Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 23. Ariant Kingdom (1)
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069
When murmurs arose around the Mystic Gate, the adventurers waiting in their nearby tents thought to themselves.
“It’s finally over.”
The Mystic Gate’s portal must have vanished.
That’s why the commotion.
Naturally, everyone got up from their seats and headed toward the Mystic Gate.
To put a period on it all.
Thud!
“The gamble’s over.”
But what they saw instead was El Pam and the head of Head Hector—the nightmare that had tormented them.
At that moment, the gathered adventurers froze in place.
Not a single one dared to open their mouth.
No one could have even imagined such a sight.
The one who broke the silence was Dibo.
Crash!
Dibo casually smashed a pebble on the ground with the butt end of his polearm.
“What are you all doing? We have a deal. Huh? Yeah? You bet in the gamble, and you lost, so pay up!”
Only then did the adventurers snap out of it.
Their faces hardened.
Proof that realization had dawned.
‘Two Uniques each…’
Every party except those who hadn’t joined the gamble now had to hand over not one, but two Unique items to El Pam’s party, as promised.
And this was different from the five Unique items they’d paid El Pam’s party before.
Back then, El Pam had specified.
He’d only take ones usable right away—Unique items for 3rd Circle or below.
But now, no such conditions applied.
Whether 4th Circle or higher, or just sitting in inventory, El Pam’s party could pick whatever they wanted.
That was no small matter.
‘We’re done for.’
The financial loss was one thing, but the weight of Unique items in an adventurer party was immeasurable.
They were the benchmark for a party’s value and their greatest asset.
Losing two of them?
Forget the money—it devalued the party’s worth on the spot.
That was why.
‘No way.’
The adventurers who’d come to their senses now glared with murderous intent.
Their eyes said it all.
They wouldn’t hand them over quietly.
They’d flip the whole gamble if needed.
Even if it meant bloodshed.
El Pam’s party wasn’t blind to the menace in those eyes. Far from it—they caught it instantly.
“Oh? Eyes hardening up, are we?”
But Dibo didn’t back down.
No reason to.
From Dibo’s view, these adventurers who’d fled in fear of Head Hector and Hector were just pathetic.
Nor was it just Dibo.
“Yeah, everyone’s got fire in their eyes.”
“Keep your promise.”
Miner and Kiri had no intention of yielding either, nor any reason to.
Of course, Ralph was the most resolute.
He said nothing noteworthy.
Crack!
He just cracked his knuckles.
And that was the most intimidating.
Just looking at Ralph, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call him the strongest adventurer there.
Of course, that didn’t mean the others cowered easily.
They couldn’t afford to.
‘Backing down means we’re finished.’
Losing two Unique items would end their adventurer lives anyway.
No way they’d go down without a fight.
That was when it happened.
“Instead of Unique items.”
In that tense atmosphere, El Pam spoke up.
“I’ll take mesos.”
He made an offer.
“30 million mesos each, 60 million per party.”
60 million mesos!
An astronomical sum.
For most adventurers, an amount too vast to even comprehend.
That was why.
‘60 million mesos?’
The adventurers, ready to fight to the death, started weighing their options the moment they heard it.
‘It’s not an amount we can’t pay.’
These weren’t ordinary adventurers.
Still, it was a fortune.
A fortune they couldn’t part with lightly!
El Pam knew it too.
‘They can pay, but not without hesitation.’
That’s why he offered 30 million. Any higher, and negotiation would be impossible.
Of course, El Pam knew.
The true value of the Unique items he could claim exceeded 30 million mesos.
But that price only mattered if he could actually get them.
Not worth the blood to seize them here.
‘Nothing I can’t obtain elsewhere.’
Crucially, El Pam had already used Appraisal to scout their inventories.
‘Nothing Legendary-grade.’
Plenty of good stuff, but no Legendary items he craved.
In that case, a fair compromise was best.
‘They won’t hand it over easily, though.’
Even so, he didn’t expect instant acceptance of his figure.
So El Pam added.
“Handle the deposits through the Gapor Merchant Group.”
Do everything via Gapor Merchant Group.
“I’m with Gapor Merchant Group.”
At that, the adventurers’ killing intent vanished.
The negotiation was over.
And the Mystic Gate conquest was over.
All that remained was one thing.
“El Pam’s party conquered the 300-man gate!”
The news spreading!
2.
“El Pam’s party conquered the 300-man gate!”
Everyone was stunned by the news.
“El Pam’s party?”
And for good reason—most had rated El Pam’s party the least likely to succeed.
Betting on them in the gamble would’ve gotten you called insane.
“How? They’re just a 3rd Circle party?”
“That’s not the point. They say a gamble broke out inside!”
“A gamble?”
“A gamble betting two Unique items each on the boss monster!”
“Crazy! So how much did that turn into?”
“It’s not about the money—think about it. El Pam’s party dominated that gamble! They had confidence!”
“Ah!”
No one could stay unmoved by the ensuing rumors.
The Gapor Merchant Group was among them.
When Rakan heard the news via Evis, even he was shocked.
He’d had some expectations, sure.
That’s why he’d sent El Pam’s party into the 300-man Mystic Gate.
“Does this even make sense?”
But this outcome was beyond even Rakan’s wildest predictions.
That was why.
When Evis brought the news, a heavy silence blanketed Rakan and Evis’s office.
Creak!
The silence broke with the door opening—and a man’s entrance.
A middle-aged man so gaunt he could pass for a skeleton.
The moment he entered, Rakan shot to his feet and bowed deeply.
Only one person in Gapor Merchant Group could make Rakan bow like that.
“Master Gapor.”
Gapor, owner of Gapor Merchant Group!
“What brings you here?”
Gapor was also the most secretive among the top ten merchant group leaders.
The reason was simple.
Gapor Merchant Group had racked up the most grudges among the top ten.
So orders usually came through proxies or other means.
Direct visits were rare.
In other words, a personal appearance meant no ordinary matter.
“El Pam.”
And if he came in person now, the reason was clear.
“That adventurer has his uses.”
3.
“Boss, if we head to Lith now, our popularity’s gonna be off the charts, right?”
Dibo looked more excited than ever on the way back to the harbor city.
It was only natural.
What El Pam’s party had achieved this time was far more explosive than anyone had imagined.
It wasn’t just clearing a tough challenge.
In the adventurer world, even great feats often went unrecognized or yielded little reward.
Proving them to the world was hard, and tougher adventures meant greater losses.
But this adventure was different.
“Kuuh! El Pam’s party—the ones who crushed those mighty adventurers from Nihal Desert and Elnas Mountains!”
It came with a title bigger than any other exploit.
“Well, being from there didn’t make them all that great anyway.”
Victoria Island was rated the easiest spot in Maple World.
For a Victoria Island party like El Pam’s to beat adventurers from Nihal Desert or Elnas Mountains?
Their reputation was bound to shift.
“Treatment’s gonna change now, right?”
El Pam knew it too.
“From now on, Gapor himself will take interest in us.”
“Yeah, right. Gapor taking interest. Wait—what? Who’s taking interest?”
“Gapor, the head of Gapor Merchant Group.”
Gapor himself would now focus on El Pam.
“F-For real?”
Dibo was stunned.
And rightly so.
A merchant group head taking interest meant recognition as a core adventurer.
It meant top-tier treatment.
“It’d be weirder if he didn’t.”
To El Pam, it was the obvious next step.
“We’re in the same boat now, like it or not.”
Beyond El Pam’s skills, the world could no longer separate El Pam’s party from Gapor Merchant Group.
‘If we fail, it’s Gapor Merchant Group’s failure too.’
For Gapor Merchant Group, they now had to show interest if only to save face.
‘Right on plan.’
And this tie-up was exactly what El Pam wanted.
‘To the Black Mage’s followers, I’ll look like Gapor Merchant Group’s pawn from here on.’
For El Pam, Gapor Merchant Group would serve as an excellent shield.
But El Pam knew.
‘How long it’ll hold is anyone’s guess.’
If the Black Mage’s followers moved in earnest, Gapor Merchant Group wouldn’t last easily.
Far from easily—El Pam knew.
If they truly committed, Gapor Merchant Group could crumble by tomorrow.
‘The Black Mage’s followers can’t move freely now. They have bigger priorities than some merchant group.’
They just couldn’t go all-out yet.
So he had to move first.
“That’s why, Boss, don’t you think it’s time to swim in deeper waters? How about leaving Victoria Island for the wider Maple World?”
“Exactly. Next stop: Ariant.”
El Pam’s next destination was Ariant Kingdom.
“As expected of Boss… Huh?”
Dibo, brimming with confidence, suddenly changed expression.
“Y-You’re really going to Ariant?”
His big-talk was just bravado.
Ariant Kingdom lay in Nihal Desert—a brutal proving ground for adventurers in itself.
A far cry from Victoria Island’s mushrooms.
Burden after burden.
El Pam knew.
‘It deviates from the original plan.’
He had business in Nihal Desert, but had planned to head there later.
‘Not anymore.’
Not after the 300-man Mystic Gate—after hunting Head Hector and checking the items from his corpse.
‘Helios’s Necklace, of all things.’
The item was none other than Helios’s Necklace!
An item El Pam knew well.
‘To think the thing I’d sought so long falls into my hands like this.’
Perfectly.
So El Pam didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah, we’re going to Ariant.”
He reaffirmed the destination.
And with conviction.
“Gapor Merchant Group will want it too.”
His companions tilted their heads at that.
“Gapor Merchant Group? They’ve got no ties to Ariant Kingdom.”
Gapor Merchant Group operated out of Victoria Island.
Sending a core adventurer to Ariant Kingdom with zero connections?
“They’ll probably try to stop us. What if we die there? Disaster.”
“Exactly. They’ll block the trip to Ariant.”
“More weird talk.”
“We get meal expenses if we go, right?”
The others couldn’t make sense of it either.
El Pam didn’t bother explaining.
It’d be hard to anyway—and the moment they arrived in Lith Harbor, no explanation was needed.
They’d see for themselves upon arrival in Lith.
“It’s Gapor.”
Gapor, head of Gapor Merchant Group, faced El Pam’s party and said.
“Care to head to Ariant Kingdom?”