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Chapter 5. The Mushroom Forest (1)
One.
There were two things that determined the difficulty of Mystic Gate.
The color of the gate and the number of people allowed to enter.
As the number of people who can enter increases, the difficulty of conquering Mystic Gate increases significantly.
And there was no limit to the number of people who could enter.
For the Red rank, 100 people was the maximum number, but even for the Orange rank, it was easy to find a 100-person Mystic Gate.
In the case of the recently conquered Blue-grade Mystic Gate, the number of people allowed to enter reached 800.
It goes without saying that it was rare for ordinary adventurers to form parties of more than a thousand people.
Usually, when that many adventurers gathered, they were classified as a guild, and the party unit was no more than 99 people at most, and even then, it was a large party, and the number of adventurers in a party of 1st to 2nd circles never exceeded 10.
For that reason, in the case of Mystic Gate, which has a large number of people who can enter, it was common for several parties to attack it together.
It was below average for a solo party of 10 or fewer to conquer Mystic Gate, that is, it was at the beginner level.
In other words, the fact that multiple parties are attacking together means that it is not at the beginner level.
“Are you the fifth party?”
That was why Divo was nervous when he saw the man greeting El Palm and Divo.
‘From now on, they are real exhaust fugitives.’
Those in front of you now are seasoned adventurers who can properly conquer the Mystic Gate.
‘Whether it’s one circle or two.’
Moreover, the number of circles on their left wrist could not be used to gauge their experience.
Of course, the circle was the standard of strength, but circle up was something only those with natural talent could do.
Among those without talent, there were some who stayed in the first circle their entire lives.
And among those people, there were those who had conquered the Mystic Gate hundreds of times.
They were the real veterans.
In fact, from Devo’s point of view, they were people he could not reach.
‘Real bastards who don’t even use slaves.’
Honestly, only the most novice players who use bait slaves are those who can’t do anything except hunt alone.
That’s understandable, because seasoned adventurers wouldn’t have entrusted their fate to bait slaves in the first place.
Even if it means sharing the profits or suffering losses, it’s a method of choosing the option with a 1 percent higher survival rate.
That’s why they did whatever they wanted within the Mystic Gate.
It was literal.
‘Remove any obstacles without hesitation.’
If another party that came with them became a nuisance, they removed the obstacle without hesitation.
And that’s what it had to be.
‘Because a crazy adventurer is the most dangerous.’
To veterans, the monsters beyond the Mystic Gate were certainly dangerous, but most of them were predictable: what their habits were, how to catch them, or how to escape.
But adventurers were different.
A mad adventurer or an adventurer with malicious intent could not dare to be put into the category of prediction.
In reality, there were surprisingly many cases where adventurers got drunk on malice and brought boss monsters to annihilate other adventurers.
And it was a pretty profitable business.
Unlike monsters, adventurers have a 100% chance of dropping at least one item when they die.
For veteran adventurers, it is basic among the basics to eliminate such types as soon as possible.
“Just the two of you?”
In their eyes, El Palm and Divo were bombs among bombs.
It’s a party and there are only two of you?
Just that alone is enough to make you wonder, what kind of guys are they?
‘I’m a slave.’
Even one of them was an unawakened commoner, essentially a slave.
From Devo’s perspective, this is a tense moment in many ways.
“Yes, two.”
Of course, El Palm was different.
“And one of them did not awaken.”
He spoke the truth without holding back.
“Uh, boss?”
Everyone, including Devo, looked surprised at those words.
With what confidence can you say something like that?
But El Palm thought differently.
‘Even so, it’s only a red rating.’
In his view, those who came here were not even veterans, let alone rookies.
At least by El Palm’s standards, that was the case.
If they were targeting El Palm, El Palm was confident it could annihilate them within ten minutes.
Above all, El Palm knew.
‘Besides, this is a test.’
What kind of stage is this?
That was when.
“Everyone is gathered.”
A man appeared before them.
A man in his mid-40s with extremely sharp eyes.
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“I am Lakan.”
The moment the man said my name, everyone gathered there froze.
‘Rakan, the executive at the top of Gapor?’
Because there was no one who did not know the weight of that name.
“I won’t make a long story short.”
Rakan said to the nervous adventurers.
“This is a test. Catch the boss monster, and I’ll give you a chance.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at the word opportunity.
“A chance to participate in the 100-person gate.”
And the moment they heard what followed, no one cared about El Palm Party anymore.
2.
“Adventurers are selfish.”
Each adventurer pursued different values.
Some people aimed for wealth and fame, while others aimed for fame.
In addition, each pursued different values.
“No two are alike, but there are commonalities.”
But there were two things all of these adventurers had in common.
“Pursuing power.”
One is the ability to take risks.
“It’s like risking your life for the title.”
The other one was the nickname and title, aka title.
That’s because the title is the ultimate goal and value for adventurers.
Even in the Adventurer’s Association, the most important factor in distinguishing adventurers is not the circle, but the adventurer’s achievements and title.
Even among 1st circle adventurers, adventurers with more valuable titles were treated better than 5th circle adventurers.
The title was the result of an adventure, and adventurers were recognized for their worth based on those results.
“If it’s a 100-person gate, then that’s it?”
And now, for adventurers who have encountered the era of the Mystic Gate, the title of 100 Mystic Gate Conqueror is the best title for adventurers who can conquer the 2nd circle or lower, red-grade Mystic Gate.
Of course, it wasn’t just a title.
“Is it possible for a legendary item to appear?”
The biggest value of the 100-person Mystic Gate was that it had a fairly high probability of producing legendary items.
The value was enormous.
Most low-grade items were useless to adventurers with many circles.
That would be the case, as the number of skills that could be used at once was the same as the number of circles.
This means that if you are a 5-circle adventurer, you can use five items at once.
Even if you fill it all with 5-circle items, the magic power consumption will be so severe that it will be unbearable.
Eventually, the mediocre items became useless.
That is why 1st and 2nd circle items are being traded at prices that are practically dirt cheap.
However, the unique grades were different.
“Wouldn’t it be a hit if just one came out?”
There were cases where adventurers of circle 5 or higher, and even circle 8, used unique grade items of circle 1.
El Palm was a witness.
Anyway, that’s what it meant to enter the 100-person gate.
“Wow, getting into debt is not a big deal. What’s debt? I’ll become rich in no time!”
This means that even Devo’s eyes will turn to this huge opportunity.
That was also why veteran adventurers no longer cared about El Palm and Divo.
“Competition is no joke.”
At this point, there is no time to worry about El Palm and Divo.
Of course, there were no exceptions.
“Time is limited. If you don’t need to go to the party right away, notify us within 10 minutes.”
No one expressed their intention not to attend in response to the words of Rakan, the executive at the top of Gapor.
“Enter in 10 minutes.”
And when the entry time is set.
When that time comes.
The five parties that had gathered, a total of 38 adventurers, stepped through the Mystic Gate without the slightest hesitation.
The test has begun.
3.
The moment they set foot beyond the Mystic Gate, most adventurers, regardless of their affiliation, are grouped together.
To be exact, an agreement was reached before entering.
What will happen the moment you enter the Mystic Gate and who will be the leader?
And we played a party centered around that leader.
But this time was different.
The moment they entered the Mystic Gate, the parties just looked at each other.
That was it.
There was no conversation.
After exchanging brief glances, they each dispersed in different directions as if they had made a promise.
All that’s left are El Palm and Divo.
It was the same with Devo.
“boss.”
He too spoke to El Palm with eyes filled with more determination than ever.
“We need to move too. We need to find the boss monster quickly.”
Lakan said.
The party that first defeats the boss monster will be given the opportunity to participate in the 100-person gate.
It means that whoever catches it first is the winner.
That was also why the parties dispersed without saying a word a little while ago.
“Before the others catch me!”
Because these people here were not colleagues, but competitors.
Of course, Devo wasn’t just intoxicated by profit and burning with such determination.
There was faith.
“If you’re the boss, there’s no problem!”
El Palm, the belief that with his awesome abilities he could win against others.
The ability that El Palm demonstrated was truly remarkable.
Because it’s different from conventional hunting.
Above all, Divo thought.
‘This is why the boss came all the way here!’
El Palm would want that too.
“We don’t interfere in boss raids.”
“yes?”
But El Palm actually said something completely different from what Divo had expected.
“We hunt to kill here.”
“A hunt to kill?”
Even when he heard that they were hunting regular monsters instead of boss monsters, Divo looked speechless.
‘No, what the hell is this?’
If this is the case, then why did you come here?
“You think I’m talking crazy.”
“Huh? Oh, no.”
El Palm, seeing the look on Divo’s face, was happy to explain.
“First of all, the boss monster here has a high competition rate. The higher the competition rate, the more dangerous it is.”
El Palm was strong.
But he knew.
“The thing you must avoid most at Mystic Gate is danger.”
One of the most important rules for an adventurer is to not be confident in your strength.
“And just because you can’t hunt the boss monster here doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the 100-person gate.”
“Huh? No, it’s a test.”
“It is Gapor who decides which representative from the top of Gapor will participate in the 100-person gate. It is not Rakan.”
El Palm also learned that not hunting the boss monster here doesn’t mean the opportunity is lost.
‘It’s going to fail anyway.’
Rather, opportunities were bound to continue to come in the future.
Because in El Palm’s memory, this 100-man gate has never been conquered.
Above all, El Palm knew.
“It definitely stinks.”
“Smell?”
Sniff sniff!
Devo sniffed at El Palm’s words right away. However, the only scent he could smell was that of a damp forest.
And to that smell, Divo said:
“Isn’t this the smell of mushrooms?”
That’s the unique smell that mushroom monsters give off.
That was it.
It didn’t smell that dangerous or threatening.
But it was different for El Palm.
“It smells like mushrooms.”
He spoke with confidence.
“The smell of poisonous mushrooms.”
‘The smell of toadstools.’
What kind of boss monster is this place?
fantasy,
