Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 008
Chapter Title: 3. Hero Slayer (1)
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1.
Circle.
The most basic ability required for adventurers in the Maple World to use skills embedded in items.
The more circles one had, the more powerful they became, so all adventurers resorted to every means possible to increase their number.
“Thickening a circle can be done by consuming mana stones.”
Thickening a circle itself wasn’t difficult.
You just had to consume the mana stones dropped by monsters.
Of course, it didn’t work just by eating any mana stone.
Mana stones varied in grade depending on the monster’s level. There were seven grades, from red to violet.
For a 1st Circle, any mana stone worked, but for a 2nd Circle, you needed at least an orange-grade one to see any effect.
Even then, mana stones from regular monsters required enormous quantities to make a difference.
Despite that, most didn’t find the process difficult.
It had a clear end in sight.
“However, advancing to a higher circle—circle-up—can only be done through one thing: your own talent.”
The real issue was the wall of circle-up at that end.
“Well, there are items for it.”
Sure, there were a few items that could force you through that wall, but they were meaningless.
“There aren’t many people in the Maple World rich enough to buy them—you could count them on one hand.”
Their value was beyond words.
In the end, there was only one way to circle-up.
Talent!
Even that talent alone wasn’t enough to guarantee success.
“Even if you have the talent to reach 6th Circle, without effort and enlightenment, you won’t even make it to 3rd Circle.”
Circle-up was incredibly difficult.
The same went for El Pam.
The number of circles he had ultimately achieved was eight.
That was practically the final realm anyone could reach.
As mentioned, thickening circles required mana stones, and for 7th Circle, only violet-grade ones had any effect.
The problem was there was nothing after that.
In a state of 8th Circle, there were effectively no mana stones that could reinforce it further.
El Pam had reached that 8th Circle.
A realm where he could face transcendents, proof of his talent to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Six Heroes.
But it hadn’t come easily.
It was only possible after immense effort, experience, and fateful encounters over a long time.
In other words, El Pam already had the experience.
That was why.
‘It’s 2nd Circle.’
The moment El Pam devoured the mana stones Chev had, standing at the boundary between 1st and 2nd Circle—he ascended to 2nd Circle in one go.
An astonishing achievement.
‘Even for me, with my immense talent, it took half a year after opening my 1st Circle to reach 2nd Circle.’
Even El Pam, born with incredible talent, hadn’t achieved 2nd Circle that quickly in his past life.
And the gains didn’t end there.
‘Chev and his crew had plenty on them too.’
Before returning to the past, he’d gained nothing from this Mystic Gate, but this time was different.
‘If I liquidate it all, I’ll get at least 100,000 mesos.’
Chev’s party, who’d been preying on rookies, had accumulated far more wealth than their skill warranted.
One million mesos—for El Pam, who needed to buy his freedom—was a substantial haul in its own right.
But the biggest payoff El Pam anticipated was something else.
‘Definitely two of them.’
A clear, standout result had emerged.
Exactly as it sounded.
El Pam now had an outcome that stood out starkly to the eye.
‘Time to renegotiate the contract again.’
Now it was time to leverage it.
2.
“El Pam came back alive?”
The moment he received the report, Evis’s expression hardened.
“Rookie hunters?”
The report itself was shocking.
But his grim look wasn’t because of rookie hunters.
Honestly, to Evis, rookie hunters were no different from slightly larger bugs you’d see on the roadside.
They might make you grimace if you spotted one, but they didn’t evoke any real emotion.
He regarded them that lightly.
Nor did he care what rookie hunters got up to.
“And inside was a Gold Slime?”
“Yes.”
“Then all the items must’ve melted...”
The real problem was that the Mystic Gate’s boss monster was a Gold Slime.
“And El Pam came out alive...”
Decisively, no one could enter that Mystic Gate anymore.
That was why Evis’s face had stiffened.
It was a surprisingly big deal.
Beyond that Mystic Gate lay at least twenty items, and now they’d vanished overnight.
“There’s no way he killed the Gold Slime.”
If he’d at least salvaged the Gold Slime’s mana stone, it might’ve been different, but that was pure luck—like picking up an item off the street.
So Evis let out a sigh.
‘Of all things, he survives. Damn slave, just good luck.’
If El Pam had died there, the Mystic Gate would’ve remained intact.
Sure, the items inside would still be gone, but that was secondary.
What mattered now was that Evis had lost a Mystic Gate of immense value.
‘The loss is catastrophic.’
This meant the damage was on him—his responsibility.
Worst-case scenario in every way.
“Um...”
As Evis mulled this over, the employee spoke up.
“He caught it.”
“What?”
“El Pam. He killed the Gold Slime.”
3.
“Yes, I did.”
As El Pam spoke, Evis unwittingly blinked.
That was a mistake.
Showing his emotions bare in a negotiation with an adventurer disqualified him as a merchant.
In other words, the shock to Evis was that profound.
“You caught it?”
In front of the stunned Evis, El Pam showed his left wrist.
The wrist wrapped with two black lines.
‘2nd Circle.’
Proof.
Proof that El Pam had slain the Gold Slime beyond the Mystic Gate and consumed its mana stone.
Of course, it wasn’t ironclad proof.
Mana stones were freely traded goods—not something you could only get from killing a Gold Slime.
But common sense dictated: would El Pam, who until days ago had been bait slave due to debt, buy mana stones to reinforce his circles?
Even if he had, circle-up was a separate matter. It meant innate talent.
‘Not an ordinary guy.’
In summary, El Pam was no ordinary adventurer.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Evis pull himself together.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat.
“Impressive. In all my time in this business, I’ve never seen an adventurer reach 2nd Circle this quickly.”
He started with praise.
While racking his brains.
‘I need to snag him.’
To Evis, El Pam was a promising talent incomparable to the riffraff adventurers.
So he deliberated.
‘If he’s not an idiot, he knows his own worth.’
Riffraff could be handled with a silver tongue, but not this El Pam.
‘Three years as bait slave is like three years in hell.’
That was why.
“I’ve seen cases where someone opens their first circle and jumps straight to 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th Circle. But going from 1st to 2nd in just days? First time I’ve seen it. Remarkable. Exceptional ability.”
Evis didn’t resort to cheap tricks.
He acknowledged it.
“At this level, we could contract you as a D-Rank adventurer.”
Then made an offer.
“And if you work with me, I’ll treat you as a C-Rank adventurer.”
An extraordinary proposal.
Normally, 1st Circle adventurers got F- to E-Rank treatment, and 2nd Circle got D-Rank.
C-Rank adventurers were, naturally, 3rd Circle.
The gap between C-Rank and D-Rank was immeasurable. Out of a hundred D-Rank adventurers, maybe one made C-Rank—the difference was that vast.
“Of course, I can’t give you full C-Rank privileges. But I’ll provide commensurate benefits.”
Evis couldn’t arbitrarily grant C-Rank status to a 2nd Circle adventurer like El Pam, but offering this much was still a groundbreaking deal.
‘Just as I expected.’
That was exactly what El Pam had aimed for.
“Thank you.”
Treatment different from before.
“I’ll work hard from now on.”
“A man who listens. I like that.”
Seeing El Pam like this, Evis now let out a hearty laugh and nodded.
‘To think I’ve landed such a valuable piece.’
Of course, at this moment, Evis saw El Pam as just another disposable tool to use and discard.
‘The look of someone who’s just acquired a prized pawn.’
El Pam knew it too.
But he didn’t put much stock in it. They were using each other, after all.
So El Pam focused on the moment.
“Since we’re on the same page, I’ll show you some prime requests. Wait here a sec.”
As Evis finished speaking and tapped his desk twice, an employee entered. Evis held up one finger, the employee nodded, and left promptly.
Moments later, the employee returned.
With a hefty stack of documents.
Thud!
The stack landed in front of El Pam.
Requests.
“D-Rank adventurer requests—the best ones among them. Repaying a million mesos will be a breeze.”
Requests with hefty rewards.
Of course, “hefty” didn’t impress El Pam much.
‘I need money.’
He wasn’t above needing money. In a way, El Pam was the adventurer who needed it most right now.
‘But pocket change like this is meaningless.’
To buy what he truly wanted, he needed an enormous sum of mesos.
‘To get that, I’d have to raid Phantom’s warehouse.’
Phantom, one of the heroes who sealed the Black Mage and reputed as the Maple World’s richest man, as a phantom thief. Selling items from his warehouse was El Pam’s only shot.
Above all, El Pam knew.
‘These here are all junk.’
The truly prime requests, the critical ones, never came his way.
It made sense.
‘Evis is still testing me.’
He wouldn’t entrust a crucial, no-fail deal—one that could cost him his neck—to El Pam.
But that’s exactly what El Pam needed.
‘Soon, the Red-grade 100-man gate raid will start.’
He knew in particular.
‘The gate where promising adventurers at 2nd Circle or below from Lisport’s merchant groups and guilds compete.’
A massive event to heat up Victoria Island’s adventurers.
He needed Evis’s full trust before then.
And clearing these minor requests would take far too long to earn it.
‘Time is more precious than life.’
For El Pam, short on time, it was utterly unacceptable.
So he didn’t hesitate.
‘An adventurer’s value is one thing only.’
No reason to.
‘Accomplishing adventures no one else can.’
The answer was clear.
“Evis.”
So El Pam spoke.
“I have a request.”
Evis replied.
“Anything. Speak.”
With a smirk of derision.
“Lend me some money.”
“What?”
But at El Pam’s words, the smirk on Evis’s face began to falter.
Of course, Evis quickly regained his smile.
It was a sudden request, but not a shocking one.
The Gapor Merchant Group’s specialty was lending money and collecting it back.
And Evis excelled at it, which was how he’d become executive Rakan’s right-hand man.
“Fine. How much do you need?”
To the now-composed Evis, El Pam said.
“One million mesos.”