The Last Adventurer

[Translator – Pr?ks]

[Proofreader – Pr?ks]

Chapter 90: The Sand Painting Group (2)

4.

None of the Sand Painting Group members were surprised when Cheryl of Cross Hunter appeared.

“Don’t come in carelessly.”

The Sand Painting Group members warned, and that was all.

They weren’t surprised by the fact that Cross Hunter had entered.

It wasn’t strange.

Cross Hunter was the one who knew the truth of the great conspiracy of the Mystic Gate and tried to stop it.

So they were a force against the Black Mage’s followers.

And the Sand Painting Group was also a force that rebelled against Queen Areda, one of the Black Mage’s followers.

It wasn’t strange for them to join hands in the face of a common enemy, a very large enemy.

“We’re still in the middle of a conversation. Also, dealing with this person is the Sand Painting Group’s responsibility.”

Of course, ordinary members of the Sand Painting Group didn’t know the details. It was a fact that only the executives of the Sand Painting Group and Cross Hunter knew.

From the perspective of ordinary members, they were just following orders from above to join hands, and nothing more.

“This is not something for Cross Hunter to get involved in.”

Also, they had no intention of giving Cross Hunter the right to decide on El Pam, an important figure.

Cross Hunter knew that.

That’s why Cheryl came here.

Because she, an executive of Cross Hunter, could.

“I brought an arrow.”

“An arrow?”

“Sejan’s arrow.”

Sejan, one of the executives of the Sand Painting Group, was also an excellent archer, and she could talk to him.

She showed Sejan’s arrow as proof of the conversation, and at that moment, the members of the Sand Painting Group could not exclude Cheryl from the conversation.

However, they did not immediately agree.

“We still don’t trust this El Pam. We will not back down until our suspicions are cleared, no matter who it is.”

“Cross Hunter will prove his identity.”

“No trust can be built with words alone.”

Cheryl’s expression hardened at the ensuing conversation.

From her perspective, it was a troublesome situation in many ways. Of course, it was also a troublesome situation for the Sand Painting Group.

There was only one exception.

‘Hmm.’

El Pam, he wasn’t particularly troubled.

There was no reason for him to be.

‘It’s not bad.’

From his point of view, the fact that Cheryl appeared increased the trust in him.

‘Since Cheryl came all the way here, something I need must be happening.’

Also, the background situation of Cheryl’s arrival was not bad for El Pam.

Whatever it was, the fact that Cross Hunter had come this far meant that they wanted something from El Pam.

That would soon lead to a deal.

“I agree.”

Of course, what he had to do right now was finish the conversation with the Sand Painting Group.

“I don’t think I can gain trust with empty words.”

So El Pam said.

“I’m not confident in hunting humans like the Assassins. But I’m more confident than anyone in capturing the Mystic Gate.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I propose a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Our party’s lives. In return, we will capture the Mystic Gate for you.”

The Sand Painting Group remained silent at the offer of a deal in its purest sense, to pay for their lives.

This was the picture El Pam had prepared.

He had no intention of begging for his life.

Never in El Pam’s life as an adventurer had he left his fate to the mercy of others.

It was the same for the other party.

‘It’s much easier to calculate than to show mercy.’

To be able to use the party of adventurers who survived the Assassins in the Prince’s Tomb?

This opportunity would surely be attractive.

As he expected.

“That word.”

There was a reaction.

“Can you take responsibility for it?”

One of the three Sand Painting Group members, the one in the middle, spoke to El Pam.

“If I don’t gain trust here, I’ll just die anyway.”

And El Pam gladly revealed his determination.

“There is a place.”

The Sand Painting Group gladly responded to his determination.

“What level were the dead adventurers?”

Naturally, El Pam asked about the difficulty, and the Sand Painting Group answered.

“The dead were not adventurers.”

“Then who were they?”

“Signus Knights.”

The moment the Signus Knights were mentioned, the first person to stiffen was none other than Cheryl.

‘Signus Knights?’

First of all, the value of the Signus Knights’ name was beyond words.

‘If they’re Yellow Rank…’

Moreover, the fact that they were making such an offer to El Pam, a 4th Circle adventurer, meant that the Signus Knights had also reached the 4th Circle.

‘They’re full-fledged knights.’

That meant that the dead Signus Knights were not trainees or apprentices, but full-fledged knights.

The weight of that was beyond words.

‘The skill of a 4th Circle Signus Knight is close to that of a 5th Circle.’

Their skills were extraordinary from the start.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Signus Knights protected and upheld the values of the Maple Alliance.

They could show skills beyond their peers if they were of the same Circle!

If the Signus Knights had died there, it meant that the difficulty of the Mystic Gate was beyond common sense.

‘The problem is the reason they died.’

But more importantly, there was no reason for the Signus Knights to die unless it was an extraordinary case.

In other words, the Mystic Gate that the Sand Painting Group had proposed was a place where such an extraordinary reason existed.

‘It must be Queen Areda’s doing.’

And it was obvious what that extraordinary reason was.

That’s why it was even more dangerous.

‘The moment they come out of the capture, Queen Areda will use all means to kill El Pam.’

It was more dangerous after the capture.

What if El Pam brought back evidence, a clue, that Queen Areda had killed the Signus Knights?

Then the Maple Alliance would step in.

It was a very fatal thing for Queen Areda.

In other words, it was also the surest place for the Sand Painting Group to gain trust.

‘El Pam can’t be unaware of this.’

Cheryl knew that El Pam was an adventurer who could deduce all these circumstances.

As expected.

When Cheryl turned her head to look at El Pam, El Pam’s expression was stiffer than Cheryl’s.

“I understand what you mean.”

It meant he understood.

“The matter is too serious to give you an immediate answer. Please let me discuss it with my colleagues.”

“I’ve already heard the answer from your colleagues. That they will follow your lead as their leader.”

At those words, El Pam’s expression hardened even more.

No one was puzzled by that expression.

Cheryl, and of course the Sand Painting Group, knew.

‘If he knows the meaning of this offer, he can’t easily make a decision.’

‘The fact that he’s thinking means he can weigh the options. It’s unusual.’

‘It’s clear that there’s something worth Cross Hunter coming all the way here for.’

In fact, it was surprising to them that El Pam was even considering it.

Usually, the moment they grasped the meaning, they would either despair or try to find another way.

That was when it happened.

“I can’t do it.”

The words “impossible” came out of El Pam’s mouth.

No one was surprised by those words.

Rather, this was a natural reaction.

“This deal is too much of a loss for me.”

“What?”

But at the following words, the Sand Painting Group’s reaction changed.

Rather than being surprised, they were puzzled.

“What are you talking about? Are you refusing the offer?”

“I didn’t say I was refusing.”

“Then?”

“I can do it.”

“You can do it?”

They thought they had misheard.

“Yes, but the risk is high.”

El Pam spoke clearly to them.

“So if you offer me a merit that matches the risk, then I will accept the offer.”

5.

“Then I will accept the offer.”

Everyone was bewildered by El Pam’s words.

It was that absurd.

“Are you trying to negotiate now?”

“I told you from the beginning. It’s an offer. The offer you gave me has a risk that is more than the value of my life, in my opinion.”

“Crazy!”

At the following words, one of the Sand Painting Group members finally shouted in disbelief.

“Does this look like a joke to you? Huh? We could kill you right here and now without any problem.”

It seemed like his anger had exploded.

In a way, it was natural.

In a tense situation, a life-or-death situation, El Pam’s actions were hard to understand.

They shouldn’t be understood.

On the other hand, El Pam said with a serious expression.

“I know the value of my life better than anyone else.”

There was no wavering in his words.

In fact, it wasn’t an act.

The desire to survive, El Pam’s desire would be stronger than anyone else’s in the world.

The fact that he became the last adventurer was proof of that.

It was no different now.

El Pam, he had a plan in the back of his mind.

‘If the negotiation fails, I’ll escape even if I have to kill them all.’

A way to survive even in the worst-case scenario.

It was the same now.

‘It won’t be difficult to capture the Mystic Gate.’

In fact, for El Pam, accepting the offer wasn’t that difficult.

The Signus Knights? He acknowledged that they were strong.

‘My colleagues are beyond knights.’

However, the strength of the El Pam party was no longer debatable among 4th Circle adventurers.

Nevertheless, El Pam acted.

He made a hard expression, trying to look as troubled as possible.

In the end, he made an offer.

‘Still, I have to get as much as I can.’

For more profit.

That was El Pam’s way of survival.

Finding the best results even in the worst situations.

Of course, he wasn’t making this offer blindly. El Pam had enough confidence.

‘Queen Areda made a mistake, and the Sand Painting Group took advantage of that gap. But this is not a small risk for the Sand Painting Group either.’

The background of that confidence was none other than the situation of the Sand Painting Group.

‘If I remember correctly, the Sand Painting Group is divided into two factions.’

The Sand Painting Group, gathered to stop the tyranny of Ariant’s king, Abdullah VIII, had not been able to achieve any significant results.

Abdullah VIII’s unceasing extravagance was proof of that.

‘The most troublesome of them is the Death Squad.’

Naturally, within the Sand Painting Group, there was a growing opinion that they should form a death squad to assassinate Abdullah VIII.

The so-called Death Squad.

But that was by no means a good method.

Abdullah VIII is assassinated? Then what would happen to the political situation in the Ariant Kingdom?

Wasn’t the Sand Painting Group a group gathered for the suffering people of the Ariant Kingdom?

But if the Sand Painting Group brought even greater chaos to the Ariant Kingdom? How should that be seen?

‘In the history I know, the Death Squad took control of the Sand Painting Group and eventually attempted an assassination. And failed.’

In any case, before El Pam returned to the past, the Sand Painting Group faced the worst situation in many ways.

Of course, there was nothing to worry about for the Sand Painting Group after that.

‘It was all meaningless.’

The moment the Mystic Gate opened and monsters poured out, the future of the Ariant Kingdom would cease to exist.

‘Anyway, the ones in front of me are the Order Faction.’

In any case, returning to the present, the ones in front of El Pam were not the Death Squad, but the opposing faction, the Order Faction.

The Order Faction, who wanted to stop Abdullah VIII’s tyranny and bring peace to the Ariant Kingdom in a natural way.

‘The Order Faction would want to pressure the Ariant Kingdom by bringing in the Signus Knights here.’

The Order Faction needed a clear achievement to quell the momentum of the Death Squad, and that’s what they were aiming for now.

That was why.

El Pam could act strong.

‘I’m not the one who’s desperate.’

At this moment, the one who had the upper hand at the negotiating table was none other than El Pam.

‘Especially since Cheryl showed up.’

El Pam’s presence was even greater with the appearance of Cross Hunter!

“If you want a reward, what do you want?”

At El Pam’s suggestion, one of the Sand Painting Group members, the one who seemed to be the leader of the three, finally spoke, and El Pam answered the question.

“Give me a legendary rank item.”

“Crazy!”

The atmosphere turned ominous again at that suggestion.

A legendary rank item was something that could change the value of an adventurer.

The Sand Painting Group, already short-handed due to the war with the Ariant Kingdom, could not give such an item to someone whose identity they did not know.

On the other hand, El Pam didn’t need to receive anything else if it wasn’t at that level.

Of course, El Pam knew.

That the conversation would be prolonged again.

“That legendary rank item.”

It was none other than Cheryl who broke El Pam’s expectations.

“We, Cross Hunter, will give it to you instead, so please accept El Pam’s proposal.”

[Translator – Pr?ks]

[Proofreader – Pr?ks]