The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Borgo was furious that even after all this time, even after clearing all of these gates, he was no closer to Seol.

"How?"

"It looks like he was extremely prepared for this. Kujo might've even been his subordinate."

"Do you really think Kujo would be subordinate to anyone when he defied me?"

"Well…"

The aide couldn't answer Borgo.

He couldn't tell Borgo that he brought this onto himself.

Kujo was the person who found the ruin and Borgo simply wanted to take it. Borgo was paying the price for trying to take what didn't belong to him.

What was a ruin hunter's duty?

It was to uncover the secrets of a ruin and gain the treasures as a reward for your work, not stealing what belonged to others.

But Borgo was different.

He cared more about taking someone else's belongings than exploring ruins. He even created an organization to kill those weaker than him.

He was nothing more than a murderer claiming to be a ruin hunter. He was a murderer who forgot about the excitement of clearing ruins.

"17 people have died and we only have 13 people left."

That was probably the reason why he ended up in this situation.

Still, Borgo didn't think of this as his punishment for his depravity. He thought he was just having a rough time.

He thought this was something that would just pass by.

"We still have 13 people left. This is more than enough people to catch up to him."

"But…"

"Did you not hear me?"

"...I understand."

Borgo's group had just arrived at the 5th Gate that Seol passed through.

"We don't see a door anywhere Borgo," said one of his aides.

"What did Kirzhin say about the traps here?"

"He just said we'd be in trouble if we stepped on the tiles without caution."

"Hm… then how are we supposed to clear it?"

"One second."

One of the aides read the translation that Kirzhin wrote.

"Step forth with your eyes closed. Take as many steps as your love for Yzmokan."

"It's written in a bit of an antiquated way. It's been a while since I really felt like I was in a ruin. So, what does it mean?"

"It's as it says. You have to take a certain number of steps while closing your eyes. It's just that…"

"You don't know how many steps you're supposed to take, right?"

"Yes, exactly. But we assume that it's between five and ten steps."

"It's a shitty translation as expected from Kirzhin. I would've made him go first if he was still alive."

Borgo looked around and glared at his subordinates.

They all tried their best to discreetly avoid eye contact with him.

And then, Borgo gestured toward someone with his chin.

"You."

"Huh? Are you talking to me?"

"I want you to go first. Five steps."

"B-But…"

Slide…

Borgo pulled out a handaxe.

Everyone knew what he intended to do if his subordinate didn't follow his orders.

"If you say another word, your arms are going to go flying off… got it?"

"......"

"Walk."

Borgo's eyes had more than just a hint of madness.

When they finished clearing the 5th Gate, there were four fewer people in his group.

Borgo's party continued to chase after Seol's traces and with each Gate they cleared, they lost more people. When Borgo was about to reach Seol, he only had one other person with him.

It was his close aide.

"Borgo… we might've made a mistake coming here."

"Do not say something so presumptuous. I, the great Borgo, must get every treasure from the ruin in the Great Forest. We can recover our numbers with the rewards we get here."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Borgo was limping and had a cut finger but he still didn't stop. His tenacity led to the destruction and death of others and maybe… even himself.

His eyes were bloodied as he approached the last gate.

"Kirzhin didn't say anything about this gate."

"He's still useless even when he's dead…"

Borgo went through hell and back to reach the end of the ruin. He looked completely mad.

"Now, we finally made it. In the end, I got him."

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

[You have cleared the 7th Gate of The Hall of Self-Control.]

[You have cleared the 8th Gate of The Hall of Self-Control.]

[You have cleared the 9th Gate of The Hall of Self-Control.]

['Guys'

has donated 100 Madness!]

[With all due respect, may I stop drooling now?]

- Why are you even asking that?!

- This guy is respect personified, sheeesh!

- You made me start swallowing you piece of shit!

- It's because we're all so concentrated… the chat was dead too…

- How does he know these ruins so well? Did the answers leak?

- You have to know the answer for the problems to be useful too though.

- Both Borgo's chase and Snowman's escape are both really impressive.

- Even though he's a Shadow Summoner I'd believe it if he was also a Ruins Hunter sheesh.

- ???: I'm a baby Ruin Hunter ogya ogya.

Seol was clearing the Gates one by one.

As the number of gates he cleared increased, the calmer he got.

However, his heart was also pounding with anticipation.

The fact that he reached the last gate meant that he was that much closer to that certain someone.

'Ziliac, are you there?'

Ziliac, the Ruins Hunter.

He was Seol's 2nd Piece who lived a short life.

His stats were insufficient to clear the nine gates of the ruin but he made it through with solely his own efforts. He was a clever individual.

Seol still remembered pieces of him.

He was a massive individual, over 2 meters tall, and had a messy beard. He was a man who constantly laughed and loved children and plants.

He was a strong person who rose above his difficult past.

That was the kind of man Ziliac was.

It was a character Seol made with care and detail.

'Ziliac has to be here.'

Seol's first piece, Snowman, still had his traces left on the Pointy Mountains' cliffside.

So it made sense that Ziliac too would have his traces left in the 10th Gate of these ruins.

Step.

Step.

It sparkled all around him.

The 10th Gate was made completely out of gold. Still, Seol found no treasure that was worth taking.

He rushed through the gate and finally found something that could be a clue.

'Mirrors.'

There were 4 large mirrors taking up a large portion of the room.

They were too heavy for him to move around, he could only adjust the angles of it.

It was clear that the mirrors were likely embedded into the ground.

Seol observed the mirrors before noticing the door hidden in the corner of the room.

Seol's heart started pounding faster.

'There.'

Seol tried his best to approach it calmly. He had countless options appear in front of his face but he ignored them all. There was something much, much more important.

"...Ziliac."

A tall skeleton was seated, staring at the ceiling.

Someone's corpse was planted right in front of the door.

It was somewhat obvious that only his bones would remain since the insects and rats ate his flesh.

Seol took a knee as he touched his skeleton.

Ziliac died here.

Seol was once again feeling the same eerie feeling he felt when he found his first piece.

[<Ziliac>'s Inheritance is starting.]

"Krgh…"

As the inheritance started, the headache came as expected. However, this time his visions were much clearer.

Fsss…

- Look at these biceps! Ziliac is invincible! Remember me, you bastards! I am the great man who will unearth every secret of every ruin in the world!

It was a line in a script that Seol had previously read. Ziliac, in this scene, was bragging about himself to the other customers in a bar.

The shocking thing was that even though Seol was the one who read the script, it looked as if the game had come to life. He saw it as an old video of Ziliac saying those words.

'What is this…'

Clench!

- Grab my hand, Zerin! Don't let go! I'll kill you if you let go! Hang on! Please… Hang on!

It was the moment when Ziliac lost his comrade due to a trap in the ruin.

"Kuaaaargh!"

During this moment at least, Seol was Ziliac.

- Yzmokan's number… 8 steps. We'll be walking through these traps with our eyes closed! How amazing is that?

Ziliac pressed on.

He lost another one of his party members at the 6th Gate.

And when he had cleared the 7th Gate, he was all alone.

- I got a bit of sand in my mouth, but those traps weren't all that bad… You all think that too, right? Yeah? Please… Say something… Don't leave me alone.

Ziliac pressed on through the ruins alone. Eventually, he reached the 10th Gate.

- This is the last gate…

Click!

His vision went black for a second.

He was slowly starting to recover his vision, but…

He could feel his blood clotting up inside of him.

- An arrow… A poisoned arrow? Haha… so it wasn't this door… no wonder, urgh.

Before he died, Ziliac looked at the ceiling.

- A drawing? …Mirrors? Ah… I solved it! I solved it! I solved it, Yzmokan supposedly controls light!

With his vision fading, Ziliac left behind his final words.

- Hey, I was hoping that someone could go beyond the great Ziliac… Is there anyone… there…

Seol's eyes were wet.

His vision was also covered in messages.

[You have inherited Ziliac's unfulfilled desire.]

[A skill has been inherited from the deceased.]

['Ruin Predator' has been inherited.]

[Snowman has inherited 'Ruin Predator'.]

[You have a 10% increased chance to uncover hidden ruins. You are more quickly able to detect the traps and secrets lying within a ruin. Additionally, if you are the first person to clear a ruin, your rewards increase by 30%.

[The main contents of 'Fate: Things Which Must Be Recovered' have changed.]

- What the hell? Why is it giving him that?

- Seriously, why is a summoner getting the Ruin Predator trait?

- Why are you guys getting upset when you are just viewers?

- Because I'm engaging with the content! That obviously gives you the permission to get mad!

- This chat is a mess! Let's all just spam lol kk!

- lol kk

- lol kk Fate is super nice though

Seol stood up while grabbing his head.

Ssssssss…

Surprisingly, Ziliac's bones turned to dust and drifted away.

Seol took his muffler, the only article of clothing that was in a good state, and wrapped it around his neck.

"I'm sorry I was late, Ziliac. I will see what's beyond this point of the ruins, just as you wanted."

Would the results have been different if he realized the door was a trap? Or would it have been different if he was a bit more cautious?

That was what Seol thought when he lost Ziliac.

But how could a player ever know what his game piece was thinking?

The day Seol lost Ziliac, he studied 'The Hall of Self-Control' extensively.

It was because there was a chance his future pieces could also take on this Adventure.

And after that, he started giving all of his pieces the 'Insight' talent.

It was still the case for when he himself entered The World of Eternity.

As Seol approached the door, a message popped up.

[Insight activates.]

[That door does not look normal.]

Seol turned back without a word. He then headed to the mirrors which earlier, caught his eyes.

When he stood at the center of the four mirrors, he received new options.

[[These mirrors are clearly the key to clearing this gate. Although you can't move the mirrors, adjusting them is possible. What do you do?]

1. Adjust the first mirror to the left.

2. Adjust the first mirror to the right.

3. Adjust the first mirror toward the ceiling.]

The mirrors could be adjusted to the left, right, and upward. There were also four mirrors in total.

'The answer is already decided.'

Seol completely recovered Ziliac's memories. The last thing that Ziliac saw before he died was the ceiling of this Gate.

Creak. Creaaaak…

Seol made all of the mirrors face the ceiling. The faint glow that radiated from each mirror was concentrated on the ceiling.

On the ceiling, there was the face of a goddess with a gentle face. It wasn't that hard to decipher who that goddess was.

Rumble Rumble…

The gate started to give off an eerie sound.

Seol decided to borrow the words that Ziliac was supposed to say when he cleared it.

"Yzmokan, I will give you all the light."

Ruuuuuumble…

Creaaaaaaak!

The goddess's face on the ceiling split apart and a swarm of bats flew out.

And after that, the ceiling slowly started to come down with where Seol was standing as the center of it all.

It was discovered late but the direction that the Adventurer had to go for the final gate wasn't forwards, it was up.

"So please, open a path."

When the ceiling completely sank down to the floor, Seol received more messages.

[You have cleared the last gate of 'The Hall of Self-Control'.]

[If the Remaining Time runs out or if you choose to take your reward, you may choose to finish your Adventure here.]