Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Chapter 36. The Second Deal with Phantom (2)
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3.
"Phantom, the Phantom Thief."
At El Pam's words, Phantom the Phantom Thief waved his hand.
"Over here, over here."
El Pam pushed through the crowd toward Phantom the Phantom Thief.
It was exactly as stated.
The capital of the Ariant Kingdom, a street teeming with people—that was the meeting spot Phantom had chosen.
"Finding me wasn't too hard, was it?"
"Aside from the hassle of the crowd, no issues."
It was an utterly absurd place to meet, in every sense.
Phantom the Phantom Thief, of all people? For such a legendary figure to show himself in a place exposed to everyone?
Moreover, El Pam was no ordinary person either. His name was spreading like wildfire among adventurers right now.
There was nothing strange about it.
"You've been getting really famous lately, huh?"
Most who had seen El Pam's flashy titles until now had either dismissed them as fake or downplayed them.
They were just too outlandish to believe outright.
But even those skeptics now had to admit one undeniable fact.
"The Returner, El Pam."
El Pam's party consisted of adventurers who had returned from every Mystic Gate.
And that wasn't all.
El Pam's party were the only witnesses to what had happened to Prince Kasha.
It was bound to draw massive attention in many ways.
For El Pam and Phantom the Phantom Thief to meet in such an openly exposed place?
It was hard to comprehend.
"My fame is nothing compared to yours, Sir Phantom."
"Nah, that's not true."
But in reality, El Pam didn't raise any particular objections to the fact.
"Impressive."
Phantom posed a question about it.
"You're not wondering why we met here?"
El Pam answered.
"El Pam meeting Phantom the Phantom Thief on the streets of the royal capital—a story no one would believe."
It defied common sense, which made it all the more meaningful.
"And that's Phantom's way."
That was the secret to Phantom becoming the greatest thief in Maple World history.
Of course, simply defying common sense wasn't enough.
"A place like this means no risk of tracking or eavesdropping."
In a crowd this dense, eavesdropping was difficult due to the noise, and shaking off any tails was easy by blending into the masses.
"Attacks are even less feasible. Especially now."
Decisively, the Ariant Kingdom was on maximum alert after the assassination of Queen Areda, stricter than ever.
Pulling out weapons in a place like this?
It would be suicide.
In every way, it was far better to talk openly like this than to meet sloppily in some hidden corner.
"Interesting."
Phantom gave a faint smile at El Pam's response.
"Alright, then. Let's get down to business."
With that, Phantom lightly tapped his waist with his left hand.
At the gesture, El Pam looked at his own waist, where a bundle pouch appeared out of nowhere.
It was the bundle Phantom had placed there without El Pam noticing.
"The deal's done."
Inside were the fragments of Astrafe.
'Zeus's Lightning Spear.'
The moment the conditions for the Legendary-grade skill, Zeus's Lightning Spear, were fulfilled.
'I have no idea just how powerful it'll be.'
Even El Pam knew nothing of its power or characteristics.
Before he returned to the past, no one had ever completed Zeus's Lightning Spear.
But that didn't mean El Pam was simply thrilled.
'I hope it's something I can handle.'
He had only just reached the 5th Circle, so there was a chance it was beyond what he could manage.
Honestly, that was very likely.
Among Legendary-grade skills, those usable below the 5th Circle were exceedingly rare.
Most were for 6th Circle adventurers or higher.
Even they struggled to wield them.
Great power always came with a proportional price.
Of course, El Pam didn't dwell on it deeply.
Worrying wouldn't solve anything.
"Now that the deal's done, shall we talk?"
Above all, Phantom hadn't left yet.
"How'd you do it?"
"I encountered a Junior Balrog."
Phantom's eyes narrowed at the response.
He hadn't mentioned the Junior Balrog, yet El Pam spoke as if he knew.
'This guy knows my abilities.'
It was an answer impossible without knowledge of Phantom's powers.
But Phantom wasn't greatly surprised.
He'd thought El Pam was no ordinary man from the start.
'I like him.'
From Phantom's perspective, there was no reason to turn away someone with even greater talent.
Of course, that didn't resolve his curiosity.
"So how'd you catch it?"
No matter how he thought about it, the odds of El Pam's party surviving an encounter with a Junior Balrog were near zero.
To that question, El Pam gave a curt reply.
Swish!
He revealed the five rings on his wrist.
"Luck."
Phantom nodded at the answer.
It was sufficient.
"You've reached the 5th Circle now. Guess it's time to tackle Green-grade gates."
And a satisfying one at that.
"Nice timing. Want to make another deal?"
4.
After Queen Areda's death, the atmosphere in the Ariant Kingdom was utter chaos.
"This doesn't feel good."
Everyone was gripped by unease for that reason.
"Something's about to blow."
The assassination of Queen Areda.
And the Sand Shadow Squad being named as culprits.
For an incident of this magnitude, the mood shouldn't have been merely chaotic—it should have been oppressively tense.
This was how it always felt right before a massive storm hit. Chaotic even before the storm arrived.
"When's the boss coming back?"
That was why Dibo and the others waited for El Pam with tense expressions.
"Boss!"
El Pam appeared before them.
"How'd it go?"
"The deal went smoothly."
Everyone's faces lit up with shock at El Pam's response.
"As expected of the boss!"
"Trading with Phantom the Phantom Thief? Incredible."
Trading with Phantom of all people—that was a title more valuable to an adventurer than any other.
Of course, the biggest surprise was something else.
"So, did you get the item?"
"Yeah."
That El Pam had obtained something tremendous once again.
To his comrades, that mattered far more than the mere fact of trading with Phantom.
"Whoa! The boss is gonna become an even bigger monster now!"
Reaching the 5th Circle wasn't enough—he'd acquired an even stronger spell?
Unbelievable!
"There's a slight issue with that."
"Huh?"
El Pam doused their expectations.
"The spell I got can't be used properly right now. Best to count it as unavailable for now."
It crushed their hopes, but his comrades didn't panic much.
"Bound to happen sometimes."
It was common.
"The best items are always the hardest to use."
Cases where you got an amazing item but couldn't wield it.
"Most of my master's items, I can't even touch."
The stronger the item, the higher the requirements.
"It's fine!"
And even without it, El Pam's party was already plenty strong.
"I've got your back, right?"
After conquering the gate with Prince Kasha, he had given two of his Legendary-grade items to Dibo and Ralph.
The resulting power boost was enormous.
Dibo and Ralph could now hold their own against a Junior Balrog long enough to buy time.
Without their efforts, El Pam couldn't have taken it down in an hour.
They had every reason to be confident.
"So, boss, where to next?"
Naturally, they brimmed with eagerness for a new adventure, and El Pam gladly proposed one.
"The Elnas Mountains."
A stage fitting their overflowing confidence.
"Huh?"
But contrary to El Pam's expectations, everyone's faces stiffened at the words "Elnas Mountains."
It was warranted.
"Uh, the Elnas Mountains?"
The Elnas Mountains.
A place blanketed in snow from start to finish—a nightmare and hell for adventurers.
Sure, environmentally, the Nihal Desert was hellish enough compared to the Elnas Mountains.
But ask any adventurer in the Maple World, and a hundred out of a hundred would say the same.
"Isn't that place way too dangerous?"
That the Elnas Mountains were far more perilous than the Nihal Desert.
For one, the monsters there were on another level—slightly stronger.
Of course, calling it dangerous for that alone wouldn't qualify as an adventurer.
The biggest reason adventurers avoided the Elnas Mountains was this.
"It's a lawless zone."
It wasn't properly managed anymore.
That was a massive problem.
The Nihal Desert might be hellish, but adventurers flocked there willingly because of the Ariant Kingdom.
The kingdom had built cities across the desert and managed them, letting adventurers adventure comfortably.
That was why they couldn't complain even when the kingdom exploited them.
Without the Ariant Kingdom, adventuring itself wouldn't be possible.
But the Elnas Mountains were different.
"The Lion King's Castle closed its doors."
Long ago, the Lion King's Castle, led by Lion King Ban Leon, managed it. Back then, it was dangerous but had a place to fall back on.
"For centuries."
But centuries ago—before the Black Mage was sealed by the Six Heroes—something happened at the Lion King's Castle.
Details were scarce.
What was clear was that after that day, Lion King Ban Leon shut the castle gates and ignored everything in the Elnas Mountains.
Of course, that didn't mean it was a barren wasteland without cities or villages.
Plenty of adventurers still operated there.
"It's turned into a criminal paradise."
The problem was that many of those adventurers had shady backgrounds.
It was no easy place.
"I know."
El Pam was well aware.
"But we have to go to the Elnas Mountains."
"Boss, why?"
"Because I made a new deal with Phantom the Phantom Thief."
His comrades stopped questioning the moment he gave the reason for heading to the Elnas Mountains.
Phantom the Phantom Thief!
Doubting after hearing that name? That wouldn't befit an adventurer.
"Guess we have no choice then!"
So Dibo clenched his fist and declared.
"Let's head to the Elnas Mountains right now!"
El Pam responded immediately to Dibo's resolve.
"That would be dangerous."
"Huh?"
"Exactly as I said. The Elnas Mountains are dangerous."
Dibo and the others looked dumbfounded.
El Pam explained to his comrades.
"To the outlaws there, we'd be the juiciest prey imaginable."
Going to the Elnas Mountains as they were would be like walking into a pack of starving hyenas as ripe pork.
"Look, boss, we get that."
Of course, no one needed El Pam's explanation to know it.
"But what can we do?"
It wasn't something they could change.
"You made a deal with Phantom, right? We have to take the risk and go."
"Yeah, no other way. Can't just send someone else."
"That's it."
"What?"
"Miner, the method you mentioned."
El Pam gladly revealed it to their confusion.
"We discard our names and take on new identities."
There was a way to escape that crisis.
"Hey, you think that's easy?"
Miner shot back incredulously at El Pam's words.
She knew better than most.
"You think changing identities is like renaming the neighborhood stray dog?"
As a former pirate, she knew better than anyone how hard and complicated it was to change identities and operate.
"You're right."
But El Pam knew even better.
"That's why we get help from an expert."
"Expert? What expert?"
"There are specialists who hide identities and operate."
He had prepared.
"We'll get help from the Cross Hunters."