Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Chapter 42. El Nas Mountains (3)
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5.
Balrog.
“Hunting a Balrog is one of the greatest honors for any adventurer. But no adventurer wants to encounter one.”
A monster that adventurers did not want to face.
“But if you seek out a Balrog, you can always find one.”
The interesting thing was that Balrogs were not only incredibly powerful monsters but also quite numerous.
“You can encounter them around the cursed temple deep in Sleepywood Forest. They’re small ones, though.”
To be precise, you could encounter Junior Balrogs.
Of course, compared to a real Balrog, a Junior Balrog was like the difference between a lion and a cub, but a Balrog was still a Balrog.
That was why confident adventurers among them actively hunted Junior Balrogs to earn the title of Junior Balrog Slayer.
One such adventurer was Biom.
He had slain over 44 Junior Balrogs, earning him the nickname Balrog Butcher.
When a Junior Balrog appeared, people sought him out before even the Cygnus Knights, begging him to take it down.
That day was no different.
They found Biom to hunt a Junior Balrog that had appeared deep in Sleepywood Forest, and he gladly headed into the woods.
And he returned.
“They’re all dead.”
Having lost all his companions, and missing one eye and one leg himself.
Everyone was shocked by that fact.
So they asked.
Why had the Balrog Butcher, a man of such renown, returned in that state?
In response, Biom said,
“It wasn’t like any Junior Balrog. It wore a Balrog skull as a helmet, and its eyes gleaming through it were stained blood-red.”
Many adventurers challenged this new Balrog upon its appearance, only to meet their deaths.
The casualties were so great that the Adventurers’ Union eventually led a hunt, and afterward, they announced,
“Two Junior Balrogs fought each other to the death, and the victor gained a very special power. The Adventurers’ Union hereby names this Junior Balrog the Crimson Balrog.”
And so the Crimson Balrog was born.
Naturally, the Crimson Balrog was far more difficult to hunt than a regular Junior Balrog.
After all, it was a Junior Balrog that had evolved by devouring another.
It had no choice but to be stronger than a regular Junior Balrog.
That was why the Crimson Balrog gained such notoriety in many ways.
It was thanks to that.
‘This Mystic Gate is indeed the one where the Crimson Balrog appears.’
El Pam remembered that Mystic Gate clearly.
Of course, the biggest reason he remembered it was simple.
‘Because I experienced it myself.’
He was the one—no one else—who had conquered it: El Pam himself.
Naturally, El Pam knew.
‘In a way, it’s more difficult than the Judge of the Abandoned Mine where Zakum appears.’
Even more than the Judge of the Abandoned Mine—the worst Green-grade Mystic Gate to appear in the El Nas Mountains, where a weakened Zakum emerged—the conquest there could be even harder.
‘In the current situation, it’s hard to predict success.’
He didn’t know the members of the knight order Oz had assembled, but he knew they couldn’t conquer it on their own.
Of course, with El Pam there, conquest was possible.
‘At least half will die.’
But the outcome couldn’t be guaranteed.
This was quite important.
Oz had hired El Pam in the first place to improve the knight order’s survival rate, even if just a little.
And yet half would die?
Moreover, while it might sound harsh to adventurers, the lives of Cygnus Knights carried more weight than those of ordinary adventurers.
If half of them died in a Mystic Gate of all places, it would be a massive scandal.
At this point, the wisest choice El Pam could make was clear.
‘Give up.’
Don’t even attempt it.
But here, El Pam hesitated.
‘That would mean giving up on Aran’s item too.’
If it were just about abandoning the conquest itself, he would have decided long ago, but giving up now meant forfeiting the chance to obtain Aran’s item.
Of course, it wasn’t as if there were no other ways.
But moving with the support of the Cygnus Knights versus going alone—there was no comparison between the two.
Above all, El Pam thought,
‘If we proceed like this, Aran’s safety will be threatened.’
He was the only one who could thwart this scheme plotted by the Black Mage’s followers.
That was crucial.
Considering the monster invasions that would soon ravage the world, Aran’s existence was far too important.
Thus, at this juncture, the choice El Pam had to make was not to give up.
“Sir Oz.”
“Yes.”
“Could you give me some time?”
“What kind of time?”
Time to find a way.
And there was a way.
“I know someone who can help.”
6.
“How’ve you been?”
Magatia.
In the lodging prepared there, the Phantom Thief stood before El Pam.
El Pam hadn’t summoned him.
He had appeared suddenly, without any news or warning.
Yet El Pam wasn’t surprised by the Phantom Thief’s arrival.
“I knew you’d come.”
He had already anticipated it.
It was only natural.
What the Phantom Thief had commissioned El Pam for was none other than recovering Aran’s item.
And now, not only was that Aran’s item being revealed to the entire Maple World, but a battle over it was about to erupt?
In this regard, the commissioner—the Phantom Thief—had to be more troubled than El Pam, who had accepted the commission.
“Knowing I’d come saves us the long talk. Let’s get straight to it, then.”
The Phantom Thief knew that too, so he wasted no time.
“Can you do it or not?”
Straight to the point, he asked El Pam directly, and El Pam answered immediately.
“I can.”
“Oh, really?”
“But I’ll need your support, Phantom Thief.”
“Oh, really?”
At that response, the Phantom Thief grinned and said,
“But here’s the thing—I don’t want to provide it.”
It was a perfectly reasonable reaction.
Their negotiation had already concluded, so why offer additional support now? The Phantom Thief wasn’t running a charity.
El Pam knew that.
“I’m not asking for it for free.”
“Oh, really?”
He was prepared to pay for the support.
“Still not interested.”
But the Phantom Thief showed even less enthusiasm at El Pam’s proposal.
Again, a perfectly reasonable reaction.
Who was the Phantom Thief?
The greatest thief in the world!
A man who had stolen more treasures, more valuables, than anyone else!
What could such a man possibly need?
Even if there was something, he wasn’t the type to obtain it through trades or negotiations.
He was a thief, true to his name—he stole.
“I’ll sell you the rights.”
“Oh, really?”
“I made a deal with Prince Kashan. In exchange for making him crown prince, I can have anything I want.”
“Oh, really?”
But the moment El Pam said that, the Phantom Thief’s eyes changed as he responded.
“And I told Prince Kashan this: if he becomes Abdullah IX, I want one of the symbols of that reign—the Onyx Dragon’s gem.”
At that instant, the Phantom Thief straightened his posture and expression.
“Interesting.”
It was that valuable.
The Onyx Dragon’s gem was one of the rarest treasures in the world at present, with only one left.
El Pam also knew it held a very special power, though he didn’t know exactly what.
Crucially, El Pam understood.
‘The fact that even the Phantom Thief couldn’t steal it means there’s a good reason.’
There had to be a reason why such a precious gem remained in the Ariant Kingdom’s royal family all this time.
That was why the Phantom Thief had simply watched.
In any case, El Pam’s gambit had paid off.
“It’s real, right?”
The Phantom Thief was intrigued.
“Yes.”
“You really have a promise from Prince Kashan himself?”
And the Phantom Thief had the ability.
“Yes. I gave my word.”
“Hmm.”
The ability to detect lies.
“Fine.”
Of course, the deal wasn’t sealed just yet.
The truly important part was just beginning.
“So, what do you want?”
With the Onyx Dragon’s gem—a treasure beyond measure—on the table, he expected a demand of equal value.
“The Onyx Dragon’s gem is priceless. It can’t simply be traded for any ordinary item.”
“Skip the explanation. Get to the point.”
So El Pam made his demand without hesitation.
“I want to trade it for Fried’s legacy.”
The moment the name Fried was spoken, the Phantom Thief’s expression darkened coldly.
That was the value of the name Fried.
Especially for the Six Heroes, no one placed greater worth on Fried’s name.
Having seen him closest, they knew his greatness and nobility better than anyone.
In other words, demanding Fried’s legacy was like asking for a dragon’s reverse scale.
It was no light matter.
Yet El Pam brought up the name for two reasons.
“Fried was the master of the Onyx Dragon King.”
First, the Onyx Dragon’s gem had no choice but to be deeply connected to Fried in many ways.
Of course, El Pam knew.
That this was an unreasonable request.
No, considering the value Fried held for the Six Heroes, it bordered on reckless.
‘But anything less wouldn’t suffice.’
However, what El Pam needed now wasn’t just any item.
It had to be one that could alter his own power and change the situation.
Truthfully, El Pam felt the same reluctance.
The Onyx Dragon’s gem was no small prize either.
The fact that the Phantom Thief was pondering El Pam’s proposal was proof—it was worth weighing.
In any case, from El Pam’s perspective, the reason he pushed this negotiation despite the reluctance was simple.
‘The Black Mage’s followers are convinced this won’t fail.’
It was a trap prepared to perfection, one even El Pam would normally have to abandon.
‘That’s why we can deal a fatal blow.’
Only by dismantling such a trap could they shake the Black Mage’s followers.
Above all, El Pam knew.
‘Time is running out.’
The era of Mystic Gates was ending, and the era of monsters was about to begin.
The day when monsters would burst from the gates and fill the Maple World was fast approaching.
He had to do everything possible before then.
“I have a condition.”
To such an El Pam, the Phantom Thief said,
“I can give you Fried’s legacy. But not to just anyone. It’s something we can’t afford to lose.”
El Pam nodded at those words.
“If it’s a test to prove my worth, I’ll gladly accept.”
It was a fair condition.
“No, you don’t need to.”
The Phantom Thief let out a hollow chuckle at El Pam’s words.
“It’d be ridiculous to question the qualifications of an adventurer like you. If you weren’t qualified, I wouldn’t even be negotiating with you. You’re more than qualified—overflowing with it.”
It was astonishing praise.
A blessing few could receive.
Praise from none other than the Phantom Thief, one of the Six Heroes.
But upon hearing it, El Pam didn’t smile or rejoice—his expression hardened instead.
Because he knew.
That the condition the Phantom Thief was about to demand was even more difficult for him.
And he was right.
“But your companion is different.”
The Phantom Thief made his demand.
“Make him 5th Circle. That’s the condition.”