The dragon hunter, Regal Vagos, was one of the members of the dragon tribe, cursed by a dragon after killing the clan's elderly dragon chief. Vagos disappeared after the incident, but about 10 years ago, he began his activities as a member of Hercules terrorizing the sacred land of fairies alone. His main weapon was a long bow sword nicknamed the Dragon Hunting Sword, and it was said to have a total of six confirmed essences: three rank 5, two rank 4, and one rank 3.
Only with the essences confirmed, he approached a typical swordsman with high stats. Since all of his skills consisted of strengthening himself, his class compatibility meant nothing as long as he had the right equipment. This information was from 10 years ago, so it might have changed to some extent, but the chances were slim. How could a criminal erase an essence?
So he must have crawled here for this one thing.
The Dragon Speech was what worried me the most. The dragon people's unique ability was said to be sealed due to the dragon curse. It was good news. To be honest, I was fucking terrified when I found out I was a dragon breed.
«This is all I know», Rotmiller concluded.
«Well thanks. It has helped me a lot».
Once the information about the enemy was known, I calmly organized my thoughts. As he ran towards our destination, of course.
Altar!
First of all, the dragon slayer, Regal Vagos, was an unexpected giant. If it hadn't been for the Guardian of Balance effect, I would have decapitated myself before even recognizing that the item was a jewel.
Altar!
Feeling chills for some reason, I checked the time. It was 8:57, about three hours since we met that bastard. In other words, in nine hours the stain game would begin. Of course, this was assuming he kept his promise.
Only 12 hours, huh?
That was the disappointing part. In response to my proud bearing accompanied by a warrior's oath, Vagos accepted the deal just in case, or thinking there would be nothing to lose.
If it weren't for that damn ring, he could have left us all day.
There was a big difference between 24 hours and 12. It was time to prepare everything we needed and take our last break.
Pf, nothing is coming easy.
I couldn't help but sigh, but I had to hold on to my will. Remembering the hopeless past - goblin traps, psychopaths, the Bloody Citadel, the Witch's Forest, the Lord of the Ground, etc. -, I erased my thoughts and inscribed a single objective in that place: Survive. If possible, all together, without fail.
«Bjorn, we've arrived».
When my thoughts reached that point, Rotmiller stopped walking. A dead end was in front of us before I knew it. We were at the corner point heading at 11, closer to where the boss's room was. Simply put, it was the place where the second middle boss was.
Click, rattle.
When Rotmiller activated the mechanism, the wall slid to the side to reveal a hidden space.
¡Whoosh!
The stone chamber lit up with torches as soon as we entered. There was only one difference from the 7 o'clock corner, where Baphomet appeared.
«Ugh, I think the other place was really betterrr».
The stone chamber was filled with piles of corpses with their eyeballs torn off instead of goat heads. I forced my way through the stench and spilled a drop of blood on the magic circle.
[The devil in the labyrinth has detected blood].
Well, ten o'clock.
***
[You have killed Argos. EXP +5. Kill a bonus top class mutant. EXP +1]
In addition to the intermediate chiefs' rooms, there were many hidden spaces in the Labyrinth of Larcaz. The rewards were different in each of them. Unique consumables could be hidden or rare monsters could appear. But what I needed was something else.
Another bust?
After defeating Argos, we searched the surrounding area and focused on finding hidden rooms. Not only was there not enough time to go after another middle boss, but, for my plan, I had to find that room.
Still, we found them pretty good.
With Rotmiller in front looking for the hidden rooms, we discover one every two hours. It was thanks to the Sixth Sense stat that he rose drastically after the dragon slayer group entered. The rooms that we would have previously overlooked and unintentionally, Rotmiller found without fail.
The problem was that the room he wanted had not yet appeared. Time passed like this, until the 12 hours I had been promised were coming to an end.
«Wait, stop. I feel something strange». Rotmiller stopped the group and searched the surrounding walls for a hidden room.
It slipped.
It was a stone chamber measuring 100 by 150 square meters, without any monsters or hidden treasures. After checking only the interior, I closed the stone chamber again.
Lo met.
Finally, all the first preparations for the plan were put together. I stopped the party. «Everyone, take a break. I'll watch».
«Rest? What could this room be?»
«If we survive, I will explain everything to you. So do what I tell you.»
«...Okay.» Even the dwarf abandoned his doubts before my determined voice. No, rather than abandon the question, it was probably that he preferred to trust me and not ask.
«Phew...» As my tired companions closed their eyes, I let out a long sigh. The other guys weren't really a problem, but lying to Rotmiller was already giving me a headache. From summoning the intermediate boss by dropping blood on the magic circle until now, saying that I read it in a book wouldn't be able to explain everything.
Anyway, I'll think about this later.
I took a long breath once more and erased my worries about the future. She was sure she could lie somehow, if only she would come back alive. I decided to focus only on the present moment and organized my thoughts for the last time.
Rotmiller had asked: «I thought you said there might be a portal in the center of the map. Aren't we going there?».
The reason for not going to the portal was simple. I'd be there twelve hours anyway. If we went there and Vagos thought we were trying to escape, the 12 hours we had gained would be ruined. I decided that the right thing to do was to make preparations at that time.
He must have started looking for us too.
The promised 12 hours were over. Fortunately, the first preparations were completed on time. Thanks to that, I was able to take a break until it arrived, but the situation was still bleak.
The success rate is less than 10%.
This was the greatest possibility he could calculate with a cool head. Of all the essences this bastard had, only six were known. Two or three veiled essences remained variable, and the biggest stumbling block of Karui's high priest was the same.
Aprieta.
I took out the shiny red jewel and held it in my hand. I had swallowed her hostage, but as soon as she was safe, I used the gigantization to vomit her up. It was the final reward of the Labyrinth of Larcaz, and the object that the famous criminal with the alias dragon hunter must have been desperately searching for.
Content desire.
No quería usarlo ahora si era posible. Este objeto debe aplicarse a una esencia de guardián de rango 4 para obtener la máxima eficacia. Pero si moría, no podría usarlo de todos modos.
Supongo que no tengo otra opción que usarlo.
Tomé una decisión. No sabía cómo se desarrollarían las cosas en el futuro, y este objeto no podría usarlo si no era ahora. Esta tranquilidad, como el ojo de una tormenta, llegaría pronto a su fin. Era mejor prepararse de antemano si era posible. Aunque quisiera usarlo entonces, no tendría tiempo de hacerlo.
Es un poco desperdicio, pero…
Agarré la joya con más fuerza.
¡Crujido!
La joya se partió, emitiendo una brillante luz roja.
[Has usado Deseo Restringido. Pasarás a la Sala del Equilibrio].
Cuando volví en mí, me encontraba en un espacio desconocido.
¡Whoosh!
A single flame rose to illuminate the space. I took a step and looked around. It was a stone chamber reminiscent of the Tower in Heaven. The flames floating in the air had a bluish glow that illuminated the three stone gates at the edge.
This is incredible.
That's how it was in real life. In the game, all you had to do was manipulate the keyboard and make your choice.
[Select the essence you want to replace.]
I carefully looked at the unique murals painted on each stone door. They were not colored, but it was not difficult to recognize them.
Step.
The first was a terrible monster with rotten arms and legs that moved close together.
This must be a Corpse Golem.
Next was something in the shape of a man with sharp fangs and sharp claws, with red eyes expressed in red jewels.
He is a Vampire.
Finally, there was a muscular warrior roaring with a gigantic flag in the background.
This must be an Orc Hero.
Each door represented an essence that he had absorbed until now. There were no instructions of any kind, but it was clear what had to be done. If I opened the door, the corresponding essence was replaced. Restricted Desire was a gacha-type object that exchanged an essence of rank 4 or higher for a random essence of the same rank.
Step.
Without hesitation, I headed towards one of the doors. I had already decided what to choose.
Orc Hero.
Obviously not there. It was only rank 5, but it was a basic essence that belonged to my final composition.
Corpse Golem.
Pain tolerance was surprisingly helpful, but it didn't help me much in terms of skill. I had been saving this to delete it later when my essence slots will fill, but another pass. Why would I do something as useless as applying Restricted Desire to a rank 7 essence?
Vampire.
Shortly after, I stood in front of the stone door with the shape of that monster drawn on it, and extended my hand. He had skills and statistics typical of a tank. Furthermore, since it had been obtained by killing a rift guardian, it was a rare essence with all three abilities included. However, thanks to that, I did not hesitate in my decision. There was a hidden item in Restricted Wish.
[You have chosen the essence of a Vampire. It is the essence of a guardian. The range of the selectable essence has risen].
If you offered a guardian essence, the range of the selectable essence rose. Simply put, it was possible to obtain a rank 3 essence by offering the essence of a rank 4 guardian.
That bastard is probably thinking the same thing, considering he came all this way for this.
The same thing happened to me when I played. When I ate a high-ranking guardian essence, but not suitable for my character, I would go to Larcaz's Labyrinth and aim for a gacha. But a rank 5 guardian? And to think that he would use this object to give it away.
Sigh ...
I erased the lingering remorse and walked through the open door. Before he could take a few steps, the straight passage ended and three stone doors appeared amidst burning flames.
¡Whoosh!
As the object had a concept of balance, each of the three stone doors had a monster of a physical, mental or superpower type drawn on it. Up to this point, it was no different than usual. But what was this?
[It is an essence that no one currently possesses. The Guardian of Balance has recognized its rarity and presents a new option that matches its value].
I froze as I inspected the mural. The first option was a skeleton mage holding a staff in one hand and a box containing a red jewel in the other: rank 4 monster, Lich. It was the typical superpower type monster that possessed a passive ability called Soul Chest and various destructive active abilities. Until then there was no problem, I just didn't understand the jewels embedded above the door.
…¿ Arco iris?
Previously, the Corpse Golem gate had a black jewel, and the Orc Hero gate had a green jewel. I assumed this meant the color of the essence. But a rainbow? Shouldn't it be the same color as the jewel above the Vampire's door, which was the guardian essence?
So is it really another guardian essence?
I quickly checked the rest of the doors. There was a rank 4 monster, the Soul Colossus, a spirit-type monster with no stats like Strength or Agility. All of his statistics focused on spirit. Likewise, the color of the jewel meant a guardian. Of course, it could be a matter of luck. Very occasionally, a guardian essence appeared as an option.
This cannot be a coincidence.
After confirming the last option given to me, the physical type monster, I recognized it. This was far from luck. There were still elements in this game that I didn't know existed.
¡Whoosh!
The jewel reflected in the flickering flame was red. In other words, he was not the essence of a guardian. But what did that matter in this situation?
Step.
I walked towards the door like a man possessed. It was incredible, but the mural on the door only meant one thing.
Step.
It was a rank 3 monster, and a boss level monster that acted alone. Simply put, it was a monster that could only be defeated by conducting raids made up of rank 3 and 4 scouts. It was the monster that possessed the best specifications among the monsters of the underworld in terms of its physical ability.
Garden.
I opened the door without hesitation.
Allujah.