005
Chapter 2. Gold Slime (1)
One.
Top of Gapor.
It was one of the top ten merchants, the largest of which was located in the port city of Rees, and quickly rose to power.
That is, in terms of history and tradition, it falls short of the other top ten ports in Leeds.
Nonetheless, it was based in the tallest and largest building in the port city of Leith.
The number of people coming and going from the top of Gapor was as large as the size of the building.
“Hey, haven’t I seen that person somewhere?”
“Where? There are so many people, I don’t know.”
So much so that you can’t tell who’s who.
It’s hard to even recognize the faces of adventurers, so it’s highly unlikely that anyone would know the names of slaves.
“Hey, that guy!”
“Oh, it’s Palm?”
But El Palm, he was an exception. He was more famous than most adventurers in the upper Gapor branch.
It was worth it.
“Are you back alive again?”
“Wow, you survived as a bait slave again.”
It is said that he has been returning alive for years as a bait slave, which is usually difficult to do more than three times.
Looking at such El Palm, people thought.
“Seeing him come back alive like that, the upper part of Gapor must have been really terrible.”
“Of course. It would be better to just die than to run away from the Gapor top.”
Even though they are on the subject of going through hell, the fact that they don’t run away from the top of Gapor suggests that the top of Gapor is scarier than hell.
“No, wait a minute.”
But at some point, the atmosphere surrounding El Palm began to change for the worse.
“Why are you coming alone?”
“alone?”
“Could it be that you are the only one who survived the Mystic Gate?”
Because those who returned alive alone during the Mystic Gate era were treated as ominous beings.
Moreover, El Palm was a bait slave, so it was natural that the gaze looking at him would become sharp.
A sharp gaze that would have taken anyone’s breath away flew towards El Palm.
‘It’s the same as before.’
But El Palm was still good.
Honestly, I didn’t even feel anything.
Horntail, compared to the six gazes sent by the three heads of that monster, this wasn’t even a gaze.
Of course, before returning, El Palm of the past was different.
‘At that time, my mind wasn’t in its right state.’
Because El Palm’s mentality was destroyed as he was suddenly thrown as bait and all the adventurers were wiped out in the process, and he barely managed to find the exit and escape alone while avoiding the orange mushrooms that were rushing in.
In fact, at that time, I wasn’t even aware that I had opened the first circle.
I came here with a bewildered expression, just thinking that I had to inform the upper echelons of Gapor of this fact.
But now it was different.
“But your expression is so calm? Doesn’t it look like the party was completely destroyed?”
El Palm walked through the building on top of Gapor with a cold, almost indifferent expression on his face.
“Now, wait a minute.”
And he showed it willingly.
“That thing on his wrist. Is that a circle?”
2.
Rakan, one of the executives at the top of Gapor.
“El Palm? Who is that?”
His first reaction when he heard about El Palm was one of doubt.
“What, slave?”
When he heard the explanation that followed, Rakan was surprised.
But I wasn’t angry.
It was because I knew.
“You wouldn’t come to me just because you’re a slave living alone. What’s going on?”
When a low-level employee at the top of Gapor finds himself on his own two feet, there’s a good reason for it.
“You opened Circle 1?”
And only when he heard the explanation did he realize that it was a reason for him to come to him.
“hmm.”
But I wasn’t that surprised.
“The bait slave opened the circle… … .”
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. No, it happens more often than you might think.
There were more people who opened the 1st circle than expected, and so the era of adventurers could begin.
So the fact that Circle 1 was opened was not a big problem in itself.
“Bait slave.”
The problem is that the target is a bait slave, someone who cannot possibly have good intentions at the top of Gapor.
Moreover, he wasn’t just a bait slave.
“Three years?”
I can confidently say that of all the bait slaves still alive, he was the one with the most resentment towards the upper class of Gapor.
So that was the problem.
“It’s a headache when it grows up.”
What if this guy becomes a successful adventurer later on? Will that adventurer maintain good relations with the Gapor top? Even if he does, he will have to do a lot of lobbying to maintain that relationship.
In other words, from the perspective of the upper ranks of Gapor, it was most comfortable to just get rid of it.
But this wasn’t easy either.
“I don’t think it’s right to just kill him.”
Even though Gapor’s top did all sorts of bad things, it was still a top after all. A top where trust with the person who signed the contract was more important than life!
The same was true for El Palm.
I signed a contract with him. Since I made a mistake in that situation, I’m going to kill him right away?
Of course, I could do it secretly, but what if I got caught? The risk was greater than I thought.
On the other hand, killing El Palm right away wouldn’t be beneficial to the Gapor top. Killing an adventurer who had the ability to repay a debt would be a considerable loss in itself.
That is, a balance was needed here.
“So what’s the status?”
How much of a threat is El Palm at the top of Gapor, and how does that weigh?
“You said you walked here calmly?”
But the moment he heard the explanation that followed, Rakan’s expression changed.
It was common for adventurers and bait slaves to be slaughtered beyond the Mystic Gate, but that did not mean it was a minor incident.
A matter that would normally make you lose your mind.
But he had a calm expression?
“So? What? You suggested that we change our contracts to fit the role of an adventurer?”
And instead of being surprised by the words that followed, Rakan narrowed his eyes.
In fact, this was never a good situation.
As I said before, it is impossible for someone who was a bait slave to have good feelings towards the upper class of Gapor.
For the Gapor upper class, it was a very risky thing for a former bait slave to become an adventurer.
However, if you are afraid of that risk, you will not be able to survive as a merchant.
‘He’s the one with the distribution.’
What is certain is that, judging by what is coming out like this, it is different from the adventurers who have just opened a circle.
Of course, Rakan didn’t worry about it any further.
El Palm is, by all accounts, just a novice adventurer who has just opened the first circle.
From the perspective of the great upper class, Gapor was nothing more than a large rock on the side of the road.
Rakan, one of the key executives at the top of that huge Gapor, was not someone to be concerned about.
So Rakan sorted out the situation.
“Leave that guy El Palm to Abisu.”
3.
“It’s called Ebisu.”
The man who held out his hand along with the horse had a face completely covered with a bushy beard.
It was also big.
A look you can never forget once you see it.
‘Ebisu.’
It was thanks to that.
‘The left arm of Rakan, one of the executives at the top of Gapor.’
El Palm could easily recall the name and identity of the man in front of him from his old memories.
‘I caught something good.’
And I was happy that Ebisu had come.
‘Because it means Rakan cares about me.’
El Palm, before returning, he looked more foolish than anyone else at the moment he opened the 1st circle.
He appeared to be sensible, and the upper echelon of Gapor treated El Palm sensibly.
Just as it is common knowledge that adventurers who owe a lot of money to the top of Gapor are exploited until they die, El Palm was also exploited until the very end.
That’s why it took me three years to find freedom.
The initial debt was 1 million mesos, but in the process of handling the requests from the Gapor upper class, he eventually had no choice but to borrow money or items from them.
Since I couldn’t just die, I ended up getting into debt again, and the debt just kept growing.
So it took three years.
El Palm was a better case, and most people just lived their whole lives with their noses pierced by the top of Gapor.
‘I have no intention of repeating history.’
Needless to say, El Palm had no intention of being used like that.
So, he showed a rather unique appearance, and that appearance caused the reaction that the executive, Rakan, wanted.
‘Ebisu is the best.’
Furthermore, El Palm was greatly satisfied with the fact that the opponent in front of him was Ebisu, the left arm of the executive officer Rakan.
The left arm means one of the closest associates.
‘Because he’s the guy who wants to be my right arm.’
But it also meant that I couldn’t be satisfied with my position.
It was as expected.
Ebisu, who had come to this place, was thinking through his bushy beard.
‘He’s definitely not an ordinary guy.’
The Gapor top was a place that became a top 10 by handling high-risk tasks that other tops would not dare to touch.
Most of the adventurers that Gapor encounters are of poor quality in many ways.
Ebisu, who had met and dealt with such types of people in person, naturally had a different perspective.
‘There is a distribution.’
To such Ebisu, El Palm was clearly different from an adventurer who had just opened the first circle.
“You said you wanted to change the contract?”
“yes.”
“Change from a slave contract to an adventurer contract. It shouldn’t be difficult. I’ll change it for you. Then, from now on, I’ll classify you as an F-class adventurer and change the contract.”
“I request Class E.”
“E-rank? To you, who hasn’t even received a rank from the Adventurer’s Association yet?”
And something else was appropriate.
“I’ve been a bait slave and ventured through the Mystic Gate hundreds of times. Even if you’re an F-rank adventurer, it wouldn’t be strange for you to be given a D-rank with that much experience.”
Because he had an extraordinary career.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it was an easy story.
Because D-class treatment was not ordinary treatment.
That’s understandable, because originally the Adventurer’s Association divided adventurers into five levels.
Beginner, Junior, Veteran, Ultimate, Master.
However, after the Mystic Gate era began and adventurers began to overflow, the Adventurer’s Association felt the need to further subdivide the adventurer ranks, and from then on began using a rank system starting from F-rank.
That’s why, in the past, being treated as a D-rank was like being a junior adventurer, not a beginner.
The level was clearly different.
‘That’s how it’ll turn out.’
But Ebisu knew that El Palm would turn out like this.
The background of El Palm showing a different side from others, the background of this distribution, must be the experience of that bait slave.
And as El Palm said, it was clearly a very valid experience.
“Even so, it’s just experience as a bait slave. Haven’t you ever properly caught a monster?”
“Other adventurers are good at catching monsters, but I am better at surviving against monsters. This time was no exception. All the other adventurers died, but I, the slave, survived.”
The virtue of an adventurer is to have adventures and survive.
The first adventurers also survived and were able to gain such great names and fame.
And merchants like Ebisu needed such adventurers.
An adventurer who is willing to go where no one else goes.
‘hmm.’
Of course, El Palm was not a trustworthy adventurer at the time.
Surviving three years as a bait slave is impressive, but being an adventurer is definitely a different ballgame.
Instead, one thing was certain.
‘It’s a shame to just kill him.’
Avis had no intention of killing El Palm.
Then there was only one thing left.
“There is a Mystic Gate. If you complete the quest there, I will treat you as an E-rank adventurer.”
Doing a test.
“You can even hunt a horntail with words.”
El Palm answered Ebisu, who brought up the contract like that.
“I’ll show you that it’s not just words.”
El Palm, he signed the contract.
fantasy,
