The Last Adventurer

Chapter 23

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 23: Unique Items (2)

3.

There were snail monsters in Maple World.

They were not strong monsters. In fact, an adventurer who was defeated by a snail could hardly be called an adventurer.

However, that didn’t mean they could be ignored. If they could be ignored, if they posed no threat at all, they wouldn’t have been classified as monsters.

For whatever reason, the Adventurers’ Guild classified snails as monsters and studied them accordingly.

“A snail pet?”

However, the term “snail pet” that El Paume mentioned was a word that Dibo had never heard before in his life.

And that was understandable.

‘They’re really hard to find.’

At this point in time, the only person who knew about snail pets was El Paume.

‘Before then, they were just monsters.’

What’s more, snails were monsters that had to be killed on sight.

But after their value was discovered, things changed.

“What do you mean by a snail pet?”

“It’s a pet, literally. It follows people like a pet.”

“A pet snail? What’s the point?”

Snail pets had abilities.

“They can melt the corpses of dead monsters to obtain Mana Stones and pick up dropped items.”

“Huh?”

“They can also store items inside their shells.”

That’s an incredible ability.

“Items?”

Of course, it didn’t sound that impressive on its own.

That’s why Dibo had a shaky expression.

But El Paume was different.

“It’s a huge deal to retrieve Mana Stones from the corpses of monsters caught in the midst of fierce battles and collect items.”

In the first place, the reason they fought monsters was to obtain items and Mana Stones.

The problem was that it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

Fighting a monster meant letting everyone know that I was there.

This meant that not only monsters but also adventurers would react to the sound.

In such a situation, would they leisurely collect the items worn by the monsters and dismantle the monsters to obtain Mana Stones?

Even if they had the time, dismantling the monsters to extract the Mana Stones was a rather difficult task.

However, snail pets could easily extract the Mana Stones that monsters possessed using a powerful acidic fluid.

In particular, they could instinctively find the location of the Mana Stones and work quickly.

“That’s true, but…”

At that point, Dibo admitted in his own way.

“Still, it doesn’t seem like much would fit in that shell on its back, does it?”

But even considering that, it didn’t seem like that much would fit inside the shell of a snail that was only about the size of a human fist.

“It grows as big as the items it eats.”

“Huh?”

However, the moment he heard El Paume’s following words, Dibo’s expression changed.

If El Paume’s words were true, the story was very different.

And that wasn’t the end.

“Snail pets move to places where there are items and Mana Stones. Instinctively.”

“Ah!”

The moment he heard that, Dibo no longer questioned whether the snail pet was special.

“That’s no joke.”

The ability to find places with Mana Stones and items was like finding treasure.

Of course, El Paume was happy to use this ability.

El Paume said, looking into the snail pet’s eyes.

“From now on, I am your master. Work for me. Then I will protect you.”

Dibo chuckled at that.

“Boss, does he understand what you’re saying?”

“If he does, blink twice.”

At that moment, the snail pet blinked once and twice as if it had been waiting, and Dibo, who saw this, exclaimed in shock.

“Crazy!”

Of course, El Paume was not surprised by this.

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After all, if a monster were to simply follow its instincts, it could never be a pet.

‘I never thought I’d get a snail pet here.’

But he was surprised that a snail pet had appeared.

Snail pets were that rare.

Even after the Mystic Gate opened and the monsters inside were unleashed into Maple World, they were still extremely rare.

‘I’m lucky.’

It was a happy stroke of luck.

And El Paume was determined to make the most of this luck.

El Paume put the snail down on the floor.

The snail pet looked at El Paume with its big eyes, as if waiting for a command.

“Find the Mana Stones.”

At the command, the snail pet began to move without hesitation.

“Wow? That’s incredibly fast?”

It was fast enough to not be considered a snail at all.

“And it’s quiet.”

But stealthy, like a snail should be.

That was another reason why the snail pet was valuable.

In a world teeming with monsters and adventurers, it could carry out its work stealthily.

“This is an amazing thing!”

Dibo could no longer hide his excitement at this fact.

‘Could I make a big profit from this?’

After all, a portion of the profits from the snail pet would go to Dibo, not anyone else.

Naturally, to Dibo, the snail pet now looked like a goose that would lay golden eggs.

“Boss, what’s his name?”

The memory of his surprise from earlier was already gone.

In response to Dibo’s question, El Paume thought for a moment and then said.

“Mano.”

“Mano, that’s a cool name.”

Dibo smiled at the name.

But his smile didn’t last long.

“Stop.”

El Paume and Dibo, who had been chasing after the snail, could soon see it.

“Boss, this.”

The mutilated corpses.

“Are those the Signus Knight trainees we came in with?”

The corpses they recognized too well.

At that fact, Dibo’s expression hardened like stone.

After all, they were comrades, members of the same party, at least on the surface.

Their deaths were not something that could be easily accepted.

‘Signus Knight trainees are dead? Really?’

Moreover, these were not ordinary adventurers.

‘Crazy Mystic Gate.’

It meant that the danger here was far greater than Dibo had imagined.

Meanwhile, El Paume’s expression was also hard.

But the reason his expression was hard was different.

He had already anticipated that something like this would happen.

He was focused on two things.

Most of the visible wounds were from the Ribbon Pigs, but El Paume could clearly see it.

‘They were killed by humans.’

There were wounds that monsters could not inflict all over the gruesome corpses.

Based on the facial expressions and the bloodstains near their mouths, El Paume could be sure.

‘They were poisoned first.’

At that point, El Paume approached the corpses and began to sniff them.

“Boss?”

In response to Dibo’s surprised look, El Paume said.

“It’s poison.”

“Poison?”

El Paume did not give Dibo any further explanation.

‘A mixture of scorpion tail venom from the Nihal Desert and Nepenthaceae fruit venom from the Elnas Mountains.’

That this poison was not just ordinary poison.

‘Used by the assassins of Ariant.’

And that it was the poison mainly used by the assassins of the Hasha, the secret assassination organization of the desert kingdom of Ariant.

He did not bother to explain these facts.

It was not something Dibo could understand even if he explained it.

More importantly, that wasn’t the important thing.

“There are six bodies.”

“Six? Then that means there are two survivors?”

“There is one survivor.”

“Huh? No, there were clearly eight Signus Knight trainees…”

“One is a troll.”

That they were not killed by monsters.

The moment he heard that, Dibo’s expression hardened even more than before.

“So you’re saying a Signus Knight trainee was killed?”

The Signus Knights were the direct subordinates of Empress Signus, the head of the Maple Alliance.

It meant a powerful group or armed force that received all the support of Maple World.

Yet, someone affiliated with such an armed group was deliberately murdered?

Even the upper ranks of Lith Harbor would not dare to do such a thing.

‘It wasn’t just a few trolling. The party organizations dispatched by each upper rank had trolls hiding among them. There were trolls hiding even within the Signus Knights.’

Furthermore, El Paume realized that this trolling was not just a clumsy attempt to eliminate a competitor.

“Who the hell would do such a thing?”

That’s why El Paume immediately came up with an answer.

‘Only those who follow the Black Mage would do such a thing.’

The moment he came up with the answer, El Paume looked up at Dibo.

“Dibo.”

And then he asked.

“Have you ever hunted adventurers?”

Dibo tilted his head at the question.

After a while, Dibo, who understood the meaning of the question, said in fear.

“B-Boss? You’re not going to hunt them down, are you?”

Hunt down the bastards who even dealt with the Signus Knight trainees with trolling, those incredibly dangerous bastards?

It was nonsense.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just find an exit and get out of here? There are even 5-circle adventurers outside, you know?”

Moreover, there is an optimal way to do things right now, but you’re ignoring it and choosing a different option?

El Paume knew too.

“I haven’t found the unique item yet.”

But the value of the items here was so high that he couldn’t just back down.

This was very important to El Paume.

For him, unique items were more important than any other items.

“Boss, it’s still too dangerous. I know you’re strong, but it’s going to be tough for our level.”

“Yeah, it’s not going to be easy at our level right now.”

Of course, El Paume had no intention of doing anything reckless.

He always did.

El Paume had never gone on an adventure without being sure of himself.

“Then we need to play our trump card.”

“Our trump card?”

As always.

“What is that?”

“This is it.”

El Paume took out the card he had been hiding.

“Mana Stone?”

4.

The Signus Knights.

For those who dream of becoming knights, it was a pinnacle among the direct organizations of the Maple Alliance.

Naturally, the Signus Knights were strong. Each knight was comparable to any ordinary adventurer.

That’s how difficult it was to become a knight of the Signus Knights.

Ordinary people couldn’t even become trainees of the Signus Knights.

“That’s why I underestimated the Signus Knights.”

That was it.

“I didn’t think they would survive that poison.”

The ten members who entered the 100-man Mystic Gate for trolling began to chase after the last survivor.

Of course, they were not flustered by this fact.

There was no need to be flustered.

“They just survived. They won’t be able to use their abilities anymore, so we’ll be able to catch up to them soon.”

Kiri, the last remaining trainee of the Cygnus Knights within the Mystic Gate, diligently began the pursuit as three individuals chased after them.

It was not going to be difficult.

This place was already like poison, with only one exit.

And Kiri, she was just a sick rat in the poison.

In fact, this place was overflowing with pigs that preyed on such sick rats.

To be honest, the three pursuers thought.

What they would see would not be a living Kiri, but her corpse crushed by the Ribbon Pigs.

That was for sure.

“I am Dibo!”

But suddenly, the voice that rang out shattered the expectations of the three.

The moment they heard the voice, the three stopped chasing Kiri for a moment.

And they looked at each other and exchanged opinions.

“It’s that guy.”

“That guy?”

“One of the two adventurers sent by the Gafour Upper Rank.”

“He was alive?”

They first identified their opponent, and at the same time, they became tense.

“What should we do?”

They wanted to deal with him right away, but the situation was such that they couldn’t easily gauge the opponent’s level.

In such a situation, a rash attack could backfire.

Careful judgment was required.

“The Polearm Hero, Dibo! Come on!”

But the moment they heard that, the moment they heard the cry, the three of them made the same judgment at the same time.

‘What a crazy troll bastard.’

A guy they didn’t have to worry about at all.

That’s why.

“Zer.”

One of them called out a name, and the one whose name was called nodded and then detached himself from the group.

Zer moved to deal with Dibo.

It wouldn’t be difficult.

“I am the Polearm Hero! Come on!”

Following this nonsense, he would just have to part the reeds and then pull the bowstring in his hand when he was at a good distance.

Now was the time.

Sizzle!

Zer, he pulled the bowstring.

At the same time, he shouted a skill.

“Piercing.”

Piercing, a 2-circle archer skill that greatly increases the penetration power of arrows.

After completing all his preparations, Zer held his breath and prepared to shoot the arrow.

Whoosh!

And the arrow moved.

Plop!

A fire arrow that suddenly appeared was embedded in Zer’s left eyeball.

“Ugh!”

Zer let out a groan and tilted his head back in response to the attack, and in the meantime, two more fire arrows were embedded in Zer’s body.

One on the back of his right hand, one on the top of his left foot.

Zer fell to the ground in one breath from the attack.

Pain surged through his head.

But before that pain, a question popped into his head.

‘Fire arrow? But the power is…….’

The fire arrow he knew was never a skill with this much penetration power.

No, it was possible. All skills became more powerful as the user’s circle increased.

So he was curious.

This was a red-rank Mystic Gate, a place where only adventurers with a circle of 2 or lower could enter.

A man appeared before Zer, who was full of such questions.

“Who, who…….”

Before the man who appeared could answer, he stabbed the back of Zer’s left hand, who was lying on the ground, with the dagger in his hand.

Plop!

Zer’s only eye widened in sudden pain.

“A black wing tattoo hidden on the back of your left hand. Blackwing, a follower of the Black Mage. You must have come from far away.”

With his widened eyes, Zer could see.

“Nice to meet you.”

Three rings on the left wrist of the man who stabbed his hand with a dagger.

“My name is El Paume. I’m going to ask you a few questions from now on.”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]