[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
Chapter 16. Poison Breath (1)
1.
The adventurers didn’t reject El Pau’s proposition outright, but their acceptance wasn’t unanimous.
“Is it possible?”
One voiced their concern.
Money wasn’t an issue; they’d pay any amount to survive, but that was only if survival was on the table.
“Just the two of them?”
They doubted El Pau, a nobody in the adventuring world, and Dibo, a fresh recruit, could effectively act as bait against the formidable boss monster.
Surprisingly, the debate on that point was brief.
“I’m El Pau.”
“I endured three years as a bait slave.”
Only then did the seasoned adventurers recall the na – the unbelievable bait slave who clung to life for three years at the Gafor rchant Union.
And the sheer magnitude of that achievent dawned on them.
‘We were the ones who peddled our lives for money.’
It also explained El Pau’s willingness to gamble his life for money in this situation. For him, the current circumstances might have presented a rare opportunity to earn so.
Thus, any doubts vanished the mont they heard El Pau’s words. Just one thing remained.
“So, what’s the plan?”
They asked, their focus shifting to formulating an escape strategy.
An escape plan that materialized swiftly.
“I’ll lure it to the east. You wait on the west side, and when it disappears, escape.”
In truth, the direction didn’t matter.
The crux of the plan was for El Pau’s party to lure the Jester Deathcap away and see how long they could hold out.
That was also the key concern for the other adventurers.
“A warrior and a mage—a decent combination.”
On paper, the party composition was sound.
The mage would use ranged attacks to lure the monster, then the warrior would retreat with the mage in tow.
It was one of the most basic strategies used to lure monsters.
The problem was execution.
“The mage has to land their shots.”
It wasn’t easy for a mage to hit their target consistently while running away.
That’s why Dibo wasn’t worried.
“What’s luring a boss to us when we have Boss-nim here?”
Wasn’t El Pau the one who displayed ridiculous magical combat ability using telekinesis?
In fact, that part was never a concern.
Dibo had only one worry.
“The problem is, if we touch that giant mushroom thing, the surrounding mushrooms won’t just sit back and watch.”
While El Pau fought the boss monster, Dibo would have to fend off the green mushrooms that would swarm them.
That’s why Dibo, instead of being surprised by El Pau’s decision, was happy to take a backseat.
“There’s nothing to worry about now.”
He was an adventurer now.
Not just any adventurer, either.
In his hands was an item imbued with the skill, Slash Blaster.
“Let’s make so money.”
With a tangible reward now on the table, and Dibo himself exuding confidence, the other adventurers had no choice but to follow suit.
“Alright, we’ll trust you and follow your lead.”
2.
A door made from two intertwined tree trunks.
In between stood a mushroom with a bizarre 5-ter wide cap.
A scene of tranquility.
Swoosh!
A fire arrow shattered the peace, finding its mark on the Jester Deathcap’s head.
Boom!
The arrow failed to live up to its potential, only managing to embed itself two fingertip-widths deep.
Unbelievable defense for a mushroom.
Perhaps that was why the Jester Deathcap showed little reaction to the attack, rely twitching as if bitten by a mosquito.
Boom!
But it was a different story when it ca to the consecutive attacks that followed.
The attacks themselves weren’t powerful.
Their Impact was no different from the previous one.
Still just mosquito bites.
The problem was that they all hit the exact sa spot where the previous arrow had lodged itself.
Like a mosquito biting a spot already bitten by another mosquito.
Boom!
The mont the third arrow hit the sa spot, the Jester Deathcap could no longer remain still.
Thump!
It uprooted its two legs that were deeply embedded in the ground.
Filled with rage, it started stomping its two legs towards the direction where the fire arrows were coming from.
That was the beginning.
Plop!
The green mushrooms that were rooted in various places also uprooted their legs and started moving following the Jester Deathcap.
Over 1,000 mushrooms started moving.
Thud thud thud thud!
Towards the direction where the fire arrows ca from.
They stomped on the ground and moved quickly.
In an instant.
The exit, once filled with mushrooms, beca quiet.
That was the mont.
Whoosh!
The waiting adventurers moved in sequence.
All of them covered their mouths and noses with cloth.
And they all wore goggles.
Goggles were quite expensive, but veteran adventurers would each have one.
Although poison was poison, it was a necessity that could save lives in situations where it was raining, insects were flying around, or the wind was blowing strongly.
This ti was no different.
Thanks to the goggles, everyone was able to quickly and accurately exit without their eyes being exposed to the poison.
One by one, they filed out.
The last one was the pirate Iburu.
Before leaving, he raised the gun in his hand and aid it at the sky.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and soon green smoke billowed into the sky like clouds.
It was a signal.
“Boss!”
A signal to El Pau and Dibo.
“Everyone has escaped safely!”
Dibo didn’t smile at the signal.
He didn’t have ti for that.
“These damn mushroom bastards!”
He was busy swinging his Polearm at the green mushrooms that were swarming them.
Plop!
With each swing of Dibo’s Polearm, the sturdy green mushrooms were crushed like orange mushrooms.
“Slash Blaster!”
Four or five green mushrooms were smashed at once.
That was the power.
“This is the skill of an adventurer, you mushroom bastards!”
The power of the warrior skill, Slash Blaster.
It was also the reason why adventurers were treated as adventurers.
Of course, Dibo was more than just an adventurer.
Whoosh!
As ntioned before, every ti he swung his Polearm, at least three green mushrooms went flying.
He didn’t just smash them, he aid precisely for the head, between the eyes.
It was proof that he could wield the heavy Polearm as he pleased.
“I am the Polearm Hero!”
It was also the reason why he was able to beco Aaran’s disciple.
However, even so, the number of green mushrooms swarming them was still overwhelming.
It was impossible to catch them all.
And he didn’t intend to catch them all in the first place.
“Boss, what now?”
Now it was ti for El Pau’s party to go through the exit and claim their reward.
“Yes, we need to catch it! I’ve been waiting for you to say that… huh?”
But Dibo’s surprised expression changed when he heard El Pau’s next words.
“Oh, no, you an you’re going to catch that thing?”
At that mont, Dibo rembered.
“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t be easy?”
He rembered El Pau saying that it wouldn’t be easy to catch that Jester Deathcap.
“Yes, it won’t be easy.”
El Pau also knew that he had said those words.
“For other adventurers.”
He just didn’t say that he himself wasn’t included in that.
And that was true.
El Pau was incomparable to ordinary veteran adventurers.
But Dibo was different.
Dibo acknowledged that El Pau was special. He also knew that he had incredible abilities.
However, the situation was a little different now.
“That poison is too dangerous.”
The elent of poison was a deadly factor for adventurers who had no counterasures.
“The poison is still there!”
In particular, the poison of the Jester Deathcap was not just present in the surrounding area, but also effective within the range it had moved.
That was why the previous party had been wiped out. The boss monster was nowhere to be seen, but the remaining poison was still effective.
That ant that even if they ran away and kept their distance, they could still be poisoned at any mont.
“There’s no point in just keeping our distance.”
El Pau knew that too.
That’s why.
“We need to attack from a distance.”
The reason El Pau wanted to hunt it.
“Dibo, let’s retreat for now. And after the mushrooms have cald down, cut down the trees.”
3.
A forest so dense that it was difficult to find gaps between the trees.
In the middle of such a forest, there was a clearing in one place, as if it had a bandage on its head.
It was a fairly large clearing that could be seen even from a distance.
“Boss.”
Dibo, who was about 500 ters away, could also see the clearing clearly enough.
Of course, just because he could see it didn’t an he could see it well.
That’s why.
Dibo’s expression hardened as he watched El Pau look at the clearing through a telescope.
“Are you really going to cast a spell from here?”
El Pau said that it would be difficult to catch it from a reasonable distance, so let’s attack from a distance.
In fact, Dibo was impressed when he heard that.
And he thought it was possible.
After all, the telekinesis ability that El Pau had shown was incomparable to other magicians, so he would be able to show a range that was beyond common sense.
“It’s about 500 ters, right?”
However, the distance he was seeing now was beyond Dibo’s common sense.
Of course, it was different in El Pau’s common sense.
“It’s a bit close for comfort.”
For El Pau, a distance of 500 ters was not a distance he could be satisfied with.
3 years later, in a world full of monsters, the surest way for magicians to survive was to increase their magical range.
To be precise, magicians who could not increase their range died without exception.
It wasn’t just then.
Even now, the adventurer magicians who were rising to the top had long magical ranges without exception.
That was the only way they could survive.
‘Even 1 kiloter is ridiculous.’
Of course, it goes without saying that El Pau’s magical range, who had reached the pinnacle of survival, was beyond common sense.
He was the last adventurer to accurately hit the neck of a flying Hontail with magic.
Even so, the reason he was holding his range at a distance of about 500 ters now was simple.
‘This is the limit with Fire Arrow.’
The magic he could use was Fire Arrow.
Of course, that was the biggest reason.
‘This is enough.’
There was no reason to push himself any further to catch the Jester Deathcap.
That was when it happened.
“Here it cos.”
The Jester Deathcap appeared in the clearing that Dibo had created.
Swoop!
It followed El Pau’s Fire Arrows that were constantly flying around the Jester Deathcap like flies.
“Fire Arrow.”
At that mont, El Pau activated the Fire Arrow spell again.
There was no hesitation.
He had already been gauging the distance and position.
“Huh?”
El Pau imdiately fired the Fire Arrow.
High into the sky.
“Boss, isn’t that too high?”
It was intentional.
Just like a hawk flying high into the sky to hunt, and then dropping like lightning.
The Fire Arrow that had risen silently began to fall like a thunderbolt.
Fwip!
It also carried the powerful rotational force of a revolver.
It hit the Jester Deathcap right between the eyes.
Plop!
The arrow was embedded so deeply that it could not be seen.
“Huh?”
Dibo froze upon seeing that.
‘H-how?’
The result that unfolded before his eyes was on a completely different level than he had imagined.
El Pau, who was holding a telescope in his hand, lowered it and spoke to Dibo, who was still frozen in place.
“It looks like four tis will be enough.”
[Translator – Prøks]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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