Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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001
Prologue
1.
An era where the desperate, frantic, and miserable tale of the six heroes who sealed the Black Mage, the one bent on destroying the Maple World, had become the heroic legend children loved most.
“The Cygnus Knights have fallen, the Resistance has crumbled, the Cross Hunters have been destroyed, and the adventurers have been massacred. And the six heroes are dead.”
An era where no one dared stand against the Black Mage and his followers, who had reemerged.
“You’re the only one left, El Pam, the Last Adventurer.”
In that era, there was one adventurer who resisted until the very end.
2.
Minar Forest.
A forest from time immemorial, where dragons and humans once coexisted.
But after the dragons were slaughtered by the Black Mage, it became a place inhabited only by monsters twisted by feasting on dragon corpses.
The monsters of Minar Forest were extraordinarily powerful, and they had banded together into packs.
The centaurs were a prime example.
The centaurs in Minar Forest were incomparably stronger than those elsewhere, and some even armed themselves with items left behind by dragons.
Even A-rank adventurers regarded such centaurs as nightmares.
Of course, that was in the past.
After the monsters from inside the Mystic Gates created by the Black Mage began spilling into the world, no place was free of nightmares.
Minar Forest was no exception.
Because of those escaped monsters, the forest had never known a moment’s peace.
“El Pam.”
El Pam had set up base in Minar Forest to borrow the strength of those monsters.
Of course, this was no hopeful choice.
With every city and fortress in the Maple World reduced to ruins, it was merely the last resort to cling to survival.
On another note, it meant this as well.
The fact that Minar Forest—which once terrified even A-rank adventurers—had become the safest place in the world showed just how utterly devoid of safety the Maple World had become.
That was why, when El Pam led the survivors here, he thought to himself:
This would be his grave.
“The centaur nest has fallen.”
And the moment he heard those words from his companion, El Pam found himself thinking the same thought he’d had when he first arrived in Minar Forest.
“It couldn’t have collapsed on its own. Looks like something new has shown up.”
“We’ll need to confirm for sure, but… Jay saw it. A massive dragon with three heads heading into Minar Forest.”
From those following words, he could now tell by instinct.
“A three-headed dragon… That’s Hontail.”
This meant Minar Forest would soon become his grave.
In other words, El Pam no longer had confidence in himself.
And he had every reason not to.
“If Hontail’s come this far, it means Cheryl’s suicide squad has been completely wiped out.”
Hontail.
Back in the era when seeking dragons was dismissed as romantic nonsense rather than madness among adventurers, it was one of the monstrous rulers of the dragon-filled Minar Forest. The one holding it at bay had been Cheryl, an executive of the now-defunct Cross Hunters, and her squad.
For Hontail to reach Minar Forest meant that squad was no longer worthy of the name.
And that wasn’t all.
“The Cygnus Knights have fallen.”
The Cygnus Knights, the knights of Empress Cygnus—the leader of the Maple Alliance at the heart of the Maple World—had long since been crushed by monsters that crossed the Mystic Gates.
“The Resistance has crumbled, and the Cross Hunters have been destroyed.”
The Resistance, based in Edelstein and armed with powerful weaponry, had fallen into infighting before the monsters and collapsed. The Cross Hunters, born to hunt monsters beyond the Mystic Gates, had ultimately been shattered in the endless war.
“The adventurers have been massacred.”
There was no one left who could even call themselves an adventurer.
Only survivors remained.
“And the six heroes are dead.”
Even the great heroes who had sealed the Black Mage—the last flicker of hope—had now become stars in the sky.
“Yeah.”
In the end, there was only one person who could adventure against those monsters now.
“You’re the only one left, El Pam, the Last Adventurer.”
El Pam, who had earned the new title of Last Adventurer, let out a long sigh at the fact.
“We’ve come this far.”
His companion spoke amid that sigh.
“Pam, if only you’d realized your ability sooner.”
At those words, El Pam closed his eyes.
He had never anticipated a situation like this.
Never imagined he’d survive this long.
Never pinned hopes on tomorrow.
Yet El Pam hadn’t simply stumbled or lucked his way to survival here.
He had an ability.
“All Master.”
All Master—the ability to use every spell in the Maple World.
It was an extraordinary power.
It was rare even to be born with affinity for a single attribute, and only a tiny fraction had affinity for two.
But El Pam could wield them all.
Fire, ice, lightning, poison attributes, of course, but also superpowers like telekinesis, and even the light and darkness attributes reachable only by transcendents!
Unfortunately, El Pam had only realized this talent after the monsters crossed the Mystic Gates.
“Then you could’ve gathered items long ago.”
And by the time he did, the treasures that could bring out his ability—the skill-infused items—had vanished amid the war with the monsters.
It was the same even now.
His companions always regretted it.
“If you had items from beyond the Mystic Gates, like Gungnir or Balmunk, in your possession right now, you could’ve hunted Hontail.”
El Pam felt the same.
He always regretted it, sometimes thrashing about in frustration.
But El Pam knew.
“Pointless talk.”
That no amount of regret would conjure items out of thin air.
“As long as we can’t go back to the past.”
Without regression, swallowing that regret—and everything else—was impossible.
“Let’s get back to the present.”
Unable to return to the past, they had no choice but to face this moment.
“There’s nowhere left to retreat. Now that Hontail’s in Minar Forest, the monsters here will quickly become its minions. The monsters of Minar Forest devoured dragon corpses, turning them into beasts no different from dragons themselves. Even controlled by the Black Mage, Hontail was once the king of dragons. With no other dragon kings left, all monsters will follow it. And then it’s over.”
So he had prepared.
“We kill it before that happens.”
“What if we can’t kill it, Pam?”
“Then this place becomes my grave.”
He had prepared for his final adventure.
And those preparations were complete.