Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Chapter 50. Abandoned Mine (1)
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1.
Coolie Zombie.
The infamy surrounding this monster, which had turned the Abandoned Mine into the worst hellhole in the Elnas Mountains, was beyond measure.
But right now, that infamy meant nothing.
“Boss! Ten Coolie Zombies incoming!”
“Step aside. I can handle that many on my own.”
Wolf King Pao.
Before the name of the man who led the Wolf Mercenary Corps, the Coolie Zombie’s notoriety held no sway whatsoever.
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Hmph!”
Thwack!
With a casual swing of his spear, Wolf King Pao turned the Coolie Zombie’s body into a puddle of mud.
It was astonishing.
Other adventurers’ spears and swords couldn’t even scratch the Coolie Zombie’s tough hide easily.
In other words, that was the extent of it.
Wolf King Pao’s raw power alone was enough to overwhelm a Coolie Zombie.
Naturally, the moment he unleashed a skill, it became a catastrophe for them.
“Ramancha Spear!”
It happened in an instant.
Kraaa!
With Ramancha Spear—the attack where Wolf King Pao spun his spear wide—the Coolie Zombies’ bodies tore apart like paper.
He swept them away completely.
Of course, the Coolie Zombies didn’t go down without a fight.
Psssh!
Poisonous fluids sprayed from their severed bodies.
Naturally, a good portion of that venom flew straight toward the nearest target: Wolf King Pao himself.
A moment of life or death.
Yet Wolf King Pao didn’t flinch at the incoming poison.
Whirr!
He spun his spear like a windmill, deflecting every drop.
It was flawless technique.
The kind that drew gasps of admiration.
But on Wolf King Pao’s face, the man who had pulled it off, there was no admiration—or even a hint of excitement.
He was utterly impassive.
And it wasn’t just him.
His subordinates watching from a distance showed no emotion either.
Proof positive.
“As expected of the boss.”
This incredible scene was just another day at the office for them.
That was Wolf King Pao’s strength.
6th Circle!
Even by the standards of renowned adventurers, that power was on another level entirely.
He seemed superhuman.
That was why.
“Where’s the El Pam party?”
“We’re still searching.”
“It’s taking too long.”
No one doubted it.
“Don’t worry. The El Pam party won’t be leaving this place quietly.”
2.
“It came out way too easily.”
Dibo turned his head as he spoke, smirking at the snow-covered sheer cliff before them.
“I never thought it’d end this quick.”
Everyone felt the same.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, totally ridiculous.”
They had all braced themselves.
For at least a week, maybe over a month, steeling for a desperate slog through that hellish Dead Tree Forest, hacking through Coolie Zombies.
A do-or-die resolve.
Who would’ve thought they’d find what they wanted before even a day had passed?
No, not even half a day.
“Half a day? Nah, felt like three hours tops.”
Just a ridiculously short time.
No wonder it felt absurd.
A smirk tugged at El Pam’s lips too.
‘Never imagined it’d come this easily.’
It was completely unexpected.
Not that it was all that strange, though.
The Contract of Darkness didn’t require killing over ten thousand Coolie Zombies unconditionally.
With good luck, you could snag it from just one.
And El Pam had stacked the deck.
Luring in countless adventurers and outlaws—not one or two, but thousands upon thousands.
The sheer number of Coolie Zombies those crowds had taken down was astronomical.
The tally El Pam had racked up in just those few hours was no exception.
‘Beyond expectations.’
Either way, El Pam had no reason to complain.
Everyone else agreed.
“Well, at least we didn’t waste time in this godforsaken dump. Good, real good.”
No one was turning their nose up at it.
Except one.
“What’s so good about it?”
Ralph, that is.
“This is way off script.”
He was genuinely griping about the situation.
“We barely looted any items in there! Never dreamed we’d come away empty-handed like this!”
Of course, no one paid his complaints any mind.
“Let’s head back to Elnas Market.”
They didn’t have the luxury.
“For what comes next.”
It was only the beginning, after all.
3.
The underground prison of the Adventurers’ Association in Elnas Market.
Thud. Thud.
The moment those footsteps echoed through the darkness, a sound rose from the cell.
“Heh heh heh.”
A laugh from Shamos, the mage turned Horde.
And it was a mocking laugh.
Shamos knew.
“El Pam.”
The owner of those footsteps was none other than El Pam.
But it wasn’t just the fact that it was El Pam that made him sneer.
The sneer came from certainty.
“Heh heh, you’ve given up.”
Certainty that El Pam had abandoned their deal, his proposal.
It had to be.
“If you’d quit a bit sooner, you wouldn’t have suffered as much, heh heh heh. Nah, giving up this quick is pretty smart, actually. Heh heh heh! Heh heh heh!”
El Pam had made the deal just a few days ago.
And fulfilling his demand in those few days—snagging the Contract of Darkness—was utterly impossible.
Shamos had seen this coming too.
“Knew you’d bail, heh heh heh. Knew you’d quit like this.”
His proposal had been on a level no adventurer could achieve from the start.
Quitting was the natural response.
No, Shamos actually held El Pam in higher regard for showing up intact after backing out.
“You made it back alive, heh heh heh.”
The top reason adventurers died was failing to know their place.
That’s why knowing when to quit was a key adventurer trait.
One most lacked, though.
Adventure and quitting didn’t mix—like water and oil.
So Shamos had made that offer.
To test if El Pam was the type who could quit.
A sort of exam.
‘Not a bad guy.’
And El Pam had passed.
“Heh heh heh, fine. I’ll give you one more shot, special favor. Something easier this time.”
That’s why Shamos offered El Pam another chance.
Not because he liked him, of course.
A “chance,” sure—but to Shamos, it was just using El Pam.
‘I’ll squeeze him dry to the end.’
And Shamos planned to use him until he couldn’t anymore, right to the bitter end.
Whether El Pam died in the process? Not Shamos’s problem in the slightest.
‘Can’t give him Zakum’s Helmet.’
He had zero intention of handing over Zakum’s Helmet.
Not surprising.
Its value was incalculable.
He just planned to dangle it to keep using El Pam.
“Heh heh heh, this time…”
But to Shamos, scheming away inside, El Pam didn’t reply.
He showed him instead.
Flutter.
The Contract of Darkness.
“Wh-what? How?”
Shamos froze solid at the sight, and El Pam said to the stunned mage,
“Got lucky.”
Shamos’s frozen expression thawed.
He snarled, face twisting in fury.
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
It was warranted.
“That’s not something you get with ‘luck’!”
He was that shocked.
“No adventurer of your level could get it—not in a hundred lifetimes!”
So shocked he let slip his true intentions without realizing.
That he’d never planned to give up Zakum’s Helmet in the first place.
El Pam didn’t flinch or rage at the revelation.
He’d known long ago Shamos’s deal was reckless.
Besides, Shamos’s schemes didn’t matter.
“Anyway, I got it.”
Only one thing did.
“So hand over Zakum’s Helmet as promised.”
Time to complete the trade.
Shamos’s fury-cooled face drained of heat rapidly.
It turned ice-cold.
Naturally, he couldn’t accept this, and he had no desire to part with Zakum’s Helmet.
‘Damn, damn.’
But it wasn’t something he could just wish away.
‘A deal’s a deal.’
To Shamos, honoring trades was crucial.
It was why he’d survived this long—because once he made a deal, he kept it.
If not?
If Shamos was known as a two-faced liar?
Hines and the rest who’d locked him up would have no reason to keep him breathing.
No, a lying Shamos would be treated like an untouchable bomb.
So he had to close this deal with El Pam.
“Hold out your palm.”
At Shamos’s words, El Pam extended his hand into the cell, and Shamos began scrawling something on it.
“Just once.”
Scribble scribble.
Coordinates.
The location where Shamos had hidden Zakum’s Helmet.
“Remember it.”
But it wasn’t free.
“As promised, later, when the King of the Horde shows up, you eliminate it.”
In exchange for Zakum’s Helmet, El Pam now bore a massive burden on his shoulders.
“Fail, and I’ll use every trick I’ve got to kill you. Might even slap a 10 billion mesos bounty on your head.”
Just as Shamos kept his word, so must El Pam.
But El Pam placed no weight on that burden.
No reason to.
“Sure.”
Compared to what already weighed on El Pam’s shoulders, the King of the Horde was laughable.
‘Zakum’s Helmet is mine now.’
More importantly, Zakum’s Helmet was now in his hands.
Its implications were profound.
‘I’m free from Zakum’s Curse now.’
Its greatest effect: ignoring Zakum’s Curse.
And that curse blanketed the Abandoned Mine area.
Meaning El Pam could now.
‘In the Abandoned Mine, I can even hold off Wolf King Pao for a bit.’
Wherever Zakum’s Curse lingered, he could stand against a 6th Circle adventurer and hold his own.
A truly overpowering item in his grasp.
‘Not that I’ll need to fight him.’
Of course, El Pam had no intention of foolishly clashing with Wolf King Pao.
No reason to.
‘If I enter the Mystic Gate.’
There was a stage even a 6th Circle couldn’t breach.
Either way, El Pam now held a surefire trump card.
Naturally, he had no plans to waste it on a mere win.
When the table was stacked in your favor, you upped the stakes—that was basic sense.
That’s why.
After finishing the deal with Shamos and stepping out, El Pam said to Dibo,
“Boss, you’re back?”
“Dibo.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? Come on, between you and me, what’s a favor? Just give me an order.”
“From now on, you’re a traitor.”