Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Poison Breath (1)
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017
Chapter 6. Poison Breath (1)
1.
The adventurers accepted El Pam's proposal.
However, not everyone accepted it at face value.
“Can you pull it off?”
Money was no object if it saved their lives, but that was only after being saved.
“Just the two of you?”
El Pam, who had never once made a name for himself as an adventurer, and Dibo, who had only just become an adventurer—they didn’t seem like they could properly play the role of bait against that terrifying boss monster.
Surprisingly, the debate over that point didn’t drag on.
“I’m El Pam.”
El Pam introduced himself, after all.
“I survived three years as a bait slave.”
Only then did the veteran adventurers finally recall it.
The name of that impossible bait slave who had endured three years with the Gapor Merchant Group.
And just how incredible that feat was.
‘A guy whose daily life was selling his life for money.’
At the same time, they understood why El Pam was so willing to risk his life here for the cash.
To El Pam, this situation must have felt like an opportunity to get his hands on some money.
That was why all doubts vanished the moment they heard his words.
Only one thing remained.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Formulating an escape plan.
The escape plan came together quickly.
“I’ll lure it east. So wait on the west side, and escape once it’s gone.”
Truth be told, the direction didn’t matter.
The core was simply how long El Pam’s party could lure the Clown Poison Mushroom.
That was the key from the other adventurers’ perspective too.
They all worried about that part.
“One warrior and one mage—the combo’s decent enough.”
The member composition was appropriate, at least.
The mage draws aggro with ranged attacks, then the warrior grabs the mage and falls back.
It was one of the most basic combos for luring monsters.
The problem was capability.
“The mage has to land those hits consistently, though.”
Hitting the target repeatedly while fleeing was no easy task.
That was why Dibo had no worries.
“With the boss’s skills, luring that thing is a piece of cake.”
El Pam wasn’t the type to show absurd magical combat prowess with telekinesis?
In truth, that part was a non-issue from the start.
Dibo had only one concern.
“The problem is that messing with that Clown whatever will make all the surrounding mushrooms swarm us.”
While El Pam handled the boss monster, he’d have to block the incoming Green Mushrooms.
That was why Dibo, instead of being shocked by El Pam’s decision, showed such composure.
“No problem now.”
He had just become an adventurer.
And not just any adventurer, either.
In his hand was an item imbued with the skill Slash Blaster.
“Let’s make some money.”
And now, a solid reward was on the line.
In any case, with even Dibo displaying confidence at this moment, the other adventurers had only one option.
“Alright, we’ll trust you and move.”
2.
A door made of two entwined wooden pillars.
In between them sat a single mushroom with a bizarre 5-meter cap.
A profoundly peaceful scene.
Shiiik!
A single fire arrow flew into that peaceful scene.
It struck the Clown Poison Mushroom’s head dead-on.
Puuung!
The incoming fire arrow didn’t unleash its full power. It only embedded about two finger-widths deep.
An unbelievable defense for a mushroom.
Was that why?
The attacked Clown Poison Mushroom showed no particular reaction. It was like it had been bitten by a mosquito.
Puuung!
But the follow-up attacks were different.
The attacks themselves weren’t particularly powerful.
The power was the same as the first one.
Still mosquito-level.
The issue was that it hit exactly the same spot where the previous fire arrow had struck.
Like getting bitten by another mosquito on the exact same itchy spot.
Puuung!
When the third shot landed in the identical spot, the Clown Poison Mushroom refused to stay still any longer.
Thud!
It yanked out the two legs buried deep in the ground.
Filled with rage, it began swinging those legs toward the direction the fire arrows had come from.
That was the start.
Puhot!
The Green Mushrooms scattered everywhere pulled their legs free and began following the Clown Poison Mushroom.
Over a thousand mushrooms in the horde began to move.
Dudududu!
Toward the direction the fire arrows had come from.
Stampeding across the ground at high speed.
It happened in an instant.
The exit, once packed with mushrooms, fell silent.
That was the moment.
Swish!
The waiting adventurers moved out one by one.
All with cloth covering their mouths and noses.
And all wearing goggles.
Goggles were pricey, but every veteran adventurer owned at least one.
Poison aside, they were essential for saving lives in rain, swarming bugs, or fierce winds.
It was the same this time.
Thanks to the goggles, no one’s eyes were exposed to the poison as they swiftly and precisely exited.
One by one, in sequence.
The very last was the pirate Ebob.
Before stepping out, he aimed his pistol at the sky.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, followed by green smoke billowing into the sky like clouds.
The signal.
“Boss!”
A signal for El Pam and Dibo.
“They all escaped safely!”
Dibo didn’t cheer at the signal.
He had no time for that.
“You damn mushroom bastards!”
He was too busy swinging his polearm against the swarming Green Mushrooms.
Puhot!
Every swing of Dibo’s polearm crushed the sturdy Green Mushrooms like Orange Mushrooms.
“Slash Blaster!”
Four or five Green Mushrooms shattered at once.
That was its power.
“This is an adventurer’s skill, you mushroom bastards!”
The might of the warrior skill Slash Blaster.
It was also why adventurers were treated as such.
Of course, Dibo wasn’t just any adventurer.
Whoosh!
As mentioned before, every swing of his polearm sent at least three Green Mushrooms flying.
Not just smashing them, but precisely targeting the head, the spot between the eyes.
Proof that he wielded that massive polearm exactly as he pleased.
“I’m the polearm hero!”
It was also why he could become Aran’s disciple.
However, the number of incoming Green Mushrooms was still staggeringly vast.
Far too many to catch them all.
And he had no intention of trying.
“Boss, so now what?”
Now it was time for El Pam’s party to exit and claim their reward.
“Yeah, now we stay and take down the boss monster.”
“Right! We have to! I was waiting for you to say…… Huh?”
But El Pam’s follow-up words left Dibo stunned.
“W-Wait, you mean take it down?”
That was when Dibo remembered.
“You said it wouldn’t be easy.”
El Pam’s words about how taking down that Clown Poison Mushroom wouldn’t be easy.
“Yeah, it won’t be easy.”
El Pam knew he’d said that.
“For the other adventurers.”
He just hadn’t mentioned that he himself wasn’t included in that.
And in reality, he wasn’t.
El Pam was incomparable to ordinary veteran adventurers.
But Dibo was different.
He acknowledged El Pam was special. He knew the man possessed astonishing abilities.
However, the situation now was a bit different.
“That poison is way too dangerous.”
Poison was a fatally lethal element for adventurers without countermeasures.
“And that thing’s poison is still lingering!”
Especially now—the Clown Poison Mushroom’s poison wasn’t just around it; it lingered across the entire area it had moved through.
That was why the previous party had been wiped out. The boss wasn’t even visible, yet the residual poison was active.
Even keeping distance while fleeing meant you could get poisoned at any moment.
“Maintaining a safe distance won’t cut it.”
El Pam knew that too.
That was why.
“So we attack from long range.”
The reason El Pam wanted to hunt it.
“Dibo, fall back for now. Once the mushrooms calm down, chop down some trees.”
3.
A forest so dense it was hard to find gaps between the trees.
In the middle of it all was a clearing, like a bald patch on someone’s head.
A fairly large clearing, visible even from far away.
“Boss.”
Dibo, about 500 meters away, could confirm it easily enough.
Of course, confirming it didn’t mean he could see it clearly.
That was why.
Dibo’s expression was grim as he watched El Pam peer at the clearing through binoculars.
“You’re really going to cast magic from here?”
El Pam had said it.
Catching it from a moderate distance wouldn’t be easy, so attack from far away.
When Dibo first heard that, he was impressed.
And he thought it was possible.
With the telekinesis El Pam had shown, he could achieve a range no other mage could match.
“500 meters, though?”
But the current distance exceeded Dibo’s common sense.
Of course, it was different in El Pam’s common sense.
“It’s a bit close—kinda risky.”
To El Pam, 500 meters wasn’t a satisfying distance.
Three years from now, in a monster-infested world, the surest way for mages to survive was extending their magic range.
Precisely, mages who couldn’t extend their range all met their ends without exception.
It wasn’t just then, either.
Even now, top adventurer mages without exception had long ranges.
That was the only way to survive.
‘1 kilometer’s child’s play.’
Naturally, El Pam, who had reached the pinnacle of survival, had a range beyond common sense.
He was the Last Adventurer who precisely struck the flying Hontail’s neck with magic.
Still, the reason for settling on just over 500 meters now was simple.
‘Fire Arrow’s limit is about this.’
The magic he could use was Fire Arrow.
That was the biggest reason, of course.
‘This is plenty.’
No need to overdo it for a Clown Poison Mushroom.
That was when.
“It’s coming.”
The Clown Poison Mushroom appeared in the clearing Dibo had made.
Whiiik!
Following El Pam’s Fire Arrows buzzing around it like flies.
“Fire Arrow.”
At that moment, El Pam activated a new Fire Arrow spell.
No hesitation.
He’d already been gauging the distance and position repeatedly.
“Huh?”
El Pam fired the Fire Arrow immediately.
High into the sky.
“Boss, that’s too high!”
It was intentional.
Like a hawk soaring high for the hunt, then plummeting like lightning.
The fire arrow that had risen endlessly began dropping like a thunderbolt.
Whiii!
With the powerful spin of a revolver.
It plunged straight between the Clown Poison Mushroom’s eyes.
Puhot!
Sinking in so deep the arrow vanished.
“Huh?”
Dibo froze solid watching it.
‘H-How?’
The result was on a whole other level from what he’d imagined.
To the frozen Dibo, El Pam calmly lowered his binoculars and said,
“About four shots should do it.”