Chapter 231
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: 66. Slime Paradise (3)
7.
Troublemaker Slime.
There were only a handful of adventurers in the Maple World who knew about this monster.
For two reasons.
“There’s this thing called a Troublemaker Slime. It looks exactly like a regular slime. You can’t tell them apart with your eyes. Yeah, out of ten thousand adventurers who encounter a Troublemaker Slime, maybe one survives.”
The number of people who had seen a Troublemaker Slime and lived to tell the tale was extremely small.
“Even when survivors testify, no one believes them. Right? If they say a monster that looks just like a slime is insanely strong—strong enough to take down a Green Corian in Minar Forest—what do most people say? Yeah, ‘You were drunk.’”
The survivors’ testimonies were hardly ever taken seriously.
That was why there was no record of the Troublemaker Slime in the Adventurer Association’s monster registry.
The adventurers who had come here aiming for Fried’s brooch—seasoned veterans who had experienced just about every ordeal the Maple World had to offer—were no different.
None of them knew that the slimes approaching now were called Troublemaker Slimes.
“Combat begin!”
Instead, there was one thing they did know.
“Fight for your lives!”
They had to unleash everything they had against this horde of Troublemaker Slimes!
The adventurers’ assault that followed was ferocious.
It had to be.
At least 4th Circle and above!
Most were 5th Circle, and there were no shortage of 6th Circle adventurers in the group.
The sheer power radiating from these extraordinary individuals was beyond imagination.
For starters, the mages were on another level.
“Ice Strike!”
“Thunder Spear!”
“Explosion!”
4th Circle and higher spells began raining down on the approaching slime horde like intricate embroidery.
And that was just the beginning.
“Blizzard!”
“Flame Sweep!”
6th Circle!
Those terrifying spells unfurled, sweeping the slime horde away in one go.
But it didn’t end there.
“Bolt Swift!”
“Flash Mirage!”
The archers who had been waiting joined in relentlessly, unleashing skills and drawing their bows.
Under the relentless barrage, the slimes began to fall one by one.
Everyone swallowed hard at the sight.
‘Even after all this, they’re not dying?’
Losing only a little over two hundred to this insane onslaught was unthinkable.
“Damn, their luck’s too good!”
For the warriors who now had to form a wall against the slime horde, it was a burdensome reality.
But no one ran.
Instead, they all stepped forward as if in competition.
And collided.
Clang!
The warriors’ shields, polearms, and swords clashed against the incredibly tough bodies of the Troublemaker Slimes, producing harsh metallic rings.
Meanwhile, the thieves and pirates unleashed their own arsenals on the slimes.
“Give it everything you’ve got!”
Thus, the Troublemaker Slimes and adventurers became entangled.
It was an intensely fierce battle.
Of course, it favored the adventurers.
The slimes were undoubtedly powerful, but the adventurers gathered here were even more so.
Not only did they have more Circles, but their items were leagues ahead of adventurers of similar caliber.
“It’s over!”
Boom!
The battle ended in victory for the adventurers.
But not a single one let out a cheer of triumph or a shout of joy.
“Bishop! Bishop over here!”
“We’re short on Bishops! Do some emergency treatment!”
“If you need help, say the word! I’ll do anything!”
“The bleeding’s bad—cauterize it with fire!”
They were all focused more intensely on saving the survivors.
At least those efforts were paying off for some.
“Casualties?”
“Twenty-five dead. For now.”
For the dead, no amount of effort mattered.
And the losses were severe.
Twenty-five out of five hundred—in just the first battle, it was far too many.
Above all, everyone was on edge.
“What the hell kind of slimes are these? They look like regular slimes, but their strength defies common sense.”
“Looks like we’ve got a ton of unknowns ahead.”
A monster had appeared that rendered all their past experiences meaningless.
From an adventurer’s perspective, it was the worst possible scenario.
In their world, the unknown was more dangerous than the strong.
That was when it happened.
“They’re coming again!”
Another slime horde charged at the adventurers, who were barely catching their breath.
“The incoming slimes are…”
And unlike the previous ones, everyone knew what these were.
“Bomb Slimes!”
8.
Bomb Slimes!
The moment that name was uttered, the same thought flashed through every adventurer’s mind.
‘Worst case scenario.’
‘Never engage those things.’
No exceptions.
The instant they spotted the Bomb Slimes, the word “battle” vanished from their heads.
And it had to.
‘They explode on contact.’
True to their name, Bomb Slimes detonated like bombs, with explosive power rivaling the area-of-effect of a decent fire-attribute 5th Circle spell.
‘Can’t even kill them!’
Worse still, the Bomb Slimes had incredibly high defense and health.
It was impossible to take them down before they closed in with ordinary attacks!
Naturally, bunching up was suicide.
In the end, the only option was to run!
Of course, everyone knew how dangerous it was to scatter here.
They could be picked off one by one.
More than that, these people couldn’t act on their own whims. They had made a promise.
To follow one man’s orders.
‘Pesson.’
If Pesson ordered battle here, they had to fight.
No other choice.
Running would turn not just the Bomb Slimes against them, but every adventurer present.
And there was no guarantee that running would lead to better options or survival.
The Bomb Slimes were bad enough, but those Troublemaker Slimes earlier had been a nightmare too.
This place’s difficulty far exceeded everyone’s expectations in every way.
‘Running might lead to an even worse hell.’
A situation ripe for agonizing decisions.
“Everyone!”
In that moment, Pesson quickly made the call and spoke up.
“Scatter by party units!”
The instant the order dropped, all eyes turned to Pesson.
They all knew it was a perfectly valid command.
But still, one that couldn’t come easily.
‘Are we really running?’
So instead of obeying immediately, they hesitated and pondered once more.
That was when it happened.
“Huh?”
While everyone was deliberating, one party moved.
“El Pam’s party is running!”
9.
The moment El Pam’s party bolted, all doubts vanished from the adventurers’ minds.
Everyone scattered in different directions.
‘Damn it.’
The adventurers fleeing the Bomb Slimes wore grim expressions.
It was an understandable choice, but hardly a good one.
Of course, there was an exception.
“Heh.”
Pesson. A smile finally crept across his lips.
“The time has come at last.”
It was the situation he’d been waiting for.
Adventurers scattered in crisis.
“Time to hunt.”
Pesson could now remove his mask and indulge in the hunt he’d craved.
Nor was he the only one.
His companions all smiled too.
They were all the same breed from the start.
Not adventurers who enjoyed adventure, but ones who relished hunting other adventurers.
Outlaws no different from bandits.
Moreover, these hyenas were more fired up than ever.
“Everyone got their eyes on some items?”
“You bet.”
“Yeah?”
Rare items hard to find elsewhere dangled before them—not one or two, but dozens. It’d be weirder if they weren’t excited.
“I’ve got my eye on some too.”
Which made the dilemma all the sweeter.
“Now I can’t decide who to go after first. You feel me?”
Truth be told, Pesson and his crew wanted to hunt every adventurer here.
But that was impossible.
Even if possible, it was something they shouldn’t do.
“Can’t catch the boss monster if we take them all out.”
They still hadn’t gauged how many monsters lurked here or what the boss was exactly.
Of course, they didn’t think it would be hard.
Slimes were slimes, after all.
They’d dodged the Bomb Slimes not because they couldn’t kill them, but because it wasn’t worth it.
With acceptable sacrifices, they could’ve managed.
It was just too risky without fully scouting the fifth floor.
Still, for a boss monster, they needed to assemble some proper force to hunt it.
Pesson also knew.
“Getting caught in the middle would be a headache.”
The biggest risk here was their masks being exposed to the adventurers.
Plus, these adventurers were on a whole different level from their past prey.
Adventurers writing legends on par with their own.
Rush in recklessly, and they might get hunted instead.
In that sense, their options were limited.
“No choice but to target them here.”
The answer was already clear.
“That fraud, El Pam.”
El Pam’s party.
Targeting any other adventurer would be foolish.
For one, the other parties were massive—minimum twenty strong—while El Pam’s was just five.
Pathetic!
“And the items they’ve got? Even the rumors paint them as insane.”
Meanwhile, El Pam’s party had better gear than any here.
Of course, everyone knew.
“But they won’t be pushovers.”
Just because he was called a fraud didn’t mean they could underestimate El Pam’s party.
From the start, all the adventurers here knew.
Clearing the Mystic Gate wasn’t just luck.
Even luck, if sustained, proved real skill.
“Especially their escape skills.”
Crucially, El Pam’s party had likely built their rep largely on superior evasion.
Tracking and catching them here would be no easy feat.
“That’s why we prepare, everyone.”
Still, they had no intention of giving up.
“Take it slow.”
Even if it took time, they’d take out El Pam’s party first.
That was Pesson’s party’s strength.
Knowing how to wait.
Even with prey dangling right in front of them, Pesson’s party never rushed.
That was the secret to keeping their masks on all this time.
It was then.
“Pesson!”
“What is it?”
“Over there!”
“What’s over there?”
“It’s El Pam!”
“What?”
Hearing that, Pesson and the others went slack-jawed.
They’d expected it to take a while, but El Pam’s party was right there?
‘No.’
Pesson hesitated.
El Pam’s sudden appearance was unexpected, but jumping in rashly wasn’t smart.
They might be with another party.
“El Pam’s party?”
“No, wait… it’s just El Pam. Alone.”
“What?”
That changed everything.
A mage adventurer alone in this death trap?
Pesson didn’t hesitate.
“We take him down.”