Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 028
Chapter Title: Chapter 9. Trap (1)
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Usually, the area around a Mystic Gate being challenged was quiet.
However, special Mystic Gates were different.
Since anything could happen, they maintained a thorough watch over the surroundings. In severe cases, they even sealed off the surrounding region. Just the fact of intrusion alone warranted summary execution.
The 100-man Mystic Gate was no exception.
Over a hundred people had gathered around the Mystic Gate being challenged, including adventurers standing guard and support personnel assisting them.
In truth, it was quite a dangerous task.
The Mystic Gate was located in Sleepywood Forest, the most perilous place on Victoria Island.
A spot where powerful monsters could emerge at any moment.
“Boring. How many days has it been?”
“A whole week.”
“Already? It’s so dark here, I can’t even tell time’s passing.”
Yet there was no tension whatsoever in the atmosphere among those gathered there.
Two reasons for that.
“Hurry up and end it so we can head back for a beer.”
“Honestly, we could bail right now, no issue. Those guys are in there anyway.”
One was that those guarding the place were none other than 5th Circle adventurers—B-Rank adventurers like Longko and his crew.
“And seriously, what could go wrong?”
The other was faith.
“The hottest rising stars from Lith, a hundred of them, went in.”
Faith that the adventurers inside would wrap up the adventure splendidly and return.
“No chance of problems.”
Utterly reasonable faith.
That was why.
“Hey? Someone’s coming out!”
“Yeah?”
“Two of them!”
When the two adventurers who had finally completed the adventure emerged.
“Two?”
“That’s it?”
“Wait, what’re they saying?”
When those two gasped for breath and called for help, those around began to panic.
“One more coming out!”
Then one more followed.
“Huh? W-what’s that?”
“Bl-blood!”
Covered head to toe in blood, bearing massive wounds.
“What?”
“What happened?”
“He’s dying! A survivor’s dying!”
“Who is it?”
In that instant, everyone around the Mystic Gate plunged into full panic for the first time.
So utterly unforeseen.
Thud!
“He—he collapsed!”
The blood-soaked adventurer hit the ground, and everyone froze solid.
“H-healer!”
At last, the on-standby Bishop sprang into action.
But post-panic proceedings were anything but orderly.
Dozens surged forward at once, turning the scene into utter chaos.
That was when.
“Th-the gate’s closing!”
The golden Mystic Gate began to fade, capping off with that final bloodied survivor.
2.
Adventures always carry crises.
Mystic Gates were no different. If anything, true veteran adventurers claimed otherwise.
“Mystic Gates are easy? Hah, I’d take hunting the Balrog slumbering in Sleepywood Forest any day. At least you know what you’re up against.”
That Mystic Gates were the deadliest spots.
Accidents did happen there, in fact.
Some qualified as outright catastrophes.
Countless ones, starting with the Elnas massacre that wiped out 444 B-Rank adventurers.
And now, history added another page.
“100 went in, 3 came back alive.”
Just three survivors.
“The absolute worst.”
Hence, a catastrophe.
“If they’d all died, fine.”
A total wipeout would’ve prompted adventurers to retry and scout the situation.
But now, not even a chance to assess it.
“Losses are catastrophic.”
No opportunity to recoup even a fraction.
That was why.
“Right?”
Longko now faced El Pam, freshly returned in bloodied state.
Wholly irrational.
Moments ago, El Pam had been critically wounded—common sense demanded rest.
Yet convening this talk meant the incident’s gravity.
“So what went down?”
Naturally, only three could testify to the catastrophe beyond: El Pam included.
“Spit out the truth.”
And of course, Longko intended force if he sniffed a lie.
A terrifying threat.
“You felt it from the healing, but defying my warning hurts worse than you’d imagine.”
El Pam’s healer was none other than the B-Rank Bishop from Longko’s own party.
Bishops that caliber could reattach limbs severed mid-battle.
Longko could lop off limbs mid-torture without breaking a sweat.
Above all, Longko demonstrated.
“I’m fucking furious right now.”
He wasn’t some upright adventurer.
“So talk.”
Facing monsters beyond a Mystic Gate chilled the spine worse.
Even hardened adventurers went pale, breath short from sheer terror.
El Pam, naturally, was the exception.
A B-Rank like Longko? Laughable—didn’t even register.
‘Playing it as expected.’
All this, El Pam’s design.
Thus, he delivered the prepared line.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Entered, and a reed field popped up. Ribbon Pigs followed. The ten parties scattered naturally. All that was anticipated. Then green-skinned monsters appeared.”
“Green-skinned monsters?”
“Fetch my bag, please.”
Longko nodded, handing over El Pam’s exited bag.
The hefty bag brimmed with rations and sundries.
El Pam drew out a single notebook.
A diary.
One El Pam kept through his adventures thus far.
He flipped to a page, showed Longko.
“This one.”
A Green Hob sketch.
Longko’s eyes narrowed at it.
Unforeseen, seemingly.
El Pam smirked inwardly at the look.
‘Putting on a show.’
El Pam knew.
‘They checked my bag first thing.’
They’d already perused his notebook.
Standard protocol, catastrophe or not.
100-man Mystic Gates guaranteed unique-grade items—prime spot for an adventurer to smuggle one out.
‘Hence, the notebook.’
El Pam flipped it on them.
“Green Hobs. Nasty bastards.”
“The herd had dug traps.”
Blaming the catastrophe on Green Hobs.
“That it?”
“Nothing else I know.”
Translation: El Pam hid the trolling right there.
Green Hob catastrophe? Pure adventurer incompetence.
Trolling? That’d spark an incident, massive uproar.
‘Kiri and Dibo bought in.’
The other two backed his play.
Showing this alone wouldn’t smooth everything over.
“So everyone’s dying, you three pull through?”
Critical issue.
“97 dying, three live—luck doesn’t cut it, no matter the angle?”
Their escape?
The answer there.
“You didn’t just ditch your comrades and bolt?”
Slip up, deserters.
El Pam could shoulder all blame.
“I was supposed to die too.”
So El Pam revealed.
“Why’d you live?”
He bared his left wrist in answer.
“Got lucky—circled up to 3rd inside.”
Ironclad reason for survival.
3.
Catastrophe struck, Lith’s top ten merchant groups concluded:
“Gapor pulled strings.”
All three survivors Gapor affiliates—Gapor schemed.
Before the assembled reps, Longko declared:
“Just blew up.”
“Blew up?”
“Adventures gonna adventure. Bad luck timing.”
Natural disaster tier.
Predictably, non-Gapor reps erupted.
“That rational? 97 dead!”
“Situation says they earned it.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Green Hobs. Herd. Dangerous fuckers.”
“Monsters still! Inside were no randos—each group’s ace veterans!”
Longko scratched an ear amid the fury.
“Veteraner than me?”
Dig rep clamped shut.
Truth: reps knew squat about beyond Mystic Gates.
Executives less so—spots for business/politics aces over adventurer skill.
Regardless, Longko was B-Rank.
‘Hothead Longko.’
Fiery-temper legend among adventurers.
Longko no fool, though.
Facing Lith top ten reps post-catastrophe, he reined it in.
“Situation sucks, got it. Investigated my way. Survivor stories match—all three synced.”
“They could’ve synced. Only survivors theirs. All Gapor.”
“El Pam, Dibo—plausible. But Kiri’s Cygnus Knights trainee. Her aligning with those two adventurers? Slim odds.”
Nods rippled.
Cygnus Knights pride dwarfed adventurers’.
“Three dying wouldn’t shock. Luck struck—El Pam awakened 3rd Circle inside, carried them out.”
Shock swept faces.
3rd Circle D-Ranks? Not dime-a-dozen.
Evis, Gapor rep, gawked hardest.
‘Already?’
El Pam he knew awakened mere months back.
3rd Circle now?
Doable.
Circle-ups via magic stones, insights, awakenings—some blitzed it.
Same stone, faster gains.
Longko exemplified.
5th+ Circle folk surged ahead unmatched.
‘Freak.’
El Pam’s talent screamed 5th Circle potential.
Still, 3rd Circle power off-specs—explained their solo survival in wipeout.
Not full picture.
“Biggest reason, though.”
Longko’s prime trust factor? Separate.
“No loot on the three. Stripped possessions, bodies—no items.”
4.
Miyaa!
Dibo tongue-lolled at Mano blinking awake with the cry.
“Damn, Boss is unreal.”
Warranted.
“Smuggling items like that.”
Self-bloodied distraction, snail Mano sneaks loot out?
El Pam? Barely a flex.
Mano acquired, item smuggling turned trivial.
“Kiri actually played ball per Boss’s script?”
Kiri no-screwup, sticking to deal—Dibo’s shocker.
El Pam unshaken.
“Cygnus Knights live for justice.”
El Pam’s true Cygnus Knights? Hero-tier pure.
Despair’s brink, death sealed—they self-sacrificed.
Knights to bitter end.
“That ain’t key.”
El Pam zeroed one focus now.
“Commission incoming soon.”
“Commission? Duh! Boss VIP now—jobs avalanche! 100-man sole survivor! 3rd Circle awakener! Epic!”
El Pam to hyped Dibo:
“That commission? Deadliest for us.”
“Huh?”
“Trap to kill us.”