NOVEL WEB [Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
Chapter 82: Human Hunter (2)
2.
The royal palace of the Ariant Kingdom.
A place always bustling with the festivities of Abdullah VIII.
“Wooaaaaah!”
Now it was filled with even more fervent enthusiasm than any festival held there.
Many adventurers were radiating excitement, and the heat of that excitement was enough to make even the sunlight beating down on the Ariant Kingdom pale in comparison.
Of course, not all adventurers were like that.
The expressions of some adventurers were colder than ever.
Their faces frozen, they looked at the paper scattered from the sky, the clue that revealed the location of the prince’s tomb.
The day the sky turned black, the place where the stars visited, where the reddest flower bloomed among them.
The minds of the adventurers looking at the clue were complex.
Honestly, it was too vague.
“If the sky turned black, does that mean night?”
“The place where the stars visited, does that mean where a meteor fell?”
“A red flower bloomed, aren’t there one or two red flowers?”
And there was that.
“It definitely seems to be related to the history of the Ariant Kingdom, but who knows this kind of thing these days?”
In the past, studying history was essential for adventurers.
What adventurers sought were past relics and legacies that were not revealed to the world, and to know them, they had to study history.
However, today’s adventurers were different.
“In this era, all we need to do is conquer the Mystic Gate.”
An era where all you need is the ability to hunt monsters.
Naturally, it was an era where the study of history didn’t matter.
So everyone scratched their heads in front of the visible clues.
“The day the sky turned black refers to the time the Black Mage appeared.”
Of course, El Pam was an exception.
“Boss, how do you know that?”
“If you read the books written by historians from the Ariant Kingdom, many people describe that day like that. In Victoria Island, they often used the expression ‘black nightmare’.”
He knew.
“The stars visiting the place where the stars visited refers to the hero who sealed the Black Mage.”
“If it’s a hero, who is it?”
“The Phantom Thief, who is from Ariant, that’s who they’re talking about.”
What the clue meant.
“Then what kind of flower is the reddest flower?”
“The reddest flower is blood.”
“Blood?”
“The warriors of the Ibe tribe, who are active in the southern part of the Ariant desert, describe the blood spilled on the ground as flowers. The reddest flower bloomed where the most blood flowed.”
So El Pam was able to figure it out right away.
“The place where the Ibe tribe shed the most blood is none other than the Magul Oasis. There, the Ibe tribe fought alongside the Phantom Thief against the Black Mage’s followers. And the Ibe tribe was wiped out there.”
The Magul Oasis, that was where the prince’s tomb was located.
“Oh my gosh, boss! You’re amazing!”
Everyone, including Divo, was impressed with the explanation.
To be so knowledgeable about history?
Of course, El Pam wasn’t well-versed in the history of the Ariant Kingdom.
This plan could allow unexpected adventurers into the Mystic Gate.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
But it didn’t matter.
“The preparations are perfect.”
Ten assassins.
And one martyr.
The preparations were perfect to turn the Mystic Gate into hell.
“No one will come out alive, no matter who enters.”
So Queen Areda said confidently.
“No, it won’t even be easy to get in.”
4.
Magul Oasis.
It was one of the largest oases in the Nihal Desert.
It was more like a forest than an oasis.
A lush forest, unbefitting of the Nihal Desert, stretched out.
And there was a huge oasis, a lake, that made that abundance possible.
The abundance was so great that there were plenty of things to eat, including date Pams, everywhere.
If the story was told up to this point, everyone would have questions.
“Isn’t Magul Oasis a paradise? Then why isn’t there any city there?”
They would ask why it remained an oasis.
It was because the existence of an oasis in the Nihal Desert was indescribably precious, so wherever there was an oasis, a village or a city was formed.
However, in Magul Oasis, there was no story of people living there, let alone a city.
“Because it’s too rich.”
“What?”
Ironically, the reason was the overflowing abundance.
“I told you, it’s so rich that a forest grows there. That’s why all sorts of monsters flock there.”
Due to the overflowing abundance, Magul Oasis was full of fearsome monsters, even in the Nihal Desert.
“That’s why the Adventurers’ Association only allows A-rank adventurers to enter.”
So the Adventurers’ Association designated Magul Oasis as the fifth most dangerous place in the Nihal Desert.
“Hey, boss.”
“Speak.”
“Didn’t you say the Sand Painting Group was guarding this place?”
It was because of this background that the Sand Painting Group could interfere with the capture of the prince’s tomb.
In Magul Oasis, where even A-rank adventurers struggle to adventure, it was enough to just make a loud noise to interfere with or hold back a party consisting of adventurers below the 4th circle.
That’s why.
“That’s right.”
“Then why can’t we see them?”
Divo and El Pam’s colleagues were wondering.
Of course, the answer to that question was simple.
“Because we’re avoiding them.”
The fact that the one leading this party was none other than El Pam.
Moreover, El Pam had said it over and over again.
“Information about Magul Oasis has already been released as much as it can be. And it’s a place where the ecosystem of monsters is already stable. If you move by looking at the overflowing traces everywhere, it won’t be difficult to avoid monsters.”
He said it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid what was already known and revealed.
In fact, it was already a known fact for the El Pam party.
They were just surprised.
“I didn’t know it would work here too.”
He couldn’t have imagined that the ability would be this great.
“The difficulty level is on a different dimension compared to what we’ve experienced so far, isn’t it?”
It was only natural, as Magul Oasis was a place where only A-rank adventurers could enter.
It was a place with a much higher adventure difficulty than the stages El Pam’s party had visited so far, such as the Perion excavation site and Sleepywood.
It would be common sense to say that even if it worked there, it wouldn’t work here.
On the other hand, this was natural for El Pam.
“Only A-rank adventurers can come to Magul Oasis. In other words, even most adventurers can’t act recklessly here.”
Because it’s a dangerous place, it’s actually easier to predict.
“Only the boss can do that.”
Of course, it was a story that only El Pam could do.
And El Pam’s colleagues didn’t raise any further questions about that fact.
“So it’s fortunate.”
There was no reason for El Pam’s colleagues to refuse.
“Anyway, it’s fortunate that he’s the leader.”
“He? Goldeneye sometimes speaks informally?”
“You always speak informally? Should I make you One-eye? Huh?”
Thanks to this, they had enough leeway to bicker and joke around.
But that leeway didn’t last long.
Krr, krr!
“It’s the Sand Giant’s territory. Everyone be quiet.”
In the first place, this place was overflowing with powerful monsters that gave even A-rank adventurers goosebumps.
It was a place where stealth and silence were virtues.
And El Pam’s party, who kept the virtues of the place, was able to reach their final destination.
“There it is.”
To the prince’s tomb.
“Is it over there?”
The first reaction of his colleagues, including Divo, when they reached their destination was to tilt their heads.
It couldn’t be helped.
“Is that really it?”
“The portal isn’t activated?”
What they saw was just an ordinary entrance to the Mystic Gate, with the portal not activated.
“You didn’t confuse it with another Mystic Gate, did you?”
Of course, El Pam wouldn’t be confused.
He knew the prince’s tomb better than anyone.
“Hey, are you sure?”
But El Pam’s colleagues were different.
Especially the fact that the Mystic Gate portal was not activated confused everyone even more.
“Don’t tell me we’re the first?”
If that was really the prince’s tomb, and the portal was not activated, it meant that no one had entered yet.
“Everyone knows about this place, right?”
Considering what El Pam had said earlier, that the adventurers hired by Queen Areda had already moved, it was very difficult to understand.
El Pam said about that.
“Since it’s a place where the Sand Painting Group’s interference could happen at any time, the adventurers hired by Queen Areda would have wanted to enter at the same time. So it’s natural that no one is entering now.”
In the first place, entering the Mystic Gate first was considered crazy by the adventurers’ common sense.
“You know that obvious thing, so why did you do it then? Huh?”
Of course, El Pam had done such crazy things several times.
That’s why.
“Then should we also wait?”
“We’ll go in first.”
No one was surprised or embarrassed by El Pam’s words, by the words that he would do such a crazy thing.
Rather, they understood.
“Well, since all the other guys are enemies anyway, we should go in first.”
In the situation where other adventurers were enemies, not allies, to El Pam’s party.
Then it was better to move before they arrived.
“Let’s just quickly go to the second floor and close it.”
It wasn’t a bad idea to quickly clear the Mystic Gate so that other adventurers couldn’t enter.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll do that.”
El Pam also had that plan in mind.
“But the moment we enter, the adventurer parties that were waiting will quickly follow.”
But he didn’t only have that plan in mind.
The world is full of all sorts of variables.
“After entering the Mystic Gate, find the exit to the second floor in the shortest possible time. But if other adventurers follow us before we find the exit and move on.”
So El Pam prepared a plan to respond to that.
“Four of you will enter the second floor.”
“Huh? Wait a minute, you mean we’re going to clear it by ourselves? What about the boss?”
“I’ll stay on the first floor and hunt.”
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]