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Chapter 2. Gold Slime (2)
4.
I signed the contract.
A contract to participate in the Mystic Gate conquest proposed by Ebisu.
“I don’t think you don’t know what signing the contract at the top of Gapor means, so I don’t think I need to explain it to you.”
The contract presented by those demons who received the money lent to none other than Gapor, Balrog.
“Let me explain briefly.”
Of course, once you sign it, you can’t go back, so Ebisu said right away.
“This Mystic Gate can accommodate five people, and has twelve wounds.”
El Palm’s eyes narrowed at that explanation.
That was it.
There was no further reaction beyond that.
‘Look at this?’
Ebisu was rather surprised by that fact.
It had to be that way.
The fact that there were 12 wounds on the Mystic Gate meant that at least 12 parties had entered it, but no one had returned alive; it was a monster that preyed on adventurers.
There is no way El Palm, who has lived as a bait slave for three years, would not know that fact.
And yet you’re so calm?
El Palm said to the surprised Ebisu.
“If there are 12 wounds… … I guess it’s not about hunting boss monsters, but recovering items.”
What is the purpose of this request?
Ebisu was satisfied with that answer.
‘I don’t know your skills, but at least you know the Mystic Gate much better than most adventurers.’
Because it wasn’t easy to find an adventurer who could communicate.
“There are a total of 20 items that I need to bring. The price for each is 3,000 mesos.”
Of course, apart from that, the content of the contract was in the style of Gapor Top.
‘The original price of a 1st circle item is over 7,000 mesos.’
They are selling it for 7,000 mesos in the market, but they are only giving it to you for 3,000 mesos. That means they are not even giving you half the price.
However, the requests from the upper part of Gapor were usually like this. Most of the contracts were ones where the adventurer was at a loss.
Still, many adventurers sought out the upper reaches of Gapor. The reason was simple: there were far more adventurers than anyone thought who could not trade normally with other places.
El Palm was like that right away.
He had no choice.
“El Palm, your debt is currently 1 million mesos.”
Although they are recognized as adventurers instead of slaves, the fact remains that El Palm still owes a great debt to the Gapor upper class.
“Try hard.”
In fact, it was an absurd amount.
Because no one would lend a million mesos to a young man working at the port of Leeds.
In fact, El Palm never borrowed money from Gapor.
I bought the black moss that slowed down the progression of my father’s black blood disease on credit from Gapor Merchant, and Gapor Merchant set the price of the black moss I borrowed at that time at 1 million mesos.
And the amount was the same as the amount I had worked for as bait slaves, risking my life.
It was an exorbitant amount, but since the black moss itself was only available in small quantities and had no set price, El Farm had no way to protest.
Gapor’s boss clearly warned him, but he was the one who signed their contract anyway.
This time it was the same.
There was no need for unnecessary words.
“Where are the other four besides me?”
What you have to do is take on the request.
5.
“My name is Chev.”
After signing the contract, the first person El Palm met was Chev, the leader of the four-person party that had already gathered.
He was a large man.
And he was carrying a shield on his back that was even bigger than his size.
“He’s a warrior. He’s also the party’s tank.”
El Palm cautiously extended his hand to shake it with the words.
“My name is El Palm. You can call me Palm.”
El Palm’s voice, as he spoke next, was full of tension.
“boy.”
Then Chev lightly hit El Palm’s shoulder with his palm and said.
“I heard the whole story from Mr. Ebisu. That you were a bait slave? I don’t care about that kind of thing, so don’t worry.”
Encouragement that is repeated over and over again.
“My colleagues are the same.”
Chev’s appearance as he introduced his colleagues was full of generosity and friendliness.
“I will leave it up to you.”
But El Palm looked dull against them.
There was no particular reason to become close.
From El Palm’s perspective, this request is something he can easily do alone.
Also, El Palm was by no means undertaking this commission simply to make money.
Rather, El Palm intended to show.
‘Ebisu wants to be my right-hand man. If I show him my abilities, I’ll get something more certain.’
The ability to achieve greater things.
‘There’s no reason to join hands with them anyway.’
Above all, El Palm knew.
‘With those beginner hunters.’
Their identities.
6.
“Chev, what do you think?”
On the way to the Mystic Gate, at that crossroads, Chev answered his colleague Eva’s question with a faint smile.
“I’m a total beginner.”
That answer brought smiles to the faces of the colleagues around him.
That was quite a strange thing.
Venturing beyond the Mystic Gate was an extremely dangerous undertaking. If my companion is clumsy, then my life is in danger.
For that reason, the perception of not only incompetent colleagues but also colleagues with bad reputations was at rock bottom.
Naturally, the perception of beginners was like the basement, below the floor.
But then you smile at the word beginner?
“So what about the item?”
“It looks like you rented it from the top of Gapor. Fire Arrow magic.”
“Really? Then?”
“At least 10,000 mesos is certain.”
There was only one such category.
“Let’s roll it around a bit as soon as we get in and then deal with it at the end.”
Beginner hunter.
They were literally the ones who hunted beginners inside the Mystic Gate, targeting their items.
It was a type of person who could be seen more easily in this world than you might think.
That’s understandable, as beginners were much more valuable prey than the average Mystic Gate.
First of all, I had the item. Compared to the fact that you can usually only get one or two items from a Red Grade Mystic Gate, being able to get one item for sure is a huge advantage.
Also, even novice adventurers were adventurers after all. They were a much more useful force than bait slaves within the Mystic Gate.
Above all, it cost more to hire a bait slave than you might think, and the cost when they died was also quite high.
On the other hand, it was not uncommon for beginner adventurers to pay money to join a party of experienced adventurers, rather than having to pay to take them on.
That was the crucial thing.
“Even if you kill a hundred people, the moment you exit the Mystic Gate, their corpses will disappear.”
What happened beyond the Mystic Gate can be completely buried there.
It is a profitable business in many ways.
In fact, Chev had already accumulated quite a few items through his business.
‘As soon as I open the 2nd circle, my life will change at that moment.’
Items for opening the 2nd circle.
‘This time, the amount is sufficient.’
Chev talking among himself in such anticipation.
El Palm, who was watching them from afar, had a bitter smile on his face.
‘I’m dying to cook for you.’
El Palm knew who Chev and his party were as soon as he saw them.
It wasn’t because I had information about them before they came to the past.
El Palm’s memory was good, but not good enough to remember such a bunch of random people.
‘They’re not that great.’
Still, the reason I noticed was simple.
‘If you make the mistake of showing favor to a novice adventurer who was a bait slave.’
This request was quite difficult.
At the same time, the merits were also great.
It’s a request like that, but suddenly a novice adventurer who was a bait slave joins the remaining position?
It was common sense for adventurers to foam at the mouth and yell at the top of the Gapor to change to another guy.
Then someone might ask if it’s because Chev is so kind and a good person, but that’s a question not worth discussing.
‘That’s how all the guys working at the top of Gapor are.’
If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have met El Palm at the top of Gapor.
Anyway, the situation was resolved.
Chev and his party try to hunt El Palm.
And El Palm knows that.
‘The decision will be made beyond the Mystic Gate.’
Then there’s only one thing left.
El Palm and Chev’s party were able to find it after a journey of about ten hours.
“Over there!”
A red-grade Mystic Gate with 12 wounds appeared before my eyes.
7.
There was no hesitation in entering the Mystic Gate.
If there had been any hesitation from the beginning, it would have been normal not to come near the Mystic Gate.
Everyone went in.
“First, we establish a base.”
The first thing Chev did upon crossing the Mystic Gate was not to hunt, but to build a base.
“No one knows how long it will take to find the items on the request list.”
If the goal was to conquer the area itself, it would have been better to explore first rather than build a base, but this time the goal was to retrieve items.
It meant that Chev and his group were veterans in their own right.
In fact, they quickly found a suitable location.
“That tree looks good. There are a lot of branches, and it’s easy to move to another tree if necessary. The surrounding area is also good.”
We built a fort in a suitable location.
“El Palm, don’t come out.”
El Palm did nothing in the process.
“Because it just causes inconvenience.”
In fact, that was Chev’s group’s plan.
The most common thing that beginner adventurers do when they first venture through Mystic Gate is to hide behind the back.
It was because of instinct, and not just any other instinct, but the survival instinct.
Of course, it was never easy to ignore this survival instinct and do something.
‘Kid, if you have a conscience, you should do whatever you want here.’
The only way to get someone to do something is to put pressure on them.
What Chev and his group are doing now is exactly that kind of pressure.
“I didn’t expect anything like this. After all, what I expect from you is monster hunting.”
El Palm, you focus on hunting monsters.
“Of course, a wizard just has to be good at hunting monsters. If he can’t hunt monsters and is good at other things, it’s useless.”
If you can’t do that, you’re useless.
“Let’s do our best. Our lives are in each other’s hands.”
Otherwise your life is in danger.
“excuse me.”
Under such pressure, El Palm said:
“What if I lure a monster?”
“what?”
Something unexpected.
No, it wasn’t unexpected, it was beyond common sense.
Isn’t El Palm a wizard? He was a ranged dealer who safely attacked monsters from the rear.
“I’ve been a bait slave for years. I’m confident in luring monsters and running away from them.”
But what he said next was quite reasonable.
Because in some ways, the bait slaves were often superior to the adventurers.
Moreover, El Palm was not just a bait slave.
Of course, it was difficult to believe this at face value.
“Instead, if I do my job well… …please give me my share.”
But in the words that followed, everyone in Chev’s group understood.
If a guy has been a bait slave for years because of money, it wouldn’t be strange for him to do such an outrageous thing for that money.
“So you’re going to lure the monsters?”
“yes.”
“It’s dangerous. Are you okay?”
Above all, Chev had no reason to refuse.
‘They’re going to take me to hell on their own.’
I wanted to use every means possible to throw you into danger, but why would I refuse when you are willing to take me into the pit of danger?
“Okay, if you want, do that.”
That is why Chev accepted El Palm’s offer without hesitation.
“But don’t overdo it. I’ll check your skills first. If you’re not sure about your skills, stop right now.”
El Palm nodded at the following words.
“Then let’s take a look at the surrounding monsters.”
And then El Palm disappears into the forest.
Chev and his group, who were watching this scene, soon looked at each other and smiled in disbelief.
“There is no real idiot like this idiot.”
“Oh my, an idiot? To the kind person who knows how to offer up his body!”
“Oh, I see. You are my benefactor, my benefactor.”
That bewildered smile soon turned into a sneer.
“Is it because he was a bait slave? Or is he just a crazy guy? Why don’t we just deal with him?”
I’m starting to get worried because I’m being mocked so much.
Chev said to them:
“Come on, everyone, stop talking so much and come to your senses.”
It injected tension.
“Let’s be on guard, we don’t know what kind of monster that strange guy might bring.”
Of course, there weren’t many colleagues who felt nervous about those words.
“What danger could there be in a red-rank Mystic Gate that can only accommodate five people?”
Because they were full of confidence.
Chev was the same.
He was someone who looked at the 2nd circle, and honestly, he was someone who could conquer the orange rank, which was the rank above the red rank.
There is nothing dangerous about a mere red rating.
“Over there, captain.”
“why?”
“Something is coming?”
Then it appeared before their eyes.
“what?”
“It’s like slime.”
“Slime?”
“Oh, it was a slime field? That was an easier place. Why on earth did 12 parties get wiped out in a place like this?”
“Hey, wait a minute. Captain! It’s gold.”
“what?”
“The slime is gold!”
A giant gold slime filled with golden liquid.
fantasy,
