The Last Adventurer

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 99: Pharaoh (2)

3.

There were various reasons why adventurers were enthusiastic about Mystic Gates.

One of them was the fact that the difficulty level could be gauged before entering the Mystic Gate.

The number of people allowed to enter indicated the difficulty level.

At the same time, the difficulty level increased the adventurer’s value.

“After the Mystic Gates appeared, the value of skilled adventurers literally skyrocketed. The reason? Simple. They’re like jokers in poker that allow you to ignore the difficulty level.”

Skilled adventurers became the ultimate trump card.

In fact, while the average survival rate of adventurers in Mystic Gates was low, the survival rate of skilled adventurers was extremely high.

It was strange for them to die.

Of course, there were occasional deaths, but they usually occurred when they took on reckless adventures, adventures to increase their fame.

Naturally, no one disliked adventuring in Mystic Gates with skilled adventurers.

Unless they were competitors.

But now it was different.

“Thunderbolt!”

Crackle!

None of the adventurers, including Pir, were pleased with the overwhelming sight of Rick’s transcendent abilities.

‘What in the world is going on?’

It was too out of the norm.

Literally.

‘Over 300 Mummy Dogs alone?’

Rick was literally slaughtering the terrifying Mummy Dogs, monsters that were difficult to catch even one of.

‘Was Thunderbolt that kind of magic?’

Not just any magic, but lightning magic, considered the most difficult magic attribute to handle, was being wielded freely by Rick.

‘A mage can do that alone?’

Rick didn’t even receive help from his comrades in the process.

He ignored the truth of adventurers, that mages cast and use magic under the support and help of fellow adventurers, and single-handedly slaughtered the monsters.

It was natural that onlookers would be more shocked than impressed.

‘Impressive.’

Among those who were shocked was Rick himself.

No, in a way, the most shocked person at this moment was none other than Rick himself.

‘I never thought this would be possible.’

Rick knew his talent well.

He could handle lightning.

Of course, it wasn’t absolute.

To give an analogy, it was like this.

Most people couldn’t last 10 seconds on a wild horse, but some could ride it.

But being able to ride and properly handle it were two different things.

‘Zeus’s Ring, what an amazing item.’

But Zeus’s Ring made that separate thing possible.

That’s why Rick was surprised.

The moment he started to properly handle lightning, the abilities he could achieve were beyond even his imagination.

Of course, there was one exception.

‘As expected.’

El Pam was not surprised at all by what Rick was showing.

There was no reason to be surprised.

‘Just like Lightning God Rick.’

He had experienced Rick’s abilities, his abilities with Zeus’s Ring, firsthand.

Anyway, that was El Pam’s case.

“Oh my God.”

Divo and the rest of El Pam’s companions were all shocked.

And they were even more shocked than the others.

“Hey, I think he’s better at it than our leader?”

“Goldeneye, what are you talking about? Our boss is better!”

“Better, my ass. If you have eyes, you can’t help but know, right? Rick’s Thunderbolt moves like a snake. Compared to that, our leader’s Thunderbolt feels like an earthworm.”

“Hey! What kind of nonsense are you talking about? The boss is the best!”

“Then want to bet money? On who’s better?”

El Pam, at least when it came to lightning magic, Rick was showing a much better performance.

“Okay, I’ll bet! I’ll bet!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m betting on Rick being better! Goldeneye, you bet on the boss!”

“Are you kidding me?”

Even Divo admitted that Rick was better.

That was a big deal.

The trust and faith in El Pam within the El Pam party was higher than anyone else’s.

Crucially, the El Pam party knew El Pam’s abilities better than anyone else.

Yet they admitted that Rick was better than El Pam.

“Damn, I wish it was a joke.”

Of course, it wasn’t a welcome thing for the El Pam party.

“Boss, why did you give him that thing?”

The fact that it was none other than El Pam who made Rick, who was already overflowing with fame, even more of a monster.

To that question, El Pam replied.

“Because he’ll use it better than I do.”

It wasn’t wrong.

“In fact, thanks to him, we’re conquering the Mystic Gate comfortably without any battles.”

Thanks to Rick’s performance, the Mystic Gate conquest was proceeding very smoothly.

In the case of the El Pam party, they hadn’t even had a single battle!

Moreover, El Pam knew.

‘Rick will continue to fight in order to adapt.’

Rick would not refuse a fight.

“But, boss, it still doesn’t make sense to just give it away, does it?”

Of course, El Pam’s companions couldn’t easily understand.

And El Pam couldn’t explain the details either.

“By any chance.”

At that point, Divo asked cautiously.

“Can we get it back?”

“It’s a bit much to give it away and then take it back.”

And at El Pam’s answer, Divo and everyone else’s expressions hardened once again.

At that point, El Pam said quietly.

“Unless there’s a special reason.”

El Pam’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.

But no one understood the meaning of his narrowed eyes.

And there was no time for that.

“We continue the adventure! Everyone, remember! This is the Mystic Gate that Phantom Thief himself pointed out! We don’t know what dangers lie ahead!”

At Pir’s command, everyone continued their adventure with their guard up.

But there was no real crisis.

Crackle!

In front of Rick’s performance, everyone was able to reach their destination too easily.

“It’s the gate to the second floor.”

4.

There was a saying that always came up when talking about adventurers.

“So who’s the strongest among the adventurers? A mage? A warrior? Or a thief?”

There was no answer.

“Isn’t it a pirate? Think of Captain Kairin! Nothing can escape death in front of her gun!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. In terms of sheer power, it’s the Great Sage Heinz! He can use all kinds of magic!”

“You’re all talking nonsense. So who’s the closest to Empress Cygnus right now? It’s the Knight Commander Mihile!”

But there was no better topic of conversation, so when this conversation started, people usually spent a whole day on it.

Then there was this kind of conversation.

“I’ve been wondering for a while, who’s the strongest mage among the mages?”

“Now? It’s Heinz, isn’t it?”

“No, not that. Among the attributes like fire, ice, and so on, which one is the strongest?”

Which attribute is the strongest mage?

In fact, the answer to that question came quickly.

“It’s lightning, without a doubt.”

It was an obvious answer.

Fire, ice, poison, and other attributes were not that difficult to defend against.

But lightning was different.

Just touching it caused fatal damage.

For that reason, lightning mages were treated much better than other mages of the same level.

“Thunderbolt.”

Crackle!

Rick was proving that fact right now.

Crackle!

He was wiping out the monsters, demonstrating the overwhelming power of lightning magic.

“How is it that he seems to get sharper as time goes by?”

What was even more surprising was that Rick’s skills were improving rather than deteriorating as time went by.

“A genius is a genius.”

Seeing that sight, Divo and the rest of El Pam’s companions now acknowledged it.

“Thanks to him, we’ll get through this easily.”

“Not just easily, we have nothing to do!”

Putting Zeus’s Ring in Rick’s hands instead of El Pam’s was clearly the right choice in terms of strategy.

Thanks to that.

“It’s a gate!”

The adventurers were able to find the exit to the third floor.

“No one died!”

Without a single casualty.

It was a miraculous result.

Even for experienced adventurers, if 100 people entered a Mystic Gate, about 10 would die before reaching the third floor.

No, it was common to say that it was a great achievement if only 10 people died.

Moreover, the environment the adventurers were facing here was not easy at all.

The first floor alone was filled with a horde of Mummy Dogs, which were no different from hellhounds to adventurers.

And yet, no one had died before reaching the third floor?

“As expected of the Lightning Tyrant!”

Moreover, the result was entirely due to the ability of one adventurer.

No one was shocked by that fact anymore.

There was only one emotion they felt.

‘With Rick, this Mystic Gate will be no problem.’

The certainty of success!

And the excitement about that certainty was stronger than ever.

Naturally.

‘This is how we’re going to clear Phantom Thief’s mission.’

The reward for this Mystic Gate would be related to none other than Phantom Thief, the hero from hundreds of years ago who had disappeared.

Whatever the reward was, it would be something to be remembered for a lifetime, no, something to be remembered in the history of Maple World adventurers.

Pir was no exception.

Even he, the most level-headed adventurer of all, had no doubts at this moment.

‘The strategy will definitely succeed.’

Everyone was confident of success.

There was only one exception.

‘This is too easy.’

El Pam was not confident of success at this moment.

‘For something Phantom Thief prepared.’

El Pam had never seen Phantom Thief.

But he had heard many stories about him.

He knew what kind of person he was.

And as the last adventurer, he also knew well what kind of end Phantom Thief had met in the chaotic era when monsters emerged from the Mystic Gates.

‘He’s more methodical than anyone.’

The Phantom Thief that El Pam knew was not one to do anything haphazardly.

His actions were full of mischief, but everything he wanted to do had a perfect plan and preparation.

‘This must be a test.’

Considering Phantom Thief’s personality, this Mystic Gate was likely a test.

A test to see if they were worthy of taking on his real request.

Needless to say, the level Phantom Thief demanded would be incredibly high.

Crucially, El Pam knew.

‘Phantom Thief has a special eye.’

One of the greatest abilities that made Phantom Thief one of the Six Heroes was his ability to see through the essence of things.

With that eye, Phantom Thief could see.

‘What kind of boss monster is in the Mystic Gate.’

What no one else could see.

In other words, Phantom Thief knew.

What kind of monster was here.

It meant that they shouldn’t dare to be confident of success.

El Pam’s prediction soon became a reality.

“Move to the third floor.”

Following Pir’s instructions, all the adventurers moved towards the third floor without any hesitation.

Those who crossed over could see.

“A jungle?”

A jungle overgrown with vegetation.

“Not bad.”

Most of the adventurers smiled at the appearance of the jungle.

Compared to environments like deserts, snowfields, and swamps, the jungle was a laughable stage.

“This will be easy.”

Divo was no exception.

“Don’t you think so, boss? Huh?”

But El Pam, whom Divo turned to look at, was different.

It wasn’t that he was frowning or had a hardened expression.

El Pam’s expression wasn’t much different from usual.

There was one thing different.

‘The boss’s eyes?’

His eyes were more sunken than before.

Divo knew better than anyone what that meant.

‘There’s something here.’

It meant that they needed to tighten their vigilance.

Besides El Pam, there was one other person who sensed something here.

“Pir?”

Hero Tracker Pir, his face was devoid of the relaxed expression and smile he had before crossing the exit on the second floor.

“Everyone, pay attention.”

Instead, he said with a hardened expression.

“There’s a Pharaoh Snake here.”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]