Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: 47. Witch of the Snowy Mountains (3)
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5.
Aran.
There were countless legendary tales about that polearm hero who had sealed away the Black Mage.
Naturally, there were just as many adventurers eager to challenge those legends.
Especially for warrior adventurers who wielded weapons, the polearm hero Aran was like a god.
“No one has ever reached Aran’s legends.”
Yet not a single person had even come close to her toes.
It wasn’t simply because of her feat of sealing the Black Mage.
“No one has ever even found a clue to Aran.”
The reason was that no one had ever imitated her.
Literally.
“No one has ever come close to replicating Aran’s skills.”
In fact, for the other heroes, there were people who had imitated their skills, if not perfectly.
Even Fried, who used all magic, had followers, and a tiny few could wield the light and darkness magic used by Luminous.
The same went for Phantom the phantom thief’s skills. Not all of them, but some could mimic them similarly, and Mercedes’ archer skills were still passed down among the elves, even if none matched her prowess.
But Aran’s skills were different.
No one had ever reproduced them.
“The skills she used were ones she created herself, and she never took a disciple.”
That was why.
“The only way left is to get your hands on the items she used.”
The world was obsessed with Aran’s items above all else.
“B-Boss.”
And now, that item was in El Pam’s hands.
At that fact, Dibo and the others froze like ice statues, as if they’d been struck by the Witch of the Snowy Mountains.
They stiffened.
“I-Is this really Aran’s boots?”
Among them, Dibo barely managed to open his mouth, and El Pam nodded at his words.
“But how do you know?”
That was when Miner tossed out a question.
How had El Pam recognized Aran’s boots—the existence of which was uncertain—just by looking at them?
“I heard a description.”
“A description? From who?”
“From Phantom the phantom thief.”
“Ah!”
But at the follow-up explanation, everyone understood immediately.
If the phantom thief Phantom had told him, there could be nothing more accurate.
Of course, El Pam would have known even without that description, but there was no need to explain that.
More importantly, what mattered now wasn’t how he knew about this item.
“What skill is imbued in it?
What kind of item was it, exactly?
In truth, there was a chance no skill was imbued at all.
Surprisingly, that happened often.
You’d go through hell to get a famous adventurer’s item, only to find it was just ordinary gear.
Of course, figuring that out wasn’t hard.
You just infused it with mana.
And the moment El Pam infused mana into the boots, they didn’t budge an inch.
“Huh?”
At that sight, everyone’s expressions hardened.
No reaction to mana meant it was just an ordinary object.
It meant all their efforts so far might have been for nothing.
Of course, it wasn’t truly ordinary.
“It’s rejecting mana.”
“Yes?”
“Exactly as I said. It’s rejecting my mana.”
Quite the opposite, in fact.
“Does that mean...?”
“It means only the chosen one can use it.”
It was extremely special.
At that realization, smiles spread across everyone’s faces.
“So it really is the real deal.”
Nothing could prove these were Aran’s boots quite like that special nature.
“Dibo.”
“Yes, Boss!”
To Dibo, who was thrilled about Aran’s boots, El Pam said,
“Try using it!”
“Yes?”
Dibo tilted his head at the words.
Then he grinned.
“You’ve got a sense of humor, Boss.”
Dibo wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Kiri, Miner, and even Ralph—all of them figured El Pam was joking.
And they had good reason.
These were Aran’s items, after all.
There was no way Dibo could use an item meant only for a special existence just because he was a warrior.
“You never know. Give it a try.”
But El Pam insisted, and at the repeated demand, Dibo let out a hollow laugh.
“Come on, what’s there to not know? Anyone can see it won’t work. You’re just trying to embarrass me, right?”
“It might work.”
“As if. Not unless the sky falls.”
“Then let’s bet 100 million mesos.”
“Yes?”
That was the moment.
“Dibo, I’ll bet 10 million mesos that you can use it.”
The atmosphere froze briefly at El Pam’s words, but soon everyone burst into laughter.
They still thought he was joking.
“Alright.”
That was why Dibo replied cheerfully.
“I’ll bet 10 million mesos that I can’t. These are Aran’s boots! No way it works, right? Huh? Come on, you guys bet too.”
“I’ll bet 10 million mesos it won’t work.”
“Yeah, no chance. I’m in too.”
Kiri and Miner responded lightheartedly as well.
There was one exception.
“I’m sitting this one out.”
Ralph, who loved money more than anyone, opted out of the bet.
Everyone tilted their heads at that, but didn’t question it much.
It was just a joke, after all.
“Alright.”
With that, Dibo slipped on Aran’s boots right away.
“Boss, even if it’s a joke, a bet’s a bet. No backing out later, okay?”
Even then, a smile played on Dibo’s lips.
It stayed there as he put on the boots and took his stance.
Even as he prepared to use a skill.
“Man, the day I eat the Boss’s money has come.”
Still smiling, Dibo infused mana.
That was the moment.
“Huh?”
Dibo sensed something off, and in that strangeness, he swung his polearm.
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
A blue flash erupted from Dibo’s polearm, piercing through the swirling blizzard and creating a new one.
Everyone stared at Dibo in shock at the overwhelming power.
“What the hell was that?”
And Dibo, more surprised than anyone, said,
“I-I don’t know.”
Of course, he was the exception.
El Pam knew Dibo could use Aran’s skill.
‘It was Smash Swing.’
And that the skill he’d just used was one of Aran’s—Smash Swing.
That was the end of it.
There was nothing more for El Pam to find in this Mystic Gate.
“Take a day to rest.”
Just one thing left.
“We head out.”
6.
There was an unspoken rule among the adventurers and outlaws of the Elnas Mountains.
“Kill each other in the Elnas Mountains all you want. But if you’re gonna do it, keep it quiet.”
One of them was silence.
“Cause a ruckus, and the whole place turns into a slaughterhouse.”
The Elnas Mountains were harsh even for monsters, leaving most of them starving.
Stir up a commotion in a place like that?
Let blood’s scent waft?
The monsters’ eyes would roll back in frenzy.
Of course, you couldn’t always fight quietly. Fights weren’t quiet by nature.
Still, they made a minimal effort.
Especially between adventurers—they avoided clashing as much as possible.
The more dangerous the place, the more they tacitly steered clear.
“Kill them!”
“Chase those bastards! Don’t let them go!”
“Uahaha! We all die together!”
But now, in the frigid wasteland—the most dangerous spot in the Elnas Mountains—it was filled with screams, roars, curses spat in rage, and bloody winds.
Naturally, it wasn’t just adventurers and outlaws fighting.
Krurr!
“Damn it, a Hector pack!”
Uwooo!
“Yeti pack incoming over there!”
Kiii!
“Shit, even Pepes!”
The monsters of the Elnas Mountains swarmed at the noise.
It was a massive hellscape.
A hell with no reason to heed the rules built up over years by adventurers and outlaws.
“Fitting for Aran’s item.”
What had shattered that reason was none other than Aran’s item.
Rumors had spread.
Rumors that a 400-man Mystic Gate had appeared in the frigid wasteland, containing Aran’s item.
There was fresh gossip too.
“Linking it to El Pam’s party was the right call.”
That El Pam’s party—the adventurer group that had made a name in the Nihal Desert—had come to the frigid wasteland seeking Aran’s item.
And that a whopping 100 million mesos bounty hung over El Pam’s head.
Of course, mere rumors wouldn’t drive everyone to lose their minds like this.
There were forces at play.
Forces turning those rumors into truth.
“Blood winds are blowing.”
A man named Isep smiled as he watched the carnage—one of those forces.
One of Hote’s underlings, he was carrying out Hote’s orders to perfection.
Turning this frigid wasteland into hell.
The number of adventurers already dead by his schemes had surpassed a hundred, nearing thousands.
What was chilling was that while Isep’s mouth smiled at the hellscape, his eyes didn’t smile at all.
He wanted more.
“Still modest, but...”
More blood.
“Soon, blood winds will blow to my heart’s content.”
He had no worries about that.
“Of course.”
The stage was already set.
“Countless people will swarm the Mystic Gate where Aran’s item sleeps.”
Not just Aran’s item—El Pam and other powerhouses had entered the prepared Mystic Gate.
That alone would draw everyone.
Moreover, this was the outlaws’ world—normal攻略 with rules was impossible.
“They’ll fight to enter the gate.”
The Lion King—now a follower of the Black Mage—and his underlings, the knights, would make it impossible.
“No way they’ll攻略 it properly once inside.”
“Mr. Isep.”
Of course, it wasn’t flawless.
“What if the Mystic Gate gets cleared?”
Everything Isep said hinged on the Mystic Gate not being cleared.
The moment it was, adventurers and outlaws would have no reason to stay in the frigid wasteland.
Only reason to flee as fast as possible.
But at the question, Isep sneered.
The sneer was proof he knew.
“No chance. What’s inside can’t be caught.”
The Witch of the Snowy Mountains!
The boss monster in that Mystic Gate was that terrifying beast.
As long as the Witch of the Snowy Mountains was there, no one could clear it.
“El Pam’s party included.”
That’s why he was certain El Pam’s party couldn’t clear it either.
“I can’t even fathom why they’re worried about them in the first place.”
Isep couldn’t understand why Hote and those above cared about El Pam’s party at all, let alone fear a clear.
“Bunch of lucky bastards.”
To him, El Pam’s party was just lucky fools who’d gained fame.
“They only made a name in the Nihal Desert.”
This was the Elnas Mountains—a far harsher place than the Nihal Desert.
And El Pam hailed from Victoria Island, no less.
Pathetic on every level.
“Anyone else, maybe. But El Pam’s party won’t clear it.”
So Isep declared with full conviction.
“If El Pam’s party clears that Mystic Gate, I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself.”
His conviction was absolute.
“I swear on the Lion King’s name...”
As a Lion King knight, it was a vow he had to keep once spoken.
That was the moment.
“M-Mr. Isep!”
As he was about to finish the vow, a subordinate rushed in shouting.
“The Mystic Gate portal has activated!”
“...What? What the hell? The portal activated? What do you—?”
Another subordinate followed, yelling.
“I-It’s El Pam’s party! El Pam’s party has appeared!”