The Last Adventurer

Chapter 16

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 16. Poison Breath (1)

1.

The adventurers didn’t reject El Paume’s proposition outright, but their acceptance wasn’t unanimous.

“Is it possible?”

One voiced their concern.

Money wasn’t an issue; they’d pay any amount to survive, but that was only if survival was on the table.

“Just the two of them?”

They doubted El Paume, a nobody in the adventuring world, and Dibo, a fresh recruit, could effectively act as bait against the formidable boss monster.

Surprisingly, the debate on that point was brief.

“I’m El Paume.”

“I endured three years as a bait slave.”

Only then did the seasoned adventurers recall the name – the unbelievable bait slave who clung to life for three years at the Gafor Merchant Union.

And the sheer magnitude of that achievement dawned on them.

‘We were the ones who peddled our lives for money.’

It also explained El Paume’s willingness to gamble his life for money in this situation. For him, the current circumstances might have presented a rare opportunity to earn some.

Thus, any doubts vanished the moment they heard El Paume’s words. Just one thing remained.

“So, what’s the plan?”

They asked, their focus shifting to formulating an escape strategy.

An escape plan that materialized swiftly.

“I’ll lure it to the east. You wait on the west side, and when it disappears, escape.”

In truth, the direction didn’t matter.

The crux of the plan was for El Paume’s party to lure the Jester Deathcap away and see how long they could hold out.

That was also the key concern for the other adventurers.

“A warrior and a mage—a decent combination.”

On paper, the party composition was sound.

The mage would use ranged attacks to lure the monster, then the warrior would retreat with the mage in tow.

It was one of the most basic strategies used to lure monsters.

The problem was execution.

“The mage has to land their shots.”

It wasn’t easy for a mage to hit their target consistently while running away.

That’s why Dibo wasn’t worried.

“What’s luring a boss to us when we have Boss-nim here?”

Wasn’t El Paume the one who displayed ridiculous magical combat ability using telekinesis?

In fact, that part was never a concern.

Dibo had only one worry.

“The problem is, if we touch that giant mushroom thing, the surrounding mushrooms won’t just sit back and watch.”

While El Paume fought the boss monster, Dibo would have to fend off the green mushrooms that would swarm them.

That’s why Dibo, instead of being surprised by El Paume’s decision, was happy to take a backseat.

“There’s nothing to worry about now.”

He was an adventurer now.

Not just any adventurer, either.

In his hands was an item imbued with the skill, Slash Blaster.

“Let’s make some money.”

With a tangible reward now on the table, and Dibo himself exuding confidence, the other adventurers had no choice but to follow suit.

“Alright, we’ll trust you and follow your lead.”

2.

A door made from two intertwined tree trunks.

In between stood a mushroom with a bizarre 5-meter wide cap.

A scene of tranquility.

Swoosh!

A fire arrow shattered the peace, finding its mark on the Jester Deathcap’s head.

Boom!

The arrow failed to live up to its potential, only managing to embed itself two fingertip-widths deep.

Unbelievable defense for a mushroom.

Perhaps that was why the Jester Deathcap showed little reaction to the attack, merely twitching as if bitten by a mosquito.

Boom!

But it was a different story when it came to the consecutive attacks that followed.

The attacks themselves weren’t powerful.

Their Impact was no different from the previous one.

Still just mosquito bites.

The problem was that they all hit the exact same spot where the previous arrow had lodged itself.

Like a mosquito biting a spot already bitten by another mosquito.

Boom!

The moment the third arrow hit the same spot, the Jester Deathcap could no longer remain still.

Thump!

It uprooted its two legs that were deeply embedded in the ground.

Filled with rage, it started stomping its two legs towards the direction where the fire arrows were coming from.

That was the beginning.

Plop!

The green mushrooms that were rooted in various places also uprooted their legs and started moving following the Jester Deathcap.

Over 1,000 mushrooms started moving.

Thud thud thud thud!

Towards the direction where the fire arrows came from.

They stomped on the ground and moved quickly.

In an instant.

The exit, once filled with mushrooms, became quiet.

That was the moment.

Whoosh!

The waiting adventurers moved in sequence.

All of them covered their mouths and noses with cloth.

And they all wore goggles.

Goggles were quite expensive, but veteran adventurers would each have one.

Although poison was poison, it was a necessity that could save lives in situations where it was raining, insects were flying around, or the wind was blowing strongly.

This time was no different.

Thanks to the goggles, everyone was able to quickly and accurately exit without their eyes being exposed to the poison.

One by one, they filed out.

The last one was the pirate Iburu.

Before leaving, he raised the gun in his hand and aimed it at the sky.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and soon green smoke billowed into the sky like clouds.

It was a signal.

“Boss!”

A signal to El Paume and Dibo.

“Everyone has escaped safely!”

Dibo didn’t smile at the signal.

He didn’t have time for that.

“These damn mushroom bastards!”

He was busy swinging his Polearm at the green mushrooms that were swarming them.

Plop!

With each swing of Dibo’s Polearm, the sturdy green mushrooms were crushed like orange mushrooms.

“Slash Blaster!”

Four or five green mushrooms were smashed at once.

That was the power.

“This is the skill of an adventurer, you mushroom bastards!”

The power of the warrior skill, Slash Blaster.

It was also the reason why adventurers were treated as adventurers.

Of course, Dibo was more than just an adventurer.

Whoosh!

As mentioned before, every time he swung his Polearm, at least three green mushrooms went flying.

He didn’t just smash them, he aimed precisely for the head, between the eyes.

It was proof that he could wield the heavy Polearm as he pleased.

“I am the Polearm Hero!”

It was also the reason why he was able to become Aaran’s disciple.

However, even so, the number of green mushrooms swarming them was still overwhelming.

It was impossible to catch them all.

And he didn’t intend to catch them all in the first place.

“Boss, what now?”

Now it was time for El Paume’s party to go through the exit and claim their reward.

“Yes, we need to catch it! I’ve been waiting for you to say that… huh?”

But Dibo’s surprised expression changed when he heard El Paume’s next words.

“Oh, no, you mean you’re going to catch that thing?”

At that moment, Dibo remembered.

“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t be easy?”

He remembered El Paume saying that it wouldn’t be easy to catch that Jester Deathcap.

“Yes, it won’t be easy.”

El Paume also knew that he had said those words.

“For other adventurers.”

He just didn’t say that he himself wasn’t included in that.

And that was true.

El Paume was incomparable to ordinary veteran adventurers.

But Dibo was different.

Dibo acknowledged that El Paume was special. He also knew that he had incredible abilities.

However, the situation was a little different now.

“That poison is too dangerous.”

The element of poison was a deadly factor for adventurers who had no countermeasures.

“The poison is still there!”

In particular, the poison of the Jester Deathcap was not just present in the surrounding area, but also effective within the range it had moved.

That was why the previous party had been wiped out. The boss monster was nowhere to be seen, but the remaining poison was still effective.

That meant that even if they ran away and kept their distance, they could still be poisoned at any moment.

“There’s no point in just keeping our distance.”

El Paume knew that too.

That’s why.

“We need to attack from a distance.”

The reason El Paume wanted to hunt it.

“Dibo, let’s retreat for now. And after the mushrooms have calmed down, cut down the trees.”

3.

A forest so dense that it was difficult to find gaps between the trees.

In the middle of such a forest, there was a clearing in one place, as if it had a bandage on its head.

It was a fairly large clearing that could be seen even from a distance.

“Boss.”

Dibo, who was about 500 meters away, could also see the clearing clearly enough.

Of course, just because he could see it didn’t mean he could see it well.

That’s why.

Dibo’s expression hardened as he watched El Paume look at the clearing through a telescope.

“Are you really going to cast a spell from here?”

El Paume said that it would be difficult to catch it from a reasonable distance, so let’s attack from a distance.

In fact, Dibo was impressed when he heard that.

And he thought it was possible.

After all, the telekinesis ability that El Paume had shown was incomparable to other magicians, so he would be able to show a range that was beyond common sense.

“It’s about 500 meters, right?”

However, the distance he was seeing now was beyond Dibo’s common sense.

Of course, it was different in El Paume’s common sense.

“It’s a bit close for comfort.”

For El Paume, a distance of 500 meters was not a distance he could be satisfied with.

3 years later, in a world full of monsters, the surest way for magicians to survive was to increase their magical range.

To be precise, magicians who could not increase their range died without exception.

It wasn’t just then.

Even now, the adventurer magicians who were rising to the top had long magical ranges without exception.

That was the only way they could survive.

‘Even 1 kilometer is ridiculous.’

Of course, it goes without saying that El Paume’s magical range, who had reached the pinnacle of survival, was beyond common sense.

He was the last adventurer to accurately hit the neck of a flying Hontail with magic.

Even so, the reason he was holding his range at a distance of about 500 meters now was simple.

‘This is the limit with Fire Arrow.’

The magic he could use was Fire Arrow.

Of course, that was the biggest reason.

‘This is enough.’

There was no reason to push himself any further to catch the Jester Deathcap.

That was when it happened.

“Here it comes.”

The Jester Deathcap appeared in the clearing that Dibo had created.

Swoop!

It followed El Paume’s Fire Arrows that were constantly flying around the Jester Deathcap like flies.

“Fire Arrow.”

At that moment, El Paume activated the Fire Arrow spell again.

There was no hesitation.

He had already been gauging the distance and position.

“Huh?”

El Paume immediately fired the Fire Arrow.

High into the sky.

“Boss, isn’t that too high?”

It was intentional.

Just like a hawk flying high into the sky to hunt, and then dropping like lightning.

The Fire Arrow that had risen silently began to fall like a thunderbolt.

Fwip!

It also carried the powerful rotational force of a revolver.

It hit the Jester Deathcap right between the eyes.

Plop!

The arrow was embedded so deeply that it could not be seen.

“Huh?”

Dibo froze upon seeing that.

‘H-how?’

The result that unfolded before his eyes was on a completely different level than he had imagined.

El Paume, who was holding a telescope in his hand, lowered it and spoke to Dibo, who was still frozen in place.

“It looks like four times will be enough.”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]