Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: 62. Manion (4)
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9.
For adventurers, one of the greatest titles had always been Dragon Slayer.
Countless adventurers had risked their lives for that title, venturing out to hunt dragons.
In other words, slaying a dragon was no easy feat.
Even among dragons, catching something like an Onyx Dragon—the most powerful of dragonkin—was practically impossible.
If any dragons could be caught, they were the likes of Manion or Leviathan: dragons, but with almost no intelligence.
Even among those, Manion was the weakest—and thus the only one remotely feasible.
Of course, that was only relative to other dragonkin; its strength was beyond description.
Out of a thousand qualified adventurers who challenged it, 999 would breathe their last from its jaws.
In short, only about one in a thousand could hear Manion's death cry.
KROOOAR!
And now, El Pam's party had heard that death cry.
It was a pleasing sound.
It meant the Manion hunt had reached its end.
But not a single member of El Pam's party could smile or rejoice upon hearing it.
Clatter clatter!
Far from it—they began trembling so hard their teeth chattered.
‘So this is dragonkin.’
That was why dragonkin were etched into adventurers' minds as more terrifying than any other monster.
Dragons embodied terror itself for all other living beings.
Like a rabbit flinching at a lion's roar, or a deer quaking at a tiger's bellow.
Even from a Manion on the brink of death, a dragon's cry was more than enough to strike fear into adventurers.
And that fear often led to dramatic reversals.
In cases of mental breakdown from terror, if the victim was a mage, a miscast wide-area spell could ensnare and kill their allies.
Of course, El Pam's party was different.
They weren't immune to all fear.
But they had experience.
Experience enduring countless terrors.
Crunch!
Thanks to that, this El Pam party withstood the dragon's dread from Manion's cry.
Kroooar...
At last, the death cry faded, and silence fell.
Only one thing remained.
A thick, choking poison mist!
“It's over!”
9 minutes and 1 second after the Manion hunt began, it ended.
A razor-thin margin.
“If we'd been even a little later, it would've been dangerous.”
Kiri could only hold out for 10 minutes.
And even that wasn't precise—it could be longer, or shorter.
“Hm?”
But soon, everyone sensed something off.
“Why hasn't Kiri come out?”
Her figure, which should have emerged from the noxious fog by now, was nowhere to be seen.
“Kiri!”
That was when grim thoughts flooded their minds.
As mentioned, the 10-minute limit wasn't exact.
What if time had run out?
‘She's in danger!’
At that moment, Dibo moved to act.
“Dibo.”
“Boss! I can hold my breath and go in! 30 seconds is plenty to save Kiri!”
Dibo had no intention of stopping despite El Pam's words.
“No need. She's coming.”
“Ah!”
But those follow-up words halted Dibo in his tracks.
And then they saw her.
“Kiri!”
Kiri, emerging from the poison mist.
Thud!
The moment she spotted her comrades, she collapsed to her knees right there.
“Cough! Cough!”
She hacked up a cough.
Laced with blood.
Proof of poisoning!
And not just any poisoning.
Kiri had endured the poison so far thanks to her skill's resistance.
In other words, her body was now saturated with venom!
The instant her skill wore off, she wouldn't survive it.
Urgent measures were needed.
The problem: her body was a toxic mass now—approaching it was risky.
“Everyone, stand back.”
But Ralph approached without hesitation.
“Ralph!”
Ralph wasn't immune to poison either.
It was then.
“Holy Magic Shell!”
As Ralph activated his skill, a golden sphere enveloped his body.
‘That skill?’
One of a Bishop's skills: Holy Magic Shell!
It created a barrier blocking a set number of external attacks, effective even against poison.
HP also recovered while the shield held.
Naturally, it was an incredibly valuable skill.
‘That's insanely expensive.’
A Unique-grade skill, yet pricier than most Legendaries!
Even money couldn't always buy it, which was why Ralph had never used it until now.
In any case, with the skill active, Ralph no longer had to worry about poison for a while.
But that was it.
Curing the poison was another matter!
Especially since Kiri's condition went far beyond ordinary poisoning—no mere antidote would work.
To everyone's concerns, Ralph gave a casual reply.
“Dispel.”
A skill that removed all status ailments—one of the Bishop's priciest, top-five skills!
Before it, the poison ravaging Kiri's body vanished in an instant.
Her darkening face returned to normal.
Her comrades gaped and asked.
“H-Hey, how'd you even get that?”
“Those skills can't be bought with money!”
Ralph answered the questions.
“They all came running to sell when I offered double market price.”
When money couldn't solve it, it wasn't that money didn't work—it just wasn't enough.
Of course, that was true.
Everyone was even more shocked.
‘Ralph spent money?’
Ralph, who loved money more than anyone, paying a premium instead of just buying?
“I see it as the price of your lives—not that expensive.”
No one was surprised by his follow-up.
Instead, they smiled.
“Ralph, you're finally...”
They smiled, realizing he truly saw them as comrades now.
“No adventurer could replace you lot anywhere else. Thinking of future earnings, this investment is a no-brainer.”
“What?”
“Exactly that. Now, even if you want to die, I'll save you. I poured my entire fortune into this.”
But their smiles quickly faded at his next words.
As expected, they thought.
“Yeah, now I can't die even if I want to.”
On the other hand, it was the most reassuring words yet.
Ralph investing his whole fortune just to exploit them meant he was more sincere than ever.
It was around then.
“Hoo, hoo!”
Kiri caught her breath and stood.
Everyone looked at her.
“Hey! What the hell took you so long?”
Dibo scolded her first.
Not from true anger—only deepest worry.
To his question, Kiri opened her palm.
“Held me up getting this.”
In her hand was a red gem the size of a child's fist.
Hydra's heart.
Of course, no one knew it was a gem.
They just figured it was the only thing worth risking her life for.
That only made them angrier.
“Hey! You could've grabbed that later!”
As Dibo said, the Hydra's heart could've been recovered after the mist cleared.
Kiri knew that.
“I was gonna run.”
“What?”
It was then.
Ssssh!
The red gem suddenly took serpentine form and leaped from Kiri's palm.
“Wha—!”
Dibo reflexively grabbed the snake, and it reverted to a red gem.
Only then did everyone understand why Kiri had risked her life for it.
If they hadn't recovered it here, it might've been lost forever.
El Pam offered thanks.
“Good work.”
A curt thanks, meager compared to what she'd done.
Of course, El Pam's gratitude wasn't as brief as his words.
Even without this, he already felt infinite thanks to Kiri and the others.
To those who'd risked life and circle-up for him, who'd chosen him as comrade despite better options—he couldn't not be grateful.
That was why his words were plain.
El Pam didn't think a few words could repay such gratitude.
He had only one way to repay them.
‘I’ll catch it, no matter what.’
By giving his absolute best.
His comrades knew this, so they smiled faintly at his words.
“Hey, no need for thanks between comrades? We're the biggest winners here anyway.”
Nothing beat El Pam growing stronger for them.
“Exactly. Now I can just twiddle my thumbs for a while. Should've skipped suffering under Master—if I'd known, 6th Circle or not wouldn't matter.”
Confidence brimmed too.
Naturally.
El Pam, who'd already shown absurd fire magic, would now unleash absurd poison magic.
Even Blue-grade dungeons—deemed impregnable hells beyond adventurers—seemed conquerable.
“Alright, let's wrap up. Boss, what's next?”
To his eager comrades, El Pam said without hesitation.
“We wait for the Resistance.”
Everyone nodded.
“Yeah. We should exit together.”
Leaving without the Resistance would mean endless explanations.
Better to go out together.
“We're not leaving.”
“Yes?”
But El Pam's follow-up left them tilting heads.
To them, El Pam said.
10.
Resistance secret headquarters.
Before the relocated Mystic Gate, Supreme Commander Sigmund appeared.
Silently.
So quietly no one noticed.
Her eyes brimmed with more worry and concern than ever.
‘Did I make a mistake?’
If the Resistance and adventurers inside died, it would be entirely her fault.
Moreover, there was a secret here.
‘Should I have told everyone?’
And that secret—Supreme Commander Sigmund had shared only with El Pam's party.
Expecting them to do something.
That made her heart weigh even heavier.
‘Did I burden El Pam's party too much?’
They had no reason to help the Resistance; they'd already done enough. Repaying their favor with a nightmare felt wrong.
She was lost in turmoil.
Splash!
Her eyes reflected the portal rippling.
Her gaze changed.
‘They did it!’
To joy.
She wasn't alone. Waiting Resistance members shouted the instant they saw the portal shake.
“They're back!”
Then, Resistance members began emerging from the portal one by one, endlessly.
“Woo!”
As their numbers surpassed a hundred, cheers swelled.
“Most made it back!”
Supreme Commander Sigmund was the same.
She watched her returning comrades with unprecedented joy.
“Albi!”
“Supreme Commander!”
Spotting the expedition leader Albi, she approached gladly.
“Congratulations! Everyone made it back alive!”
Her face brighter than ever.
Albi was different.
“Albi?”
She wore her saddest expression yet.
“...El Pam's party is dead.”