The Last Adventurer - Chapter 98

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Chapter 98: Pharaoh (1)

1.

“I am El Pam, and I have come here under Hilla’s Orders, a commander of the Black Mage’s Army.”

The words that came out of El Pam’s mouth were absurd.

Rather than feeling bewildered, the moment he heard it, he simply couldn’t understand it.

“What do you mean?”

Therefore, Rick’s reaction was very ordinary and natural.

And seeing that reaction, El Pam smiled faintly.

‘It worked.’

That reaction was proof that El Pam’s intentions and aim had worked on Rick.

It was not a mistake.

El Pam knew.

‘I can tell by the fact that he didn’t attack right away.’

That Rick was already casting a spell and ready to attack El Pam.

He would have been waiting for the moment El Pam spoke, the moment the words ended.

But Rick didn’t.

“Could you say that again? I didn’t hear you correctly.”

Instead of attacking, he asked a question.

To that question, El Pam said.

“I know.”

El Pam, he knew the Black Mage’s followers well.

“Rick, and that you are a follower of Will.”

He knew the commanders of the Black Mage’s followers, one of them named Will, and that Rick followed him.

‘Cheryl, she told me everything.’

It was none other than Cheryl, a member of the Cross Hunters, who had given him the entire organizational chart.

That was why.

‘That Hilla, one of the commanders, has little interaction with the other commanders.’

That’s why El Pam brought up the name Hilla here.

Thanks to that.

At this moment, El Pam’s attempt worked.

‘Are you a follower of Hilla?’

Rick believed El Pam’s words.

It wasn’t simply because El Pam said so himself that he believed him, of course not.

‘Then it makes sense.’

Rick had heard.

‘The titles of the El Pam party.’

What kind of adventures the El Pam party had been on.

To be honest, most of the El Pam party’s titles were unbelievable just by hearing them.

In fact, most people didn’t believe the El Pam party’s track record.

They simply believed that the party was cheating, playing tricks, and telling lies.

Rick was no different.

At first, he didn’t believe the title. He thought there must be some absurd error or misunderstanding.

‘You were the one Hilla hid.’

But the moment the name of Hilla, the commander, was mentioned, everything became plausible.

That was about it.

El Pam showed the back of his left hand, and then gently rubbed it.

Then a hidden tattoo was revealed.

A hound tattoo.

It was clear evidence.

Hilla’s symbol was a dog, so she gave the hound tattoo to those she cherished most.

Naturally, not many people knew of the tattoo’s existence.

Rick had only seen it once.

At that point, Rick dropped the act.

“I am Rick, a follower of Will.”

With a faint smile, but in an icy voice, he revealed his true self.

And then he asked.

“I heard that Hilla’s hounds never reveal their identity, even in death. Why did you reveal yours?”

“Because if I didn’t, you would target me, Rick. I know you are here under Queen Areda’s orders. I know she is very angry with me.”

“Is avoiding death the reason you revealed yourself?”

“My goal is Gerechter, the head of the Cross Hunters.”

With that explanation, Rick stopped asking questions.

He understood.

He understood why El Pam had been on the side of the Cross Hunters, hindering the work of the Black Mage’s followers.

It was to gain the trust of the Cross Hunters and then hunt down the most important person to them.

‘I’m not the only one hiding my identity for betrayal.’

Rick was no different.

‘Rick, the Lightning Tyrant, is a bomb that Will painstakingly created.’

Rick, who followed Will, one of the commanders, gained fame as an adventurer and later achieved a great feat for the followers of the Black Mage by massacring 100,000 adventurers in one fell swoop.

In other words, Rick was a very important asset.

An asset that Commander Will was carefully nurturing to use at a very important moment.

El Pam also knew.

‘He won’t trust me unconditionally.’

He knew Rick’s personality.

Crucially, El Pam knew.

‘The Black Mage’s commanders don’t get along with each other.’

The Black Mage’s commanders each had their own plans, so there was little interaction between them.

Not only was there no interaction, but there were also frequent clashes.

‘He’s suspicious.’

The Black Mage’s commanders believed there was a traitor among them.

‘Even more so after the Black Mage was sealed.’

Otherwise, such a great being like the Black Mage could not have been sealed by a mere six heroes.

That’s why the Black Mage’s commanders always told their followers.

‘Don’t trust anyone but me, that’s how they’re trained.’

I’m the only one who’s right.

So don’t pay any attention to those who approach you as colleagues or allies.

If they get in the way of your plans, you can kill them.

That’s what they said.

‘Especially Rick, the Lightning Tyrant.’

Rick was an adventurer like a robot.

A robot that could do anything for the mission.

It was the same now.

Rick would believe El Pam’s words. He wouldn’t doubt the evidence and circumstantial evidence presented to him.

‘He has no reason to join forces with me.’

But that was no reason for Rick to listen to El Pam’s story.

“I must survive. I must live to carry out this mission.”

That’s why.

“So I’m going to make you an offer, Rick.”

El Pam took out a ring.

“If you promise to help me with this mission, I will give you this ring.”

Zeus’s ring.

2.

Inside the secret passage of the mysterious pyramid.

Pir’s eyes narrowed as Rick’s party appeared.

Tension filled the air.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘El Pam and Rick had a conversation.’

There was no way Pir wouldn’t know that the two had met and talked.

Of course, they met in secret, so it couldn’t have been a conversation of praise and encouragement.

More than anything, this wasn’t unheard of.

In fact, skilled adventurers often had such conversations before attempting to conquer a Mystic Gate.

‘Is this a power struggle?’

To take the initiative inside the Mystic Gate.

It was a very important aspect.

Regardless of skill, adventurers had their own way of adventuring.

For adventurers like El Pam and Pir, that way was like pride that could not be compromised.

‘The fact that Rick’s party is here means that El Pam…’

It wouldn’t be strange for El Pam’s party to back out here.

That’s when it happened.

“I apologize for being late.”

El Pam’s party appeared, and only then did Pir’s expression relax.

It seemed that what he was worried about hadn’t happened.

Pir spoke to all the adventurers gathered.

“From now on, follow only my footsteps.”

None of the adventurers smiled at his words.

They knew.

The moment they didn’t follow Pir’s footsteps exactly, the countless traps here would threaten their lives.

At least the adventurers gathered here were skilled enough to realize that much.

So there were no major accidents.

Step, step.

Without exception and without letting their guard down, everyone followed Pir’s footsteps exactly, and soon arrived.

“This is it.”

In a sealed room of about 300 square meters.

It must have been someone’s tomb.

But there was no coffin.

“That’s it.”

Instead of a coffin, there was only a Mystic Gate.

And the moment Pir touched the Mystic Gate, a yellow portal appeared.

“What will be the order?”

“We’ll go in first.”

It was none other than Rick’s party that moved first towards the portal.

The meaning was simple.

Rick’s party was the strongest among them.

Furthermore, from now on, Rick’s party would lead the way through the Mystic Gate.

The moment order was established.

And Rick, who was to lead that order, moved beyond the Mystic Gate without any hesitation.

Following Rick’s party, everyone crossed the Mystic Gate, and soon they could see.

“A wasteland?”

A vast wasteland where not a single tree could be found.

“Over there!”

Grrrr!

And the monsters creeping up from the wasteland.

“A dog wrapped in bandages?”

“It’s a Mummy Dog!”

The identity of the monster was none other than a Mummy Dog, a dog wrapped in bandages like a mummy.

The moment they saw it, the expressions of all the adventurers hardened.

“Damn it.”

In Divo’s case, he even let out a curse.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Damn it, we’re starting off with a Mummy Dog. We have no choice but to smash its magic stone, right?”

Mummy Dog.

As an undead monster, it could never be killed by simply smashing its body.

The only way to kill it was to destroy its magic stone.

That’s why Mummy Dogs were a problem.

“Everyone be careful! A Mummy Dog’s body is on a different level than a Skeleton Dog’s!”

In the case of a similar monster, the Skeleton Dog, its physical defense was not that great since it was only made of bones.

But the Mummy Dog was different. It was covered in bandages, and beyond those bandages was withered flesh.

This difference was huge.

It was more than the difference between cutting a branch with a knife and cutting a branch covered in clay and wrapped in bandages.

“Don’t drag out close combat either! Their bodies contain corpse poison from rotting corpses!”

Crucially, the Mummy Dog’s body contained poison.

In many ways, it was a tricky monster.

“Here…”

That’s why the Adventurers’ Guild suggested the following strategy for dealing with Mummy Dogs.

Since melee and physical attacks were not easy against Mummy Dogs, the mages needed to play an active role.

“The mages are moving…!”

The moment Pir came to that conclusion, that was the moment.

“Thunderbolt.”

Along with that spell, lightning began to strike down on the horde of Mummy Dogs running towards them.

And at the sound of the spell, all the adventurers froze.

‘Cr, crazy!’

There was no adventurer who didn’t know the drawbacks and risks of the Thunderbolt spell.

That’s why some adventurers lay down on the ground, and some even threw away weapons that could become lightning rods.

And then they remembered.

‘What kind of madman!’

A scene of chaos.

But the scene everyone imagined did not unfold at all.

Crackle!

Instead, everyone could see.

Kkekeke!

The unbelievable sight of the Thunderbolt moving, perfectly targeting only the Mummy Dogs.

“It’s Rick!”

And the sight of Lightning Tyrant Rick, who created that scene.

Everyone was surprised by the fact.

“H-how?”

The most surprised of them all was none other than El Pam’s party.

“Boss! Th-that?”

Divo looked at El Pam in surprise.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Isn’t that something only the boss can do?”

That unbelievable sight was a technique that only El Pam could show, like his signature move.

But how could Rick do it?

To that question, El Pam replied.

“I gave him Zeus’s Ring.”

“What?”

At the short explanation, Divo and the others looked at El Pam with dumbfounded expressions.

To give away such an amazing item?

“So he’ll be much better at lightning magic than me.”

At the following explanation, they couldn’t even make an expression.

So he had given an amazing item to a competitor, literally putting wings on a tiger’s back?

“No, boss!”

Finally, Divo couldn’t hold back and spoke.

“What are you going to do?”

To that question, El Pam replied.

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“Literally. We’re not doing anything in this Mystic Gate.”

“Boss, what the…?”

El Pam turned his head.

Crackle!

He looked at Rick, the genius who was literally sweeping the battlefield, and said.

“We’re just going to watch.”

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