Chapter 383: Us (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 383: Us (2)
"Mister!"
Right when I finished confirming the essence, I saw Erwen in the distance. She was leading the rest of the group over. It seemed she got worried since I was taking so long.
Tsk, I told that girl to stay put until I got back.
"Are you finished? Are you hurt anywhere?" Erwen quickly reached me and inspected me up and down worriedly. Amelia consciously stopped a ways away with the wizard and sailor so they wouldn't overhear our conversation.
I guess she really wants to save him.
For some reason, that was the vibe I got from Amelia's actions. I guessed ignorance really was bliss sometimes. The more he learned about us, the less of a chance the navigator had of getting home alive, so she was being careful not to let him hear anything at all. She would have probably realized that was why I was making them follow me at a distance too.
Anyway, judging by everyone's expressions, it looks like they have no idea Baekho and Fallen Scholar were here.
Thankfully, it didn't seem they'd disobeyed my instructions to wait, which were made with a potential encounter with an opponent in mind. Or, should I say I was glad they had at least waited to break the rules until this particular moment? If a fight had broken out, the side with one more person would have had a better chance of winning. Because of the field effect Challenger, it would have been impossible for me to run away if a battle began. Erwen and Amelia no longer needed to be protected unconditionally like my former teammates. They were powerhouses capable of carrying their own weight in any given situation.
"But... I sensed mana on the way here. What was that?" Erwen asked, detecting the remnants of the Mass Teleportation spell.
I thought it over for a while before ultimately dodging the question. "I don't know."
"Really? Well... I have heard about special mana waves occurring periodically in Rifts and other places like that." As expected, Erwen accepted my answer without much suspicion. She probably thought she might have been just picking up on a natural phenomenon considering this was a special area with little known information. Or she wholeheartedly believed I had no reason to lie. Maybe that was why I felt a bit guilty.
It's better this way.
Fallen Scholar was the bastard who had killed Daria, Erwen's older sister. Unlike Clown, he was directly involved in her death. If I talked about Baekho, I'd inevitably have to discuss the encounter with Fallen Scholar. There was no reason to shake up her emotional state when it was finally starting to normalize.
And there's no reason to talk about Baekho if I'm going to leave out Fallen Scholar.
After I exchanged a few more words with Erwen, Amelia led the wizard and navigator over. Then she asked a question. "Schuitz, did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes, luckily enough." I left it at that. I'd tell her about the deal later.
Once the conversation was over, we started exploring again. We hadn't been able to stop by anywhere else since we traveled in a straight line on the way here. The other regions would be riddled with monsters. Among them were monsters I hadn't defeated yet, and also ones with essences that sold at a very high price.
Step.
I took the first step. "Then I'll go first. Follow behind me."
Our hunting strategy was the same as before. I'd clear the path ahead and destroy the monsters, and these guys would follow behind and collect mana stones.
This time, I should experiment.
Now that I had a new essence, I planned to conduct a performance test as I went this time. My body hadn't adapted to the increase in stats yet, either.
Since it's a rank-three, I can feel a big difference.
The Deep Sea Giant's essence came with a unique stat that made the distinction even more noticeable.
[Deep Sea Giant]
[Strength: +55
Physical Resistance: +35
Natural Regeneration: +35
Mana Resistance: +35
Dark Resistance: +55
Endurance: +40
Adaptability: +70]
The physical stats were average for rank-three essences and most were of high value, but it'd be hard to call this essence rare. These were all great stats, but they were also stats that could easily be found in most essences—save for Adaptability, which was at the end of the list.
All it did in the game was reduce a debuff's effect in proportion to its duration.
In reality, it felt a bit different. Of course, the aforementioned information was definitely applicable.
Step, step.
The Adaptability stat seemed to have activated and I became more comfortable walking in the water. Not that my movements were restricted in the first place, but now if I didn't concentrate on the sensation, it didn't even feel like I was in water. Well, if I had just dived into the ocean instead of coming to this place, which notably allowed people to maneuver around unaffected by the water, the effects probably wouldn't be as strong.
Should I check the passive skill now?
To use the passive I hadn't yet been able to test out, I activated Giantization. This was because the Deep Sea Giant's passive skill only reacted with transformation-type abilities.
[You have cast Giantization. Your Threat Level and Physical Attributes increase in proportion to your increase in size.]
With Giantization, Physique increased by approximately 1.77 times, which raised Threat Level, which then helped attract monster aggro.
[You have used a transformation-type ability. Due to the effect of Evolving Shell, the amount of Soul Power consumed by the ability is reduced by half, and your highest stat increases by 1.5 times.]
On top of that, Evolving Shell got a buff.
[By the authority of the transcendental body, the effect of Evolving Shell has increased by 1.5 times. Your Strength has increased by 2.25 times.]
This was the key difference from the Shield Barbarian build I usually used. Since the Ogre's essence was filling the slot that usually went to Steel Giant (Rank Four), somehow Strength was my highest stat—even higher than my Physical Resistance.
Welp, that'll make it tough to reach the third stage of Evolving Shell.
Of course, that was only for now. It wouldn't pose a problem in the final phase of my cultivation. Once I got my hands on Bellarios's essence, I'd just need to focus on Physical Resistance when building up my stats.
[Your Physique will grow in proportion to your Strength stat.]
While at it, I switched Transcendence from passive mode to active mode and tried using Giantization.
This time, I should experiment.
Now that I had a new essence, I planned to conduct a performance test as I went this time. My body hadn't adapted to the increase in stats yet, either.
Since it's a rank-three, I can feel a big difference.
The Deep Sea Giant's essence came with a unique stat that made the distinction even more noticeable.
[Deep Sea Giant]
[Strength: +55
Physical Resistance: +35
Natural Regeneration: +35
Mana Resistance: +35
Dark Resistance: +55
Endurance: +40
Adaptability: +70]
The physical stats were average for rank-three essences and most were of high value, but it'd be hard to call this essence rare. These were all great stats, but they were also stats that could easily be found in most essences—save for Adaptability, which was at the end of the list.
All it did in the game was reduce a debuff's effect in proportion to its duration.
In reality, it felt a bit different. Of course, the aforementioned information was definitely applicable.
Step, step.
The Adaptability stat seemed to have activated and I became more comfortable walking in the water. Not that my movements were restricted in the first place, but now if I didn't concentrate on the sensation, it didn't even feel like I was in water. Well, if I had just dived into the ocean instead of coming to this place, which notably allowed people to maneuver around unaffected by the water, the effects probably wouldn't be as strong.
Should I check the passive skill now?
To use the passive I hadn't yet been able to test out, I activated Giantization. This was because the Deep Sea Giant's passive skill only reacted with transformation-type abilities.
[You have cast Giantization. Your Threat Level and Physical Attributes increase in proportion to your increase in size.]
With Giantization, Physique increased by approximately 1.77 times, which raised Threat Level, which then helped attract monster aggro.
[You have used a transformation-type ability. Due to the effect of Evolving Shell, the amount of Soul Power consumed by the ability is reduced by half, and your highest stat increases by 1.5 times.]
On top of that, Evolving Shell got a buff.
[By the authority of the transcendental body, the effect of Evolving Shell has increased by 1.5 times. Your Strength has increased by 2.25 times.]
This was the key difference from the Shield Barbarian build I usually used. Since the Ogre's essence was filling the slot that usually went to Steel Giant (Rank Four), somehow Strength was my highest stat—even higher than my Physical Resistance.
Welp, that'll make it tough to reach the third stage of Evolving Shell.
Of course, that was only for now. It wouldn't pose a problem in the final phase of my cultivation. Once I got my hands on Bellarios's essence, I'd just need to focus on Physical Resistance when building up my stats.
[Your Physique will grow in proportion to your Strength stat.]
While at it, I switched Transcendence from passive mode to active mode and tried using Giantization.
Slide.
When I looked down to check, I could see the ceiling of the historic ruins I'd had to look up at earlier below me.
I must be over twenty feet tall.
I'd have to take exact measurements later to know for sure, but that was the height I got from eyeballing it. And considering the Gachabone's essence made me shrink, it was safe to say I was much bigger than before. Even though my Physique had grown this much, however, my Strength values were similar to before I turned on Transcendence. This was because the multiplier applied to Strength had decreased from 2.25 to 1.15 times.
Still, it looks like the other values have all gone up accordingly so it's not a loss.
The main con of using Transcendence as an active skill was a reduction in Soul Power, not stats. There was a big difference between burning 75 percent and burning 50 percent.
Well, with my current MP, I can sustain Giantization indefinitely even with Transcendence disabled.
In Dungeon and Stone, the time it took for your MP to regenerate was proportional to the total amount of MP you had. I was level seven and had gotten my hands on some MP stats here and there, so my total amount of MP was similar to that of most wizards.
I'm finally on track.
In order to get a chance to adapt to my much higher vantage point, I left Transcendence on. Although we were underwater, the air at twenty feet had the kind of tang that made a man's heart flutter.
...I wonder how big I'll become if I erase the Gachabone's essence?
It was still too early to be fantasizing, but I pictured myself using Giantization with my base height increased from six feet to seven and a half. I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling I wouldn't have any issue wrestling Riakis, the Lord of the Third Floor, with my bare hands in that state.
Smash, smash, smash!
Picturing that future in my head, I continued to swing my hammer. That was because Transcendence only applied to one skill at a time. In my current state, killing monsters using Liability of Risk's reflex damage and using direct damage took the same time.
[You have cast Swing.]
Even if I got hit, I healed right away, so I didn't bother with defense and focused only on playing whack-a-mole.
[You have defeated a Riu Moby Dick. EXP +6]
The monsters went ballistic as I swung my super-huge Demon Grinder at them with my increased Strength stat, disappearing into bursts of light. But with how much I was using Swing, I could feel my MP decreasing in real time.
[You have cast Soul Dive.]
So I used my new active skill. Of the seven possible active skills Deep Sea Giants had—including Blade Torrent, Source of Life, and Giant's Blood—this was the one that corresponded with the green essence, and it was a bit unusual. While active, it consumed no MP. Or, rather, should I say it was just the opposite?
Inhale.
As I took a deep breath in, I felt the emptiness within me begin to fill up again.
[Your Soul Power will regenerate at a rate proportional to the amount of Soul Power you have consumed.]
It was an MP recovery skill that didn't need to consume MP. Instead, the skill came with a cooldown time, which in the game was about thirty minutes. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was a very good skill. You could use it when you were in a hurry and significantly reduce the amount of breaks you needed to take in the middle of hunting to recover your MP.
Slide.
When I looked down to check, I could see the ceiling of the historic ruins I'd had to look up at earlier below me.
I must be over twenty feet tall.
I'd have to take exact measurements later to know for sure, but that was the height I got from eyeballing it. And considering the Gachabone's essence made me shrink, it was safe to say I was much bigger than before. Even though my Physique had grown this much, however, my Strength values were similar to before I turned on Transcendence. This was because the multiplier applied to Strength had decreased from 2.25 to 1.15 times.
Still, it looks like the other values have all gone up accordingly so it's not a loss.
The main con of using Transcendence as an active skill was a reduction in Soul Power, not stats. There was a big difference between burning 75 percent and burning 50 percent.
Well, with my current MP, I can sustain Giantization indefinitely even with Transcendence disabled.
In Dungeon and Stone, the time it took for your MP to regenerate was proportional to the total amount of MP you had. I was level seven and had gotten my hands on some MP stats here and there, so my total amount of MP was similar to that of most wizards.
I'm finally on track.
In order to get a chance to adapt to my much higher vantage point, I left Transcendence on. Although we were underwater, the air at twenty feet had the kind of tang that made a man's heart flutter.
...I wonder how big I'll become if I erase the Gachabone's essence?
It was still too early to be fantasizing, but I pictured myself using Giantization with my base height increased from six feet to seven and a half. I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling I wouldn't have any issue wrestling Riakis, the Lord of the Third Floor, with my bare hands in that state.
Smash, smash, smash!
Picturing that future in my head, I continued to swing my hammer. That was because Transcendence only applied to one skill at a time. In my current state, killing monsters using Liability of Risk's reflex damage and using direct damage took the same time.
[You have cast Swing.]
Even if I got hit, I healed right away, so I didn't bother with defense and focused only on playing whack-a-mole.
[You have defeated a Riu Moby Dick. EXP +6]
The monsters went ballistic as I swung my super-huge Demon Grinder at them with my increased Strength stat, disappearing into bursts of light. But with how much I was using Swing, I could feel my MP decreasing in real time.
[You have cast Soul Dive.]
So I used my new active skill. Of the seven possible active skills Deep Sea Giants had—including Blade Torrent, Source of Life, and Giant's Blood—this was the one that corresponded with the green essence, and it was a bit unusual. While active, it consumed no MP. Or, rather, should I say it was just the opposite?
Inhale.
As I took a deep breath in, I felt the emptiness within me begin to fill up again.
[Your Soul Power will regenerate at a rate proportional to the amount of Soul Power you have consumed.]
It was an MP recovery skill that didn't need to consume MP. Instead, the skill came with a cooldown time, which in the game was about thirty minutes. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was a very good skill. You could use it when you were in a hurry and significantly reduce the amount of breaks you needed to take in the middle of hunting to recover your MP.
More importantly, it can counter that son of a bitch...
The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos, had a Dragon Speech called Silence of the Soul. With this skill, I could counter it. Even in a state of Soul Exhaustion, I would be able to bounce back to my original condition by using it once.
Then I've prepared more than enough.
Bashing in the heads of the monsters coming at me from all sides, I grinned as I recalled a vow I once etched into my heart.
"Can you... win?"
The day that I experienced my first loss since waking up in the cold-hearted body of a warrior, I swallowed my helplessness and made a promise. I would survive, whatever it took. And someday, when I no longer needed something like a fluke to win, I would definitely go find him.
"We will meet again, dragon man."
Smash!
That day had finally come.
***
On day five of exploring Burrow Island, I finished hunting the monsters whose EXP could only be acquired here. Even after that, we continued hunting on the island. There were tons of islands I still needed to clear outside, but the mana stone profit here was substantial. After all, this was a special level, right? In return for the high difficulty, most special levels had a good payout. On top of that, hunting here had become much easier for me than hunting on the fifth floor.
Still, I don't plan on wasting time looking for Red Rock Islands just to come back here.
Anyway, as I continued my hunting speedrun, I found quite a few essences. As a result of my slight greed, I was able to store a rank-four essence in one of the two test tubes.
It would have been better if there had been a Deep Sea Giant's essence...
One rank-four essence was achievement enough, but it was still a bit disappointing. There was more than one Deep Sea Giant in Burrow Island. If you walked around long enough, you had a low probability of encountering one, but none of them coughed up essences. That made sense. Unlike the one I found in the vortex-covered underwater temple, drop rate modifications didn't apply to regular monsters in the area.
"Schuitz." As I was running through the events of the previous days, Amelia came and sat next to me. It was clear she had something to say, and I was sure she didn't come to ask for a longer break. "The labyrinth closes tomorrow."
Ah, so that's what she came to talk about.
It was the kind of short statement I'd come to expect from Amelia, but it wasn't hard to understand the hidden meaning behind it. She was even glancing at the sleeping sailor and wizard as she spoke.
I guessed my silence and lack of immediate response frustrated her because when she opened her mouth again, she was much more direct. "What are you going to do?" she asked.
"The wizard will be killed." That decision was far too easy, as I had never planned on letting him live in the first place. After all, wizards weren't morons. They were lofty and arrogant and didn't easily forget grudges. "As long as the Magic Tower is there, he'll be hard to control when he's in the city."
"I see. All right. And?" Amelia once again glanced at the navigator and I immediately stood up.
Whoom!
Standing by the wizard's head, I raised my hammer up high. It was a familiar situation I'd been in once before. Hans A, my night companion, had stood over me like this while I was dozing off. Of course, that guy and I were different, in that I didn't fail.
Smash!
The wizard's body went slack in his sleep. He didn't even let out a single sound.
"H-Heek!" The navigator must have woken up to the commotion because he immediately shot up to his feet. "I-I'll keep quiet for the rest of my life! I-I'll stop adventuring too!" The man dropped flat on his face in a bow. Considering I was above him holding a bloody hammer, this was a bold move.
...It'd definitely be a waste to kill him.
I glanced at Amelia. She remained silent in a way that told me she would go along with whatever decision I made, but I saw a yearning deep in her eyes.
"Emily."
"Speak."
"Can you keep an eye on him so that he doesn't get up to any funny business in the city?"
"You don't have to worry about that."
"Your reasoning?"
"I've already mixed poison into his food and administered only a day's worth of antidote." Her response was casual, but that only served to make her sound more trustworthy to me.
On the other hand, just now realizing his life was under our total control, the navigator's shoulders jumped. "Eek...!"
At the sight, I thought it over one last time and soon came to a decision. "Nguyen Rockrobe, right?"
"...Yes!"
"Do as she says from now on. Got it?"
"Yes! Of course!"
We thus added an experienced navigator to our party, unpaid.
More importantly, it can counter that son of a bitch...
The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos, had a Dragon Speech called Silence of the Soul. With this skill, I could counter it. Even in a state of Soul Exhaustion, I would be able to bounce back to my original condition by using it once.
Then I've prepared more than enough.
Bashing in the heads of the monsters coming at me from all sides, I grinned as I recalled a vow I once etched into my heart.
"Can you... win?"
The day that I experienced my first loss since waking up in the cold-hearted body of a warrior, I swallowed my helplessness and made a promise. I would survive, whatever it took. And someday, when I no longer needed something like a fluke to win, I would definitely go find him.
"We will meet again, dragon man."
Smash!
That day had finally come.
***
On day five of exploring Burrow Island, I finished hunting the monsters whose EXP could only be acquired here. Even after that, we continued hunting on the island. There were tons of islands I still needed to clear outside, but the mana stone profit here was substantial. After all, this was a special level, right? In return for the high difficulty, most special levels had a good payout. On top of that, hunting here had become much easier for me than hunting on the fifth floor.
Still, I don't plan on wasting time looking for Red Rock Islands just to come back here.
Anyway, as I continued my hunting speedrun, I found quite a few essences. As a result of my slight greed, I was able to store a rank-four essence in one of the two test tubes.
It would have been better if there had been a Deep Sea Giant's essence...
One rank-four essence was achievement enough, but it was still a bit disappointing. There was more than one Deep Sea Giant in Burrow Island. If you walked around long enough, you had a low probability of encountering one, but none of them coughed up essences. That made sense. Unlike the one I found in the vortex-covered underwater temple, drop rate modifications didn't apply to regular monsters in the area.
"Schuitz." As I was running through the events of the previous days, Amelia came and sat next to me. It was clear she had something to say, and I was sure she didn't come to ask for a longer break. "The labyrinth closes tomorrow."
Ah, so that's what she came to talk about.
It was the kind of short statement I'd come to expect from Amelia, but it wasn't hard to understand the hidden meaning behind it. She was even glancing at the sleeping sailor and wizard as she spoke.
I guessed my silence and lack of immediate response frustrated her because when she opened her mouth again, she was much more direct. "What are you going to do?" she asked.
"The wizard will be killed." That decision was far too easy, as I had never planned on letting him live in the first place. After all, wizards weren't morons. They were lofty and arrogant and didn't easily forget grudges. "As long as the Magic Tower is there, he'll be hard to control when he's in the city."
"I see. All right. And?" Amelia once again glanced at the navigator and I immediately stood up.
Whoom!
Standing by the wizard's head, I raised my hammer up high. It was a familiar situation I'd been in once before. Hans A, my night companion, had stood over me like this while I was dozing off. Of course, that guy and I were different, in that I didn't fail.
Smash!
The wizard's body went slack in his sleep. He didn't even let out a single sound.
"H-Heek!" The navigator must have woken up to the commotion because he immediately shot up to his feet. "I-I'll keep quiet for the rest of my life! I-I'll stop adventuring too!" The man dropped flat on his face in a bow. Considering I was above him holding a bloody hammer, this was a bold move.
...It'd definitely be a waste to kill him.
I glanced at Amelia. She remained silent in a way that told me she would go along with whatever decision I made, but I saw a yearning deep in her eyes.
"Emily."
"Speak."
"Can you keep an eye on him so that he doesn't get up to any funny business in the city?"
"You don't have to worry about that."
"Your reasoning?"
"I've already mixed poison into his food and administered only a day's worth of antidote." Her response was casual, but that only served to make her sound more trustworthy to me.
On the other hand, just now realizing his life was under our total control, the navigator's shoulders jumped. "Eek...!"
At the sight, I thought it over one last time and soon came to a decision. "Nguyen Rockrobe, right?"
"...Yes!"
"Do as she says from now on. Got it?"
"Yes! Of course!"
We thus added an experienced navigator to our party, unpaid.