The Last Adventurer

Chapter 135 – Elnas Mountains (3)

5.

Balok.

“For an adventurer, hunting a Balrog is one of the greatest honors. However, no adventurer wants to meet a Balrog.”

A monster that adventurers do not want to face.

“But if you want to meet Balrog, there is nothing you can’t meet.”

The funny thing is that Balrog is a very powerful monster and there are quite a lot of them.

“You can meet Balrog around the cursed temple deep in the Sleepywood Forest. He’s a small guy though.”

To be exact, I was able to meet Junior Balok.

Of course, compared to the real Balrog, Junior Balrog was about the same size as a lion and a lion cub, but a Balrog was still a Balrog.

So, among the adventurers, those who were confident in their skills actively participated in Junior Balrog hunting to earn the title of Junior Balrog Hunting.

Among them was an adventurer named Biom.

He was such an outstanding adventurer that he hunted over 44 junior Balrogs, earning him the nickname of Balrog Slayer.

When Junior Balrog appears, he goes to him before the Knights of Signus and asks them to catch him.

It was the same that day.

Deep in the Sleepywood forest, they came across a Junior Balrog who had appeared and was looking for Biom to hunt him down, and Biom willingly headed into the forest.

And he came back.

“They’re all dead.”

He lost all his comrades, and also lost one eye and one leg.

Everyone was surprised by that fact.

So I asked.

The Balrog Slayer, how did he, with his reputation, return in such a state?

To that question, Biom said:

“He, he looked like a Junior Balrog, but he was nothing like that. He was wearing a Balrog skull as a helmet, and the eyes visible through it were bloodshot.”

With the appearance of this new Balrog, many adventurers challenged the hunt and met their deaths.

The damage was so great that the hunt was eventually led by the Adventurer’s Guild, and the Adventurer’s Guild later made an announcement.

“Two Junior Balrogs fight to the death, and the winner is given a very special power. The Adventurers’ Guild names this Junior Balrog the Crimson Balrog.”

That’s how the Crimson Balrog appeared.

Naturally, the Crimson Balrog was much more difficult to hunt than the Junior Balrog.

Right now, Crimson Balrog is a monster that evolved from Junior Balrog, which ate Junior Balrog.

It is inevitable that he will be stronger than Junior Balrog.

Because of this, the Crimson Balrog was bound to become infamous in many ways.

It was thanks to that.

‘This Mystic Gate is where the Crimson Balrog appears.’

El Palm remembers that Mystic Gate clearly.

Of course, that was the biggest reason I remembered it.

‘Because I experienced it.’

The one who conquered that place was none other than El Palm.

Of course El Palm knew.

‘In some ways, it can be seen as more difficult than the Judgement of the Mines that Zakum appears in.’

That place may be more difficult to conquer than the Judgement of the Abandoned Mine, which is considered the worst of the green-grade Mystic Gates that appeared in the Elnas Mountains, and the place where the weakened Zakum appears.

‘It is difficult to predict the possibility of success under the current circumstances.’

I don’t know the members of the Knights of Oz, but I know that it won’t be easy to conquer with just them.

Of course, we were able to conquer it because we had El Palm.

‘At least half of them die.’

But the results could not be guaranteed.

This was pretty important.

The reason the Oz Knight Commander hired El Palm was to increase the Knights’ survival rate even a little.

But half of them died?

It may be a sad story for adventurers, but the lives of the Knights of Signus were of a different weight than those of adventurers.

If half of them died at Mystic Gate, let alone somewhere else, it would be a huge deal.

In fact, at this point, there was only one wisest choice El Palm could make.

‘It’s right to give up.’

Not even trying at all.

But here El Palm was troubled.

‘Then I would have to give up Aran’s item as well.’

If I were simply giving up on the strategy itself, I would have made that decision a long time ago, but giving up this time was like giving up the chance to get Aran’s items.

Of course, it wasn’t like there was no way at all.

But it was impossible to compare which was better, moving with the support of the Knights of Signus or just moving.

Above all, El Palm thought.

‘If things continue this way, Aran’s safety will also be threatened.’

Followers of the Black Mage, they know that only they can destroy this scheme they have created.

That was important.

When thinking about the monster invasion that would come to the world in the future, Aran was a very important person.

So at this point, the choice El Palm had to make was not to give up.

“Lord Oz.”

“yes.”

“Can you give me a moment?”

“What time is it?”

Finding a way.

And there was a way.

“I know someone who can help.”

6.

“How have you been?”

Magatia.

El Palm, who was staying at the accommodation provided there, saw the phantom thief Phantom right in front of him.

It wasn’t El Palm who sang it.

It was a sudden appearance, without any sign or news.

However, El Palm was not surprised by the appearance of the thief Phantom.

“I knew you would come.”

It was already expected that the phantom thief Phantom would come.

It was natural.

What the thief Phantom asked El Palm to do was to retrieve Aran’s items.

But isn’t it true that Aran’s item is now being released to the entire Maple World and that a battle over it is about to break out?

In this part, it is inevitable that the thief Phantom who made the request will have a bigger headache than the one who received the request, El Palm.

“I knew you’d come. That’s good. There’s no need to talk at length. Let’s get straight to the point.”

The phantom thief also knew that fact, so he didn’t waste any time.

“Can you do it or not?”

I asked El Palm a straight question, and El Palm answered it right away.

“You can.”

“Oh, really?”

“However, we need the support of Phantom Thief.”

“Oh, really?”

The moment he heard that answer, the phantom thief smiled and said.

“But what should I do? I don’t want to support you.”

It was an unexpected reaction.

Negotiations with El Palm have already been concluded, but here is additional support? The thief Phantom was never a philanthropist.

El Palm knew too.

“I have no intention of doing it for free.”

“Oh yeah?”

I was willing to pay a price for the support.

“Still, I don’t care.”

However, the phantom thief showed even more indifference to El Palm’s proposal.

This was also not a strange reaction.

Who is the phantom thief?

The greatest thief in the world!

Isn’t he the one who stole more, more valuable things than anyone else?

There was no way he would need anything like that.

Even if there was one, Phantom Thief was not one to obtain it through trade or negotiation.

A thief, as his name suggests, he was a thief.

“I will sell my rights.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I made a deal with Prince Kashan. I would accept anything in exchange for making him crown prince.”

“Oh yeah?”

But the moment El Palm said those words, the look in the eyes of the thief Phantom who was answering changed.

“And I said to Prince Kashan, if he becomes King Abdullah IX, give him the jewel of the onyx dragon, one of his symbols.”

At that moment, the phantom thief changed his posture and expression.

“That’s interesting.”

It was something worth it.

The Onyx Dragon’s Jewel, a very precious jewel with only one left in the world at this point.

Also, El Palm knew that it contained a very special power, although he did not know exactly what it was.

Crucially, El Palm knew.

‘There’s a reason why the thief Phantom couldn’t steal it.’

It is certain that the precious jewel still remains in the royal family of the Kingdom of Ariant.

So, the phantom thief just watched.

Anyway, El Palm’s gamble was right.

“Really?”

The phantom thief was interested.

“yes.”

“You really decided to receive it from Prince Kashan?”

Plus, the thief Phantom had abilities.

“That’s right. I promised.”

“hmm.”

The ability to detect another person’s lies.

“good.”

Of course, the deal didn’t happen right away.

Because what really matters is from now on.

“So what do you want?”

The Onyx Dragon’s Jewel, a treasure of inestimable value, will have corresponding demands.

“The Onyx Dragon’s items are priceless. In fact, they cannot be simply exchanged for anything else.”

“Don’t explain at length, just get to the point.”

So El Palm was happy to oblige.

“I want to change Fried’s legacy.”

Fried, the moment that name was mentioned, the expression on Phantom the thief’s face turned cold.

That was the value of the name Friedran.

In particular, it was the six heroes, rather than anyone else, who placed the most value on the name of Fried.

Because they saw Fried up close and knew his greatness and nobility better than anyone else.

In other words, asking for such a legacy of Fried was like asking for the dragon’s reverse scale.

It was never an easy task.

Still, there were two reasons why El Palm brought up the name.

“Fried, he was the master of the King of the Onyx Dragons.”

First of all, the Onyx Dragon’s Jewel has to have a deep relationship with Fried in many ways.

Of course, El Palm knew too.

This is an unreasonable request.

No, it might be a reckless request considering the value Fried holds for the six heroes.

‘If it’s not that level of item, it’s meaningless.’

But what El Palm needed now was not just the right item.

It was an item that could change one’s power and change the situation.

In fact, from El Palm’s perspective, it was equally regrettable.

The value of the Onyx Dragon’s jewel was by no means small.

The fact that the thief Phantom was hesitant after receiving El Palm’s offer was proof that it was worth weighing.

In any case, from El Palm’s point of view, the reason they wanted to negotiate in this way, even though it was regrettable, was simple.

‘The followers of the Black Mage will be confident that this will never fail.’

A trap that was built with such thorough preparation that even El Palm had to give up.

‘So it can cause fatal damage.’

Only by breaking down such traps could the followers of the Black Mage be shaken.

Above all, El Palm knew.

‘There’s not much time left.’

The era of the Mystic Gate is ending, and the era of monsters is about to arrive.

The day will soon come when monsters will burst out of the Mystic Gate and fill Maple World.

Before that, I had to do everything I could.

“There are conditions.”

The thief Phantom said to El Palm.

“I can give you Fried’s legacy. But I can’t give it to just anyone. This is something I can never lose.”

El Palm nodded at those words.

“I would be happy to take any test that proves my qualifications.”

Because the conditions were right.

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

At El Palm’s words, the thief Phantom laughed in vain.

“It’s ridiculous to talk about qualifications for an adventurer like you. If you weren’t qualified in the first place, I wouldn’t have done business with you. Your qualifications are more than enough.”

That was an amazing statement.

It was also a happy thing to say.

Who could possibly have the honor of being praised so highly by one of the six heroes, the phantom thief Phantom?

But instead of smiling or being happy at those words, El Palm’s expression hardened.

Okay, I got it.

What the Phantom Thief is demanding now is an even more difficult condition for El Palm.

It was as expected.

“But your colleagues are different.”

Phantom Thief, he demanded.

“Make 5 circles. That’s the condition.”