Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Cheryl's Request (1)
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1.
“No, still, this isn’t right. It’s just a debt, and how much I repay is up to me, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Ralph, butt out a little.”
“I’m not.”
“Gold Eyes, be quiet for a bit?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Kiri, not you too!”
The El Pam party was noisier than ever over the 100 million meso check.
But amid the commotion, El Pam was nowhere to be found.
Right now, not even the sound of his companions’ breathing reached El Pam’s ears.
It was that intense.
‘It’s the real deal.’
The silk pouch in El Pam’s hand, and the bracelet neatly placed inside—it was an item of that caliber.
‘Definitely Apollo’s Bracelet. Legendary grade.’
An item surpassing Unique grade: Legendary.
No, it wasn’t just any Legendary.
‘On par with Mythic.’
It was top-tier among Legendary items.
And it deserved to be.
‘Because it lets you use Apollo’s Fire Arrow skill.’
The moment you equipped Apollo’s Bracelet, you could cast the fire magic Apollo’s Fire Arrow—one of the most powerful fire-attribute spells out there.
‘It’s a 4th Circle spell, too.’
Its greatest strength was being a 4th Circle spell.
That was huge.
The more powerful the skill, the higher the circle and mana it demanded—that was the norm.
‘Most Legendary skills are 6th Circle or above.’
That was why only 6th Circle adventurers could barely handle Legendary items.
Even then, it was just “handle”—wielding them properly required far more mana.
7th Circle!
That was the benchmark for truly mastering Legendary skills.
And at present, adventurers who’d reached 7th Circle numbered fewer than a hundred across the entire Maple World.
Either way, it was an incredible item.
‘It’s beyond a gift.’
No matter how wealthy Goldrich was, this was beyond what anyone could gift.
‘It’s a tool for revenge.’
Goldrich’s intentions were chilling.
‘If the tool fails, just reclaim it.’
If El Pam didn’t meet Goldrich’s expectations, they’d deal with him then.
Apollo’s Bracelet was worth that much.
In a way, to El Pam, it wasn’t a bracelet—it was a noose ready to tighten around his neck at any moment.
Of course, El Pam had no intention of refusing.
‘Whatever.’
From his perspective, he was grateful.
Around then.
“Boss.”
Dibo, who’d been bickering with the others, approached El Pam and spoke.
“So, when do we head out?”
“You’re all joining this adventure?”
“Of course! Follow the boss, and the money rolls in!”
In the midst of the bickering, they’d all resolved themselves.
“We can leave right now!”
To Dibo’s determination, El Pam replied.
“Then we leave now.”
“Huh?”
“We depart tonight.”
2.
“We depart tonight.”
The moment El Pam said it, the El Pam party fell into chaos.
They’d arrived in the port city of Lith and barely finished a meal—less than a day—and now straight to the next Mystic Gate?
Even for the El Pam party, that was no easy feat.
El Pam had an answer.
“We rest on the way.”
An absurd response that left them speechless.
“Boss, didn’t you say we’re going to Perion?”
And rightly so—the destination was none other than Perion.
Perion, the wasteland, was a wasteland through and through.
Unlike the forested Lith, Ellinia, or Henesys, there were few places to hide or take cover.
If you ran into monsters en route, you had no choice but to fight.
Moreover, Perion’s monsters were on another level from the usual ones.
“Stumps and Wild Boars everywhere...”
Especially the massive Wild Boar packs in Perion—they were a real pain.
Once they spotted prey, they charged like mad until it was dead!
“Can we even rest?”
Resting in Perion, swarming with those monsters?
Impossible didn’t even cover it—it was unimaginable.
To such companions, El Pam showed them.
“...It’s possible?”
That it was entirely feasible.
Literally.
“No, how the hell did we go the whole trip without a single proper fight?”
From Lith Harbor to Perion—a grueling twenty-day journey—and the El Pam party didn’t fight once.
El Pam was, naturally, the reason.
It wasn’t hard for him.
“Unlike Mystic Gates, there’s a map. And this world has an established monster ecosystem.”
Unlike the unpredictable beyond of a Mystic Gate, a world with maps and info was like an answered test to El Pam.
“Artemis’s Eye for far sight, Telekinesis too.”
He even had Artemis’s Eye to see from afar, plus skills to evade monster fights.
Of course, skill alone wasn’t enough.
“That’s only possible for you, Boss.”
It was possible only because it was El Pam.
“Probably.”
‘Those who couldn’t do it all died.’
Only El Pam, who’d survived to the very end before returning to the past, could pull it off.
Either way, thanks to El Pam, the party could rest repeatedly even after reaching Perion.
For a full twenty days.
“Boss, I’m getting antsy now.”
Rest had turned excessive.
But such worries were needless.
“Now we’re at the ruin excavation site.”
The moment the El Pam party entered the northernmost ruin excavation site in Perion, they were greeted.
Clack-clack!
Skull Dogs made of skeletons.
Tricky monsters.
Skeleton-type monsters required destroying the magic stone in their skulls—no exceptions.
Smashing the body was pointless.
The problem? Those skulls weren’t easy to break.
They were insanely tough.
And slippery too—the smooth bone surfaces deflected sharp blades easily.
Meanwhile, those tough bones made for deadly attacks.
Shattered skeleton bones were sharper and more powerful than most spears or swords.
A real headache all around.
The biggest issue?
“You can’t fight them like regular monsters.”
Adventurers’ accumulated experience didn’t apply well.
Monster hunting basics were about wearing them down, not just smashing magic stones.
Like inducing bleeding to exhaust them.
But skeletons? No dice.
This mattered more than it seemed.
“Keep it in mind.”
In fierce battles, adventurers relied on instinct and experience over reason and calculation.
Of course, it wasn’t a fierce battle yet.
Crack!
Facing about a dozen Skull Dogs, the El Pam party fought rationally.
“Easy!”
They targeted heads precisely, shattering skulls and magic stones.
Without major crises, they reached their destination.
“This the place?”
Before a wasteland.
“Nothing here?”
But no Mystic Gate in sight anywhere.
Then El Pam pulled five talismans from his pocket and handed one to each companion.
“What’s this?”
They tilted their heads at the unfamiliar talismans—then.
“Huh?”
“Whoa!”
The moment they gripped them, the scenery changed.
A Mystic Gate appeared atop the wasteland, previously invisible.
“W-what is this?”
“Taoist magic.”
“Taoist magic?”
As they marveled at the new magic, El Pam approached the Mystic Gate.
He checked its base.
‘317362459.’
Numbers etched in the dirt.
‘No intruders.’
A precaution against additional entrants.
Crucial, too.
If someone else entered, the entry limit dropped.
If it hit one or zero?
El Pam alone could enter.
Worse, you couldn’t tell if they were foe or friend.
More precisely, likely foes.
Cross Hunters hunted Black Mage followers, who hunted them back.
Hence the Taoist magic to hide the gate.
Either way, no issue.
Just one thing left.
“We enter now.”
3.
Crossing the Mystic Gate, the El Pam party emerged into a forest.
Dense trees—a normal forest.
The most familiar, welcoming stage for adventurers.
Far better than deserts, swamps, or snow worlds—huge advantage.
“Huh.”
But none of the party could welcome the sight.
They knew.
“Even in a place like this, they couldn’t reach the next floor.”
A rescue mission.
Meaning, from the rescuees’ side, there was a clear reason they couldn’t escape.
And that reason was obvious.
“The monsters aren’t normal, right?”
Then.
Clack-clack!
At the clashing bones, the party turned—and saw.
A single skeleton soldier gripping a bone club in its right hand.
The party eased tension slightly.
“Just a Skeleton Soldier.”
They didn’t underestimate skeletons.
But compared to the absurd monsters they’d faced, it seemed laughable.
One exception.
“Everyone, be careful.”
“Yeah, we know. No letting our guard down.”
El Pam warned.
“Not that. Be careful.”
“Huh?”
The reason soon revealed itself.
Skeleton Soldiers began appearing around the El Pam party.
Clack-clack-clack!
Too many to count—hundreds, no, over a thousand.
“...Insane.”
Before that dizzying horde, even Dibo lost all composure.
Only one thing to do: tighten nerves.
And one thought.
“I’ll clear a path.”
Escape this place.
Obvious.
Killing every visible Skeleton Soldier? A full day’s fight at least.
No guarantee it’d end there.
The noise might draw more monsters.
“The forest makes shaking them off easy.”
This dense-wooded forest stage favored adventurers.
Escape was the clear best choice.
El Pam agreed.
Normally, he’d have ordered flight before Dibo spoke.
Not now.
“We fight.”
“Huh?”
All were stunned by El Pam’s words.
But no questions voiced.
“Yes.”
El Pam was the leader.
They followed his word—that was their role.
“Let’s do it.”
Resolving for battle, not flight, the party watched El Pam demonstrate.
“Apollo’s Fire Arrow.”
El Pam—the reason for continuing the fight.