The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

"Huff… Huff…"

The group barely prevented the Head of the Library from resetting the 8th floor.

Seol, Joneh, and Santio exchanged glances.

"D-did we survive?"

"For now… That seems to be the case."

"Haha… Ha…"

What came out of the book Seol threw through the Scorpion Door was an absurdly overwhelming power.

The sensation they felt was impossible to describe with words—the sensation of having felt a being far beyond the standard for the first time.

'Was the gap really this big?'

Joneh and Santio said while lying on the ground.

"He… Hehe… We definitely landed a hit. Did you see that?"

"I'm exhausted. I don't even have the strength to move a finger."

Seol looked into the distance.

The beam of light that poured from the sky had already faded. And everything had turned into bookshelves, from the entrance of the snowy mountain onward.

'Is that… How the 8th floor originally looked?'

They were at a snowy mountain, but beyond it was a library full of bookshelves. He couldn't help but marvel at the strange sight.

"But…"

However, now wasn't the time to admire such scenery. There was a more pressing issue.

"What do we do about them?"

"Can you still fight?"

"A bit more… But with this many…"

The surviving Shamans of the Frostmaw Tribe approached Joneh, Santio, and Seol.

"P-please, let go of me…"

"Say something to them, please! This is what your knowledge of troll language is supposed to be used for!"

Joneh and Santio fell into their grip, but Seol didn't bother intervening because he couldn't sense any hostility from them.

A Shaman who appeared to be their leader approached Seol. The energy he emitted suggested he was on the verge of becoming Transcendent-rank.

"Humans, are you the one who defeated Branka?"

"What if we are…?"

"It seems we need to talk. Although it is humble, we would like to invite you into our castle."

They didn't feel like refusing despite having already gone through the castle.

'There are too many of them.'

Although the Head of the Library had slaughtered a lot of trolls, the number of trolls coming out of the castle far exceeded the ones who died.

It seemed the trolls who had fought the Head of the Library were among the Frostmaw Tribe’s best warriors.

'No wonder they were extraordinary.'

The image of the troll warriors who charged toward the Head of the Library remained in his memory.

Someone who had never encountered a troll before would have probably broken out in a cold sweat if they saw that.

"Wh-what are they saying?"

"Is it Joneh? Are they after Joneh?"

"Damn it! I didn't do anything bad!"

"It seems… They want to invite us."

"To the castle? Didn't it collapse? But why?"

"I'm not sure about the reason. But they don't seem to harbor any ill will."

"Hmm… Then, let's go."

"That's not something you should say while being dragged, Joneh."

"Santio, your situation isn't much better than mine."

Seol followed behind as he watched the two great Magicians being dragged by the trolls.

He still couldn't believe the battle had ended. Jamad seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep as soon as the battle was over.

Seol fell into thought while following the Frostmaw Tribe's trolls.

'I wonder what will happen from now on?'

He had no idea what the Library of All Knowledge and the Frostmaw Tribe without Branka's fate would be.

Creak…

BOOM.

Along with the Shamans, a sturdy Troll entered the room.

Inside, the two Magicians and Seol, who had been waiting, greeted them.

"We can't understand a single thing they're saying, so you'll have to take care of this."

"Once again, we can do nothing but cheer."

"We can't help it due to our lack of learning."

"But I don't think I've seen that troll before…"

"I wonder why he's in the middle."

Seol shared their doubts.

A sturdy troll he had never seen before sat in the center, staring at Seol and his companions.

"You understand our language?"

"Yes."

Seol gave a blunt answer to a blunt question.

"Branka was my father. My name is Bron. What's yours?"

"…"

"Your name?"

"Kang Seol."

"I see…"

- Somehow…

- This TV series is quite interesting.

- Most TV series these days are fun, haha.

As the viewers speculated about the troll’s identity, Bron continued speaking, unconcerned about their chatter.

"Are you hostile to us?"

"That depends on your answer."

"Haha… I like your resoluteness. So, what answer are you seeking? Or why don't you ask a question instead?"

Seol thought for a moment and then asked.

"What are you going to do from now on…?"

"If I give the wrong answer, will my head roll?"

"Just know that joking is the worst possible answer."

"Well… You don't seem to have the headspace… How cold."

"On the other hand, you seem too relaxed."

"I, along with Branka and my Tribe, had already died once. What is there to fear? Death is less significant than one might think."

His behavior exuded a sense of ease.

'What is this feeling?'

An uneasy sensation crept up Seol's neck.

In the opponent's pupils, both ferocity and nonchalance coexisted.

- Ugh…

'Jamad, so you've woken up.'

Jamad, who had fainted, had woken up.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he urgently said.

- Bron…? Damn it…

Jamad seemed to recognize the opponent.

'Why are you… Wait, Bron?'

While talking with Jamad, Seol suddenly recalled a certain figure.

'Damn…'

This was a mistake.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"It's nothing… What about your answer?"

"Well… Father's plan failed. And most of those who shared his ambition died with him. So, what should I do next?"

Bron.

Bron was from a generation after Branka.

The current Frostmaw Tribe is struggling. Bron was from a generation before the current one.

He was the hero who supported that era of the Frostmaw Tribe.

- Bron… Is harder to deal with than Branka. Though he’s been dead for years, his influence still lingers. If he had continued to rule the Frostmaw Tribe… Anyway, seeing how he appeared in his younger form… Does that mean he hasn't regained his strength?

Seol asked Bron.

"So you weren't aligned with Branka's ambition?"

"Going against the Old Gods? That was Branka's ambition. It has nothing to do with me."

"So, you have no interest in the Library of All Knowledge?"

"Of course not. What could one achieve from a place only full of books?"

There was something strange.

"Even so, the Head of the Library could have wiped you out. Why didn't you step in?"

"Ah, that?"

Bron grinned.

"Because I didn't care about getting wiped out."

"…"

"I told you. Death isn't as big of a deal as you think."

Bron continued.

"If you have no reason to keep living, dying isn't bad. At least you won't suffer."

"That's sophistry."

"Haha… You guys were devising an outdated plan like making the Old Gods bow… No wonder it was hard to reach an understanding. Ah… Also, Jamad was it?"

BZZ—!

Jamad responded while in the Night Crow form.

"Yes."

"Interesting. Branka's desire was somehow tainted, but yours… How should I put it…? Pure? It feels like it doesn't have any impurities."

"Bron…"

"Do you know me by any chance…?"

"The absolute ruler of the Frostmaw Tribe. Someone from the previous generation who dominated the Tribe Alliance's Council of Elders. It seems I was wrong to assume Branka was the only one who came out of the book."

As Jamad spoke, Seol wrote down a few facts in a notebook and showed them to Joneh and Santio.

Both of them flinched in shock.

Bron's eyes became fierce.

"Well, for one reason or another, I ended up escaping too. But don't praise me too much. After all, it's all in the past."

"What about your power?"

"…"

"You didn't regain it?"

At that moment.

Whoosh...

'What the…!'

Bron's eyes turned pure white, like glass.

Everyone looked at Bron as if the room had suddenly turned icy cold.

Even the Eyes of Foresight didn't work on him.

'This guy… He's stronger than Branka.'

Bron smirked.

"If I regained my power? Hmm… This should be a suitable answer."

He looked at his hands and said.

"I've regained my youth."

"This is the worst possible outcome…"

"What? Hahaha!"

The chilling air in the room instantly dissipated as Bron burst into laughter.

"Interesting, interesting. I'm glad I left things as they were."

"Didn't Branka know you regained your strength?"

"Branka didn't know what I had become afterward. I hid that from him too."

As Seol talked with Bron, he couldn't help but recall Branka's final words.

- Let it end with just my death.

- What…?

- The remaining Tribe members… They had nothing to do with my plan. Let them live.

- …

- Please.

'Was that because of Bron?'

It seemed that was one of the reasons he had asked that.

'This is a serious problem.'

A powerful figure with unclear intentions was standing before him.

He thought Branka was the strongest the Frostmaw Tribe had to offer. But an even stronger figure had been lurking, observing the situation.

Jamad asked him.

"Do you hold a grudge against me?"

"Why would I? Ah! Because you killed Branka?"

"Yes."

"The one who killed Branka was the Head of the Library, wasn't it? Well… And I didn't exactly approve of how he was using us—the resurrected ones—at his whim, either."

"That means…"

"I'm saying the Frostmaw Tribe from before and now are completely different."

Just a few moments ago, Seol wondered what to do with them. Upon seeing the situation having been reversed, he laughed in disbelief.

'After stopping Branka, an even bigger problem surfaced.'

- I agree. We need to figure out his intentions.

Bron placed his hand on the table and said.

"What should I do? What should I live for from now on…? I heard Branka's last words. He asked for the Tribe's wellbeing, right?"

"Yes."

"And he also asked us to live for the future…"

After pondering for a moment, as if he had made a decision, Bron said.

"Here's my answer. The revived Bron and the surviving Frostmaw Tribe will live as they please from now on."

"What…?"

"I have no grand dreams, and I'm not interested in the power of the Library of All Knowledge. If I can get out of this place, that's great. But if not, that's fine too."

Grin…

"Don't you think that's fine?"

An unpredictable opponent inspired fear.

But for now, it was fortunate that he didn't seem to be an enemy.

BOOM… BOOM…

"Come in."

Creak…

A troll interrupted the meeting, opened the door, and said.

"The castle is being restored by itself."

"Hmm… Is it the power of the Library of All Knowledge?"

"And…"

What the troll said next was even more important than the previous statement.

"Bookshelves are appearing in the castle."

"What…?"

The meeting with Bron ended abruptly.

Perhaps because the once-collapsed castle had been restored and bookshelves were springing up everywhere, there was no longer the feeling that they were being watched closely by the Trolls.

"This is bad…"

"For someone like him to have returned… We barely managed to take down that ferocious chief thanks to the Head of the Library's help."

Joneh and Santio's expressions darkened.

"At least, the fortunate thing is that they probably won't be able to leave the Library of All Knowledge."

"Y-yeah. With the Head of the Library gone, they won't be able to open the books on the 7th floor carelessly either."

"Haa…"

"It's a bit disappointing that it’s the only positive aspect…"

"We need to start thinking about how to get out of here now."

"Yeah, let's stay here for a while and come up with a plan."

What they thought would be a quick resolution had become more complicated than expected. The biggest issue was that they couldn't see a way out yet.

'Since we have some time, I guess it's okay?'

Even if they returned, there was still some time left before Agony could recover. Waiting was inevitable. Instead, they decided it would be more effective to move within the Library of All Knowledge to achieve their goals.

And so they spent a few days in the frozen castle. It wasn't what they had hoped for, but surprisingly, the Frostmaw Tribe treated them kindly.

* * *

"Hahaha! You fool! I won!"

"You definitely cheated!"

"You just cursed, right?"

Joneh and Santio got surprisingly well with the trolls despite the language barrier.

The only problem was that Seol had to step in as an interpreter every time they interacted constantly.

Still, Seol didn't think the current situation was all that bad.

His body was slowly returning to normal.

The twisted energy within him was easing up.

- The recoil from using a Forbidden Shamanic Spell is stronger than expected. I'll have to be more cautious before using it.

'Yeah.'

- But more importantly, is it okay?

'What?'

Jamad asked Seol.

He asked something similar to what he asked Bron.

- Didn't you come all the way up to the 8th floor because you had a goal?

'Yes.'

- Did you have any results?

'Not yet…'

- Hmph, don't get anxious.

Jamad offered encouragement in his own way.

Seol's goal for coming to the 8th floor was to find the book the Grand Duke of Frost had left behind.

The book was definitely in the Library of All Knowledge, and according to the old gentleman, it was on the 8th floor.

'The problem is that the 8th floor isn't the same as before.'

The bookshelves were scattered all over the place, and a snowy mountain appeared, making matters worse, causing the bookshelves that disappeared to reemerge slowly.

'Maybe I'll find it when all the bookshelves have reappeared…'

He kept repeating the location of the bookshelf over and over again, so much so that he could almost recite it while sleeping.

Perhaps the end of the Library of All Knowledge was there. That's why he couldn't help but feel anxious.

'Bron and the others… Honestly, they have nothing to do with me.'

Bron wasn't devising a dangerous plan like Branka. Opposing him just because he was stronger than Branka didn't feel right.

It seemed true that in this world, there were more uncertainties than clear answers—at least, his relationship with Bron was like that.

"I found it."

Someone suddenly called him from behind.

"Don't talk to me from behind…"

Although he had already sensed his presence, he hadn't expected him to talk to him so directly.

It was Bron.

"Really? I thought you'd be pleased."

"Why?"

"Didn't you ask me for something?"

"Don't tell me…"

Bron grinned.

"I found the bookshelf you mentioned."

"What…?"

"At the top of the castle, if you go to the spire, is the one you mentioned…"

Paf—!

Seol bolted off before Bron could even finish speaking.

"Hahaha! The key is…"

Although Bron seemed amused, Seol was too focused on the important task at hand and didn't care.

- Seol, calm down.

Huff…

Huff…

Paf!

The Frostmaw trolls shot Seol strange glances as he ran incredibly fast.

After running past them, Seol headed toward the top of the castle.

Whoosh—!

The snowstorm stopped as soon as the Head of the Library fell.

Seol kept running as the pure white snowfield revealed itself from outside the window.

The spire.

He reached the spire.

The door was secured with chains. Perhaps this was why Bron mentioned retrieving the key.

Crack—!

With a powerful kick, Seol blew off the steel door. Nothing could stop him now.

"Huff… Huff…"

Inside, there was a bookshelf.

The 9th bookshelf that started with the letter 'ㅁ.'

As Seol approached it, he couldn't stop trembling—it was here. He could feel it.

His gaze swept over the bookshelf.

"It's here."

He knew it.

As if there were a thread connecting them, he could clearly see a book with a white cover and golden patterns engraved on it.

Seol slowly extended his hand toward the book.

Swoosh…

And at that moment.

WHOOSH—!

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