The Last Adventurer - Chapter 55
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Chapter 55: Martyr (3)
7.
All adventurers say,
“The difference between 2nd Circle and 3rd Circle is like the difference between a human and a tiger.”
The difference of one Circle is indescribable.
“Then what’s the difference between 3rd Circle and 4th Circle? Well, at this point, comparison is meaningless.”
Among them, the value of 4th Circle to an adventurer was indescribable.
“A very skilled hunter can catch a tiger. But no matter how skilled a hunter is, they can’t catch a wyvern. That’s the kind of difference between 3rd Circle and 4th Circle.”
4th Circle adventurers were really strong.
Incomparably stronger than 3rd Circle.
“One 4th Circle adventurer does the work of five 3rd Circle adventurers. That means one 4th
Circle adventurer is better than a small party of 3rd Circle adventurers.”
It was not an exaggeration to say it was overwhelming.
‘I could have opened 4th Circle at any time, but…’
El Pam was hiding that tremendous power.
For several reasons.
A hidden trump card is not a problem.
‘If I open it, the Perion Nightmare Raid will be impossible.’
But the biggest reason was the Orange Rank 200-man Mystic Gate that would soon
appear in the Perion region.
In the place that would later be called Perion’s Nightmare, El Pam had to maintain 3rd Circle in order to raid that Mystic Gate.
Furthermore, that Mystic Gate was quite important.
‘I’ll give up the Unique Item, Phoenix Eye.’
Because there was a very important item there.
No, it wasn’t just important.
The Phoenix Eye doubled the duration of a spell if the owner used fire attribute magic.
That was a huge advantage for fire attribute mages.
Fire can inflict more and more fatal damage the longer it burns.
Moreover, the damage El Pam’s main attack, Fire Arrow, could inflict varied depending on its duration.
If he had the Phoenix Eye when he was dealing with the Giant Swamp Mud Monster, it would have taken 2 minutes instead of 5 minutes.
That’s how important the item was.
‘I need the Phoenix Eye to catch the Horntail.’
A very important item in hunting the Horntail, that unbelievable monster, in the future.
Nevertheless, the reason El Pam gave up that item at this moment was simple.
‘But I need Divo more.’
The value of the Phoenix Eye and the value of Divo cannot be compared.
“We continue the hunt.”
Therefore, he had no hesitation in opening the 4th Circle.
“Yes! Yes?”
There was only one thing.
‘Those damn Martyrs.’
Only anger.
“No, boss, what are you talking about?”
“Let’s get rid of that first.”
“What does that…?”
El Pam directed his anger at the dying Giant Swamp Mud Monster.
“Fire Arrow.”
Thus, El Pam shot a Fire Arrow at the Giant Swamp Mud Monster.
“Fire Arrow.”
Consecutively.
And with El Pam’s attack, a sound rang out in the midst of the fierce battlefield.
Crack!
The sound of the Giant Swamp Mud Monster’s mana stone breaking.
Urgh!
With that sound, the Giant Swamp Mud Monster began to collapse with a death rattle.
Everyone was surprised by the sight.
It ended so easily?
El Pam said to them,
“Take care of the rest.”
It wasn’t over yet.
With those words, El Pam took out a staff from his waist and shouted at the approaching
Swamp Mud Monsters.
“Flame Vortex.”
8.
Flame Vortex.
A 3rd Circle fire attribute magic that summons a powerful flame forward.
Its power was very strong.
Above all, it was very effective in hunting multiple monsters.
For example, against mushroom monsters, hundreds and thousands of them swarming, Flame Vortex magic showed amazing power.
Naturally, Flame Vortex magic was also effective against Swamp Mud Monsters. Mud hardened as soon as it was exposed to heat.
‘Flame Vortex?’
Therefore, when El Pam took out the Flame Vortex magic, El Pam’s party realized.
‘I don’t know why he’s using that now, but…’
‘If we have that, mud is not a problem.’
Whether El Pam used 4th Circle magic or not, it didn’t matter, because Flame Vortex magic could turn the tide!
Of course, El Pam’s party knew.
“Bend it, I burn it.”
‘We’ll handle the aftermath.’
They needed to help El Pam.
Everyone thought the same thing, so there was no need for conversation. Everyone moved at the same time.
However, their thoughts were wrong.
‘Huh?’
El Pam, he showed them.
Whoosh!
‘The flames are swirling?’
The flames El Pam breathed towards the Swamp Mud Monster engulfed it instead of
passing it.
As if the Swamp Mud Monster was inside a wall with all sides blocked.
There actually was a wall.
‘Psychokinetic Wall.’
El Pam, he used psychokinesis to block the surroundings of the Swamp Mud Monster.
It wasn’t difficult.
El Pam had previously shown a room skill that used psychokinesis to gather Poison in one place.
Compared to that, creating a psychokinetic wall was rather trivial.
Of course, it wasn’t that great.
Even though it’s called a psychokinetic wall, it was only strong enough to contain something like fog, so it was weak enough for even a newborn baby’s finger to pierce.
‘It’s only useful around 4th Circle.’
It would take around 4th Circle to create a psychokinetic wall strong enough to deflect flames.
In fact, it meant that there was no physical defense to expect at all.
However, the power of being able to deflect flames, even to that extent, was more than everyone imagined.
Whooshhh!
The Flame Vortex flames El Pam breathed engulfed the Swamp Mud Monster and
completely burned its entire body.
It was a different dimension from just burning a part.
The fact that its entire body was hardening meant that it wouldn’t be easy for the Swamp Mud Monster to even move properly.
Ugh!
Even if it did move, that was a welcome sight for El Pam.
Crack!
Because every time it moved, the hardened parts would crumble and the newly exposed mud parts would harden again.
Through such repetition, the Swamp Mud Monster’s body quickly crumbled.
It was a brief moment.
Poof!
One Swamp Mud Monster couldn’t withstand El Pam’s Flame Vortex magic for even 20 seconds and collapsed.
Overwhelming firepower!
‘Oh my god.’
El Pam spoke to his stunned teammates about that fact.
“Draw their attention while you clean up the rest.”
Thump!
‘Damn it.’
To keep the Giant Swamp Mud Monster occupied.
That wasn’t an easy task.
Only El Pam had become stronger, the rest of his teammates were in worse condition than usual.
Divo, in particular, was exhausted.
‘Yes!’
However, Divo responded without a hint of hesitation.
It was definitely tough.
‘I’ll hold on!’
‘If I hold on, I can catch them!’
But unlike before, when he had to hold on without even hope, now there was a clear hope.
‘Because it’s the boss!’
El Pam was that hope.
It wasn’t just him.
“Divo, fall back. I’ll handle it for a while!”
“Shorty, get back! Don’t push yourself when you’re exhausted and die!”
“Divo, don’t overdo it!”
Kiri, Minerv, and even Ralph, they all showed their will.
“Divo, if you die, 75 million mesos will disappear!”
A strong will in many ways.
Of course, they still thought.
‘Can we catch it?’
‘It’s not easy.’
‘El Pam, he’s no joke, but the situation is even less of a joke.’
‘Whatever happens, Divo can’t die. He’s worth 75 million mesos. We have to save him somehow.’
Hope had arisen, but it wasn’t easy to grasp that hope.
No, it wasn’t just not easy, the situation was still very bad.
The number of Swamp Mud Monsters El Pam had to catch was well over twenty.
Even if it took 20 seconds to catch one, twenty would take at least 400 seconds, which meant roughly 7 minutes.
Even that was a generous estimate of 7 minutes, in this chaos, it would inevitably take El Pam more time to catch the swarming Swamp Mud Monsters.
To hold off the Giant Swamp Mud Monster while El Pam took care of the small fries?
It was possible.
If they gave it their all.
But what then?
‘We have to hold out for at least 10 minutes to catch that one too.’
Honestly, it was daunting to think about the time it would take to catch the Giant Swamp Mud Monster as well.
‘I feel like I’m going to throw up, but…’
The pressure Divo felt was greater than expected.
‘I’ll hold on somehow.’
Nevertheless, Divo did not utter the words of giving up.
“Boss! You don’t have to rush! I can deal with this guy all day long!”
He burned with determination.
“Take your time, and finish them off.”
El Pam replied to that determination.
“We’re not catching the Giant Swamp Mud Monster.”
“Yes?”
“We’ll just take care of the small fries and get out of here.”
“Ah!”
Only then did everyone finally understand El Pam’s plan.
‘That’s right, there’s no need to catch this guy! We just need to catch the small fries so we can escape!’
‘It’s not hard to divert the Giant Swamp Mud Monster’s attention!’
‘We can catch it after we get some rest.’
And the moment they heard the plan, the word “despair” no longer existed in the minds of El Pam’s party.
There was only one thing.
‘We can survive.’
The hope of getting out of this place.
And three days later, that hope became a reality.
9.
“You mean Jack Richie’s Tomb?”
The adventurers’ interest in Jack Richie’s Tomb was very high.
“A 5-person party entered Jack Richie’s Tomb!”
“A 5-person party?”
“El Pam’s party, a 5-person party entered alone!”
However, the following news, the news about El Pam’s party, did not receive much attention.
“There are always those who go crazy for mesos.”
Everyone thought that El Pam’s party had ventured out to monopolize Jack Richie’s items.
“If it’s Jack Richie’s relic, it’s worth it. If you bring it out properly, there’s no reason to go on adventures anymore, right?”
“Of course, I would do it too. All you have to do is find the exit and get out, right?”
And if it was Jack Richie’s Tomb, it was worth taking such a risk.
“I heard that El Pam’s party is a specialist in finding exits?”
“Specialist?”
“They can’t hunt monsters, but they find exits like ghosts. They were the only surviving party in that 100-man Mystic Gate disaster.”
Crucially, when El Pam’s party’s career became known, everyone dismissed it as a worthwhile adventure.
Of course, they were sure.
“But this time, their greed was excessive.”
“Of course, Jack Richie didn’t die for nothing, did he? There must be a reason.”
That El Pam’s party would die.
“I heard the portal is blocked?”
“The portal is blocked? Then?”
“They moved to the second floor?”
It was the same when the result of quickly moving to the second floor came out shortly after entering.
No, rather, people thought.
“They moved so quickly, they must have run away to the second floor.”
“I want to save them, but I can’t.”
“Still, they’re lucky they were able to escape to the second floor.”
Proof that El Pam’s party was in crisis.
The thoughts of the adventurers gathered around the Mystic Gate, which had become Jack Richie’s Tomb, were the same.
No, they weren’t even interested, let alone thinking about it.
They just waited.
“What about the portal?”
“It’s still active. Only entry is impossible.”
“Tell me when it disappears.”
The time when the portal disappears.
When that time comes, the adventurers gathered to raid Jack Richie’s Tomb will gather
again.
That’s when the real adventure will begin.
In fact, that’s why Henri wasn’t in a good mood right now.
“Damn that El Pam guy, I’m just wasting time because of him.”
Because of El Pam’s party entering the Mystic Gate, he was stuck waiting and doing nothing.
“If he’s going to die anyway, he should just die quickly.”
Anyway, Henri was sure.
That El Pam’s party would die soon, and the portal would disappear.
That’s when it happened.
“Henri-nim.”
“What is it?”
“The, the portal…”
At his subordinate’s words, Henri smiled.
‘Finally.’
It seemed that the time he wanted had finally come.
“Really? Did it disappear? El Pam, that idiot must be dead, right?”
At that moment, as Henri spoke with joy, a man appeared from behind his subordinate.
‘Huh?’
A man wearing a robe.
“El, El Pam?”
The man he thought was dead.
At the man’s appearance, Henri’s expression hardened. He had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
At the same time, Henri thought.
That El Pam must have heard the words he just uttered.
That was quite a problem.
No matter how you look at it, he had insulted El Pam, hadn’t he?
Not just anyone, but an adventurer dispatched by the Gafor Guild for the Gold Richie Guild, insulted by an adventurer of the Gold Richie Guild.
If there was a problem, it could easily arise.
El Pam spoke to Henri, whose embarrassment couldn’t be greater.
“I want to meet Gold Richie in secret.”
“Wh, what do you mean?”
“Jack Richie’s will.”
With those words, El Pam took out a letter.
“Jack Richie was murdered.”
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