The Last Adventurer

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Chapter 27: Trap (1)

1.

As a general rule, the vicinity of Mystic Gates being explored was usually tranquil. However, this was not the case for special Mystic Gates.

Due to the unpredictable nature of what might transpire, thorough perimeter patrols were conducted. In extreme cases, the surrounding area was even cordoned off.

The mere act of trespassing was enough to warrant a summary judgment.

The 100-man Mystic Gate was no exception.

The perimeter of the Mystic Gate being explored was teeming with over a hundred individuals, including adventurers standing guard and personnel assisting them.

In truth, this was a rather perilous endeavor. The location of the Mystic Gate was the Sleepywood Forest, the most hazardous region on Victoria Island.

It was a place where powerful monsters could emerge at any moment.

“This is getting boring. How many days has it been?”

“A week already.”

“Already? It’s so dark here that I have no sense of time.”

Yet, there was no hint of tension to be found in the atmosphere among those gathered around.

This was due to two factors.

“I just want this to be over so I can go back and have a beer.”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t be a problem if we left right now. After all, they’re in there.”

One reason was that the ones guarding the place were none other than the 5 Circle adventurers, a group of B-rank adventurers known as Longco’s Party.

“And what could possibly go wrong?”

The other reason was faith.

“There are 100 of the most promising rookies from Lis gathered in there.”

The unwavering belief that the adventurers who had entered would successfully complete their mission and return.

“There’s no way anything could go wrong.”

The unwavering belief was fully justified.

And that was precisely why.

“Hey! Someone’s coming out!”

“Really?”

“Two of them!”

A sense of relief washed over the crowd as two adventurers emerged from the Mystic Gate, signaling the end of their mission.

“Only two?”

“That’s it?”

“Wait, what are they saying?”

However, their relief quickly turned to confusion and concern as the two adventurers, gasping for breath, desperately called for help.

“Another one’s coming out!”

And then, another figure emerged, their appearance causing a collective gasp.

“What the… what is that?”

“Blood! It’s blood!”

The figure was bloodied and severely wounded.

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

“They’re dying! The survivors are dying!”

“Who?”

At that moment, the tranquility surrounding the Mystic Gate shattered, replaced by an atmosphere of panic and dread. The sight of the wounded adventurers was utterly unexpected, a stark contrast to the earlier sense of security.

Thump!

“He, he collapsed!”

The crowd froze in place as the bloodied adventurer stumbled and fell to the ground, their helplessness and despair palpable.

“H-Healer!”

The Bishop, who had been waiting to intervene, finally took action.

However, in the aftermath of the initial panic, order was nowhere to be found. Dozens of people rushed in simultaneously, further escalating the chaotic scene.

Just then, a cry of alarm pierced the air:

“T-The gate is closing!”

The golden glow of the Mystic Gate began to fade as the last bloodied survivor emerged.

2. The Peril of Mystic Gates

Adventure is always accompanied by danger, and Mystic Gates are no exception. In fact, seasoned adventurers often remarked:

“Easy Mystic Gates? Well, I’d rather hunt Balroks in Sleepywood Forest. At least when I’m hunting Balroks, I know what I’m dealing with.”

They considered Mystic Gates to be the most perilous locations.

And indeed, accidents were not uncommon within Mystic Gates. Some were even catastrophic, such as the Elnas Incident, where 444 B-rank adventurers were wiped out. Countless other tragedies had unfolded within these mysterious portals.

And now, another chapter was added to the grim history of Mystic Gate mishaps.

“Out of 100 who entered, only three returned alive.”

Just three survivors.

“This is a disaster.”

And a disaster it was.

“I wish they were all dead.”

If they had all perished, the adventurers could have reassessed the situation and tried again.

Any chance of salvaging the situation was now gone.

“The damage is severe.”

And there was no opportunity to even mitigate the damage.

And that was why.

“Right?”

Longco, now facing the bloodstained El Paume, was engaging in a conversation that defied all logic.

El Paume had just been critically wounded and should have been resting. The fact that he was even capable of having a conversation was a testament to the gravity of the situation.

“So, what happened?”

It was no wonder. Of those who had ventured into the Mystic Gate, only three had emerged alive, and El Paume was one of them.

“Speak the truth.”

And it was Longco’s duty to extract the truth from this survivor.

“This is a warning.”

Of course, Longco was prepared to use force if he detected any lies in El Paume’s testimony.

It was a chilling threat.

“Get treated first, but know that ignoring my warning will be far more painful than you can imagine.”

The one who had just treated El Paume was none other than Bishop, a B-rank adventurer belonging to Longco’s party. A Bishop of that caliber possessed healing skills so powerful that they could even reattach severed limbs in the midst of battle.

This meant that Longco could easily inflict the same kind of damage he was threatening.

And Longco made his point clear.

“More importantly, I’m really pissed off right now.”

He was no righteous adventurer.

The sheer terror of encountering monsters within the Mystic Gate surpassed even the most horrifying nightmares. For average adventurers, it was enough to turn their faces pale and leave them struggling to breathe.

El Paume, however, was an exception.

For him, the threats of B-rank adventurer Longco were nothing more than laughable, barely registering as a concern.

‘This is as I expected.’

In fact, this entire exchange was part of El Paume’s plan.

And so, he spoke as he had prepared.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“The moment we entered, a reed forest appeared. And then, ribbon pigs emerged. Naturally, the ten parties scattered. This was all within our expectations. But then, a monster with green skin appeared.”

“A monster with green skin?”

“Hand me my bag.”

At El Paume’s request, Longco nodded and handed him the bag he had brought along.

The large bag was filled with various items, including food supplies.

From within, El Paume retrieved a notebook.

It was a diary, a record of his adventures thus far.

El Paume opened one page of the diary and showed it to Longco.

“This is it.”

There, on the page, was a drawing of a Green Hobgoblin.

Longco’s eyes narrowed as he studied the sketch.

El Paume couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at Longco’s expression.

‘He’s putting on an act.’

El Paume knew.

‘He must have checked my bag first.’

That they had already read his notebook.

In truth, this was a natural course of action, even without the recent disaster. The 100-man Mystic Gate was a place where Unique-rank items were guaranteed to exist, so there was a high probability that an adventurer might have hidden one.

‘That’s why I left the notebook behind.’

El Paume exploited this.

“The Green Hobgoblin, huh? A dangerous one.”

“Those monsters were digging a trap.”

He tried to blame the disaster that had occurred there on the Green Hobgoblin.

“That’s all?”

“I don’t know about any other circumstances.”

In other words, El Paume intended to keep the trolling incident under wraps.

A disaster caused by a powerful monster like the Green Hobgoblin was, by definition, a disaster, simply a result of the adventurers’ lack of ability.

However, what happened due to trolling would be considered an incident, not a disaster, and it would only cause more uproar.

‘Kiri and Dibo have gone along with it.’

Moreover, the two survivors who remained also agreed with El Paume’s intentions.

Of course, just showing this wasn’t going to make everything flow naturally.

“So, everyone died and only three survived, is that it?”

There was a very important issue.

“Out of 97 who were perishing, only three survived. It seems impossible that it was just luck, doesn’t it?”

How did they escape?

As El Paume prepared to answer, Longco interjected:

“Surely you didn’t abandon your comrades and run away?”

One wrong move and they could be branded as deserters.

There was a chance that El Paume might try to shift all the blame for the disaster onto them.

“I should have died too.”

With that, El Paume reached out and displayed his left wrist.

“But why did you survive?”

In response to that question, El Paume said, showing his left wrist:

“Luckily, we formed a 3-Circle Circle Up inside.”

A definitive answer that left no room for doubt about their survival.

3.

The moment the disaster struck, the top ten guilds from Lis thought.

“The Gafor Merchant Union messed up.”

The three survivors were all from the Gafor Merchant Union, so they must have done something wrong.

In front of the gathered officials from the top ten guilds, Longco spoke.

“It just seems like it happened.”

“Happened?”

“Isn’t that what an adventure is? It seems like something just went wrong with our luck.”

It was an accident, like a natural disaster.

Of course, the officials from the top ten besides Gaffor reacted strongly.

“Is that what you’re saying? 97 people died!”

“From what I’ve heard, the situation was deadly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A horde of Green Hobgoblins appeared. It was quite a dangerous group of monsters.”

“So what if they were monsters! The adventurers who went in there were not just any adventurers, but the top elites from each guild! Veteran adventurers!”

Faced with such a heated response, Longco rubbed his ear sheepishly and said.

“So, are you saying they’re more veteran than me?”

At that moment, the official from Dig Guild who had been reacting so vehemently shut his mouth tightly.

In truth, guild officials didn’t necessarily know much about what lay beyond the Mystic Gate. In fact, it was often the higher-ups who knew the least.

The position of guild leader was often filled not by the most skilled adventurers, but by those with the best business acumen and political skills.

Even if that wasn’t the case, Longco standing before them was a B-rank adventurer.

‘The foul-tempered Longco.’

Longco, a B-rank adventurer known for his fiery temper among adventurers.

Of course, Longco wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t let his true nature show in front of the officials from the top ten guilds of the port city of Lis, especially in the aftermath of such a disaster.

“I understand that this is not a good situation. That’s why I’ve investigated in every way I can. For one thing, the testimonies of the survivors are all consistent. All three of them told the same story.”

“Isn’t it possible they colluded? They’re the only survivors, and all three are from Gafor Merchant Union.”

“El Paume and Dibo, those two are highly likely to do that, but one of them, Kiri, is a trainee of the Cygnus Knights Order. The possibility of her colluding with the two adventurers is frankly low.”

Some nodded at this explanation.

The pride of the Cygnus Knights Order was incomparable to that of adventurers.

“In the first place, even if all three of them had died, it wouldn’t have been surprising. It was just pure luck that one of them, El Paume, awakened to 3 Circle within the Mystic Gate, and that’s how they all survived with his help.”

Everyone’s face turned to surprise at this explanation.

The mention of 3 Circle, a rank that was not common among D-rank adventurers, struck a particular chord with Ebisu, an official from Gafor Merchant Union who was present.

‘Already?’

The El Paume he knew had only awakened a few months ago.

And yet, he had already reached 3 Circle?

It wasn’t impossible.

Circle-up, which involved consuming mana stones and undergoing realization or awakening, was a process that some adventurers found easier than others.

Even with the same mana stones, some individuals progressed through the circles faster than others.

Longco, standing before them, was an example of this.

Adventurers who had unlocked 5 Circle or higher often exhibited exponential growth in a short period.

‘He’s a formidable one.’

In other words, El Paume’s talent suggested the potential to become a 5 Circle adventurer.

Regardless, the abilities of a 3 Circle adventurer were exceptional, and that could explain how they alone survived amidst the deaths of many others.

However, that alone couldn’t explain everything.

“Well, that’s the biggest reason.”

Longco also had another significant reason for believing El Paume’s story.

“The three of them have no income. A thorough examination of their bodies and belongings revealed no items whatsoever.”

4.

“Blehh”

Dibo’s tongue lolled out as he saw Mano blinking his eyes at the sound.

“Wow, Boss is really amazing.”

And he had a good reason to say so.

The idea of someone faking injuries to divert attention and then smuggling out the snail Mano, even after obtaining the item, was utterly ridiculous to El Paume.

After all, from his perspective, stealing the item the moment he acquired Mano was a trivial matter.

“Speaking of which, Kiri is surprisingly following the Boss’s instructions well?”

Dibo, on the other hand, was surprised that Kiri was following their agreed-upon plan instead of causing any unnecessary trouble here.

However, El Paume wasn’t surprised by this either.

“The Cygnus Knights Order is willing to sacrifice their lives for justice.”

The true Cygnus Knights Order that El Paume knew were more than deserving of the title of heroes.

Even in the face of despair and imminent death, the Cygnus Knights Order had made the ultimate sacrifice.

They had fought as knights until the very end.

“That’s not what’s important.”

Therefore, El Paume’s focus at this moment was on one thing only.

“A request will come soon.”

“A request? Of course, we’ll take it! Now that the Boss is getting special treatment, we’re going to be swamped with work! The only survivor of the 100-man Gate! A 3 Circle opener! Wow! That’s really amazing.”

To Dibo’s excited ramblings, El Paume replied.

“And that request will be the most dangerous one we’ve ever received.”

“Huh?”

“Because it will be a trap to kill us.”

[Translator – Pr?ks]

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