Prologue
The tragic, desperate, and miserable tale of the six heroes who sealed the Black Mage, who sought to destroy the Maple World, became the most beloved hero story of children in an era long gone.
"The Cygnus Knights have fallen, the Resistance has crumbled, the Cross Hunters have been destroyed, and the Adventurers have been slaughtered. And the six heroes are dead."
An era where no one dared to oppose the Black Mage and his followers, who had returned.
"Now, the only one left is the last Adventurer, El Palm."
There was one Adventurer who continued to resist until the very end.
Minar Forest.
A forest from ancient times, where dragons and humans coexisted.
However, after the Black Mage slaughtered the dragons, the forest was filled with monsters that had mutated from feeding on the dragon corpses.
The monsters of Minar Forest were powerful and, at the same time, formed their own factions.
One example was the centaurs.
The centaurs of Minar Forest were far stronger than those found elsewhere, and some even armed themselves with items left by the dragons.
These centaurs were a nightmare even for A-ranked Adventurers.
Of course, this was a story from the past.
Since the monsters from the Mystic Gate began to spill out into the world, there was no place without nightmares.
Minar Forest was no exception.
The monsters that had emerged from the gate ensured that Minar Forest was never quiet again.
"El Palm."
El Palm settled in Minar Forest to harness the power of these monsters.
Of course, this was not a hopeful choice.
In a world where all the cities and castles of Maple were in ruins, this was merely the last option for survival.
On the other hand, it also meant this:
The Minar Forest, once feared even by A-ranked Adventurers, had become the safest place in the world, meaning there was no safe place anywhere in Maple anymore.
Thus, as El Palm led the survivors into Minar Forest, he realized:
This place would become his tomb.
"The centaur nest has fallen."
When El Palm heard those words from a companion, he thought again about the first time he came to Minar Forest.
"It couldn't have collapsed suddenly… Something new has arrived."
"We'll have to confirm, but… Jay saw it. A giant dragon with three heads coming to Minar Forest."
From this, El Palm could sense it immediately.
"A three-headed dragon… that must be Horntail."
He now knew that Minar Forest would soon be his tomb.
In other words, El Palm no longer had confidence.
And it was understandable.
"Horntail coming here means that Cheryl's squad has been wiped out."
Horntail.
In an era when searching for dragons was dismissed as foolish romanticism, Horntail was one of the kings of Minar Forest, a dragon monster that was once fought by Cheryl and her squad from the now-defunct Cross Hunters.
For Horntail to come to Minar Forest meant that Cheryl's squad could no longer be called a squad.
But that wasn't all.
"The Cygnus Knights have fallen."
The leader of the Maple Union, Empress Cygnus, and her knights had already been destroyed by the monsters that had crossed through the Mystic Gate.
"The Resistance has collapsed, and the Cross Hunters have been destroyed."
The Resistance, which had been based in Edelstein and armed with powerful weapons, had fallen apart before the monsters, and the Cross Hunters, born to hunt the monsters from beyond the Mystic Gate, had been destroyed in the long war.
"Adventurers have been slaughtered."
Moreover, no one could now call themselves an Adventurer.
Only those who could be called survivors remained.
"And the six heroes are dead."
The great heroes who sealed the Black Mage, the last hope, were now stars in the sky.
"Right."
In the end, there was only one person left who could venture against the monsters.
"Now, only the last Adventurer, El Palm, remains."
El Palm, who had gained the title of the last Adventurer, sighed deeply.
'I've come this far.'
His companion spoke to him.
"Palm, if only you had known your abilities sooner."
At those words, El Palm closed his eyes.
He had never expected this situation.
He had never thought he would survive this far.
He had never promised himself there would be a tomorrow.
But El Palm had not just survived by chance or luck.
He had a power.
"All-Master."
All-Master, the ability to use all the magic in the Maple World.
It was an extraordinary ability.
Normally, it was hard enough for someone to be born with an aptitude for one attribute, and even rarer for someone to adapt to two attributes.
But El Palm could use all types of magic.
Fire, ice, lightning, poison, even telekinesis-like powers, and even the attributes of light and darkness, which only transcendent beings could wield!
However, sadly, El Palm had only realized this power after the monsters from the Mystic Gate had crossed into the world.
"If only you had realized it sooner, you would have grabbed those items."
When he realized his ability, the magical items that could have helped him harness his powers, the ones with skills, were lost during the war with the monsters.
Even now, that was still true.
His companions always expressed regret.
"If you had items like Gungnir or Balmung, which came from beyond the Mystic Gate, you could have hunted Horntail."
El Palm felt the same way.
He always regretted it, and sometimes he struggled with that regret.
But El Palm knew.
"It's pointless to dwell on it."
Struggling over regret wouldn't bring back lost items.
"Unless we can turn back time."
Unless there was a way to turn back time, there was no way to regain those lost chances.
"Let's focus on the present."
Since there was no going back, he had to face the present.
"There's no place to retreat now. With Horntail coming to Minar Forest, the monsters here will quickly become his subordinates. The monsters in Minar Forest, who devoured the dragon corpses, have been transformed into monsters like dragons. Even if Horntail is controlled by the Black Mage, he was once the Dragon King. Now that there is no other Dragon King, all the monsters will follow him. If that happens, there's no hope."
That's why he prepared.
"So, we kill him before that happens."
"Palm, what if you can't kill him?"
"Then this place will become my tomb."
He prepared for his final adventure.
And that preparation was complete.