abcnovels
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 32: Evil Eye (3)
6.
Upon realizing the presence of the Evil Eye, the six parties scattered without hesitation.
Each team opted to engage in combat independently.
This was a logical decision.
“It’s better for each of us to hunt solo than to risk a clumsy party play.”
Any adventuring party that had reached this point had their own unique approach.
“If we all gather, the Evil Eye will too.”
Furthermore, dispersing was necessary to divide the monsters.
Of course, this was the primary motivation.
“And there’s no need to worry about item distribution.”
The rule of thumb in the adventurer’s world was that the person who defeated the monster kept the loot.
However, if everyone collaborated to defeat the Evil Eye, there would inevitably be complications in distributing the items.
This was understandable because it was impossible to accurately determine who struck the final blow in the midst of a fierce battle.
Of course, Magic Stones could be divided based on individual contributions and performance.
“Especially the valuable items.”
The issue arose when items could not be divided.
In any case, everyone dispersed.
And shortly after scattering, all the parties encountered the Evil Eye without exception.
Alas!
“Evil Eyes!”
A swarm of Evil Eyes, resembling lizards, clung to the trees, glaring at the adventurers.
The hunt commenced immediately.
Archers or mages typically initiated such battles.
“Piercing Shot!”
“Energy Bolt!”
Arrows and magic were unleashed towards the Evil Eyes clinging to the trees.
Kwah-jik!
However, landing a hit was no easy feat.
Even seasoned adventurers found it challenging to target the swiftly moving Evil Eyes perched on the trees.
Of course, the individuals gathered here were such seasoned professionals.
“Piercing Shot!”
“Energy Bolt!”
After gauging the distance with their first attack, the archer and mage followed up with a second, allowing them to adapt to the Evil Eyes’ movement patterns and gain an edge.
Kii-yahhh!
By the third attack, the chilling screams of the Evil Eyes could be heard.
“They’re falling!”
And the Evil Eyes plummeted to the ground.
This was the beginning.
“Stick them!”
Against the Evil Eyes with their remarkable regenerative abilities, magical arrows and archer’s arrows could barely inflict significant damage.
“Slaughter them all!”
In the end, there was only one thing left to do: mercilessly butcher and crush them to the point where the concept of regeneration became irrelevant.
This is where the warriors shone.
With longswords, polearms, or warhammers in hand, they aimed to mercilessly dismantle the Evil Eyes’ bodies.
Mages also played their part.
“Flame Orb!”
Flame Orbs, fireballs that caused a powerful explosion upon contact, were highly effective against monsters like Evil Eyes.exclamation
Kii-yahhh!
The sounds of Evil Eyes being hunted echoed from all directions.
In other words, the Evil Eye hunters possessed all the aforementioned elements.
Archers or mages with exceptional accuracy who could knock Evil Eyes out of the sky from a distance.
Skilled warriors who could mercilessly slaughter the fallen Evil Eyes.
And mages who could accurately hurl Flame Orbs, explosive bombs, at Evil Eyes entangled with melee dealers.
Even a bishop who tirelessly supported everyone.
They had all the necessary elements.
That was why.
‘Hunting Evil Eyes won’t be easy with this party’s strength.’
Ralph had agreed to El Paume’s wager because.
‘There are too many holes.’
The immediate elements were apparent.
There were only Dibo and Kiri as warriors, and even then, they were only 1st and 2nd Circle.
Of course, El Paume was different.
Ralph wasn’t a fool.
‘He survived 3 years as a bait slave. And he grew at an incredible rate as soon as he became an adventurer.’
He had done some research on El Paume.
‘There are rumors that he has a backer, so he must have a decent amount of items.’
He knew that he was no ordinary person.
That’s why Kania Top had offered such a high sum as a deposit.
But that was it.
‘Even if he’s great, he’s just a mage. And he’s just barely reached 3rd Circle.’
So Ralph smiled.
‘In my estimation, they can kill thirty at most in an hour. So, that’s 70 monsters at 100,000 mesos per monster… I guess he’s paying a high price for his pride.’
A smile for the incredible amount of mesos he was about to earn.
Kii-yahhh!
At that moment, the Evil Eye’s screech echoed, and El Paume chanted a spell towards it.
“Fire Arrow.”
An unremarkable spell.
“Magic Acceleration.”
And the spell that made it special.
7.
Mage adventurers each had their innate attributes.
Among them, the most common was the Fire attribute.
About 4 out of 10 mage adventurers were Fire attribute mages.
The main spells used by these Fire attribute mages varied depending on their circle level.
1st Circle used Fire Arrow, 2nd Circle used Flame Orb.
The reason they were called main spells wasn’t just because they were common.
They were the most useful out of all the spells.
And when adventurers spoke of usefulness, they meant it was powerful.
Furthermore, the three spells had different roles.
For one, Fire Arrow was perfect for keeping monsters in check. It was easy to use and had decent power.
In the case of Flame Orb, it could deal powerful damage. It could also hit a fairly wide area.
However, this alone would not be enough to hunt monsters.
That is why the passive skill was the one that attracted attention.
A skill that enhances skills just by wearing an item!
For mages, it was Magic Acceleration.
The effect of this skill was simple.
The power and speed of magic increased the moment it was used.
For example, if a Fire Arrow pierced a target, a Fire Arrow under the effect of Magic Acceleration would tear the target apart.
In addition, unlike active skills that are activated, passive skills did not require additional casting or anything like that.
“Magic Acceleration.”
It was enough to just cast a spell when wearing the item.
After that, the effect of the skill remained valid until the item was removed. Even when eating or sleeping.
That’s why Ralph wasn’t surprised when El Paume pulled out that spell.
On the contrary, it was within his expectations.
‘It seems he’s confident in his accuracy.’
A great mage wasn’t a mage who cast powerful spells.
No matter how powerful a spell was, such as Meteor that summoned a meteorite from the sky, or Blizzard that made ice spears fall from the sky, it was meaningless if it didn’t hit the enemy.
In other words, being able to hit well was the greatest virtue of a mage.
‘A Fire Arrow enhanced by Magic Acceleration would have the power to tear an Evil Eye apart in one shot.’
From that perspective, pulling out Magic Acceleration was not a strange choice if he could just hit it.
Of course, there were clear limitations.
‘But there’s no way a mage who’s just reached 3rd Circle can handle it properly.’
First of all, the enhanced Fire Arrow skill was not easy to handle as it was strong and fast.
To give a simple example, it was like riding a fast horse. It wasn’t all good because it was fast and strong. On the contrary, it would be more difficult to handle.
‘The mana consumption is also high.’
Decisively, the mana consumption also increased as the power increased.
Which meant that even if he hit well, the limit was still clear, so Ralph didn’t worry.
Kii-yahhh!
‘Oh?’
At that moment, the sound of an Evil Eye’s cry made the smile that had been on Ralph’s lips disappear.
Ralph turned his head.
“This is bad.”
The moment he saw the dozens of eyeballs that came into view, Ralph shouted.
“Danger!”
Now was not the time to gamble.
However, El Paume did not respond to his words.
There was no need to.
Swish!
Instead, he began to move the Fire Arrow, a larger and faster fireball with the effect of the Magic Acceleration skill.
At first, it flew straight.
Kii-yahhh!
Towards the Evil Eye letting out a chilling roar, it flew accurately, accurately, and in one breath, it dug into the Evil Eye’s huge eye and pierced its body.
It was an incredible accuracy.
However, Ralph wasn’t surprised.
There were at least thirty Evil Eyes in sight, as far as he could see!
It was no time to be concerned with killing just one.
“We have to escape!”
No, in the first place, there was no need for the battle itself.
“One.”
In response to that cry, El Paume said.
“Two.”
Ralph’s face contorted in anger at that response.
What nonsense was he talking about in this urgent situation?
“Three.”
“Are you crazy?”
But El Paume continued to count, even in the face of Ralph’s furious expression.
“Five, six, seven.”
Ralph no longer felt anger at El Paume’s number game.
“Ah.”
I see.
“Eight, nine.”
The bodies of the Evil Eyes began to fall as El Paume’s countdown continued.
At that moment, there was only one thing Ralph could do.
“Twelve, thirteen.”
Wait for El Paume’s countdown to end in a daze.
“……Thirty-one.”
Finally, the countdown ended. The cries of the Evil Eyes were no longer heard anywhere.
In the resulting silence, El Paume’s voice was heard.
“We have 55 minutes left.”
8.
Evil Eyes were monsters that hunted in packs, and they were also cunning and ferocious monsters.
That’s why they would relentlessly chase after their prey in dozens or hundreds if they found it.
“1 hour.”
That was why.
“Dibo, how many have you hunted?”
“Yes, I’ve confirmed 219.”
It was because El Paume had been able to hunt a whopping 219 Evil Eyes in just over an hour.
Of course, it was an absurd feat.
Dibo and Kiri had helped, but El Paume had practically done all the killing himself.
With two spells: Fire Arrow and Magic Acceleration.
But it was nothing special to El Paume.
‘The enhanced Fire Arrow is easier to handle.’
In fact, El Paume found it much easier to kill Evil Eyes with the enhanced Fire Arrow than to kill orange mushrooms with Fire Bolt.
It was definitely harder to use.
It was inevitable that handling something fast would be more tiring.
‘There’s no need for precise control to aim for the Magic Stones.’
However, on the contrary, when attacking with Fire Arrow, he had to aim for the monster’s weakness, the Magic Stone.
That required a high degree of concentration, and it was much more difficult when using mana.
On the other hand, with the enhanced Fire Arrow, he just had to pierce it.
Its power didn’t require pinpoint accuracy.
‘The only problem is the mana consumption.’
Of course, it consumed a lot more mana, but it was a penalty that was worth taking.
In any case, Dibo and Kiri were not surprised by El Paume’s performance.
They had already seen El Paume’s ridiculous abilities.
Only one person was surprised.
“Ah…….”
Ralph, he could only stare blankly at the corpses of the Evil Eyes that had been crushed.
It was Dibo who approached him.
“Hey, man.”
Thump!
He patted Ralph’s shoulder and said,
“219 monsters, prepare 11.9 million mesos.”
Only then did Ralph come to his senses.
This time, Ralph didn’t let out a surprised voice like “This is invalid.”
Instead, Ralph’s eyes sparkled with newfound determination.
“If I subtract the 10 million mesos I’ll receive, I only need to prepare 1.9 million mesos, right?”
And then he said in a calm voice,
“I’ll pay you as soon as I get out. A bet is a bet.”
Dibo and Kiri tilted their heads at his composure.
A man who loved money so much, a man who came here for money, was so calm despite this huge loss?
El Paume, on the other hand, understood.
‘He’s crazy about money.’
The Ralph he knew was a man who could kill the Commander of the Cygnus Knight Order for money.
In other words, he was a man who wanted not just a small amount of money, but a large amount of money, an amount that ordinary adventurers couldn’t even imagine.
To him, El Paume must have looked like this.
‘He’ll see me as a benefactor who will bring him a lot of money.’
And that was the benefactor Ralph had been waiting for.
Ralph had been hiding his true strength and not participating in any significant adventures in preparation for this day.
The day when he would attract attention.
That’s why.
“Does mentioning the 1 million mesos mean you’re joining the party?”
He mentioned the 1 million mesos right away.
“Since you can’t pay me, I’ll have to work it off, right?”
Ralph, the moment he truly joined El Paume’s party.
Dibo still looked unhappy with that fact.
“Boss, wouldn’t it be better to just get the 1 million mesos? I don’t think we need him, do we?”
To that question, El Paume said flatly,
“Ralph, it’s time for you to show your skills.”
“Good.”
Ralph nodded willingly to those words and then patted Dibo on the back and said,
“Dibo, I’ll support you from now on.”
Dibo’s expression became even more contorted at Ralph’s words.
To be honest, there was nothing great about a bishop’s support. All they did was cast buff skills and healing skills when someone was injured.
Of course, that could mean the difference between life and death, but it wasn’t a big deal for Dibo anyway.
Sigh!
“Huh? What’s that?”
“It’s a knuckle, isn’t it?”
Ralph then put on the menacing-looking knuckle, and Dibo and Kiri tilted their heads at the sight.
Ralph smiled at them and said,
“Go ahead. I’ll follow closely behind.”
“Follow behind?”
“What are you talking about?”
Kiri and Dibo were taken aback by his words.
It was common sense that a supporter should provide support from the rear.
However, El Paume was not surprised.
“My style is to stick close to the warriors and provide healing and buffs.”
That was why El Paume had recruited Ralph.
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]