Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Snow Yeti (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5.
“I misjudged.”
The moment El Pam said those words, Dibo on the battlefield along with Kiri and Ralph wore dazed expressions.
El Pam’s statement was that unexpected.
“It’ll end faster than I thought.”
And when they heard what followed, the three of them thought:
‘Is he messing with us on purpose right now?’
That El Pam was playing word games.
But El Pam was dead serious.
‘I misjudged.’
He had definitely predicted three minutes.
Of course, perfectly calculating something like this was impossible, but the one who had made the calculation was none other than El Pam.
El Pam, who had fought in battles where a single second’s error could decide not just his own life or death, but the fates of hundreds, thousands of adventurers, and tens of thousands of people.
Yet even El Pam had been wrong.
‘Never thought I’d be off by this much.’
He’d predicted three minutes, but it ended in one minute and thirty seconds.
‘I didn’t know the Hydra’s Fang was this potent.’
The reason for that fatal miscalculation was none other than the Hydra’s Fang he’d obtained from the venomous serpent Nir.
In truth, El Pam had never possessed a Hydra’s Fang before.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘Only three have ever been discovered.’
The item known as the Hydra’s Fang could only be obtained beyond the Mystic Gate, and a mere three had ever appeared in the Maple World.
Even those had only later been revealed to their owners—none had ever hit the market.
All El Pam knew about the Hydra’s Fang was that it was one of the secret cards held by Kania Merchant Group’s leader, the venomous serpent Nir, and that possessing it greatly amplified the power of poison-attribute magic. That was it.
‘And it’s not just the power.’
But he hadn’t expected this level of increase.
‘The nature of the poison has changed.’
Most unexpectedly, the toxicity of the Poison Breath El Pam had used was different.
‘It’s become far more vicious.’
The speed at which the poison took effect was dramatically faster.
That had been the decisive factor.
‘And thanks to Dibo’s perfect taunting, the poison spread even quicker.’
Dibo had properly provoked the Snow Yeti.
From the Snow Yeti’s perspective, an infinitely smaller human was circling it mockingly.
Like a mosquito endlessly landing on and leaving the body—it was only natural for rage to boil over from head to toe, and with that rage, the Snow Yeti’s heart rate had no choice but to accelerate.
Thus, the poison spread even faster.
‘To think it would go this far.’
From every angle, it was a situation El Pam couldn’t have foreseen.
Kroooargh!
Just as the thirty seconds El Pam had mentioned passed, the Snow Yeti chasing Dibo vomited up bright red blood.
The pristine white snowfield was dyed in fresh blood.
Thud!
At the same time, the Snow Yeti collapsed flat onto the ground.
Kroo, kroo!
It began gasping for breath right there.
That was it.
The Snow Yeti could no longer rise. Its body was riddled with spreading poison.
And because of the rage, because of the surging excitement, the pain it hadn’t noticed until now began to flood in.
Krooo……
Only then did the Snow Yeti, finally realizing its plight, let out a plaintive wail.
But no adventurer pitied the sight.
They knew.
That this Snow Yeti was the worst monster that had devoured over hundreds of adventurers up to now.
“Don’t anyone approach.”
So they all just watched.
Endlessly.
“Keep watch on the surroundings.”
Bracing for any possible attacks amid the falling snow.
At last, the moment arrived.
As the Snow Yeti’s body became buried in snow, two trees rose from behind it, soon intertwining to form a door.
The exit had appeared.
“Now then.”
El Pam, seeing it, spoke.
“We collect the items from the dead adventurers.”
6.
The number of wounds adventurers tackling a Mystic Gate preferred most was fewer than five.
For Mystic Gates with ten or more wounds, adventurers rarely ventured out unless circumstances were extraordinary.
It was too dangerous in every way.
However, Mystic Gates with thirty or more wounds often became prime targets for adventurers.
The reason was simple.
Beyond them, adventurers’ items overflowed!
Thus, Mystic Gates with thirty or more wounds received treatment equal to—or better than—ordinary gates.
Among them, gates with a hundred wounds, the “hundred-wound gates,” were regarded similarly to red-grade 100-man Mystic Gates.
“We recover the items from the dead adventurers.”
That was why El Pam had wanted to enter this Mystic Gate—those items.
“No matter how many days it takes.”
‘Though I don’t know what’s here.’
The regrettable part was that El Pam knew nothing about what items lay here.
He had cleared it before.
He had hunted the Snow Yeti.
‘But back then, survival came first.’
Yet the situation after the hunt was utterly wretched.
Eight survivors remained, all supporters dead, potions fully depleted, and not a single one of those eight unscathed.
Most bore fatal wounds that could kill them at any moment.
Moreover, this was a frozen world of ceaseless snowfall.
A world where simply breathing was fatal for wounded adventurers.
Decisively, the exit had appeared the moment they felled the Snow Yeti, and El Pam and the survivors had thrown themselves out without hesitation or regret.
Because of that, El Pam didn’t know what items might be slumbering here.
In other words, there could be treasure.
‘This place was Kania Merchant Group’s hell.’
El Pam was after one more thing.
‘A hell to kill those hindering the Black Mage’s resurrection.’
Here lay the dead—those the Black Mage’s followers saw as enemies and obstacles.
In other words, people who were threats in the eyes of the Black Mage’s followers, meaning there could be clues that might wound them.
Of course, finding adventurer corpses in a snow-covered world was far harder than imagined.
Not like finding a needle in a haystack, but a hidden needle within the sand.
And it wasn’t just finding them.
They had to search amid battles with the still-overflowing hordes of terrifying Cold Eyes.
Thus, any sensible adventurer would say here:
Let’s not get greedy for treasure and risk death—don’t push it.
“Boss.”
In such a situation, Dibo spoke.
“I’ll do the digging!”
Absurd words.
But no one called him out on it.
There was no reason to.
They knew.
Kyuu?
The existence of Mano, the snail pet that found items.
And as expected, Mano shone brilliantly.
It wasn’t even difficult.
Kyuu!
When Mano pointed with its eyes from Kiri’s palm, it was definitely there.
“Found one here!”
The corpse of an adventurer who died in this place.
“These gloves?”
The results thereafter exceeded expectations.
“Warrior Mastery skill, right?”
The first gain was gloves imbued with the 1st Circle warrior skill Warrior Mastery.
This was quite an achievement.
Warrior Mastery increased physical abilities upon use.
For a 1st Circle warrior, it typically boosted physical prowess by around 50 percent.
And it was a passive skill. One that activated simply by equipping the item!
Naturally, it was expensive.
Among warrior skills, it was rated as one of the three great passives alongside Physical Training and Iron Body.
Hence, its Unique grade.
An item hard to obtain even with money!
“Glove type means the market price is……”
Moreover, what Dibo found was gloves.
Normally, accessories like necklaces, earrings, and rings fetched the highest prices.
They were easy to carry and multiple could be worn without issue.
Weapons, meanwhile, were the cheapest. Hard to carry aside, you couldn’t freely swap weapons mid-battle.
Thus, even the same skill could differ tenfold in price depending on whether it was a weapon or accessory.
Glove types, naturally, were on the pricier side.
“Whoa, this drops!”
For Dibo, it was like sprouting wings.
“Smells like a total jackpot!”
But the happiness ended there.
“Tch.”
Subsequent adventurer corpses yielded no notable hauls.
“This one’s broken too.”
It made sense. Most discovered items were damaged and nonfunctional.
Nothing strange about it.
Items weren’t invincible, unbreakable objects as adventurers imagined.
They were frailer than most thought.
“Orange grade is definitely different.”
Plus, higher Mystic Gate ranks meant tougher monsters encountered.
“I mean, Cold Eyes can chew through most items.”
Battling such monsters meant items breaking constantly.
That’s why adventurers staked their lives on stronger gear.
Skills mattered, but a broken item mid-battle essentially meant death.
“Still, this is excessive. How is nothing intact?”
Even so, El Pam’s party’s yields were poor enough to blame sheer bad luck.
This time was no different.
Kyuu!
“Mano found something.”
Guided once more by Mano, El Pam’s party moved and began digging where its eyes pointed. They found it.
An adventurer curled up in death.
The adventurer’s condition was abysmal.
Body riddled with Cold Eye bites—naturally, no items to expect.
Honestly, not even worth touching.
“Boss, wanna check it out?”
But El Pam inspected the corpse.
Seeing this, Dibo tilted his head.
“Nothing’ll come of it, right?”
El Pam knew.
The odds of intact items from such a mangled corpse were low.
But El Pam wasn’t just hunting items.
He needed reasons more than items.
Why the Black Mage’s followers had to kill these people.
Thus, El Pam rummaged through the corpse.
Of course, nothing emerged.
Even if something did, it wouldn’t be intact—nothing did.
“Boss, let’s look elsewhere? Even Ralph’s just standing there?”
Even money-mad Ralph was simply watching with arms crossed this time.
That was when it happened.
El Pam opened the corpse’s mouth.
“Huh? Boss?”
And there it was.
“A letter?”
A neatly folded letter inside the mouth.
He pulled it out and unfolded it, revealing a single ring.
All eyes focused.
“Boss, what is it?”
Instead of answering, El Pam handed the letter to Dibo, who read it.
“To the adventurer who finds this letter, I beg you, please deliver this letter……”
Dibo’s expression hardened as he read.
“A last will.”
It happened sometimes.
Adventurers leaving wills before death—utterly desperate cases.
More desperate still: such wills reached their intended less than once in a hundred times.
Thus, they usually left something precious alongside.
Payment.
Compensation for delivering the will.
“Yeah, a last will.”
“Will you deliver it?”
“Since we’ve seen it.”
Adventurers typically honored such requests.
“We adventurers have our duties.”
It was an adventurer’s duty, and El Pam had no intention of shirking it.
He wouldn’t read more into it.
‘This ring.’
But the moment he saw the ring, El Pam had to rethink.
It looked ordinary, but El Pam knew the meaning of the tiny inscription inside.
‘Cross Ring, proof of the Cross Hunters.’
Cross Hunters.
A group of hunters existing solely to slay monsters beyond Mystic Gates, not for adventure.
That’s how the world knew them.
‘The only organization that uncovered and resisted the Black Mage’s schemes.’
But their true nature: in a sense, the sole adversaries to the Black Mage’s followers.
Naturally, Cross Hunters were highly secretive.
Even their base was hard to pinpoint.
Yet now, a chance to meet them had arisen.
A welcome opportunity for El Pam.
He knew them well.
More than well.
El Pam had resisted the Black Mage’s followers alongside them to the end.
‘Cheryl fought to the end too.’
And he had witnessed their final moments.
Of course he knew.
The Cross Hunters’ current state.
‘Right now, they hold more items than Cygnus Knights, Resistance, or Adventurers’ Association.’
Even what they possessed.
In that instant, El Pam’s goal crystallized.
‘Big payoff.’
Eyes gleaming at the unexpected gain, El Pam thought no greater rewards awaited.
Kyuu!
“Boss, looks like a corpse over there too.”
That’s what he thought until then.
“This one’s a mage adventurer. Body’s more intact than expected. Huh? Wearing a monocle? Most glasses-wearers don’t use monocles. Boss, this feels like an item. What magic’s on it?”
But the moment they found that corpse, he changed his mind.
“……Clairvoyance.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s enchanted with clairvoyance magic.”