Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: 48. Bounty (1)
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1.
What was always emphasized to adventurers was none other than cool-headed judgment.
“You can often see adventurers whose eyes roll back from greed-blinded ambition.”
But there were cases where that failed.
Like the adventurers and outlaws gathered now in the frigid plains.
Their eyes fixed on Aran's item, they were unable to make rational judgments.
Nothing seemed capable of snapping them out of it.
“But strong foes have a way of clearing the mind.”
That, however, was not the case.
“The Snow Witch of the Mountains has appeared!”
Before the owner of the frigid plains—and one of the terrors of the Elnas Mountains—the Snow Mountain Witch—the adventurers and outlaws quickly made cool-headed judgments.
“Run!”
They knew rationally that now was the time to flee.
Of course, fleeing wasn’t easy.
Not in a situation where a storm of blood was already raging.
And with countless monsters drawn in by that bloody wind, blind flight was no simple task.
Awooooo!
“Arghhh!”
Just like that, the frigid plains turned into a battlefield hell.
Amid that scene, only two remained utterly composed.
“What a total slaughterhouse.”
One was the phantom thief, Phantom.
He had every reason to be relaxed.
“So, what do you think?”
After all, it was none other than the phantom thief Phantom who had lured the Snow Mountain Witch here.
“My gift?”
And he had brought her not for anything else, but to help El Pam’s party escape.
Of course, it was a method beyond common sense.
‘No way—he controlled the Snow Mountain Witch?’
‘Is that even possible?’
‘Even for Phantom, how?’
Finding the Snow Mountain Witch was hard enough to begin with.
Unlike other monsters, she didn’t always have a fixed form. She appeared out of nowhere.
To seek her out on purpose?
Even assuming he could find her.
That was Phantom’s specialty, after all.
But to lure her at will, to the exact timing and place he wanted? That was utterly unimaginable.
That was why Dibo and El Pam’s other companions wore stunned expressions.
Of course, El Pam was the exception.
He wasn’t surprised.
‘It’s not that hard.’
He knew.
‘Compared to luring Velum.’
Compared to the boss monsters Phantom had lured before, the Snow Mountain Witch was child’s play.
And El Pam knew something else.
‘It’s not just about helping out.’
Phantom hadn’t come all this way, risking such danger, for that alone.
Honestly, Phantom knew.
That El Pam didn’t need such help.
In other words, there was a real reason for coming here.
‘Aran’s item is the goal.’
To secure Aran’s item even a moment sooner.
“So, the goods?”
It was just as El Pam predicted.
“I brought them.”
“Good.”
As expected, Phantom’s true aim was Aran’s boots.
There was nothing strange about it.
Aran’s items were made for Aran herself—there was no reason for him to let them stay in someone else’s hands.
Plus, it was dangerous.
With so many eyeing Aran’s items, for El Pam’s party to hold it was suicidal.
“Well then, shall we make the trade?”
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“I’d like my party to hold onto Aran’s boots for a while.”
“What?”
That was why.
“What are you talking about? You want to keep that ticking time bomb?”
Phantom reacted with utter disbelief.
There was no reason whatsoever for El Pam to hold onto Aran’s boots on purpose.
What use would they even have for it?
It was then.
“No way?”
Phantom, struck by a sudden realization, looked at Dibo and said,
“Hey, you.”
“Yes?”
“Can you use Aran’s boots?”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
Caught off guard by the abrupt question, Dibo answered without thinking—and the moment Phantom heard it, he knew it wasn’t a lie.
“Interesting.”
A smile crept onto Phantom’s lips.
Phantom understood.
Why El Pam had made such a proposal.
Of course, what intrigued Phantom most was that Dibo could use Aran’s skills.
That was key.
‘Aran, you’ve finally got yourself a worthy disciple.’
Someone had appeared who could properly inherit the polearm hero that no one before had succeeded.
Moreover, being able to use Aran’s skills was huge.
Dibo was now undoubtedly the strongest 5th Circle adventurer warrior.
“Fine, no use me holding onto them anyway.”
And so Phantom accepted El Pam’s proposal.
“Now, onto the next item.”
But the deal wasn’t done.
“There are two left.”
There were still Aran’s items to find.
El Pam knew that, too.
And he had no intention of ending the deal with Phantom here.
So El Pam asked,
“Where is it?”
2.
“No way.”
Ebob’s face twisted in shock the moment he heard the news from the frigid plains.
He had no choice.
“How did this happen?”
He had made every preparation.
Preparations so perfect that killing every adventurer in the world wouldn’t have been out of place.
Yet those preparations had shattered in a single raid.
“El Pam’s party did this?”
And the ones who shattered them were El Pam’s party—just five members.
They had entered the Mystic Gate with hundreds of outlaws hunting them—and come back alive.
Even knowing how amazing El Pam’s party was, surviving this was beyond Ebob’s imagination.
At the same time, Ebob worried.
‘What now?’
El Pam had to die for Ebob to survive now.
If El Pam kept living, nothing good would come for Ebob.
Above all, Ebob had planned this whole thing—and it had failed.
‘Hote might kill me.’
He couldn’t dodge responsibility if Hote demanded it.
It wasn’t even something to question.
Hote could kill Ebob for no reason at all. He held the lifelines of Ebob and Queen Areida.
It was then.
“Ebob, sir. Hote is summoning you.”
At Hote’s call, Ebob headed to his office with more tension than ever.
He steeled himself for death.
“You’re here?”
But when Hote greeted him, there wasn’t a trace of anger on his face.
“You’ve heard the news?”
“Yes.”
“El Pam’s party broke through our trap and took the bait—Aran’s item.”
He reported the situation calmly.
That made Ebob even more tense.
Truly enraged people often turned cold.
“I’m sorry.”
So Ebob bowed his head immediately.
“No need.”
But Hote, receiving the apology, showed no emotional shift.
It wasn’t an act.
Ebob could tell. Hote wasn’t angry at all right now.
He was utterly serene.
‘Why?’
It was even harder to understand.
This failure meant the Lion King hadn’t achieved his goals and had lost one of Aran’s items.
A critical loss.
Yet no anger?
“Curious why I’m not angry?”
“……Yes.”
At the question, Hote smiled and answered.
“We didn’t see as much blood on the frigid plains as hoped, but it doesn’t matter much.”
“It doesn’t?”
“More blood elsewhere will solve it.”
This was sincere, too.
It meant he was confident.
Confident he could recover from this failure.
And he had reason to be.
“The next stage will be there.”
3.
El Pam’s group returned safely to Elnas Market, having drunk polymorph potions.
It was an incredible feat.
Coming back from that absurd hell.
“My God.”
But Dibo’s expression wasn’t that of someone who’d escaped hell.
It was the face of one facing hell ahead.
And Dibo wasn’t alone.
His companions’ faces were grim, too.
“Boss, this is insane.”
They had reason.
“The Abandoned Mine?”
The Abandoned Mine.
One of the Elnas Mountains’ three great forbidden zones, alongside Ice Valley and the frigid plains.
But every adventurer or outlaw who knew the mountains even a little said the same.
“It’s ten times more dangerous than the frigid plains!”
Compared to the Abandoned Mine, the frigid plains or Ice Valley were like a neighborhood hill.
The Adventurers’ Association had announced it.
“Only 5th Circle and above permitted!”
Abandoned Mine adventures were strongly recommended only for 5th Circle adventurers and higher.
That was huge.
The Association’s recommendations were usually reckless.
For places a 3rd Circle adventurer could barely handle, they’d recommend 2nd Circle and up.
To avoid stifling adventurers’ spirits.
For the Association to strongly recommend 5th Circle and above?
Even 5th Circle parties would struggle.
That’s how dangerous the Abandoned Mine was.
“They say it’s cursed by Zakum!”
And the biggest reason it was so perilous was none other than the devil statue, Zakum.
In ancient times, deep in the mine, Zakum appeared and cast its curse. From that curse, zombies and werewolves began appearing in the mine.
That was the problem.
Those zombies and werewolves were none other than former adventurers or outlaws.
Some were 1st Circle, but others were 5th Circle!
“They say Zakum’s curse halves your power there!”
The scariest part of Zakum’s curse was that it prevented adventurers from properly using their magic power.
A stage of utter worsts in every way.
“But that’s the next event stage.”
That was why.
The Black Mage’s followers had hidden the second Aran item nowhere but the Abandoned Mine.
“We’ll reveal it soon.”
And they planned to announce that hidden fact to the entire Maple World shortly.
“We didn’t get enough blood from the frigid plains.”
For their goal.
“This time, thoroughly unlike before.”
The problem was, the Black Mage’s followers weren’t idiots—they’d plan even more meticulously than the frigid plains.
Even for El Pam, finding a gap would be no easy task. Utterly airtight.
Honestly, El Pam had no confidence in punching through.
“In other words, they’re still preparing.”
And there was no need to yet.
“This is our chance. While they’re still preparing.”
It was a battle of time.
“Even so, this is too dangerous.”
Of course, his companions knew, but adventurers had one ironclad rule.
“Rushing against time is like running from death.”
Never hurry under time pressure.
“I know.”
El Pam knew that rule better than anyone.
He had no intention of rushing.
Just moving as fast as possible.
‘I have a way.’
And in the current situation, El Pam could devise a near-perfect plan.
He was sure of it.
“Hey!”
At the tavern in the back market where El Pam’s party was staying.
“Heard the news?”
“What?”
“About El Pam’s party!”
“They snagged Aran’s item? No adventurer here doesn’t know that.”
“No! Not that!”
“Then what?”
“There’s a bounty!”
“A bounty? You mean the 100 million mesos? Everyone knows that.”
“More than that!”
“More? 200 million?”
“Even more!”
“300 million?”
Until that news arrived there.
“No, 1 billion mesos!”