The Last Adventurer - Chapter 60
————
Chapter 60: Cheryl’s Request (3)
6.
Pir was an exceptional adventurer.
Exceptional here didn’t simply mean he was skilled at slaying monsters.
He had a goal greater than any other adventurer.
To find traces of the six heroes who sealed the Black Wizard and saved the world.
It was a distant goal. Renowned adventurers had already tried and failed.
Yet, Pir embarked on this adventure and achieved results no one else had.
This was possible thanks to Pir’s unbelievable adventurous spirit.
Just like now.
Naturally, Pir was an adventurer who wouldn’t bat an eye at most things.
“I’ll do it in 20 days.”
But even Pir couldn’t help but feel bewildered when El Pam said those words.
‘Do it in 20 days?’
Even he thought it was an absurd proposal.
El Pam even added,
“And for each day I finish ahead of schedule, I’ll receive an additional 1 million mesos.”
An additional condition.
Of course, this didn’t register in Pir’s ears. It didn’t matter. Finishing in 20 days was already impossible.
So he didn’t respond to the additional condition.
Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!
There was no time for that.
“Boss! Skeleton warriors are coming!”
Faced with the oncoming skeleton warriors, the El Pam party and the survivor Pir had only one thing to do.
‘We have to run.’
There were only six of them here. Fighting over a thousand skeleton warriors was madness.
Weighing the deal with El Pam.
Gauging who had the upper hand.
‘Even if they clear it in 20 days, they won’t find what I want.’
The conclusion Pir reached in this weighing was that he had the advantage.
‘It might not even be on the first floor.’
Even if the Phantom’s Necklace wasn’t on the first floor, El Pam’s party and Pir couldn’t go to the second floor.
To have that certainty, the certainty that it wasn’t on the first floor, they would have to thoroughly search the first floor.
That’s why Pir had stayed on the first floor for over 20 days.
He could spend at least 20 days there alone.
‘And the second floor too.’
Moreover, there was no guarantee it would be on the second floor either.
In many ways, the conditions were favorable to Pir, and that’s why he presented those conditions.
Because he was confident he wouldn’t lose.
“Pir, I ask again. Do you agree to the terms of 20 days, and an additional 1 million mesos for each day shortened?”
Therefore, Pir answered El Pam’s question.
“I agree. I’ll give you as much as you want.”
Pir answered without any hesitation.
In front of him, El Pam gladly showed him.
Squeak!
Mano, the snail that finds items.
7.
It was the fourth day.
“The Phantom’s Necklace.”
Mano the snail found the Phantom’s Necklace on the fourth day.
Even considering Mano’s abilities, it was an insanely fast pace.
No matter how amazing Mano was, his movement speed had limits.
Also, since the first floor was overflowing with skeleton warriors, they couldn’t just follow Mano blindly.
Sometimes running away, sometimes fighting as needed.
Despite this, there was only one reason they could find it in four days.
“We’re lucky.”
From El Pam’s perspective, it was a result of luck.
Of course, it was different for Pir.
For Pir, it was a result he couldn’t have even dared to imagine before.
“Here it is.”
Pir, who had finally obtained the Phantom’s Necklace he had so desperately sought.
Pir wasn’t flustered.
It was certainly a situation to be flustered about, but at this moment, what moved Pir’s body was a thrill.
‘I finally found it.’
The thrill that an adventurer should rightfully feel when the object they’ve been searching for so long finally falls into their hands.
And Pir was that kind of adventurer.
A true adventurer who wouldn’t hesitate to risk his life for what he wanted.
That was the reason.
‘If he’s a Hero Tracker, he’s qualified enough.’
The reason El Pam handed the Phantom’s Necklace to Pir.
In fact, El Pam didn’t have to give the Phantom’s Necklace away.
‘The right to enter Phantom’s secret warehouse in Ariant.’
El Pam knew where Phantom’s secret warehouse was.
If he had the Phantom’s Necklace, El Pam could enter it as well.
‘There’s no point in me going in.’
Despite this, the reason he gave it to Pir was because Pir was a Hero Tracker.
All El Pam could do if he went in was to get Phantom’s items.
Of course, that was a great thing, but that was all.
But the Hero Tracker was different.
He was someone who could find traces of heroes using the items there as clues.
‘Only Pir can awaken the heroes.’
Indeed, he had found them, and thanks to his efforts, the heroes awakened.
‘But back then, it was only after the world ended.’
Because of that, the world’s destruction was merely delayed.
Of course, it was only delayed, and they still faced annihilation.
However, El Pam could confidently say,
‘Things are different now.’
There was a significant difference between the time before returning to the past and the present.
That’s why Pir’s contribution was even more crucial, and that was the biggest reason El Pam had come here.
To help Pir track down the heroes faster.
However, this was a fact unknown to Pir.
Therefore, Pir was only worried about one thing right now.
‘At this rate…’
The very high possibility that he would lose out in a deal that shouldn’t result in any loss for him.
And this loss was no small matter.
‘Losing Freud’s Legacy.’
The item he had put up for this trade was the most valuable item Pir possessed.
‘That can’t happen.’
No, beyond its value, it was the only trace of the hero Freud that Pir, the Hero Tracker, had found.
And they were taking that away from him?
Unthinkable.
‘There’s still a chance.’
That didn’t mean Pir should give up or fall into despair just yet.
‘It’s only the 1st floor.’
The place where El Pam’s party and Pir currently were was a Yellow Rank Mystic Gate, a place with 3 floors.
Since they had spent 4 days, it meant they had to reach the 2nd floor and clear the 3rd floor as well within the remaining 16 days.
‘Who knows what the Mystic Gate holds.’
It was by no means an easy task.
El Pam said to Pir, who harbored such expectations,
“From now on, we’ll find the exit to the second floor.”
Upon hearing those words, Pir scanned the surroundings.
‘He’s no ordinary adventurer.’
He acknowledged El Pam’s abilities.
So he calculated.
‘With his abilities, it will take about three days to find the exit to the second floor from here.’
That was quite a high evaluation.
Until now, El Pam’s party had spent all their time on the first floor finding the survivor Pir and obtaining the Phantom’s Necklace according to their agreement.
This meant they were just starting to search for the exit in earnest.
Finding it in three days? Most adventurers would have scoffed at such an assessment.
In front of Pir, who had given him such a high evaluation, El Pam gladly showed him.
“Exit secured.”
He found the exit in just three hours.
‘What the…?’
Pir was surprised by this fact.
But Pir wasn’t just surprised.
‘No, it could be luck.’
Rather, he thought it was entirely possible.
He still thought he had a good chance of winning.
“Boss!”
And that thought turned into certainty the moment they entered the second floor.
“It’s a swamp!”
A swamp!
The moment the worst possible stage for adventurers appeared.
Moreover, the swamp wasn’t just a terrible combat environment.
The adventurer’s movements, their speed, were dreadfully worn down.
It meant that even if they covered the same distance, it would take three or four times longer, or even more, than if it were just an ordinary forest.
Shaaa!
To make matters worse, the monsters that appeared were a swarm of Junior Nekis.
Hundreds of Junior Nekis crawling over the swamp were like a nightmare for the adventurer.
‘The worst possible matchup.’
Pir, in particular, immediately realized that El Pam’s abilities, his absurd combat methods, would not work against this swarm of Junior Nekis.
In truth, Pir wasn’t happy about this.
‘It’s dangerous.’
He didn’t want to leave this place sooner than 20 days, but he certainly didn’t want to die here.
The fact that El Pam’s party was in danger here meant that Pir was also in danger.
Pir was worried about that fact.
“Thunderbolt.”
“Crazy!”
Pir was startled by the magic casting that El Pam uttered at that moment.
“Hide!”
Pir instinctively buried himself in the swamp.
To avoid the incoming Thunderbolt.
And he thought.
‘Crazy bastard! Does he even have a brain? Thunderbolt in the middle of all this!’
Pir was flustered.
Time passed, and silence fell.
In that silence, Pir was certain.
‘He’s dead.’
That the Thunderbolt had become a suicide bomb.
With that thought, Pir, who had emerged from the swamp covered in mud, could soon see.
El Pam’s party was perfectly alive.
“Hey, man.”
Divo said to Pir.
“Don’t bother thinking about anything else, just think about how to get the money.”
Words that made no sense.
But it didn’t take long for Pir to understand the meaning of those words.
On the day they entered the second floor, El Pam discovered the exit to the third floor.
“Pir.”
And the next day.
“The request is complete.”
El Pam’s party had completed the rescue.
8.
“The request is complete.”
El Pam emerged from the Mystic Gate, six days after meeting Pir.
“It ended 14 days earlier than the promised 20 days.”
Pir looked at El Pam as if he were a monster.
On the other hand, El Pam didn’t feel much excitement about the result itself.
There was nothing to feel excited about.
‘It’s only for 30 people or less.’
A Yellow-rank Mystic Gate was certainly a difficult adventure site, but even so, the difficulty level for less than 30 people was, without any exaggeration, something El Pam could handle alone.
‘It’s not even for 300 people.’
To trouble El Pam, they would have to bring at least a 300-person Mystic Gate, the highest difficulty Yellow-rank Mystic Gate.
But while he wasn’t excited about the conquest itself, it was different for the non-conquest aspects.
“Prepare 14 million mesos and Freud’s legacy.”
El Pam’s heart was pounding a little as he spoke.
It was only natural.
Although he didn’t know what Freud’s legacy was, its value was bound to be greater than any item El Pam possessed.
Pir said to El Pam.
“…I’ll give it to you as promised. But let me give you a piece of advice. Only those recognized by Freud can use Freud’s legacy.”
He implied that no matter what the legacy was, El Pam wouldn’t be able to use it right away.
El Pam wasn’t particularly disappointed by this fact.
He knew it from the beginning.
Nevertheless, El Pam’s heart beat a little faster than usual.
‘But it can be traded for any item.’
As mentioned before, the value of that item could be said to be higher than any other item.
‘And the Hero Tracker values it more than anyone else.’
In particular, Pir was the adventurer who would pay the highest price in the world to get that item back.
It meant an enormous gain for El Pam.
On the other hand, he was curious.
“So, what’s the legacy?”
What Freud’s legacy might be.
To El Pam, who held that expectation, Pir gave a wry smile and said.
“First of all, I’m sorry, but it’s not in my possession.”
Again, El Pam wasn’t particularly surprised.
“An item that can’t be used should be kept in a safe place.”
It was rather more common sense.
“Yes, it’s kept in a safe place.”
“Where is it?”
“Do you know who has the most treasure in the world and keeps it the safest?”
El Pam’s eyes narrowed at those words.
Because he knew.
“Collector Vivre, Phantom Thief, and the remaining one is…”
“Captain Kyrin.”
“Yes, she has it.”
What Freud’s legacy that Pir had was.
‘I can’t believe Freud’s ring belonged to Pir. Is that why he said he couldn’t give it? More than that, were Hero Tracker Pir and Captain Kyrin this close? Or is Captain Kyrin the Hero Tracker’s sponsor?’
El Pam’s head became complicated by that fact.
But El Pam didn’t have time to worry.
“Boss, someone’s coming.”
“El Pam.”
Cheryl, who appeared, told him.
“There’s a problem.”
“Problem?”
“The guild master of the Kania Guild, Ivok, has been murdered.”
————