The Last Adventurer

Chapter 5

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 5: The Golden Slime (2)

4.

El Paume signed the contract. The contract for the Mystic Gate raid proposed by Ebisu.

“You know what it means to sign a contract under Gafor’s rule, right? No need to waste your time explaining.”

This was a contract from the demons of Gafor, the ones who even loaned money to Balok, the ruler, and took it all back.

“Short version.”

El Paume said, his voice emotionless.

There was no turning back after signing, so Ebisu spoke directly.

“This Mystic Gate has an entry limit of five people with Twelve scars.”

El Paume’s eyes narrowed at that. No other reaction.

Ebisu was surprised by El Paume’s calmness. Twelve scars meant at least twelve parties had entered before, none returning. A monster that devoured adventurers. El Paume, a bait slave for three years, couldn’t be unaware.

Yet, he remained calm.

El Paume met Ebisu’s surprised gaze.

“Twelve scars… means retrieving an item, not killing the boss monster, wouldn’t you say?”

Ebisu seemed satisfied with the answer.

‘Maybe I don’t know his skills yet, but he definitely knows the Mystic Gate better than most adventurers.’

It’s not easy to find adventurers who can talk.

“We need to retrieve 20 items. The current market price is 3,000 meso per item.”

Of course, the contract terms were typical of Gafor.

‘The original price of a 1st Circle item is over 7,000 meso.’

They were offering 3,000 meso for an item that sells for 7,000 meso on the market. They were not even offering half the price.

However, this was how Gafor usually did business. Most of their contracts were disadvantageous to the adventurers.

Even so, many adventurers came to Gafor. The reason was simple. There were many more adventurers who couldn’t do business elsewhere than one might think.

El Paume was one of them.

He had no choice.

“El Paume, your debt is currently 1 million meso.”

He was now recognized as an adventurer instead of a slave, but the fact remained that El Paume still owed a large debt to Gafor.

“Do your best.”

It was an absurd amount.

No one would lend 1 million meso to a young man who worked in the Lis Harbor.

In fact, El Paume had never borrowed money from Gafor.

He had purchased a rare item called black moss from Gafor on credit, which was said to slow the progression of his father’s black plague. Gafor had set the price of the black moss at 1 million meso.

And that amount had completely overshadowed the value of his life-risking work as a bait slave.

It was an exorbitant amount, but since black moss was a rare item with no fixed price, El Paume had no way to argue.

Gafor had warned him clearly, and he had signed their contract anyway.

It was the same this time.

There was no need for empty words.

“Where are the other four besides me?

The Only Thing Left to Do is Take on the Request

5.

“My name is Chev.”

The first person El Paume met after signing the contract was Chev, the leader of the four-man party that had already gathered.

He was a large man, and he carried a shield even larger than his size on his back.

“I’m a warrior. I’m also the tank of the party.”

El Paume cautiously reached out his hand to shake Chev’s as he introduced himself.

“My name is El Paume. You can call me Paume.”

El Paume’s voice was filled with tension as he spoke.

“Kiddo.”

Chev patted El Paume’s shoulder lightly with his palm and said.

“I heard everything from Ebisu. You were a bait slave? Don’t worry, I don’t care about that.”

He continued to encourage him.

“My colleagues feel the same way.”

Chev’s demeanor as he introduced his colleagues was full of generosity and friendliness.

“Nice to meet you.”

However, El Paume remained indifferent towards them.

He didn’t see any reason to get close to them.

As far as El Paume was concerned, this request was something he could easily do on his own.

Furthermore, El Paume was not doing this request simply to make money.

On the contrary, El Paume was planning to show them something.

‘Ebisu wants to be my right-hand man. If I show him my abilities, he’ll definitely give me something concrete.’

‘There’s no reason to join hands with these guys anyway.’

More importantly, El Paume knew.

‘With these novice hunters.’

Their true nature.

6.

“Chev, what do you think?”

On the way to the Mystic Gate, Chev smiled faintly at his colleague Eva’s question.

“He’s a complete beginner.”

At that answer, a smile formed on the lips of his colleagues around him.

It was a strange sight.

Venturing beyond the Mystic Gate was incredibly dangerous. An incompetent colleague? That meant putting your own life at risk.

For that reason, the perception of incompetent colleagues, as well as those with a bad reputation, was rock bottom.

Naturally, the perception of beginners was like a basement below rock bottom.

And yet, they were smiling at the word “beginner”?

“So, what about the item?”

“It looks like he rented it from Gafor. The Fire Arrow spell.”

“Oh? And then what?”

“At least 10,000 meso is guaranteed.”

That was the only thing that mattered to them.

“Let’s just roll with it for now and deal with him at the end.”

A novice hunter.

They were hunters who preyed on novice players inside Mystic Gates, targeting the items they possessed.

On this floor, they were a relatively easy sight to find.

After all, novice players were much more valuable prey than any Mystic Gate.

Once you had an item, you were guaranteed to be able to obtain one, which was a huge advantage compared to the fact that you could only obtain one or two items at most from a Red-rank Mystic Gate.

In addition, novice adventurers were adventurers nonetheless. They were a much more useful force than the bait slaves inside the Mystic Gate.

Moreover, bait slaves cost a lot of money to rent, and the cost of their death was also quite high.

On the other hand, not only did it not cost any money to take novice adventurers with you, but in many cases, novice adventurers would even pay to be included in a party of experienced adventurers.

And there was that decisive factor.

“Even if you kill a hundred of them, their bodies will disappear the moment they leave the Mystic Gate.”

What happened beyond the Mystic Gate could be completely buried there.

It was a profitable business in many ways.

In fact, Chev had already accumulated a considerable number of items through this business.

‘Once I open the 2nd Circle, my life will change at that moment.’

The items needed to open the 2nd Circle.

‘This time, I’ll have enough money.’

Chev, who was talking to himself with such anticipation.

El Paume, who was watching them from a distance, had a bitter smile on his face.

‘They’re so eager to cook me.’

El Paume recognized their identities as soon as he saw Chev’s group.

It wasn’t because he had any information about them before he came to the past.

El Paume’s memory was good, but it wasn’t good enough to remember such insignificant people.

‘They’re not that great.’

Even so, the reason he noticed was simple.

‘If they’re making the mistake of showing kindness to a novice adventurer who is a former bait slave.’

This commission was quite difficult.

At the same time, the merits were also great.

But for such a commission, a novice adventurer who is a former bait slave suddenly enters the remaining one slot?

It was common sense for adventurers to foam at the mouth and yell at the top of their lungs to replace him with someone else.

Then someone might ask if Chev is really kind and a good person, but that was a question that wasn’t worth discussing.

‘That’s how all the people who work at the top of Gafor are.’

If he was such a good person, he wouldn’t have met El Paume at the top of Gafor.

Anyway, the situation has been sorted out.

Chev’s group is trying to hunt El Paume.

And El Paume knows that fact.

‘The outcome will be decided beyond the Mystic Gate.’

Then there is only one thing left.

El Paume and Chev’s group were able to find it after a journey of more than ten hours.

“There it is!”

A red-rank Mystic Gate with 12 scars appeared before my eyes.

There was no hesitation in entering the Mystic Gate.

In the first place, if there was any hesitation, it was common not to come near the Mystic Gate.

Everyone went in.

“Let’s set up camp first.”

As soon as they crossed the Mystic Gate, the first thing Chev did was not to hunt, but to set up camp.

“No one knows how long it will take to find the items on the quest list.”

If the goal itself was to clear the gate, it would have been common to prioritize exploration over setting up camp, but this time the goal was to retrieve items.

This meant that Chev’s group was, in their own way, veterans.

In fact, they quickly found a suitable location.

“I think the top of that tree would be good. There are many branches, and it would be easy to move to other trees if necessary. The surrounding visibility is also good.”

They set up camp in a suitable location.

“El Paume, don’t come out.”

El Paume did nothing during the process.

“You’ll just get in the way.”

In fact, that was Chev’s group’s plan.

Usually, the first thing novice adventurers do when they first venture into a Mystic Gate is to hide behind.

It was because of instinct, not any other instinct, but the instinct for survival.

Of course, it was never easy to simply ignore this survival instinct and do something.

‘Kid, if you have any conscience, you should do whatever you can here.’

The only way to make them do something was to pressure them.

And that was exactly what Chev’s group was doing now.

“We didn’t expect this. We’re expecting you to hunt monsters anyway.”

El Paume, you focus on hunting monsters.

“Of course, a wizard’s job is to just hunt monsters well. There’s no point in being good at anything else if you can’t hunt monsters.”

If you can’t do that, you’re useless.

“Let’s do it well. Our lives are in each other’s hands.”

“That’s not it, your life is in danger.”

“Over there.”

El Paume spoke under such pressure.

“What if I lure the monsters?”

“What?”

Unexpected words.

No, it wasn’t just unexpected, it was beyond common sense.

Isn’t El Paume a wizard? He was a ranged dealer who safely attacked monsters from the rear.

“I’ve worked as a bait slave for years. I’m confident in luring monsters and running away from them.”

However, the following words were quite reasonable.

After all, bait slaves often excelled in some ways compared to adventurers.

And El Paume was not just a bait slave.

Of course, it was hard to believe this at face value.

“In return, if I do my job well… please give me my share.”

However, with the following words, everyone in Chev’s group understood.

If a man had spent years as a bait slave for money, it would not be strange for him to do such an unconventional thing for money.

“So you’re saying you’re going to lure the monsters?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with the danger?”

Above all, there was no reason for Chev to hesitate.

‘He’s going to hell on his own.’

He had tried all sorts of ways to throw him into danger, but what reason was there to hesitate when he was going to the danger zone on his own?

“Alright, if that’s what you want, then so be it.”

That’s why Chev accepted El Paume’s offer without hesitation.

“But don’t push yourself too hard. Let’s see your skills first. If you’re not good enough, you’ll have to stop right away.”

El Paume nodded at the following words.

“Then I’ll go and identify the surrounding monsters.”

And El Paume immediately disappears into the forest.

Chev and his group, who were watching him, soon exchanged an incredulous smile.

“There’s no one crazier than this guy.”

“Oh, crazy? To such a kind person who is offering his own body!”

“Ah, right. He’s a benefactor, a benefactor.”

The incredulous smile soon turned into laughter.

“Is it because he’s a former bait slave? He seems like a madman. Shouldn’t we just get rid of him?”

They were so mocking that they were starting to worry.

Chev said to them,

“Come on, everyone, stop making a fuss and calm down.”

He injected tension.

“We don’t know what kind of monsters that weirdo will bring, so let’s be on guard.”

Of course, not many of his colleagues were tense at his words.

“What’s the danger in a Red-rank Mystic Gate with only five people?”

They were confident.

Chev was the same.

He was someone who was looking at the 2nd Circle, someone who was honestly capable of clearing even the Orange-rank, which was the upper rank of the Red-rank.

There was no way a Red-rank would be dangerous.

“Hey, boss.”

“What?”

“Isn’t something coming?”

It appeared before their eyes.

“What is it?”

“It looks like a slime.”

“A slime?”

“Oh, was this a slime field? This is an easier place. Why did 12 parties perish in a place like this?”

“Wait, boss! It’s gold!”

“What?”

“The slime is gold!”

A single gigantic gold slime filled with golden liquid.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]