Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Chapter 57. Zakum (3)
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7.
Adventurers had plenty to say about the environment beyond the Mystic Gate.
But as their circles grew, talk of the environment dwindled.
"Whether it's snowing, a storm raging, or the sun scorching down, it's all the same world to veteran adventurers."
For those who had reached the 5th Circle, whatever world emerged meant nothing.
"By the 5th Circle, even folks not from the desert know their way around one."
Yet every rule had its exceptions.
"As long as it's not a lava zone."
The lava zone was one such exception.
"It's less an environment and more like a monster in itself."
At its core, a lava zone wasn't a place where plants or animals could live and breathe.
It was a domain of death that incinerated everything.
Adapting to it? That was frankly impossible.
All you could do was struggle desperately not to die.
Fighting monsters there?
Of course it was possible.
5th Circle adventurers were powerhouses who defied comparison to ordinary ones.
The trouble was that adventures always threw worse scenarios at you than you'd imagined.
"Damn Fire Bombs!"
For the Abandoned Mine Expedition, Fire Bombs were that nightmare.
Fire Bombs weren't particularly strong monsters on their own.
They were just balls of fire that moved around—hot if they touched you, meaningless if they didn't.
They had no defense to speak of, crumbling under even basic attacks. Pathetic creatures.
"Everyone, watch out! They self-destruct!"
The real issue was the explosive power of their self-destruct ability.
Even that wasn't usually a big deal.
Spot a Fire Bomb? Just back off a bit, switch spots, and take it out.
Simple as that.
But the lava zone made it impossible.
"Fire Bomb incoming!"
"Damn it, lava's flowing right behind us!"
Lava pools everywhere refused to let you flee.
Sure, factors like that alone wouldn't trouble 5th Circle elites—the best of the best in the Abandoned Mine Expedition.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't even consider retreating.
"Damn Zakum's Curse!"
The problem was their current state: weakened to a level incomparable to their usual strength.
That didn't mean they were getting overrun or facing catastrophe.
They had experience on their side.
"Good we brought those unique items."
And items—plenty of them.
Far more than they'd normally carry.
Naturally, some wielded legendary gear, and it made all the difference.
Their contributions stood out especially.
"Heh heh, everyone, pull back for now."
Leka, mage of Ellinia and disciple of Heinz!
"Ice Strike!"
A master of ice magic, he unleashed Ice Strike—a 5th Circle unique-grade ice spell—from his hand.
Boom boom boom boom!
Where he pointed, razor-sharp, weighty ice shards began plummeting down.
It happened in an instant.
Screeeeech!
Charging Fire Boars and Fire Bombs slammed into the shards, shrieking as they collapsed.
Crack!
Even the lava zone below turned into a sheet of ice.
Overwhelming might!
And it wasn't just raw power.
An ice field meant a temporary stage free of lava worries!
"I'll smash 'em!"
From atop that stage, Perion's warrior Tatanga bellowed.
"Raging Blow!"
As he shouted, his sword gleamed yellow and swung. The surviving Fire Boars split apart.
That was far from all.
"Fleshy Mirage."
Lema, disciple of Helena—her cry rang out, and her bowstring began a frenzied dance.
Sh sh sh sh!
She nocked arrows so fast that afterimages trailed!
Fleshy Mirage!
A skill only Helena's disciples among Henesys's archers could wield properly. Before it, Fire Boars had no choice but to turn into pincushions.
Zakum's Curse might as well have been a joke.
But no one could bask in the moment.
They couldn't afford to.
'To think we'd burn skills like this here.'
These were skills with brutally long cooldowns—not something to throw around lightly.
They also happened to be their strongest available right now.
'And this isn't even the boss.'
Pulling them out on just the second floor meant things were that dire.
Everyone felt the crisis more acutely than ever.
"Let's advance carefully."
They had less margin for error than ever before.
Put another way: absent Zakum's Curse, the Abandoned Mine Expedition wouldn't have broken a sweat.
El Pam's party proved it.
"Lamancha Spear!"
Dibo massacred Fire Boars without any special skills—just pure slaughter.
Kiri and Miner were no different.
"Loud Rush!"
Screeeeech!
Far from being pushed back, Kiri shoved the oncoming Fire Boars aside while carving through them.
"Double Barrel Shot!"
Miner unleashed firepower so intense they couldn't even dream of closing in.
Thwack!
"Skulls are thinner than I thought!"
Ralph, true to form, pulverized Fire Boar heads with his fists.
He could pull it off thanks to Zakum's Helmet.
Zakum's Curse had zero effect on El Pam's party.
What's more, they weren't just any 5th Circle party.
It could be stated with certainty.
No adventurer party in the Maple World outclassed El Pam's.
Not in individual combat prowess, experience, or mental fortitude.
Their greatest strength? Trust, plain and simple.
"Cold Beam."
El Pam. Trust in him had erased the word "fear" from his party's minds.
That was a critical edge.
Survival was one of an adventurer's core traits.
And fear of death was key to survival. Without it, you turned reckless—and recklessness led straight to death.
Adventurers free of fear were the strongest of all. That made El Pam's party stronger than any other.
Screeeeech!
It took no time at all.
El Pam's five-man party cleared over a hundred Fire Boars in...
But it didn't end there.
El Pam's party had something extra.
Kyuuu!
The snail pet Mano appeared, ballooned to giant size, and began pulling out foodstuffs.
"With Mano around, we feel a lot more secure."
This was one of their most powerful weapons.
"We could last a year in the Mystic Gate."
Their supply lines defied comparison to any other party.
It was a huge deal.
Food was what most adventurers feared most inside the Mystic Gate.
This lava zone especially—finding proper sustenance was practically impossible.
Unless you grilled Fire Boar corpses.
Eating monster corpses wasn't smart, though.
They were laced with poison, and digesting it was no easy feat.
"We'll push to the third floor quick."
For the Abandoned Mine Expedition, the answer was clear: reach the third floor as fast as possible.
They had to escape this lava zone, at least.
"Nothing could be worse than this place."
El Pam replied to Dibo's words.
"Hope you're right."
El Pam knew better, of course.
'No such luck.'
He harbored no such optimism.
8.
Abandoned Mine Expedition.
With so many elite adventurers in their ranks, the moment they laid eyes on the second floor's stage, they knew.
"We push to the third floor fast, even if it costs sacrifices."
They knew exactly what survival demanded.
"351 people."
True to their elite status, they embraced the sacrifices and sped through the Mystic Gate.
"Entering the third floor."
After sacrifices far from trivial, the Abandoned Mine Expedition breached the third floor—and saw it.
"Ah."
Roar!
The same lava zone as the second floor.
Their expressions hardened.
That was it.
No one groaned in pain. No one muttered despairing complaints.
They knew better.
'We have to force our way through.'
Whining wouldn't help the situation one bit.
A stray thought crossed some minds too.
'We've had our fill of lava zone experience on the second floor anyway.'
'Supplies are still holding strong.'
It was just an extension of floor two.
At the same time, they reached a consensus.
"Everyone, gather up."
Viola spoke. The leaders of each group assembled, and they spoke as one.
"We know what you're going to say."
"Heh heh, time for some real party play, eh? About damn time."
True teamwork was essential now.
No room whatsoever for bruised egos.
"I'm in. From this moment, Perion's warriors pledge our lives to Cygnus Knight Viola!"
"Heh heh, same here. Age is just a number. We'll follow whatever orders you give."
"The archers of Henesys will become your arrows."
The adventurers reached agreement without hesitation.
"Cross Hunters stand ready too. We'll obey any command."
One group remained.
"Our Resistance..."
The Resistance members.
Logically speaking, they should agree here—fall in with the Cygnus Knights without question.
But the rift between Resistance and Cygnus Knights wasn't something logic could bridge.
It went beyond pride.
Neither group was the type to fuss over pride in the first place.
The Cygnus Knights staked their lives on Maple World's peace. The Resistance fought for Edelstein's liberation!
Pride meant nothing before such grand causes.
The issue was trust.
Resistance members harbored a distrust of Cygnus Knights down to their marrow.
Not some vague suspicion, but born from the hard fact that they'd lost tens of thousands of comrades solely for believing in the Resistance.
Would distrust like that melt away easily now?
If it were that shallow, it would've dissolved ages ago.
Viola and the others knew it too.
There'd be nothing strange if the Resistance refused to cooperate here.
And it was true.
"Wait! Hold on a second!"
Until Lema spoke up.
"Look over there—that monster!"
9.
"Puco."
At El Pam's word, Dibo and the others stared with blank expressions, as if hearing the name for the first time.
"Puco?"
They gazed at the stone slab floating right before their eyes.
A massive slab, larger than any person.
It even bore an engraving resembling a human face.
Less monster, more sculpture.
Not a hint of menace about it.
"Dangerous?"
"Not particularly. In terms of threat level, it's below Fire Boars. It's tough and hard to shatter, but beyond that, no real attack capabilities."
"Lucky break, then."
Dibo and the rest cracked smiles.
"We can catch our breath now."
"No more major losses."
They'd dodged the worst.
El Pam excepted.
"The Abandoned Mine Expedition won't see it that way. Someone among them has to know."
"Know what?"
"That Puco is a monster summoned by none other than Zakum."
"What?"
Their faces filled with shock the instant El Pam explained.
They'd known, of course.
None other than the phantom thief Phantom had warned them Zakum lurked here.
No reason for him to lie or jest.
"I-Is Zakum really here?"
Still, believing in Zakum's presence didn't come easy.
It couldn't.
The Devil Tree Zakum had evaded capture for centuries—nay, millennia—deep in the mine's heart. To adventurers, it was a nightmare incarnate.
But with proof like this staring them down, belief was inevitable.
One thing was certain, regardless.
"The moment they spot Puco, the Abandoned Mine Expedition will agree without exception. Even the Resistance will follow Cygnus Knights' orders."
"Ah!"
Dibo and the others realized.
"And if the boss joins the mix..."
A united Abandoned Mine Expedition unleashing perfect teamwork, backed by El Pam's party in their Zakum Helm!
"This is it! The boss's real target!"
A lineup more than capable of felling the Devil Tree Zakum.
"Incredible! To calculate this far ahead!"
El Pam said nothing to their conviction.
'Still not enough.'
They still lacked the firepower to hunt Zakum.
'And there's a traitor.'
Power aside, they hadn't defused the bomb hiding in their midst.
'But it'll be fine.'
Critical intel, yet El Pam kept silent.
In that moment, he turned his head.
'She's here.'
His gaze settled.
On a single woman standing off in the distance.