Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Chapter 34. Crown Prince (3)
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7.
It had been a week since Abdullah VIII declared he would select a crown prince.
“The crown prince selection?”
A brief span of time, so short that hardly anyone had heard the news yet.
“Prince Kashan is heading straight to conquer the Mystic Gate!”
In that short time, Prince Kashan had made his move.
“That's reckless.”
Everyone questioned his actions.
But one thing was certain.
“There’s no way they’re fully prepared.”
Pushing forward so quickly meant perfect preparation was next to impossible.
“Our preparations are perfect.”
Prince Kashan thought differently.
“Because we have the best party.”
And rightly so—he had assembled the ultimate party for conquering the Mystic Gate.
“I didn’t expect things to unfold like this.”
Of course, he hadn’t predicted Queen Areida’s maneuvers and prepared specifically for them.
He had simply been ready.
“Anyone unfit to tackle the Mystic Gate has no right to be king.”
To lead the Ariant Kingdom, one needed the ability to conquer the Mystic Gate above all else.
That was the mark of a true king.
That was the man known as Prince Kashan.
Not just someone hungry for the throne, but someone who genuinely wanted to lead Ariant properly.
Someone willing to do whatever it took.
“And now even El Pam’s party has joined us.”
On top of that, an unexpected and reliable force had been added.
In such a situation, there was no reason to hesitate.
No reason to hold back.
“We move now.”
Prince Kashan immediately led his prepared group to the Taho Oasis, where Abdullah VIII had secured a 300-man Mystic Gate.
“Prince Kashan has moved!”
The news had already spread across the entire Nihal Desert.
To be precise, Prince Kashan had spread it himself.
The more dramatic the process of becoming crown prince, the higher his support would rise.
And Prince Kashan’s gambit hit the mark.
All eyes in the Nihal Desert were now fixed on no one but him.
Naturally, people wondered.
“So, how many are they tackling it with?”
The condition for becoming crown prince was succeeding with the fewest people.
“Two hundred should be no issue. Plenty have done it with that.”
“Still, they’ll need at least half, around 150. You never know what variables a 300-man Mystic Gate might throw at you.”
“Then?”
“140, that’s probably the limit.”
People predicted Prince Kashan had assembled around 150.
“The fewest ever for a 300-man Mystic Gate was 135, recorded by Gina, one of Captain Kairin’s disciples.”
That was the lowest recognized by the Maple World Adventurers’ Association.
Conquering it with around 140—while dragging along Prince Kashan, who could be seen as dead weight in some sense?
Even that was considered high praise for him.
The answer to those speculations came soon enough.
“Third Prince Kashan, blessed by Abdullah VIII.”
Prince Kashan had arrived at Taho Oasis.
“Including myself, 99 of us will take on the challenge.”
8.
99 people!
“What? How many?”
When the number of Prince Kashan’s party members became known, everyone’s reaction was the same without exception.
“Don’t joke around—conquering a 300-man gate with 99? Is that even possible?”
It was impossible.
99 was that shocking a number.
“Two digits!”
Practically suicide.
So, not a few voiced the opinion.
“They might pretend it’s 99 but bring more. Could be a ploy to stir up buzz.”
The real number entering would be higher.
But that opinion didn’t last long.
“They’ve entered! Prince Kashan has entered!”
Upon arriving at Taho Oasis, Prince Kashan skipped any real rest and dove straight into the Mystic Gate conquest.
He proved with the most certain method that the 99-man claim wasn’t a bluff but genuine intent.
Those who learned this agreed on two things.
“If Prince Kashan comes out alive, he’ll be the crown prince. Who else would try to match that?”
No other prince would conquer a 300-man Mystic Gate with 99—or fewer.
“If he comes out alive, that is.”
But the conquest would be incredibly tough.
“They’ll struggle from Floor 1. Facing hordes of monsters with 99—no, 98 people.”
Not a few predicted Prince Kashan wouldn’t even clear Floor 1.
“Boss.”
El Pam’s party was among them.
Of course, they knew. If El Pam took the front line, there’d be no difficulty at all.
Conversely, without El Pam going all out, it would be a massive headache.
“This is no joke.”
But Prince Kashan’s soldiers and hired adventurers showed formidable skill even without El Pam.
It had to be that way.
“The items.”
The adventurers and soldiers gathered by Prince Kashan were overflowing with unique items.
Some even had legendaries.
That was the proof of Prince Kashan’s confidence.
“They’re on another level.”
An adventurer’s strength mattered, but item strength could elevate them instantly.
With so many legendaries, lacking confidence would be the strange thing.
“Money is terrifying.”
“Yeah, money’s scary.”
Dibo and Miner couldn’t help but marvel at the wealth Prince Kashan had poured into gathering those items.
“Money alone can’t do this.”
Ralph saw it differently.
“What?”
“Good items can be bought with money. But truly great ones? No amount of money buys those.”
“What do you mean?”
“The biggest reason adventurers save money is to get truly great items. So no adventurer who buys an item at a high price ever puts it back on the market.”
Ralph was right.
The caliber of items Prince Kashan had gathered couldn’t be bought with mere money.
That meant they were obtained another way.
And in this world, ways to get items without money usually boiled down to one.
“Half of them were probably gotten personally.”
“My god.”
Realizing this, Dibo, Miner, and Kiri were even more stunned.
Of course, El Pam was the exception.
He had known Prince Kashan’s capabilities all along.
How could he not?
‘The reason he secretly built forces everywhere, starting with the Gapor Merchant Group.’
The Gapor Merchant Group, which El Pam had been part of, was one of Prince Kashan’s outposts for collecting such items.
In other words, Prince Kashan had prepared long ago, and the results were extraordinary.
His confidence was equally extraordinary.
“This is insane.”
But at this moment, that fact offered no comfort to El Pam’s party.
Far from it—they all scowled.
‘Most of them are traitors?’
Knowing this overwhelming power would eventually strangle their own necks.
It was a situation rife with worries.
“We won’t fight them right away.”
El Pam reassured his companions.
“Not until the boss monster falls.”
No need to fear them yet.
“From the traitors’ perspective, moving after the boss is down causes no issues.”
In truth, El Pam wasn’t worried about them.
He had only one concern now.
“The boss monster here is the problem.”
El Pam knew.
“It’ll be stronger than any boss we’ve faced.”
9.
Taho Oasis.
A rest spot for adventurers exploring the Nihal Desert.
But now, no adventurers were allowed entry to Taho Oasis.
“No entry.”
Ariant Kingdom soldiers had occupied it, blocking all adventurers.
Normally, adventurers would riot.
Occupying an oasis and blocking access threatened their lives.
But this time was different.
Not a single adventurer at Taho Oasis was angry.
“How’s it going?”
“Prince Kashan’s party went in!”
With this massive event to select the crown prince underway, tight security was only natural.
“Really 99 people?”
“Seems like it.”
“They’re crazy!”
And with Prince Kashan’s party already inside, if someone tried to interfere now?
One thing was certain.
The moment an intruder appeared, every guard here would become one with the Nihal Desert sands under Abdullah VIII’s orders.
“Back off!”
The guards were more on edge than ever.
“This is your only warning.”
Their voices and glares were sharper than ever.
Normally, everyone would back off as expected.
But the adventurers gathered here were different.
Some thought.
‘What if I break in?’
This could be a huge chance to make a name for themselves.
Of course, only a few thought that—only the crazed ones.
The problem was the sane adventurers considering intrusion.
They had motives, naturally.
‘If I succeed in sabotaging...’
Ruining Prince Kashan’s conquest.
And plenty in the Maple World wanted Prince Kashan to fail.
‘Success bounty: 100 million mesos.’
With rewards that massive, eyes couldn’t help but light up.
Attempts were made, in fact.
A few adventurers tried to break in.
“Argh!”
And soon after, they dyed Taho Oasis red.
Not one even reached near the Mystic Gate, let alone succeeded.
No surprise there.
“This is no joke.”
“Of course not. Six-circle powerhouses are guarding it.”
Ariant Kingdom had deployed ten six-circle experts for this.
Beyond tight—breaching it required a seven-circle.
And current seven-circle adventurers in Maple World were all sky-high legends.
‘Can’t break through that.’
It was an iron fortress.
But he was the exception.
‘Not me.’
The Phantom Thief Phantom slipped through the security with ridiculous ease.
No difficulty at all.
He prowled Taho Oasis like it was his home.
Only he could.
‘Detectors everywhere.’
The Ariant soldiers weren’t fools—they’d set measures against dark sight-using thieves everywhere.
Barely any gaps.
Finding them, let alone slipping through, was practically impossible.
‘Child’s play for me.’
But for the Phantom Thief Phantom, it was laughable.
That’s why.
While everyone else failed, he reached it effortlessly.
‘Here it is.’
In front of the 300-man Mystic Gate Prince Kashan’s party had entered.
Of course, the Phantom Thief Phantom wasn’t here to sabotage Prince Kashan.
Nor to help.
He was just curious.
‘El Pam.’
That El Pam had entered to aid Prince Kashan.
‘Hope the deal works out.’
And the Phantom Thief Phantom hoped El Pam survived here—succeeded.
Because El Pam’s success was a win for him too.
Queen Areida!
With her gone, Ariant Kingdom would normalize quickly.
So he came to check.
To gauge El Pam’s party’s odds.
And with his special eyes, the Phantom Thief Phantom could tell just by looking at the Mystic Gate.
What the boss monster was.
That was the reason.
‘Not easy.’
For his bitter smile.
‘The boss monster is a Junior Balrog.’