The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

The Eyes of Perception gave a lot of information in one message.

As if it was trying to warn Seol that he was in a dangerous situation right now.

[[Overgrown Lifeform]

Rank: Rare

Estimated Level: 10~14

Griz had hidden a secret laboratory near Nobira and in the deepest parts of this laboratory, there is a biology lab that was constructed to solve the food crisis facing the continent. However, there is a problem here in this room filled with these lively plants.

These plants had grown to a massive size, way beyond the limits that Griz had set for them. Furthermore, the laboratory's central control unit isn't able to function properly due to the plants that have engulfed it. These plants have even captured researchers, almost like they were gaining sentience, and were growing endlessly.

If they continue to grow like this, these plants could spread out into the Great Forest and bring forth a horrible disaster.

Basic Skills: [Vine Whip 1], [Unstable Spore 1], [Grasp and Swallow 1], [Charm Pollen 1], [Corrosive Sap 1], [Rapid Growth 1]

Unique Skills: [Hivemind 1]]

'Is that so…'

What caught Seol's attention more than anything else was the monster's unique skill.

'It probably took over all of the researcher golems with Hivemind.'

Plant, insect, whatever it was…

Controller-type monsters usually had skills that allowed them to control other things. Sometimes those skills were able to control more than just things or objects and were even able to control players.

'I can't believe a Solo Adventure is this difficult… this is an awful situation.'

This situation wouldn't be easy even if he was allowed to bring 5 people as his party members.

"Everything in this lab is our enemy now."

"It would seem so, Master," answered Karuna at the side.

"Why aren't you talking? Did you trick us?" Jamad asked Arta. Jamad thought Arta was suspicious because it dragged them here without an explanation.

"I did not trick you. I only just found out about this now as well."

"How did you not know? Hm… Don't tell me it's…?" said Seol as he thought back to the first time he and his summons met Arta.

The poor golem was stuck in Lab 2, unable to move because of the vines that wrapped its body.

Seol quickly deduced that because Arta realized he was no longer able to control the plants in Lab 1, he ran away to Lab 2.

Fwirl!

Bam!

"Krgh…"

Jamad was pushed back after taking an attack from a vine.

However, Seol was more surprised by the fact that Jamad barely took any damage from being hit by a massive vine.

"It seems as if there was an error with my save function. I will do my best to recall the things that happened here."

"Arta! Quickly!"

[Karuna has entered the 1st Stage of Soaring Moonlight, Crescent Moon.]

Gloooow…

Fwoooosh!

More vines flew toward them.

Even though it was easier to defend against the attacks because of the narrow entrance, it was still a difficult task.

Slice!

Karuna's Moonlight Sword barely managed to counterattack.

"Kieeeeeeeee!"

A scream could be heard from the central control unit far away.

It was clear that the monster in control of these vines was over there.

'No, it's not just one opponent.'

This entire lab was his enemy. Also…

"Master."

"...I saw."

Writhe…

The vines that Karuna had cut off were slowly regenerating.

[Overgrown Lifeform used Rapid Growth.]

- This is insane…

- How does this make any sense?

- How is he supposed to beat that alone?!

- The difficulty of this is a mess…

The viewers, who felt the same thing that Seol was thinking right now, were in an uproar.

However, the difference between them was that Seol was still looking for a way out.

'It's an unreasonable ask to require me to defeat something like this alone when it's a Solo Adventure. It's still early on in the Adventure too. There must be a different solution.'

There was no chance of survival if you had to defeat something this difficult early on. It could somewhat make sense if it was later into the Adventure but not now.

As Seol continued to think to himself, a word grabbed his attention.

'Wait, alone… alone?'

If you couldn't solve it alone, you had to solve it together. And right now, standing next to Seol, was someone who was not a part of his party.

"I have finished recovering my memory. There has been a grave error. Would you like an explanation?"

"Desperately!"

"I understand."

The person who wasn't in his party originally was Arta, the director of this laboratory and a massive and powerful mechanical golem.

Karuna and Jamad took turns deflecting the vine attacks coming from the entrance as Arta quickly summarized the current situation.

"I discovered that the plants here had unexpected signs of overgrowth. As I was giving a report to Griz, the plants took over the central control unit and cut off my contact with him. This strange lifeform is intelligent and highly aggressive."

"And then what?"

"The researchers quickly became unfunctional after being controlled by the plant's vines and I escaped to Lab 2 to run away from the danger. And after that, I met you, guest."

Because the situation was dire, Seol spoke in short, quick sentences.

"Arta."

"Yes."

"Do they have any weaknesses?"

"They have the same weaknesses a plant has. They are weak to blight and insects and they burn easily to fire."

"This place won't be safe either though if we burn all of the plants… Then another method would be to…"

"That is not the case."

"What?"

"If we could get to the central control unit, we should be able to activate the Large-Scale Fire Response Device."

"Does it suck in all of the smoke?"

"Yes."

This meant that if they were able to get close to the central control unit, they could take care of the plants in one go by burning them all.

As one problem was solved, Seol tried to plan out a solution for the next one.

"Arta, are you capable of combat?"

"I am not able to attack anything without Griz's permission but I am allowed to defend."

"Then…"

Seol quickly got to the heart of the matter and asked, "What about the golems here?"

"Do you mean the researchers?"

"Yes."

"Well, it is possible. However, even if you are able to free them from the plant's restraints, since they have already ceased function once, you must answer the question set by Griz to get them to move."

"So it's one of those password-finding problems, I see…"

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. Still, to reach the central control unit… No, to even reach the closest golems, we'd probably need fire…"

"I have extra gasoline."

"That's a relief."

- Snowman is fucking insane lol

- He's so quick at figuring out the situation lol

- It's really Jamad and Karuna who are the insane ones… they've been cutting through these vines like it's nothing while they were talking haha

- It's Man vs Nature!

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

[The main contents of 'Griz's Secret Laboratory' have changed.]

['Griz's Secret Laboratory' has changed to 'The Sleeping Golems of the Forest'.]

[Adventure 5. 'The Sleeping Golems of the Forest'

The biology research complex exists in the deepest part of the secret laboratory and in here, there has been a huge problem.

Overgrown plants have gone on a rampage and have taken over the lab. These plants have deactivated many golems during their rampage and have taken over the central control unit.

Currently, you are the only person capable of solving this issue. Reach the central control unit and activate the Large-Scale Fire Response Device. And after that, burn all of the plants.

You are able to receive help from the golems during this entire time. The more golems that help you, the better.

Objective: Defeat the Overgrown Lifeform. Rescue as many golems as you can.

Remaining Time: [68:20]]

"Arta, gasoline."

"Understood."

Creak.

A pocket opened up on Arta's waist.

Seol pulled out two cans that looked like water bottles and tossed them to Jamad.

"We have to set our weapons aflame."

Jamad's and Karuna's weapons weren't ordinary weapons.

For an ordinary weapon, being put on fire was a huge issue and would dull them or make them unusable. However, for powerful weapons like this, reducing the durability a bit was the most it did.

"Oho.. I see."

Jamad's Mountain Fists and Karuna's Moonlight Sword were both lit on fire with the gasoline Seol brought.

Blaze…

"Kieeeee!"

"It got slower. It's afraid."

"Go forward! All the way there!"

Booooom!

[Karuna has entered the 2nd Stage of Soaring Moonlight, Half Moon.]

Gloooow!

Slice!

Burn!

"Kieeaaaaa!"

Jamad and Karuna matched Seol and Arta's pace as they cleared everything in front of them.

Even though it seemed like the vines were going to attack them from all sides, only one attack would properly follow through at them whenever they waved fire around.

Seol thought it might've been possible to burn them all down like this but shook his head.

'It's too big of a room. And the moment they get accustomed to the fire it's over.'

The best option here was to free the golems as fast as he could and to reach the central control unit.

And just then…

Fwirl!

"Arta!"

Vines were attacking Arta from all sides.

Jamad and Karuna were unable to help because they were dealing with the other vines.

It looked like Arta was about to be destroyed by the vines.

Baaam!

However, contrary to Seol's expectations, something unexpected happened. Arta was able to swiftly, easily deflect the vines like it was nothing.

"You don't need to worry about me. I am capable of defending myself."

Seol now understood how Arta was able to escape all the way to Lab 2 by itself.

If the golems were even half as strong as Arta, his army would be incredibly powerful.

The place they were advancing toward, while deflecting the onslaught of vines, was where the nearest golem was at.

A golem, which looked a bit smaller than Arta but still as tough, was wrapped in vines and was unfunctional.

"Jamad!"

"Got it."

Jamad used the burning Mountain Fists to rip apart the vines from the golem's body.

Rip!

Ripping off the messy vines wrapping the golem only took a second. The golem, though a bit damaged, was able to wake up fine.

However, the golem only raised its head slightly when it woke up. It was not taking any actions whatsoever.

Arta, after seeing that, said, "As expected, you must enter the password."

"Where?!" asked Seol.

"Here."

Arta might've spoken calmly to him but Seol shouted in a hurry.

Arta pointed at the password input device on the golem's leg.

When Seol saw the question that popped up on the password input device, he was shocked.

"...What kind of fucking question is this?"

He saw a few options.

[[The question that popped up on the golem's input device is this, 'Who is the biggest genius in the world as well as the symbol of intelligence?']

1. King Esra.

2. Duke Hoju.

3. Princess Cira.

4. Griz.

5. Master Magician Shula.

……]

The answer to this question was already decided.

Seol quickly picked option 4 on the input device.

'Griz is a hell of a narcissist.'

He believed himself to be the perfect human.

'Please work…'

Creak…

The golem's eye lit up blue.

"It's nice to meet you, human. I am Alber-23, a researcher here. What may I assist you with?"

[You have activated Alber-23.]

[You have rescued a sleeping golem. (1/20)]

Arta took control over Alber.

Alber immediately joined the group and defended attacks from the vines.

Fwirl!

Bam!

As the two large golems defended attacks from the vines, Seol was able to notice that the vines were growing accustomed to the fire. Even though it should've been getting easier, there were more and more vines.

'This is exactly like Risk…'

Seol had to build up the biggest golem army he could before it was too late and reach the central control unit.

The party recklessly charged onward.

The rate at which they were rescuing golems was getting faster and faster. It was because all of the answers were just the ones that were related to Griz.

"Run!"

"It's the poisonous sap! Block it!"

Giant flowers spit out poison at Seol.

The sap flew out in the shape of an arrow.

Cshhhhhh…

It wasn't able to reach Seol.

"Are you alright, guest?"

"...Thank you."

"I shall guide you to the central control unit."

And that was because one of the golems in front of Seol sacrificed their arm to protect him.

Seol was collecting more and more golems.

[[The question that popped up on the golem's input device is this, 'Which is the fastest horse on the continent?']

1. Sir Ramford the Paladin's prized horse, Springle.

2. A gift given for Omud and Jira's political marriage, Gurnung.

3. The steel-armored horse of the Sesuzu Steel Knight's Captain.

4. The horse of Gora, the leader of the Sand Raiders.

5. Griz's Kramoto-7(Improved Model).

……]

[You have activated Hotun-11.]

[You have rescued a sleeping golem. (9/20)]

[[The question that popped up on the golem's input device is this, 'Which emerging force will have the greatest influence on the continent in the future?']

1. Secret Guardian.

2. Griz's Machine Army.

3. Troll Tribe Alliance.

4. Zodiac.

5. Exiles' Paradise.

……]

[You have activated Girita-7.]

[You have rescued a sleeping golem. (10/20)]

They headed toward the central control unit like an icebreaker tearing through ice.

They might have been weak in the beginning but they were terrifying now.

"We're almost there."

The central control unit was now close enough to be in Seol's vision.

But then…

"Hey, it's dangerous!" shouted Jamad.

And in an instant, a bunch of massive flowers appeared near the central control unit.