The Last Adventurer
Chapter 42

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 42: The Nautilus (1)

1.

The Era of Mystic Gates

Since the dawn of the Mystic Gate era, conquering these mysterious portals has become the ultimate measure of worth in Maple World. The deeper one ventures into these gates, the greater their status becomes.

“Who’s the best at conquering Mystic Gates these days? There are a few contenders. The top ten from the port city of Erebos, like the elite Goldrich Guild, the warriors of the Ariant Kingdom, and the adventurers of Elnas Mountain… It’s hard to say definitively who’s the best.”

And so, the competition to conquer Mystic Gates intensified.

“But one thing’s for sure. The most active and dedicated group is undoubtedly the Nautilus.”

Among them, the pirates of the Nautilus stood out for their relentless pursuit of Mystic Gates, their efforts bordering on desperation.

It was, in fact, quite understandable.

The Nautilus was, after all, a pirate ship, and pirates were driven more by wealth and treasure than glory.

To them, the Mystic Gates, overflowing with priceless treasures, were nothing short of a dream come true.

And the Nautilus, in turn, offered them a compelling incentive.

“If you want to strike it rich in the Mystic Gates, join the Nautilus! We promise rewards like no other!”

The Nautilus guaranteed more lucrative rewards than any other group.

Their most notable offering was the bounty system.

“We’ll pay bounties based on the number of wounds inflicted!”

The more wounds inflicted, the more reward money paid. The Nautilus was the first to introduce this system.

Naturally, adventurers seeking riches flocked to join the Nautilus, and as a result, the ship’s prestige grew to unimaginable heights.

People began to say:

“The Nautilus’s prestige is equal to the combined might of the top ten guilds of Erebos!”

It was widely believed that the Nautilus would soon become the most powerful force on Victoria Island.

Naturally, the Nautilus’s bounty system attracted the attention of all money-hungry adventurers.

Of course, everyone was especially interested in the most expensive bounties.

This particular Mystic Gate was no exception.

“A bounty of 9.99 million mesos?”

9.99 million mesos was a staggering amount on its own.

“And it’s only an Orange-rank gate?”

Normally, a bounty of that size would only be offered for a Yellow-rank gate or higher, even Green-rank.

So, for an Orange-rank gate to have such a high bounty, there had to be something extraordinary about it.

“Isn’t that the gate where Captain Kyrin’s disciple went in and died?”

The extraordinary event was that the disciple of Captain Kyrin, the leader of the formidable Nautilus, and a party of the most promising young adventurers had met their demise there.

That meant it was an extremely dangerous place.

“And everyone has failed since then! No one has dared to challenge it in the past year!”

Unsurprisingly, no one had been able to find the exit since then.

El Paume understood this all too well.

‘It’s a tough one, that’s for sure.’

He knew better than anyone what lay beyond and why it was so difficult.

‘That’s why it’s worth it.’

And this challenge applied not only to El Paume but also to the Kania Guild, which was after him.

The Kania Guild would undoubtedly want to reclaim the Hydra’s Fang, a unique item that El Paume had obtained by defeating the Viper Nir.

‘I can’t rashly play my key card.

In this situation, recklessly playing his best cards would likely lead to self-destruction.

In other words, there was a high chance of having to waste a disposable card.

‘The Gafor Merchant Union is also a headache.’

From the Gafor Merchant Union’s perspective, El Paume’s challenge was also risky as they needed evidence of El Paume’s death at the hands of the Kania Guild.

Their 20 million mesos could go up in smoke.

“Why are you trying to challenge that gate?”

‘No, you can’t. Absolutely not.’

And so, Ebisu tried to dissuade him.

But unfortunately, El Paume had no choice.

“Doesn’t it matter where I challenge?”

The contract only specified the number of challenges, not that the Gafor Merchant Union had to choose the gates. And that was understandable.

If the guild could arbitrarily choose the Mystic Gates, it meant they could kill any adventurer at will. No sane adventurer would accept such a condition.

Moreover, no sane adventurer would willingly go to hell.

“There’s no problem, but isn’t it too dangerous?”

El Paume calmly responded to this absurdity.

“I’m being chased by the Kania Guild. I don’t know why, but they’re determined to kill me. In that situation, it’s more dangerous to enter a Mystic Gate of low difficulty.”

At that point, Ebisu realized it was impossible to persuade El Paume any further.

Instead, he changed his approach.

“It’s still too dangerous a place,” he threatened.

“It’s where Eagle Eye Rhea’s party, Captain Kyrin’s disciple, was wiped out.”

That was a rather effective threat.

Eagle Eye Rhea, one of Captain Kyrin’s many disciples, was a sharpshooter with eagle-like eyesight, as her nickname suggested.

She was so skilled that she could accurately hit targets from a distance of one kilometer!

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Moreover, Eagle Eye Rhea had shown an astonishing growth rate that had the entire Victoria Island buzzing.

She was among the most outstanding of Captain Kyrin’s disciples and was even considered a potential successor.

“She even cleared her first Mystic Gate as a 100-man gate.”

Even her titles were exceptional.

For such a skilled adventurer to fall in that Mystic Gate meant it was no ordinary challenge.

That was why the bounty was a staggering 9.99 million mesos.

Of course, El Paume also knew.

‘It’s hell.’

He knew better than anyone how difficult Eagle Eye’s Grave was.

‘Golden Eye himself said it was hell.’

Golden Eye, who had made his name by conquering that gate and later became the last captain of the Nautilus, had personally told El Paume about it.

What kind of place it was.

‘It was originally an impossible place.’

That’s why he chose it.

‘But not anymore.’

El Paume, he had received it from the Cross Hunter.

‘Never thought I’d get the Phoenix Feather.’

The Phoenix Feather, that unique item.

In truth, this was unexpected even for El Paume.

‘I knew I’d get a unique-rank item.’

He had anticipated the rank itself.

El Paume knew Cross Hunter and Cheryl better than anyone.

They were the kind of people who were willing to pay any price, as long as it meant destroying a Mystic Gate.

So, El Paume had told them that he would conquer Eagle Eye’s Grave, the gate with a 9.99 million mesos bounty that no one had even dared to challenge in the past year.

It was only natural that they would offer him some power in return.

However, he didn’t expect it to be the Phoenix Feather.

‘This makes three.’

Perhaps if they had known that El Paume already had two Phoenix Feathers, they wouldn’t have given him another one.

In any case, El Paume now had three Phoenix Feathers in his possession.

‘There are now only a few dangerous places left in Orange-rank Mystic Gates.’

It was like giving wings to El Paume, who was already at the top level.

“I’m going.”

There was no more hesitation for El Paume.

“If you’re worried.”

Of course, El Paume had no intention of backing down here.

No, rather, El Paume had been planning this move with another trick in mind from the very beginning.

“How about you support me with items?”

2.

“9.99 million mesos, Eagle Eye’s Grave.”

Lakan fell silent for a moment as he listened to the news Ebisu brought.

Lakan’s silence was not merely a reaction to El Paume’s unexpected decision.

Instead, he was pondering the situation.

‘The die is cast.’

If he couldn’t dissuade El Paume, then what was the best course of action for Gafor Merchant Union?

He didn’t have to think for long.

‘We have to keep him alive.’

From Gafor Merchant Union’s perspective, the worst-case scenario was for El Paume to die in the Mystic Gate.

They had paid a whopping 20 million mesos.

As bait.

And now their bait was just going to die somewhere out there?

That would be a bitter pill to swallow.

’20 million mesos is a lot, but losing our bait is even worse.’

But even more upsetting was the prospect of losing the chance to shake up the Kania Guild.

Lakan had already sensed something.

‘This isn’t just trolling. There’s something more to it.’

It was hard to understand why the Kania Guild would troll in a 100-man Mystic Gate, but it was not impossible.

Wasn’t it a good opportunity to eliminate a rival force?

Gafor Merchant Union could have done something similar, as long as they could get away with it.

But why try to kill El Paume, the survivor of that gate?

‘Three people survived the 100-man gate. That’s enough profit.’

This didn’t make sense from a merchant’s perspective.

That meant there must be a reason they wanted to kill El Paume, a reason that had nothing to do with business.

‘One thing for sure is that the Kania Guild will do whatever it takes to kill El Paume. No matter the cost.’

That’s why Lakan had willingly given 20 million mesos to El Paume.

‘If things go well, we can eliminate the Kania Guild.’

20 million mesos was a small price to pay, if not negligible, to bring down the Kania Guild.

In any case, El Paume was too valuable an asset to kill.

“Ebisu.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of El Paume’s abilities?”

“His abilities in what way?”

“Do you think he’ll make it back alive?”

The remaining question was now El Paume’s chances of survival.

“I’d say over 70 percent,” Ebisu replied, giving a surprisingly high probability.

And it wasn’t just a vague sense of hope.

“I can say with certainty that his survival skills are unmatched by any adventurer I’ve ever seen.”

El Paume’s life experiences were a testament to this.

“He’s survived three years as a bait slave.”

Even before becoming an adventurer, El Paume was different from the rest.

And his survival skills since becoming an adventurer were nothing short of remarkable.

“His growth rate since then has been frankly phenomenal.”

In particular, El Paume had reached 3-circles in a remarkably short time.

“He’s like Eagle Eye.”

Now, El Paume was seeking adventure in Eagle Eye’s Grave, the place where Eagle Eye, a talent of similar caliber, had met his demise.

Of course, Eagle Eye wasn’t just talented.

As a disciple of Captain Kyrin, he had received immense support. The level of items he possessed was far beyond that of an average adventurer.

Crucially, while El Paume excelled in survival skills, particularly in finding exits, his combat abilities were unknown.

It was clear that El Paume was lacking in a direct comparison.

Even so, El Paume’s abilities were indeed remarkable.

“He’s an adventurer worthy of full support from the guild.”

In fact, at this point, it seemed wasteful to simply use him as bait.

Lakan himself had this in mind.

After all, the value of a skilled adventurer was unparalleled.

That’s when Lakan shifted his perspective.

“What if El Paume succeeds in conquering Eagle Eye’s Grave?”

He considered the benefits of El Paume’s survival.

“First, according to the contract, Gafor Merchant Union will receive 30% of the profits. 30% of the items obtained from the gate will also belong to Gafor Merchant Union. However, the first choice of items will be given to El Paume’s party.”

Even just the pure monetary gain was 3 million mesos.

“But the most certain thing is the fame. Gafor Merchant Union will achieve what even Nautilus couldn’t.”

The value of the reputation they would gain in the aftermath was immeasurable in mesos.

It meant that the name of Gafor Merchant Union, which was barely clinging to the bottom of the top 10 guilds, would soar in value.

At that moment, Lakan didn’t hesitate.

“What is El Paume’s main magic attribute?”

“It’s fire.”

“I’ll make a deal with El Paume.”

“A deal?”

“I’ll lend El Paume a unique item.”

He made his decision.

“What kind of item?”

“Prepare the Phoenix Feather. There’s nothing more valuable for a fire-attribute mage than that.”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

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