The Last Adventurer

Chapter 69

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 69 The Ariant Kingdom (2)

4.

The Ariant Kingdom.

It was a vast kingdom that ruled over the Nihal Desert, the largest desert in Maple World.

It was a powerful kingdom.

Ruling over the Nihal Desert, a place where mere survival was a challenge, was no small feat.

“Adventurers from Ariant are strong. The reason is simple. The weak would already be dead, just corpses in the desert.”

The strength of the adventurers was on a different level.

Therefore, adventurers active in Ariant were highly regarded.

“Conversely, if you survive, there’s no better title. That’s why adventurers should go to Ariant.”

This meant that skilled adventurers did not hesitate to go to the Ariant Kingdom.

Of course, the biggest reason was this:

“Above all, the Nihal Desert is overflowing with ownerless Mystic Gates.”

Unlike Victoria Island, where monsters were relatively weak, the monsters in the Nihal Desert were formidable.

As a result, there were countless Mystic Gates without owners.

100-man gates and 200-man gates, rarely seen in Victoria Island, could be found in abundance in the Nihal Desert with a bit of luck.

“A true adventurer should seek greater adventures.”

That’s why many adventurers aimed to move to the Ariant Kingdom once they were skilled enough.

However, that was only the adventurers’ perspective.

“Merchants have to persuade those adventurers.”

For the merchants based in the port city of Lith Harbour, the departure of adventurers to the Ariant Kingdom was the biggest headache.

Skilled adventurers were the most important resource for merchants.

Those resources going to the Ariant Kingdom?

Honestly, it was unmanageable.

Among the top 10 merchants in Lith Harbour, only the Gold Richie Guild had any influence in the Ariant Kingdom.

Even then, it was the Guild that held influence, not any individual merchant.

That’s why most merchants would spend a fortune to retain skilled adventurers.

That was why…

“No thoughts of going to the Ariant Kingdom?”

The reason El Pam’s companions were surprised by Gafor’s words.

As mentioned earlier, the Gafor Guild was in a position to prevent El Pam from going to Ariant.

‘How did he find out?’

Of course, the most surprising thing was that El Pam had anticipated Gafor’s remark.

‘It’s obvious.’

In fact, from El Pam’s perspective, it wasn’t strange at all.

‘The Gafor Guild’s patron is none other than Prince Kashan, the third prince of the Ariant Kingdom.’

El Pam knew that the reason behind the Gafor Guild’s rapid rise was none other than the Ariant Kingdom.

That was also why Gafor didn’t show his face in Lith Harbour.

He was too busy going back and forth between Lith Harbour and the Ariant Kingdom.

Of course, Gafor’s role was only to help the Ariant Kingdom expand into Victoria Island.

He didn’t have to worry about the Ariant Kingdom itself.

‘The King of the Ariant Kingdom is currently ill.’

The problem was that King Abdullah VIII of the Ariant Kingdom was practically unable to fulfill his role.

In fact, Abdullah VIII had withdrawn from the front lines quite a while ago.

‘Until now, Queen Areda had been wielding power on behalf of the King.’

The situation was such that Queen Areda was effectively running the Ariant Kingdom in place of Abdullah VIII.

‘All that power is only valid while Abdullah VIII is alive.’

However, as mentioned earlier, Abdullah VIII was currently suffering from a serious illness.

It wouldn’t be strange if he died.

Naturally, the princes started to make their moves.

To become the ninth successor to the name of Abdullah, the King of Ariant.

‘Making achievements in the upcoming succession struggle is more important than ever.’

For Gafor, who was backed by the third prince, Kashan, it was time to help Kashan.

For Gafor, El Pam was a very attractive card.

It wasn’t that he expected El Pam to do anything extraordinary.

‘When making such achievements, it’s important to stand out.’

The fact that El Pam could attract attention.

That was important.

Even if they did the same thing, he was much more likely to be noticed by Prince Kashan.

It was a moment where the interests of El Pam and Gafor aligned in many ways.

Of course, El Pam didn’t show it.

“Ariant? I don’t want to go to such a dangerous place.”

Because he could get more.

“I don’t want to engage in pointless negotiations. Five times. If you conquer the Mystic Gates I want five times, I’ll get you whatever you want.”

“Anything?”

“I swear on the name of the Gafor Guild. So, what’s your answer?”

A sweet reward that couldn’t be refused.

“When do I leave?”

At that question, Gafor laughed and took out a ticket for a ship bound for Ariant.

“Go to the Harbour right now.”

5.

The port city of Lith.

The reason for its development was, of course, the existence of Lith Harbour.

Most of the enormous amount of logistics between Victoria Island and the Ossyria Continent was handled by the ships of Lith Harbour.

Naturally, the Top 10 guilds were also the ones with the most ships.

More than 70% of the income of the Top 10 guilds came from ships, so what more explanation is needed?

In addition, these ships were also used as a means of transportation.

They were especially popular with adventurers.

“The ship tickets are free for adventurers!”

This meant that adventurers did not have to pay the rather expensive ticket price.

The reason for this was simple.

“Only those above the 3rd Circle!”

The fact that skilled adventurers were on board was enough to ensure the safety of the ship.

In other words, the way to the Ossyria Continent from Victoria Island was more dangerous than one might think.

First of all, pirates were a danger.

Although the relationship between the Lith Harbour guilds and the pirates was not bad after Captain Kyrin became the captain of the Nautilus, not all pirates were under Captain Kyrin’s name.

And there was one more dangerous element.

“Adventurers on board this ship, please keep in mind! If monsters come, do not back down! If the ship sinks, we all die!”

Monsters!

In any case, for this reason, there were many adventurers on the ships heading to the Ossyria Continent, and they were skilled adventurers at that.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

This was the reason.

“Is that the El Pam party?”

“Boss, I think that’s the Hassan party over there?”

The adventurers who participated in the 300-man Mystic Gate ended up facing each other on the ship.

“Why are they on the Gafor Guild’s ship?”

“They must have borrowed money from the Gafor Guild.”

Moreover, there was an even more compelling reason for them to board the Gafor Guild’s ship.

“Huh? Money?”

“The money they owe us.”

“Ah!”

El Pam had told them to pay their dues to the Gafor Guild.

Needless to say, there were no adventurers who carried tens of millions of meso on hand.

It was fortunate if they had even saved up a little, as most adventurers spent their money as soon as they earned it.

There were many expensive items in the world, but only one life.

Therefore, the adventurers who went to the Gafor Guild would have signed a contract with them.

A contract to borrow money.

And the Gafor Guild would have thought of ways to take advantage of the adventurers who had signed such contracts, especially the skilled ones.

Therefore, there was no reason for the El Pam party to be surprised by the fact that there were many adventurers who had ventured into the 300-man Mystic Gate.

‘Why is the El Pam party here?’

Rather, it was the adventurers who saw the El Pam party who were surprised.

In their minds, the El Pam party were adventurers who operated in Victoria Island.

‘Could it be?’

But they were on a ship to the Ossyria Continent?

This meant they were leaving Victoria Island.

‘The El Nath Mountains?’

‘The Nihal Desert?’

‘Are they going to Mu Lung?’

‘Could it be the Minar Forest?’

The adventurers couldn’t help but be on edge.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Hassan approached El Pam and greeted him.

Of course, the greeting was not his purpose.

“It seems you’re heading to the Ossyria Continent now. Where are you going?”

He wanted to figure out their destination.

El Pam answered his question.

“We’re going to Ariant.”

At his answer, the expressions of the adventurers around them relaxed.

Hassan’s expression, however, was different.

As someone based in the Ariant Kingdom, El Pam was now a competitor.

No, beyond competition, rumors were bound to spread.

‘Damn it.’

The El Pam party is here, the ones who saved the leader of the Hassan party, the monster hunters, and extorted 60 million meso from them.

That kind of rumor.

For Hassan, it was a frustrating situation in many ways.

Of course, that didn’t mean Hassan could do anything drastic to El Pam.

There was only one thing he could do.

“The Nihal Desert, huh? Be careful. It’s a much more dangerous place than Victoria Island.”

It was a warning.

“Especially if it’s a place overflowing with treasure, you’d better be extra careful. Like the Prince’s Tomb.”

With that repeated warning, Hassan stepped back.

Then, as Hassan retreated, Divo, who had been listening, spoke up.

“Thank you very much for the warning.”

A smirk played on Divo’s lips as he spoke.

“You’re a truly generous person in many ways. Give items, give money, even give advice. Maybe I should buy you a meal sometime?”

This was because he knew Hassan’s words weren’t sincere advice, but more like a curse.

“He’s not wrong.”

Of course, that didn’t mean Hassan’s warning was completely unfounded.

“Ariant is very dangerous.”

“Sure, it’s dangerous. Even among pirates, more pirates die in the desert than at sea.”

It was actually sound advice.

“Especially the Prince’s Tomb you mentioned earlier, it’s a real hell. There are countless adventurers who have gotten lost there.”

The much-mentioned Prince’s Tomb!

It was literally the tomb of a dead prince.

The Yellow rank Mystic Gate that Prince Sale, the fourth prince of Abdullah VIII, failed to conquer.

Of course, it was a place overflowing with value, far beyond comparison to Jack Richie’s tomb.

That’s why adventurers were searching for it with fire in their eyes.

However, it was a place where not even its location was properly known, let alone its conquest.

No, it wasn’t just that the location was unknown, but those who tried to find it were mysteriously assassinated.

That’s why the Prince’s Tomb was always mentioned when warning adventurers who set foot in Ariant.

Of course, Divo and the rest of the El Pam party weren’t too worried about the Prince’s Tomb.

“Hey, why worry about something we’re not even going to?”

It wasn’t a place you could find even if you deliberately searched for it.

It would be strange to worry about it.

“Right, boss?”

El Pam didn’t answer Divo.

“Boss?”

Divo tilted his head at El Pam’s silence, then seemed to realize something and said with a hardened expression.

“N-No way, right?”

El Pam acting like this meant he was definitely aiming for that place.

And that was crazy.

As mentioned before, the Prince’s Tomb was on a completely different level from Jack Richie’s tomb.

It wasn’t a place where you could easily get close to, let alone conquer.

It wasn’t a place that an adventurer who had just set foot in the Ariant Kingdom could even dare to discuss.

The problem was that it was El Pam.

El Pam was an adventurer who always did something beyond common sense.

That’s why everyone was tense.

“No.”

At El Pam’s answer, Divo and his colleagues all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phew, I thought so.”

“Honestly, I was scared.”

“Hey, you need to chill out. You’re scaring people for no reason.”

“I was worried you were going to risk your life for a place with no bounty.”

El Pam gave them a short reply.

“Not yet.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Not yet.”

At those words, Divo swallowed instead of asking again.

If not yet, didn’t that mean they would go someday?

It sent chills down his spine.

Of course, it didn’t mean they were going right away.

And it was actually impossible to go right away.

‘We can’t enter right now anyway. The Sand Painting Group is occupying the Prince’s Tomb.’

There was a process to go through before entering the Fourth Prince’s Tomb.

In other words, that was the only problem.

‘But if we can just get in…’

El Pam wasn’t worried about what would happen after they entered.

‘Conquering it won’t be a problem.’

It was simple.

‘Helios’ Necklace.’

Because he had it.

‘As long as I have this absurd item that reduces the mana consumption of fire magic by half…’

As El Pam lightly touched the necklace, he heard a sound.

Flap flap flap!

“The sails are down!”

“We’re setting sail!”

The sound of leaving Victoria Island and heading towards Ariant.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]