The Last Adventurer
Chapter 40

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 40: Cross Hunters (2)

4.

The table was laden with a feast, enough to make anyone wonder what they should eat first.

“Puh-huh!”

A small man at the table sprayed the stew he had been eating all over the place, like a fountain.

It was an act of pure nuisance!

However, none of the people sitting at the table, including the man himself, Dibo, were about to reprimand him.

It was for a good reason.

“Boss, have you lost your mind?”

El Paume, the man who had made the statement, had said something so crazy that no ordinary person could understand.

“You demanded 20 million mesos? As a contract fee?”

20 million mesos.

A sum of money that even a 5-circle adventurer would not easily touch, and El Paume had demanded it as a contract fee.

And it wasn’t just a demand.

“Boss, is that even reasonable? You’re asking for protection?”

Didn’t El Paume go to the Gafor Merchant Union to seek protection from the Kania Guild’s threat?

“And you’re asking for money?”

Not only did he not want to pay, but he was asking for more money?

“There’s something I can’t quite understand.”

Ralph, who usually only answered when asked a question, joined the conversation. It was a rare sight.

So Dibo was looking forward to it.

‘Yeah, Ralph, tell him what’s what. Get the boss back in his right mind.’

He hoped that Ralph’s words would make El Paume act in a more sensible manner.

Dibo’s expectations were met by Ralph.

“You demanded 20 million mesos? As a contract fee?”

“Yes.”

“Is this contract fee a one-time payment or an installment?”

“A one-time payment.”

“Excellent.”

He gave El Paume a thumbs up and smiled more happily than ever.

“No, what the hell…”

At the sight of this unbelievable scene, Dibo said to Kiri, who was sitting next to him.

“Kiri, you say something too.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“I feel like I’m the only troll caught in the middle of these two. Say something. Tell them what common sense is.”

“20 million mesos, isn’t that a lot of money? It’s a lot, but it’s not impossible to pay, right?”

“What?”

And Dibo’s expression became even more incredulous at Kiri’s words.

“Kiri, is that what you think? Do you think your father owns some guild or something? Huh? Are you rich?”

“No, that’s not true.”

Kiri’s vehement denial was met with a chuckle from Dibo and a narrowing of Ralph’s eyes.

Then Ralph asked Dibo a question.

“Dibo, let me ask you something. Is the problem that he offered a lot of money?”

“Of course money is good!”

Dibo had no intention of shunning money, of course.

“But this means we shouldn’t sign the contract, doesn’t it?”

The problem was that this was not the time to negotiate with the Gafor Merchant Union, but rather to get under their protection no matter what.

“No, boss? Isn’t that right? They rejected your offer of 10 million mesos, but they’ll accept it if you offer 20 million mesos?”

Anyone could tell that it was a sign that they didn’t want to sign the contract.

“There’s no way the Gafor Merchant Unionmaster would agree to the offer without going crazy! I’ll bet my entire fortune on it!”

Dibo said confidently.

That’s when it happened.

“Mr. El Paume.”

A merchant approached the table where El Paume was sitting and said.

“I’m from the Gafor Merchant Union. We accept your offer.”

5.

“El Paume has accepted the offer.”

Rakan didn’t react much to Ebis’s words.

And it was understandable.

After all, they were running away from the Kania Guild, and now they were being offered 20 million mesos as a contract fee?

It would be stupid to refuse.

“But do we need to do this? If it wasn’t for us, he would be dead already.”

That’s why Ebis was wondering why Rakan had accepted this offer.

“The Kania Guild trolled, and that’s an issue that’s enough to shake the Kania Guild.”

It was clear that El Paume was valuable.

“But it’s just his testimony. There’s no evidence anywhere yet.”

But that value was not worth 20 million mesos.

“That’s right.”

Rakan couldn’t have known that.

“We need more concrete evidence than El Paume’s testimony to shake the Kania Guild.”

That’s why.

“And now the Kania Guild is desperate to kill El Paume, that bastard.”

“Ah!”

“From now on, all we have to do is dangle bait in front of the Kania Guild.”

“So?”

Rakan’s willingness to offer 20 million mesos was because…

“There’s a condition to the contract.”

6.

“We will raid the Mystic Gate at least twice a month. This is the new condition.”

The three members of El Paume’s party didn’t react much to the Gafor Merchant Union merchant’s condition.

After all, the reason guilds contract with adventurers is to make Mystic Gate raids more efficient.

So it was only natural that the contract would specify the number of raids to be conducted at regular intervals.

Otherwise, the adventurers could just take the contract fee and not do anything, which is called “eating and running.”

However, El Paume was different.

‘They’re definitely planning to use me as bait.’

He immediately grasped the Gafor Merchant Union’s intentions.

‘I have to be killed by the Kania Guild for there to be evidence.’

That the Gafor Merchant Union was trying to put El Paume’s party in the jaws of death.

El Paume wasn’t surprised by this.

He didn’t even feel bad about it.

‘As expected.’

In the first place, El Paume hadn’t gone to the Gafor Merchant Union out of any noble purpose or value, such as saving Maple World.

On the contrary.

He chose the Gafor Merchant Union because it was the one among the top 10 guilds in the port city of Lis that could bite the Kania Guild like a dog.

In other words, the Gafor Merchant Union had every intention of using El Paume as bait. They had no other way to use him.

That’s why El Paume demanded 20 million mesos.

He had no choice but to pay.

“Can I sign the contract?”

“Yes.”

Whoosh!

So El Paume signed the contract without hesitation.

Then the merchant immediately took the contract and said:

“The contract fee will be given to you when you come to the Gafor Merchant Union. How would you like me to prepare the checks?”

“Four checks of 5 million mesos each, please.”

“Yes, I will prepare them.”

And the moment the merchant left his seat, Dibo clenched his fist and said:

“Boss, you’re amazing!”

Ralph was the same.

“I will follow you no matter what happens from now on…”

Ralph gave him a thumbs up again.

Kiri was the same.

“That’s incredible.”

No matter how you look at it, she couldn’t hide her surprise at El Paume’s ability to pull off such a huge deal.

But El Paume himself was different.

He wasn’t excited.

There was no reason for him to be excited.

’20 million mesos, I can buy stuff with this.’

For El Paume, 20 million mesos was not a big deal. To be honest, he didn’t even feel anything about it.

It was just enough money to buy supplies for his adventures.

More importantly, El Paume knew.

‘The next Mystic Gate is going to be hell.’

That the Kania Guild, which had lost the Viper Nir, would send an even more powerful assassin next time.

‘And the Gafor Merchant Union wants me dead.’

On the other hand, the Gafor Merchant Union, which he had entered believing it was an umbrella, was not an umbrella at all, but rather an audience who had paid 20 million mesos to watch the Kania Guild kill the El Paume party.

In fact, everyone except Dibo, Kiri, and Ralph was an enemy.

“Let’s all move to the Gafor Merchant Union.”

“Huh? All of us? Aren’t you going, boss?”

In that situation, there was only one place El Paume could trust.

“I have to go somewhere for a while.”

El Paume spat out the words and gently touched the ring on his finger.

‘I’m going to meet the Cross Hunter.’

7.

When the era of Mystic Gates began, Maple World was in a frenzy.

Adventurers rushed to start Mystic Gate adventures, and the Cygnus Knights also set out to raid Mystic Gates.

Even Blackwing, who had occupied the clockwork city of Edelstein, and the Resistance, who were too busy fighting them, raided Mystic Gates.

There were many reasons for the raids, but the main reason was one:

“The items beyond the Mystic Gate change everything!”

There was nothing strange about it.

In Maple World, where items are power and ability, it would be strange to refuse them.

That’s why.

‘Cross Hunters.’

The reason why Cross Hunters were treated as special beings was…

‘The destroyers of Mystic Gates.’

Their purpose was not items or titles, but only to destroy Mystic Gates.

Moreover, they did not hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve this goal.

When Mystic Gates first appeared, they tried to physically destroy the visible Mystic Gates.

Of course, after learning that destroying a Mystic Gate from the outside would only cause new Mystic Gates to appear nearby, the Cross Hunters abandoned that method and entered the Mystic Gates.

‘Not hunting boss monsters, but only searching for the exit.’

Of course, they were not interested in killing monsters.

No adventurer would like that.

From the point of view of adventurers who wanted the monster stones and items from the monsters beyond the Mystic Gate, the Cross Hunters were nothing more than a nuisance.

For that reason, the Cross Hunters kept their existence hidden and operated among adventurers, and most adventurers were unaware of the Cross Hunters’ existence.

El Paume was no exception.

‘I only found out about them that day.’

Before going back in time, El Paume first learned about the Cross Hunters after monsters started coming out of the Mystic Gates.

And that’s when he learned their purpose.

‘They learned that the Mystic Gates were a trick created by the followers of the Black Mage and were trying to stop it.’

After that, El Paume did not join the Cross Hunters, but maintained a friendly relationship with them.

In fact, it was not just El Paume.

In Maple World, those who wanted to survive from the monsters had no choice but to be on the same side.

Anyway, thanks to that, El Paume knew well.

‘I’m glad I heard the story that day. The story of the Cross Hunters.’

Where the Cross Hunters’ Lis branch was located.

Of course, even though he knew, El Paume couldn’t just approach the Cross Hunters’ Lis branch without a second thought.

He knew that the moment he went looking for the Cross Hunters without any reason, he would be eliminated.

And that was right.

The Cross Hunters’ purpose was to fight the followers of the Black Mage, and for that they had to be cruel and ruthless.

That’s why it was called a big deal.

‘I have the Cross Ring, so they won’t kill me right away.’

The opportunity to meet them had arisen.

So, as El Paume was walking through the back alleys of the port city of Lis, he soon found himself standing in front of a tightly closed door.

Knock! Knock!

He knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Instead of being flustered by this fact, El Paume started walking again.

For a while.

And then he returned to his original position. He stood in front of the door he had knocked on.

Then he suddenly turned his back and went to the front of the building on the other side and knocked on the door there.

Knock! Knock!

And then the door opened.

At the same time, El Paume could see it.

“I’ll give you 10 seconds.”

The muzzle of a gun staring at him from the darkness beyond the door.

“What is your purpose?”

Pointing the gun at him, El Paume showed his left hand and the ring on it and said,

“I’m here to deliver a message.”

“Come in.”

Only then did El Paume enter the building.

At that moment, the darkness receded, and only then could El Paume see it.

The gazes of dozens of people staring at him, the gazes of those who were ready to kill him at any moment.

They were icy cold stares.

Of course, they didn’t stir El Paume much.

Compared to the gazes he had experienced, their gazes were like a puppy growling, nothing more, nothing less.

However, the moment he met the gaze of one person, El Paume’s eyes wavered.

‘There.’

He saw a familiar face.

‘Cheryl is here.’

The face of Cheryl, one of the Cross Hunters’ executives.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]