Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Crimson Balrog (3)
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141
44. Crimson Balrog (3)
7.
‘I have to save as many as possible.’
That was El Pam’s first thought when he received the mission.
‘But against the Crimson Balrog, it’s impossible.’
No matter how much he racked his brain, at least half would have to die.
And it wasn’t because he didn’t trust the Cygnus Knights or Tiger Eye Viola.
‘They’ll cooperate fully.’
He didn’t think they’d be uncooperative, either.
If they had no intention of cooperating, they never would have given El Pam this many options and so much time to prepare in the first place.
‘The Crimson Balrog is a clever bastard.’
The problem was the monster known as the Crimson Balrog.
‘If the situation turns against it, it’ll relentlessly target the weak ones.’
El Pam had no confidence in protecting the entire Cygnus Knights squad from the Crimson Balrog.
In truth, hunting monsters and protecting comrades from monsters were two different things, and the latter was far more difficult.
That was why he anticipated more than half would be lost.
‘They’d just get in the way otherwise.’
In other words, El Pam was confident he could handle the hunt himself. So he’d made his plans early on.
He proposed tackling it solo with just his own party, excluding Viola and the Cygnus Knights.
It wasn’t a breach of contract, either.
His deal with Fire Knight Commander Oz was to assist in conquering this Mystic Gate and minimize casualties as much as possible.
That was why El Pam deliberately suggested it to Viola.
It’s dangerous, so we need to secure the route.
We need to know its location.
In truth, El Pam already knew where it was, so he didn’t need her explanation.
He just needed an excuse.
If he located and conquered a top-secret Mystic Gate without even asking Viola for directions, it would raise far too many suspicions.
‘The necklace.’
Of course, there was also the added mission to retrieve the necklace.
That was the real dilemma.
He couldn’t even ask what kind of necklace it was in this situation.
Asking would only arouse suspicion.
His original plan had been to grab every necklace he could find—anything and everything.
But not anymore.
‘A necklace sought by the Lion King.’
The moment he saw Lion King Ban Leon’s name, El Pam stopped agonizing.
‘A treasure that special will actually be easy to find.’
It made it much easier to figure out exactly what the Cygnus Knights under Viola were after.
Of course, that was just El Pam’s thinking.
“Boss!”
His comrades saw things differently.
Even tackling it without the Cygnus Knights was utterly beyond common sense.
“Boss, this is the Lion King’s property!”
This wasn’t just any Mystic Gate, either.
Conquering it could draw the Lion King’s wrath the moment they stepped in.
It was a conquest that gave every reason to hesitate.
Any other adventurers wouldn’t have complained like this.
They’d have just quit the party or fled.
“I can’t wrap my head around just conquering this place.”
But El Pam’s party was different.
They had experience.
“Boss, what did you get out of this?”
“Yeah, what extra reward are you getting? Huh?”
“That’s a very important point.”
They knew El Pam wouldn’t push himself for free.
And El Pam gladly told them.
“I’m getting paid per Cygnus Knight survivor. Save them all, and it’s about 200 million mesos.”
The moment they heard that, everyone nodded.
“Ah, then we should just go in ourselves.”
“No reason to drag the clients along and take the hit.”
“I figured at least 100 million mesos, but damn, impressive!”
Not everyone got it, though.
Kiri was different.
“What about the Lion King’s wrath?”
El Pam answered.
“This Mystic Gate conquest is led by the Cygnus Knights. We’re just adventurers lending a hand. Besides, our identities right now are fake. The wrath won’t come to us.”
Nothing to worry about.
“Makes sense when you put it that way.”
That was it.
“Then let’s head in right now.”
They didn’t even raise the most crucial question: Could El Pam actually conquer this Mystic Gate?
No reason to.
“With the boss here, what’s there to hesitate about?”
They had no doubts about El Pam’s skills.
That was why El Pam’s party stepped beyond the Mystic Gate without a single reservation.
Thud!
“Damn it.”
And there they faced it.
“It’s a golem!”
8.
What monster do you want to avoid most?
Adventurers would name all sorts. The Maple World was overflowing with terrifying monsters.
Ask them to list their top ten monsters to avoid, and they’d fill the list.
And most would include that one.
“If I had to pick ten monsters to avoid, a golem’s always on the list. Total pain in the ass.”
Golems were that much of a headache.
Their very traits made them a nightmare.
“Attacking a pile of rocks? No class can make that work.”
A giant made of stone coming to life? Horrifying just to imagine.
“Mages especially.”
And for mages, golems were the worst.
No need to imagine.
Flinging ice arrows, fireballs, poison mists, or lightning at a rock? Utterly pointless. Not even worth the mental effort.
That’s why golems had this nickname.
“Not called the mage killer for nothing.”
A monster no mage could touch—the natural predator of mages!
Thud!
On the first floor of the Mystic Gate, the one greeting El Pam’s party was precisely that: a golem.
“Damn it!”
The reason Dibo cursed the moment he saw it.
“It’s a golem!”
They’d run into the absolute worst possible monster.
Of course, it didn’t break their spirit.
Golems were definitely a pain.
“Boss, you just hang back this time, right?”
Especially for mage El Pam, he was basically out of commission.
That was all.
“I’ll handle it.”
El Pam’s party had four other top-tier adventurers besides him.
If they wanted to take down a golem, they could.
“Looks like just a basic stone golem. No big deal.”
Plus, this one was the lowest-grade stone golem.
Pathetic compared to dark stone golems, mix golems, or ice mix golems.
No reason the rest couldn’t handle it without El Pam.
“Everyone, fall back.”
“Boss?”
But El Pam didn’t fall back—he ordered his comrades to.
“You’re not gonna use Cold Beam on it, are you?”
El Pam did have a spell that could pierce a golem.
“That’s a huge hassle, right?”
But considering the effort, it was better to just stand by.
“Rest up. The boss getting worn out would be the real disaster.”
Wasting their key asset like that was something to avoid at all costs.
El Pam knew it.
He even knew a golem would appear here.
And he still thought it wouldn’t be a problem.
His comrades alone could handle any golem this place threw at them.
“No need to hold back here.”
“Huh?”
That was true.
“Twinkle Flash.”
Until El Pam acquired light magic.
9.
“There are three main reasons light magic is hard to use.”
Phantom the thief.
“One is that light is incredibly hard to perceive. Fire’s hot, ice is cold, poison’s deadly, lightning stings. Easy to sense. But light? No substance to feel, so one slip and the spell vanishes. Maintaining it is a nightmare.”
He’d given El Pam an item imbued with the light spell Twinkle Flash, along with advice.
“Second is speed. This intangible thing moves faster than any other magic—even lightning. Lightning lingers after casting, but light? Lose focus for a second, and poof—it’s gone. That’s why even pros say they’re lucky to push it ten meters.”
It was less advice and more trash talk.
“The third is the worst: light magic passes through anything. Take a golem—strikes only the core deep inside. But mess up the control, and it phases right through that too. How do you control it? Hell if I know. Never tried.”
Basically calling the spell El Pam got useless, as good as nothing.
Not that he was just spewing venom, though.
“But I knew this one girl, Luminous, who was a whiz at light magic. Got some tips from her. Want ’em?”
Phantom brought it up to give real advice.
“For a price.”
Not for free.
“But basics first. Maintain it at ten meters. If you can’t, advice is pointless.”
Sadly, Phantom’s advice meant nothing to El Pam.
“Huh? Wait, what’s this?”
Simple reason.
“Huh? How’d it fly a hundred meters? Wait—”
El Pam didn’t need advice.
Literally.
“Did it just go exactly a hundred meters?”
El Pam mastered light magic perfectly from the start.
No trial and error. Perfect.
“Have you used light magic before? First time?”
And El Pam had zero prior experience.
Phantom let out a hollow chuckle.
“What a waste.”
Then clicked his tongue.
“Chance to sell advice, gone like that. Shame, real shame. Whatever. Scram.”
With that, Phantom watched El Pam leave with a smile.
‘Luminous.’
That’s when it hit him—the words of Luminous, the light and darkness mage, one of his fellow heroes.
Phantom had asked her.
If light magic’s so tough, got any advice?
‘You said it yourself.’
Her answer?
‘If you need advice, give up on light magic.’
It was a magic you either had the talent for or you didn’t—effort couldn’t bridge the gap.
Phantom had chuckled inwardly back then.
Not anymore.
He knew the moment he saw it.
‘You were right.’
Luminous had been spot on.
That’s why.
Luminous smiled.
‘El Pam... we can expect more from him.’
Now he was certain.
‘In a green-grade Mystic Gate, that’s the only thing that could threaten him.’