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Chapter 57. Zakum (2)
4.
Adventurers say.
“Even ordinary people who are not adventurers can catch orange mushrooms if they get together and fight well.”
The power of teamwork is more powerful than we think.
“That is why adventurers within the Mystic Gate must stick to teamwork.”
Especially in the era of Mystic Gate, teamwork has become more important than ever.
Because it took nothing more than teamwork to get the most out of a limited number of people.
“If you don’t do it, it will be dealt with without anyone knowing.”
If there is someone who interferes with teamwork, he or she will remove that obstacle without any hesitation.
“From circle 3 to circle 4, that’s the correct answer.”
But that wasn’t the case in all cases.
“The story changes a little from Circle 5 onwards.”
It wasn’t easy for the 5th Circle, a realm that only a select few adventurers could reach, to gather together and demonstrate teamwork.
There were two reasons.
“First of all, his head is too big. Isn’t it? If he’s a 5th circle member, he’s a leader in any organization, and at the very least, he’s capable of being the leader’s right-hand man or left-hand man.”
One was pride.
“And the 5th Circle isn’t just for everyone. It’s for those who have survived in this ridiculous world in their own way. And changing that way? That’s like telling them to die.”
The other one was survival.
This was the most important.
The virtue of an adventurer was survival, and the adventurers who made a name for themselves in the 5th Circle knew that virtue better than anyone else.
It means that they are people who do not spare any means or methods to survive.
So when the 5 Circle Adventurers gathered together to conquer the Mystic Gate, the concept of teamwork changed a little.
“So the five circles don’t have to come together and fight each other.”
Just leave it.
“Anyway, if you hunt monsters, you’ll figure out what’s what and your breathing will work together.”
That alone would have been enough to demonstrate teamwork.
That’s what the mine expedition was like now.
Keuheung, keuheung!
On the first floor of Mystic Gate, the Abandoned Mine Expedition quickly began to adapt to the bulldog pack that appeared there.
“Keep moving, the Knights are making a move. As expected, they’re good.”
“There’s a group coming over there. Our Wild Hunters will capture that group for now.”
He began to move quickly, hunting down a pack of bulldogs without any problems, making Zakum’s curse seem insignificant.
“Are there any injured people?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“The number of casualties is gradually decreasing.”
There was also no significant damage.
Of course, as always, problems arise when you think things are okay.
This time it was the same.
Keuhung!
“It’s a bunch of bulldogs!”
“The numbers are in the thousands!”
A pack of bulldogs came rushing at us, incomparable to any pack of bulldogs we had ever encountered before.
“The guy in front of me! He’s the one we missed!”
“You’ve gathered your colleagues!”
Even those bulldogs were not people who happened to encounter the mine expedition, but a group that had gathered together to hunt the mine expedition down.
‘There may be deaths.’
So I thought everyone might hear bad news.
And that idea soon became reality.
“Viola, there is a death.”
When the battle was over, everyone knew.
“Who are you?”
“It’s El Party.”
Viola’s expression hardened slightly at those words.
That was unexpected.
‘El Party?’
Wasn’t the El Fati she knew a true survival specialist who could survive in any situation?
Even if the battle just now wasn’t easy, he definitely didn’t deserve to die like this.
“What about the body?”
“The battle was so intense that I couldn’t check properly.”
The moment Viola heard those words, she got a feeling.
‘Maybe he’s not dead.’
El Fati deliberately faked his death.
That he left the expedition.
Of course, this was a very dangerous thing to do. This was not something that had been agreed upon with Viola in advance.
That’s why, in normal cases, we had to check the bodies. It’s not impossible that those who disappeared might betray.
But here Viola was sure.
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‘There is a reason.’
There is no possibility that El Party will betray.
“What should we do? Should we look for the body?”
“I don’t have time to spend like that right now.”
That’s why Viola continued her expedition here, and everyone gathered nodded in agreement with her decision.
Unlike Viola, El Party was not a very famous adventurer among the expedition members.
He is simply a member of the Signus Knights who was included in this expedition.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I look down on them.
Just a moment ago, the situation was so intense that it wouldn’t have been surprising if anyone had died, and only the most nameless one died.
‘Even if you try to trick me.’
Also, everyone had their own.
‘We can’t avoid your eyes.’
I am confident that I can detect any tricks in advance.
Of course, the biggest reason was the reason Viola mentioned.
‘It’s only the first floor. We can’t afford to delay here.’
So everyone moved towards the second floor.
A short while later, El Palm Party appeared where they were.
5.
“Boss, why did you die?”
El Palm gave a short answer to Debo’s question.
“Because I can’t believe it.”
It was short, but it was enough.
‘There is a traitor in this expedition.’
Whenever El Palm speaks like this, there is always a traitor, a troll.
Regardless of that belief, it was quite a shocking thing.
‘No, but who the hell is it?’
‘All the members gathered here have names and clear backgrounds. But they are all traitors?’
They are not just a bunch of idiots, they are all people who have been tested and proven over the years or even decades, so how can there be a traitor?
Of course, El Palm was different.
‘The world is already under the control of the followers of the Black Wizard.’
El Palm also knew.
‘But the reason they’re hiding that fact is to free the Black Wizard from his seal.’
Why are the followers of the Black Mage hiding in the shadows of Maple World?
‘There’s a little over a year left.’
It was a fact that would soon be known to the whole world.
‘not much left.’
El Palm wasn’t too troubled by such facts.
It wasn’t something he could come up with an answer to just because he was worried.
‘I leave the matter of the Black Wizard to Phantom.’
That’s why El Palm gave the items he retrieved from the Celestial Crise to the thief Phantom.
Whatever Phantom Thief does with it, it’ll do better than what El Palm does.
So there was only one thing El Palm had to do now.
‘I do what I can.’
That’s why El Palm came here now.
Debo said to El Palm, who was troubled like that.
“So now you’re going to identify and catch the traitor?”
It is clear what needs to be done.
“no.”
“yes?”
However, contrary to Devo’s thoughts, El Palm had no intention of finding and capturing the traitor.
“It is impossible to distinguish a traitor.”
To be exact, it was impossible to find and deal with the traitor hiding here with El Palm’s abilities at the moment.
First of all, their identities were completely hidden.
Above all, there was no one in this expedition who could be called a traitor in El Palm’s memory.
That means that the person who is currently hiding his identity has succeeded in hiding his identity until the end.
“Even if we find the traitor, it is impossible to deal with him.”
Crucially, these people gathered here were not ordinary people.
If you label them as traitors, will the rest of the people believe you?
Should we believe El Palm’s words and aim our swords and guns at those who have been labeled traitors along with him?
“Rather, we will be suspected the moment we appear.”
It would be a blessing if they didn’t attack El Palm Party.
At those words, everyone’s expressions hardened.
Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to move with the bomb in the end?
“So I’ll just watch.”
All that’s left is to follow the abandoned mine expedition while watching them from afar.
“Boss, is that okay?”
But it was very difficult.
“Our opponents are famous adventurers.”
Basically, following someone is much harder than you might think, and even the most accomplished adventurers tend to be extremely cautious of their surroundings.
“That’s right, let’s not just watch and sleep, let’s just follow the traces.”
It would be better to just do nothing, hold your breath, and follow their trail.
“Then the bomb must not explode.”
But from El Palm’s point of view, it was important to avoid having traitors ruin this expedition.
‘These members must not die.’
Those here are not just simple adventurers, knights, or resistance fighters, but those who will play a very big and important role in the era of monsters that will begin in the future.
‘There is no one to replace them.’
Without them, the future would be even more dire than what El Palm experienced.
“Boss, it’s still too dangerous. No matter how great the boss is, the moment he gets caught, it’s over!”
Of course, El Palm was not the type of person to recklessly or forcefully do things that should not be done.
“No problem.”
Honestly, El Palm wasn’t worried at all.
“No problem?”
“okay.”
Okay, I got it.
“Because from the second floor onwards, the expedition team won’t even have time to worry about us.”
6.
“As your level goes up, the difficulty of hunting monsters increases.”
As the Mystic Gate level increases, the difficulty also increases. This was a fact known to all adventurers of this era.
“But the difficulty of finding the exit doesn’t change much.”
However, the environment beyond the Mystic Gate, and the difficulty of that environment, stopped increasing at some point.
While deserts and snow-covered worlds were certainly difficult environments, environments beyond that rarely appeared.
That’s why.
“Once you get to the point where you’re trying to conquer the green level, finding your way around becomes a ridiculous task, to be honest.”
The speed of clearing high-grade Mystic Gates is often much faster than that of low-grade ones.
In the case of the current mine expedition, it was on a different level.
Because each and every member was a famous and skilled person.
“That’s the entrance to the second floor!”
So on the fourth day after entering the Mystic Gate, the mine expedition team was able to find the entrance.
“Then, after finishing the maintenance, we will go straight to the second floor.”
There was no hesitation as I approached the entrance I had found.
As I said before, everyone was skilled.
Also, after facing the Bulldogs for four days, teamwork and trust had been developed to some extent.
‘As expected, your skills live up to your reputation.’
I don’t know about anything else, but I can trust your skills!
Of course, that was the biggest reason why I didn’t hesitate.
‘Nothing will change if you wait here.’
The only thing an adventurer can gain by stopping is rest.
That is, stopping while drunk enough to take a break was a waste of time and food.
It means there is no reason to stop.
So, as soon as everyone finished their break, they headed to the second floor without hesitation, starting with Viola.
And I could see it.
Bubbling!
“… … Damn, it’s lava!”
A red, black world with flowing lava.
“Why of all people!”
It was the worst environment.
The desert or the snow-covered world are not good environments, but you don’t get fatally injured or anything just because you took a wrong step.
But the lava field was different.
If you accidentally step on lava, if you even touch it, you will suffer a serious injury.
Of course, there were no adventurers on this expedition who were stupid enough to just walk in and step on lava.
The problem is when you fight!
Do you care about flowing lava during a fierce battle? That’s a whole other level of difficulty.
‘Uneasy.’
That was the moment when everyone unconsciously swallowed their saliva.
Keuhung!
I heard a cry.
‘bulldog?’
A crying sound very similar to the one I had heard countless times on the first floor.
It was never a pleasant sound.
It was even more difficult to avoid lava when facing a monster that was rushing at you like a bulldog.
“Yeah, that’s better.”
But those who are here are actually at ease.
“Haven’t you caught as many as you can?”
From their perspective, it was much better not to need a warm-up.
But that freedom soon disappeared.
Because I saw it.
“No, wait.”
Wild Hunter Lee, she said.
“That’s not a bulldog! That’s a firedog!”
Keuheung, keuheung!
The identity of the monster coming now is a fire dog that has such a high resistance to heat that it can even step on lava.
At that moment, everyone’s expressions hardened.
“Everyone, be careful.”
And at that hardened expression, the archer Rema struck a fatal blow.
“There’s a Firebomb mixed in. That self-destructing monster.”
fantasy,
