066
Chapter 22. Gambling Table (2)
3.
Hector.
It was a giant wolf with gray fur, a monster often seen in the Elnas Mountains region.
“Hector, his hide is very thick. The fat is even thicker.”
It was a monster with extremely strong defense.
“But what’s truly terrifying are their protruding fangs.”
And it was a monster with terrifying attack power.
“They are vicious creatures who eat everything. Living or dead. It is thanks to them that the Elnas Mountains are always clean.”
That’s why the nickname was given to her: the cleaner of the El Nas Mountains.
In many ways, it was a monster that was like a nightmare to adventurers.
“For adventurers of the 3rd circle, it wouldn’t be difficult to hunt someone as tall as Hector.”
But it was different for experienced adventurers.
“Among them, adventurers from Mount Elnas are on a different level. They learn how to hunt Hectors from a young age. That’s why adventurers who can’t hunt Hectors aren’t even allowed to leave Mount Elnas. That’s their test.”
In particular, adventurers from the Elnas Mountains were like specialists in hunting Hector.
So was Rebecca’s party.
Among the 14 adventurers in Rebecca’s party, there was not a single one who could not hunt Hector.
In Rebecca’s case, she also had the title of an adventurer who hunted 100 hectors alone.
Awww!
“Everyone run away!”
And now she was running away from Hector.
The reason was simple.
“Here comes the Hector horde!”
Hector is coming in droves.
Of course, Hector originally had a time when he was a herdsman.
They usually hunt alone, but when hunting stronger monsters or beasts, they sometimes form groups of about fifteen.
So when hunting Hector, adventurers were well aware of the need to form a group.
Doo doo doo doo!
“Fucking hell, I think there’s more than a thousand!”
The problem is that no one can even imagine, let alone consider, that number exceeding a thousand.
The same was true for Rebecca’s party.
Doo doo doo doo!
All Rebecca Party can do is run away from a horde of a thousand Hectors who appear, pounding the ground without mercy.
Even that wasn’t easy.
“Bury your eyes!”
Even as they ran, they picked up handfuls of snow scattered everywhere and sprinkled it on their bodies.
“Get rid of the smell!”
It was a way to escape from the Hector group, who had an excellent sense of smell.
A method known to all adventurers from the Elnas Mountains.
Of course, that wasn’t enough.
A bait was needed.
The bait was Rebecca, the leader of Rebecca’s party.
She began to sprinkle the water in the leather pouch she was carrying on the floor.
Gulp gulp!
Bright red blood flowed out.
Sniff sniff!
The moment the blood flowed out, the eyes of the group of Hectors chasing them changed.
Life started to get difficult.
Rebecca, it was because what she had sprinkled was none other than Hector’s blood.
Woof woof!
Hector, who smelled the blood of his comrade, started to chase after Rebecca like crazy, and in the meantime, Rebecca’s subordinates fell away from her one by one.
As I fell, I buried my body in the snow and held my breath.
Like a corpse.
When her colleagues started to hide one by one and Rebecca was left alone, she used her skill.
“Dark site!”
I used the Dark Sight skill, which is a thief’s 1st circle skill.
At that moment, her figure disappeared into the shadows.
Ugh, ugh?
Hector’s group was bewildered by that fact, and began to sniff the leather water pouches that Rebecca had thrown down.
Rebecca, who was in hiding, quietly watched the scene.
And there was one more person looking at the sight.
“Boss, what the hell happened?”
El Palm, who had been observing the situation from a distance using Artemis’ eyes, opened his mouth to Divo’s question.
“Hector is a mob.”
“Hector, are you the gray wolf that appears in the Elnas Mountains?”
Divo frowned after hearing that explanation.
“No, but didn’t there just happen an earthquake? And a blizzard is raging? I don’t think the Hector kids are that big, right?”
The scenery that Debo saw from afar was something that could only be seen when something enormous moved.
“About a thousand.”
“Ah, a thousand! That should be possible. No, wait. Boss?”
“A thousand?”
Everyone, including Devo, was shocked by the explanation that came out at that time.
“Hey, stop joking!”
“Speak your mind. A herd of a thousand Hectors? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Hector is a monster that appears in the El Nath Mountains, and its habits and characteristics are known to all adventurers.
“Hectors do form packs, but only about a dozen or so. There has never been a single report of a pack that large.”
As Ralph had said, Hector’s group was small.
Moreover, forming a large group was not something that could be done just by gathering together.
Just like when a hundred people gather together, they don’t all move in the same way.
Rather, when groups gathered, they often competed with each other or fought.
The same was true of Hector.
Of course, that’s just basic common sense.
El Palm’s common sense was different.
‘Thousands are ridiculous.’
I’ve seen El Palm countless times.
‘Compared to a horde of hundreds of thousands of different monsters forming a legion.’
Hector, of course, is a monster that doesn’t form groups, but instead forms groups.
That’s why El Palm wasn’t surprised.
‘But they don’t just come together. There must be something that makes them come together.’
Just looking for a reason.
Awww!
Awww!
Awww!
At that moment, Hector’s signature howl began to echo through the snow-covered forest.
“Oh my.”
At that sound, Divo let out a hollow laugh.
“There are so many of them, like a pack of dogs.”
Because howling sounds could be heard from all directions.
But El Palm was different.
The moment he heard the sound, El Palm was sure.
“There is a king.”
What is the reason for the crowd?
“yes?”
“One of the howls from earlier, completely different.”
“Different?”
Awww!
The howling I heard then.
“This sound.”
El Palm’s eyes lit up at the sound, and then another howling sound was heard.
Awww!
“This one?”
“No, this is a different sound. That sound that came out a little while ago, that sound is the king’s voice.”
Debo didn’t question that explanation.
‘If that’s what the boss says, then that’s what it must be.’
El Palm’s abilities have been seen countless times already.
Instead, it raised another question.
“But does Hector have a king? I’ve never heard of such a monster?”
There was no original one.
So El Palm predicted.
‘You wrote a martyr.’
The followers of the Black Mage used the Martyr to cause something that should not have happened here.
Here El Palm did not blame the followers of the Black Mage.
That wasn’t what mattered now.
Something out of the ordinary is happening here.
“Boss, what should I do?”
“Other adventurers will gather and assess the situation.”
“They’re all gathered together?”
“You must know that this is not normal. And you must know that this is not the time to gamble.”
Other adventurers would have known about this fact and would have joined forces to survive early on.
“Make contact with them first.”
4.
“You managed to get here.”
As El Palm said, the adventurers who had come up to the third floor were gathered in one place and moving together.
It was a sight that was hard to imagine considering the atmosphere before entering the Mystic Gate.
Because they were all confident in the titles they had achieved and their skills.
But rather, this is the reason why they have been able to achieve the skills and titles they have so far.
I knew that no matter how great a title or skill you have, it would be of no use if you died.
And they were adventurers who were ready to join hands even with their mortal enemies in the face of death.
“First, let me explain the situation.”
In other words, that was the situation now.
The situation was so serious that people who had only seen each other as competitors and joked about gambling and such joined hands.
“Hector leads a large horde.”
There were simply a lot of Hectors, and no one thought of that as a danger.
“I’m not sure, but I think there’s a leader in Hector’s group.”
The fact is that they have a boss.
This was a very important part.
If it was just a group of people gathered together, it would have been a matter of gradually reducing their numbers.
It was difficult, but there was nothing I couldn’t do.
But if there was a leader, it was a different story.
It means that when something goes wrong, there will be a corresponding response.
“Did you find the exit?”
Of course, what was important to the adventurers was not the boss monster, but getting out of here.
Even more so when you know that life is precious.
“That’s the most troublesome part.”
So everyone gathered.
“The exit has been found. And the exit is guarded by the leader of the Hectors, Head Hector.”
Because it was necessary.
“We need bait.”
A decoy to attract the attention of Head Hector and his group of Hectors, giving the adventurers time to escape to the exit.
“So you waited for us.”
That was the reason why those who had looked down on the El Palm party, including Hassan and Rebecca, waited for the El Palm party.
“When choosing bait, it is better to have one more head.”
Honestly, no one wants to be bait.
But someone had to be the bait.
Because it was wiser for a few to sacrifice rather than everyone to die.
So, the more candidates there are before that sacrifice, the higher the chance that you won’t become bait.
‘It would be better if the opponent is someone who can be threatened.’
Also, for the adventurers gathered now, including Hassan Party and Rebecca Party, El Palm Party was the easiest.
No, he wasn’t an easy opponent; he was a funny one.
So El Palm was sure.
‘If I refuse here, my face will definitely change color.’
If El Palm Party shows any reluctance or anything like that, they will definitely attack El Palm Party.
After that, I’ll go back to the calculator and get the unique items that El Palm Party has.
In fact, it wasn’t just the El Palm Party that was like that.
Everyone gathered here knew.
Death awaits those who do not participate in this lottery to choose the bait.
In that situation, it was meaningless to say things like, “I’ll think about it” or “I have no thoughts.”
“So how do you plan on pulling out the bait?”
Hassan said in response to El Palm’s question.
“I’ve prepared a lottery. After conducting various tests, I’ve decided that there should be at least 10 people left. Here, I’ll just randomly select 10 adventurers. To be fair.”
With an emphasis on the word “fairly”.
“After that, we train for a certain amount of time so that the ten people can breathe in sync.”
The following words were clearly valid just by hearing them.
If you pick them as a party unit, one side will make too big a sacrifice, so pick 10 people fairly and have them train to match their skills.
“Is it possible that they tampered with the lottery?”
But El Palm didn’t just let it go.
“creation?”
“That’s true. How can we know what kind of tricks they might have used?”
“So we were joking?”
At El Palm’s words, Hassan’s facial expression, which had been explaining things until then, froze coldly.
It’s no good feeling to be suspected.
But El Palm did not back down.
“So, if I were to draw lots the way I want, would you be willing to obediently do so?”
Hassan did not respond with a “good” to El Palm’s subsequent words.
Because I had the same suspicions.
The possibility that El Palm was behind the trick.
Naturally, the atmosphere began to turn grim.
“So, you don’t want to participate in the lottery, is that right?”
I have no intention of tolerating anyone who refuses to draw lots to choose a victim.
That was the result agreed upon by the adventurers who reached the third floor.
If there is no agreement, then there is only one option left.
“I have no intention of participating in the lottery.”
“okay?”
El Palm spoke to the adventurers, including Hassan, who were trying to choose that option.
“Instead, our party will serve as bait.”
“what?”
“It’s a deal. We’ll be the bait.”
Let’s make a deal, not a draw.
“Instead, I will receive 5 unique items.”
fantasy,
