CHAPTER 4

Return to the Past (3)

5.

Adventurers were admired by all, and they were generally classified into five major professions.

"Adventurers are categorized into warriors, mages, archers, rogues, and pirates."

The classification was based on skill aptitude—what kind of skills one could use.

Mages, naturally, were those with an affinity for magic skills.

"Mages are further divided into three main types based on their elemental affinities. Offensive mages wield fire, poison, electricity, and ice. Healer-type mages, commonly known as Bishops, specialize in blessings, buffs, and healing magic."

These distinctions separated mages by their magical attributes.

"There are also light and dark attributes, but only one person in the history of Maple World has ever wielded them: Luminous, one of the six heroes who sealed the Black Mage. So, in practice, they're not relevant. The real mystery is psychokinesis."

Psychokinesis stood apart as an exceptionally unique ability.

"There's even less information on psychokinesis than on light and dark magic. At least light and dark magic are known through Luminous's legend."

Unlike other elemental magics, which had well-established classifications, psychokinesis remained an enigma.

"To begin with, there are very few mages with an aptitude for it."

The first reason was its rarity among mages. The second was its extreme difficulty.

"Even among those with the aptitude, only a handful can use it properly. That's how difficult it is. Even lifting a small rock from the ground requires a decent level of skill. Moving that rock quickly to hit a target?"

Using psychokinesis to manipulate objects was a monumental challenge.

"At least a rock is simple."

The more irregular the shape, the harder it became to control.

"Controlling an energy bolt or a fire arrow with psychokinesis?"

And that was why—

"If someone could do that, they would be worthy of the title of the greatest psychokinetic mage."

El Palm—he earned that title.

Because he could.

"Fire Arrow."

Whoosh!

A blazing arrow materialized at his command.

Swoosh!

The burning projectile shot toward a horde of thirty orange mushrooms rushing toward him.

It flew straight, in a perfect line.

Thud!

The fire arrow pierced the forehead of the leading two-meter-tall orange mushroom.

So far, this was a standard Fire Arrow.

Completely ordinary.

Whoosh!

But then, the arrow defied logic.

It abruptly turned, piercing through the temple of the mushroom beside it.

Thud!

The fire arrow continued, destroying the second mushroom's core.

And it didn't stop there.

Thud!

Like a serpent slicing through water, it tore through the skulls of every orange mushroom in its path.

In mere moments, over thirty of them collapsed to the ground, heads punctured by the blazing projectile.

It was an astonishing sight.

A single Fire Arrow had eliminated over thirty enemies—when taking down even two with one shot would normally be considered impressive.

'It took me five years.'

Even with his natural talent, it had taken El Palm a significant amount of time to reach this level.

'Surviving for five years allowed me to master it.'

And it wasn't a skill he had pursued by choice.

Mastering psychokinetic magic to this extent was inefficient.

It was far easier to simply cast another spell or obtain a more powerful magical item.

Especially against boss monsters, such techniques weren't particularly useful.

He didn't even need to fight bosses to see the problem.

The only reason he could use Fire Arrow so efficiently was because his opponents were weak orange mushrooms. Against heavily armored monsters, the arrow would lose its power after piercing just one target.

Above all, most mage adventurers never needed to use magic so desperately.

They had party members to support them, allowing them to handle monsters more efficiently.

But El Palm had never had that luxury.

When he fought wars, he didn't face mere hundreds of monsters—he faced tens of thousands. And by the end of those battles, most of his party members were nothing more than corpses.

To survive in such an absurd battlefield, he needed an equally absurd ability.

That was why he didn't marvel at his own achievement.

Nor did he waste time admiring the scene.

'I need to eliminate every monster here and get out.'

6.

The Mystic Gate that changed the world.

"A Mystic Gate? It looks ordinary."

At first glance, Mystic Gates didn't seem special.

"It's just a tree."

The frame of a Mystic Gate appeared to be nothing more than two trees growing close together.

"It's so unremarkable that people often fail to notice it, even when it's right in front of them."

In a forest, it was nearly impossible to distinguish a Mystic Gate from the surrounding trees.

"It only takes on its true appearance once the portal activates."

When approached by someone, a portal would appear, glowing in one of seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, or violet.

The portal would remain active as long as someone was inside.

If no one was inside, it would disappear.

There were two cases in which a portal would vanish.

"There are only two reasons a portal disappears. One, the people inside exit through the gate. In that case, the Mystic Gate completes its purpose and vanishes. The second case? Simple. Everyone inside dies. In that scenario, the Mystic Gate can be re-entered."

Because of this—

"You'll often see numbers on Mystic Gates. Those indicate the entry limit. Adventurers mark the gate before entering."

Before entering, adventurers left marks on the Mystic Gate as a sign.

These marks served as warnings—or challenges—for future adventurers.

"The more marks on a gate, the more of a death trap it is. Though some see that as an invitation."

For some, it was a warning. For others, a symbol of adventure.

El Palm's gate had only one mark.

Meaning his party was the first to enter.

For beginner adventurers, this was ideal.

After all, heavily marked gates often meant extreme difficulty.

But the number of marks wasn't always an accurate measure of danger.

Even the deadliest Mystic Gates had started with zero marks.

Regardless, upon exiting the gate, El Palm stared at it.

Or rather, he stared at the portal.

A swirling red void, like stagnant water in a well.

And then, it vanished.

Whoosh!

The Mystic Gate crumbled.

Only then did El Palm look away.

'They're all dead.'

He had been checking to see if there were any survivors.

In the original timeline, he had been the only one to make it out alive.

But fate was unpredictable.

If there had been a survivor, he would have dealt with them.

Of course.

'It all starts again.'

El Palm knew better than anyone how grim the future was.

'In three years, the monsters will overrun the world.'

He had only three years.

And far too much to do.

But he didn't dwell on it.

There was no point in hesitation.

'I have only one option.'

The last adventurer, El Palm—before returning to the past, there was one thing he had mastered above all else.

Monster hunting.

And now, there was only one thing left to do.

'Kill as many monsters as possible.'

A daunting task.

But the situation was in his favor.

'I've secured items.'

Unlike before, he had gathered a decent number of items from the Mystic Gate.

'My Mana Circle has strengthened.'

Absorbing mana stones from the monsters had already boosted his power.

Before returning to the past, it had taken him four or five Mystic Gates to achieve this much.

Only one problem remained.

'The debt to the Gafor Merchant Guild.'

Before his return, it had taken him three years to earn his freedom from them.

That was why—

'I need to find them.'

And so, El Palm set his sights on the harbor city of Rith, where the Gafor Merchant Guild awaited.