Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Chapter 33. Phantom Thief Phantom (1)
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1.
“Do it according to plan.”
When El Pam said they would hunt on their own with just their party, Pyr didn’t object.
“We’ll do it according to our plan, too.”
Instead, he prepared.
“Prepare for the chance that El Pam’s party fails.”
It was more rational and wise to plan for El Pam’s failure than to try convincing him otherwise.
In other words, Pyr was convinced.
‘There’s no way they’ll succeed.’
The odds of El Pam’s party taking down the Pharaoh Snake alone were next to zero.
Even so, the reason he didn’t stop them—or try to persuade them—was simple.
‘But El Pam’s party would never do anything reckless.’
Their greatest strength wasn’t anything else—it was their survival skills.
So Pyr was certain El Pam would use a method that left room for another chance, rather than an all-or-nothing gamble.
‘Opportunities will come.’
Above all, the situation wasn’t bad.
‘There are no more monsters.’
Now that all the Pharaoh Snake’s mummy minions were cleared out, another chance was sure to come.
Of course, he wasn’t taking the situation lightly.
He prepared thoroughly.
To respond swiftly if El Pam’s party failed, Pyr himself kept watch from the closest spot—no one else.
‘My god.’
Thanks to that, Pyr could see it.
‘It’s actually working?’
El Pam’s party hunting the Pharaoh Snake with astonishing ease.
Truth be told, there was nothing special about their method at all.
The warrior drawing the monster’s aggro up front, the ranged dealers attacking from afar, and the healer supporting the warriors—it was textbook, the most standard formation there was.
El Pam’s party wasn’t using any particularly unique skills, either.
Which made it all the more shocking.
‘This perfectly?’
It was proof that El Pam’s party’s fundamentals were on another level compared to other adventurers.
‘They weren’t this good last time?’
Decisively, the level Pyr remembered from El Pam’s party wasn’t anywhere near this.
Everyone except El Pam was just decent, nothing more.
And that wasn’t from long ago.
Meaning they’d achieved tremendous growth in skill in a short time.
Truth be told, that was impossible.
Power could grow through items or special opportunities anytime.
But fundamentals were fundamentals—like a tree that needed long years of training as its roots.
That was why.
‘Just as I expected.’
El Pam had been so confident about hunting the Pharaoh Snake.
No, from the start, El Pam had only worried about the mummies poisoned by the Pharaoh Snake’s venom—he’d never fretted over the hunt itself.
‘Yellow-grade Mystic Gates hold no fear for us now.’
Among all the boss monsters in yellow-grade Mystic Gates, none could threaten El Pam’s party.
Of course, there was an exception.
‘Except the Martyr.’
The Martyr—that presence was dangerous even for El Pam.
They broke the rules.
In any case, the hunt was over, and El Pam no longer cared about the Pharaoh Snake.
First, he approached it.
Kyuu!
The Mana Snail, which had been keeping quiet until now, revealed itself and swiftly headed for the Pharaoh Snake.
It soon retrieved an item from the dead Pharaoh Snake’s chest.
“A ring?”
What appeared was a ring.
El Pam immediately knew what it was.
“Poison Region.”
The 4th Circle poison magic, Poison Region.
The infamous virulent zone spell—it turned the surroundings into a virulent zone, just as the name implied.
It wasn’t unique-grade.
“But Poison Region is amazing, right?”
Its grade was epic.
“Isn’t it what every poison mage dreams of?”
Yet it was as hard to get as a unique-grade item.
That was how useful it was.
Just creating a virulent zone set it apart from other poison spells in utility.
But its greatest value was this.
“It makes combustible poison.”
The poison created by Poison Region was combustible—it exploded on contact with fire.
To El Pam, it was the perfect poison spell.
In fact, he’d been searching everywhere for Poison Regions.
Willing to pay any price.
Yet he couldn’t find any.
Owners of Poison Region items wouldn’t part with them for any sum.
That was how rare they were.
‘So that’s why its poison was so potent.’
At the same time, it made sense why the Pharaoh Snake’s poison affected everything it touched.
If the Pharaoh Snake’s venom mixed with Poison Region magic, the sprayed area became a virulent zone.
‘Unexpected.’
In any case, it was an unforeseen gain for El Pam.
Yet he didn’t rejoice in it.
He didn’t pay it much mind.
He couldn’t use it.
“Boss, a portal.”
A portal had appeared over the Pharaoh Snake’s corpse.
‘I wonder what preparations the Phantom Thief Phantom has made.’
The portal leading to the Phantom Thief Phantom.
2.
It was sixty-five.
Including Pyr, that was the number of adventurers who emerged from the portal.
A huge number.
They’d encountered the absurd boss monster Pharaoh Snake—and sixty-five survived?
Anyone hearing that would applaud without hesitation.
And the adventure itself was even more incredible.
There had been Black Mage followers, and they’d taken them down too—anyone hearing that tale would dismiss it as a lie, every single one.
That was how impressive the feat was.
That was why.
‘We survived.’
The returned adventurers’ faces were flushed with excitement.
They weren’t unsad about their fallen comrades.
Many shed tears over that grief.
But getting thrilled over the results at the end of an adventure was inevitable for any adventurer.
Especially since this wasn’t just any adventure.
‘A commission from Phantom Thief Phantom.’
A quest from one of the Six Heroes, no less.
Even Pyr couldn’t help but get excited in the face of that fact.
No—Pyr was more excited than most.
‘I get to meet a hero now.’
No one in the Maple World admired and obsessed over the Six Heroes more than Pyr.
For him, meeting one was more thrilling than anything.
That was why.
Ping!
In his excitement, Pyr missed the wire hidden around the Mystic Gate’s exit and stepped right on it.
‘Ping?’
The ping sound hit his ears—something snapping and pulling—and only then did Pyr remember.
“There’s a trap……!”
That nothing here would be out of place.
Pssshhh!
But before he could finish, gray smoke began billowing from all directions.
It was instant.
The space was already sealed, so Pyr’s party’s area filled with smoke in a flash.
“Cough!”
“Urk!”
Harsh coughs echoed everywhere.
Some quickly covered their faces with cloth or masks. Pyr was one of them. He held his breath and covered his face with cloth.
But Pyr knew.
‘Damn it.’
It was pointless.
He’d already inhaled some—the best he could do now was buy a little time.
And the poison’s potency was far worse than Pyr imagined.
Thud!
His comrades who inhaled the smoke collapsed limply to the floor like puppets with cut strings.
‘This fast?’
It meant truly lethal poison.
Pyr gritted his teeth at the realization.
‘I was too careless.’
In hindsight, Rick—no ordinary adventurer—had hidden his identity as a Black Mage follower to join them.
Black Mage followers could have set any number of traps.
And Pyr hadn’t prepared for it, even though he should have.
The price was brutal.
‘Is this how we die?’
One moment of carelessness, and that lapse cost Pyr not just his life, but all his comrades’.
‘Sorry.’
He apologized to his fallen comrades.
With all sincerity.
‘I’m truly sorry.’
The moment he sought their forgiveness—
Snore!
‘Hm?’
A sound came.
Snore!
‘Snoring?’
Unmistakable snoring, clear to anyone.
Startled, Pyr looked at his collapsed comrades—and one stirred, scratching his belly.
Then started sleep-talking.
Only then did Pyr realize.
‘Sleep!’
This poison wasn’t meant to kill.
“Hmm.”
At that moment, a man appeared before Pyr’s eyes.
A man in outrageously flashy attire.
Clothes fit for a royal ball—most striking was the black mask shaped like a bird’s beak.
Beyond the mask, blond hair and purple eyes were visible.
‘Ah.’
That was as far as Pyr’s thoughts went.
Thud!
Pyr couldn’t hold out and collapsed.
Snooore…… snooore……
He let out soft snores and fell into deep sleep.
The man shook his head at the sight.
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue briefly and muttered to himself.
“To take down a Pharaoh Snake means you’re top-tier skilled, but careless like this.”
Disappointment filled the man’s voice.
“Too bad. Couldn’t solve the final puzzle.”
He stood before Pyr.
Snooore…… snooore……
In front of the sleeping Pyr, he placed a prepared letter.
“You worked hard getting this far. I put in a reward that won’t disappoint.”
He gave a light bow as he spoke.
“It’s nothing compared to the value of your fallen comrades’ lives.”
With those sincere words, the man fell silent for a moment.
‘I’m sorry.’
He sought forgiveness from the dead.
A moment later, the man raised his head.
Bitterness filled his eyes.
He knew better than anyone how sorry he was that innocent lives were lost because of him.
In other words, the man was that desperate.
‘But I had no choice. What I need isn’t just any skilled adventurer.’
He had to run a test this grueling—knowing deaths would happen—to select people.
‘An adventurer who can take my place.’
Sadness rose in the man’s eyes as he spoke inwardly.
He knew.
‘But there’s no such adventurer.’
Finding one to replace him was impossible.
‘I did something pointless.’
In the end, he’d done something futile.
‘Pointless.’
With that regret, the man stood, glanced once more at the sleeping adventurers, and turned away.
He stepped toward the entrance he’d come from.
That was when.
The man’s steps halted.
They had to.
He turned his head.
There it was.
‘The portal hasn’t vanished?’
The Mystic Gate portal still glowing yellow.
What that meant was simple.
An adventurer was still beyond it.
Truth be told, it didn’t mean much.
If adventurers survived on the second or first floor, the portal stayed open.
And usually, they died eventually for various reasons.
Then the portal vanished naturally.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
What if the adventurer beyond was deliberately waiting for the right moment?
The moment the man thought that—
Ripple!
The portal rippled, and an adventurer emerged.
A man wearing a mask covering his entire face.
The man who appeared spotted the masked man without hesitation amid the smoke-filled space and approached him.
“I’m El Pam.”
El Pam bowed slightly as he introduced himself.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Phantom Thief Phantom.”