Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: 27. Human Hunter (5)
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12.
Prince's Tomb, second floor.
What awaited the adventurers there was a dense jungle and a suffocating silence.
That silence was far from welcoming to the adventurers.
It was only natural.
This was the Mystic Gate, a world where monsters targeted entrants.
Yet it was silent?
That meant no signs of monsters approaching, no hint of their presence.
Shii!
"Nependeath, huh."
The cause of the silence on this second floor of the Prince's Tomb was none other than the plant monster, Nependeath.
To adventurers, it was a monster akin to a nightmare.
As the name suggested, Nependeath was a flower.
A massive flower with sharp teeth that bit down on prey with full force when it drew near.
Its power could chew through ordinary steel.
Of course, in monster-filled Mystic Gates of Yellow rank and above, plenty of monsters wielded that level of power.
Suuu...
But Nependeath was silent.
It was a flower, after all.
Flowers didn't make sounds, and even if they rustled, it was just the jungle's ambient noise.
Impossible to detect its presence until you saw it.
And this was a jungle.
Every sound was indistinguishable from Nependeath's own.
"Lucky us."
Yet before that sight, Dibo and the rest of El Pam's party let out sighs of relief.
It wasn't empty bravado.
Everyone knew Nependeath was a real pain.
"No boss fight this time."
But for El Pam's party without El Pam, the biggest headache was large-scale battles.
Nependeath, on the other hand, could be bypassed without combat if you pinpointed its locations and found the next exit.
Of course, it wasn't easy.
"We learned how to deal with Nependeath."
Still, El Pam's party was confident because they knew the strategy.
"From the boss."
El Pam had taught them strategies for Nependeath and other unique monsters.
Whenever time allowed.
Countless times.
And not just casually.
El Pam taught thoroughly, to a level that would drive ordinary adventurers mad.
That was why.
Suu!
"Nependeath over there."
El Pam's party could tackle the second floor of the Prince's Tomb swiftly, even without him.
No issues arose.
No real fights, either.
Of course, it wasn't relaxing.
Silently slipping past without battle was, in some ways, harder than fighting.
"The boss'll be fine, right?"
Among them, the biggest worry was El Pam.
"Better off than us, I'd bet."
They knew El Pam's capabilities.
"Yeah. No threat to him from average adventurers."
"Adventurers are no problem. It's the Hassashins."
But the Hassashins complicated and chilled their minds.
"We can't even gauge what they are."
All they knew about the Hassashins was one thing: they were Maple World's top assassin guild.
That made it worse.
Impossible to picture El Pam fighting Hassashins they didn't understand.
In the end, only one thing to trust.
"If the boss said so, he has a way to handle the Hassashins, right?"
13.
Day two.
'All adventurers hunted.'
The time El Pam took to clear every adventurer from the first floor of the Prince's Tomb.
'Only Hassashins left.'
Except for the Hassashins.
At this point, El Pam hadn't eliminated a single one.
No surprise there.
'Impressive as expected.'
The Hassashins' long-standing fame as the Nihal Desert's top assassins wasn't just luck.
Despite the enemies and grudges typical of assassin guilds, they remained the best thanks to unique organization and superior skill.
'Perfectly concealed their presence.'
Their greatest ability was stealth.
'Dark Sight skill.'
Enabled by the thief skill, Dark Sight.
The skill itself wasn't special.
A 1st Circle thief skill that hid you in shadows.
And honestly, not that useful.
'Hides your form in shadows, that's it.'
It only concealed appearance, not traces.
Sounds, smells remained.
That's why.
'But when Hassashins use it, it's different.'
What made Hassashins the best.
'No sound, no scent.'
Born with talent and honed through special training, they were colorless, odorless beings.
'At advanced levels, they walk desert sands without footprints.'
Even moving fast, their sounds were hard to pinpoint.
'Unless it's enclosed.'
He'd sensed Hassashins during that chat with the Kasha Prince because it was a sealed room.
No matter how elite, limited spaces exposed them somewhat.
In a place like this, full of scents and noises, detecting them was impossible.
'Can't find them.'
Even for El Pam.
'Not with透视 either.'
With his abilities, locating Hassashins who'd fully committed to hiding was impossible.
Obvious he couldn't hunt what he couldn't see.
Of course, El Pam hadn't come unprepared.
'No issue.'
He had a solid counter.
'That's why I settled it on the first floor.'
That was why El Pam was on the first floor.
'Time to start.'
Naturally, El Pam played his prepared card.
14.
Day six.
"The exit."
Dibo's group, who'd entered the second floor, found the path to the third—the final stage.
Incredibly fast progress.
Even beyond what Dibo's group expected.
"The markers were spot on."
They'd found the exit so quickly thanks to markers left by those ahead.
Clear and accurate markers.
Rare in Mystic Gates.
Most entrants who left traces had specific goals.
Adventurers rarely bothered.
Markers were for the next wave after your death—some saw it as pointless.
That's why these were precise.
"Fitting for the Prince's Tomb."
In the Prince's Tomb, successors would inevitably seek the prince's remains if he died.
Indeed, follow-ups had come; traces everywhere made sense.
"And yet they all died on the third floor."
Meaning they'd safely conserved strength through the second floor, only to meet death on the third.
The door before them led to hell.
"Alright, decision time."
Now, with just four left, Dibo's group had to choose.
"Go in, or not?"
Enter without El Pam, or wait.
Common sense said wait for El Pam.
Higher survival odds.
"Just to be clear, the boss told us to keep pushing."
But El Pam had never ordered them to stop at the second floor.
Maybe he hadn't expected such speed, but it didn't matter.
El Pam was their leader; if he said push, they pushed.
Of course, if life mattered more, waiting was best.
That's why.
"Without the boss, it's majority vote."
Dibo asked for opinions.
"Simple show of hands. Who wants in?"
Everyone showed theirs.
Dibo, Kiri, and Miner raised hands.
Willing to face death following the leader.
Only Ralph held back.
"Want to scout the second floor more."
"Scout? Why?"
Simple reason.
"Might be valuables worth money. Nependeath ain't easy pickings."
Chance for more loot.
That was it.
"Hey, the prince is worth more. Golden Elephant reward at minimum."
Dibo's retort made Ralph nod and raise his hand.
All agreed to follow El Pam's order.
No surprise.
"Not even a second thought? Even if we might die?"
" Lives the boss saved. Orders are absolute."
"If the leader says go, we go. Highest survival rate that way."
El Pam had proven his prowess.
Of course, they knew.
"Alright, prep to die, everyone."
The other side was truly dangerous.
Death anytime wouldn't shock.
No hesitation, though.
"One, two, three, we go. No sudden 'wait, stop!' lame crap midway. Got it? Here we go. One, two..."
As Dibo stepped toward the exit.
"Wait."
"Aw, come on! Who said that lame shit—huh?"
Then he appeared.
"Boss?"
El Pam revealed himself.
Everyone turned, staring in shock.
El Pam looked serene.
Disconcertingly so.
"Boss? When did you get here?"
"Entered the second floor a bit ago."
"A bit ago?"
"About thirty minutes."
They were more shocked.
The path they'd taken days to traverse, in thirty minutes?
"Thanks to the markers you left."
They'd marked for him, but thirty minutes meant sprinting.
Through Nependeath-infested jungle?
Hard to believe.
The hardest part?
"Wait, you took out everyone?"
El Pam had slain that massive enemy force to reach them.
"The Hassashins too?"
Even including Hassashins?
"Couldn't get the Hassashins."
"Huh?"
His answer shocked them again.
"Couldn't catch them?"
"Not a single one. Once they hide in the field, finding them's near impossible."
Chilling words.
Surviving Hassashins were targeting their necks right now.
'The boss struggles too?'
Even El Pam couldn't handle them—more chilling for his comrades.
'Dangerous.'
A nightmare scenario.
Yet no one voiced the dread.
"The second I see those bastards, I'll smash their heads with this polearm. Don't worry!"
"Yeah. With five of us, it'll be way easier."
"Gun time. Watch me punch holes in those Hassashin skulls."
"Hassashins carry big money, right?"
They voiced confidence gladly, and El Pam replied to his comrades.
"No matter. They can't reach the second floor anyway."
"Huh? What do you mean? Can't come to the second?"
"What makes Hassashins scary is hiding in shadows with Dark Sight. But there's a moment they can't use it."
"Moment? Oh!"
"Right, the instant they cross to the second floor, they're defenseless."
Why El Pam had fought on the first.
"Plus, my comrades were already active on the second."
Sending Dibo and the others ahead was the same ploy.
Chasing El Pam to the second meant huge risk—especially with his team beyond?
Complicated math for Hassashins.
"Even to the second, not third—too risky."
And entering the second wasn't the end.
El Pam knew one more factor.
"Luckily, it's Nependeath here."
'Though I knew already.'
Nependeath was Hassashins' worst nightmare.
Hide in shadows? If Nependeath was near, it'd bite anyway.
El Pam's calculation.
Of course, he knew.
"Eventually, time will make them move."
All this was just buying time.
And that sufficed.
"So we'll clear the third before then."
With that, El Pam stepped toward the third floor.