Chapter 381: Atlante (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 381: Atlante (4)
Atlante, the Burrow Island, was actually the most difficult section for someone trying to perfect a Shield Barbarian build. After all, I didn't call the essence here my second core essence for nothing. Normally, by the time I reached this point, I only had essences of rank four or lower. Storm Gush's Origin, Bayon's Transcendence, and Gachabone's Liability of Risk would be an impossible combination to achieve at this point in the game. A one-man clear was unfeasible and you had to carry it out with the right teammates and full preparation. It was only after I obtained the essence here that my combat power rose drastically and grinding for a rank-three essence could officially begin.
But somehow the order was flipped.
If I looked back on it now, it all started with the ogre's essence. I was lucky enough to obtain a high-level essence early on, and my growth snowballed from there.
[You have defeated a Mermal Priest. EXP +6]
[You have defeated a Lavitor. EXP +5]
[You have defeated an Undersea Guard. EXP +4]
[You have defeated a Nagaculos...]
All I was doing was running forward attracting aggro, but the XP just kept rolling in. This was practically a speedrun. Of course, I had to take breaks in between. Even I didn't have infinite MP, and as long as Hyperventilation was active and doubling resource consumption, that was especially true.
"Mister!" While I was resting for a moment, my teammates caught up to me, collecting the mana stones I left in my path. "There was an essence back there, what do you want to do with it?"
Huh? There was an essence?
I didn't even notice it since I was just charging forward blindly. I thought it over for a moment before answering, "Just leave it."
It would have been extremely valuable had it been the rank-four Mermal Priest, but I confirmed that one didn't drop an essence, so there was no reason to use one of our two Magic Vials on an unknown essence. If the essence was rank five, we'd get a slight profit, but rank six essences were mostly a loss.
"Schuitz, how far are we now?"
"More than halfway."
"You've only been moving in a straight line since we got here. Is there a reason for that?"
"We'll hunt the monsters on the outskirts later."
While I was speaking to Amelia, Erwen joined in. "Ah, is it because of the competition you mentioned earlier?"
That was kind of irrelevant, actually. I simply liked to focus on the most important thing first in order of priority, but I can't say that had no influence at all. "Yes, just in case."
Atlante was not a rift. Once opened, the portal remained open until the labyrinth closed and adventurers were able to travel through it freely.
"What happens if we run into them?" asked Amelia.
"I don't know." I gave her my stock response, then added, "If they attack, fight. If not, just pass them by."
"I see..." Amelia nodded with a somewhat uncertain expression on her face.
I thought about ignoring it, but I ended up asking anyway. "You look like you have something to say."
"I just... wondered which scenario you would welcome more."
"Welcome?"
"I said what I said." When I gave her a look that demanded a more detailed answer, Amelia cautiously continued. "Schuitz, aren't you secretly hoping the other side attacks first?"
As soon as I heard that, I had a visceral response and came up with countless explanations to defend myself. But I held them back for now. "Why are you suddenly thinking that way?"
"It's not sudden. I've been thinking that more and more as I work with you." Amelia shrugged and glanced at the navigator and wizard. I turned my head as well, following her gaze. The two people at the end of it hurriedly averted their eyes, fearing they might fall victim to my anger. I didn't really understand.
"I never thought you of all people would be saying something like that, Emily. Then are you saying I should have let people who attacked me first go?" There was an edge to my tone despite my best efforts.
Amelia shook her head in surprise. "That's not what I meant. It's just..."
"Just?"
"...No, it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything," Amelia mumbled and took a step back, and I didn't ask any more questions.
Of course, that wasn't because I wasn't curious. What else did she have to say after those cryptic words? Since I didn't ask, I had no way of finding out.
"Haven't you thought about it? Killing people if they get in the way, killing them if they're suspicious, wondering whether every person we meet is going to harm us or not. Human life... just feels like a game. We're madmen."
A conversation I once had with Baekho flashed through my mind. It was a sentiment I had been able to sympathize with at the time, but the weight of it felt different now, especially the part about a human life feeling like a character in a game. One blow of a hammer could kill a person. Of course, the target was always someone I classified as worthy of death by my standards, but...
"I-I was wrong! Please!"
That had been the man who first made me get blood on my hands. The person I was when I met Hans A was not who I was now. At the time, I felt psychological resistance and had to continuously convince myself that it had to be done as I lifted my weapon. For a while after that, the feeling persisted. The hesitation disappeared, but an unease dominated my whole body every time. I couldn't shake it even after returning to the city. Their eyes and expressions kept flashing through my mind, and I had to douse myself with cold water and intentionally empty my thoughts. Yes, I was definitely like that once upon a time. But now?
The captain on the boat... what did he look like again?
Now, I couldn't even remember the face of a guy I killed not too long ago. The only things that came to mind when I thought of him were his equipment and his expensive valuables, and the powerful exhilaration I felt when I obtained them. Was it that I'd gotten used to living this way? Or had I slowly changed into the person I was now?
"Mister, what are you thinking so hard about?"
"It's nothing. We're going to rest for thirty minutes before we get moving again. You should rest too."
I lay on the bare, muddy ground and looked up. The darkness of the labyrinth stretched out endlessly from the point where the light surrounding us ended. It was such a strange thing.
There were only four floors left above me now. If I just passed those hurdles, I could go through the Gate of the Abyss and return to the modern world. But even though I was physically much higher than I had been when I was struggling on the first and second floors, that world felt even farther away than ever.
***
After resting for about thirty minutes and replenishing our MP, we continued clearing the island using the same method as before. Put simply, I went ahead and wiped out the monsters while the others followed behind and collected mana stones.
As soon as I heard that, I had a visceral response and came up with countless explanations to defend myself. But I held them back for now. "Why are you suddenly thinking that way?"
"It's not sudden. I've been thinking that more and more as I work with you." Amelia shrugged and glanced at the navigator and wizard. I turned my head as well, following her gaze. The two people at the end of it hurriedly averted their eyes, fearing they might fall victim to my anger. I didn't really understand.
"I never thought you of all people would be saying something like that, Emily. Then are you saying I should have let people who attacked me first go?" There was an edge to my tone despite my best efforts.
Amelia shook her head in surprise. "That's not what I meant. It's just..."
"Just?"
"...No, it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything," Amelia mumbled and took a step back, and I didn't ask any more questions.
Of course, that wasn't because I wasn't curious. What else did she have to say after those cryptic words? Since I didn't ask, I had no way of finding out.
"Haven't you thought about it? Killing people if they get in the way, killing them if they're suspicious, wondering whether every person we meet is going to harm us or not. Human life... just feels like a game. We're madmen."
A conversation I once had with Baekho flashed through my mind. It was a sentiment I had been able to sympathize with at the time, but the weight of it felt different now, especially the part about a human life feeling like a character in a game. One blow of a hammer could kill a person. Of course, the target was always someone I classified as worthy of death by my standards, but...
"I-I was wrong! Please!"
That had been the man who first made me get blood on my hands. The person I was when I met Hans A was not who I was now. At the time, I felt psychological resistance and had to continuously convince myself that it had to be done as I lifted my weapon. For a while after that, the feeling persisted. The hesitation disappeared, but an unease dominated my whole body every time. I couldn't shake it even after returning to the city. Their eyes and expressions kept flashing through my mind, and I had to douse myself with cold water and intentionally empty my thoughts. Yes, I was definitely like that once upon a time. But now?
The captain on the boat... what did he look like again?
Now, I couldn't even remember the face of a guy I killed not too long ago. The only things that came to mind when I thought of him were his equipment and his expensive valuables, and the powerful exhilaration I felt when I obtained them. Was it that I'd gotten used to living this way? Or had I slowly changed into the person I was now?
"Mister, what are you thinking so hard about?"
"It's nothing. We're going to rest for thirty minutes before we get moving again. You should rest too."
I lay on the bare, muddy ground and looked up. The darkness of the labyrinth stretched out endlessly from the point where the light surrounding us ended. It was such a strange thing.
There were only four floors left above me now. If I just passed those hurdles, I could go through the Gate of the Abyss and return to the modern world. But even though I was physically much higher than I had been when I was struggling on the first and second floors, that world felt even farther away than ever.
***
After resting for about thirty minutes and replenishing our MP, we continued clearing the island using the same method as before. Put simply, I went ahead and wiped out the monsters while the others followed behind and collected mana stones.
If I account for all the monsters on the outskirts I'm going to kill later, our mana stone income will be considerable.
Even as I thought this, it was kind of funny. Despite the fact that we were making a decent amount here, it was nothing compared to the battle we had earlier. Although they were damaged, we now had three ships and the high-quality equipment of ten people. It was the kind of money you could never make just by killing monsters.
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
When a Critical Success rang out, the last monster chasing me down disappeared in a burst of light.
I'm already in the boss room.
Before long, I had reached the center of Atlante: a vast, vacant plot of land with dozens of pillars the size of buildings circling it. At the center of those pillars was a huge, blue egg, three or four times bigger than me even when I was using Giantization.
It looks exactly like the egg in the game.
I was about to laugh at that thought when—
[You have laid eyes on part of a legend.]
My heart pounded and I felt a strange sense of fulfillment, like I was being filled up with something.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Mythical Discovery (1/5)]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +10.]
What the...? Did my MP just go up? If that's true, that means the game's Achievement system is applicable here too... I must have cleared quite a few Soul Power-based achievements by now.
I hadn't been sure about this since Soul Power stats weren't really noticeable, but it seemed I'd have to start hunting for achievements in the future too. There were some helpful achievements on the seventh floor onward.
Wait, then maybe I should have brought the others with me too.
The thought came to mind, but I decided to bring them next time. The probability of us getting an essence on the first try was low, anyway, so we could just test it next month. It was unclear to me whether locals could get Achievements in the first place.
Shaaaaaa!
When I entered the radius of the pillars, a giant vortex wrapped around them and blocked my retreat. This was pointless, in my opinion. Because of the status effect Challenger, my body wouldn't let me run away even if I wanted to.
Step.
As I headed toward the egg in the center, the vortex outside the pillars began to rattle with even stronger vibrations, as if the sea itself was enraged by my presence.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Booms thundered through the space at regular intervals and the ground shook. The heavy reverberations grew closer and louder.
Boom!
As soon as the ground stopped shaking, I looked up. Two blue eyes were peering down at me from the deep darkness—the rank-three monster, Deep Sea Giant. Aside from in Atlante, this monster could only be found on the ninth floor. Of course, up there, the son of a bitch traveled in packs like trash mobs did, allowing it to cover for its weaknesses with numbers and making it several times more difficult to hunt.
"Serkima Dio Merder." Just like in the game, my enemy looked down at me and growled out an unintelligible line. I hadn't been able to tell from reading the text alone, but in real life, its voice was full of contempt.
If I account for all the monsters on the outskirts I'm going to kill later, our mana stone income will be considerable.
Even as I thought this, it was kind of funny. Despite the fact that we were making a decent amount here, it was nothing compared to the battle we had earlier. Although they were damaged, we now had three ships and the high-quality equipment of ten people. It was the kind of money you could never make just by killing monsters.
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
When a Critical Success rang out, the last monster chasing me down disappeared in a burst of light.
I'm already in the boss room.
Before long, I had reached the center of Atlante: a vast, vacant plot of land with dozens of pillars the size of buildings circling it. At the center of those pillars was a huge, blue egg, three or four times bigger than me even when I was using Giantization.
It looks exactly like the egg in the game.
I was about to laugh at that thought when—
[You have laid eyes on part of a legend.]
My heart pounded and I felt a strange sense of fulfillment, like I was being filled up with something.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Mythical Discovery (1/5)]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +10.]
What the...? Did my MP just go up? If that's true, that means the game's Achievement system is applicable here too... I must have cleared quite a few Soul Power-based achievements by now.
I hadn't been sure about this since Soul Power stats weren't really noticeable, but it seemed I'd have to start hunting for achievements in the future too. There were some helpful achievements on the seventh floor onward.
Wait, then maybe I should have brought the others with me too.
The thought came to mind, but I decided to bring them next time. The probability of us getting an essence on the first try was low, anyway, so we could just test it next month. It was unclear to me whether locals could get Achievements in the first place.
Shaaaaaa!
When I entered the radius of the pillars, a giant vortex wrapped around them and blocked my retreat. This was pointless, in my opinion. Because of the status effect Challenger, my body wouldn't let me run away even if I wanted to.
Step.
As I headed toward the egg in the center, the vortex outside the pillars began to rattle with even stronger vibrations, as if the sea itself was enraged by my presence.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Booms thundered through the space at regular intervals and the ground shook. The heavy reverberations grew closer and louder.
Boom!
As soon as the ground stopped shaking, I looked up. Two blue eyes were peering down at me from the deep darkness—the rank-three monster, Deep Sea Giant. Aside from in Atlante, this monster could only be found on the ninth floor. Of course, up there, the son of a bitch traveled in packs like trash mobs did, allowing it to cover for its weaknesses with numbers and making it several times more difficult to hunt.
"Serkima Dio Merder." Just like in the game, my enemy looked down at me and growled out an unintelligible line. I hadn't been able to tell from reading the text alone, but in real life, its voice was full of contempt.
"Behel-ahhh!" I shouted the name of my ancestral god for the first time in a long while and turned on Giantization. No one else was here anyway, right?
Dash.
Of course, the place I was sprinting toward with a battle cry was the center of the pillars where the egg was. It was the key to taking the bastard down.
Thump!
The egg kicked like it was alive. Or, rather than an egg, it'd be more accurate to call it an egg-shaped heart.
Bang!
As soon as I slammed the Demon Grinder down, the giant released a roar and flung its palm out at me, and I quickly stepped back to avoid the attack. Liability of Risk only reflected skills using resources like mana or Soul Power. There was no reason to take a regular hit that couldn't even be reflected back.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Blade Torrent.]
As soon as I dodged its swipe, the giant activated a skill. Hundreds of streams of water flew at me in straight lines, drawing sharp trajectories like bullets fired underwater.
I should just let this one hit...
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
What, Critical Success from the get-go?
"Gahhhcha!" As soon as I shielded just my vitals and let the attack hit the rest of me, I heard the excited shout of a skeleton from behind me.
Chwaaa!
The blast the skeleton leveled at the Sea Giant drew a much thicker line through the water than the ones it shot at me.
"Gaaaaaah!" It looked like the damage landed because the monster staggered despite its size. It stumbled and lashed out with another regular attack. Normally I'd avoid a blow like this at all costs.
Kwaaang!
But was it because I had come here after already coating myself in rank-three essences?
This is blockable.
It wasn't so strong that I couldn't withstand it with a shield. The blow rattled my bones, but the damage was thankfully immediately healed with Origin.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Source of Life.]
In order to recover from the damage done to its body, the Giant drew on the life force stored in its heart. This was one of the Deep Sea Giant's main skills. The Deep Sea Giants you could encounter on the ninth floor didn't have their hearts exposed like this. They boasted an incredible healing factor and the imposing power of a rank-three monster, but down here, that didn't mean much. There was a reason that I usually chose this guy as my first rank-three essence.
Thump.
The heart fluttered weakly, smaller than before.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Since there was no reason to avoid the regular attacks, I stuck close to the heart and swung my hammer down on it repeatedly. The monster attempted to use various skills to stop me, and they were reflected right back at it, inflicting damage to its main body.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Source of Life.]
The vicious cycle repeated itself once again. The heart transferred energy to the main body, and the heart's defenses decreased thanks to the said transfer. This process continued several more times.
Thump.
I brought my hammer down on the heart, which was now several times smaller than it had been when I first encountered it. The moment I did, I was faced with both good news and bad news.
Crack!
[You have defeated a Deep Sea Giant. EXP +7]
The first bit of good news was that I had managed to hunt a rank-three monster with more ease than ever. The second?
Shaaaaa!
An essence had appeared on my first try. But that brought me to the bad news.
God damn it.
An essence had appeared, but unfortunately, it wasn't the color I wanted. That wasn't an issue in this situation, though. I looked beyond the vortex, which vanished as soon as the Deep Sea Giant was killed.
He was wearing attire so casual it was hard to believe he was inside the labyrinth right now. His white skin and slim build gave off a refined air, and his platinum-blond hair was slicked up.
"Wow, what the—did you really kill that by yourself?"
An unexpected encounter awaited me.
"Behel-ahhh!" I shouted the name of my ancestral god for the first time in a long while and turned on Giantization. No one else was here anyway, right?
Dash.
Of course, the place I was sprinting toward with a battle cry was the center of the pillars where the egg was. It was the key to taking the bastard down.
Thump!
The egg kicked like it was alive. Or, rather than an egg, it'd be more accurate to call it an egg-shaped heart.
Bang!
As soon as I slammed the Demon Grinder down, the giant released a roar and flung its palm out at me, and I quickly stepped back to avoid the attack. Liability of Risk only reflected skills using resources like mana or Soul Power. There was no reason to take a regular hit that couldn't even be reflected back.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Blade Torrent.]
As soon as I dodged its swipe, the giant activated a skill. Hundreds of streams of water flew at me in straight lines, drawing sharp trajectories like bullets fired underwater.
I should just let this one hit...
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
What, Critical Success from the get-go?
"Gahhhcha!" As soon as I shielded just my vitals and let the attack hit the rest of me, I heard the excited shout of a skeleton from behind me.
Chwaaa!
The blast the skeleton leveled at the Sea Giant drew a much thicker line through the water than the ones it shot at me.
"Gaaaaaah!" It looked like the damage landed because the monster staggered despite its size. It stumbled and lashed out with another regular attack. Normally I'd avoid a blow like this at all costs.
Kwaaang!
But was it because I had come here after already coating myself in rank-three essences?
This is blockable.
It wasn't so strong that I couldn't withstand it with a shield. The blow rattled my bones, but the damage was thankfully immediately healed with Origin.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Source of Life.]
In order to recover from the damage done to its body, the Giant drew on the life force stored in its heart. This was one of the Deep Sea Giant's main skills. The Deep Sea Giants you could encounter on the ninth floor didn't have their hearts exposed like this. They boasted an incredible healing factor and the imposing power of a rank-three monster, but down here, that didn't mean much. There was a reason that I usually chose this guy as my first rank-three essence.
Thump.
The heart fluttered weakly, smaller than before.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Since there was no reason to avoid the regular attacks, I stuck close to the heart and swung my hammer down on it repeatedly. The monster attempted to use various skills to stop me, and they were reflected right back at it, inflicting damage to its main body.
[The Deep Sea Giant has cast Source of Life.]
The vicious cycle repeated itself once again. The heart transferred energy to the main body, and the heart's defenses decreased thanks to the said transfer. This process continued several more times.
Thump.
I brought my hammer down on the heart, which was now several times smaller than it had been when I first encountered it. The moment I did, I was faced with both good news and bad news.
Crack!
[You have defeated a Deep Sea Giant. EXP +7]
The first bit of good news was that I had managed to hunt a rank-three monster with more ease than ever. The second?
Shaaaaa!
An essence had appeared on my first try. But that brought me to the bad news.
God damn it.
An essence had appeared, but unfortunately, it wasn't the color I wanted. That wasn't an issue in this situation, though. I looked beyond the vortex, which vanished as soon as the Deep Sea Giant was killed.
He was wearing attire so casual it was hard to believe he was inside the labyrinth right now. His white skin and slim build gave off a refined air, and his platinum-blond hair was slicked up.
"Wow, what the—did you really kill that by yourself?"
An unexpected encounter awaited me.