The Last Adventurer - Chapter 57

————

Chapter 57: Gold Richie’s Gift (2)

4.

Adventurers had one ironclad rule:

“Never embark on consecutive adventures.”

Always rest after an adventure.

The El Pam party adhered to this rule.

After their expedition to Jack Richie’s tomb, they immediately returned to Lith Harbour.

It was a typical course of action.

“Boss.”

A course of action no different than usual.

“The gazes around us are scorching.”

However, the attention the El Pam party received upon entering Lith was anything but ordinary.

It wasn’t just different.

“It’s not just hot, they’re glaring.”

Everyone was blatantly eyeing the El Pam party.

And that was to be expected.

“Conquering Jack Richie’s tomb was quite a feat.”

It had been only a few days since the tale of Jack Richie’s death filled Lith Harbour.

It would be strange if they didn’t receive attention after conquering the tomb of such a figure.

Moreover, the El Pam party hadn’t just conquered it.

A party of five!

Those who were supposed to die had returned alive.

“They’re looking at Divo.”

But the biggest reason for the attention was him.

“Me? Ah, has my fame spread that far already? What a headache. Now everyone’s going to ask me to join their adventures.”

“That doesn’t matter. What they’re interested in is the Jack Richie inheritance that Divo possesses.”

“What?”

“Be careful. You never know when a knife might fly at the back of your head.”

The fact that the El Pam party possessed Jack Richie’s inheritance.

Of course, the El Pam party, especially El Pam, had many more unique items than that.

El Pam currently possessed countless unique items that would make Jack Richie envious.

But that fact had never been revealed. El Pam had obtained them secretly.

Jack Richie’s inheritance, on the other hand, was different.

Everyone knew about the existence of that inheritance.

But now that inheritance was walking around?

That was actually a very dangerous thing.

The El Pam party wasn’t weak, but the items Jack Richie had were things that even adventurers above the 4th Circle would covet.

When Jack Richie had them, no one dared touch them for fear of the Gold Richie Guild, but now it was different.

In fact, some people were already looking for an opportunity.

“Tsk.”

Minerv, the pirate, was the quickest to catch on to those signs.

So she said,

“We won’t even be able to eat properly in this town.”

Forget about dining at restaurants or taverns.

But they couldn’t go without any food either.

Aside from being hungry, having a proper meal after an adventure was a ritual for adventurers.

A ritual that must be performed to ensure the safety of the next adventure.

In any case, they had to eat.

“Then let’s go home.”

With those words, Minerv looked at the four of them.

“Whose house shall we go to?”

First she, being from the Nautilus, was excluded.

“My home isn’t here.”

Kiri was also excluded. As a member of the Signus Knights, she wasn’t from Lith Harbour either.

That left three.

“I don’t have a house.”

But Ralph, who also lived in inns, didn’t have a house either.

Now only El Pam and Divo remained, and El Pam said,

“I burned my house down.”

“Huh?”

“What does that mean?”

At the sudden remark, El Pam replied,

“There was no reason to go home.”

It was a short and blunt answer, but the others didn’t ask any further questions.

In the end, only one option remained.

“Then let’s go to my house.”

5.

It was a common sight.

“Hey, open the door.”

“Brother’s here? What’s that? Why are you carrying so much?”

“What else could it be, ingredients? Cook something with these.”

“Cook? But what kind of ingredients did you buy so much of? And they seem expensive? Brother, you need to save money.”

“Ah, come on. You know how much I earn.”

“Whatever, just earn enough and retire already. But still, this is too much? How are we going to eat all of this?”

A common scene between siblings.

“Guests are here, so don’t worry.”

“Guests?”

That common scene changed the moment Divo’s younger sister, Dinev, saw the people behind him.

“Are these your colleagues?”

“Who else would I bring if not my colleagues?”

“Brother! You should have told me you were coming!”

“Hey, I didn’t even know I was coming!”

With that conversation, Dinev greeted the El Pam party with a bright smile.

“I’m Dinev. Please come inside. I’ll prepare the food right away.”

Only then was the El Pam party able to enter Divo’s house.

Everyone immediately took their seats at the dining table.

“Wow, your sister is pretty. It’s a good thing she doesn’t look like you.”

“Golden Eyes, don’t start a fight.”

“It’s not a fight, it’s a fact.”

As soon as they sat down, Minerv complimented Divo.

“It’s nice to see siblings getting along so well.”

Kiri also chimed in.

“Kiri, what about you? Don’t you have any siblings?”

“Sister, yes. But it’s not this kind of atmosphere.”

“Really?”

That’s how the conversation began.

All sorts of stories, including near-death experiences.

The conversation stopped only when the food Dinev brought filled the table.

“Dinner is served!”

“You did all this by yourself? You could open a restaurant.”

“Amazing. This is food that’s even hard to see at home.”

Everyone began their meal with admiration.

“You have to eat a lot after an adventure. Of course.”

A very important meal for adventurers.

In other words, the meal was like a period at the end of the El Pam party’s adventure to Jack Richie’s tomb.

Only now did it feel like the adventure was truly over.

That was it.

It was Divo who brought up the topic of the next hunting ground.

“Is it Yellow Rank?”

One adventure is over, so it’s time for a new one.

“That’s right.”

And the stage for the next adventure was Yellow Rank.

That was quite a heavy story.

It wasn’t long before the El Pam party entered the Orange Rank Mystic Gate.

And they’re already reaching for Yellow Rank?

Moreover, the difficulty of Yellow Rank and Orange Rank adventures was on a different level.

The Yellow Rank consisted of three floors.

This meant they had to traverse a whopping three stages, unlike the Orange Rank!

However, none of them expressed any dissatisfaction or doubt at El Pam’s words.

In fact, Divo, for one, clenched his fists and burned with determination.

And it wasn’t just Divo.

The other members too directed gazes filled not with worry, but with anticipation and resolve.

It was thanks to El Pam.

Because they were brimming with confidence, having even defeated an impossible monster.

“So, where is it?”

Divo’s confidence, in particular, was higher than ever.

And it couldn’t have been otherwise.

Not only had he unlocked three Circles at once, but he also possessed the entirety of Jack Richie’s inheritance.

Most importantly, he had gained experience.

The experience of overcoming an insurmountable crisis.

The same held true when the location was revealed as the Perion Excavation Site.

‘The Perion Excavation Site? That means skeletons, right?’

‘There’s also a ton of Wild Boar herds along the way.’

‘It’s a dangerous place.’

It was true that the place was the second most dangerous in Victoria Island, after the Sleepywood Forest.

However, none of them expressed any concern.

‘It’s better than that swamp.’

They had already experienced the worst.

“The maximum capacity is 29.”

This explanation further boosted their confidence. The difficulty of a Mystic Gate was determined by the number of adventurers allowed to enter. A capacity of 29 meant it was practically the lowest level.

“We’re going to rescue the adventurers inside that Mystic Gate.”

“Pfft!”

At El Pam’s words, Divo spat out the food he was eating onto the table.

“Brother! What are you doing, that’s disgusting!”

Dinev scolded him, but she was the only one.

The others didn’t blame Divo.

They just stared at El Pam with the same expression as Divo.

“B-Boss? Did you just say r-rescue?”

“Yes.”

And what El Pam said next was just as shocking.

“We’ll secure the survivors on the first floor of the Mystic Gate and then exit through the third floor.”

In the case of Mystic Gates, as long as the survivors hadn’t proceeded to the second floor, additional entry was possible.

In other words, rescue wasn’t impossible.

However, it was an extremely difficult task.

A rescue request meant the adventurers inside were in an impossible situation.

To help them in such a dire situation with an even smaller number of people?

Honestly, it was impossible.

“By any chance…”

There was no reason to do this without a special reason.

“Do you know the survivor inside?”

To Divo’s question, El Pam replied,

“Pir.”

Everyone tilted their heads at the name.

It was an unfamiliar name.

But El Pam knew who he was.

‘Hero Tracker Pir.’

The only one who had discovered Freud’s legacy.

The biggest anecdote that made Hero Tracker Pir famous was his title.

‘The one who survived the longest in a Mystic Gate.’

He held the record of surviving for a whopping 251 days in a Mystic Gate.

That was the reason.

‘That Mystic Gate is conquerable.’

El Pam accepted Cheryl’s request this time because of that.

‘I didn’t know the Hero Tracker was part of Cross Hunter.’

The relationship between Cross Hunter and the Hero Tracker was something El Pam hadn’t expected, but it didn’t matter.

The important thing was that this Mystic Gate was conquerable.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to owe the Hero Tracker a favor.’

And the value of the Hero Tracker.

‘He has more information about unique items than anyone else.’

In the process of tracking Freud’s legacy, Hero Tracker Pir had found traces of countless other heroes and knew about them.

That meant he also knew the locations of the heroes’ items.

‘And information about the heroes.’

Moreover, Hero Tracker Pir had connections with the six heroes whose whereabouts were currently unknown.

There was nothing to lose by obtaining it.

‘What’s certain is that unique items only come out into the world if he’s there.’

Far from being a loss, considering the unique items the Hero Tracker would unearth in the future, he was absolutely necessary.

‘It won’t be easy, though.’

Of course, El Pam didn’t blindly view the current situation with optimism.

No, El Pam had never once been optimistic about conquering a Mystic Gate.

He couldn’t afford to be.

At the end of everything he did, there loomed distant beings like Horntail and the Black Mage.

The peak of despair existed.

In the face of that, optimism was impossible.

This time was no different.

‘I need to acquire more items.’

To conquer that Mystic Gate, where anything could happen, El Pam had to use all his assets to strengthen his power.

In fact, that was El Pam’s concern.

‘I don’t have much mesos left.’

He had earned a lot of money, but he had spent it all on acquiring items.

The item with the Flame Vortex magic that El Pam had just obtained was worth well over ten million mesos.

Especially in this Mystic Gate conquest, the profits weren’t as big as expected.

To be precise, Jack Richie’s legacy was of immense value, but it couldn’t be immediately converted into mesos.

It couldn’t be exchanged for other items either.

It was a matter of concern in many ways.

Knock knock!

Just then, there was a knock.

“Who is it?”

Divo immediately got up from his seat.

There was a slight tension in Divo’s expression as he rose.

“There’s no one who should be coming.”

It was time to be mindful of their surroundings.

Moreover, this was Divo’s home. A place where he would become more alert than ever if threatened.

With that tension, Divo opened the door and saw a man.

“I’m from the Gold Richie Guild. Is El Pam here?”

At the man’s words, Divo turned his head, and El Pam, who had already gotten up, approached.

“I am El Pam.”

“A gift from Gold Richie.”

As soon as the man saw El Pam, he immediately handed him a thin object wrapped in silk.

“Then I’ll be going.”

And then the man disappeared.

“Boss!”

As the man disappeared, everyone, including Divo, looked at El Pam with curious expressions.

It was understandable.

“A gift from Gold Richie?”

If it was a gift directly from Gold Richie, of all people, it couldn’t be an ordinary item!

In response to the question, El Pam unfolded the silk.

“It’s a check.”

The first thing they saw was a check.

“A check? How much is it?”

To Divo, who was making a fuss, El Pam handed over the check instead of answering.

“Let’s see, gasp!”

The moment Divo saw the amount on the check, he shouted in shock.

“1, 100 million mesos?”

It was an astronomical amount, and not only Divo but also the others were shocked.

“Oh my god.”

“100 million mesos? 20 million mesos per person? Hey, kid. Is that real?”

“Minerv, your math is wrong. It’s 25 million mesos per person.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Divo doesn’t get a share. It’s to pay off his debt.”

“Ah!”

The El Pam party members were in an uproar.

But El Pam didn’t join in the commotion.

No, he couldn’t.

‘No way…’

Because he saw it.

‘I didn’t expect this to come.’

6.

“Mr. Gold Richie, it’s been delivered successfully.”

At Silverlee’s words, Gold Richie nodded lightly.
[TL/N: Silverly → Silverlee]

But Silverlee’s expression was different.

“Mr. Gold Richie.”

He spoke to Gold Richie cautiously, with a dissatisfied expression.

“Isn’t that too much of a gift?”

It was a surprising statement.

It was an enormous gift, considering it was deemed excessive by Silverlee of all people.

And it was true.

“A Legendary rank item, not even a Unique rank…”

Legendary rank!

An item of a different dimension from Unique rank, an item that only a very few in Maple World could possess, was considered an excessive gift even by Gold Richie’s standards.

“As a simple gift, it would be excessive.”

Gold Richie knew it was excessive.

“But I’m not giving it as a gift. I’m giving it to burn those who killed my son.”

But now Gold Richie was consumed by rage.

That was the reason.

“I hope El Pam handles Apollo’s Fire Arrow well.”

The reason for the excessive gift.

————