Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 004
Chapter Title: Returning to the Past (3)
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5.
Adventurers were the envy of all, and such adventurers were broadly classified into five professions.
“Adventurers mean warriors, wizards, archers, thieves, and pirates—these five professions.”
The division into these professions was based on what skills one could use, namely skill aptitude.
Wizards, of course, referred to those with aptitude for magic skills.
“Wizards are called differently depending on the attributes they handle, but they’re broadly divided into three types. Offensive wizards who wield fire, poison, lightning, or ice, and healer-type wizards, commonly called bishops, who use blessings, buffs, or healing magic.”
Even among those wizards, they were classified by their respective attributes.
“There are light and darkness attributes too, but in Maple World history, only one wizard could actually wield them—Luminous, one of the six heroes who sealed the Black Mage—so it’s meaningless. The issue is telekinesis.”
Among them, the one classified particularly uniquely was telekinesis.
“Information on telekinesis is scarce in some ways, even more than light and darkness magic. Light and darkness magic is surprisingly well-known to the world through Luminous’s heroic tales.”
Unlike other attribute magics, which were systematically classified, telekinesis magic remained largely unknown.
“And there are few telekinesis wizards to begin with.”
The first reason was that few wizards had aptitude for telekinesis magic, and the second was the difficulty.
“Even among the few telekinesis wizards, only a handful can properly use telekinesis magic. It’s that hard to use. Even lifting a single stone from the ground requires a certain level of proficiency. Moving that stone quickly to hit a target?”
Using telekinesis to move something was extremely difficult.
“At least a stone is manageable.”
The more irregular the shape, the harder the control.
“Moving an Energy Bolt or Fire Arrow with telekinesis at high speed?”
That was why.
“I guarantee you, anyone who can do that deserves the title of Greatest Telekinesis Mage.”
El Pam, the reason he held the title of Greatest Telekinesis Mage.
He could do it.
“Fire Arrow.”
Whoosh!
With his words, a flame-formed arrow was summoned.
Thud thud thud!
The incessantly burning fire arrow flew toward the horde of over thirty charging Orange Mushrooms.
Straight, in a straight line.
Pierce!
The fire arrow that flew like that pierced the forehead of the lead two-meter-tall Orange Mushroom.
Up to this point, it was the appearance of an ordinary Fire Arrow.
Completely commonplace.
Whoosh!
But the Fire Arrow that burst through the Orange Mushroom’s forehead began to defy common sense.
It suddenly turned on the spot and pierced the temple of the Orange Mushroom beside it, passing straight through.
Pierce!
The fire arrow, having destroyed the nucleus of the second Orange Mushroom in one go, didn’t stop there.
Pierce!
Like a snake slicing through water, it pierced and split the heads of every Orange Mushroom around.
In an instant, over thirty Orange Mushrooms collapsed to the ground with their heads pierced by the fire arrow.
It was a miraculous sight.
To take down over thirty Orange Mushrooms with a single Fire Arrow—a spell that was amazing enough for killing two at once?
‘It took 5 years.’
In truth, even El Pam, who possessed innate talent, had taken a considerable amount of time to reach this level.
‘Thanks to surviving those 5 years.’
Moreover, it wasn’t a ability El Pam had sought out.
After all, honing telekinesis control to this extent wasn’t efficient compared to the time invested.
In that time, it was better to cast one more spell or acquire an item with a more powerful magic.
Especially against boss monsters, such tricks weren’t as effective as one might think.
No, there was no need to go that far.
It was only possible because Orange Mushrooms had weak bodies; against monsters with strong defenses, the Fire Arrow would fulfill its role and vanish the moment it pierced one.
Above all, wizard adventurers didn’t need to use magic so desperately.
Most wizards could deal with monsters more efficiently with the help of their party members.
In other words, El Pam couldn’t.
Every time he fought a war, he faced not hundreds but nearly ten thousand monsters, and by the end of those battles, most of his party members who protected him had become corpses.
To survive such an absurd battlefield, he had no choice but to possess absurd abilities.
That was why El Pam didn’t marvel at his own handiwork.
Nor did he indulge in sentiment.
‘First, eliminate all monsters here, then head out.’
6.
The Mystic Gate that changed the world.
“Mystic Gate? It looks ordinary.”
The exterior of such a Mystic Gate wasn’t particularly impressive.
“Just trees.”
For starters, the part that could be called the Mystic Gate’s frame looked like two ordinary trees touching.
“It’s so ordinary that countless people miss Mystic Gates right in front of them.”
From a distance in the forest, it was impossible to tell if it was a Mystic Gate or not.
“The portal activates when people approach, and that’s when it takes the form everyone recognizes.”
Instead, when people approached, the portal activated, and that portal glowed in one of the seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, or violet.
Such a portal persisted as long as there were people inside.
Conversely, if there was no one inside, the portal vanished.
The peculiarity here was that the portal disappearing could mean one of two things.
“There are two cases where the portal dissipates. One is when the entrants exit through the exit. In that case, the Mystic Gate fulfills its role and vanishes. The other case? What do you think? Everyone inside died. In that case, re-entry becomes possible.”
That was why.
“Mystic Gates have numbers if you look closely—those indicate the entry limit. Adventurers make a mark next to that number before entering.”
Before entering a Mystic Gate, adventurers would scratch a mark on it.
That mark served as a signpost for the next adventurers.
“The more sword marks on a Mystic Gate, the more hellish it is inside. Well, that draws even more daredevils.”
A warning to some, a spark for adventure in others.
The Mystic Gate El Pam emerged from had one scratch.
Meaning the party that took El Pam in was the first to adventure there.
It was the scenario rookies loved most.
After all, beginner adventurers couldn’t help but feel that Mystic Gates with multiple scratches were too daunting.
Of course, those scratches weren’t a definitive certificate proving the Mystic Gate’s difficulty.
Even the Mystic Gate that devoured all the world’s adventurers had appeared initially without a single scratch.
In any case, El Pam gazed steadily at the Mystic Gate after exiting.
Precisely, at the portal.
He stared at the red portal pooled in the Mystic Gate like stagnant water in a well.
At that moment, the portal vanished.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, the Mystic Gate collapsed.
Only then did El Pam look away.
‘They’re all dead.’
El Pam had checked the gate to see if there were any survivors.
In the original history before returning to the past, the sole survivor had been El Pam himself.
But one could never know with the ways of the world.
If there were survivors, El Pam intended to deal with them.
It was only natural.
‘It’s a fresh start.’
More than anyone, El Pam knew how wretched the future he now faced would be.
‘Three years from now, monsters will flood the world.’
For now, he had only three years, but the tasks ahead were immense.
Yet El Pam didn’t agonize over it.
It wasn’t a matter for agony.
‘There’s only one thing I can do.’
The Last Adventurer, El Pam—the one thing he had been best at before returning to the past was singular.
Monster hunting.
So now, there was only one thing to do.
‘Kill as many monsters as possible.’
A distant goal.
But the situation was favorable.
‘I’ve secured items.’
Unlike before returning to the past, El Pam now possessed a considerable number of items.
‘My mana circle has deepened a bit.’
Additionally, by absorbing magic stones from monsters slain inside the Mystic Gate, his magic power had grown stronger.
He had already achieved gains that would normally require conquering four or five Mystic Gates before returning.
There was one problem.
‘The debt to the Gapor Merchant Group.’
Before returning to the past, it had taken El Pam three years to free himself from slavery under the Gapor Merchant Group.
That was why.
‘So I need to head to the Gapor Merchant Group.’
That was why El Pam was heading to the port city of Lis, where the Gapor Merchant Group was located.
7.
Victoria Island.
There were two main ways to reach this island, one of Maple World’s islands.
One was taking an airship.
The other was taking a boat.
Needless to say, traveling by airship was extremely rare, and most travel was by boat.
And most of those boats docked at Lis, the port city on the southwest of Victoria Island.
“All ten major merchant groups have set up shop in Lis Port.”
That was why so many merchant groups had established themselves in Lis Port.
But when Mystic Gates appeared, the world changed.
Adventurers who once escorted logistics headed beyond the Mystic Gates, all money flowed toward items from Mystic Gates, and in that process, Lis Port’s logistics volume plummeted.
The world had changed.
“And after Mystic Gates appeared, the Gapor Merchant Group claimed one of the ten major spots.”
The Gapor Merchant Group, led by Gapor, was a group that rapidly expanded its power in the Mystic Gate era.
That was possible because the Gapor Merchant Group was more proactive than anyone in conquering Mystic Gates.
Going beyond mere conquest, they provided adventurers with Mystic Gate adventure services.
They provided Mystic Gate locations and even the necessary items.
Among them, their biggest hit product was the bait slave rental system.
Of course, it was far from a pretty business.
Nor was it an easy one.
In fact, no country in Maple World legally recognized slavery.
Especially Empress Cygnus, leader of the newly formed Maple Alliance in Maple World, had never tolerated the slave system from past to present.
It was merely that lending money and recouping it through labor if unpaid was fully accepted.
Meaning it was impossible to truly treat them like slaves.
So the Gapor Merchant Group thought.
“Better a slave than death. But better death than a Gapor Merchant Group slave.”
As long as they punished debtors so thoroughly and mercilessly that they never entertained such thoughts.
Especially, the Gapor Merchant Group showed no mercy whatsoever to escaped slaves.
‘The Gapor Merchant Group tracks down and kills escaped slaves without fail.’
El Pam knew this well.
Even after opening his 1st Circle, even after qualifying as an adventurer, he had returned to the Gapor Merchant Group because of it.
Because escape wouldn’t bring freedom.
‘For three years, I only conquered Mystic Gates assigned by the Gapor Merchant Group.’
Only after repaying his debt to the Gapor Merchant Group did he gain freedom, and the moment he did, the Mystic Gate era ended, and the monster era—the era of despair—began.
That was why El Pam was returning to the Gapor Merchant Group now.
‘I know the Gapor Merchant Group’s situation better than anyone.’
Having worked like a dog his whole life, he knew better than anyone what would happen within the Gapor Merchant Group over the next three years.
‘And how to suck them dry to the marrow, to the soul.’
Knowing them so well made them easy to exploit.
In such El Pam’s eyes, the port city of Lis came into view.