The 31st Piece Turns the Tables - Chapter 70

Episode 70

A huge bird swept over the place where they were with its body.

“Is it a griffin?”

“No, it’s just a big bird!”

– What a big fucking bird!

– This is a big bird!

– Some kind of lightning struck me while I was sleeping.

– Snowman’s expression.

Strangely enough, the bird passed by Snowfall’s group, and all the firewood caught in its claws fell to pieces.

“Damn it! Get picked!”

Rattling-! Rattling-!

Karen tried to pull out her sword from the sword stance, but ended up not being able to pull it out and just flinched. Like a high-level mime, like a person with something broken.

If I pull out my sword, will there be a big problem?

“Let’s pick! “Please, let’s vote!”

“Karen! There is no time for that! First, prepare for the next shock!”

“Ugh… I guess I’ll have to hit it with the sheath of the sword first.”

Kang Seol’s insight was activated.

[Kupa: Predator of Shadow Canyon]

Grade: Rare

Estimated level: 15-24

The Corpse Hawk, the species from which the Koopa is derived, has quite unique characteristics among birds of prey.

The point is that growth varies depending on what is fed. The reason Koopa is able to dominate the skies of Shadow Canyon is because he feeds on the numerous strong creatures spread throughout the canyon.

This hardy corpse hawk appeared in Shadow Canyon one day and gradually grew to the top of the canyon’s ecosystem.

It’s an ugly and foul-smelling corpse hawk, but if you encounter Koopa in the canyon, you’ll need to avoid being targeted by his claws. There are no rumors yet that the Koopa ate humans, but that may be because all those who would make the rumor ended up in the Koopa’s stomach.

Basic Abilities: [Claw 2] [Find Prey 1] [Will Deprivation Cry 2] [Rock Throwing 1] [Steel Body 1] Special Abilities: [Eating Corpse 1] [

Nutrition Runaway 1]

Snowfall is the bird of prey that just appeared. I was surprised that it was one of the predators of the wide shadow canyon, but what surprised me even more was the name of this bird of prey.

“Coupa? “Coupa?”

Chiruruk-!

“come! Come on…”

“No, I think it’s the end?”

“… what?”

Kiruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…

Contrary to their expected behavior due to their grand appearance, Koopa disappeared once through the bonfire.

“What is this bland….”

“It would have been dangerous if we kept bumping into each other. We can’t fly and this is a canyon, a graveyard for the wingless. And even though you can’t even draw a sword, you have a lot of confidence.”

“I said I couldn’t draw my sword, but I didn’t say I couldn’t fight, right? Of course, it’s frustrating because I can’t draw my sword.”

“It’s either that, hmm. hey! Snowman. What should I do?”

“… uh?”

“Should we light the fire again? Or should I look for somewhere else since this place seems exposed?”

“Let’s find another place. If possible, go to a place with a roof.”

“The canyon is full of holes, so you can find any place to enter. “Even if the owner is there, it’s okay to make it for dinner.”

While Jamard was packing his luggage, Karen approached Kang Seol.

“what’s the matter?”

“huh?”

“Is it because you were surprised by the attack? “Should I have woken you up earlier?”

“No, that didn’t matter. I figured it out before I came anyway. “It’s funny to sleep peacefully in the shadow canyon.”

“But why are you so mesmerized?”

“That’s it.”

Kang Seol continued his thoughts and spoke.

“… no. “It must be an illusion.”

“What are you kidding me?”

“We have to find a place to sleep again, so let’s talk slowly.”

Although Kang Seol was blaming Karen, it wasn’t actually an illusion.

It couldn’t have been an illusion.

‘Is Koopa alive?’

This Shadow Canyon was the place where Kiri, the horse of snowfall and the bird of prey hunter, lost his life.

It is also the place where Koopa, the corpse hawk who was his faithful summon and followed his master well, is left alone.

‘How could this be…’

* * *

That was a long time ago.

There was nothing more draining than looking back on memories that were more than ten years old and were not even memories.

Kururu… Kururu…

– Snowman Why do you have to tie up a corpse? The party takes a sanity penalty due to the smell.

“I’m sorry, but Koopa is my pet bird of prey.”

– …Next time, you should never take a job that involves summoning beasts. Performance should come first. Corpse hawks eat a lot of food and grow slowly. Plus, he doesn’t listen well, he’s vicious, and what’s the smell like? No matter how you look at it, there are only downsides.

“I was pushed out of the nest by my other siblings. “If I hadn’t collected it, Koopa would have died.”

– Why are you making that your main focus? Just do it in moderation and release it, that’s all.

“You follow me. “Coupa will definitely be of great help later.”

– There are so many attractive birds of prey, but why bother raising a corpse hawk… Do you think those bugs and their barely-capable claws will help you on your adventure?

What the masked man said was right.

A bird of prey hunter was a hunter who used birds of prey as his main summons.

There were many things that made up a bird of prey hunter, including excellent archery skills and knowledge for survival, but the most important of them all was the bird of prey that the hunter handled.

Each of the numerous birds of prey had its own unique characteristics.

Some birds of prey had strong resistance to the elements, while others could break iron with their beaks.

All of these species were loved by bird of prey hunters.

However, unlike other popular species, the carcass hawk was completely ignored by bird of prey hunters. The reason is because of the shortcomings the man just mentioned.

Snowfall Kiri was an unusual bird of prey hunter who chose this corpse hawk as a companion.

That’s why players called him a different species.

At this time, Snowman was one of the ordinary players who had not yet made a name for himself among players.

So the adventure continued, and Kiri’s Koopa grew bigger day by day.

Koopa has now grown to the point where it feels heavy when placed on Snowfall’s right arm.

It was just that time.

Kiri’s party entered Shadow Canyon.

On the fourth night they slept in a suitable bed on the edge of the canyon.

[You have died.]

And what they greeted instead of morning was this message.

Even after a long time had passed, there were quite a few parties that met the same ending as Kiri’s party, and the exact reason for their death was still unknown.

– If you fall asleep in the Shadow Canyon, you will die.

Only these ugly rumors remained, causing players to turn to the Shadow Canyon.

* * *

Snowfall was certain that the huge bird that had just appeared was a Koopa, and paradoxically, she could not believe that the Koopa had grown that much.

‘Kopa is alive.’

While I was glad to see him, I did not come here as Kiri, so I looked at the spot Koopa had left with mixed feelings.

“what’s the matter?”

Karen must have thought that Kangseol’s reaction was strange, so she put her face right in front of Kangseol’s nose.

“master!”

“ah! “Why?”

“Wake! “I came all the way here…”

“Okay, I was thinking about something else for a while.”

They moved around looking for a place to rest for a while.

“I found it, so I’ll put it here.”

Jamard guided them to a place where the group could rest.

Tuk.

“Phew….”

“Are you tired? “Let’s take a break again.”

Snowfall sighs after putting down her luggage. As he was going to start a fire out of habit, he put the firewood back into his belongings.

“Aren’t you going to light a fire?”

“cold?”

“The terrain blocks the wind, so it’s not that bad, but… Are you really expecting that bird to come again?”

“Yes, I’m reluctant.”

“what?”

Kangseol found Koopa’s behavior strange.

‘Why did you just leave?’

The place where Kangseol and his party were located at the time was a very easy place to attack from Koopa’s perspective. However, the only thing he did by suddenly appearing was to scare me.

‘Do humans not eat?’

Such information was written in the information on Koopa that the Insight Eye could see through.

However, this assumption was meaningless because not all information could be trusted. In fact, it was mentioned that way in the description.

“Why did you appear?”

“Well… maybe… fire? “Maybe it’s fire?”

“yes?”

“How could there be a fire in the canyon? “It’s probably all adventurers and hunters.”

Not starting a fire in rough terrain was basic survival common sense. Because monsters worse than the cold could see the light and come visit us.

“Even though he showed up after seeing the fire, his actions afterwards are a bit strange.”

“Were you thinking about that? “I also have a lot of worries about my owner.”

“For now, I guess I’ll have to spend the night without a fire tonight.”

“doesn’t care. “You brought a thermal seat anyway.”

Insulating stones were a necessity for adventurers, made for situations like this. It was a great device that helped maintain body temperature so that you could feel warmth just by holding it in your arms.

As Kang Seol hugged the warming stone, she felt herself falling into sleep. But is it because of what I just experienced? I couldn’t fall into sleep all the way.

Tuk.

Karen gently placed her hand on Kang Seol’s head.

“Leave it alone. Nothing will happen.”

“okay.”

It was only after her hand touched him that Kang Seol lowered his head. That was the end of the eventful first night in Shadow Canyon.

* * *

The next day, Snow and his party began searching the terrain of the canyon in earnest.

“What’s so big?”

“It’s fortunate that there is a wide road. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been strange if it fell down at any time.”

“Trolls have a positive side, too.”

“The fairy complains a lot. Karuna was a quiet friend.”

While Karen and Jamard were talking, Snowfall moved forward.

‘It’s come out… the enemy.’

Karen followed along and said as she saw where Snowfall was looking. There were gray-skinned goblins there, wary of the surroundings.

“They’re goblins.”

“okay.”

It wasn’t uncommon to encounter goblins on adventures. As monsters that appear regularly in fantasy worlds, they appear in many adventures and terrains.

It was tricky in that its power varied greatly depending on the time and terrain it appeared in, but it wasn’t a monster to worry about.

Crrrrr…

Wow!

Goblins talking amongst themselves.

“What should I do? Deal with it? “They look like scouts?”

“I’m wondering if I should make a fuss.”

“Are you afraid the bird will fly away?”

“There’s that too, and I’m afraid the target will sense the commotion and hide deeply.”

“There is a possibility of that.”

In Pandea, it was not possible to receive huge rewards just by killing all the monsters in the adventure.

Additional rewards are given only when you obtain a meaningful enemy or object during the adventure, but even if you catch a monster, there is no additional reward other than a small amount of experience points.

‘As a result, it prevents you from becoming a daily wage.’

If the player can handle all the enemies alone, from that moment on, the things prepared for adventurers lose their meaning.

If the additional rewards related to kills are excessive, you can monopolize all the rewards and accelerate this phenomenon, so it is systematically blocked.

“Hmm…”

Karen stared at Kang Seol’s seriously worried expression.

“why?”

Kang Seol felt her gaze and asked.

“I just thought you were enthusiastic.”

“Then, since your life depends on it, you have to work hard. Let’s go round and round. “There is no reason to waste time without information.”

“good!”

Snow and his party continued their life in the canyon like that.

They encountered various types of monsters as they went, but they avoided collisions as much as possible, so they were able to search a wide area.

However, unlike the efforts, the search did not produce results.

It had been five days since I came to the canyon.

“Ugh… When can I start eating cooked food? If you’re doing this because of the big bird, just…”

“Hang in there, I’m tired too.”

Meals play a bigger part in the adventure than I thought. Since time immemorial, the thing that brought me the greatest pleasure when repeating simple tasks was mealtime.

Kiruuuk…

Koopa was still circling the skies above the canyon.

Snow and his party carefully searched for traces of the spider without being noticed by Koopa.

“uh? “Is this the place?”

Karen widened her eyes and grabbed Snowfall’s robe.

“what?”

“The place where those goblins were found at that time. “The road leads here.”

“It was half a circle. “It’s half a day in five days… so time is running out, right?”

“The most frustrating thing is that I couldn’t even see a spider’s web, let alone a spider.”

“You know all that stuff without even having to point it out.”

“Hmm…what’s wrong?”

The party looked at the spot where the canyon goblin scouts had stayed.

Karen was checking to see if they had left anything behind, and Jamard was guessing where the scouts had headed.

After some time had passed, what I heard was, as expected, the sound of losing strength.

“You don’t see anything special? “What’s there, troll?”

“Not really. But where did it go? “For goblins, they didn’t leave any traces.”

“Eh? No way? “Then they should still be here.”

It was then.

[Perception activates.]

[They discover traces of something.]

Snowfall told them.

“… Everyone come this way.”

“why?”

“I think I found it.”

Hearing Kang Seol’s words, Jamard and Karen quickly approached him.

“what? Is that really true?”

“You found it?”

Instead of answering, Kang Seol pointed to something with his finger.

“uh?”

“Hoo…”

Jamard and Karen looked at the tips of Kangseol’s fingers and laughed.