

The air started to cool.

It was still light out, yes, but soon the sun will set and night will come.

‘I don’t have time to look for it tomorrow too… but at least I was able to find it.’

Seol had to defeat the Rock Molar leaders by noon tomorrow.

That’s why the most time he had to give the exiled was today.

Seol, after many complications, eventually arrived at the cliff.

- It’s not here.

- It’s not.

- Excuse me… I can’t see that mushroom or trumpet or whatever you were supposed to find…

- He’s just struggling desperately to do whatever he can. But what are you doing dude? You don’t have much time.

- The commenter above me, please chill out haha. Even Magata, the youngest of the 5 brothers, requires the entire party to beat. So how is he going to kill him solo? Lol

- It’s because it’s such a waste of time! I can’t believe he’s dying here even though he has the mechanics and the judgment…

The people that were watching him made countless comments thinking that this situation was such a shame even though Seol couldn’t read them at all.

And their worries weren’t strange to have.

In fact, the cliff that Seol had a hard time arriving at had no vegetation other than a single tree hanging out from the cliff face.

Did he make a mistake?

And at that moment…

[Insight activates.]

Seol, who had just been calmly looking down at the cliffside, could see options before him.

[[This looks to be the cliffside that the exiled mentioned. But the Corpse Finger Mushroom is nowhere to be seen. What do you do?]

1. Wait.

2. Search the Surroundings.

3. Go Back and Tell the Exiled What You Saw.

4. [Required: Biology 1] Check if the Environment Is Suitable for the Mushroom to Grow.

5. ……]

Seol read through the messages and sat down.

[‘excuseme’ has donated 100 Madness!]

[I’m sorry but can you guys help me find my AC remote?]

- Why are you asking that here? lmfao

- I can’t believe you don’t know where it is keke

- I just joined the room. Did he still not fight the tribe yet? The game’s doomed.

Even though a lot of them were worried, Seol simply watched the sky with a peaceful expression on his face. He was thinking.

‘I was wondering why I felt déjà vu…’

Seol wasn’t talking about this place itself.

He was talking about this situation, this Adventure.

‘My first piece had this Adventure too…’

In the countless Adventures of The World of Eternity, only certain Adventures showed up in Adventures 1-10.

‘The 5 Good Brothers’ was one of those Adventures and Snowman, Seol’s first character, also played this Adventure.

‘And died…’

Seol had a lot of love for his first character.

Back then, he didn’t know that he would be having the dream for 17 years so he did his best every second.

Not only did he give it his all in the Adventures, he gave it his all in the Rest areas too.

And the first character that he raised, the one that he raised when he didn’t know anything and could do nothing more than give it his all, died during ‘The 5 Good Brothers’ Adventure. More specifically, he died during the ‘The Exiled’ side quest.

The first Snowman died because he slipped off the cliff as he was trying to collect the Corpse Finger Mushroom.

Well… it might’ve been the obvious result.

He made his caster, a class with low dexterity and strength, hang off the edge of the cliff with a rope. No matter how taut the rope was, there was no way he could endure all that weight.

Snowman died because Seol chose the wrong option.

And Seol, who was extremely young back then, was so shocked that he bawled when he woke up.

For children, a character dying because of your mistake and that same mistake letting you no longer progress with that character was such a sad thing.

It still gives him a numbness in his chest when he thinks about it even now.

Even though he had grown so much to the point that he was practically another person and even though his heart had grown much tougher…

The reason that Seol never once forgot information about the Corpse Finger Mushroom was because of that happening.

As Seol was deep in thought, the air had grown much colder.

The sun was starting to set, and the sunset shone beautifully like it was a watercolor painting.

And like that, he heard the sound that he had been waiting for.

Rumble…

- H-Huh?

- What’s that sound?

- Something’s… Something’s coming out…

It was quickly revealed why Seol waited there, doing nothing.

Rumble Rumble Rumble…

Something was growing out from the cliff.

Suddenly, in a dead space, long mushrooms grew out. It was not a pretty sight as the mushrooms looked quite eerie.

It had a black stem and its cap looked almost like a person’s finger.

The Corpse Finger Mushroom, a mushroom with five stalks, only revealed itself at dusk.

‘Now!’

Seol used Shadow Hand, the Shadow Summoner’s basic skill.

Fsss…

Two black arms grew out of his shoulders.

The funny thing about Shadow Hand was that it had a bit of strength to it.

‘There isn’t anything else special about it though.’

It had a simple function, as expected from a basic skill.

It was often used by the Shadow Summoner to restrain a monster before they had their first summon.

Seol, luckily, had the Forgotten Moon Ruins, a trap-based Adventure, as his first Adventure and ended up not needing it.

‘Like I’m… trying to grab an egg.’

- Shadow Hand! I heard that it was super hard to control!

- Why is it hard to control?

- The guidebook said it would be like trying to control a tail that you suddenly grew.

- Urgh… But what is he trying to do with it?

Seol adapted to that strange sensation and slowly lowered those black hands.

He knew that there was a possibility of him failing as it was his first time using it but if it got too close, he could just use Karuna to gather it.

Reaaach…

The shadow hands slowly, naturally crawled down the cliff face.

And eventually, after a few failed attempts, it successfully grabbed it.

Grab…

He pulled it out with a ‘pop!’ sound and dragged it up the hill. Seol had a huge smile.

- So this is where you were, Doc Ock!

- It feels bad!

- Why is he so good when it’s his first time…

- Why are you asking why?

But just as Seol was about to celebrate obtaining the mushroom…

Sparkle!

Something in his view shone.

“Light?”

Seol quickly found out where the reflected light was coming from.

It was the lone tree he ignored earlier.

‘What’s that?’

The object that was reflecting light was just barely hanging onto the tree.

Seol used Shadow Hand again to bring it up.

Reach…

Grab!

Once again, he reached it without any difficulty.

Seol instantly realized what the item was.

“A pocket watch…?”

It was a pocket watch that could also be used as a necklace. It also had a small scratch on the surface of the glass.

And as Seol was showing interest in the strange object, a message popped up.

[Insight activates.]

[Hidden Adventure ‘A Lost Pocket Watch’ is now active.]

[[Adventure 2-2. ‘A Lost Pocket Watch’]

This pocket watch was lost in the deepest parts of the Pointy Mountains’ lowest peak.

Judging by the eagle insignia engraved onto the surface, there seems to be a story behind it. There might be someone in Kongory, a free city, that knows more about this pocket watch.

Objective: Find someone who knows about this pocket watch.

Remaining Time: ⌜N/A⌟]

‘This is a side quest too?’

- Uh… so there’s nothing about that… pocket… watch?

- It’s not listed in the guidebook?

- That’s crazy…

- What is this then? A bug?

Kongory, the free city, was a city near the Pointy Mountains.

This meant that Seol would naturally find out about the pocket watch once this Adventure was over.

Seol decided that there wasn’t any reason to worry about something he couldn’t deal with in the present situation.

Clink Clink Clink.

Seol grabbed the pocket watch and left the cliff.

* * *

“Can I really trust him…?” murmured the exiled.

He often talked to himself.

He was someone who was cursed.

His tribe and his own mother might have given up on him but he didn’t give up on himself.

They didn’t know.

They only gave up on him and threw him away because they didn’t know about him…

Or at least that’s what he thought.

Ignorance isn’t a crime but it can lead to bad things.

The exiled rummaged through the cargo of dead merchants who had been killed by his tribe. The Rock Molar Tribe typically took most of the usable goods when they raided but there was one thing that they never took.

Books.

The exiled took those books to his mud hut and read them.

At first, he couldn’t read those books because he didn’t understand any of the words that filled the pages.

But, with the shamanic magic tomes his mother left behind, he learned shamanic magic and naturally became able to read those books as well.

This was all possible because there was a shamanic spell that helped you learn languages faster.

That was how he grew up. He thirsted for knowledge and learned reason.

He eventually learned the truth that his disease was endemic in the Pointy Mountains.

He learned that there was a cure for it.

‘Corpse Finger Mushroom.’

Yeah… As long as I had that mushroom…

But he wasn’t able to get it.

His body wasn’t strong enough to hang on the side of the cliff and there was no one who would get the mushroom for him.

He was alone.

And as he could do nothing more than just sit on his hands, a human, Seol, showed up before him.

The exiled was less repelled by humans than the other trolls.

This was probably because he learned about their culture and history through the books he acquired.

Seol, who came to see him, listened to his story and left saying he would acquire the mushroom for him.

“There’s no way he’ll get it… There’s no way…”

The exiled despised false hopes.

He had already wasted countless amounts of time dreaming of the day he would eventually cure his disease.

A false hope was much crueler than despair.

But… But even so… Why was he looking forward to seeing that human again?

The exiled realized that trust in others doesn’t come from ignorance, it comes from one’s desire to…

Rustle.

“...Hm?”

Rustle.

Rustle.

Someone’s footsteps were crunching the branches.

The exiled focused all of his senses to hone in on those footsteps.

And in a short second, someone appeared.

It was Seol.

“......”

The exiled was downcast.

Seol’s face was covered in wounds.

In the short moment that they spent together, his disease had already infected Seol.

Endemics were terrifying.

It was likely that Seol hadn’t reached the cliff at all.

But then… Seol pulled out something while smiling.

It was the first time that the exiled saw it but he instinctively knew what it was.

It was the Corpse Finger Mushroom he had been yearning for.

Thud…

The exiled dropped down to his knees and wept.

“Th-thank you, kind stranger. You have saved me.”

After a while, Seol helped him up.

The two then entered the mud hut together. Seol gave a short explanation of his future plans to the exiled who had been incessantly thanking him.

The exiled quietly listened to Seol explain his plans. He paused, thought for a moment, then responded.

“I understand. I will help you to the best of my abilities.”

[You have saved the exiled.]

[As a reward, the exiled will help you.]

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