First I sent Carlson to the rear just as I was finishing all the preparations.
Bam!
The wall of ice in front of us shattered, and the monster appeared. Tyrant Tarunbas: the guardian of the Glacier Cave, based on the rank 7 werewolf monster.
"Gwaaaaaaa!"
This guy had several unique features. He was 1.5 times larger than a normal werewolf. His basic skill set was the same, but his stats were roughly double. Most importantly, he had that ice club in his hand.
[Tyrant Tarunbas has launched Ice Crush.]
As soon as he appeared, the werewolf slammed his club into the ground. Originally, Ice Crush was an ability that compensated for damage deal to enemies in the Frozen and Frozen states. However, it was slightly different in the Glacier Cave.
Bam!
The vibration spread through the ground. It didn't collapse like in the second episode, but a layer peeled away from the ice wall, awakening dozens of Frost Wolves.
"Bjorn! This guy is different from other werewolves!"
Damn it, my name is Bjon. Since the mafia is dead, I guess there's no reason to correct it.
"Behell-aaaaaaaaaaah!" Using Wild Burst to draw aggro, I caught the club flying towards me with my shield.
Kwang!
A chill ran through my bones at the sharp impact. A thick layer of frost formed on the outer surface of the shield that had been struct. It wasn't the werewolf's unique ability, but the effect of that ice club.
"Grrrrr!"
"Woof, woof!"
Meanwhile, the Ice Wolves, having regained consciousness, also attacked me, clawing and biting all over. Even with the Hypothermia, the damage was negligible because they were rank 9 monsters. However, things would be different when the second pattern started. But I planned to finish this first one.
"Now!" Giving instructions to Missha, I also took a prepared object from my belt pocket and put it in my mouth.
[You have consumed Thunder Grass. For 10 seconds, lightning damage is slightly increased.]
Thunder Herb was a consumable buffed that increased all lightning damage for a very short time. Before the duration expired, I activated the effect by tearing the Lightning Scroll I already had in my hand with my teeth.
Crunch!
The lightning bolt struct the nearest enemy chained to nearby foes. It was a cheap, low-rank Lightning Scroll, so it was difficult to kill a Frost Wolf in one hit, but it froze the monster solid.
[The tyrant Tarunbas has failed into paralysis].
This was because this guy had a negative Lightning Resistance. This characteristic did not apply to normal werewolves; only this one was weak against the lightning attribute. However, it was a bit questionable why a cold and beast type monster would have a weakness to electricity.
[The tyrant Tarunbas has launched Fortress].
Shortly after, the monster used its second ability to cancel out its inability to act, but it didn't change much. It was a release, not an immunity. I just had to do it again.
Boom!
Soon, the stone Missha threw exploded and exploded. The in-game name for this was Storm Blast, something I called charcoal briquettes.
[The tyrant Tarunbas has fallen into an Unconscious state.]
The seven briquettes that Missha threw without hesitation exploded in succession and Tarunbas fainted. With this, even the Fortress was useless. Unconsciousness was not a state of incapacity like Paralysis, Petrification or Freezing, but was judged as an abnormality in the mental state.
Hit!
The monster that appeared with the title of boss was incapacitated and collapsed in just three seconds. What followed was really simple. Just like in the old days of hitting Legends of Death, all he had to do was hit his head.
Hit! Stab! Hit! Crack, Crunch!
As Missha and I continued relentlessly dealing damage with enchanted weapons with lightning attributes, before long, the monster's body broke into small pieces and dispersed into particles.
[You have killed the tyrant Tarunbas. EXP +3 Guardian death bonus. EXP +3]
All of that lasted about ten seconds. The Thundergrass effect ended just before he died, so there shouldn't have been a huge margin for error. I calmed my beating heart and checked where the monster had collapsed.
«But what...?» Carlson, watching from a distance, let out a deep exclamation.
Missha wasn't much different either. Unlike the Bloody Citadel, there were no fissure stones or any numbered objects. «Bjorn... Is this what I think it is?»
It was an essence.
***
«Uh, do you want me to eat this too...?»
I didn't know why he reacted like that again. When we discussed the distribution with Mr. Bear at the beginning, it was decided that Missha would take the guardian essence.
«Yes, but... I thought you were just saying it. Since it wasn't just the two of us here».
Oh, she thought I was going to take it away from her. What exactly did this boy think of me? «Hush. Hurry up and grab it before it disappears.»
«Kya!»
I couldn't bother explaining it so I pushed Missha forward. As Missha adjusted to her new essence, I approached Mr. Bear, who was lying motionless on the cold ground. I was a little sad. Although I assumed and prepared for the worst, I never really thought that she-
...What the hell?
I was paralyzed.
«Uhn...» Surprisingly, Mr. Bear was still alive. Not only did he retain life, but his consciousness seemed to remain intact. As soon as I got closer, I saw that he was desperately trying to say something, even with a stiff body.
It's been more than four minutes, right?
When I found out that Jencia's sword was a Snake Fang, I thought he would have died a long time ago. Listening to the previous conversation, I was convinced.
«Carlson! I'll take care of this, so check on that person first! There must be potions in the bag!»
«He's already dead!»
While interviewing Jencia, I overheard a conversation like that outside. That's why I caught the orcs first and then the final boss, before coming this way.
How the hell did they survive?
As we traveled together, I was able to confirm approximately the four essences of Mr. Bear. Two of them had Poison Tolerance, but even without the poison, most people would have died if their stomach had been pierced like that and left alone for so long.
«P-potion...» Looking at me, Mr. Bear spoke clearly. I guess the others heard that silent murmur.
«Uhh? You're alive! What relief! Just wait. I'll make you comfortable...» Missha, who was delighting in the aftertaste of having consumed the essence, ran towards us in surprise. He then rummaged through Mr. Bear's bag and took out a high-ranking potion. «I'll use the best one you have, so don't complain later, okay?».
«Just... pour it...»
«Okay!» Missha opened the lid and poured the potion on Mr. Bear's wound.
Chhhhh!
Only air bubbles filtered from the blood that had filled the wound, and it was barely healed. This was not a Toxin-conferring effect.
...She must have covered the sword with something.
I had my guesses. He couldn't be sure, but it must have been a Wound Exacerbation type poison that prevented healing and regeneration.
«Hey? Why is this...»
«Go on... don't stop...»
«Are you telling me not to stop? Okay.
At Mr. Bear's request, Missha continued pouring high-ranking potions. However, after pouring two bottles without anything getting better, he must have realized it. «A-antidote...yellow, tooth...»
«Ah, this! Is it the yellow bottle with a drawing of a fang?»
«Yes...» Mr. Bear had Missha take out the antidote. He must have stocked up on plenty of first aid items like a lone player.
I don't know about Giving toxins, but that's not going to solve the aggravating poison.
As expected, there wasn't a big effect. The wound healed at the speed of an ant crawling. Meanwhile, dark red blood flowed.
Chhhhhh...
Two bottles, three bottles, four bottles. Despite the increase in the number of empty potions, Mr. Bear's condition continued to deteriorate. It was inevitable because I couldn't stop the bleeding. As he continued to lose a large amount of blood, Mr. Bear could no longer give orders. He couldn't even feel the pain of the potion in its current state.
«Abman? Wake up!» Missha patted him on the cheek and shook his shoulders, but Mr. Bear couldn't come. «W-what do we do? Ah, the advanced potion! Bjorn, let's use it!»
Missha looked at me as if she had just remembered the advanced potion I bought. I took it out without regrets. «Move».
«Ah, okay!»
More than 1 million stones in a bottle. Even this would not heal the wound instantly, but it should be enough to stop the bleeding.
Chhhhhh!
When the highest quality potion that could even restore limbs was poured out, the minor wounds that had been recovering began to heal more significantly. The bleeding stopped and breathing stabilized. Of course, his condition was still dangerous, so I continued pouring the normal potions.
Chhhhhh!
Five bottles, six bottles, seven bottles... They weren't mine, but all potions from Mr. Bear's bag. He didn't know why he carried ten high-ranking potions, but none advanced. It couldn't be for money.
«I think that's enough». By the time I emptied five more potion jars, more than two-thirds of the wound had healed. Therefore, I stopped the treatment. At this rate his injuries would not be fatal, so I judged it more reasonable to continue treatment after the Wound Exacerbation effect had worn off.
His nerve cells seemed to have woken up halfway, because after screaming in pain for a while, Mr. Bear was now unconscious. I slowly got up from the ground.
«You've done well». When our eyes met, Carlson told me that.
I did nothing.
«Come to think of it, we haven't made the distributions yet». The crack was over, so we distributed the mana stones. After dividing the obtained mana stones by rank, I handed Carlson his share and he cautiously expressed a rebuttal. «Uh, I think the calculation is wrong...»
He's also a weird guy. I not only gave him a little, but a lot. But his reaction?
«Just take it. You couldn't even eat the essence».
Carlson's share was originally only 5%. After Jencia's death it increased to 10%, but I paid him 20% of the mana stones. It was the cost of silence.
«If your heart is heavy, don't go around talking about what happened today».
«Ah yeah! I will not. I didn't know if I would really keep that promise, but it was better than nothing. «But... why do you think Miss Jencia did something like that?».
«Is there any reason other than money to loot? Apparently it wasn't even the first time».
«I see...»
After receiving the agreement, Carlson asked that question before emerging from the rift through the portal. After going through so much shit, it seemed like he didn't want to be here anymore. He was chuckling when Mr. Bear woke up.
«Where am I...?»