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Chapter 30. Cactus Desert (2)
4.
Adventurers become stronger as their circle increases.
The obvious truth. That’s why adventurers are obsessed with more circles.
However, adventurers who actually have many circles are not often obsessed with increasing circles.
“Once you reach the 4th circle, no adventurer will risk their life for circle upgrades. Instead, they will risk their life for items.”
Instead, they were fixated on items.
“No.”
There was nothing strange.
Even if it was only the 4th circle, it was a level that was different enough to be recognized wherever you went.
“I also realized that going to the 5th circle was a hopeless task and that I didn’t have the talent to do so.”
In other words, only a very small number of people reached the next level, the level of the 5th Circle.
“So let’s go on an adventure.”
But if you give up there and just settle for reality, if you are satisfied with that level, you can’t call yourself an adventurer.
“An adventure to find unique items.”
So the abilities of the 4th circle adventurers are determined not only by their individual abilities but also by the unique items they possess.
“There are adventurers who succeeded in that adventure.”
And among them, there were some special cases.
“Those monsters are on a different level. Even though they’re 4th circle adventurers, they can beat 5th circle adventurers.”
A special case where an entity exists outside the standard.
Of course, there were limitations beyond those standards.
First of all, it was very rare to see someone with multiple unique items.
“Well, most of those monsters have unique backgrounds.”
Unless you were the child of a tycoon or a prince of a kingdom, it was impossible unless you had a great natural background.
“And it doesn’t end with having a unique item.”
Crucially, having a lot of items doesn’t mean you can handle them all.
“Some tools require skill to handle.”
Rather, handling unique items required much more skill than expected.
Skills become more powerful? Then you need the ability to properly handle that powerful force.
Also, the more powerful it was, the more horsepower it usually required.
“The sharper the knife, the more likely it is to bleed if handled incorrectly.”
The decisively powerful skill was like a double-edged sword. If used properly against an enemy, it was a very good sword, but if it was used against an ally? It would just become a guillotine on the executioner’s pedestal, with terrible results.
“What if you have outstanding skills, experience, and even unique items?”
So what if there was an adventurer who met all of these requirements?
Of course, every single person who heard that question would have given the same answer.
“There can’t be such an adventurer, right?”
It’s something that’s not even worth imagining.
In other words, no one has ever answered to what extent such an adventurer would be.
But now the answer to that was being shown by El Palm, who was fighting against the cactus monster, Katus.
“Fire Arrow.”
It started with Fire Arrow.
In fact, that in itself was not surprising.
El Palm party members have seen countless amazing results from El Palm’s Fire Arrow.
But El Palm didn’t just show off his Fire Arrows.
“Flame Vortex.”
Demonstrated Flame Vortex magic that summoned a giant flame.
And that was the beginning.
“Flame Orb.”
Flame Orb, a 3rd circle fire attribute magic.
It was a magic that flew fireballs in front, and it was a magic that boasted quite powerful power.
It is strong enough to easily deal with five or six Katus with one magic attack.
The problem was that it was triggered by none other than El Palm, who was armed with all sorts of unique items.
Hurrr!
The moment it was activated, fireballs the size of an adult male’s torso appeared. The number was also twice that of a normal Flame of Magic spell.
And its power was incomparable to that used by existing fire attribute magicians.
Kwakwakwang!
With just one spell, not five or six Katus, but fifty or sixty of them would disappear!
“Explosion.”
El Palm didn’t stop there, he also cast the 4th circle fire attribute magic Explosion.
It was one of the most powerful fire attribute magic, causing a powerful explosion as the expression suggests.
It goes without saying that the power of El Palm when he casts it is very strong, it is not at the level.
Kwakwakwakwang!
A huge explosion occurred around El Palm, who used magic, and over a hundred Katus in all directions were annihilated on the spot.
That wasn’t hunting.
One-sided massacre, that’s all I can say.
“oh my god.”
Even El Palm Party, who had encountered all sorts of surprising situations up until then, could not help but be amazed by the sight.
‘So this is what the boss was like!’
And soon I was filled with admiration.
It was quite a sight.
A sight that deserves to be met with amazement and admiration.
There was only one person who didn’t do so.
Kwakwang!
“Explosion.”
El Palm, he did not stop marveling at the spectacle he had created, the sight of the Katus being unilaterally destroyed by his magic.
I couldn’t spit it out.
‘What a meaningless hunt.’
Because this hunt was just a hunt where the adventurer couldn’t get anything out of it, so it was meaningless.
It was literal.
For adventurers, hunting monsters was a process of growth.
The process of gaining experience, becoming more proficient at party play, increasing your skills, obtaining items, and improving your survival skills.
But there was nothing to be expected from the hunt El Palm was on now.
I had no experience, I couldn’t expect much from my colleagues, and it was impossible to obtain items. There was no way that magic stones could withstand this enormous destruction.
“Flame Orb.”
It’s just a waste of time and energy.
‘This is where the disciple of Oz died.’
El Palm knew otherwise.
‘It’s not at all strange that it’s more difficult than the Prince’s Tomb.’
How dangerous this place is.
This is not the time to discuss training or anything like that.
‘We have to conquer it within 5 days. So we have to save as much time as possible.’
That was why El Palm went on these pointless hunts.
‘Even more so in the desert.’
In particular, the desert environment made it impossible for adventurers who had come before to leave traces even if they wanted to.
Whatever you leave on the sand will be swept away in a single gust of wind.
It would not be surprising if it took El Palm longer than he thought to find his way.
‘It doesn’t even work with perspective.’
Especially in desert environments, El Palm’s clairvoyance was less effective.
Even clairvoyance has its limits.
Unlike a forest with trees, vision was meaningless in a desert filled with sand dunes.
Artemis’s eyes would be of some help, but their utility would inevitably be diminished in the vast desert.
This means that time is even more precious.
It soon appeared in El Palm’s eyes as he continued his meaningless hunting.
“This is the exit to the second floor.”
5.
What greeted El Palm Party as they entered the second floor was a dark forest and mushrooms filling it.
Kkie!
A huge number of mushrooms, thousands and even tens of thousands, descended upon El Palm Party.
“Explosion.”
Kwakwang!
And the mushrooms that rushed in like that disappeared without a trace in front of El Palm’s overwhelming firepower.
Overwhelming destructive power.
But in fact, there was no need to show off the destructive power.
“Move this way.”
El Palm, because he had no intention of fighting any more meaningless battles.
Just move to find the next exit as quickly as possible.
Finding the way wasn’t difficult either.
Unlike the desert, there were many traces left by the Sand Drawings who had come in earlier to retrieve the will of the Knights of Signus.
Thanks to that, El Palm Party was able to find the exit to the third floor less than 12 hours after entering.
Of course, no one was happy about that fact.
El Palm’s colleagues knew.
‘Although the boss showed an incredible performance, it wasn’t difficult to get here.’
In fact, it was time that brought El Palm to the forefront.
I had to finish it within 5 days, and that was the only reason I made that choice. If I had more time to spare, I would never have hunted like this.
But none of those who have entered so far have ever had any time constraints.
‘It’s not like we can’t break it. Even for us.’
And yet, everyone failed.
What it meant was simple.
‘The third floor is hell.’
The reason why everyone has to die is because it exists beyond that exit.
“It took three days to get here. Now there are only two days left.”
Plus, there were only about 45 hours left.
It wasn’t a long time at all.
“Move.”
That’s why El Palm crossed the portal to the third floor without a moment’s hesitation.
His colleagues then followed suit.
And they faced each other.
“It’s a desert.”
A desert filled with golden sand.
‘It might be impossible to find an exit for two days.’
It was the worst case scenario.
A situation where you have no choice but to waste time in many ways.
‘If there is an exit.’
It would be fortunate if there was an exit to the outside. Even if time passed, there would be a way out.
But everyone expected it.
‘If that were the case, it would have already been conquered.’
I bet this place has a condition where you have to hunt the boss monster to get to the exit.
In fact, that was what everyone expected before coming here.
In any case, nothing good came of it, and everyone had a stern expression in the face of that bad news.
“Okay, let’s relax and move!”
Then Debo smiled and said.
To lighten the mood.
Everyone nodded at Divo’s words.
“First, everyone who is hot, let’s all come here and cool down a bit with Kiri. I’ll start by sticking to you!”
Everyone smiled at Devo’s subsequent actions.
“Okay, we’ve come this far anyway, let’s go!”
“With so many dead people, there will be a lot of good items! I’m looking forward to it!”
Everyone mustered their strength and took a step forward.
Work hard to save even a little time.
There was one exception.
“Boss? Why aren’t you moving?”
El Palmman was standing motionless in front of the entrance to the Mystic Gate that he had crossed.
“boss?”
In a situation where time was already short, he just looked at the area near his feet.
“Is there a problem?”
That was the moment.
The moment Devo asked the question, El Palm pointed his finger at Kiri.
“agate.”
Qyuu!
As the words continued, a snail agate appeared from inside Kiri’s armor, near the nape of his neck.
Soon, the snail Mano landed on the ground and quickly moved near El Palm’s feet.
After that, I looked down at El Palm’s feet with both eyes.
“ah!”
It didn’t take long to figure out what it meant.
“There’s something!”
After saying that, Divo moved close to El Palm and started digging the sand.
thud!
After digging down about a meter, everyone was able to find a wooden coffin.
Squeak!
And the moment the coffin was opened, a dried, twisted, mummified corpse was revealed, wearing a red robe that seemed to burn like fire.
Everyone knew what the body was.
“Bayos-kun.”
Bayos, the disciple of Oz.
A genius who reached the 4th circle level in just one year.
The moment they saw the coffin containing the body, everyone could not help but remain silent for a moment.
At the same time, I had doubts.
“What does it mean to prepare a coffin?”
El Palm answered that question right away.
“Because he was such an important person. That’s why we put him in a coffin and buried him near the entrance. So that he could be found quickly.”
“ah.”
The expressions of El Palm’s colleagues hardened even more when they heard that answer.
It was because I realized it anew.
How important was the existence of Bayos, the disciple of Oz, to the Sand Drawings.
So, what was in the coffin wasn’t just a corpse. There were also several letters inside.
One of them was properly sealed.
“It’s a will.”
It was Bayos’ will.
What happened here, a will informing that he was murdered.
It was the most important thing.
“This.”
What came next was none other than a report.
“This is information about the third floor.”
“Information?”
“The boss monster is… … heated up.”
Everyone’s expressions hardened at El Palm’s subsequent words.
“When you say Deu, are you talking about the cactus giant Deu?”
Dew.
Among mushroom monsters, he was the leader of the cactus monsters, Catus, and was like Mushroom Mom.
The abilities were similar.
He created a huge number of Katus and led the group.
It was a powerful being.
“That huge boss monster appeared here? It’s a yellow rank?”
There is nothing to see in the yellow level.
El Palm didn’t really worry about that.
‘The fact that Deu has appeared means that a martyr has been written.’
I am only certain that Bayos was murdered by followers of the Black Mage.
Anyway, one thing was certain.
‘Oh my god, this is a big problem!’
Since Deu, a boss monster outside of the standard, has appeared, it is not important to conquer it within 5 days, but the conquering itself is the problem.
At that point, everyone thought.
‘Shouldn’t we change this operation?’
‘You should give up on waking up in 5 days. This is not the time. The strategy itself is the problem.’
From now on, you shouldn’t worry about time limits or anything like that.
That you should focus everything on strategy and survival.
That was the moment.
El Palm, who was examining Bayos’ body, stopped when he saw Bayos’ necklace, then opened his mouth.
“There is a change of plans.”
Everyone was delighted at those words.
‘As expected! They’re throwing away the time limit!’
Because I expected and thought that the long-awaited answer would come out.
El Palm responded to his colleagues’ expectations.
“I’ll be out of here in an hour.”
fantasy,
