The Last Adventurer

Chapter 6

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Chapter 6: The Golden Slime (3)

8.

Adventurers who entered the Mystic Gate always left scars on it.

However, it wasn’t always the case.

There were a few tricks.

For example, some adventurers intentionally left multiple scars. To prevent others from easily entering. After all, a Mystic Gate with many scars was bound to feel dangerous.

But even so, it was clear that a Mystic Gate with many scars was dangerous.

If there were about 12 scars, it would be a really dangerous place.

Of course, it was a laughable level for El Paume. He had conquered Mystic Gates with over 100 scars, and he was the last adventurer who had survived facing the Hontail.

‘It’s a dangerous place.’

However, that was no reason for El Paume to let his guard down.

Of course, El Paume had considered various possibilities before entering the Mystic Gate.

‘The entrance limit is 5 people. It’s not a strong monster that appears. It’s a type that can be conquered. However, there was a high chance that a type that becomes stronger if certain conditions are met will appear.’

And he thought of one thing.

‘There’s also a chance it could be a Gold Slime.’

Gold Slime.

A golden slime that appeared only as a boss monster in Red Rank Mystic Gates, but it was an incredibly rare boss monster.

There were two reasons why El Paume had such a Gold Slime in mind.

First, it was strong.

‘It’s a nightmare in Red Rank Mystic Gates.’

The other was that it was very powerful.

‘Because the acid is so strong.’

Fundamentally, slimes are composed of a powerful acidic liquid.

Naturally, when their bodies are wounded, strong acid leaks out, which makes them difficult to hunt.

This was especially a nightmare for warriors, tanks, and melee dealers who had to get close to fight.

In other words, they were vulnerable to ranged attacks.

So, they weren’t that difficult of a monster to defeat. They were just tricky.

However, it’s a rule of thumb that nothing is easy in the world of adventurers.

The Gold Slime’s Acid Arrow Skill

The biggest headache with the Gold Slime was the fact that it used the Acid Arrow skill.

Its威力was stronger than expected.

Above all, it had a considerable range.

In many ways, it was a troublesome monster for beginners.

Of course, El Paume didn’t have the Gold Slime in mind simply because it was strong.

‘If it’s difficult, just run away.’

The purpose of most adventurers who came here in the first place was to acquire the items of the dead adventurer.

From their perspective, there was no reason to fight the Gold Slime.

That’s why he had the Gold Slime in mind.

The Gold Slime Consumes Items

The presence of the Gold Slime meant that the items of the dead adventurer could not be found.

However, not many people knew this fact.

To be sure, even among beginner adventurers, those who knew of the Gold Slime’s existence could be counted on one hand.

That’s why the adventurers who came here would have been wandering around.

Looking for items that didn’t exist, already eaten away by the Gold Slime.

And El Paume knew that.

‘It becomes stronger with the items it consumes.’

Another reason why the Gold Slime was dangerous.

Of course, this was just one possibility. El Paume had no certainty that a Gold Slime would appear.

‘There it is.’

However, the moment he crossed the Mystic Gate, El Paume saw it.

Traces of acid left here and there, those incredibly faint traces of acid.

Sniff!

The faint scent of slime acid, unique to slime acid, tickled his nose.

At that moment, El Paume was certain.

‘It’s a Gold Slime.’

That the boss monster here was a Gold Slime.

‘Lucky me.’

And the moment he knew that, El Paume didn’t hesitate any longer.

‘I can handle it easily.’

9.

“Damn it!”

The first to curse the moment the Gold Slime appeared was none other than Chev.

It was understandable. For a warrior, slimes were like mouse droppings in front of a cat.

Not only was their life in danger if they made a mistake, but if they fought close to it, they would inevitably be exposed to the slime’s blood, its acid, which would lead to the destruction of their items.

The meaning of this was that their expensive items would become useless in a battle against a mere slime.

Of course, with a Gold Slime, such concerns were meaningless.

‘Of all things!’

The moment the Gold Slime appeared, the only thing they had to worry about from that moment on was survival.

Chev thought the only fortunate thing was that he knew information about the Gold Slime.

That was a pretty big deal.

Among the monsters that appeared beyond the Mystic Gate, there were many monsters that did not exist in Maple World.

This meant that new monsters were appearing all the time.

Moreover, information about such monsters was worth much more than one might think.

It meant that you had to pay a price to get information.

Adventurers of a certain rank were usually not reluctant to pay for information.

However, Chev was a 1st Circle adventurer, still an adventurer who was conquering Red Rank Mystic Gates.

Did such a person know about the Gold Slime? It was something that deserved to be praised.

That was thanks to him.

“Watch out for the Acid Arrow!”

Pew!

The moment Chev gave the warning, an Acid Arrow shot out of the Gold Slime’s body towards Chev’s comrade who was in the tree, and it was thanks to Chev’s warning that his comrade was able to dodge the Acid Arrow by jumping.

“Ouch!”

He sprained his ankle when he landed hard, but it was nothing compared to losing his life.

“Boss, do you know what that thing is?”

The biggest effect was that Chev’s comrades were encouraged by Chev’s words.

The sense of security that comes from knowing the strategy was indescribable.

“It uses Acid Arrow. If you get hit, you should think of it as the end.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Fortunately.”

“Fortunately? Is there a way to defeat it?”

“After the Gold Slime uses Acid Arrow once, it needs a cooldown.”

That’s why Chev was willing to explain the strategy, and his comrades’ eyes changed at that fact.

There is a strategy, so we can hunt it!

That’s why they were confident.

That was the reason.

“Then now…….”

Pew!

The one who couldn’t dodge the suddenly fired Acid Arrow was.

“Aaaargh!”

And seeing his comrade who was hit by the Acid Arrow scream and fall to the ground, he couldn’t react properly.

‘How come? Isn’t there a cooldown?’

Chev’s knowledge was not wrong.

Normally, a Gold Slime would need a cooldown after firing Acid Arrow.

However, that was only in normal cases, Chev should have realized.

That this was beyond the Mystic Gate with 12 scars.

There was a reason why 12 parties had died helplessly.

Of course, it was a late realization, and the price for it was brutal.

Pew!

“Aaaargh!”

His comrade screamed.

“Aaaargh!”

One after another.

This left only the warrior Chev.

And all Chev could do was one thing.

“Ah.”

Resignation.

Pew!

That sound rang in Chev’s ears as he resigned himself to his fate.

10.

Only after hearing the screams did El Paume, who had been hiding, start to move.

‘They’re all taken care of.’

In a way, it was revenge.

Just retribution for Chev and his group, who had committed all sorts of atrocities as beginner hunters.

However, El Paume didn’t feel any particular emotion about this fact.

He hadn’t done it for revenge.

He had simply used the most surefire and safe way to deal with a group that was trying to kill him. It was no different from kicking a rock out of the way.

‘There’s no profit in this.’

Moreover, El Paume couldn’t recover any items here.

He had a sliver of hope.

The possibility that the surviving adventurers, realizing the situation, had simply thrown away their items in order to leave them behind.

After all, the Gold Slime didn’t specifically target items to eat. It simply consumed the items along with the corpses of the dead adventurers it devoured. So, if the adventurers had thrown away their items, those items should have remained.

‘But considering that monster, it’s probably eaten everything.’

However, the moment he saw the Gold Slime using Acid Arrow without any cooldown, that possibility was reduced to zero.

El Paume had only one hope left here.

‘Instead, the level of the Magic Stone it possesses could be that of at least an Orange Rank boss monster, or maybe even a Yellow Rank monster.’

Acquiring the Magic Stone of the Gold Slime, which had absorbed over 40 items, that massive lump of magical power.

Of course, as mentioned before, that Gold Slime was very strong.

It wasn’t for nothing that it had wiped out 12 parties here.

It was a level that couldn’t be considered easy even compared to an Orange Rank boss monster.

‘Slimes have high magic defense.’

Moreover, slimes generally had high magic defense.

‘About the size of a palm.’

With El Paume’s current Fire Arrow, it would only be able to pierce the Gold Slime’s huge body by the length of a palm.

‘About 25 centimeters?’

To the Gold Slime, which was about 3 meters long and had its core in the center, it was only like a very long needle stuck in its skin.

It was injured. However, it was impossible to inflict a fatal wound.

However, El Paume wasn’t too worried.

He had been in this kind of situation many times before, where he had to hunt a formidable monster.

‘Then six shots should be enough.’

So he didn’t hesitate.

“Fire Arrow.”

El Paume chanted Fire Arrow.

Then he fired the first shot.

Straight.

In a straight line towards the Gold Slime.

Thud!

The Fire Arrow flew and pierced the Gold Slime’s body. At that moment, an Acid Arrow shot out of the Gold Slime’s body.

Aimed at El Paume.

However, El Paume, who had already anticipated this situation, was not there. El Paume started running.

“Fire Arrow.”

He used Fire Arrow again and fired it.

This time, he controlled it with his magic power.

Thud!

He pierced the Gold Slime’s body with the Fire Arrow again.

The Fire Arrow that flew this time pierced twice as deep as before.

The reason was simple.

It was because it was pierced in exactly the same spot as the first one.

It was a sight that would have terrified any wizard who saw it.

However, El Paume was not terrified by the sight.

No wonder, it was an everyday sight for him, nothing more or less. To be precise, he had lived a life where he couldn’t survive if he couldn’t do this much.

So at this moment, all El Paume had on his mind was one thing.

‘Four shots left.’

Countdown.

‘Three shots.’

And that countdown surely came to an end.

‘Two shots.’

It was over.

‘One shot.’

Plop!

The Fire Arrow hit the Gold Slime’s core, and the Gold Slime exploded.

11.

Adventurers imagine themselves cheering the moment they finish hunting a boss monster beyond the Mystic Gate.

But reality was different.

No adventurer cheered when they hunted a monster, especially a boss monster, as if everything was over.

At least not the experienced adventurers. They knew.

That the real thing only starts then.

“The first thing you need to do after defeating a boss monster is to find its core.”

Most monsters had a core, and that core was the Magic Stone that raised the adventurers’ Circle.

Herein lies the problem. If the monster’s core is destroyed, the Magic Stone is destroyed.

Of course, even if it was destroyed, the power of the Magic Stone itself was not a problem.

The problem was retrieving the destroyed Magic Stone.

The task of finding that Magic Stone, which was more expensive than gold, was never an easy one.

It wasn’t just the Magic Stone. There were many monster parts that were worth money.

The real work starts after the hunt is over.

El Paume was no different.

No, in this case, it was even more annoying.

The Gold Slime exploded as it died, and along with the explosion, it sprayed the powerful acid that filled its body everywhere.

The shattered core was also scattered everywhere.

It would be strange if finding the core there was easy.

However, El Paume worked slowly. He used his magic power to move the pieces of the Magic Stone, and he did it tirelessly and constantly.

It was because he was too familiar with this task, and he knew.

Gulp!

‘Even though it’s just a fragment, my circle deepens every time I eat it.’

He knew how important this task was.

Soon, after eating all of the Gold Slime’s Magic Stone, the black line on El Paume’s left wrist was clearly darker.

‘1st Circle, I’m almost there.’

El Paume felt a sense of regret at this point.

It was definitely a remarkable result.

However, if the magic power of the Gold Slime’s Magic Stone had been a little stronger, then El Paume would have reached the 2nd Circle.

‘The difference between 1st Circle and 2nd Circle is decisive.’

The difference was huge.

In human terms, it was the difference between having one hand and having two hands, and it was much bigger than that.

But he didn’t dwell on his regrets.

There was still much to be done.

Most of the items here were eaten by the Gold Slime, but there was something it didn’t eat.

The corpse that had just been created.

‘Chev.’

El Paume moved to retrieve it.

And El Paume found it inside Chev’s shoe.

‘……A red Magic Stone of this size is equivalent to a boss monster, yet he was hiding something like this and walking around. He must have been close to the 2nd Circle.’

A result that would only make him regret more.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]