Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: 59. Blue (2)
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3.
Edelstein.
This massive city was so full of machinery that it was often called the Machine City.
What made that possible was none other than the mines overflowing around Edelstein.
Thanks to the abundant iron and ore, mechanical civilization in Edelstein had advanced at a rapid pace.
The most representative of them was Leven Mine.
It was a mine so enormous that no one had fully mapped its size even to this day, and no matter where you dug, high-quality ore always came out.
Naturally, tunnels for mining ore—mine shafts—were everywhere throughout Leven Mine.
Many of them had been abandoned.
“Wow.”
The place El Pam's party was heading to was one such spot.
“The abandoned mine was impressive, but in terms of sheer size, this place is overwhelming.”
El Pam's party marveled at the vast, intricate mine that put the abandoned one they'd visited earlier to shame.
But that awe didn't last long.
“To think a Blue-grade one would be in a place like this.”
At the end of the path they were now walking lay a blue Mystic Gate.
Even for El Pam's party, who had overcome all sorts of trials and tribulations, their steps grew heavy before this Blue-grade gate.
Truthfully, it would have been normal for their feet to refuse to move at all.
But El Pam's party was different.
They voiced their worries and concerns, but the moment El Pam said he would tackle it, no one objected further.
Because El Pam had said so.
‘If the boss says go, we go.’
And El Pam had never once crossed a river he couldn't return from.
“It's over there.”
That trust didn't waver even now, standing before the Blue-grade Mystic Gate.
“How did they even find this thing?”
El Pam's party let out a hollow laugh upon facing the Blue-grade Mystic Gate.
It wasn't because of the gate itself.
“In this maze?”
The spot where El Pam's party now stood was one of the hundreds of shafts in Leven Mine.
And it wasn't even a simple straight path.
Countless branches appeared as you went along, each leading to more branches—a place like a labyrinth.
Monsters swarmed it too.
Finding a Mystic Gate in a place like that?
And not just any Mystic Gate, but a Blue-grade one.
“The appearance rate for Blue-grade is supposed to be insanely low.”
At present, Blue-grade Mystic Gates were hard to clear, but securing one was even harder.
Just reporting a Blue-grade Mystic Gate to the Adventurers' Association earned you a whopping 10 million mesos in bounty.
That was the association's lowest payout; guilds or other groups offered double that for tips.
Finding one was a miracle in itself, all things considered.
Of course, El Pam was different.
“The Resistance has the tech.”
“Tech?”
“Tech to detect Mystic Gates.”
“What?”
They knew the Resistance's technological prowess was top-notch.
“Detection? You mean they can pinpoint Mystic Gate locations?”
“There are conditions, but yes. Even Blue-grade and higher.”
“My god, that's possible?”
“That's the Resistance for you.”
But for El Pam's companions, who hadn't known this, it was mind-blowing.
They knew better than anyone just how incredible that was.
“And the group choking the Resistance like that is Blackwing.”
But at El Pam's next words, everyone swallowed hard.
Honestly, before coming to Edelstein, Blackwing had just seemed like a bad group to El Pam's companions.
There were Blackwing operatives in Victoria Island and Ossyria Continent, but nothing particularly impressive about them.
Just spies, basically.
But the moment they arrived in Edelstein, they learned Blackwing was something enormous.
Even the outlaws of the Elnas Mountains seemed laughable by comparison.
And for good reason: the Elnas outlaws were ultimately just escaped adventurers.
Blackwing, on the other hand, had long established itself in Edelstein.
‘Wingmaster Orca, the Black Mage's legion commander.’
A group created by none other than the Black Mage's closest confidant!
Its strength and terror defied comparison to any other.
‘Insanely powerful.’
Wingmaster Orca's power, in particular, exceeded what adventurers imagined.
Before El Pam returned to the past, when Resistance members made the Celestial Crise their final bastion.
Wingmaster Orca had brought it crashing down in half a day.
Of course, that wasn't something El Pam needed to worry about now.
They hadn't come here to fight Blackwing.
“Let's go in.”
With that, El Pam threw himself through the Mystic Gate, his companions following right behind.
And soon, they beheld it.
A vast forest, replacing the dark, cramped shaft.
“Nothing special for a Blue-grade.”
It didn't look much different from the landscapes beyond other Mystic Gates they'd seen.
“The environment's the same. The problem is the monsters.”
Naturally, what filled the inside was different.
“Yeah, much stronger monsters, right?”
El Pam's companions had fully anticipated that.
“That's true, but boss monsters from other places appear here as regular mobs.”
“Boss-grade?”
Their expressions changed at El Pam's words.
It happened in that instant.
Krroooar!
A guttural roar echoed above El Pam's party as a shadow streaked past at blinding speed.
It all happened in a flash.
For most, even registering it would be impossible.
But El Pam's party knew right away.
What that shadow was.
“Junior Balrog!”
The moment they identified it, everyone knew El Pam's words were true.
Their faces naturally hardened.
No matter how strong regular monsters were, they couldn't compare to bosses.
Boss monsters especially had abilities beyond mere strength.
Take Zombie Mushmom: its raw power was less than a regular Werewolf's, but its curse plunged even 5th Circle and 6th Circle adventurers into nightmares.
A Werewolf turning people into zombies? Horrifying just to imagine.
And the bigger problem was this.
“Not just one—multiples too?”
“Correct.”
Multiple Junior Balrogs could appear.
Which meant Crimson Balrogs were possible too.
A nightmare scenario for adventurers.
“Not gonna be easy.”
But El Pam's party faces hardened without descending into despair.
They had experience.
“We can handle it, but...”
They'd hunted Junior Balrogs, even Crimson ones.
Not easy, but worlds apart from facing the unknown.
“Anything we've beaten before, we can beat again.”
And so El Pam's party's Blue-grade raid began.
4.
The first floor was Junior Balrogs.
Not one, but five of them.
“No joke.”
It was a difficulty unfathomable for a 19-man Mystic Gate.
That's when it clicked.
“Fitting for Blue-grade.”
Blue-grade was a stage for 6th Circle adventurers.
A 19-man gate meant 19 sixth-circlers were needed to clear it.
In that light, five Junior Balrogs were just a slightly intense warm-up.
That's what 6th Circle adventurers were.
Not just one circle stronger than 5th Circle—another level entirely.
“6th Circle opens up a whole new dimension of skills.”
The terror of 6th Circle came from its skills.
For an ice mage, spells like Blizzard and Freezing Breath—utterly devastating—were 6th Circle.
And that wasn't all.
Only from 6th Circle could you properly wield Legendary-grade items.
That made El Pam's party remarkable.
Just five 5th Circlers tackling Blue-grade was extraordinary.
Of course, it wasn't smooth sailing.
Taking on five Junior Balrogs at once was impossible, so El Pam's party hid, striking when one lagged behind.
In endless waiting and bated breath, they picked them off one by one.
“Thanks to the boss.”
They perfectly embodied El Pam's teachings.
“Let's push to floor 5 like this!”
And so El Pam's party began conquering the Blue-grade Mystic Gate floor by floor.
Slowly.
On the 23rd day, they finally reached it.
“The door to floor 5.”
At the end of floor 4.
Before that door, the steps of El Pam's party—which had been slow but never halting—came to a stop.
In any other Mystic Gate they'd cleared, this would be the end.
But Blue-grade was different.
Beyond lay monsters far beyond anything they'd faced.
Of course, El Pam's party felt no hesitation in this moment.
“Boss, we're ready.”
They'd stopped only because El Pam hadn't given the order yet.
The instant he did, they'd step onto floor 5 without a second thought.
“Let's go in.”
And when the order came, they showed it.
Their resolve.
Without the slightest hesitation, everyone followed El Pam through the exit to floor 5.
Then they saw it.
A vast forest.
“This is...?”
“Horse hoofprints?”
The forest floor covered in horse tracks.
The sight immediately brought it to mind.
“Centaurus?”
The monster from Minar Forest.
Everyone's faces stiffened.
Centaurus was a monster every adventurer knew. The Adventurers' Association provided detailed info.
Lower body of a horse, upper body human, wearing a helmet, armed, wielding weapons—like a mounted knight.
A monster that pursued strength, fighting its own kind to compare power.
Yet intelligent enough to form packs and use tactics against enemies when needed.
“Worst case.”
The Association had designated the Centaurus territory in Minar Forest a no-entry zone.
That dangerous.
The fact that Centaurus territory existed deeper in Minar Forest was huge.
Minar Forest was practically unadventurable now, swarming with monsters like Blood Harps, Burks, and Dragon Turtles—leagues beyond elsewhere.
Centaurus territory there meant even those monsters couldn't handle Centaurus packs!
And it didn't end there.
“There'll be a boss monster too, right?”
Something beyond Centaurus.
“Not easy.”
El Pam spoke to his companions, who had every reason to worry.
“No problem.”
It was then.
Hiiing!
A horse's neigh rang out not far away.
Thud thud thud!
Followed by the ground-shaking pound of hooves.
“Damn, they've spotted us!”
The sound was unmistakably headed straight for El Pam's party.
“Boss!”
The moment everyone moved to flee, a herd of black Centaurus appeared in El Pam's view.
‘This fast?’
Faster than expected!
Sneaking away was impossible now.
Only one option: fight.
The problem was numbers.
Over fifty black Centaurus charging in.
Overwhelming for El Pam's party.
‘We fight.’
No other choice.
“Kiri!”
Dibo and Kiri stepped up.
“Got it.”
They'd form the wall to hold the black Centaurus herd—that was priority one.
“You two.”
El Pam gave them orders.
“Yes, boss! We'll hold them!”
“Fall back.”
“Yes, fall b—Huh?”
No sooner had the order ended than El Pam chanted.
“Chain Lightning.”
The 6th Circle lightning spell, Chain Lightning.