蜜芽miya737mon牢记

Chapter 67

Chapter 67: The Gambling Board (4)

8.

3rd Floor.

The first to set foot in that hell were the Boss Slayer Hassan and his party members.

Thanks to them…

“Hassan, I trust your abilities.”

When Hassan spoke of the Head Hector and asked the adventurers to stop gambling and form an alliance for survival, the other adventurers readily accepted his proposal.

Boss Slayer Hassan, his reputation acknowledged even in Ariant, held that much value.

The same was true when the El Pam party made their proposal.

Most adventurers weighed their options, but the outcome was the same.

“But I think the El Pam party will fail.”

Even Rebecca, an adventurer from El Nath Mountains, thought the El Pam party would fail.

Despite that, the reason she accepted the El Pam party’s proposal, even with the offer of five unique items, was one thing.

“But the reason I made the deal was because I trust you, Hassan.”

Hassan strongly asserted that this proposal was a no-lose situation.

Whether the El Pam party succeeded or failed, there was nothing to lose.

Of course, he also argued,

“You said the El Pam party would succeed.”

He emphasized the possibility of the El Pam party’s success.

It wasn’t a baseless claim.

“Certainly, they have an extraordinary track record.”

First, he highlighted the El Pam party’s impressive career.

“When it comes to survival…”

The El Pam party had managed to survive the Mystic Gates, a place far beyond their capabilities.

They had even obtained Jack Richie’s legacy that way.

Anyone could see it was due to luck.

“But luck is also a skill.”

However, in the world of adventurers, luck was, in a way, a highly valued factor.

“Their willingness to bet on increasing their chances, even when they know it’s not easy, is also impressive.”

In fact, the most decisive factor was the El Pam party’s attitude.

Hassan shared what he had overheard.

They’d rather take a risk in exchange for strengthening their power than be chosen in the lottery without any power-ups.

Honestly, it was a method that other adventurers hadn’t expected.

And it was a method worthy of admiration.

“I don’t know about their skills, but they’re definitely adventurers.”

Adventurers are those who take risks.

In that sense, the El Pam party’s actions could be considered the epitome of a great adventurer.

That’s why they believed Hassan’s words.

The possibility of the El Pam party succeeding.

“To tell you the truth…”

Hassan said about it.

“The El Pam party will fail.”

“What?”

He had lied.

“It was a ridiculous idea from the start. If it were something that could be done with just five people, there wouldn’t have been any trouble.”

“Then why did you accept the proposal?”

“If the El Pam party takes the initiative, we can at least properly grasp the Head Hector’s movements. On the other hand, we have nothing to lose. The Hectors may devour corpses, but they don’t devour items. Above all, it sets an example.”

“An example?”

“A clear example that the lottery is the answer, and there’s no need for any other foolish thoughts.”

Rebecca didn’t question Hassan’s words.

Rather, she now understood.

“As expected.”

All the adventurers had thought the same as Hassan from the beginning.

That was why…

Awoooooo!

Awoooooo!

When the Hector’s howling began to resonate in earnest…

“The El Pam party has started.”

When the El Pam party began their operation to lure the Hector pack guarding the exit and the Head Hector, the waiting adventurers thought,

“It’s useless.”

That they were doing something pointless.

That’s why none of them prepared to escape.

“We just need to find the bodies.”

They only prepared to find the items the El Pam party had when the howling subsided.

Awoooooo!

“They’re lasting longer than expected.”

The same was true when the howling was heard repeatedly.

Everyone thought the sound would soon fade.

Awoooooo!

“…It’s been over 10 minutes, right?”

“Doesn’t it seem louder?”

However, as time passed and the sound not only didn’t fade but started to grow louder, the adventurers’ expressions changed.

Soon, the adventurers could see.

“The Head Hector is gone! The Head Hector and the Hectors are no longer visible near the exit!”

9.

Awoooooo!

As promised, the moment they lured the Head Hector 1 kilometer away from the exit, the adventurers’ rush to escape began.

“From now on, everyone hide.”

At the same time, the El Pam party stopped their operation.

They held their breath.

Awoooooo!

The snow-covered world was filled with the enraged howls of the Head Hector and the Hectors, who had lost their sight.

Awoooooo!

Their rage was very long.

Half a day.

Cough, cough!

For half a day, the Head Hector and the Hectors, filled with rage, howled and searched for the El Pam party who had taken their sight.

Of course, finding the El Pam party was impossible.

“Let’s move.”

“Now? Is it okay?”

“It’s okay. We’re out of their olfactory range.”

“We’re out of their olfactory range? Can you even tell that?”

The fact that their target was El Pam.

“I can tell.”

For El Pam, the last adventurer, it didn’t take long to understand the habits of the monsters he faced.

And while hunting a monster he understood like that might be difficult, escaping wasn’t.

After all, ‘the last adventurer’ could also be interpreted as ‘the adventurer who ran away until the very end’.

Awooo!

And so, after half a day, the Head Hector, who had given up the chase, moved back near the exit.

Of course, it wasn’t just moving.

Awooo!

After taking a position at the exit, the Head Hector began to gather all the Hectors there.

Cough, cough!

It was an expression of will.

“From now on, the Head Hector and the Hectors will operate around the exit only. To prevent us from leaving.”

An expression of their determination to somehow kill El Pam, the party that blinded them.

It was a chilling determination.

“As expected.”

And it was the will El Pam had been hoping for.

“From now on, the movement range of the Hector pack will be within a 2-kilometer radius centered on the exit. They won’t follow any farther than that.”

Now it was possible.

“The optimal environment has been created to reduce their numbers.”

The picking off.

From now on, the Hector pack was effectively confined within an invisible fence.

In such a situation, the tactic was simple.

“From here on, Divo, Kiri, and Ralph will act as decoys to attract attention.”

Lure them near the fence.

“Minerv and I will snipe them.”

All they had to do was hunt down the lured ones.

It was a simple tactic, and no one in the El Pam party raised any questions about it.

“Hey, boss.”

There was one question.

“But what about the leader?”

The boss monster, Head Hector, wouldn’t be easily caught this way.

El Pam answered without hesitation.

There was no reason to hesitate.

“Just like that time.”

“That time?”

“Like when the Cold Eye appeared.”

“Ah!”

Because there was a definite answer.

“We use the venom-infused Cold Beam.”

At that moment, there were no more questions.

“Even more powerful than that time.”

There was only the hunt.

And the hunt was swift.

Cough!

“Come on, you damn mutts!”

Divo, Kiri, and Ralph played their roles as decoys perfectly.

There was no reason for them to fail.

“I am Divo, the Polearm Hero!”

Divo was a 3rd Circle adventurer, but thanks to Jack Richie’s legacy, his firepower surpassed that of a 4th Circle adventurer.

The same was true for Kiri.

The newly acquired Unique Item made her defense even sturdier and her sword even sharper.

Ralph was no different.

No, Ralph’s case was overwhelming.

“Blessing Ensemble!”

The Unique Item he had obtained this time, Blessing Ensemble!

It was a 3rd Circle skill that strengthened the caster’s abilities based on the number of party members being buffed when cast.

It was an extremely important skill.

A Bishop is the weakest member of a party, so for them to become stronger? The advantage was indescribable.

Pow!

“I’m overflowing with power!”

Of course, for Ralph, becoming stronger was a different kind of overwhelming.

Honestly, at this point, he wasn’t a decoy.

Cough!

The Divo, Kiri, and Ralph party alone could easily handle dozens of Hectors.

But it didn’t end there.

Bang!

Bang!

Whenever the golden eye Minerv’s rifle rang out, Hector’s grunts echoed.

Tang!

Bang!

No exceptions.

Minerv displayed an astonishing accuracy rate, vividly demonstrating the meaning of the phrase “hitting the mark every time.”

“Damn.”

Of course, her performance wasn’t all that impressive.

“That girl is truly a monster.”

As El Pam showed.

Fwoosh!

The sight of him mercilessly piercing through the heads of the incoming Hector pack with two arrows from Apollo.

A scene of overwhelming massacre.

That’s how the Hector pack, numbering in the thousands, rapidly dwindled before El Pam’s party.

Until only one remained in the end.

Grr..

Just the Head Hector remained, having lost both eyes.

Hunting that Head Hector was the easiest.

Kekek, kekek!

Thanks to Freud’s ring, El Pam’s venom-laced cold beam, strengthened several times over by Hydra’s fangs, took less than an hour to take down the Head Hector.

‘As expected.’

Exactly as El Pam had anticipated.

Of course, not everything went according to expectations.

Wooo…

It signaled that something unexpected had occurred.

“El Pam’s party was used as bait?”

And yet, the reason the adventurers could return was thanks to the sacrifice of none other than El Pam’s party.

In other words, everyone was convinced:

That the sacrifice meant El Pam’s party would meet their demise beyond that Mystic Gate.

And the moment they died, the Mystic Gate’s portal would vanish, and the Mystic Gate itself would disappear.

Many lamented this fact.

Of course, they did not express regret or sadness over El Pam’s party’s death itself.

“Damn, Jack Richie’s legacy is going to be lost like this!”

“Not just Jack Richie’s legacy? They’re also losing five unique items along with it!”

“Including the unique items originally beyond that Mystic Gate, isn’t this too huge a loss?”

What people lamented was the loss of the tremendously valuable unique items that would vanish along with El Pam’s party’s demise.

And it was because of that regret.

“They put in so much effort for nothing.”

That’s why the surviving adventurers, including Hassan’s party, could not easily leave the Mystic Gate.

They had invested, but instead of profits, they only incurred losses.

So they remained.

“We have to see it through to the end.”

Because they could only acknowledge their losses for certain by witnessing the Mystic Gate’s disappearance.

And so the adventurers waited for the period to be marked, and soon they could see it.

“Huh?”

“Survivors!”

Five adventurers began to appear from beyond the portal they thought would close.

“It’s El Pam’s party!”

It was the moment when the party used as bait, El Pam’s, returned.

Tuk!

Along with the head of a Head Hector.

“The gamble is over.”