abcnovels
Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Chapter 63
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 63: A Gift from the Kania Guild (3)
7.
“How about we gamble?”
The one who uttered those words was Hassan, an adventurer from the Ariant Kingdom.
He was an adventurer from a distant land.
The Ariant Kingdom was located in the Nihal Desert, a vast desert larger than five or six Victoria Islands combined.
Naturally, most of the events that occurred in such a distant place did not reach Victoria Island.
Nevertheless, the moment Hassan spoke, everyone focused.
They knew.
‘Hassan, the Boss Slayer.’
Boss Slayer.
That title was given to adventurers who had hunted over a hundred boss monsters.
And Hassan held that title.
It was a tremendous feat.
There were definitely boss monsters beyond the Mystic Gate.
But not everyone who entered the Mystic Gate hunted boss monsters.
Sometimes, one could exit through the gate without hunting a boss monster.
However, in the case of Orange rank or higher Mystic Gates, there were more cases where one couldn’t get the chance.
This was because, from Orange rank Mystic Gates onwards, most of the time, multiple adventurer parties would conquer them together, rather than one adventurer party doing it alone.
Naturally, they would compete for the most valuable boss monster, and for that reason, it was not easy to obtain the boss monster hunting title.
In the case of Yellow rank, it was even more difficult.
‘He has caught over a hundred boss monsters in Yellow rank alone.’
Not just any hundred boss monsters, but Hassan had achieved the Boss Slayer title solely within Yellow rank Mystic Gates.
That’s why his fame reached even Victoria Island.
‘He’s more confident in competition than anyone else.’
It was also the reason why he proposed the gamble.
So everyone anticipated how Hassan would act.
“How about we gamble on boss monster hunting?”
And when that expectation became reality, the adventurers answered without hesitation.
“Not bad.”
They showed interest.
Considering Hassan’s nickname and the titles he had achieved, it was an incomprehensible reaction.
As mentioned earlier, wasn’t the Hassan party the Boss Slayer, who had hunted over a hundred boss monsters, specifically in Yellow rank?
To participate in a gamble against such a party?
However, the faces of those who showed interest were filled with confidence, not anxiety or nervousness.
It was understandable.
“Just adventuring is no fun, so adding some excitement like this isn’t bad.”
“We’re confident in boss hunting too.”
“Really? We’re confident too, so I’m really curious who’s more confident?”
The people gathered here had titles and skills comparable to Hassan’s party.
“Are you sure you’re betting unique rank?”
At the same time, they were the greediest of them all.
They might have even been waiting for this situation.
Of course, not all adventurers were like that.
“We’re not interested in that gamble.”
“It’s fine to gamble amongst yourselves, but make sure no sparks fly in our direction. If they do, you’ll be dealing with us instead of boss monsters.”
Some parties reacted negatively.
This wasn’t unusual either.
There were more adventurers who didn’t want to gamble in the unknown dangers of the Mystic Gate than those who did.
Especially since not all unique items were of the same level.
“Don’t be greedy. Focus on our own.”
For those who had good items, this gamble was a losing proposition.
Of course, there was also this:
“Those without skill are all talk.”
“What did you say?”
“Then join the game. Huh?”
Lack of confidence.
Certainly, the adventurers here each had both skill and titles.
But when the best are gathered in one place, there will be a best and worst among them.
It was the same this time.
‘Damn it, if it weren’t for Hassan…’
‘Gambling against the wolves of the El Nath Mountains is too reckless.’
‘The Henesys archers are out of the question. They’re real experts. Experts at catching boss monsters.’
Not only Hassan, the Boss Slayer, but also the adventurers from the El Nath Mountains, also known as the Wolves, and the Henesys archers were on a different level compared to other adventurers.
They didn’t want to gamble with them.
That was the reason.
“Did you say El Pam Party?”
Everyone thought.
“What are you going to do?”
They thought that the El Pam Party would never participate in this gamble.
It wasn’t just their thoughts.
Divo and the others thought the same.
‘What do you mean, what are we going to do? We’re going to shut up, of course. Are we crazy to agree to this?’
‘This is a ridiculous proposal.’
‘They’re treating us like toys. Should I just put a bullet in their eye and make them one-eyed?’
‘If we lose a unique item here, Divo’s income will decrease. It’s a loss.’
There was no reason to participate in a gamble they were bound to lose.
Moreover, the unique items the El Pam Party possessed weren’t just any ordinary unique items.
They were valuable unique items worn by Jack Richie, the son of Gold Richie, and their stakes were the highest.
No matter how they thought about it, there was no reason to participate in this gamble.
No, it was a situation they shouldn’t participate in.
“Will you participate?”
El Pam felt the same way.
“I won’t.”
He shook his head and said.
“But if you double the stakes, I will.”
“Huh, you’re a coward after all. You’re refusing… What?”
El Pam had no intention of participating in this gamble.
“If you double the stakes, I’ll join the gamble.”
He was only thinking of creating a bigger gamble.
8.
“If you double the stakes, I’ll join the gamble.”
At El Pam’s words, all the adventurers wore the same expression.
‘What?’
A dumbfounded look.
El Pam’s words were so shocking that no one could even imagine them.
At the end of that shock, everyone thought:
‘Is he crazy?’
El Pam must have lost his mind.
“Boss, are you crazy?”
Divo was one of them.
“You’re going to throw not one, but two unique items into this absurd gamble? Why?”
To that reasonable question, El Pam replied:
“The bigger the pot, the bigger the profit.”
At that calm answer, Divo and everyone else were speechless.
It was at that moment.
Rumble!
A massive tremor shook the place where the 300 adventurers were, and all the adventurers turned their heads.
El Pam did the same.
He turned his head and activated his clairvoyance magic.
Then he saw something approaching through the black forest.
Whoosh!
A herd of giant boars with fur burning like fire were running towards them.
“It’s a herd of Fire Boars!”
9.
Fire Boar.
A monster found in the Perion region, its appearance and size were similar to the Wild Boar often seen in Perion.
It was a giant boar.
But its notoriety was on a different level from the Wild Boar.
“If you see a Wild Boar, run away. If you see a Fire Boar? Pray. Usually, running away is impossible.”
It couldn’t be helped.
Whoosh!
Flames burned hot and bright like a mane on the Fire Boar’s back.
The trouble it caused was indescribable.
“Battle? It’s a nightmare for warriors. The moment you get close, the intense heat burns you.”
First of all, the heat from the mane’s flames dealt fatal damage in itself.
“You have to deal with a boar that’s even more ferocious and powerful than a Wild Boar while being exposed to that damn heat.”
Even without that, the Fire Boar was a monster in its own right.
It was the size of a lion.
“Of course, the real trouble isn’t dealing with the Fire Boar itself. It’s the aftermath it creates. Wherever it passes, fire follows.”
But what made adventurers despair the most when facing a Fire Boar was that the forest caught fire because of it.
“There’s a saying that Perion became a wasteland because of the Fire Boar.”
The burning forest was more threatening to adventurers than any monster.
Of course, the adventurers who entered this Mystic Gate were the best of the best!
They didn’t panic when they saw the Fire Boar.
First, they all came to the same conclusion.
“Split up!”
All the adventurer parties scattered in the face of the oncoming Fire Boars.
It wasn’t a prearranged agreement.
It wasn’t even something that needed to be agreed upon.
When faced with aggressive monsters like the Fire Boar or the Ribbon Pig, adventurer parties scatter.
This was common sense that any adventurer should know.
In any case, thanks to that,
“They’re not coming our way.”
Some adventurer parties were able to easily shake off the Fire Boar’s pursuit.
“We’re lucky.”
The El Pam Party was one of them.
They were able to easily escape the Fire Boar’s pursuit.
Of course, it wasn’t something to be entirely happy about.
In a wasteland like Perion, where there was nothing to burn, hunting Fire Boars wasn’t difficult, but it was different in a forest like this.
Facing a Fire Boar in a forest was beyond troublesome; it was impossible.
Therefore, there was only one answer.
“Find the exit to the second floor.”
Quickly escape the first floor.
That was the answer all adventurers would come up with.
Moreover, the goal of the adventurers here wasn’t to hunt Fire Boars.
“Move to the third floor as quickly as possible and hunt the boss monster.”
The boss monster!
Hunting it was the only goal.
Furthermore, the adventurers here had one more reason to catch the boss monster.
“Boss, I know you’ve been amazing so far, but I really don’t think this is it. Participating in this gamble is crazy.”
Divo was angry for that reason.
“No matter how I think about it, the probability of us catching the boss monster is zero, zero! I’d bet my entire fortune on us not catching it, but betting on us catching it is foolish!”
It wasn’t just Divo who felt that way.
“I agree. It’s not a good idea to get involved in this reckless gamble.”
“It’s not just not a good idea, it’s insane.”
“If we lose two unique items, will you, Boss, be responsible for paying the price?”
All three expressed negative opinions.
It wasn’t that they were disregarding El Pam’s abilities.
On the contrary, his companions knew El Pam’s abilities better than anyone else here.
“As the boss, you’ll reach the third floor faster than anyone else. I acknowledge that.”
That’s why…
“But catching the boss monster faster than anyone else is a different story than escaping the fastest. This is a 300-man mystic gate!”
They judged it even more impossible.
Boss monster hunting required tremendous firepower and time in many ways.
Moreover, this was a competition.
There was also the risk of being robbed.
“It’s impossible.”
El Pam knew this fact better than anyone else.
“What?”
“Our current firepower isn’t enough to be confident in hunting the boss monster. We need at least twice the firepower.”
Divo asked in surprise at that explanation.
“But you knew that and still entered the gamble?”
It was hard to understand.
“Wait a minute.”
On the other hand, the fact that El Pam knew and still acted this way meant that he must have something up his sleeve.
At that point, Divo’s expression changed.
“Boss, you have something, don’t you?”
Divo was filled with anticipation.
“As expected, you did something before entering, right? Are you perhaps collaborating with another party?”
One of his expectations was an alliance with another adventurer party.
It wasn’t strange.
The Adventurers’ Association highly encouraged cooperation among adventurers within the Mystic Gate.
If El Pam had negotiated with another adventurer party beforehand, then raising the stakes would make sense.
“I have something prepared.”
“As expected!”
Divo said with anticipation in his eyes.
“Boss, what is it?”
“As I said before, hunting the boss monster is difficult for our party alone unless we double our firepower.”
“That’s right.”
“So I raised the stakes.”
“Huh?”
“Because it’ll work if we have double the firepower.”
“Boss, what do you mean?”
El Pam didn’t explain any further to Divo, who was completely puzzled.
Instead, he showed him.
“Fire Arrow.”
One casting.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two fire arrows appeared simultaneously.
“Wait, what?”
That was the reason for El Pam’s confidence.
“Boss, why are two fire arrows being summoned?”
“It’s Double Up.”
The ability of Freud’s ring was none other than Double Up, which doubled the number of spells cast.
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]