Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: 49장. 죽은 나무의 숲 (2)
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3.
Abandoned Mine.
The most dangerous place in the Elnas Mountains.
Adventurers spoke of its perils.
“Even if you gave me billions, I wouldn’t want to go to the Abandoned Mine.”
Of course, no one knew if that was true.
In the history of Maple World, there had never been a billion-meso bounty for heading to the Abandoned Mine.
And there never would be.
“The El Pam party headed to the Abandoned Mine!”
But now things had changed.
“A 10 billion meso bounty!”
Billions were truly on offer for the Abandoned Mine.
Of course, plenty of people raised doubts.
“No matter how much billions are on the line, the Abandoned Mine is a place where nine out of ten who go in never come back alive.”
“You’re lucky if you just die. If you’re unlucky, you end up as a Coolie Zombie, cursed to live that way forever.”
“What good is 10 billion mesos when you’re dead?”
They figured that even with such an enormous sum, far fewer adventurers would take up the challenge than expected.
But those predictions were wrong.
“Heard the news? The Prison Party is looking for a guide to the Abandoned Mine.”
“The Prison Party? The one made up entirely of 5th Circle mages?”
“Looks like the airships heading to Orbis right now are packed with adventurers from Victoria Island.”
“Packed?”
“So many showed up that ticket prices jumped fivefold.”
“Crazy, airship tickets?”
“What kind of adventurers are flocking there in droves?”
“The top ten merchant groups from Lith Harbor are sending adventurers.”
“Merchant groups?”
“Think about it. A regular adventurer couldn’t even spend 10 billion mesos properly, but merchant groups are different. They could double it!”
Far more adventurers than anticipated were rushing toward the Abandoned Mine.
Even ordinary adventurers were no exception.
“Forget the 10 billion mesos—even just the fact that the El Pam party has Aran’s items right now.”
The bounty on the El Pam party wasn’t just about money.
“And why do you think the El Pam party went to the Abandoned Mine? Obviously to hunt for Aran’s items.”
“If two of Aran’s items are up for grabs, it’s worth risking death.”
Even adventurers with little greed for money were moving quickly.
Of course, “more than expected” didn’t mean massive numbers were mobilizing.
The Abandoned Mine was still seen by adventurers as a forbidden zone, a place they absolutely should not go.
That was why so many agonized.
‘Should I go, or not?’
‘If I play it right, it could change my adventurer life forever.’
Their hearts raced at the thought of rewards, but their heads cooled at the risks. Such was their torment.
It was around then.
Some adventurers approached others.
“Hey, how about teaming up with us to take down El Pam?”
They proposed forming parties.
Most responded curtly.
“Teaming up is fine, but will it even work? It’s not El Pam that’s the problem—it’s getting to the Abandoned Mine.”
“We have information.”
“Information?”
“We know the El Pam party’s route.”
Their attitudes changed the moment they heard that.
“Their route?”
Truthfully, that was something impossible in ordinary adventures.
Adventurers did plan routes to their destinations.
But those routes could change endlessly based on circumstances.
So information on such routes was honestly worthless.
“But a route to the Abandoned Mine? That’s not something you can just change easily.”
The story was different when the destination was the Abandoned Mine.
For starters, adventurers rarely ventured there.
In simple terms, it was like a mountain with no hikers.
Meaning proper paths to it hadn’t been blazed.
Routes were limited.
“And it’s not easy to stray from the route either.”
Crucially, those routes meant fewer monsters—relatively safer paths compared to others.
Stray from them?
It meant facing greater dangers.
In other words, information on the El Pam party’s route was incredibly valuable.
Of course, there was one key point.
“If it’s real.”
The truth of the information.
In short, everyone had already weighed the scales.
If the info was legit—if the El Pam route was real—they’d pursue without hesitation.
And then came the answer.
4.
“It’s real.”
At Hote’s response, Ebob’s face lit up in shock.
“The El Pam party’s actual route?”
“Yes. We’ve confirmed them moving along it.”
He never imagined he’d snag the tail of El Pam—the one he’d so desperately wanted to catch—like this.
“To think his tail would fall into our laps so easily… El Pam’s the most cunning adventurer out there, and yet his route gets exposed?”
Ebob fully acknowledged El Pam’s abilities, after all.
“It’s precisely because he’s cunning that the route was exposed.”
Hote saw it differently.
“Pardon?”
“Everyone thinks the Abandoned Mine is just full of Coolie Zombies, Werewolves, and Zakum’s Curse. But that’s not all.”
“Not all?”
“The scariest thing about the Abandoned Mine is how limited the routes are. Choosing a different one to evade pursuit is suicide. Even if the route is exposed, sticking to a proven one is best.”
As he spat out the explanation, Hote smirked slyly.
“That’s why we lured him there. The Lion King’s Castle has mapped every single route.”
It was the smile of a hunter watching his prey fall into a trap.
“So you, Hote…?”
Seeing that smile, Ebob wondered if Hote was the one spreading this info.
“I didn’t step in myself. But I didn’t need to.”
“Pardon?”
“We put 10 billion mesos on his head. That wasn’t just money to lure adventurers and outlaws. It created a massive market centered on the El Pam party.”
“A market… Ah!”
“Every move he makes has a price now. We don’t need to lift a finger. Adventurers and outlaws in the Elnas Mountains will hunt the El Pam party on their own.”
Hearing the follow-up explanation, Ebob understood the source of Hote’s composure.
“Soon, adventurers and outlaws will swarm after El Pam, and the Abandoned Mine will become hell.”
Just as desired, another bloodwind would blow.
Ebob couldn’t find grounds to argue against Hote’s prediction.
“Hote.”
Even so, Ebob didn’t relax his expression as he spoke to him.
“Still, you need to be careful. The El Pam party couldn’t have overlooked a situation like this.”
Considering how they’d suffered at El Pam’s hands so far, he couldn’t dare loosen his guard here.
At Ebob’s words, Hote chuckled.
“Yes, I know.”
“You know?”
“The Lion King said it: Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion gives it everything.”
“Then?”
Hote had prepared as well.
“I hired an outlaw party to kill him.”
5.
“Abandoned Mine? Isn’t that just a collapsed mine?”
To adventurers in the Elnas Mountains, the Abandoned Mine’s image was exactly that: a ruined mine.
“Isn’t it forbidden?”
So they thought avoiding just the mine itself was enough.
But seasoned Elnas Mountains adventurers knew better.
“The forbidden zone isn’t just the Abandoned Mine—it includes all the paths leading there and the surrounding areas.”
It wasn’t just the mine adventurers had to avoid.
“It starts with the Sharp Cliff.”
And the paths to that Abandoned Mine split into three main routes.
“Damn Yetis outnumber the trees in that forest. I guarantee there’s a million of them. Especially the Dark Yetis—twice as strong as regular ones. It’s their den.”
The Sharp Cliff overflowed with fearsome Yeti monsters.
“Cross the Dangerous Cliff after that, and you hit the wolves’ domain.”
Next came the wolves’ domain, infamous even among Elnas Mountains adventurers.
Of course, “infamous” wasn’t a good thing.
“As the name says, Werewolves—the cursed ones who treat White Fangs and Hectors like hunting dogs.”
Then, the final hurdle before the Abandoned Mine: the Forest of Dead Trees.
“That’s where the zombies show up. Coolie Zombies.”
Simple reason it was called the Forest of Dead Trees.
Coolie Zombies appeared there.
“Only after breaking through all that can you enter the Abandoned Mine. See why it’s forbidden?”
These were the reasons the Abandoned Mine was so brutal.
Three hellish zones, each a nightmare for adventurers on its own.
That was why.
“Three out of ten. That’s how many adventurers reach the entrance.”
Even challenging the Abandoned Mine was no easy feat.
But this time, the Abandoned Mine was different.
“That way!”
A fair number of adventurers challenged it.
The challenge itself wasn’t surprising.
Even after it became forbidden, adventurers couldn’t contain their curiosity and tried anyway.
“The Forest of Dead Trees!”
What was surprising was this.
“Casualties?”
“Twenty dead.”
“Twenty out of a hundred fifty.”
The losses were remarkably low.
“Way off from expectations.”
It was unexpected.
Normally, you’d brace for at least fifty deaths.
If luck was bad, over half dying wouldn’t be odd—that was the Abandoned Mine.
So those who reached the Forest of Dead Trees thought:
“We’re lucky.”
Of course, they didn’t know.
“Now we resume tailing the El Pam party.”
That their high survival rate was thanks to El Pam—the very one they were chasing.
It wasn’t a empty metaphor.
“Boss, looks like quite a crowd showed up.”
“Has to be. We paved the best path for them.”
El Pam had prepared the safest route for the adventurers and outlaws pursuing him.
No easy task.
It required considerable effort.
And it was dangerous.
One slip, and they’d catch his tail—then everything could crumble.
“Now we just watch.”
But El Pam had attempted it and succeeded.
“Watch them hunt the Coolie Zombies for us.”
Now, all that remained was reaping the rewards of that hard work.
And that was simple.
“Now we just watch. After taking the disguise potions.”
Once they disguised with transformation potions here, no one could target the El Pam party.
He was confident, too.
“Or we could just fight them.”
Confident he could win against them.
Not baseless bravado.
If attacked en route, maybe different—but in the Forest of Dead Trees, it changed.
This was Coolie Zombie territory.
“The ones at a disadvantage are the ones with bigger numbers.”
Coolie Zombies fundamentally attacked the largest groups.
The smallest group—El Pam’s party—had every advantage.
“Sure, some might split into smaller parties.”
Adventurers and outlaws might divide up, but that was no concern.
“That makes it even less of a problem.”
The El Pam party had no fear of facing parties their size.
Not baseless bravado.
“At best, they’re 5th Circle level.”
The adventurers coming here were 5th Circle at strongest.
Calling them “just 5th Circle” was itself an issue.
5th Circle adventurers were a tiny elite among adventurers.
Their mobilization alone was huge.
And now, in this Forest of Dead Trees, hundreds of 5th Circle adventurers had gathered!
Add the 4th and 3rd Circle ones following them, and thousands of adventurers had arrived.
At this point, pretty much every 5th Circle adventurer and outlaw active in the Elnas Mountains was here.
“No match for us. No, I’ll handle it myself.”
That was the foundation of Dibo’s confidence.
“5th Circle is no problem.”
No adventurers beyond 5th Circle would come.
That was the moment.
“Interesting.”
“Yeah, it is interesting. Wait, you mean my words are interesting?”
“No.”
El Pam, having checked the adventurers and outlaws entering the Forest of Dead Trees to catch him, spoke.
“The Wolf King is here.”
“Th-the Wolf King? That Wolf King from the Wolf Mercenary Corps?”
“Yeah, the 6th Circle adventurer Wolf King.”