Chapter 190: Overgeared (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 190: Overgeared (5)
No. 8667: Outlaw of the Wilderness was the numbered item Team Dwarf's beast warrior had been wearing, and there were no stats attached to it. That was expected of a low number, and it was also relatively cheap. That was because its effects were a little ambiguous. Close-combat physical damage increased against humanoid monsters, and the rate of increase was proportional to the number of monsters. There was bound to be little demand for this item among adventurers. Humanoid monsters were scarce in the labyrinth, and even those didn't typically move in flocks.
Plus, it takes a day to recharge.
Honestly, unless you were aiming for a Doppelganger or a specific monster on the fifth floor, it was a hard item to find a use for. But thanks to this item, our odds of victory had really jumped. If it wasn't for this, it probably would have been half and half.
[Seal Unlock Percentage: 70%.]
Just then, the magic circle let out another burst of light and announced that the seal wasn't far off from unlocking now. Since the rate rose by 5 percent per ten monsters, according to our calculations, the number of summoned clones had already surpassed sixty.
[Current rate of increase: 401%.]
However, it was still a long way off. Consequently, we kept to the walls as planned and formed a dense formation.
"Barhatun Wiar." Raven summoned a stone wall with magic. Our thought process was that we could hold out until the right moment came. However, we didn't barricade the entire wall, but left a gap that would allow about two or three people to pass through on one side. This was Raven's idea. If it were completely blocked, the Doppelganger would try to penetrate it, but if there were a path it could use, it would head there instead.
It really worked.
I set up camp there, blocking the only available entrance. In my current state, it didn't matter if the doppelgangers were in my image or not—if I smacked them with my mace, they would depart this world in a single blow. I made an effort to suppress that particular desire. Our objective was not to hunt the clones.
Bam!
The clones apparently took exception to this, because they pushed each other aside to charge at me. Of course, not all of them were like that.
"There's a hole over here!" A clone broke down the stone wall and cleared a path. When I turned around for a moment to check, the clone was none other than a copy of me.
"Mr. Yandel, focus on that side! We'll take care of this!"
The close-range damage dealers and Iron Bear rushed to form a human barrier to stop the clones, but it wasn't easy. We had a very big disadvantage working against us.
"Ah! Don't kill them!"
Blocking without attacking was tough for non-professional tanks to pull off. From behind, I could hear an arduous battle ensuing, but there was nothing I could do. Going to assist them would only make our plan backfire.
Dddddd!
About two minutes later, the cave shook again.
[Seal Unlock Percentage: 90%.]
It was finally time to finish the match.
"Mr. Yandel!"
The ceiling wasn't very high, so I jumped in place with just the slightest force in a move I called Low Jump.
[Your total weight is over 1100 lbs. Special terrain effect Recoil is applied to your total damage.]
The clones, including my colleagues, went flying through the air. As soon as I landed on the ground, I stomped on the clones and quickly rushed forward.
[Your Threat Level has temporarily increased significantly.]
Thanks to the increased Threat Level, the clones hurriedly stood up and charged at me like zombies, and soon I felt a tremendous weight pile up behind my shield.
"Behelahhh!" I shoved through the clones like a bulldozer and reached my destination within ten seconds.
Pop! Pop!
The main Doppelganger was Self-Replicating by repeatedly blowing itself up. Uninterested in seeing more, I swung my mace.
Smack!
It felt like smacking tofu, but it was enough to tell the damage had been done.
"Keeeeeek!" The main body stopped its infinite Self-Replication loop and transformed into me. Since it was in Frenzy mode, the transformation was a little different from before. The number of heads growing above the shoulders was two.
Me and Ainar... Goddamn it, why her?
It was a doppelganger with my skills that could also use Ainar's essences.
[The nameless extorter has cast Swing.]
[The nameless extorter has cast Repeated Slash.]
The momentum of the fight was different. If it weren't for the Guard Corps Token, I would for sure have fallen backward. And that wasn't even taking into consideration the clones attacking and suffocating me from all sides.
Whooom!
I completely ignored it all and swung the mace. The two barbarians on the main body smiled doubtfully as if to say, You think that'll work?
I just stared back and smiled too.
[Current rate of increase: 771%.]
You're not the only one who has a buff. Namely, Barbarian Extreme Damage Mode.
Kwaaaaaang!
When I cast Swing, the Doppelganger blocked it with its shield as usual and staggered. With that, I had an opening. Not allowing it any time, I swung the mace again.
Crunch!
In one blow, Ainar's head was crushed. Since it had two heads, this wasn't enough to fell the bastard. That wasn't a problem, though. I just had to deal it another blow.
Crunch!
After losing both heads, the doppelganger immediately returned to its slime state. Then, it hardened.
[The Doppelganger has cast Crystallization.]
This was its frantic, last-ditch attempt at avoiding death. Well, to be fair, it was a considerably tricky move.
[Magical damage has been reduced by 99%. Physical damage has been reduced by 90%.]
It was virtually immune to magic damage in this state, and the fucking cheat skill also reduced 90 percent of all physical damage. But if I couldn't kill it in time, I'd have to repeat this all over again. It was funny, but that was the standard approach: mass summoning, transformation, crystallization. The usual strategy was to repeat this sequence over and over and accumulate enough damage to the crystal to finally destroy it.
Kaboom!
However, we had to bet everything on this one sequence, which was why we had left the clones alone.
"Raven!"
At my shout, Raven and Parteian immediately activated their magic. It wasn't an attack spell, but one they used while PKing the dwarf's team earlier—Mana Shield. "It won't last long!" Raven shouted urgently.
[Your Threat Level has temporarily increased significantly.]
Thanks to the increased Threat Level, the clones hurriedly stood up and charged at me like zombies, and soon I felt a tremendous weight pile up behind my shield.
"Behelahhh!" I shoved through the clones like a bulldozer and reached my destination within ten seconds.
Pop! Pop!
The main Doppelganger was Self-Replicating by repeatedly blowing itself up. Uninterested in seeing more, I swung my mace.
Smack!
It felt like smacking tofu, but it was enough to tell the damage had been done.
"Keeeeeek!" The main body stopped its infinite Self-Replication loop and transformed into me. Since it was in Frenzy mode, the transformation was a little different from before. The number of heads growing above the shoulders was two.
Me and Ainar... Goddamn it, why her?
It was a doppelganger with my skills that could also use Ainar's essences.
[The nameless extorter has cast Swing.]
[The nameless extorter has cast Repeated Slash.]
The momentum of the fight was different. If it weren't for the Guard Corps Token, I would for sure have fallen backward. And that wasn't even taking into consideration the clones attacking and suffocating me from all sides.
Whooom!
I completely ignored it all and swung the mace. The two barbarians on the main body smiled doubtfully as if to say, You think that'll work?
I just stared back and smiled too.
[Current rate of increase: 771%.]
You're not the only one who has a buff. Namely, Barbarian Extreme Damage Mode.
Kwaaaaaang!
When I cast Swing, the Doppelganger blocked it with its shield as usual and staggered. With that, I had an opening. Not allowing it any time, I swung the mace again.
Crunch!
In one blow, Ainar's head was crushed. Since it had two heads, this wasn't enough to fell the bastard. That wasn't a problem, though. I just had to deal it another blow.
Crunch!
After losing both heads, the doppelganger immediately returned to its slime state. Then, it hardened.
[The Doppelganger has cast Crystallization.]
This was its frantic, last-ditch attempt at avoiding death. Well, to be fair, it was a considerably tricky move.
[Magical damage has been reduced by 99%. Physical damage has been reduced by 90%.]
It was virtually immune to magic damage in this state, and the fucking cheat skill also reduced 90 percent of all physical damage. But if I couldn't kill it in time, I'd have to repeat this all over again. It was funny, but that was the standard approach: mass summoning, transformation, crystallization. The usual strategy was to repeat this sequence over and over and accumulate enough damage to the crystal to finally destroy it.
Kaboom!
However, we had to bet everything on this one sequence, which was why we had left the clones alone.
"Raven!"
At my shout, Raven and Parteian immediately activated their magic. It wasn't an attack spell, but one they used while PKing the dwarf's team earlier—Mana Shield. "It won't last long!" Raven shouted urgently.
I knew that already. As this was a spell that required a huge amount of mana consumption, within a minute, our two wizards would run out of mana.
Kwaaaaaang!
Trusting in the thick mana covering my skin, I focused solely on destroying the Doppelganger in its crystalline state. How many clones were around me right now?
Kwaaaaaang!
If it wasn't for Outlaw of the Wilderness, I would never have gone with this strategy. Instead, I probably would've cleaned up the clones in advance before we dealt damage to the main body as a team, worrying the entire time whether it would be enough to actually damage it.
Crunch!
With the fourth Swing, the crystal was scratched for the first time. It was quite fascinating. Although I'd experienced this Crystallization move many times before, I was already this strong? How much damage was I dealing right now? I couldn't know the numbers for sure, but it was amazing because there was still one thing I hadn't used yet.
[You have cast Leap.]
Once again, Low Jump.
[Your Threat Level has temporarily increased significantly.]
"Behelahhh!" I followed it up with Wild Outburst right away.
[Your Threat Level temporarily increases by x3, and your physical stats increase in proportion to that value.]
Robust power radiated from my body. Of course, the duration of this high was very short, but according to my calculations, this would be enough.
[The destructive force of any blunt weapons you use will increase significantly in proportion to your Muscle Strength.]
Threat Level was converted to Strength, and Strength into destructive force in a miraculous law of exchange.
[Current rate of increase: 771%.]
When you added Outlaw of the Wilderness on top of that, even 90 percent Physical Immunity was pretty much negligible.
Baaaaaang!
After all, my damage was being copied right now.
[You have killed a Doppelganger. EXP +6]
[Guardian kill bonus. EXP +3]
How many times did I slam down my mace on the crystal like a man possessed? I couldn't be sure, but around the time Mana Shield's effects faded and injuries began to quickly accumulate on my body, the crystal cracked like a broken mirror and soon shattered like a grenade.
Crackkk!
I couldn't even say it was a close call.
About a minute, huh?
It broke a lot faster than I expected. I had even considered that we might need everyone to attack it together. But in a surprise twist, there was no need to even use Plan B.
Yes, there need to be days like these too.
An unease came over me. No one could say it was good luck that something hadn't unexpectedly gone wrong.
No, it's still too early to feel relieved.
I shook myself from my thoughts. After all, four Hans Gs had appeared right after the boss battle began despite ridiculously low odds. Just like the Bloody Citadel, this could be a variant rift.
Shaaaaa!
Just then, fragments of the shattered body turned into light and scattered through the air. It was the same for the clones filling the cave.
I knew that already. As this was a spell that required a huge amount of mana consumption, within a minute, our two wizards would run out of mana.
Kwaaaaaang!
Trusting in the thick mana covering my skin, I focused solely on destroying the Doppelganger in its crystalline state. How many clones were around me right now?
Kwaaaaaang!
If it wasn't for Outlaw of the Wilderness, I would never have gone with this strategy. Instead, I probably would've cleaned up the clones in advance before we dealt damage to the main body as a team, worrying the entire time whether it would be enough to actually damage it.
Crunch!
With the fourth Swing, the crystal was scratched for the first time. It was quite fascinating. Although I'd experienced this Crystallization move many times before, I was already this strong? How much damage was I dealing right now? I couldn't know the numbers for sure, but it was amazing because there was still one thing I hadn't used yet.
[You have cast Leap.]
Once again, Low Jump.
[Your Threat Level has temporarily increased significantly.]
"Behelahhh!" I followed it up with Wild Outburst right away.
[Your Threat Level temporarily increases by x3, and your physical stats increase in proportion to that value.]
Robust power radiated from my body. Of course, the duration of this high was very short, but according to my calculations, this would be enough.
[The destructive force of any blunt weapons you use will increase significantly in proportion to your Muscle Strength.]
Threat Level was converted to Strength, and Strength into destructive force in a miraculous law of exchange.
[Current rate of increase: 771%.]
When you added Outlaw of the Wilderness on top of that, even 90 percent Physical Immunity was pretty much negligible.
Baaaaaang!
After all, my damage was being copied right now.
[You have killed a Doppelganger. EXP +6]
[Guardian kill bonus. EXP +3]
How many times did I slam down my mace on the crystal like a man possessed? I couldn't be sure, but around the time Mana Shield's effects faded and injuries began to quickly accumulate on my body, the crystal cracked like a broken mirror and soon shattered like a grenade.
Crackkk!
I couldn't even say it was a close call.
About a minute, huh?
It broke a lot faster than I expected. I had even considered that we might need everyone to attack it together. But in a surprise twist, there was no need to even use Plan B.
Yes, there need to be days like these too.
An unease came over me. No one could say it was good luck that something hadn't unexpectedly gone wrong.
No, it's still too early to feel relieved.
I shook myself from my thoughts. After all, four Hans Gs had appeared right after the boss battle began despite ridiculously low odds. Just like the Bloody Citadel, this could be a variant rift.
Shaaaaa!
Just then, fragments of the shattered body turned into light and scattered through the air. It was the same for the clones filling the cave.
Whooom!
A portal connecting to the fourth floor opened in the center of the cavity. That meant that the rift really had been cleared.
"Oh! What?! Did we kill it?!"
"Ahh, I thought I was going to die. Arurrru, can you give me a potion?"
"Later. It's not even a big injury, right? We have to check something first! Essence? Numbered Item? Rift Stone? Did anything appear?"
Oh, right. We had to confirm that too. I had been so wary of something else showing up that I didn't even get a good look. Now, it was time to collect the highlight of the rift, the guardian's reward. I gulped and looked to where the Doppelganger had been standing.
There was nothing there.
Could this be the Hans effect?
The thought did come to mind, but it was not good practice to blame everything on Hans. The drop rate of an essence or numbered item was only 33 percent, after all. Well, it broke my heart a little that even a Rift Stone, which had a drop rate of 66 percent, hadn't shown up, though.
...This is a common thing.
It was often like this in the game. I would put my all into clearing a rift and receive no rewards for it.
"...Mr. Yandel, snap out of it. These things happen."
"Y-Yeah! We got a lot of other stuff already."
When I stood there in silence, my teammates offered me words of comfort. I mean, I wasn't mad or anything.
Are the PK rewards all of it?
It felt a bit anticlimactic, but it was funny to feel disappointed about that when I thought about it. I couldn't even fathom how much money we'd earn from selling all that equipment. We'd pretty much guaranteed our all-time highest income, and I even consumed the essence of the Manticore.
Yeah. This is already on par with a Doppelganger essence.
Hmm, was this the effect of positive thinking? I felt more energized all of a sudden. "Missha, how's your injury?"
"Huh? Fine. It's just a scrrratch. A scratch!"
"Drink a potion first." Leaving behind my disappointment, I took care of my teammates and started the after-battle cleanup.
Raven chuckled at the sight. "You really are a leader at times like these."
"Are you mocking me?"
"Nope, that one was sincere."
"Aruru, don't be like that. Bjorn will be embarrassed."
Yeah right. "Then I guess we'll have to go back up."
Once the cleanup was pretty much done, I led the group back into the forest. The doppelgangers above would have disappeared by now.
"You are all safe! I'm so glad!"
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Sarman."
We picked up Scout Lady and deposited her with the blunt-weapon warrior. With that, the business between us was over.
"Oh, don't forget to take this. It came in handy."
"You keep that."
"Really?"
Parteian gifted Misplaced Trust to Raven. Although it was out of charge, it wasn't a worthless gift. There were, after all, ways to recharge it. Even selling it as is would earn us some hundreds of thousands of stones.
"Thank you for saving us. If you ever need my help, come find me anytime." Just as I was wondering if those were empty words, Parteian handed me a visitation pass with the symbol of the Narman School on it.
Hmm, I guess they weren't. I'll keep this and go find him as soon as I need him. This feels like I've cleared some side quest or something.
Afterward, we said goodbye to the blunt-weapon warrior and scout woman and escorted them to the portal.
"But aren't you guys leaving?"
"It's a rift, after all. We want to look around some more and do research."
"Hmm, is that so?" Parteian nodded in apparent understanding and Raven laughed sheepishly. "Then I'll be leaving."
Before long, they rode the portal back to their original place.
"They... should be fine, right?"
"Worrying is unlike you."
"Wizards always worry and care for each other, okay?"
"I meant you're worried for nothing. It's the fourth floor."
Hans G and the elven archer may have been dead, but on the Tower of Heavens, you could stay put as long as you wanted. Those three would probably pass the time like we did way back when before returning to the city.
"True... you're right."
Turning away from the forest, we headed up to the top again. There was still something left for us to take.
Whooom!
A portal connecting to the fourth floor opened in the center of the cavity. That meant that the rift really had been cleared.
"Oh! What?! Did we kill it?!"
"Ahh, I thought I was going to die. Arurrru, can you give me a potion?"
"Later. It's not even a big injury, right? We have to check something first! Essence? Numbered Item? Rift Stone? Did anything appear?"
Oh, right. We had to confirm that too. I had been so wary of something else showing up that I didn't even get a good look. Now, it was time to collect the highlight of the rift, the guardian's reward. I gulped and looked to where the Doppelganger had been standing.
There was nothing there.
Could this be the Hans effect?
The thought did come to mind, but it was not good practice to blame everything on Hans. The drop rate of an essence or numbered item was only 33 percent, after all. Well, it broke my heart a little that even a Rift Stone, which had a drop rate of 66 percent, hadn't shown up, though.
...This is a common thing.
It was often like this in the game. I would put my all into clearing a rift and receive no rewards for it.
"...Mr. Yandel, snap out of it. These things happen."
"Y-Yeah! We got a lot of other stuff already."
When I stood there in silence, my teammates offered me words of comfort. I mean, I wasn't mad or anything.
Are the PK rewards all of it?
It felt a bit anticlimactic, but it was funny to feel disappointed about that when I thought about it. I couldn't even fathom how much money we'd earn from selling all that equipment. We'd pretty much guaranteed our all-time highest income, and I even consumed the essence of the Manticore.
Yeah. This is already on par with a Doppelganger essence.
Hmm, was this the effect of positive thinking? I felt more energized all of a sudden. "Missha, how's your injury?"
"Huh? Fine. It's just a scrrratch. A scratch!"
"Drink a potion first." Leaving behind my disappointment, I took care of my teammates and started the after-battle cleanup.
Raven chuckled at the sight. "You really are a leader at times like these."
"Are you mocking me?"
"Nope, that one was sincere."
"Aruru, don't be like that. Bjorn will be embarrassed."
Yeah right. "Then I guess we'll have to go back up."
Once the cleanup was pretty much done, I led the group back into the forest. The doppelgangers above would have disappeared by now.
"You are all safe! I'm so glad!"
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Sarman."
We picked up Scout Lady and deposited her with the blunt-weapon warrior. With that, the business between us was over.
"Oh, don't forget to take this. It came in handy."
"You keep that."
"Really?"
Parteian gifted Misplaced Trust to Raven. Although it was out of charge, it wasn't a worthless gift. There were, after all, ways to recharge it. Even selling it as is would earn us some hundreds of thousands of stones.
"Thank you for saving us. If you ever need my help, come find me anytime." Just as I was wondering if those were empty words, Parteian handed me a visitation pass with the symbol of the Narman School on it.
Hmm, I guess they weren't. I'll keep this and go find him as soon as I need him. This feels like I've cleared some side quest or something.
Afterward, we said goodbye to the blunt-weapon warrior and scout woman and escorted them to the portal.
"But aren't you guys leaving?"
"It's a rift, after all. We want to look around some more and do research."
"Hmm, is that so?" Parteian nodded in apparent understanding and Raven laughed sheepishly. "Then I'll be leaving."
Before long, they rode the portal back to their original place.
"They... should be fine, right?"
"Worrying is unlike you."
"Wizards always worry and care for each other, okay?"
"I meant you're worried for nothing. It's the fourth floor."
Hans G and the elven archer may have been dead, but on the Tower of Heavens, you could stay put as long as you wanted. Those three would probably pass the time like we did way back when before returning to the city.
"True... you're right."
Turning away from the forest, we headed up to the top again. There was still something left for us to take.