029
Chapter 9. Traps (2)
5.
The news of the appearance of the 100 Mystic Gates quickly spread throughout Victoria Island, including the port city of Leith.
Naturally, news of the disaster spread quickly.
“Only 3 people survived? There were 100 people who went in?”
“97 people died? 97 of the most skilled adventurers among the E-rank adventurers in each tier?”
In particular, the world paid attention to the results.
“The three survivors are said to be from the upper ranks of Gapor?”
“really?”
“No, everyone died, but only the adventurers at the top of Gapor survived?”
The only thing that benefited from the disaster was the upper part of Gapor.
“Didn’t the upper part of Gapor do something?”
Of course, the reason the world was interested was because it was a great material for creating conspiracy theories.
“The top of Gapor was trolling to eliminate their competitors?”
In fact, it was a conspiracy theory that made no sense.
In any case, the upper part of Gapor also suffered considerable damage due to this disaster.
However, there were some disadvantages for the upper class of Gapor.
“If it’s the top of Gapor, then it’s okay to do something like that. It’s not even the most basic thing to begin with, right?”
First of all, the upper part of Gapor has accumulated karma over time.
“In the first place, Gapor sent the Signus Knights trainees on this adventure, right?”
“I heard that the two adventurers from Gapor who joined this time are practically beginners?”
“They said that they were young adventurers who had awakened less than a year ago!”
And another thing is that the upper part of Gapor did not invest power, these factors gave wings to the conspiracy theory.
The conspiracy theory thus born quickly filled the port city of Leith.
That was it.
Surprisingly, the story about this disaster did not develop or spread any further.
Actually, that was the reality.
“Why are you so noisy? It’s a red level anyway.”
No matter how much attention it received, the stage was only for adventurers of Red rank, E rank, and lower.
In Maple World, which is full of stories of not only A-class adventurers but also S-class adventurers, their stories are nothing more than child’s play.
“It’s not like I got a unique item. I ended up failing, right?”
Moreover, the world’s evaluation of failures was cold.
That was the world of adventurers.
The top teens also did not express any opinions on the disaster. They were not even interested, let alone had any opinions.
“How many people?”
The only exception was the upper part of Cania, one of the top ten.
The upper reaches of Kania took a special interest in this disaster.
“97 people died, my lord.”
Because none other than the master of the upper ranks, Ivok, personally received the report on this.
Of course, the Evoque upper class was not saddened by this disaster or anything.
“Sorry, the plan failed.”
The head of the Ivok company looked at the bowed executive Ito without saying a word.
Finally, the head of the Evoque opened his mouth.
“It is not a failure.”
Only then did the Ivok commander raise his head and speak to the executive.
“He gave the order. Kill all the adventurers. And now there are only three left. That’s it.”
That was enough.
His subordinate nodded.
“Yes, I will obey his command.”
6.
“They are coming to kill us.”
“boss.”
At El Palm’s words, Divo spoke with a stern expression.
“Do you really have to say something like that in front of someone while eating?”
In front of such a devo, a feast of true blessings was laid out.
“Isn’t that a proper first meal?”
Moreover, this was the first meal the two had since leaving Sleepywood Forest and returning to the port city of Reese.
It was a meaningful meal in many ways.
Especially for adventurers, the meal they eat after an adventure is very meaningful.
El Palm also knew that.
That’s what I was saying.
“The adventure is not over yet.”
A meaningful meal is something you do after an adventure is over, that’s the world of adventurers.
Of course, Devo knew too.
El Palm has already explained several times.
And even without that explanation, Debo knew all too well the gravity of this situation.
“Those guys who committed such trolling are the boss, and there’s no way they’d leave me like this.”
If they can pull off a trick of this scale, they will likely pull off an even bigger trick in the future.
“They were guys whose goal was to annihilate us from the beginning.”
El Palm spoke to Divo, who was tearing off a chicken leg in front of him and putting it in his mouth.
“So I’ll give you a choice here.”
“Oh, okay.”
At that moment, Devo interrupted and said.
“Are you asking me whether I will go with you or break up? Since I came all this way, I should go with you, Boss.”
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
Divo chuckled at the follow-up question.
“If I fall off the boss, it becomes less dangerous?”
Debo knew that El Palm carried a special danger.
“And are there any adventures in Maple World that aren’t dangerous?”
But ever since Devo dreamed of becoming an adventurer, there has never been a time when he was free from danger.
Rather, that is why Debo wanted to follow El Palm.
“In my opinion, following the boss around seems to be the safest option.”
Because the abilities that El Palm had shown so far defied comparison with those of any other adventurer.
It wasn’t just strength.
To begin with, strength was not something absolute for adventurers.
‘I don’t know what it is, but there’s something special about Boss. The knowledge he possesses is on a whole other level.’
What is more absolute than that is none other than knowledge!
From that perspective, El Palm was the most trustworthy boss.
Of course, that was the biggest reason.
“Besides, isn’t it different if you follow the boss around?”
Divo making a circle with the thumb and index finger along with the horse.
If you follow El Palm like that gesture, money will follow you.
“Wow, you’re pulling out 1 million mesos at once.”
According to this contract, El Palm and Divo could each receive 1 million mesos in compensation from Gapor.
It was a huge amount of money.
“What should I do with this… … I guess the best thing to do would be to just get some items while I have this opportunity?”
Money that can strengthen your power in many ways.
“So what do you plan to do, boss?”
El Palm answered that question.
“I will pay off my debt.”
“yes?”
“I will repay my debt to Gapor Sangdae.”
“Really?”
It was an unexpected answer from Devo’s point of view.
That would be the case, since up until now, wasn’t El Palm willing to borrow from the top of Gapor rather than repaying its debts?
And now you’re paying it back?
“Does it really have to be like that?”
“Because I can gain freedom.”
“ah!”
At that moment, the word freedom was understood by Divo. The word freedom was worth it.
Moreover, Divo knew the story of El Palm.
How he lived his life for freedom for three years.
Even if the three years spent as a bait slave were the background to the specialness that El Palm shows now, everyone would believe it; the days spent without freedom were so brutal.
So it’s not surprising that they find freedom again.
‘The boss is human too.’
So, Devo felt relieved.
“After gaining freedom.”
El Palm said to such a debacle:
“I will sign a contract with Gapor Top.”
“yes?”
7.
The Sleepywood Forest disaster has left the upper-teens in a state of confusion.
Of these, the most complicated area was the upper part of Gapor.
“El Palm, we have to win it over somehow.”
El Palm, the survivor of the disaster, was the reason.
“Before approaching from another top.”
That would be the case, since those present at the report on the disaster knew of El Palm’s existence.
That he is a 3rd circle.
In fact, the awakening of the 3rd circle itself wasn’t that great.
There were actually quite a few instances of circle ups beyond the Mystic Gate.
Originally, the condition necessary for an adventurer to level up was to obtain a magic stone by hunting monsters and then gain enlightenment.
In particular, this realization was often gained in fierce battles and life-threatening adventures.
The Mystic Gate is the ultimate stage for enlightenment.
It was the same with El Palm right away. It was not strange for him to gain enlightenment in the worst situation where everyone was dying, and he might even die.
The problem was El Palm’s career.
Everyone would be interested in El Palm, and after investigating his career, they would know.
“It’s rare to find an adventurer who grows that fast.”
That he is an adventurer who grows at an incredible rate.
Moreover, El Palm’s career had that.
“It’s even harder to find an adventurer who survives until the end.”
Survival!
In a sense, it was worth much more than his talent.
Anyway, once they knew that, the choices all the tops would make from then on were obvious.
“We have to catch him before he makes a deal with another boss.”
Among all those tops, there was also the top of Gapor.
That was why.
“I would like to repay the debt with the deposit I promised back then.”
When El Palm said that, Evis wasn’t surprised.
Instead, he said it right away.
“So you want to make a new contract?”
Because I understood the intention.
“Tell me how much you want.”
And then Ebisu makes his suggestion, his voice more relaxed than ever.
Because I received the order.
‘Lakhan said, any amount is fine.’
An order to spare no expense in recruiting El Palm.
‘We have to grab it somehow. What happened inside the 100-person Mystic Gate was clearly not a simple disaster.’
Furthermore, the upper ranks of Gapor had heard the story of this incident through the master of the Thieves’ Guild.
That’s why the calculations are different.
‘El Palm is a witness. A very useful witness who, if well-organized, can blow up one or two places in the top 10.’
What if one of the top 10 was planning the trolling, and we got a clue about it?
What if the testimony of the survivor El Palm is added to that?
The power would be enormous.
In many ways, the upper echelons of Gapor had ample reason to spend a huge amount of money on El Palm.
“How much money do you want?”
El Palm said to the leisurely Ebisu.
“Please give me 10 million mesos.”
“what?”
An amount that is out of common sense.
“As a deposit.”
They even said that they would charge a deposit and other expenses separately, not just the annual salary.
From Ebisu’s perspective, it was obviously an absurd amount of money.
“There’s no place that would pay that much in deposit money to a mere D-rank adventurer!”
It was such an absurd amount that I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
El Palm said calmly in response to Ebisu’s reaction.
“All right.”
With those words, El Palm rose from his seat.
That was it.
He didn’t bargain. There was no reason to.
In the first place, this wasn’t a place for negotiation.
‘It’s excessive for the price of a D-class adventurer.’
El Palm also knew.
‘But if it’s the ransom for a trolling witness, it’s a different story.’
The fact that Gapor’s boss had a reason to offer him that kind of money.
El Palm gets up from his seat and goes out of the office.
Abis didn’t catch El Palm like that, but El Palm didn’t seem to have any particular concerns.
As I said before, the top of Gapor will catch itself.
“boss!”
Divo, who had been waiting for El Palm to emerge from the top of Gapor, quickly approached him and spoke.
“What happened?”
“I was rejected.”
“Rejection? Why?”
Devo is surprised by those words.
“Why would you reject someone as powerful as a boss? Did the upper class of Gapor get shot in the head with an arrow?”
“When I asked for a deposit, he refused.”
“The deposit? How much did you ask for?”
“I asked for 10 million mesos, but he refused.”
“These little bastards at the top of Gapor only have 10 million me… … Meh?
At that moment, Divo’s eyes grew wide as if they were going to burst at the sight of the amount of money that had come out.
“No, boss, are you crazy?”
I knew you’d ask for a lot of money, but who would’ve thought you’d ask for 10 million mesos as a deposit?
“Who gives that to you?”
An amount that even the money-loving Devotee can’t accept.
So Divo thought.
“So you weren’t planning on signing a contract with Gapor from the beginning?”
It’s just an expression of will that says, “I don’t want to do it.”
In response, El Palm didn’t bother to explain the situation.
‘If you want to give this much money, Rakan, you’ll have to move.’
Anyway, Gapor Top couldn’t give an answer to this right away. It took time.
‘I’m free, so the deal will come.’
And then they will approach El Palm, whose affiliation has disappeared.
‘The top of Kania.’
They are followers of the black wizard.
‘I’m going to dig a trap.’
To deal with El Palm.
‘Dropping out an irresistible bait.’
He was definitely going to make a tempting offer.
That was another tactic El Palm was after.
“So what are you going to do, boss? Are you going to make a contract with another boss?”
“First, I need to move as a free adventurer. Without any particular affiliation, I need to go to a place where there are good requests. So I need to form a party.”
For that, El Palm was now thinking of forming a party.
“Party? Sounds good. So who are you going to invite?”
“bishop.”
“Bishop? Supporter? Does anyone know?”
Of course, the people to be recruited had already been decided.
“Ralph.”
“Who are you? Is this the first time I’ve heard your name?”
No one knows now, but El Palm knew.
I couldn’t help but know.
‘One of the members of Black Paradise, a group of followers of the black wizard who killed the commander of the Signus Knights, Mikhail.’
Because he was one of the adventurers who turned the world into hell.
fantasy,
