Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Frozen Plains (4)
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“There’s a Mystic Gate in the Frozen Plains with Aran’s item!”
That rumor spread in an instant, crossing over the Elnas Mountains to the entire Maple World.
“Skaduru guarantees it!”
And the moment the guarantor of that story was revealed, no one doubted it.
Instead, they wondered.
“So, which Mystic Gate is it?”
“The Frozen Plains aren’t some backyard field—they’re vast, and there are more than one or two Mystic Gates there, right?”
Which Mystic Gate was it?
On that point, people had at least one thing settled.
“For starters, rookie adventurer Bevor is a 5th Circle adventurer. So it’s probably Green rank.”
The rank was Green.
“The question is which one.”
“Bevor’s the type who enjoys adventures, so in a case like this, it might be the hardest one—the 400-man gate?”
Many speculated it was the Green rank highest difficulty, the 400-man Mystic Gate.
Of course, it was just speculation.
There were plenty of other infamous Mystic Gates besides that.
In any case, the Elnas Mountains—especially Elnas Market, where the most adventurers gathered—buzzed with excitement.
The back market in Elnas Market was the same.
They were even more thrilled.
“All the adventurers are gonna flock to the Frozen Plains.”
“Money’s rolling in, rolling in!”
For them, the adventurers coming to chase that item were far more enticing than Aran’s item itself.
Not to mention it was the Frozen Plains.
“We can just hunker down quietly and scoop up the corpses for a pile of mesos!”
A place overflowing with dead adventurers, where even breathing was no easy task!
Naturally, the gazes of the back market adventurers turned to the bounty board.
That was when it happened.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“The wanted posters are updating?”
The wanted posters changed right before their eyes, naturally drawing everyone’s attention.
Soon, they saw it.
“My god! How much is the bounty on El Pam’s party?”
7.
“Pfft!”
As always, Dibo spat out the food he was eating over the well-prepared feast.
And as always this time, no one scolded him for it.
“100 million mesos?”
It couldn’t be helped.
“The boss’s head is worth 100 million mesos right now?”
In the back market, the bounty on El Pam’s head was an amount that defied common sense.
And it wasn’t just on El Pam’s head.
“Yours is 20 million mesos. Mine’s 30 million.”
Dibo, Miner, Kiri, and even Ralph.
Every member of El Pam’s party had bounties exceeding 20 million mesos on their heads.
Catching the entire El Pam party would net nearly 200 million mesos.
An astronomical sum.
So they couldn’t understand it.
“Why the hell?”
Who had placed such an enormous amount on El Pam’s party’s heads, and why?
“I’m cheaper than Miner?”
“Hey, that’s obvious! Our adventurer experience is different!”
Of course, there were other questionable parts too.
“Hold on, Ralph. You were just thinking about selling us out, weren’t you?”
“No. I haven’t had that thought right now.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. I can swear it on God.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I’ve been thinking about selling you out since way before. It’s not like I just thought of it now.”
“……Boss. I think there’s a real problem here.”
The biggest question, especially, was that one.
“The bounty wouldn’t just spike out of nowhere. They must’ve found out we’re here.”
The bounty had gone up the moment El Pam’s party arrived in the Elnas Mountains.
So they wondered.
“Has our identity been exposed?”
It was no small issue if they’d been found out, despite using shapeshifting potions to perfectly hide themselves.
El Pam, on the other hand, didn’t seem concerned about it.
“Looks like someone slipped up recently when the shapeshifting potion wore off…… Who was it? Huh? Who’s the one wandering around without a grip on themselves?”
“Me.”
“Right, Boss! You! If you wander around without a——wait, you?”
“I revealed our identity.”
This was all exactly as El Pam had intended.
“B-Boss? Why?”
“The biggest problem with recovering Aran’s item this time isn’t the recovery itself. It’s what comes after.”
“What comes after?”
“Walking around with Aran’s item is basically begging to be killed.”
“Ah!”
Only then did everyone finally understand.
How dangerous it was to carry Aran’s item.
But they couldn’t just hand it off to someone else or leave it with another party.
That was why.
“We need someone to take on that risk. And it’s even better if it’s us.”
El Pam had deliberately revealed his presence.
“Boss, did you plan this far ahead and create fake identities?”
Naturally, they’d kept this in mind when making the fake identities.
The moment they grasped the big picture El Pam had drawn, his companions no longer had any doubts.
“Wow, Boss, you’re amazing.”
Only admiration remained.
To such companions, El Pam said,
“We’re not done yet.”
“Huh? Not yet?”
“Dibo, if it were you, how much would you pay for info on a wanted man with a 100 million meso bounty?”
“Boss, you don’t mean……?”
It was just the beginning.
8.
Frozen Plains.
There was a reason it had become a place adventurers from the Elnas Mountains were forbidden to go.
“The Witch of the Snowy Mountains lives in the Frozen Plains. And the Witch of the Snowy Mountains commands monsters as her kin.”
For one, all sorts of monsters appeared there.
Hecters and White Fangs, as well as Pepes and Yetis.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to make it a danger zone.
Monsters appeared everywhere in the Elnas Mountains, and none of them were harmless.
“But what’s even scarier is that the Frozen Plains is the coldest region in the Elnas Mountains.”
The scariest part was none other than the temperature of the Frozen Plains.
The entire Elnas Mountains were cold by default.
Even seasoned, prepared adventurers could freeze to death if they weren’t careful.
But the Frozen Plains’ cold was on another level.
“Because of the curse cast by the Witch of the Snowy Mountains.”
The cold there was so vicious that standing still for a moment meant facing death.
The coldest place in the Elnas Mountains—hence, the Frozen Plains.
A place adventurers didn’t even glance at.
“Whew.”
Right now, a group of adventurers was moving through that very place.
The group numbered 31.
“Whew.”
Their appearance was utterly miserable in every way.
Ice built up around their mouths with every breath.
It was worse when they inhaled.
Some had twisted expressions.
The frigid air stabbed into their lungs.
“Damn it.”
That cold drew a curse from Ispa, the warrior adventurer leading the party.
“I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
Ispa—a very famous name.
At least in Elnas Market, there was no one who didn’t know it.
Outlaw Hunter—that was Ispa’s nickname.
Just as the name implied, she and her party had hunted outlaws operating in the Elnas Mountains.
And she’d earned the nickname Outlaw Hunter by taking down over a hundred outlaws.
In other words, Ispa’s party had never deliberately sought out dangerous areas before.
They weren’t the type of adventurers who enjoyed risks.
“The info’s solid, right? El Pam’s party is here?”
Yet they’d come to this dangerous place to hunt El Pam.
Of course, El Pam wasn’t an outlaw.
Far from it—he was an outstanding adventurer.
Ispa’s party knew that too.
“100 million mesos?”
But the moment they saw the bounty on his head, whether he was an adventurer or outlaw didn’t matter.
Moreover, Ispa’s party had gotten a tip.
“The info’s solid.”
They’d obtained information on El Pam’s party.
“It better be. We paid 5 million mesos for it.”
They’d paid a whopping 5 million mesos!
An enormous sum for information.
Even for the location of a 100 million meso head, 5 million?
Ispa knew it too.
“Lady Ispa.”
“Yeah, I see it.”
The reason they’d gladly paid the info fee was twofold.
“Worth every 5 million mesos. The info checks out.”
One was that the seller was extremely trustworthy.
“Alright, from now on, we track them. Don’t attack under any circumstances.”
The biggest reason, of course, was the second one.
“They’re heading to where Aran’s item is.”
El Pam’s party was moving to find the Aran item shaking up the Elnas Mountains.
That was the real aim.
El Pam’s party’s fame had spread to the Elnas Mountains too.
The feats they’d shown in the Nihal Desert echoed among adventurers inevitably.
That was why.
“If it’s him, he’ll find it.”
They’d gladly paid 5 million mesos.
“The location of Aran’s item.”
Considering his past feats, El Pam’s party would surely find Aran’s item.
And so Ispa’s party tracked El Pam’s party in silence.
Their tracking skills were impressive.
And they had to be.
The most important thing in hunting outlaws was pursuing them without being detected.
Without tracking skills, she never could’ve earned the nickname Outlaw Hunter.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
The Frozen Plains’ cold didn’t even permit easy breathing.
“Lady Ispa.”
Even so, they endured, and soon they saw it.
“Yeah, a Mystic Gate. Golden.”
“So?”
“A 400-man Mystic Gate.”
El Pam’s party standing before a Mystic Gate with golden doors and a green portal—the Green rank highest difficulty, 400-man Mystic Gate.
“He found it after all.”
At that moment, Ispa’s party’s hearts began to race.
Fiercely enough to warm even the Frozen Plains’ bitter cold.
It was warranted.
‘Aran’s item.’
An incredible prize like Aran’s item was slumbering beyond that Mystic Gate right now.
That was when it happened.
“They’re going in!”
El Pam’s party crossed into the Mystic Gate.
At that moment, Ispa’s party hesitated briefly.
Charging into a Mystic Gate unprepared was no different from wandering the Frozen Plains naked.
That was certainly true.
Any adventurer with common sense wouldn’t do it.
“We’re going in.”
But Ispa issued an order beyond common sense to her subordinates.
“Yes!”
And her subordinates gladly obeyed.
It was their hearts.
The fact that Aran’s item was beyond that Mystic Gate had driven their hearts mad.
No room for rational judgment.
And so Ispa’s party followed El Pam’s party toward the Mystic Gate.
Around then.
“Lady Ispa!”
“Damn.”
Another adventurer party approaching the Mystic Gate came into view.
Their goal was obvious.
‘We weren’t the only ones who bought the info!’
El Pam.
Naturally, this was a very dangerous moment.
‘Enemies.’
One target.
That meant everyone else was competition.
This was the Elnas Mountains, no less.
The world of outlaws!
Outlaws competing over one target?
But retreating here wasn’t an option. The dice had already been cast.
“We’re going in!”
Ispa’s party crossed the Mystic Gate without hesitation.
The moment they did, a snow-covered world welcomed Ispa’s party.
But there was no time to enjoy the sight.
“Move!”
Hiding before competitors arrived was the priority.
They immediately concealed themselves.
They did it masterfully.
Hiding one’s presence was a crucial skill when dealing with outlaws.
And so they waited in silence.
“Soon another adventurer party will make an offer.”
Waiting for a competitor to propose.
“Let’s team up.”
Cooperation instead of competition.
That was when it happened.
“We’ll make you an offer!”
A voice came from somewhere.
“Let’s join hands!”
The moment she heard the offer, Ispa checked the other party.
“One person.”
The one who’d come to negotiate was alone.
It was a sign of sincerity.
Sincerity in seeking talks, not a fight.
That was why.
“I’ll go out.”
Ispa responded to the negotiation.
She revealed herself.
“You’ll negotiate?”
At her question, the man who appeared nodded.
“You’re here for El Pam, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Let’s catch him together.”
Ispa didn’t hesitate at the proposal.
Competing right now and bleeding themselves dry would be the stupidest thing.
“Fine.”
She accepted immediately and extended her hand.
“I’m Ispa. Your name?”
At her question, the man took Ispa’s outstretched hand and said,
“The name’s El.”