The Last Adventurer

Chapter 0

Chapter 0: Prologue

1.

An era where the desperate, miserable, and tragic tale of the six heroes who sealed the Dark Mage, who sought to destroy Maple World, became the favorite legend of children.

“The Cygnus Knights have fallen, the Resistance has collapsed, the Cross Hunters have been destroyed, and the adventurers have been annihilated. And the six heroes are dead.”

An era where no one dared to resist the reappearance of the Dark Mage and his followers.

“You are the only one left, El Paume. You’re the last adventurer.”

In that era, there was an adventurer who continued to fight until the end.

2.

Minar Forest.

A dark forest where dragons and humans coexisted in the distant past.

However, after the dragons were slaughtered by the Dark Mage, only grotesque monsters that devoured the corpses of dragons remained in the forest.

The monsters in Minar Forest were extremely powerful, and they were also forming alliances to establish their dominance in the forest.

One of the representatives was the Centaurs.

[Note: The centaurs were half-horse and half-human creatures who were depicted in Greek mythology.]

The Centaurs in Minar Forest were so powerful that they couldn’t be compared to Centaurs in other places, and some of them even armed themselves with items left by the dragons.

Such Centaurs were nightmares even for A-rank adventurers.

Of course, this was a story from the past.

After the monsters trapped inside the Mystic Gates created by the Dark Mage began to emerge into the world, there was no place in the world without nightmares.

Minar Forest was no exception.

Because of the monsters that suddenly emerged, Minar Forest had never been quiet for a moment.

“El Paume.”

El Paume settled in Minar Forest to harness the power of those monsters.

Of course, this wasn’t a hopeful choice.

It was just the last resort chosen to prolong their lives in a state where all the cities and castles in Maple World had collapsed.

On the other hand, it also meant this:

The fact that even the A-rank adventurers of the past were afraid of the Minar Forest becoming the safest place in the world, meant that there was no longer a safe place anywhere in Maple World.

That’s why El Paume thought as he led the survivors to the Minar Forest:

That this place would be his grave.

“The Centaurs Nest has collapsed.”

And when El Paume heard that from his companions, he once again recalled his thoughts when he first came to Minar Forest.

“It couldn’t have collapsed suddenly. It seems like a new enemy has arrived.”

“It needs to be confirmed, but… Jay saw it. A giant dragon with three heads is coming to Minar Forest.”

With the following words, he could now sense it.

“If it’s a dragon with three heads… it’s Horntail.”

Soon, Minar Forest would become their grave.

In other words, El Paume no longer existed.

And there was no other choice but to accept that.

“If Horntail has come this far, it means that Cheryl’s Order has been wiped out.”

Horntail.

During the era when searching for dragons was not just nonsense among adventurers but considered a romantic endeavor, he was one of the kings of the dragon-filled Minar Forest.

The one who stood against that monstrous monster was Cheryl, a former high-ranking member of the now-disappeared Cross Hunters, and his Order.

That Horntail came to Minar Forest meant that his Order was no longer an Order.

And that wasn’t all.

“The Cygnus Knights have fallen.”

The leader of the Maple Alliance, Empress Cygnus, and her Knights, the Cygnus Knights, had already collapsed due to the monsters that crossed the Mystic Gate long ago.

“The Resistance has fallen, and the Cross Hunters have been destroyed.”

The Resistance, based in Edelstein, armed with powerful weapons, also fell before the monsters, causing turmoil. The Cross Hunters, born to hunt monsters beyond the Mystic Gate, were also ultimately destroyed in the long war against the relentless monsters.

“The adventurers have been wiped out.”

And now, there was no one who could call themselves an adventurer.

There were only those who could be called survivors.

“And the six heroes are dead.”

Even the great heroes who had sealed the Dark Mage, the last hope, were now stars in the sky.

“Yes.”

In the end, there was only one left to embark on an adventure against these monsters.

“You are the only one left, El Paume. You’re the last adventurer.”

El Paume, who had acquired a new title, the Last Adventurer, let out a long sigh at the fact.

‘I’ve come this far.’

To that sigh, his colleague said:

“Paume, if you had known your abilities sooner.”

At those words, El Paume closed his eyes.

No one had expected this situation.

He had never thought he would survive this far.

He had never expected to see tomorrow.

However, El Paume, it wasn’t that he had simply survived this far by chance or luck.

He had an ability.

“Allmaster.”

Allmaster, the ability to use all the magic that exists in Maple World.

That was a great ability.

It was not easy to be born with an affinity for even one attribute, and among them, only a very small number had an affinity for two attributes.

But El Paume could use all magic.

Not just fire, ice, lightning, poison attributes, but also telekinesis like psychokinesis, and even the attributes of light and darkness that only transcendent beings could reach!

But unfortunately, El Paume only realized his talent after the monsters crossed over from beyond the Mystic Gate.

“If you had realized it earlier, you could have gathered items.”

And when he realized his abilities, the artifacts and items with skills that could have helped him harness his abilities disappeared during the war with the monsters.

It was still the same now.

His companions always lamented it.

“If you had items from beyond the Mystic Gate, like Gungnir or Balga, you would have been able to hunt Horntail.”

[Note:- In Norse mythology, Gungnir is the spear of the god Odin.]

El Paume felt the same.

He always regretted that fact, and sometimes he even writhed in regret.

But El Paume knew.

“It’s a pointless story.”

That no matter how much he writhed in regret, the items that were gone would not come back.

“Since we can’t go back to the past.”

That it was impossible to swallow all this regret, unless he regressed.

“Let’s face the present.”

That he had to face this moment, since he couldn’t go back to the past.

“There’s nowhere to retreat. Now that Horntail has come to Minar Forest, the monsters here will quickly become Horntail’s minions. The dragons’ corpses devoured by the monsters of Minar Forest have turned them into monsters no different from dragons. Even if Horntail is controlled by the Dark Mage, he was once the king of dragons. With no other dragon kings left, all the monsters will follow him. Once that happens, there’s no turning back.”

That’s why he prepared.

“So I’ll kill him before that.”

“Paume, what if you can’t kill him?”

“Then this place will be my grave.”

He prepared for his last adventure.

And that preparation was now complete.