008
Chapter 3. Hero Slayer (1)
One.
circle.
The most basic ability required to become an adventurer, required for adventurers in Maple World to use the skills contained in items.
These circles became more powerful as their number increased, so all adventurers used all means and methods to increase the number of these circles.
“You can make the circle darker by eating magic stones.”
First of all, it wasn’t difficult to make the circle itself dark.
All you had to do was eat the magic stone that came out when you killed a monster.
Of course, it wasn’t necessarily the case that you could just eat magic stones.
The magic stones had different grades depending on the level of the monster. There were seven grades: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
For Circle 1, you can eat anything, but for Circle 2, you can only see the effect if you eat a magic stone that is orange or higher.
Also, you had to eat a huge amount of magic stones from regular monsters to see any effect.
Yet most people did not consider the task itself difficult.
Because it was a task with an end in sight.
“However, Circle Up, which increases the number of circles, is only possible through one’s own ability.”
The problem is that it hits a wall of circle up at the end.
“Well, I do have the items.”
Of course, there were some items that allowed you to force your way through that wall, but they were useless.
“There aren’t many people in Maple World who have enough money to buy it, so it’s easy to memorize.”
Because its value was indescribable.
In the end, there was only one way to circle up.
Talent!
Moreover, not everything could be achieved with just that talent.
“Even if you have the talent to reach the 6th circle, you can’t reach the 3rd circle without effort and enlightenment.”
Circle up was a very hard job.
The same was true for El Palm.
The number of circles he finally achieved was 8 circles.
That was practically the last level that could be reached.
As mentioned before, in order to make the circle darker, you had to eat magic stones, and in the case of the 7th circle, the effect could only be seen with purple magic stones.
The problem is that there is no next time.
When reaching the 8th circle, there were virtually no magic stones that could strengthen the circle.
El Palm reached such an 8th circle.
It means that one is born with talents that can face the transcendent, and reach the same level as the six heroes.
But it was by no means easy to achieve.
It was possible to achieve this thanks to a lot of effort, experience, and chance over a long period of time.
In other words, El Palm already had experience.
It was thanks to that.
‘It’s circle 2.’
El Palm, the moment he ate the magic stone that Chev had, the moment he stood on the border between Circle 1 and Circle 2, he was able to instantly rise to Circle 2.
It was a remarkable achievement.
‘I reached the 2nd circle… … half a year after opening the 1st circle.’
Even El Palm, who was born with incredible talent, couldn’t open the 2nd circle this quickly in the past.
The harvest wasn’t limited to that.
‘The guys, including Chev, had a lot of things.’
Before returning to the past, I had not gained anything from this Mystic Gate, but this time it was different.
‘If you dispose of it roughly, you will get more than 100,000 mesos.’
Chev and his party, who had been hunting beginners for a long time, had a lot of valuable things beyond their skills.
For El Palm, who had to buy 1 million mesos for freedom, this was also a large harvest.
But El Palm had another source of income that he was most excited about.
‘Definitely two.’
That there have been noticeable and clear results.
It was literal.
Now El Palm has a result that is so obvious to the eye.
‘Then we have to change the contract again.’
So now it was time to use it.
2.
“El Palm is back alive?”
The moment he received the report, Ebisu’s facial expression hardened.
“You were beginner hunters?”
The content of the report itself was shocking.
But his expression wasn’t hardened because he was a novice hunter.
To be honest, to Ebisu, things like beginner hunters weren’t much different from the slightly larger bugs he’d see on the road.
When I see it, I frown, but I don’t really feel anything when I see it.
It was that easy to see.
And I wasn’t particularly interested in what those novice hunters were doing.
“What was inside was gold slime?”
“yes.”
“Then all the items would have melted… … .”
The problem was that the boss monster of that Mystic Gate was a Gold Slime.
“El Palm came out alive… … .”
Crucially, there is now no longer any way to enter that Mystic Gate.
That was why Ebisu’s expression hardened.
This was surprisingly a big event.
The number of items beyond that Mystic Gate was at least 20, but they disappeared overnight.
“There’s no way he caught the gold slime.”
If I had at least managed to obtain the Gold Slime’s magic stone, it would have been a different story, but that was like finding an item on the road by chance.
So Ebisu let out a sigh.
‘You’re just lucky to come out alive, you damn slave.’
If El Palm had died there, the Mystic Gate would have remained as it was.
Of course, it wouldn’t change the fact that the items inside would disappear, but that was still a good thing.
What matters now is that Ebisu ended up blowing up a Mystic Gate of immense value.
‘The damage is enormous.’
So, this damage was caused by Ebisu, that’s it.
Worst in every way.
“excuse me…….”
The employee said to Ebisu, who was thinking like that.
“That’s what he caught.”
“what?”
“El Palm, he caught the gold slime.”
3.
“Yes, I got it.”
Abisu blinked without realizing it at the sight of El Palm spitting out words.
That was a mistake.
Because it would be unbecoming of a merchant to show my emotions and facial expressions when dealing with adventurers.
In other words, the shock that Ebisu received was that great.
“You caught it?”
In front of the surprised Ebisu, El Palm showed his left wrist.
That wrist with two black lines wrapped around it.
‘2 circles.’
That was the evidence.
El Palm, proof that he caught the gold slime beyond the Mystic Gate and ate its magic stone.
Of course, it wasn’t definitive evidence.
Magic stones are freely tradeable items, and you don’t necessarily have to hunt gold slimes to get them.
But, logically, El Palm, who had been living as a bait slave due to debt until a few days ago, would purchase magic stones to strengthen the circle?
Even if that were the case, Circle Up was a separate matter. It meant that El Palm had innate talent.
‘He’s no ordinary guy.’
To sum up, El Palm was not your average adventurer.
‘ah.’
Only then did Ebisu come to his senses.
“Ahem.”
Ebisu cleared his throat.
“Wow. This is the first time in my entire time on this earth that I’ve seen an adventurer become a 2nd circle so quickly.”
First of all, I gave him some praise.
Then I rolled my head.
‘We have to catch him.’
In Ebisu’s eyes, El Palm was a person with talent that was incomparable to that of a random adventurer.
So I was worried.
‘If he’s not an idiot, he can’t help but know his own level.’
Adventurers in the middle of nowhere could handle it with a few flicks of the tongue, but not the El Palm before his eyes.
‘Because three years as a bait slave is like three years in hell.’
That was why.
“I’ve seen cases where people open 2nd, 3rd, or 4th circles the moment they first open a circle, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone go from 1st circle to 2nd circle in just a few days. That’s amazing. That’s a different kind of ability.”
Ebisu didn’t do anything unnecessary.
“At this point, I think it’s okay to sign a contract as a D-class adventurer.”
Admitted it.
I suggested it afterwards.
“And if you work with me, I’ll treat you like a C-class adventurer.”
It was a groundbreaking proposal.
Usually, 1st circle adventurers are treated as F∽E rank, and 2nd circle adventurers are treated as D rank.
Of course, a C-class adventurer meant a 3rd circle adventurer.
And the difference between a C-class adventurer and a D-class adventurer was indescribable. The chances of becoming a C-class adventurer out of 100 D-class adventurers were so huge.
“Of course, I can’t treat you like a perfect C-class adventurer. I’ll give you the convenience you deserve.”
Because of this, Ebisu couldn’t just treat El Palm, a 2nd circle, as a C-class adventurer as he pleased, but even so, it was certainly an exceptional offer for him to say this.
‘As expected.’
That was exactly what El Palm was after.
“thank you.”
Different treatment than before.
“I will work hard in the future.”
“You make sense. I really like you.”
At the sight of El Palm like that, Ebisu now nodded and burst into laughter.
‘I never thought I’d get my hands on such a useful piece of chess.’
Of course, at this moment, Ebisu only viewed El Palm as a consumable item that could be used and discarded at any time.
‘You look like you’ve got a useful piece of advice.’
El Palm knew it too.
But El Palm didn’t attach much importance to that fact. They were in a relationship where they were using each other anyway.
That’s why El Palm focused on this moment.
“Since we can communicate, I’ll show you some particularly good requests. Just wait a moment.”
The moment Ebisu finished speaking and knocked on the desk in front of him, an employee outside came in, and Ebisu extended a finger to the employee. The employee nodded and left immediately.
After a while, an employee came.
Along with a pretty hefty stack of documents.
dump!
The bundle of documents was placed in front of El Palm.
They were requests.
“These are the best of the D-class adventurer requests. Paying back 1 million mesos shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Requests with very high fees.
Of course, the fact that El Palm was paid so well did not impress him much.
‘I need money.’
It’s not that he didn’t need money. In a sense, El Palm was an adventurer who was more desperate for money than anyone else at the time.
‘But this small amount of money is meaningless.’
Just that El Palm needs a huge amount of mesos to buy whatever he wants.
‘To save them, we have no choice but to raid Phantom’s warehouse.’
Phantom, the thief who sealed the Black Mage and is considered the richest man in Maple World, must sell the items in his warehouse to get what El Palm wants.
Above all, El Palm knew.
‘All that’s here is trash.’
The really good requests, the requests that are really important, don’t come to El Palm.
It was natural.
‘Ebisu will still be testing me.’
There was no way he would entrust El Palm with such an important case, one where failure was absolutely unacceptable, one where he could risk his life.
But that’s what El Palm needed.
‘The 100-person red rank gate conquest will begin soon.’
El Palm in particular knew.
‘The gate where the top of the harbor of Lees and the guilds’ 2nd circle and lower promising players compete.’
A huge issue that will excite the adventurers of Victoria Island is coming.
Before that, I had to get Ebisu’s approval.
And it took forever to get that recognition by solving these little requests.
‘Time is more precious than life.’
Above all, this is a method that El Palm, which is short on time, can never accept.
That’s why El Palm didn’t hesitate.
‘An adventurer has only one value.’
There was no reason to hesitate.
‘To undertake an adventure that no one else has been able to do.’
Because the answer was clear.
“Ebisu-sama.”
So El Palm said.
“I have a favor to ask.”
To that Ebisu replied.
“Tell me anything.”
With a smile that seemed to find it humorous.
“Can you lend me some money?”
“what?”
But at El Palm’s words, the smile on Ebisu’s lips began to waver.
Of course, soon Ebisu smiled again.
It was a sudden request, but it wasn’t a surprising one.
Because what Gapor did best was lending money and then getting it back.
And because Ebisu is good at that, he was able to become the left arm of the current executive, Raka.
“Okay, how much do you need?”
El Palm said to Ebisu, who had regained his composure.
“I need 1 million mesos.”
fantasy,
