Chapter 463: Proof (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 463: Proof (3)
[You have entered the Witch's Hut.]
This was my first time back at the Witch's Hut since the ordeal Missha and I went through together. However, there were a lot of differences between then and now.
Shaaaaaa...
For one thing, we didn't find ourselves in a grassy field full of flowers and trees rich with leaves.
"...Snow?"
Instead, those things were replaced by a white, snowy field. Through the bare, ice-covered branches of the trees, we could spy the hut in the distance.
"Wow! It's snow! Whoa, it's so cold!" Ainar displayed a childlike excitement at the sight of the snow on the ground. Well, it didn't snow in Rafdonia. Aside from Ice Rock, some islands on the sixth floor, and a few Rifts, it was hard to come across snow. Even the Frost Canyon on the fifth floor was more a field made of ice than anything.
"Rockrock, come here!"
"...It's not Rockrock. His name is Auyen Rockrobe," Amelia tried to correct.
"Hey, why are you being so uptight? Aren't we all friends now?" Ainar waved Amelia off, skipped over to Auyen, and dragged him away to start a snowball fight. "Anyway, get over here!"
"...H-Huh? Ack! Th-that hurts! Ms. Raines—!"
"Yandel, what are you planning to do about her?" Amelia asked scoldingly, but in my opinion, it was only natural that a barbarian would want to have a snowball fight.
"Dunno. I was planning on going and helping Erwen assess her new essence right now."
"Yeah. I figured you wouldn't bother to do anything."
"No, that's not what I was saying..."
"Whatever. Just go check out the essence. I'll stay here and keep an eye on them."
"...You're not coming along?"
"I was going to have to discipline Ainar one of these days anyway."
With that ominous declaration, Amelia jogged over to Auyen and Ainar.
"Oh! Are you joining us?!"
"Yeah."
After activating Self-Replication, she quickly started to bombard Ainar with snowballs.
"Hahaha! Haha! Take this!"
At first, Ainar was happy to be playing with her new friends, but it didn't take long for the joy to disappear.
"...Ow, owww! Wh-what are you—?!"
Amelia lunged forward and pinned Ainar to the floor, restraining her arms. She then pushed her face down, shoving it into the snow.
"Urgh!"
"This is the snow you love so much."
"Th-this isn't what I heard a snowball fight was!"
"If it's a fight, why would there be rules?"
"Aaagh! I won't just sit here and take this!" Ainar gathered all her brute force and stumbled to her feet.
Amelia countered by wrapping her legs around Ainar's arms. "What can you do without your arms?"
Taking advantage of Ainar's inability to guard herself, Amelia's clone continued to throw snowballs straight into Ainar's face.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
She looked like a professional baseball pitcher, each snowball right on target.
"...Mister?"
"...Yeah, let's just go."
"Okay."
After watching them for a while, we finally left the three of them alone and headed toward the back of the cabin. The Witch's Hut was the best place to train. Not only was it a private space, but there was no need to worry about breaking something and having to pay for it like the training grounds in the city.
"Erwen, have you started to get used to it?"
"Yes."
"How do you feel?"
"I'm not sure. I feel like I've gotten more powerful overall, but I can't pinpoint any areas where I feel a particular boost..."
"Is that it?"
"...I've also had a headache for a while now."
She didn't have a headache. She was just having a hard time restraining herself. Well, considering how she used to be, she had gotten a lot better at not letting it show.
"It's because of the essence. Don't worry too much."
"What? Because of the essence...?" Erwen's eyes lit up with curiosity. I slowly began to explain her new ability to her.
With Chaos, her negative stats were doubled, and all her positive stats increased proportionately to the negative stats. In the game, the only thing you were shown was your character's basic stats, so like always, it had been up to me as the player to figure out the exact details and calculations for each essence and ability.
"Negative stats... Are you talking about my weakened stats?"
Ah, I guess I'll have to explain that first.
"That's part of it, but there's also more to it."
In Dungeon and Stone, each stat had a corresponding coefficient, and your Physical, Spirit or Special Ability stats increased according to that coefficient. For example, the coefficient of the Dexterity stat was set to 0.5, meaning that each time that stat increased by +1, the Special Ability stat rose by 0.5 in kind.
High-value stats can even have a coefficient of three.
That wasn't the important part, though. Most stats had coefficients that were greater than zero. However, some went into the negatives. These were known as "minus stats."
"For example, among your stats, you have Impulse and Distrust."
Basically, when you got a plus-something to a stat with a negative coefficient, they had a negative effect on your Physical, Spirit, and Special Ability stats. Conversely, when you got a minus sign attached to a stat with a positive coefficient, they were what was known as "weakened stats," like what Erwen mentioned. This was the case with the essence that gave her Rupture, which gave her a -30 to Control.
"Ah..."
After giving her a basic rundown of the two kinds of negative stats, I quickly began to calculate what Erwen's might be.
First off, her Evan essence decreased her Physical Resistance by -80. Ritcanon, which was the essence she received as a reward from the royal family and the one I had recommended to her, had a Soul Power Regeneration of -40. Rupture had a Control stat of -30. Lastly, Kalban had an Impulse of +30 and a Distrust of +30.
There was no need to calculate the Possessiveness stat that came with the Metcrow essence because the coefficient of that one is zero. She also erased her +40 Craving stat before entering the labyrinth to make room...
After multiplying her stats according to their respective coefficients and then taking the Essence of Chaos's 0.2 coefficient into account, I finished my calculations.
"...Mister?"
"...Yeah, let's just go."
"Okay."
After watching them for a while, we finally left the three of them alone and headed toward the back of the cabin. The Witch's Hut was the best place to train. Not only was it a private space, but there was no need to worry about breaking something and having to pay for it like the training grounds in the city.
"Erwen, have you started to get used to it?"
"Yes."
"How do you feel?"
"I'm not sure. I feel like I've gotten more powerful overall, but I can't pinpoint any areas where I feel a particular boost..."
"Is that it?"
"...I've also had a headache for a while now."
She didn't have a headache. She was just having a hard time restraining herself. Well, considering how she used to be, she had gotten a lot better at not letting it show.
"It's because of the essence. Don't worry too much."
"What? Because of the essence...?" Erwen's eyes lit up with curiosity. I slowly began to explain her new ability to her.
With Chaos, her negative stats were doubled, and all her positive stats increased proportionately to the negative stats. In the game, the only thing you were shown was your character's basic stats, so like always, it had been up to me as the player to figure out the exact details and calculations for each essence and ability.
"Negative stats... Are you talking about my weakened stats?"
Ah, I guess I'll have to explain that first.
"That's part of it, but there's also more to it."
In Dungeon and Stone, each stat had a corresponding coefficient, and your Physical, Spirit or Special Ability stats increased according to that coefficient. For example, the coefficient of the Dexterity stat was set to 0.5, meaning that each time that stat increased by +1, the Special Ability stat rose by 0.5 in kind.
High-value stats can even have a coefficient of three.
That wasn't the important part, though. Most stats had coefficients that were greater than zero. However, some went into the negatives. These were known as "minus stats."
"For example, among your stats, you have Impulse and Distrust."
Basically, when you got a plus-something to a stat with a negative coefficient, they had a negative effect on your Physical, Spirit, and Special Ability stats. Conversely, when you got a minus sign attached to a stat with a positive coefficient, they were what was known as "weakened stats," like what Erwen mentioned. This was the case with the essence that gave her Rupture, which gave her a -30 to Control.
"Ah..."
After giving her a basic rundown of the two kinds of negative stats, I quickly began to calculate what Erwen's might be.
First off, her Evan essence decreased her Physical Resistance by -80. Ritcanon, which was the essence she received as a reward from the royal family and the one I had recommended to her, had a Soul Power Regeneration of -40. Rupture had a Control stat of -30. Lastly, Kalban had an Impulse of +30 and a Distrust of +30.
There was no need to calculate the Possessiveness stat that came with the Metcrow essence because the coefficient of that one is zero. She also erased her +40 Craving stat before entering the labyrinth to make room...
After multiplying her stats according to their respective coefficients and then taking the Essence of Chaos's 0.2 coefficient into account, I finished my calculations.
That's... 53.8.
That was the stat boost Erwen had received from the Chaos essence. Not that every single one of her stats had increased, of course. Innate stats like Luck and Bone Density weren't affected.
...Still, the rate she's developing is no joke.
I was shocked. I may have recommended that she obtain the Ritcanon essence all those years ago, but all of the other incredible essences she had were things she had obtained on her own.
I do think the negative impact on her mental state is a bit dangerous...
But she seemed to be doing fine. Even though each of those stats was now higher than before, she was still acting the same.
Still, I can't help but worry. I should hurry and change out one of her other essences.
Spirit stats had low coefficients to begin with, so they weren't all that effective when you used them in conjunction with the Essence of Chaos. Control wasn't all that bad, but Distrust only had a coefficient of 0.6. Replacing it with a stat that had a higher coefficient value would be better in the long run. For example, if I gave her something with a Mana Resistance of -50, then all of her stats would grow by +30.
Whatever the case, thanks to its effect, the Essence of Chaos was great for any DPS main. On the flip side, there weren't that many good essences for tanks, as most only raised their defense in exchange for lower damage dealt.
"I see... You once told me it's best to specialize in what you're good at..."
Hm? Did I tell her that? I couldn't remember, but no big deal. We were no longer in that shabby old inn.
"Now, try and use your new abilities!"
It was time to reap the benefits of her new essence.
***
The Chaos essence came with two skills and two skills alone, one passive and one active. That might seem lackluster when compared to a Guardian's essence, which could have up to five different active skills. However, it was way better to have one incredible skill rather than a hundred crappy ones.
[(P) Chaos Circuit: All resources available to the user are combined into one. After all resources are consumed, the user can utilize the power of Chaos.]
The passive skill was rather unique. Simply put, it put all resources—such as Mana, Natural Power, Soul Power, Divine Power, and more—together in a single gauge. That alone was an incredible skill to have. After all, it was incredibly hard to raise one's Natural Power, which was essential for elemental abilities.
Maybe that's why Erwen took the Ertes essence. She could use its passive skill to change her Soul Power into Natural Power.
But since she didn't need it anymore, it would be best to get rid of it. The active skill Element Synthesis wasn't bad, but it wasn't something she would need in the end game.
"Um... Which ability should I use...?"
"Try using Concentrated Fire. The goal is to use up all the energy you have. Oh, you should summon a spirit while you're at it."
"...If that's the goal, should I call on Dicloe? Doing so will use up my energy much quicker."
Ah, that was a good point. I patted her on the back to encourage her as Erwen trembled, focusing on summoning Dicloe.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned Dicloe, the Elemental Ruler of Darkness].
A black blob appeared, taking the vague form of a person as it tore through reality itself. Erwen then commanded Dicloe to shoot countless dark spheres in the opposite direction of the hut.
That's... 53.8.
That was the stat boost Erwen had received from the Chaos essence. Not that every single one of her stats had increased, of course. Innate stats like Luck and Bone Density weren't affected.
...Still, the rate she's developing is no joke.
I was shocked. I may have recommended that she obtain the Ritcanon essence all those years ago, but all of the other incredible essences she had were things she had obtained on her own.
I do think the negative impact on her mental state is a bit dangerous...
But she seemed to be doing fine. Even though each of those stats was now higher than before, she was still acting the same.
Still, I can't help but worry. I should hurry and change out one of her other essences.
Spirit stats had low coefficients to begin with, so they weren't all that effective when you used them in conjunction with the Essence of Chaos. Control wasn't all that bad, but Distrust only had a coefficient of 0.6. Replacing it with a stat that had a higher coefficient value would be better in the long run. For example, if I gave her something with a Mana Resistance of -50, then all of her stats would grow by +30.
Whatever the case, thanks to its effect, the Essence of Chaos was great for any DPS main. On the flip side, there weren't that many good essences for tanks, as most only raised their defense in exchange for lower damage dealt.
"I see... You once told me it's best to specialize in what you're good at..."
Hm? Did I tell her that? I couldn't remember, but no big deal. We were no longer in that shabby old inn.
"Now, try and use your new abilities!"
It was time to reap the benefits of her new essence.
***
The Chaos essence came with two skills and two skills alone, one passive and one active. That might seem lackluster when compared to a Guardian's essence, which could have up to five different active skills. However, it was way better to have one incredible skill rather than a hundred crappy ones.
[(P) Chaos Circuit: All resources available to the user are combined into one. After all resources are consumed, the user can utilize the power of Chaos.]
The passive skill was rather unique. Simply put, it put all resources—such as Mana, Natural Power, Soul Power, Divine Power, and more—together in a single gauge. That alone was an incredible skill to have. After all, it was incredibly hard to raise one's Natural Power, which was essential for elemental abilities.
Maybe that's why Erwen took the Ertes essence. She could use its passive skill to change her Soul Power into Natural Power.
But since she didn't need it anymore, it would be best to get rid of it. The active skill Element Synthesis wasn't bad, but it wasn't something she would need in the end game.
"Um... Which ability should I use...?"
"Try using Concentrated Fire. The goal is to use up all the energy you have. Oh, you should summon a spirit while you're at it."
"...If that's the goal, should I call on Dicloe? Doing so will use up my energy much quicker."
Ah, that was a good point. I patted her on the back to encourage her as Erwen trembled, focusing on summoning Dicloe.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned Dicloe, the Elemental Ruler of Darkness].
A black blob appeared, taking the vague form of a person as it tore through reality itself. Erwen then commanded Dicloe to shoot countless dark spheres in the opposite direction of the hut.
Bang! Boom! Clash!
The dark spheres crashed into the barrier in the distance. As expected, it didn't even leave a scratch on it.
[All resources have been exhausted.]
After roughly thirty seconds of going all out, she had completely exhausted all her energy. In the past, her limit had been five seconds.
Maybe it's because she has more mana now, but she's able to maintain that level of power for a lot longer.
Of course, that wasn't what mattered now.
[A mysterious energy makes itself known following the exhaustion of all resources.]
Within a few seconds of her exhausting all of her energy, the Chaos Circuit kicked in and activated what I liked to call Infinite Power Mode.
[For one minute, Erwen Fornacci di Tersia will not consume any resources.]
"...My summon really isn't dispelling?" Erwen marveled at the sight of Dicloe still firing off dark spheres at full power. Although I had already known how this ability worked, I was pretty shocked myself.
For one minute and thirty seconds, she can continuously wield this level of firepower...
That wasn't all. Her MP in this mode was essentially infinite. She could let the Elemental Rulers do their jobs while she used her own skills.
"Erwen, try shooting Concentrated Fire now."
Erwen quickly raised her bow without a word.
Whooosh!
A white light shined at the tip of her arrow. This skill had played an essential role in our fight against Riakis, and it had a rather simple effect.
Whoooooosh!
Though MP was rapidly consumed in proportion to the amount of time you spent charging it, the damage it dealt increased exponentially in return. Normally, the longest Erwen could charge it was no more than fifteen seconds. Any longer and the MP consumption would not be worth the damage boost. Instead, it was better to rest during the sixty-second cooldown time and then fire another shot afterward.
But with infinite MP, it's a whole other story.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds... As time went by, the density of the energy gathered at the tip of the arrow continued to increase.
"Now."
Erwen finally released her grip on the bowstring. A bright light tore through the air, slicing across the sky in a brilliant arc. The attack ultimately wouldn't leave a mark on the barrier. But...
Y-Yes! This is it.
I could tell just by looking at it.
Boooooom!
Her firepower far exceeded Dicloe's.
***
[The mysterious energy inside Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has drained away.]
[All stats are temporarily reduced by 70 percent.]
***
Erwen collapsed into my arms, completely exhausted. Suddenly, I started to hear urgent shouts in the distance.
"B-Bjorn! Where are you?! Bjorn!" They were coming from Ainar, who had been playing with Amelia. "Wh-what was that just now?! I-Is it a dimensional collapse?! Sh-shouldn't we run away?!"
She was acting like a wild animal experiencing a natural disaster. I smirked at her innocent reaction. "Don't worry. It's not a dimensional collapse."
"R-Really?! That really surprised me! All of a sudden, a bright light flashed and the ground shook!"
"Yeah, I know. But you can calm down now. Everything is fine."
As I calmed Ainar down, Amelia came over to me and asked, "Just now... Was that Tersia's doing?"
"Yeah."
"...Impressive. So that's the power of a Floor Essence."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you get one later as well."
As I kindly reassured her, she turned away and scolded me for trying to placate her like a barbarian. Based on her expression, it seemed that she was looking forward to it.
"Then, are you all done now?"
"Oh, yeah. We're done." She hadn't tried out her active skill yet, but we couldn't check that here anyway. We would have to experiment with it later on in the city. It was quite an unusual skill, after all.
"Erwen, can you walk?"
"No... I don't think I can."
Since Erwen was exhausted, I decided to carry her. Before I could lift her, however, somebody came running over. "Ah! Then I'll carry you!" It was Ainar, who had been an expert at playing the role of steed in the old days. "Hop on! Any day now."
"...Okay. Th-thanks..."
With Ainar carrying Erwen on her back, we headed into the hut. Unlike the new wintery landscape outside, the interior of the cabin was the same as before, from the bookshelf to the dining table, the carpet, and even the small bed my feet hung off of when I laid down on it.
Crackle.
Last of all was the burning fireplace.
"Yandel, what do we need to do now?"
"We just need to go into the fire."
That way we could get our reward. Afterward, the Witch's Hut would close, and we would be moved back to the forest.
"...Bjorn." Suddenly, Ainar turned to me, her expression uncharacteristically serious. "I don't think it's a good idea to go into those flames."
What was she even talking about right now? There wasn't any point in answering her, so I simply squatted down and went into the fire first.
Fwoosh!
The flames were warm, but by no means burning.
[Your Spirit Resistance has permanently increased by +50.]
Nice, there's the stat boost...
I closed my eyes as I was enveloped by a comforting warmth.
"Huh...?"
However, when I opened them, I froze. I was no longer in the Witch's Hut. Instead, I was in a place I had never been before.
"Who are you?"
And there was a girl with the complexion of a ghost staring right at me.
Bang! Boom! Clash!
The dark spheres crashed into the barrier in the distance. As expected, it didn't even leave a scratch on it.
[All resources have been exhausted.]
After roughly thirty seconds of going all out, she had completely exhausted all her energy. In the past, her limit had been five seconds.
Maybe it's because she has more mana now, but she's able to maintain that level of power for a lot longer.
Of course, that wasn't what mattered now.
[A mysterious energy makes itself known following the exhaustion of all resources.]
Within a few seconds of her exhausting all of her energy, the Chaos Circuit kicked in and activated what I liked to call Infinite Power Mode.
[For one minute, Erwen Fornacci di Tersia will not consume any resources.]
"...My summon really isn't dispelling?" Erwen marveled at the sight of Dicloe still firing off dark spheres at full power. Although I had already known how this ability worked, I was pretty shocked myself.
For one minute and thirty seconds, she can continuously wield this level of firepower...
That wasn't all. Her MP in this mode was essentially infinite. She could let the Elemental Rulers do their jobs while she used her own skills.
"Erwen, try shooting Concentrated Fire now."
Erwen quickly raised her bow without a word.
Whooosh!
A white light shined at the tip of her arrow. This skill had played an essential role in our fight against Riakis, and it had a rather simple effect.
Whoooooosh!
Though MP was rapidly consumed in proportion to the amount of time you spent charging it, the damage it dealt increased exponentially in return. Normally, the longest Erwen could charge it was no more than fifteen seconds. Any longer and the MP consumption would not be worth the damage boost. Instead, it was better to rest during the sixty-second cooldown time and then fire another shot afterward.
But with infinite MP, it's a whole other story.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds... As time went by, the density of the energy gathered at the tip of the arrow continued to increase.
"Now."
Erwen finally released her grip on the bowstring. A bright light tore through the air, slicing across the sky in a brilliant arc. The attack ultimately wouldn't leave a mark on the barrier. But...
Y-Yes! This is it.
I could tell just by looking at it.
Boooooom!
Her firepower far exceeded Dicloe's.
***
[The mysterious energy inside Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has drained away.]
[All stats are temporarily reduced by 70 percent.]
***
Erwen collapsed into my arms, completely exhausted. Suddenly, I started to hear urgent shouts in the distance.
"B-Bjorn! Where are you?! Bjorn!" They were coming from Ainar, who had been playing with Amelia. "Wh-what was that just now?! I-Is it a dimensional collapse?! Sh-shouldn't we run away?!"
She was acting like a wild animal experiencing a natural disaster. I smirked at her innocent reaction. "Don't worry. It's not a dimensional collapse."
"R-Really?! That really surprised me! All of a sudden, a bright light flashed and the ground shook!"
"Yeah, I know. But you can calm down now. Everything is fine."
As I calmed Ainar down, Amelia came over to me and asked, "Just now... Was that Tersia's doing?"
"Yeah."
"...Impressive. So that's the power of a Floor Essence."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you get one later as well."
As I kindly reassured her, she turned away and scolded me for trying to placate her like a barbarian. Based on her expression, it seemed that she was looking forward to it.
"Then, are you all done now?"
"Oh, yeah. We're done." She hadn't tried out her active skill yet, but we couldn't check that here anyway. We would have to experiment with it later on in the city. It was quite an unusual skill, after all.
"Erwen, can you walk?"
"No... I don't think I can."
Since Erwen was exhausted, I decided to carry her. Before I could lift her, however, somebody came running over. "Ah! Then I'll carry you!" It was Ainar, who had been an expert at playing the role of steed in the old days. "Hop on! Any day now."
"...Okay. Th-thanks..."
With Ainar carrying Erwen on her back, we headed into the hut. Unlike the new wintery landscape outside, the interior of the cabin was the same as before, from the bookshelf to the dining table, the carpet, and even the small bed my feet hung off of when I laid down on it.
Crackle.
Last of all was the burning fireplace.
"Yandel, what do we need to do now?"
"We just need to go into the fire."
That way we could get our reward. Afterward, the Witch's Hut would close, and we would be moved back to the forest.
"...Bjorn." Suddenly, Ainar turned to me, her expression uncharacteristically serious. "I don't think it's a good idea to go into those flames."
What was she even talking about right now? There wasn't any point in answering her, so I simply squatted down and went into the fire first.
Fwoosh!
The flames were warm, but by no means burning.
[Your Spirit Resistance has permanently increased by +50.]
Nice, there's the stat boost...
I closed my eyes as I was enveloped by a comforting warmth.
"Huh...?"
However, when I opened them, I froze. I was no longer in the Witch's Hut. Instead, I was in a place I had never been before.
"Who are you?"
And there was a girl with the complexion of a ghost staring right at me.