[The Ogre Essence has seeped into your soul. Strength increased +140. Mana Resistance increased by +80. Physical endurance has increased +40. All tolerance has increased +10. Natural regeneration has decreased -40. Cognition has decreased -20.]
As soon as I opened my eyes, I looked at the clock. Fortunately, little time had passed. I was careful and ran away just in case, but oh well. After watching my companions sleep for a while, I pulled out a knife. Then, like a saw, I ran it over the back of my hand.
Slide slide.
After exerting force and moving it back and forth about 10 times, a single drop of blood came out. Seeing that the wound was not healing, I realized that my character concept had really changed in an instant.
Squeeze.
I clenched my fist in the air. The change in my body was clearly noticeable, but not as marked as when I took the Orc Hero essence. It wasn't that I couldn't understand it. The Vampire essence had disappeared, but Guardian of Balance continued to apply.
I will be able to feel exactly how much my strength has increased only after going outside.
I took some time to calculate the profits and losses, looking at the other side of the torchlit passage.
Un Ogro, eh?
The Ogre was a rank 3 monster with stats and abilities that made it impossible for a tank not to fantasize about it. However, its essence was not included in my planned final composition for a more practical reason than a matter of incompatibility. A rank 3 monster was already difficult enough to catch. Plus, out of seven active abilities, did I have to make sure the color I wanted appeared? Not only was the acquisition difficulty too high, just in terms of defense, there was a rank 4 monster called Steel Giant that was more efficient than this one.
On the other hand, Steel Giant has the disadvantage of not being able to use weapons.
In the end, it was a matter of taste. Did you want more damage or just focus on tanking? The difference in performance between the two essences was subtle, so in most plays I chose the extreme tank. I judged that it would be more reasonable to raise a damage dealer with the effort it took to find an Ogre essence. Indeed, the judgment was correct. As a result, I was able to open the original version of the Gate of the Abyss that no one else had reached.
But strictly speaking, Ogres are better.
Flexibly changing the cultivation method was the beauty of this game, and also the skill of the player. Anyway, the final combination was not strictly 1+1=2. Apart from the central essence, everything was blank. I decided on three or four candidates with a similar performance for each role, I took the one who came out first and moved on to the next. What I wanted was to clear the game, not complete a single main character.
It's a little disappointing that it's not a yellow essence, but it won't change the entire growing method.
It was a little hard to believe. Obviously I changed the Vampire essence in anticipation of the Steel Giant, but should I say that the result went further?
What are the conditions? If the essence of the Vampire Guardian is confirmed, will it be possible to ascend to Rank 2?
It was an innocent question. As a player, I was curious, but I forced myself to suppress it.
This should be 30%. No, maybe 40%?
Reconsidering the survival rate based on the new situation, I drew a new and detailed combat method in my head. To increase the probability even a little more, what could he do right now?
...It would be better to take off his armor. There's no way I'm waiting for us to get ready.
Like a swordsman sharpening his sword the night before a decisive battle, I refined plans and looked for better options.
The penalty to cognition is not as serious as I thought. If the strength ratio is that good, they won't back me out in terms of brute strength.
The detailed pieces of the plan fit together one by one to form a single figure. However, the more I planned, the faster my heart beat.
¡Pum!
The future was like broken glass. No one could perfectly predict the outcome. No matter how complete the plan was, countless variables would arise. From that moment on, he would have to improvise everything, just like when the Lord of the Soil was summoned.
¡Pum!
So, was there anything else I could prepare? Was it possible that there was something I had misunderstood? As if it were a test with my life at stake, I worried again and again without commitment.
After a long time had passed like this, Rotmiller woke up and called my name quietly. «Bjorn. Something is coming».
It meant that the time had come. I hurriedly woke up my companions and checked my watch. It was 9:47, about 4 hours since we took a break. In other words, there were about 38 hours left until the labyrinth closed.
«It's faster than we expected. They must have a way of tracking us».
I let Rotmiller's words seep from one ear to the other. It was something I already knew, and if there was one piece of information that needed to stick in my head right now, it wasn't that.
So it took me four hours to get from there to here.
All prerequisites for the new Plan A had been met.
Step.
Now I just had to roll the dice.
Walk, Walk.
The footsteps bloomed in the darkness at regular intervals. They came towards us as if they wanted to strangle our necks, slowly, slowly.
Step by step.
Vagos soon appeared. His companion was the poor cripple. The man must have been used to making another sacrifice because blood was dripping from his half-closed eye.
«It's too cruel!»
«Why would he do that to his partner...?»
Everyone frowned at the strange sight, but I let out a silent sigh of relief. He had left the priest at the doorway. If they had come together, we wouldn't have had a chance.
Step.
While thinking this, Vagos stopped walking an appropriate distance. There was a heavy silence.
«What, are you all alive?». He laughed casually. It was by no means the reaction I expected. It wouldn't have seemed strange to me if he had started stabbing me in the stomach first. What was this? «I thought someone must have died because my strength suddenly returned».
Those words eased all restlessness. That was why.
No wonder he's strangely calm.
He hadn't realized it yet. He thought I had still swallowed the Restricted Desire. After listening to it, it made sense why he thought that.
Until it continued. «Oh yeah. I assume you ate the essence of a Vaikundus?» Even in the midst of this, the guy presented a new possibility. I couldn't help but laugh.
I didn't expect him to be an idiot either.
It was a rank 3 essence. Although eight of us had to share the statistics because of the Guardian of Balance, the increase was incomparable to that of a Vaikundus. This guy must have felt it too. However, he had already decided on the answer he wanted and was looking for evidence to prove it. How could I come up with the correct answer?
The dragon hunter, Regal Vagos.
I wrote one more sentence about him in my head. Surprisingly, this guy was an optimist. But maybe my laughter seemed sinister to me.
He erased his relaxed attitude and asked me: «...Barbarian, you kept your oath, right?».
I stared at him without answering, with an expression that said: «Do I need to explain myself?».
It seemed like even this wasn't enough for him. «The object, where is the object?» He asked again. This time, his voice was tinged with annoyance. Although he tried to deny it due to the sunk cost, he himself was slowly feeling the fact that he might have been deceived. Finally, he asked: «...Have you already used it?».
I replied: «Oh, it wasn't intentional».
"...¿Which?"
«I'm sorry. I was bored and started playing, but it broke».
Despite my sincere apology, I trembled like a trembling poplar. He slowly accepted the truth. He had allowed himself to be fooled by what savages who had only honor kept and considered as valuable as their lives, a warrior's oath. «I see you had no intention of keeping your oath from the beginning».
The stinging murderous energy touched my skin. Like a Korean B-Barbarian, I straightened my shoulders with confidence. «So I said I'm so...»
«Die.»
When I heard that voice, the sword was already visible at close range. At that moment, he shortened the distance a lot. I was able to react in time because I was watching his every move as he provoked him.
Deslick.
Levanté mi escudo. No to block it, bell…
¡Clang!
I struck the sword with all my might. It was a countermeasure that occurred to me while running the battle simulation in my head for the remaining time. His was a bow sword. Blocking it would only open a hole in the shield.
«Dwalkie!» As soon as I pushed him with overflowing force and screamed, the magic I had explained to him beforehand shot out.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has released the rank 7 attack magic Cold Storm].
Fortunately, it seemed like he had completed the spell while I was chatting and buying time.
¡Shhhhhh!
Sharp fragments of ice swirled and filled the passage. It was so cold that chills broke out, even sticking to the walls out of reach. Ironically, at the end of the blizzard, I felt a strange heat. It was obvious what it was without seeing it.
[Regal Vagos has launched Explosive Furnace].
This was one of the rank 4 Lava Giant monster's abilities, an ability that made it immune to cold and fire damage when activated and greatly increased physical stats. I was worried it was information from 10 years ago, but I still had it.
¡Rómpelo!
I tore a scroll without remorse. I got it after defeating one of the intermediate bosses, Argos, and I should have used it to catch the minotaur.
[The Flame of Greed has detected fire-type abilities in the radius. Target designation completed. The Essence of the Lava Giant that Regal Vagos possesses will be sealed for 48 hours].
The heat on the other side of the passageway ceased at the same time as the parchment was consumed. Well, a rank 4 minus essence. I was wondering how the bastard would be now.
¡Shaaaaa!
Soon the blizzard arose that froze the entire hallway. The guy was perfectly unharmed, undamaged, behind a translucent black curtain reminiscent of a window.
«Is that all you have to use?». The bastard looked at us and smiled grimly. If he thought this surprise attack was the killing blow, it made sense.
I never thought things would turn out so well.
The ability I had just used was Dark Veil, one that didn't exist in the list of essences Rotmiller told me about. In other words, one of the variables I was on guard about was confirmed.
Only one or two unidentified essences remain.
Of course, it may have had other numbered ones, so I had to keep an eye on them.
¡Latigo!
Before I had time to organize my thoughts, he shot me again. Like before, I tried to hit the sword with my shield, but I was also a smart guy who learned from mistakes.
¡Voom!
The shield cut through the air. When I realized it, I felt slight pain and a foreign body sensation in the shoulder area.
Slash!
Upon checking this, the long bow sword that had cut the titanium shield like tofu had stuck in the upper part of my arm about two centimeters. As soon as our eyes met, he had a bewildered expression on his face. He planned to slice my arm, but he had only cut me this deep. The reason was simple.
Pft, do you know what my physical stats are right now?
The ogre's passive ability was Iron Skin, an insanely performing ability that doubled physical stamina and quadrupled it for slash attacks. If we had similar stats through Guardian of Balance, it was only natural that it could withstand even a long bow sword.
Mm. I didn't want to teach him this so soon.
Until the golden opportunity came, he wanted to block the sword with a shield and hide this as much as possible. However, at this level, it was possible to infer what essence this ability came from.
Looking at the top of his head, covered in burns, I made the decision to use an active ability that possessed the red essence of an Ogre, the first proper attack ability that occurred to me when I only had Meat Blast as an attack. I didn't know why this was what the guy with the nickname of the forest tyrant had as his skill name.
[You have launched Oscillation. The destructive power of blunt weapons has increased significantly in proportion to muscle strength].
Well, as long as the effects were good.
¡Boom!
I hit the mace with all my might.