Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Gambling Table (4)
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8.
3rd Floor.
The first to set foot in that hell were Boss Hunter Hassan and his party members.
It was thanks to them.
“Hassan, I trust your judgment.”
When Hassan spoke of Head Hector and urged the adventurers to stop gambling and unite for survival, the other adventurers gladly accepted his proposal.
Boss Hunter Hassan—his reputation, acknowledged even in Ariant—was worth that much.
The same went for El Pam’s party’s proposal.
Most adventurers weighed their options, but the outcome was identical.
“But I think El Pam’s party is going to fail.”
Even Rebecca, an adventurer from the Elnas Mountains, believed El Pam’s party would fail.
And yet, there was one reason they accepted El Pam’s party’s proposal, even handing over five unique items.
“We went through with the deal because we trust you, Hassan.”
Hassan asserted it forcefully.
This was a proposal with no downside.
Whether El Pam’s party succeeded or failed, there was zero loss.
Of course, he also emphasized one thing.
“You said El Pam’s party would succeed.”
The potential of El Pam’s party.
It wasn’t a vague claim.
“They do have an unusual track record.”
First, he highlighted El Pam’s party’s experience.
“When it comes to survival.”
El Pam’s party had somehow survived a Mystic Gate far beyond their level.
That was how they’d obtained Jack Lich’s legacy.
Anyone could see it was down to luck.
“But luck counts as skill.”
In the adventurers’ world, luck was one of the highly valued factors, in its own way.
“And betting on ways to boost their odds, even knowing how tough it’ll be—that attitude too.”
In truth, the most decisive factor was El Pam’s party’s demeanor.
Hassan shared what he’d overheard.
Better to take on the risks in exchange for a power-up than draw lots with no enhancements at all.
Honestly, it was a tactic no other adventurers had anticipated.
And one worthy of admiration.
“We don’t know their actual skills, but they’re real adventurers, no doubt.”
Adventurers are those who venture into the unknown.
In that sense, El Pam’s party’s actions were the textbook example of a top-tier adventurer.
That was why they trusted Hassan’s words.
The chance that El Pam’s party would pull it off.
“Time for the truth.”
On that note, Hassan said,
“El Pam’s party is going to fail.”
“What?”
He’d lied.
“It was nonsense from the start. If a mere five could handle it, we wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
“Then why accept their proposal?”
“If El Pam’s party steps up, at least we’ll get a proper read on Head Hector’s movements. We lose nothing in the process. Hectors might devour corpses, but they don’t eat items. And most importantly, it sets an example.”
“An example?”
“A clear warning: stick to the draws—don’t get any funny ideas.”
Rebecca didn’t argue with Hassan’s words.
Instead, she was convinced.
“As expected.”
All the adventurers had thought the same as Hassan from the beginning.
That was why.
Awoooo!
Awoooo!
When the full-throated Hector howls began echoing everywhere.
“El Pam’s party has begun.”
As El Pam’s party moved to lure the Hectors guarding the exit—and Head Hector itself—the waiting adventurers thought,
“It won’t work.”
A waste of effort.
So none of them prepared to escape.
“We’ll just retrieve the corpses.”
They simply readied themselves to claim El Pam’s party’s items once the howling died down.
Awoooo!
“It’s dragging on longer than expected.”
Even as the howls repeated.
Everyone figured it would fade soon.
Awoooo!
“…That’s over ten minutes, right?”
“Sounds louder now?”
But as time dragged on—not only refusing to subside, but growing fiercer—the adventurers’ expressions shifted.
Soon, they saw it.
“Head Hector’s gone! No Head Hector or Hectors near the exit anymore!”
9.
Awoooo!
The instant they’d lured Head Hector a full kilometer from the exit, as promised, the adventurers’ mass exodus began.
“Everyone, hide now.”
At the same time, El Pam’s party halted the operation.
They held their breath.
Awoooo!
The snowbound world drowned in the furious howls of the eyeless Head Hector and its Hectors.
Awoooo!
That rage endured a very long time.
Half a day.
Kuhung, kuhung!
Head Hector and the Hectors roamed for a full half day, unleashing rage-filled howls as they hunted for El Pam’s party—the ones who’d stolen their eyes.
Naturally, finding El Pam’s party was impossible.
“Moving out.”
“Now? You sure it’s safe?”
“It’s fine. We’re beyond their scent range.”
“Beyond their scent range? You can figure that out?”
Their quarry was El Pam.
“I can.”
The Last Adventurer, El Pam, never needed long to analyze a monster’s habits once he’d faced it.
And while slaying an analyzed monster was tough, escaping it was a breeze.
The Last Adventurer also meant the adventurer who’d survived by fleeing to the very end.
Awoo!
After half a day passed, Head Hector abandoned the pursuit and returned near the exit.
Not without purpose, though.
Awoooo!
Head Hector took position at the exit, then began summoning every Hector to that spot.
Kuhung, kuhung!
A declaration of intent.
“From now on, Head Hector and the Hectors will stick to the exit area. To keep us from escaping.”
A vow to kill El Pam’s party somehow—the ones who’d blinded it.
A chilling resolve.
“As expected.”
Precisely the resolve El Pam had hoped for.
“The Hector pack’s patrol range will now be a two-kilometer radius around the exit. They won’t stray farther.”
Now it was feasible.
“The perfect setup to grind down their numbers.”
Bit by bit.
The Hector pack was now confined to an invisible pen.
In that scenario, the tactics were straightforward.
“From here, Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph draw their attention as bait.”
Lure them near the pen’s edge.
“Me and Miner snipe them.”
Hunt the lured ones.
Simple tactics—and no one in El Pam’s party raised any objections.
“Boss.”
Just one question.
“What about the leader?”
A boss monster like Head Hector wouldn’t fall easily to this method.
El Pam answered without a moment’s pause.
No need to hesitate.
“Same as before.”
“Before?”
“When the Cold Eye showed up.”
“Ah!”
They had a proven answer.
“Poisoned Cold Beam.”
No more questions after that.
“Even more potent than last time.”
Pure hunting from there.
And the hunt unfolded swiftly.
Kuheng!
“Come at me, you filthy mutts!”
Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph performed their decoy roles flawlessly.
No reason they wouldn’t.
“I’m the polearm hero—Dibo!”
Dibo was a 3rd Circle adventurer, but Jack Lich’s legacy gave him firepower that crushed 4th Circle levels.
The same for Kiri.
Her new unique item bolstered her defenses even further and honed her blade to a razor’s edge.
Ralph was no different.
No—Ralph was overwhelming.
“Blessing Ensemble!” The unique item Blessing Ensemble they’d just acquired!
A 3rd Circle skill that amplified the caster’s power based on the number of buffed party members.
An incredibly vital skill.
Bishops were the party’s frailest link—making one stronger was priceless.
Puk!
“Power surging!”
For Ralph, though, “stronger” meant something explosively different.
At this point, they weren’t just decoys.
Keheng!
Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph’s trio alone handled dozens of charging Hectors with ease.
But it didn’t end there.
Bang!
Kyeng!
Golden Eye Miner—each gunshot from her rang out with a Hector’s death knell.
Bang!
Kyeng!
Without fail.
Miner displayed uncanny marksmanship, putting on a clinic in perfect shots.
“Damn.”
Her feats weren’t all that impressive, though.
“That one’s a real monster.”
El Pam had shown them how it was done.
Puhot!
Two Arrows of Apollo brutally punching through the skulls of the oncoming Hector horde.
A scene of utter domination.
In that way, the thousands-strong Hector pack dwindled rapidly before El Pam’s party.
Until only one remained.
Krrrng!
A single blinded Head Hector.
Hunting that Head Hector was the simplest of all.
Keheng, keheng!
Against El Pam’s Cold Beam—now multiplied in potency by Hydra’s Fangs and Fried’s Ring—the Head Hector lasted less than an hour.
‘As expected.’
Exactly as El Pam had foreseen.
Not everything went perfectly, though.
Kyuu!
As El Pam felled Head Hector, the snail Mano—silent till then in his bosom—stirred.
Toward Head Hector.
And Snail Mano retrieved something.
‘…This, I didn’t see coming.’
An unexpected prize.
But there was no time for awe.
“Boss! Time to head out!”
More work awaited.
10.
It happened abruptly.
“Adventurers are emerging!”
From the 300-man Mystic Gate—playing out under everyone’s scrutiny—adventurers began pouring out.
“Hassan’s party!”
“Rebecca’s party!”
“What the hell? Why’s everyone coming back?”
Not one or two, but hundreds streaming forth.
It didn’t take long to grasp the implications.
“Something went down in there!”
An unimaginable disaster had struck beyond the Mystic Gate.
And word of that disaster spread fast.
“Head Hector? A monster like that was in there?”
“Thousands of Hectors under unified command? How the hell do you beat that?”
“Yellow grade spawns bullshit like this? You’re full of it!”
An unforeseen catastrophe.
“El Pam’s party played bait?”
Yet the adventurers had returned thanks to El Pam’s party’s sacrifice—no one else.
In other words, all were certain.
Sacrifice meant El Pam’s party had met their end beyond the Mystic Gate.
And the instant they died, the portal would vanish, the Mystic Gate with it.
Many lamented that reality.
Not out of sorrow for El Pam’s party’s deaths, of course.
“Damn it—Jack Lich’s legacy, gone just like that!”
“It’s not just Jack Lich’s legacy—five unique items vanishing too!”
“Factor in the uniques already inside that Mystic Gate? This loss is massive!”
The staggering value in uniques lost with El Pam’s party—that was the true regret.
And that regret was why.
“We wasted our time for nothing.”
Surviving adventurers, Hassan’s party included, lingered near the Mystic Gate.
They’d invested heavily, reaped no rewards—only losses.
So they stayed.
“Gotta see it through. Witness the end.”
Only by watching the Mystic Gate vanish could they truly accept the loss.
As those adventurers awaited the finale, they soon witnessed it.
“Huh?”
“Survivors!”
From the portal they’d assumed was sealing shut, five adventurers emerged.
“El Pam’s party!”
The bait—El Pam’s party—had returned.
Thud.
Along with Head Hector’s head.
“The gambling table is over.”