The Last Adventurer

[Translator – Pr?ks]

[Proofreader – Pr?ks]

Chapter 31: Evil Eye (2)

4.

Mystic Gates have entry restrictions based on the number of circles.

Red-rank gates are only open to adventurers with 2 circles or less, while orange-rank gates are only open to those with 3 circles or less.

It goes without saying that the difficulty of orange-rank gates is not even comparable to that of red-rank gates.

“The monster levels are different.”

For one thing, the monsters that appeared were much stronger.

“And the exits are different too.”

But what made it even more difficult for adventurers was the fact that orange-rank Mystic Gates had two exits.

“When you exit a red-rank gate, you’re immediately back in Maple World. But it’s different for orange-rank gates. When you enter and exit, another adventure stage unfolds. You have to find the exit there too, and only then can you return to Maple World.”

To put it simply, you had to go on two adventures for orange-rank gates.

It sounded daunting even just hearing it.

And when you actually did it, the word “daunting” didn’t even come close to describing how difficult it was.

“That’s why a lot of 3-circle adventurers don’t even bother with Mystic Gates.”

In fact, among 3-circle adventurers, there were not a few who preferred to just explore Maple World rather than go on Mystic Gate adventures.

Or they might do top-level escort missions.

No matter what, 3-circle adventurers were treated well wherever they went.

“Well, only some of them.”

Of course, even so, there were still many adventurers who challenged orange-rank Mystic Gates.

And there were reasons for that too.

“The rewards are also great, as difficult as they are.”

For one thing, the value of the items that dropped was different.

The most notable item was one that granted a 3-circle skill.

“And orange gems sometimes drop too.”

Another reason was the existence of orange gems, which dropped from orange-rank gates and above.

3-circle adventurers could no longer raise their circles by absorbing the old gems.

They had to absorb orange-rank or higher gems to raise their circles.

In other words, the only way to reach 4 circles was to hunt in orange-rank Mystic Gates.

Of course, that was the biggest reason.

“Well, if you put all that aside, you’re not an adventurer if you don’t take risks.”

There’s no word that excites adventurers as much as danger.

In any case, the adventurers who challenged orange-rank Mystic Gates were those kinds of people.

The kind who were willing to take risks to gain more.

“Are you here?”

The adventurers gathered at the Mystic Gate located deep in the old forest south of Henesys, and they were those kinds of people.

“Are you the El Paume party?”

And the El Paume party joined that group.

“El Paume, Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph. Four confirmed.”

The party was now four.

The parties that were already waiting turned their heads to check out El Paume at the appearance of those four.

‘Five parties?’

There were five parties waiting, and each party had an average of around 10 members.

Including the El Paume party, there were exactly 50 people.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s start the briefing. As you have all been informed, the rank of this Mystic Gate is orange, and the maximum number of participants is 50. And there are three entrances.”

That was all the explanation they got. And that was all they could do for now.

No one knew what awaited them inside the Mystic Gate until it was raided.

“Boss, how strong are 50 people for an orange-rank gate?”

“An appropriate level.”

After all, the entry limit of 50 wasn’t that high for an orange-rank gate.

And three entrances weren’t that threatening either.

Especially, these weren’t just any random adventurers gathered here.

Veterans, D-rank adventurers with 3 circles unlocked.

“Seems like everyone’s skilled.”

With such skilled people gathered, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Perfect as a test stage for the El Paume party.”

This Mystic Gate seemed like the exact right level to gauge the El Paume party’s strength.

Of course, El Paume knew.

‘If there are really only three entrances, that makes sense.’

The truth about this Mystic Gate.

That’s why El Paume checked out the faces of the other parties participating in this raid.

‘All people the Kania Guild wants to eliminate.’

The Kania Guild had been using this Mystic Gate as a death trap for adventurers all this time.

In other words, according to the history before El Paume returned to the past, everyone gathered here was dead.

Of course, El Paume wasn’t thinking of saving them or anything like that.

El Paume just wanted to understand.

‘If there’s a familiar face.’

If there was someone among them who was familiar to El Paume,

‘He wouldn’t have been here originally.’

Then it meant that this guy shouldn’t have been here in the first place.

Just then, El Paume’s eyes, which were scanning the faces, stopped at one party.

‘Interesting.’

At that moment, El Paume’s eyes changed.

‘I knew the Kania Guild would take the bait, but I didn’t expect them to send him.’

They began to gleam with a murderous light.

Of course, that look didn’t last long.

Even a clumsy hunter wouldn’t show his emotions in front of his prey.

“Alright, let’s start the Mystic Gate entry.”

And the entry began.

“Everyone, please enter and the entrances will open.”

A representative from the Kania Guild who was standing in front of the entrance said.

“I sincerely hope this is the last entrance.”

A meaningless wish.

“Then, I wish you all a good adventure.”

With those words, the raid on the Mystic Gate began.

5.

As if walking through deep water, the first thing that greeted the adventurers who crossed the gate was a tree.

“What a huge tree!”

A giant tree that was probably at least 100 meters tall.

Such giant trees were gathered together to form a forest.

And some of those who saw the tree grimaced.

They knew what it was.

“Damn it.”

Ralph was one of them.

“Why are you swearing all of a sudden?”

“Can’t I swear?”

Ralph grimaced even harder at Dibo, who reacted to his cursing. Already incredibly fierce, his face became so sinister that even those looking at him were terrified.

So much so that Dibo, who had been venting his frustration, instinctively flinched.

“That’s a Pure Tree.”

“A Pure Tree?”

However, from Dibo’s perspective, who didn’t know what a Pure Tree was, he could only tilt his head in confusion.

Kiri was the same.

She too had a look of bewilderment on her face.

El Paume was the one who explained it to the two of them.

“Pure Trees are usually inhabited by Evil Eyes.”

Evil Eyes.

The moment that word came out, Dibo and Kiri’s expressions couldn’t help but harden as well.

And it wasn’t just the two of them.

The expressions of all 50 adventurers who entered the Mystic Gate hardened.

“Evil Eye? That one-eyed monster lizard?”

“We’ve come to the wrong place.”

“Damn it, why now!”

The Evil Eye monster was, as its name suggested, a monster that was like a devil to adventurers.

For one thing, its appearance was different from other monsters.

With an appearance that looked like a 3-meter-long lizard with its rear end cut off and forced to move only on its front legs, and a single large eye on its head, it was a sight that sent chills down the spine of anyone who saw it.

Monsters like mushrooms, slimes, and ribbon pigs were closer to pets than monsters compared to the appearance of the Evil Eye.

Of course, it was absolutely not something that adventurers would be scared or intimidated by just because of their appearance.

“Those bastards are incredibly fast.”

One of the biggest reasons why the Evil Eye was scary was its incredible agility.

Of course, ribbon pigs were also incredibly agile.

“Not only are they fast, but their jumping ability is also amazing.”

However, the Evil Eye showed jumping ability that was incomparable to ribbon pigs.

It could easily jump about 5 meters.

“They climb trees like they have adhesive on their feet.”

On top of that, it had the ability to climb the towering Pure Trees with incredible ease.

That made it even more troublesome.

“Be careful above your head. You never know when an Evil Eye might rain down from above.”

The synergy between the Evil Eye’s ability and the Pure Tree forest was a nightmare for the adventurers facing it.

And that wasn’t all.

“Evil Eyes have no joke regeneration. They can still move even if their bodies are cut in half, so make sure to finish them off.”

They also had the tenacious life force of a lizard.

There was no reason not to grimace at all this.

“I didn’t expect Evil Eyes.”

There was only one exception.

‘My memories are becoming clearer.’

El Paume, who had personally experienced the presence of Evil Eyes in this place, was the only one whose expression was different.

That’s why El Paume knew.

‘It can’t be that just Evil Eyes alone could make this a gate of a hundred scars.’

While Evil Eyes were certainly threatening monsters, it wasn’t just the Evil Eyes that made this place a gate with over a hundred scars.

The adventurers here didn’t immediately start fighting.

Instead, they exchanged information.

“Let’s find a safe place first and avoid making any rash moves.”

“Evil Eyes have scouts. Take out any in sight immediately.”

“Watch out for your heads.”

They discussed strategies for hunting Evil Eyes.

That was all.

No adventurer offered words of encouragement like “Let’s all work together to defeat the Evil Eyes.”

This was not unusual.

“Evil Eyes, ugh, why do I always have such bad luck with Mystic Gates?”

Evil Eyes were difficult monsters, but they were definitely not unbeatable.

There was only one case where they had to worry about Evil Eyes here.

“Are you okay?”

Ralph looked at Dibo and Kiri, his brow furrowed.

“With just one circle?”

From Ralph’s perspective, who would now have to support Dibo and Kiri, it was natural for him to be uneasy about the two of them.

“What’s that, you bastard?”

Dibo flared up at the comment.

From Dibo’s perspective, he was in no position to listen to such talk from Ralph, whose own skills were lacking.

On the other hand, Ralph’s position was not strange either.

He had never seen how the El Paume party fought.

Of course, Ralph’s biggest question wasn’t Dibo’s strength.

Ralph looked at El Paume and said, “And I doubt your strength too.”

Dibo, who was furious at the words, and Kiri, who had been narrowing her eyes, both looked surprised at the same time.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because they knew.

‘Is he crazy? To the boss right now?’

‘He’s lost his mind.’

Who El Paume was.

However, Ralph’s position was different.

“I know you’re a survivor of a 100-man mystic gate, but to be honest, don’t you know if it was luck or not?”

There was nothing officially released to the public about El Paume’s abilities.

“Isn’t it even more important for a leader to be capable?”

Crucially, El Paume was the leader of this party.

The one who could give all the orders.

If he told them to jump into a fire pit, they would have to jump.

“Fair enough.”

So El Paume nodded at Ralph’s words.

“We need a test.”

He agreed to Ralph’s proposal.

“But it won’t make sense for me to set the test conditions all by myself, so how much do you want?”

He asked Ralph for the test method.

Ralph laughed at the suggestion.

“What could it be? I want to see you catch Evil Eyes. Of course, just catching them doesn’t make sense, so how about catching 100 in an hour?”

Ralph’s eyes gleamed as he made the suggestion.

‘He’s not going to accept it.’

In fact, this was a provocation for Ralph to take the initiative.

‘A hundred in an hour? That’s ridiculous.’

If Evil Eyes were monsters that could be caught so easily, everyone’s expressions would not have hardened at the word Evil Eyes.

So Ralph was sure.

He would reject the offer.

He would say it’s ridiculous.

‘Either one. Either he’ll refuse or he’ll be proud.’

Otherwise, he would somehow brag.

Whatever, it was all good for Ralph.

As mentioned earlier, this was a provocation to seize the initiative, nothing more, nothing less.

“But it’s not fun if it’s just like that, so how about I bet too? If you can’t catch 100 in an hour, pay me for each one you don’t catch. Conversely, if you catch more than 100, I’ll pay you for each one you catch.”

So Ralph provoked even more.

“How much per one?”

And Ralph held back a laugh at El Paume’s next words.

‘He’s going to be proud, I see.’

At El Paume’s words, Ralph said without hesitation.

“How about 100,000 mesos per one?”

El Paume replied briefly.

“Okay.”

[Translator – Pr?ks]

[Proofreader – Pr?ks]

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