Chapter 222
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: 64. Inner World (1)
1.
“A new era has arrived!”
When the Mystic Gate first appeared, every adventurer in the Maple World eagerly cheered.
“In this era, it’s an adventurer’s duty to risk life and limb!”
They willingly threw themselves beyond the Mystic Gate without a moment’s hesitation.
It was truly an age of madness.
“But not so much these days.”
Yet now, quite some time after the Mystic Gate’s emergence, that frenzy had died down.
It was the same with everything, really.
At first, excitement blinded them, but once they adapted, they started holding back.
Moreover, the Mystic Gate era had caused an explosive increase in the number of adventurers.
The Adventurer Association even announced it.
“Since the Mystic Gate appeared, the number of adventurers at 3rd Circle and below has increased more than twentyfold.”
Thanks to the Mystic Gate, both the quantity and quality of adventurers had skyrocketed.
Of course, even with such explosive growth in numbers, anyone at 3rd Circle could make a decent living.
And once life’s worries faded, plenty of adventurers stopped adventuring altogether.
In other words, adventurers began to think.
The merits of challenging the Mystic Gate didn’t outweigh the risks of dying.
They started playing it safe.
That was when it happened.
“What would you do if you knew what boss monsters and items lay beyond the Mystic Gate?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? How could anyone know?”
“No, I’m just asking what you’d do if you did. That’s all. So? What would you do?”
“What else? If it’s something we can take down, we’d go hunt it.”
“...What if you could take down a Junior Balrog?”
“What nonsense is that again? You saying we head to Sleepywood right now? Hey, even getting to face a Junior Balrog there is no easy feat.”
“There’s a way.”
“What way?”
“A way to know what boss monsters and items come out of the Mystic Gate.”
A method that instantly erased any reason to hold back—a method that could change the entire Maple World.
To be precise, an item had appeared.
“The alchemists of Magatia did it. Use this magnifying glass, and you can see the Mystic Gate’s information.”
Of course, no adventurer believed it at first.
“Hey, you get scammed again? Does that even make sense?”
It was far too distant from common sense.
“There’s no way the world works that conveniently!”
“Exactly. Even if it existed, they’d keep something that huge to themselves. Why would it reach our ears?”
Above all, if it were true, it was too enticing—and that made it even harder to believe.
But the doubts didn’t last long, as reports poured in one after another.
“They say that magnifying glass is the real deal?”
“Who says?”
“Eru. He said it’s legit.”
“Eru? The 6th Circle adventurer warrior?”
Proof after proof that the item was genuine.
The pinnacle of that proof came from the Adventurer Association.
Repeated requests from adventurers, inquiries about its authenticity—finally, the Association spoke.
“This magnifying glass item’s effects are real.”
Of course, the Association added a caveat.
“As of now, yes. But our data is still limited, so we can’t be certain. Adventurers, proceed with caution.”
A warning.
But to true adventurers, such warnings were invisible. No—anyone who heeded them wasn’t an adventurer.
“It’s real!”
Once more, adventurers plunged into madness as they challenged the Mystic Gates.
And this frenzy dwarfed even the chaos when the Mystic Gates first appeared.
“The adventurers are completely out of control.”
Cheryl’s face was filled with more intense worry than ever as she spoke.
It was warranted.
“Out of control” wasn’t just about adventurers ignoring orders.
“Over the Mystic Gates, they’re killing each other as a baseline, with looting and rampages happening nonstop.”
Adventurers had become no different from the outlaws of the Elnas Mountains.
In effect, the entire Maple World had become an outlaw haven.
How terrifying that was needed no explanation.
“Because of it, the Maple Alliance is in full panic.”
The Elnas Mountain outlaws were confined to that region, the domain of the Lion King’s Castle.
That was why the Maple Alliance couldn’t manage them.
But the Maple World was different.
When problems arose, the Cygnus Knights, the Adventurer Association’s adventurers, and those from each city and village had to step up.
After all, the Maple World wasn’t populated solely by adventurers.
In particular, the Cygnus Knights were enduring unprecedentedly hectic, grueling days.
“The problem is, amid all this, an important task has arisen.”
And now, the Maple Alliance faced a massive new challenge.
“You’ve probably heard.”
El Pam knew what that challenge was.
“The Mystic Gate you cleared was one where a Maple Alliance party had failed.”
“Yes.”
“And you confirmed the dead adventurers’ bodies, right?”
“That’s right. They’d killed each other.”
The Alliance’s failure wasn’t due to the Mystic Gate’s difficulty, but betrayal.
‘Just as I suspected—a betrayal.’
That was the moment.
“We anticipated a traitor and took measures. We told them to leave info in code.”
Cheryl revealed something El Pam didn’t know.
“And according to the discovered note, the traitor didn’t act entirely like a typical betrayer.”
“Different how?”
“Suddenly, their laughing, chatting comrades started coughing, then began a robotic massacre without a shred of emotion.”
El Pam’s eyes narrowed at the description.
This wasn’t a simple betrayer.
It was gravely serious.
“You’re sure they coughed?”
“That’s what the description says.”
Moreover, this suggested their change stemmed from some external factor.
‘Did they create a poison that turns people into betrayers?’
El Pam didn’t smile at the thought.
It wasn’t a joke.
‘If so, everything changes.’
It was gravely serious.
Thus, the truth needed verifying—and that was why Cheryl was here, El Pam realized.
“You know someone who can help.”
“Yes.”
Someone who could provide answers.
“Follow me.”
2.
El Pam wasn’t one to be easily startled.
The days he’d lived had forged him into someone nothing could surprise.
‘My god.’
But the moment he saw the woman lying on the bed in the Resistance’s secret headquarters—the deepest, quietest chamber—he couldn’t help but be shocked.
El Pam even let a flicker of surprise show on his face, however briefly.
“Do you know who she is?”
Such was her existence.
“Isn’t that Wingmaster Orca? The creator of Black Wing.”
‘One of the Black Mage’s commanders.’
Anyone who knew her—let alone El Pam—would be aghast at the figure on that bed.
‘How?’
Moreover, El Pam knew her notoriety, and exactly how she’d crushed adventurers and the Maple World.
That made the mystery all the greater.
“Did you capture her?”
The Wingmaster Orca he knew was no one the Resistance could simply catch.
“We wish. Unfortunately, we found her collapsed.”
El Pam’s expression hardened further at Supreme Commander Sigmund’s explanation.
If they’d captured Wingmaster Orca, it would’ve been a monumental feat for the Resistance. But merely finding her made things far more complicated.
It meant someone had taken her down—and was now ruling Black Wing.
Circumstantially, that someone could only be one person.
“Now it’s confirmed. Gelimer has fully seized control of Black Wing.”
The Maple World’s most dangerous mad scientist.
Worst possible combination, in every way.
On the other hand, El Pam understood.
‘If it’s Wingmaster Orca, it makes sense she’d have Mystic Gate info—and that it’s reliable.’
The reason the Resistance had bet their fate on this Blue-grade raid.
But a question lingered.
Someone of Wingmaster Orca’s caliber wouldn’t spill under torture or the like.
“She’s in a coma. How did you get the info?”
Above all, to El Pam’s eyes, Wingmaster Orca’s condition was dire.
Barely clinging to life.
For a being of her stature to weaken so from mere physical wounds was almost unheard of.
In other words, she’d suffered some profound mental shock—and those were hardest to extract info from.
Cheryl resolved his doubt.
“There’s a mirror. It lets you enter the subject’s inner world as reflected in it. A dreamlike realm where their memories are stored.”
Of course, that didn’t fully dispel his skepticism.
It was too hard to believe.
“Lord Heinz helped us.”
But the moment that name dropped, all doubts vanished.
If it was Heinz, teacher to mages everywhere, creating such an item was no surprise.
At that point, El Pam understood.
“You want me to enter the inner world and retrieve the info.”
“Inner worlds have guardian monsters. The stronger the subject, the fiercer they are. For someone like Wingmaster Orca, not even a 6th Circle adventurer could last a single day.”
El Pam didn’t ask why not send a 7th Circle.
The Resistance’s 7th Circles were all command members.
Sending lives worth more than their 7th Circle status into the inner world of Black Wing’s former master?
The risk was too great.
Above all, El Pam knew.
“And crucially, you need to find Wingmaster Orca’s memories—the info. They’re stored in chests like treasure boxes.”
The inner world demanded not monster-slaying prowess, but treasure-hunting skill.
“Inner worlds have multiple layers. Deeper layers hold deeper memories.”
Pathfinding ability, as well.
“Seven days. Move as deep as possible in seven days and bring back the info. Also, max seven people can enter at once.”
And the ability to handle it all swiftly within limits.
In short, a stage tailor-made for El Pam’s party.
No one in the Maple World excelled at such things more than them right now.
Thus, El Pam didn’t hesitate.
‘No intel more reliable than Wingmaster Orca’s memories.’
This was the golden opportunity.
‘No matter what it is.’
A chance to uncover the Black Mage’s followers’ plans—schemes he couldn’t even guess at before.
“I’ll go.”
Immediate answer.
At his response, Cheryl cautioned gently.
“Die in the inner world, and you die in reality. It’s extremely dangerous.”
El Pam felt little stir at her words.
“No place is without danger for an adventurer.”
Every site he’d faced thus far had been the same.
And El Pam had never once yielded to such dangers in his adventures.
Seeing this, Supreme Commander Sigmund nodded and said.
“Good. Let’s form the party right away. When do you depart?”
El Pam answered the question.
“In 30 minutes.”
“Pardon?”
“No time to waste. We leave in 30 minutes.”