The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 347

Episode 347:

The forest keeper, a huge parrot, had colorful feathers. From his somewhat foolish-looking eyes to his chatty features, the forest keeper was exactly as Kang Seol remembered from the past.

“You know, giant bees might actually be the most powerful guys in this forest. He has a nasty temper, but his fighting power is also amazing! Their stings can pierce any tree, and if you get stung, you’ll have to stay in bed for a month! “Isn’t it really scary?”

“It’s scary.”

“yes? Also, the shell is so hard that it doesn’t die easily? “What happened a long time ago…”

“It must have been such a big deal.”

“uh? Uh… that’s right.”

The forest keeper said a lot, but it was too much.

Kang Seol nodded roughly as if she knew how to deal with him and answered briefly what he said.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I’m so grateful… Anyway, the giant bee…”

“Shh… We’re almost there, so don’t make a sound now.”

“that’s right! Because giant bees are quite sensitive to sound! what? How did know? But how do you keep quiet? “I’ve never done it before.”

No matter what the forest keeper said, Kang Seol was keeping his eyes on the terrifying hive of giant bees in the distance.

‘There must be at least several more.’

The beehive was not all that was visible. There will certainly be more beehives hiding here and there, and the numerous bees nesting there will fly out from somewhere as soon as the bees in the area are attacked.

Kang Seol quickly recalled that memory.

– cheer up! cheer up! Charlie!

– ….

Charlie faced the giant bees while wearing plate armor, risking the penalty to avoid being pierced by the stings.

‘I didn’t have any tricks back then…’

That was the first time I realized that a giant bee’s sting could even pierce plate armor.

“How are you going to get rid of the bees? Are you going to fight like Charlie?”

“….”

The forest keeper’s words reminded Kang Seol of Charlie.

Charlie was the pinnacle of mediocrity.

An unforgettable impression, like a man with ordinary features and doing simple work in the village.

If it weren’t for his well-groomed mustache, it was an impression that wouldn’t have remained in memory. Perhaps the forest keeper also has nothing to remember Charlie about other than his mustache.

Charlie clearly set out to wipe out the giant bees, but ended up in great trouble.

I had tried snowfall once, so there was no need for it anymore.

‘It takes days and days of hard work to beat it in the first place.’

Impossible due to time.

Fluttering…

Snowfall leaned against the stump and quietly closed her eyes.

“what are you doing? “Is it a nap?”

“….”

“Are you giving up? “I don’t think you’ll grant my request…”

“No, I’m waiting.”

“… What are you waiting for?”

Kang Seol yawned and lowered his head.

“wind.”

– wind?

– ???: Hmm… the southeast wind will arrive soon. Jojo

– how do you know?

– I watched the Meteorological Administration forecast in the morning.

“aha! wind!”

The forest keeper listened to Kang Seol’s words and sat down next to her, closing his eyes and waiting.

“Wow….”

And then I fell asleep in an instant.

It’s like falling asleep at a really fast pace.

When Kang Seol saw the forest keeper, he remembered his past.

It was in this forest that Charlie spent the most time in the underground garden, as he searched for various poisonous plants to perfect the optimal combination method.

– You know, Charlie. Are all humans silent like you?

The forest keeper stayed by Charlie’s side every time, making sure he wasn’t bored.

Snowfall remembered that time when she saw the forest keeper sleeping quite deeply. I just didn’t like the work I did back then, but it’s not that I didn’t like being a forest keeper.

Ttuk…

He plucked the grass and let it blow in the wind.

Even the direction of the hive here was completely opposite.

In the forest of the underground garden, the direction of the wind changes every moment. So, sitting still and waiting for the desired wind to come will take much less time than moving frequently.

‘It may take a bit of time, but this is still the fastest way.’

Snowfall waited for quite a long time, watching the forest keeper dozing off.

“Sseuup… Tsk….”

Kuk…

Kuk…

“Wake up.”

The forest keeper was dozing off, drooling, and woke up startled when someone poked his side.

“Squeak!”

“quiet.”

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

the sound of a giant bee flapping its wings was heard in his ear. They seemed to be patrolling the nearby area.

“Is the wind still there?”

“No, it’s done.”

Kangseol lit a fire with the firewood he had prepared.

Thump… thud…

roar…

As soon as the bonfire started to rise, Snow took out a lot of the grass she had prepared there and threw it in.

It was a stinkweed purchased from a madness store.

“Ugh… what is that smell! hip! “It smells like a wild boar’s butt!”

“Cover your nose.”

“nose? How do you block your nose? “You can’t breathe, right?”

“You can rest with your mouth.”

“ah! Does it work?”

Just taking the stinkweed out of my arms would have been quite a hardship.

Snowfall also took out a cloth and covered her mouth and nose.

“me too!”

“… here.”

The forest keeper also took the cloth he needed.

Snowfall kindly tied a cloth around the forest keeper’s beak.

Then he scattered the stinkweed on the bonfire.

Soon the color of the smoke began to turn white. When we think of white, we often think of cleanliness and purity, but the intensity of the smell was the complete opposite of that.

Soon the smoke started flying in the direction of the beehive.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu of of

a kind …

Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

It was about 3 seconds before the giant bee, which had been flapping its wings vigorously, fell to the ground and the bees surrounding the hive suddenly put their heads down on the floor for about 10 seconds.

Thump-thump-thump…

Giant bees fell one after another, not only in the visible hives but also in other places.

A trembling giant bee.

Soon even the shaking stopped.

Snowfall approached the fallen giant bee and checked its condition.

“He’s dead.”

Efficacy of stinkweed.

I was so upset when I found out about this from someone who trained as a druid and went on a succession adventure together.

This was even more unpleasant because it was something that Kangseol learned after defeating the giant bee.

Perhaps, in the underground garden lore adventure, sharing information with each other seemed like a much easier way to pass the adventure.

“Huh? These guys!”

The forest keeper suddenly swallowed the dead giant bee with his large beak. The stinkweed itself wasn’t fatal, and it only hit giant bees, so it wouldn’t be a big problem if it swallowed the bee’s body.

“You bad guys! You’re harassing the forest! These guys!”

Sigh…

Sigh…

He pretended to be admonishing me and made it seem like he was doing something very just, but in reality, he was just taking a lot of punishment.

– Maybe… the giant bee did nothing wrong?

– The forest keeper is suspicious!

Snowfall eliminated most of the giant bees living in this area just by burning stinkweed and smelling the smoke.

The forest keeper, whose boat was as big as Namsan Mountain, tapped Kang Seol on the shoulder and said,

“Geoeook… well… no, not like this… you worked hard! “Is there anything you want in return for doing my favor?”

‘You’re here.’

Once a task has been completed, a reward should follow.

A choice soon occurred to me.

[We have solved one of the forest keeper’s biggest headaches! The forest keeper wants to reward you for solving his problem. What do you want?]

1. I’ll take the giant bee’s shell.

2. I’ll take the giant bee’s hive.

3. I’ll take the giant bee’s sting.

4. I’ll take the giant bee larva.

…

Whatever you took, there was a use for it.

Shells were coveted by mechanical engineers and blacksmiths, honeycombs were desired by cooking and druid stings by alchemists.

‘It’s not what you take that’s important.’

Snowfall said to the forest keeper:

“Is it possible to concentrate the venom of the giant bee?”

“ah? “Is that what you want?”

“huh.”

The giant bee’s venom had little effect when used as is. Instead, the concentrated result was the most poisonous of all poisons.

‘Because it’s something I can’t do now.’

Charlie was a master venomist and assassin, able to concentrate the venom of giant bees on his own. However, since snowfall was a job that was far from poisonous, help was needed.

‘The finished poison’s effectiveness will be much lower than Charlie’s… but it’s still the best.’

Charlie, a master of poison, had a much more powerful effect even when using the same poison. Even if Kang Seol uses a recipe that only he knows, it won’t be as effective as Charlie.

‘Even so, it would have had some pretty nasty effects.’

It was a poison that I was confident would work on Azanic as well.

Jjororok…

A forest keeper who stores concentrated poison inside the bark of tree fruits.

“ruler! Here it is!”

“thank you.”

“And… take this too!”

A forest keeper handing over something in a similar container.

“This… why…”

“Because the beehive is still intact! “If you take it to a sleepyhead, good things will happen!”

This also seemed to be some kind of Easter egg.

Because the snowfall didn’t even touch the beehive at all.

As a gift to a sleepyhead, it felt like it would definitely lead to a good reward.

“Give me your hand!”

Cheeeee…

[Acquire the Forest Keeper’s Seal.]

[Sleeper will meet you.]

Then obtain the second seal.

Not only can it be carried on the back of the hand, but it is also engraved with a forest pattern filled with trees.

The forest keeper scratched his head and said.

“Then… thank you. It was a meeting that reminded me of that person for the first time in a while!”

“… That human?”

“huh! There was a human being who ignorantly climbed a tree and caught a giant bee! Hehehe! Isn’t it funny? huh? I also think that intelligence may be the most important value for all living things…”

Suddenly…

“Huh? Are you mad?”

“I’m not angry. huh.”

– He looks quite upset

– To us, he looks angry lol

– Why are he angry?

– Is he hot-tempered?

The forest keeper said while looking at the forest.

“Are you doing well? “I said I would never come again, but…”

Kang Seol’s expression changed.

‘Do you really miss me?’

If I think about the hard times I had with Charlie, I thought it might be possible. Moreover, the forest keeper has been protecting this place alone for a long time.

Along with loneliness, there will also be longing for a lost relationship.

“When you go out after the human… find a human that looks like this.”

Sak… Sak…

The forest keeper drew a picture on the ground with his claws.

It was a crude drawing.

Other than the mustache, I couldn’t even make out any other facial features. Instead, the mustache was drawn really well.

“…It looks like this?”

“Yes, there is hair under your nose!”

“Do you want to see me again?”

“huh! Tell me to come play! “I had fun while we were together!”

Kang Seol chuckled.

“… okay. okay.”

“bye! hi! But the swamp keeper won’t be as friendly as me!”

Snowfall leaving the forest keeper just like that.

After passing through the forest, we reached the second gate.

This was also a cave terrain, and the same preparation work that was done at the first gateway was carried out here as well.

‘Whoa… it took some time.’

Still, it was pretty fast.

Now only the final gateway remains.

A swamp spread out before your eyes.

On the outside, there was nothing wrong.

‘Where is the swamp keeper?’

Of all the managers, it took the longest to get the poisonous plants from the swamp keeper. Because of this, Charlie once found the poisonous plants he wanted in the swamp.

‘First of all, inside…’

Kugugugugugugung…

“… Huh?”

Kugugugugugugugung…

[The main contents of ‘Revenge of the Dragon’ are changed.]

[‘Revenge of the Dragon’ is changed to ‘Untimely Visit’.]

…

Snowfall quickly confirmed the changed adventure content. .

“… this.”

The story goes that the entrance to the ruins did not survive for less than 6 hours, and Azanic soon invaded the underground garden.

It is even said that it is not long before the entrance can withstand Ajanic’s power.

‘Damn… I thought it was going to be like this…’

If this happened, the right thing to do was to give up on taking a hit and run away straight away.

Just when all the efforts so far were about to go in vain, someone appeared next to Kang Seol.

“Do you need a seal?”

A fat toad man appeared and spoke to me.

“… what?”

“I am a swamp keeper. “If you help me from now on, I will give you the Seal of the Swamp.”

Kang Seol looked at the toad and looked embarrassed for a moment.

‘… this guy?’

Then he quickly changed his expression and spoke with a fake smile.

At best, the remaining time was only about 30 minutes, so it was virtually impossible to gain the swamp keeper’s favor and obtain the desired poisonous plants and swamp seal.

The dragon will break down the gate and grab you by the neck from behind.

No matter how much I thought about it, I had to give up.

“… Yes, Swamp Keeper. “How can I help you?”

After thinking about it a little more, it seemed like speedrunning was right.