Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Chapter 30. Cactus Desert (3)
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6.
The Adventurer's Association managed the adventurers of Maple World.
And there were more adventurers dissatisfied with the Adventurer's Association than one might think.
The reason was simple.
“What does the Adventurer's Association even do?”
From the adventurers' perspective, they rarely needed any help from the association.
In fact, most adventurers formed parties on their own and went on adventures independently.
The association did periodically provide information, guidelines, and rules for adventurers, but there was almost no enforcement.
However, there were a few cases where the Adventurer's Association took decisive action.
One was judging adventurers who engaged in trolling.
The other was hunting powerful boss-level monsters that appeared throughout Maple World.
Of the two, the association put the most effort into boss monster hunts.
To be precise, that was the very reason the Adventurer's Association had been founded.
To create an organization capable of taking down boss monsters that ordinary adventurers couldn't handle!
Among them, there were a few boss monsters the association was particularly wary of.
Namely, Mushmom, Giant Nependeas, and Deu.
And for good reason—these monsters weren't just strong in their own right, but if left alone, they could upend the local food chain and environment in an instant.
The nightmare incident of the mushroom cloud in Sleepywood, where millions of Mushmoms emerged after one was left unchecked long ago, was a prime example.
Giant Nependeas were the same—if ignored, they devoured adventurers to grow stronger until they became a catastrophe beyond control.
Giant Cactus Deu was the worst of all.
The Adventurer's Association declared:
“Whoever spots a Deu and reports it to the association will receive 1 million mesos on the spot. Immediately.”
No need to kill it.
Just report its existence, and they'd hand over 1 million mesos right then and there.
It was an unprecedented bounty.
In other words, a Deu left alone could turn into a nightmare.
This wasn't mere speculation.
Long ago, a Deu had survived for about three years in Nihal Desert.
Around that Deu, millions of Cactuses had grown.
The adventurer who first discovered the scene said:
“It's a green hell.”
The sight was that horrifying.
For starters, the walking cactus monster Cactus was incredibly powerful on its own.
Unlike mushroom monsters like Orange Mushrooms or Green Mushrooms, cactus monsters had unmatched toughness.
Above all, the spines on their bodies were extremely threatening—practically steel needles.
Getting pricked didn't just sting; it pierced skin and tore off chunks of flesh.
And crucially, the giant cactus monster Deu itself was immensely strong.
Its body was as hard as a golem made of stone, and the spines protruding from it were more like spears than thorns.
To deal with that Deu and its horde of millions of Cactuses, over 10,000 adventurers gathered under the Adventurer's Association.
It was a legend known to every adventurer from Nihal Desert, and they all said:
“There are many scary monsters, but the scariest is a neglected Deu.”
Fear of Deu.
Nor was it limited to Nihal Desert adventurers.
Even those far away on Victoria Island knew how terrifying Deu could be.
The Deu in the place now known as the Cygnus Knights' graveyard, where Oz's disciple had died—that was one such monster.
“Boss.”
That was why.
“What did you just say?”
“Change of plans. We were going to stay here until our time was up, but now we leave in one hour.”
“No, one hour?”
At El Pam's words, even Dibo, who rarely panicked anymore, and the other companions wore incredulous expressions.
“Boss, it's a Deu. Deu! The one that creates green hell!”
In the end, Dibo reacted strongly.
El Pam's statement was that absurd.
“It's not something you can take down in just one hour!”
To that, El Pam replied.
“By my calculations, it would take about three days and thirteen hours.”
“Yes?”
Dibo and his companions tilted their heads at the unexpected answer, and El Pam explained.
“Exactly that. To hunt Deu, you first have to clear the Cactuses around it. That alone takes at least forty-five hours—without engaging Deu directly. Then, hunting Deu itself requires over thirty hours.”
Their heads tilted even more at the incredibly detailed explanation.
“No, Boss? Then how do we take it down in one hour?”
To that question, El Pam showed them.
“Because I have Oz's Necklace.”
7.
“Oz's Necklace?”
Cheryl's expression was shocked at Sezhan's words.
“You mean the Oz's Necklace I know?”
It was inevitable.
“Yes. The one made from the Phoenix's Eye.”
Oz's Necklace, more accurately the Phoenix's Eye, was the item worn by Fire Knight Captain Oz.
Naturally, it was an item of indescribable power, worthy of Oz's personal use.
“It doubles the duration of fire-attribute magic.”
“It's the dream item of every fire-attribute mage.”
Duration doubled—when using fire-attribute magic, its maintenance time doubled.
Someone ignorant might ask what the big deal was, but those in the know reacted differently.
Fire-attribute magic had a duration.
Take Fire Arrow as an example: even if it hit its target, it naturally dissipated after a set time. Unless there was fuel to burn, its continued existence would be the strange thing.
But if the duration doubled? The damage it could inflict would be on another level.
And that wasn't all.
A longer duration also meant greater durability for the fire-attribute magic.
That was why Cheryl was so surprised.
“How could Oz's Necklace end up around that disciple's neck?”
It was incomprehensible that such an extraordinary and valuable item would be on the neck of a disciple who'd only been one for about a year.
An item of that caliber should never have left Fire Knight Captain Oz's possession.
To her question, Sezhan answered.
“It was bait.”
“Bait?”
“While investigating Queen Areleda, there were times I suspected something.”
“What kind of suspicion?”
“That those opposing Queen Areleda were being assassinated in the Mystic Gate. Without fail.”
Cheryl wasn't surprised by that.
Instead, she shot him a look, and Sezhan nodded.
“So Cross Hunters knew as well.”
Cheryl didn't reply.
She just gave him another look.
Sorry I can't tell you.
“No need to apologize. I know the world Cross Hunters face is harsher than the one our Sand Shadow Unit has encountered.”
Sezhan showed no resentment, only a wry smile.
“In any case, we needed to know what it was, and that's when we learned of someone thinking the same as us.”
“That was Oz's disciple?”
“If so, Oz's Necklace wouldn't have been given out.”
“It was Fire Knight Captain Oz herself.”
Only then did Cheryl finally understand the full situation.
Why the Cygnus Knights had mobilized.
Why Oz had given her immensely important necklace to her disciple.
Why the Sand Shadow Unit had made such sacrifices to retrieve the Cygnus Knights' remains.
“We made every preparation.”
And why Sezhan was so certain of El Pam's party's failure.
Only then did Cheryl's expression harden.
“I guarantee it—they're equipped to conquer even a green-grade Mystic Gate.”
Even with every preparation, failure had been their lot. It would be strange if El Pam's party succeeded.
Seeing Cheryl's expression, Sezhan said:
“I acknowledge El Pam's party's skill. They'll likely reach the third floor soon.”
With that, Sezhan closed his eyes.
“That is why I pray for their souls.”
8.
“It's dead.”
Facing the oncoming horde of Cactuses, and the sight beyond that distant swarm, Dibo said again.
“It's dead!”
In Dibo's eyes as he shouted, he saw it.
The colossal cactus monster Deu, forty meters long, toppling forward.
Kwaaang!
As Deu's massive body crashed onto the sand desert, a huge roar erupted, and sand surged up.
It was proof.
Proof that boss monster Deu was a monster of immense hardness and weight, comparable to a golem.
Proof that it was an unbelievably terrifying beast.
Indeed, Deu was a nightmare for other monsters. One swing of its arm or leg was like facing a full-charge elephant for adventurers.
Blocking it was practically impossible.
Yet that Deu was collapsing.
“Boss did it!”
By no one other than El Pam—by his attack.
“In one hour!”
And El Pam had kept his promise to the second.
In truth, it was absurd.
Deu's difficulty came not just from the destructive power of its incredibly tough body, but also from its defense.
That was why it was often compared to a golem—a walking rock, no exaggeration.
Naturally, ordinary magic was meaningless against such a Deu.
Lightning wouldn't pierce rock, nor would poison.
Fire was even more useless.
Or rather, to make fire effective required prolonged, relentless attacks.
That was why.
‘The Phoenix's Eye's effect is definite.’
El Pam had boldly changed all his plans upon obtaining Oz's Necklace this time.
El Pam's fire-attribute magic was already exceptionally powerful.
But the biggest unique aspect of his fire-attribute magic was that he used telekinesis.
Especially the Revolver technique, spinning Fire Arrow with telekinesis!
‘The Revolver's duration has doubled.’
In other words, doubling the fire-attribute magic's duration meant the Revolver's contact time doubled once it hit the enemy.
This was enormous.
Anyone who tried it would know.
Drilling a hole for ten seconds versus twenty—the time difference is double, but the depth is more than that.
‘Even without Cold Beam, I can bore into Deu's body.’
Of course, El Pam had ice-attribute magic with even longer duration, but ice magic's heaviness demanded far more telekinesis, mental power, and mana than fire—impossible to compare.
In any case, the moment fire-attribute magic could penetrate Deu's tough body, El Pam didn't hesitate.
He began the operation.
Fire Arrow, Enhanced Fire Arrow, and even Apollo's Fire Arrow.
Every time cooldowns ended, he cast spells, relentlessly drilling toward Deu's core, its magic stone.
For one hour.
During that hour when his companions drew the attention of the Cactuses and Deu, the operation succeeded.
For El Pam, it was a massive unexpected gain.
But he didn't just rejoice.
Instead, he thought:
‘More than that, Oz's Necklace being here means Fire Knight Captain Oz herself is involved in this incident—not anyone else.’
Baeyos's death was bigger than El Pam had imagined.
Naturally, the aftermath of conquering this place would be greater than he'd thought.
‘It won't end with just one legendary item.’
His calculations would have to change.
It was then.
“Boss!”
His companions, who had been holding aggro for that hour, approached El Pam.
“Amazing!”
All with awestruck expressions.
“You've done well. This was possible thanks to you.”
El Pam gladly expressed his gratitude to them.
“Thanks to us? What did we even do? We just flailed against the Cactuses.”
At El Pam's praise, Dibo and the others smiled.
Thinking it was just kind words.
“No.”
But El Pam's words were far from empty.
Alone, El Pam couldn't have focused solely on hunting Deu for an hour.
And holding off tens of thousands of Cactuses, including Deu, for an hour was no easy feat.
In a harsh desert environment, no less!
Even seasoned adventurers couldn't have lasted ten minutes.
“Thanks to you, it was possible.”
Realizing his repeated words weren't empty, his companions nodded.
“Haha, it's thanks to all that hard training under Boss, right? This was child's play compared to that.”
They smiled even brighter, with newfound confidence.
“So, anything else? We're still full of energy.”
“Good.”
“Yes?”
To his companions, El Pam said:
“Clear the rest of the Cactuses.”
“Cl-clear them?”
Dibo turned in shock, eyeing the still-remaining hundreds of thousands of Cactuses.
“Those?”
El Pam nodded to him and said:
“We have time and strength left, so let's use it all.”
In that moment, the smiles vanished from their lips.
But they smiled again soon after.
Because they understood.
“Yes, no reason to pass up such a great training opportunity.”
That El Pam wasn't just tormenting them—that it was truly for their benefit.
“I'm fine.”
“Yeah, let's finish it off.”
“Kill 'em and we make money too.”
Above all, El Pam's companions believed in themselves.
And rightfully so.
They'd held out for an hour with Deu alive—without it, holding longer was easy.
“Four of us should handle it no problem.”
El Pam knew that too.
So he said:
“Now hunt individually.”
“Individually?”
“Hunting in a group won't train you. It has to hurt to count as training.”
With those words, hell began.
That hell ended two days later.
El Pam's party exited.