abcnovels
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 35: Hell of Snow (3)
5.
Adventurers say:
“In an adventure, it’s experience, not ability, that determines life and death.”
They say that experience is more important than anything.
However, in the era of Mystic Gates, it was harder than one might think to gain experience.
This is because there were so many different types of monsters beyond the Mystic Gates.
Even if you had a lot of experience fighting monsters in general, you couldn’t have a lot of experience fighting a particular monster.
In any case, if you had experience, it was enough to make up for your lack of ability.
So, what would happen if someone with enough ability also had experience?
“Wow!”
The El Paume party was showing the answer to that right now.
Kkiee!
The snow that covered the forest and the horde of Cold Eyes that easily surpassed 100, covering the snow.
Even though it was no exaggeration to call this stage a snow-covered hell, the El Paume party didn’t flinch at all.
“I am Dibo, the Polearm Hero!”
Dibo, instead of backing off from the approaching Cold Eyes, charged forward.
“Dibo, don’t go off alone!”
Kiri followed behind him.
“Ralph, you say something too!”
“Smash their heads properly. It’ll be hard to pick them up if the Magic Stones break. And the leather as thin as possible. Cold Eye leather is quite expensive, you know.”
Finally, Ralph.
In this way, the three of them, huddled together, began to sweep away the approaching Cold Eyes like garbage.
It wasn’t difficult.
The three of them stood in a triangle formation.
Kkiee!
“Slash Blizzard!”
“Solar Slash!”
“It’s worth 2,000 mesos!”
And they began to mercilessly crush the Cold Eyes that were rushing at them each.
Kkiee!
The sight of the Cold Eyes being crushed with screams was gruesome.
However, the Cold Eyes were not just being pushed back.
Kkiee!
Kkieee!
They fought back with their sharp claws and icy breath.
Kkiee!
Kkieee!
But the El Paume party was not to be outdone.
They dodged the Cold Eyes’ attacks with practiced movements and countered with their own powerful blows.
Bang!
Crash!
The Cold Eyes were no match for the El Paume party’s overwhelming strength and experience.
One by one, they fell to the ground, defeated.
Kkiee!
Kkieee!
In the end, the Cold Eyes were completely wiped out.
The forest was once again silent, except for the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.
The El Paume party stood there, panting, but victorious.
They had once again proven that they were one of the best parties in the world.
Instead of being frightened by the death of their comrade, they were filled with anger, and their cries provoked the Cold Eyes around them.
Kkie!
Kkieee!
The Cold Eyes began to swarm in, forming a siege around Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph.
The siege formed by dozens of Cold Eyes was overwhelming.
Moreover, since the Cold Eyes and the snow-covered ground were difficult to distinguish, it seemed as if they were surrounded by hundreds or thousands of Cold Eyes.
The whole world seemed to be Cold Eyes.
It was a sight that could freeze one’s fighting spirit.
“Okay!”
However, the El Paume party members didn’t flinch at all in the face of this sight.
They had no reason to.
As he said, they were the El Paume party.
“Boss, we’ve gathered them all!”
As the three of them gathered the Cold Eyes in one place, El Paume’s enhanced Fire Arrows began to move.
Whoosh!
The fire arrows that appeared flew like swallows and tore through the bodies of the Cold Eyes like snakes.
They ripped through the tough Cold Eye leather like paper.
It was an unreasonable level of power, even for magic that had been enhanced with Magic Acceleration.
And it was indeed unreasonable.
‘The effect of two Phoenix Feathers is indeed certain.’
El Paume, who used these enhanced Fire Arrows, had two unique rank items, Phoenix Feathers, in his hand, even though one alone would be terrifying.
Thanks to these two Phoenix Feathers, the power of El Paume’s fire attribute magic was increased by over 30%.
Of course, the most unreasonable thing was El Paume himself.
The last adventurer to survive an encounter with Hontale, a dragon that no one else had ever defeated.
In the face of his existence, the difficulty of the Mystic Gates became meaningless and worthless.
‘His senses are superb.’
El Paume was even evolving now.
He was becoming stronger than when he was the last adventurer.
Of course, the number of circles, the number of items he had, and the number of skills he could use were incomparable to when he was the last adventurer.
In terms of pure strength, it couldn’t have been better than then.
What had evolved was his control over psychokinesis.
‘The tip of the enhanced Fire Arrow feels sharper than ever.’
Moving the Fire Arrow with psychokinesis alone was already at a level where it would be no exaggeration to call him the best psychokinesis user.
But El Paume had evolved even further from there.
‘Even in this state, a revolver is possible.’
El Paume began to rotate the enhanced Fire Arrow.
It was an absurd attempt.
And rightly so, there was a world of difference between rotating a Fire Arrow and rotating an enhanced Fire Arrow.
Moreover, one of the biggest effects of Magic Acceleration was that it increased the speed of magic.
Rotating an enhanced Fire Arrow into a revolver was like spinning a top while walking and spinning a top while running, that much difference.
The bigger problem was after the rotation.
He had to accelerate further.
That’s why El Paume had never been able to properly apply the revolver to the enhanced Fire Arrow before going back in time.
It had ended in failure.
Whoosh!
But now the enhanced Fire Arrow began to rotate.
It wasn’t just rotating.
‘Focus.’
In a rapidly rotating state, it began to move in the direction El Paume desired.
And soon, a fire arrow flew towards the Cold Eye.
KwaKwaKwa!
The moment the fire arrow hit the Cold Eye, the Cold Eye’s body was torn to shreds in an instant.
It was literally true.
Just as trees are torn to pieces in an instant in front of a rapidly spinning tornado.
KwaKwaKwa!
The tough leather and flesh, the organs, the muscles, and the body of the Cold Eye were all mercilessly ripped apart.
“What, what is it?”
Dibo, who was concentrating on the battle, as well as Kiri and Ralph, all had a look of disbelief on their faces.
“Did the Cold Eye explode?”
From their point of view, it just looked like the Cold Eye had suddenly exploded.
It was a sight they couldn’t even imagine.
But they couldn’t see any more than that.
“It’s over,”
The Cold Eye that El Paume had caught was the last one of the Cold Eyes that had surrounded them.
“Bo, boss? What was that just now?”
“It’s nothing.”
And El Paume didn’t give them an explanation.
“I was just practicing something.”
While it was his first successful attempt, there was no guarantee that this success would continue.
Until he had completely mastered it, he could not call it a technique.
Above all, El Paume knew.
‘Now is the time to focus on the hunt.’
It was not the time to get caught up in his own development.
No, El Paume was that kind of adventurer to begin with.
He had never once felt joy in his own growth or development. He couldn’t feel it.
In the Maple World after monsters emerged from Mystic Gates, becoming stronger meant encountering stronger monsters, nothing more or less.
“Let’s move to the next hunting ground.”
Knowing that fact, El Paume moved, and his companions did not question his actions.
No, whether or not they questioned it didn’t matter.
“Yes, boss.”
Following El Paume’s words here was all that mattered.
“Move this way.”
“I’ll take the lead.”
So everyone moved without hesitation in the direction El Paume was pointing.
The El Paume party moving like this.
“Mr. Nir.”
Viper Nir and his subordinates appeared where the El Paume party had passed.
“A coin has fallen.”
“Where?”
“Over there.”
Viper Nir turned his head at those words, his eyes shining like a viper who had found its prey.
6.
“There.”
A snow-covered forest.
“There’s an igloo.”
One of the most essential skills for survival there was building an igloo.
The inside of an igloo was surprisingly warm.
At the same time, from the monsters’ point of view, igloos often looked like ordinary snowdrifts.
It was also perfect for hiding.
Of course, it was different when facing adventurers.
“What will you do?”
To Viper Nir, the igloo was like a jar with a mouse inside.
It meant that the mouse’s life was in Nir’s hands.
Naturally, Nir intended to catch the mouse.
“There is only one entrance to the igloo.”
It wasn’t even a difficult task.
“I will use Poison Mist in front of the igloo entrance.”
Using poison to catch a mouse trapped in poison? There couldn’t be a more effective way, right?
Of course, Nir didn’t let his guard down here.
“I have to catch them for sure.”
This was not just a matter of hunting adventurers.
“For the Black Mage.”
A holy service and devotion for the great Black Mage.
There could be no dust or error.
So Nir made a more concrete plan.
“The moment I use Poison Mist in the igloo entrance, they will smell it and come out. Then Joey and Argo, you two go into the igloo and deal with them.”
He deployed two of his subordinates.
But it wasn’t a simple deployment.
Nir’s Poison Mist was powerful enough to kill a monster the size of a Cold Eye in an instant.
Adventurers were no different.
Being exposed to that poison without an antidote meant accepting death.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
However, Joey and Argo, Nir’s two subordinates, nodded without any hesitation at the order.
They were ready to accept death.
And Nir took it for granted.
These were the followers of the Black Mage.
Those who would gladly give their lives for the dire situation of the Black Mage’s resurrection.
Those who would not feel any pity for those who were sacrificed in the process.
It was the same now.
Nir spoke calmly.
“The moment you are exposed to my Poison Mist.”
He calmly predicted the tragic condition of the sacrifices.
“They will vomit blood at that moment.”
That moment was.
“Kukul!”
The moment Nir spoke and took a breath, he coughed.
It wasn’t just a cough.
“Kukul!”
A cough accompanied by blood, a huge amount of blood.
At the same time as the cough, Nir had a seizure and fell to the ground.
“Mr. Nir!”
Nir’s subordinates, who were surprised by the sight, were unable to respond properly.
‘What the hell?’
This was a situation that was completely unimaginable.
Whoosh!
It was the moment one of them was attacked by a Fire Arrow that Nir’s frozen subordinates began to move their bodies.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The moment the leather armor and the Fire Arrow collided, a harsh sound rang out like a drill piercing steel.
“Kugh!”
And at the end of that sound, the last words that someone who had their heart pierced could utter were heard.
“T-There’s an attack!”
It was only after hearing the last words that Nir’s subordinates finally reacted.
Everyone turned their heads to where the Fire Arrow had come from.
And they could see it.
Pwhoosh!
The Fire Arrow that pierced their eyes with precision.
“Kyaak!”
“M-My eyes!”
Those who were hit by the attack screamed and fell to the ground.
In an instant, five people, including Viper Nir, had fallen to the ground.
Only five were left.
However, the remaining five did not panic here.
They realized.
“It’s an ambush!”
That this was an attack.
The moment they realized it, they prepared themselves immediately.
A response made possible by their long training and accumulated experience, as well as their innate abilities.
“There will be more attacks!”
It was an excellent response.
Whoosh!
“Fire Arrows!”
The only problem was one thing.
“Raise your shields……”
Poof!
That they were facing an existence beyond common sense and norms.
‘W-What, the Fire Arrows are bending?’
In front of this existence beyond norms, the remaining five fell to the ground in a state of utter helplessness.
There was only one survivor.
“Krrr… .”
Viper Nir, convulsing from poison and in a state of shock.
Nir could see.
“I have some questions. You don’t have to answer.”
Thump! Thump!
“Your heart will give me the answers.”
El Paume, his face.
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]