Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Chapter 62. Manyong (1)
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1.
Resistance.
There was one place where they, who always showed overwhelming strength on any stage, displayed unusual weakness.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“Damn, I just can’t get used to this chill.”
Extreme cold!
It was unavoidable—snow was a rare sight in Edelstein.
Winter had arrived, but that cold was mild compared to the freezing temperatures of the Elnas Mountains.
Adapting to such harsh cold was difficult in many ways.
Moreover, some Resistance members were particularly vulnerable to the cold.
The most notable were the Wild Hunters and Mechanics.
Nyaang!
“Yeah, just hang in there a bit longer.”
Wild Hunters rode jaguars that were weak to the cold.
They had taken measures to endure it, so their lives weren’t in danger, but expecting their usual performance was unrealistic.
Of course, the Mechanics were the weakest of all.
“You damn scrap heaps! Stopped again!”
A Mechanic’s Metal Armor, being mechanical, was inherently vulnerable to cold in many aspects.
“Ugh, having to ride this thing.”
“This inside is hell, pure hell.”
On top of that, the steel-constructed Metal Armor inflicted even harsher cold on its rider.
“Good thing we came fully prepared.”
Fortunately, they had known this area was blanketed in snow and taken ample precautions, avoiding major issues. If they had faced this suddenly?
It would have been a nightmare.
In any case, thanks to their preparations, the Resistance moved without significant losses.
“But these guides are impressive.”
Of course, the lack of casualties was largely due to the guide party led by El Pam.
“I didn’t expect we could avoid monsters this thoroughly.”
The number of monsters encountered while following El Pam’s path was extremely low.
It meant they had chosen routes with minimal monsters.
It was something to be deeply grateful for in many ways.
“Still, it’s worrying.”
That only heightened their concerns about El Pam’s party.
Finding such a path was no easy feat.
Moreover, El Pam’s party numbered just five!
It was a fragile lineup that could face death from the slightest mistake.
Alvida felt the same.
‘El Pam can escape most crises.’
She knew he was strong.
‘At the cost of his lifespan.’
And that his strength came at a fatally high price.
That was the problem.
If a crisis arose, El Pam would unhesitatingly burn his lifespan to overcome it.
Then proceed with the dangerous role of guiding again.
It might mean surviving but not truly living.
Worst of all, there was only one thing Alvida could do at this moment.
‘Please be safe.’
Worry about El Pam’s party.
2.
“Goldie.”
“Yeah?”
“You know how I endured that hellish training from the Polearm Hero?”
Dibo asked, and Miner answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Worry.”
She knew well.
“Worry about the Boss.”
That one reason she, like Dibo, endured training that felt like death was her worry for El Pam.
She had pushed through that ordeal with the sole determination to grow stronger quickly and help him.
“Yeah.”
After that exchange, Dibo and Miner looked ahead.
And they saw it.
Pew!
Before El Pam’s moving blue Fire Arrow, Green Cornians were being shredded like mushrooms.
Seeing that, Dibo and Miner let out hollow laughs.
“Worrying about that.”
“Yeah, we actually worried about that.”
It was a hollow laugh at themselves for having worried about El Pam.
The scene he was creating was just that absurd.
“I never thought Green Cornians could look this weak.”
And rightly so—Green Cornians were a nightmare for adventurers.
They were strong enough to dominate a region of Minar Forest.
They excelled in every aspect.
Incredibly fast, intelligent, and they wielded the swords in their hands far better than most adventurers.
They even hunted in packs.
“That body’s getting torn like paper.”
Among their traits, the most troublesome was their defense.
Armor made from Green Cornian hide was priceless, its toughness beyond imagination.
Exaggerating a bit, it was as tough as steel.
Pew!
Yet now, El Pam’s Fire Arrow was effortlessly slicing through that tough Green Cornian hide.
A chilling level of power.
Naturally, it was over in an instant.
Thud!
It took only a few minutes for the hundred or so Green Cornians that appeared to become corpses.
His companions, who had watched as ordered by El Pam, soon spoke up.
“Wow, amazing, Boss.”
They expressed admiration first.
“Insufficient.”
“Huh?”
But to his companions, El Pam said,
“Right now, handling one Fire Arrow is all I can do. It’s lacking in many ways.”
At those words, goosebumps rose all over their bodies.
‘This is lacking?’
They knew.
‘Then what happens when the lacks are filled?’
El Pam was not the type of adventurer to tolerate his own shortcomings.
In other words, it meant he could display even more ridiculous abilities.
“Wow.”
At that realization, they were certain of one thing.
“The boss monster hunt won’t be a problem.”
El Pam’s declared boss monster hunt would be no issue.
“Really glad.”
It was joyful news.
“But your voices lack energy for that.”
However, Dibo and the others showed no real joy on their faces.
They looked rather gloomy.
“Our confidence is shattered.”
They had been confident that their growth would allow them to help El Pam greatly, but now that confidence was crumbling at the roots.
“Don’t worry too much.”
To such companions, El Pam said,
“Opportunities to shine will come soon.”
But at those words, his companions smirked.
No matter how they thought about it, no monster came to mind that could trouble El Pam now that he was this strong.
“Then let’s move.”
Thus began the Mystic Gate conquest, easier than ever before.
3.
El Pam’s party passed the third floor in one go and reached the fourth.
“Dark Cornians!”
What greeted them were Dark Cornians.
Even Green Cornians were terrifying, but these were on another level of troublesome.
“Those aren’t joking around.”
For starters, they were three or four heads taller than Green Cornians.
Naturally, their strength and hide’s defense were far superior.
But the most headache-inducing was their skill.
Swordsmanship determined danger level like night and day.
“They say one Dark Cornian can easily handle five or six Green Cornians.”
A Dark Cornian’s sword skill was incomparably superior to a Green Cornian’s.
And that was even more of a headache for adventurers.
To adventurers, a strong monster meant one with superior size or raw power.
In other words, monsters excelling in technique like swordsmanship were rare experiences for them.
But more troublesome than all that was this:
“And one Dark Cornian commands about ten Green Cornians like underlings.”
Dark Cornians leading Green Cornians.
That was leagues beyond mere pack hunting.
That was why packs mixed with Dark Cornians were avoided even by battle-loving Centaurus groups.
To adventurers, they were the stuff of nightmares.
“Well, it means nothing against the Boss.”
However, before El Pam wearing Hyperion’s Helmet, even Dark Cornians were meaningless.
Of course, Dark Cornians were stronger than Green Cornians.
El Pam’s blue Fire Arrow couldn’t pierce their bodies easily.
But that didn’t matter.
Pew!
Just eliminate the Green Cornians first.
Then?
“Flame Orb.”
Deal with the remaining Dark Cornians with separate magic.
“Wow, not leaving a single one alive.”
Before such hunting by El Pam, his companions had no chance to step in.
“It’s even less for us to do than before.”
Truthfully, this wasn’t El Pam’s style.
“No time to even warm up.”
El Pam didn’t prefer this one-sided solo hunting he was showing now.
To him, the process was as important as killing monsters.
That’s why he usually gave his companions chances to fight monsters.
But this time, he didn’t even do that.
It wasn’t to show off his strength.
“No longer needed.”
“Huh?”
“You no longer need training.”
By El Pam’s standards, his companions no longer required instruction.
And rightly so—they weren’t mere 6th Circle adventurers.
They were 6th Circle adventurers trained by top experts like Captain Kairin, Polearm Hero Aran, Cygnus Knights Leader Mikhail.
For El Pam to teach them? Honestly, his level wasn’t for that.
They also had ample adventurer talent.
None other than El Pam had trained them countless times.
Getting used to Green Cornians? No need to hunt hundreds or thousands now.
Just watching El Pam hunt was enough to visualize strategies in their heads.
“So rest when you can.”
Another reason was that even El Pam didn’t know what lay ahead here.
No reason to expend energy on meaningless training without him.
They would surely need to exert full power when it mattered.
“While I train.”
“Huh?”
But the biggest reason was that El Pam was currently training.
“Training?”
“Yes. I’m practicing control over the power from this Hyperion’s Helmet.”
Hearing that, all his companions wore incredulous expressions without exception.
Not because it was training—training wasn’t special.
‘Getting even more monstrous here?’
The astonishing fact was that El Pam strengthened himself immensely through training.
Meaning he was growing stronger even now!
“Wow.”
At that, they all thought,
“We really won’t have a chance to step in.”
They might not even swing their polearms once in this Mystic Gate.
Even if they did, no one thought it would be a tough situation.
Of course, El Pam was different.
‘It won’t end easily.’
He knew a moment would come where everyone had to stake their lives and resolve.
“Gate.”
Finally, before El Pam’s party appeared the entrance to the fifth floor—the last of this Mystic Gate.
“According to the strategy, beyond this are zombie Green Cornians, right?”
Zombie Green Cornians!
An entrance leading to a hell filled with horrifying monsters just hearing about them.
“Let’s finish it quickly.”
But not a single one hesitated to head beyond.
Zombie Green Cornians were no different from zombie mushrooms before El Pam’s flames.
There were no risks at all.
But the moment they reached the fifth floor.
“Adventurer corpses. Looks like they got hit by something. What’s this? The corpses are weird? They look melted by something?”
The moment they saw the corpses around the gate, El Pam said,
“It’s Manyong.”
“Manyong?”
“A dragon that breathes fire.”
“Breathes fire?”
And hearing that, they all instinctively realized.
“Boss, you don’t mean...?”
“Yeah, the one immune to fire magic.”
The worst situation had arrived.