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Chapter 3. Hero Slayer (3)
7.
The era of monsters, when all the existing order and rules established in Maple World were destroyed so mercilessly.
That era could hardly be described as hell.
But this wasn’t the first time that such a time had occurred.
There was a similar time hundreds of years ago.
Black Wizard!
When that absolute evil appeared, Maple World was faced with despair that seemed endless.
That’s why people hoped for it like that back then.
“The hero will save us!”
I hope a hero will appear like that.
And as if living up to their expectations, in an era overflowing with monsters, the heroes of that time, the heroes who sealed the black magician, appeared.
Evan, the descendant of Dragon Master Fried, Luminous, the enemy of destiny, Mercedes, the king of the elves, Phantom the thief, Aran, the warrior of the polearm, and Eunwol, the cursed and forgotten hero.
All six heroes appeared in the Age of Monsters, and they lived up to their names.
‘The hero was great.’
A dazzling performance that spares no expense.
‘But the world was so cruel.’
But the times were more troublesome than they thought.
To be exact, there weren’t only monsters.
Behind the appearance of the monster, there were none other than the followers of the Black Wizard.
Of course, the followers of the black magician would not just sit back and watch the six heroes.
Eventually, destruction struck.
‘Aran was the first to die in that tragedy.’
Aran, the warrior of Polarm, she is dead.
It wasn’t just death either.
‘Divo, on his polearm.’
He was killed by an adventurer, not a monster.
“Is that you?”
The man with the sharp features and short stature standing before my eyes was that man.
Hero Slayer Divo.
“You called me?”
The moment such a person saw El Palm, he immediately started talking to him informally.
It wasn’t just informal speech either.
Kaak, phew!
He spat openly in front of El Palm, showing that he was not in a good mood.
That’s just bad character, they weren’t on the same level.
Although not as good as at the top of Gapor, the treatment of non-adventurers in the labor market was not very good.
Especially in front of adventurers, they were thorough.
But now, that adventurer, and not just any adventurer, but a 2nd circle adventurer, is showing that kind of attitude in front of him?
He was rude and not up to par.
‘What a crazy answer.’
It was just crazy.
It wasn’t just now.
Devo ran wild like a madman even in front of monsters. That’s why he was more active than anyone else.
‘A mad dog recognized by Aran. So he ended up becoming Aran’s disciple.’
With such talent, Aran, the hero of Polarm, willingly took Divo in as his disciple.
‘He became the best hunting dog under Aran.’
And Devo followed Aran better than anyone else.
In fact, the results that those two, Aran and Divo, produced on the battlefield were amazing.
In a world overflowing with monsters, the two made their way.
There was just a problem.
‘Until I met Zakum.’
Zakum, the devil’s tree.
The monster that appeared in the Elnas Mountains drove everyone it encountered mad.
It drove me mad.
Devo was no exception.
Eventually, the mad Devo killed Aran.
No detailed story about the process was known.
People just speculated.
‘Aran loved Divo more than anyone else. It must not have been easy for her to kill Divo.’
The hero who would not put down his polearm even in front of the black wizard would put down his polearm only in front of his disciple.
‘There was no story after Devo went to hunt Eregos, the skeleton demon that ruled Victoria Island, alone.’
Also, the sole survivor, Devo, wandered alone and disappeared from the world.
Hero Slayer, leaving behind only that nickname.
“Hey, if you call someone, you have to say something. What do you want to do now?”
That kind of devotion was right before my eyes.
It was my first time seeing it.
Of course, we never talked about it.
Still, El Palm knew Devo well.
‘There have been a lot of comparisons between us.’
It was because El Palm and Divo had a lot in common.
First of all, both of them were from the port city of Leith.
‘The timing of awakening is also similar.’
And not long after El Palm awakened, Divo awakened.
It means that the time when they became adventurers is similar.
After that, Divo’s growth rate was faster, but after the Age of Monsters, their abilities were similar.
“Damn, you dumb bastard. Okay, so how much are you going to pay me? My ransom is expensive.”
“How much do you want?”
“How much? This kid is funny. Give me whatever amount you want.”
Of all of them, that was the most similar.
‘My younger sister had black blood cells.’
I have a family member who has black blood, that cursed disease.
Of course, there were differences as well.
El Palm’s father died from black blood cells.
But now, Devo’s sister was alive.
“1 million mesos. With that much, I’m confident I can run like a dog even more than a dog.”
That is, Devo needed money.
And Divo knew how desperate it was, desperate enough to sell his life for a million mesos.
That’s why El Palm didn’t hesitate.
“Huh? Can you give it to me? Huh?”
I took it out in front of Divo, who was snorting and sneering.
“uh?”
I took out a check.
A check for one million mesos.
“uh!”
At that moment, Devo said with a surprised expression.
8.
“Hey, is this real?”
The moment the words were spoken, Divo hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand and spoke.
“No, so is this real?”
Divo suddenly becomes polite.
In some ways, it was a rather annoying sight.
But El Palm had no intention of reprimanding Divo for his forward arrogance or rudeness.
Because he knew better than anyone what this 1 million mesos meant to Divo.
That’s why I didn’t say anything unnecessary.
“The contract period is one year.”
Briefly.
“The profits are 7 to 3, and I have priority for the items obtained beyond the gate.”
I just said what I wanted.
And that was enough for El Palm.
‘The hero slayer buys time against the monster, and I kill him.’
For there were few things more valuable than having the great adventurer, the hero slayer, standing before him.
Moreover, El Palm knew.
‘You’ll wake up soon enough.’
Although he is currently no different from a slave, he knows that soon a circle will appear on Divo’s left wrist.
If you think about it that way, one million mesos is just a small amount of money.
“It’s a contract.”
Divo did not hesitate at El Palm’s offer.
After biting off my left thumb with my teeth, I stamped my bloody thumb on the contract.
It left a bloodstain.
“1 million mesos, no worries.”
And then he said in a polite voice.
However, the look in his eyes was far from polite.
‘If this is true, you’re screwed.’
If there was anything that could block this situation, if there was anyone who denied it, it was a look in his eyes that seemed ready to burn to death.
Even if it’s a terrifying monster.
El Palm was convinced by those eyes.
‘It’s true that he’s a hero slayer.’
That the person in front of me was the one I knew.
‘No.’
Moreover, Devo will no longer be called a hero-slayer. The world will call him by his original nickname.
‘The one who makes the way.’
Road Maker, the glorious nickname for making a path through the despair filled with monsters.
‘It’s still not enough, though.’
Of course, now Divo was far from being sufficient.
It didn’t take long for him to achieve such brilliant fame.
‘It’s something that can be fixed if you polish it.’
But El Palm, for whom time was more precious than anything else, had no intention of letting time pass by just like that.
It was the same even then.
“Now that the contract has been signed, we will begin the assault on Mystic Gate.”
Divo nodded at El Palm’s words.
There were no complaints.
If you receive 1 million mesos, the money that could save your little sister’s life, then it’s time to pay a corresponding price.
He said it with his own mouth right away.
“Of course, I’ll jump for you like a dog.”
I will work harder than anyone else.
Of course, Divo thought.
El Palm will be a trustworthy leader.
‘It’s not ordinary to have this much money.’
Of course, he is not an adventurer, but he is someone who would not hesitate to pay 1 million mesos to rescue a single slave.
It means that money is overflowing and rotting.
And on this floor, money soon determined the quality of the party.
No matter how great an adventurer is, he becomes a docile lamb and a loyal hunting dog when it comes to money.
“So where are the other colleagues?”
Of course, Divo has no doubt that El Palm’s colleagues also have outstanding abilities.
Instead of answering, El Palm pointed at Divo with his index finger.
“yes?”
At that designation, Divo tilted his head and turned his head back.
“Is this a wall?”
After looking at the wall like that, Divo turns his head back to its original position.
But El Palm’s finger was still pointed at Divo, and only then did Divo point his finger at himself.
“Me?”
Divo burst into laughter at that fact.
“Oh, of course I’m a colleague. I mean, someone else besides me.”
In fact, I felt grateful here.
Those who had not awakened to the adventurers were literally slaves, nothing more, nothing less.
And yet he treats you as a colleague?
‘What a kind person.’
Even if it was just words, it was heartwarming in many ways for Devo, who had never been treated as a colleague before.
El Palm said to such a Divo.
“It’s you and me, just the two of us.”
“yes?”
“The two of us will conquer the Mystic Gate.”
“yes?”
At that moment, Debo’s thoughts stopped.
Just two people are conquering the Mystic Gate?
Even one of them is a slave who hasn’t even awakened?
‘Did I hear wrong?’
No matter how much he racked his brain, it was a story that was impossible for Divo to understand with common sense. So Divo asked.
“Hey boss. Are you kidding me? How are the two of you going to conquer the Mystic Gate?”
El Palm responded with an expression on his face to that question.
I’m not kidding.
“No, really.”
Divo, who saw that expression, now became irritated.
“Boss! Don’t you know the basics? The basics of the Mystic Gate adventure are to assemble a party of at least four people! Warrior, Mage, Archer, Thief, or Pirate!”
It was natural to feel annoyed.
“No, why are you doing this when you have so much money?”
Why should I go through hell myself when I can just hire adventurers with money?
To such questions El Palm said:
“2 million mesos.”
“Yes, two million mesos is more than enough to hire ten adventurers!”
“It’s my debt.”
“yes?”
There’s no such thing as money.
Divo looks even more dumbfounded at that fact.
El Palm knew how Divo felt. Even so, if he were in Divo’s situation, he would have made that kind of expression.
There was also a way to persuade such a debacle.
It wasn’t difficult.
El Palm, he just needs to show his abilities.
But here El Palm wanted to do one test.
‘Are you sure you’re willing to risk your life for a contract?’
How much trust do you have in Devo?
This was important.
El Palm, he didn’t just give Divo a million mesos to clear a few Mystic Gates and get a few items.
No, money aside, El Palm had too much to do right now.
In addition to hunting the Horntail, I also had to identify those mysterious beings who had brought despair to this world.
I had to go against the fate of Maple World, which was destined for destruction.
What El Palm needed was someone willing to throw themselves into this merciless fate.
‘If Devo is more rational than I thought, there’s no reason to take him with me.’
In front of such El Palm, Divo scratched his head nervously.
He looked very worried.
“Boss, no matter how I think about it, this is too dangerous.”
Then he said soon.
“Could you give me just 100,000 mesos more? You can lend it to me.”
fantasy,
