Atlante, Burrow Island, was actually the most difficult section for someone trying to perfect a Barbarian Shield build. After all, I didn't call the essence here my second basic essence for nothing. Normally, when he reached this point, he only had essences of rank four or lower. Origin of Water Storm, Bayon's Transcendence and Gachabone's Risk Responsibility would be an impossible combination to achieve at this point in the game. A solo cleaning was not feasible and had to be carried out with the appropriate teammates and complete preparation. Only when I obtained the essence here did my combat power increase dramatically and I was able to officially start searching for a rank three essence.
But somehow the order had been reversed.
If I remember now, it all started with the essence of the Ogre. I was lucky enough to get a high-level essence very soon, and my growth skyrocketed from there.
[You have defeated a Mermal Priest. EXP +6]
[You have defeated a Lavitor. EXP +5]
[You have defeated a Submarine Guard. EXP +4]
[You have defeated a Nagaculos...]
All he did was run forward attracting enemies, but the XP kept coming. It was practically a speedrun. Of course, I had to take breaks in between. Even I didn't have infinite MP, and as long as Hyperventilation was active and doubling resource consumption, that was especially true.
«Sir!» While I rested for a moment, my companions caught up with me, collecting the mana stones that I left in my wake. «There was an essence back there, what do you want to do with it?».
Hey? Was there an essence?
I hadn't even noticed since I was moving forward blindly. I thought about it for a moment before answering: «Leave it».
It would have been extremely valuable if it had been the rank four Mermal Priest, but I confirmed that one did not drop an essence, so there was no reason to use one of our two test tubes on an unknown essence. If the essence was rank five, we would gain a slight benefit, but rank six essences were mostly a loss.
«Schuitz, how far are we now?»
«More than half.»
«You've only been moving in a straight line since we got here. Is there any reason for that?»
«We'll hunt down the suburban monsters later».
While talking to Amelia, Erwen joined in. «Oh, is it because of the competition you mentioned before?»
That was irrelevant, actually. I just liked to focus on what was most important first in order of priority, but I can't say it didn't have an influence at all. «Yes, just in case».
Atlante was not a Rift. Once opened, the portal remained open until the maze closed and adventurers could navigate it freely.
«What happens if we run into them?», Amelia asked.
«I don't know». I gave him my usual answer, and then added: «If they attack, fight. If not, pass by».
«I see. Amelia nodded with an uncertain expression on her face.
I thought about ignoring her, but ended up asking anyway. «Looks like you have something to say».
«I was just wondering which scenario you would welcome the most».
«Welcome?»
«I have said what I have said». When I gave her a look that demanded a more detailed response, Amelia continued cautiously. «Schuitz, aren't you secretly wishing the other side would attack first?».
As soon as I heard that, I had a visceral response and came up with countless explanations to defend myself. But I held them back for now. «Why do you suddenly think like that?»
«It's not sudden. I think about it more and more as I work with you». Amelia shrugged and looked at the navigator and the magician. I also turned my head, following his gaze. The two people at the end hurriedly looked away, fearing they would fall victim to my anger. The truth is that I didn't understand it.
«I never thought you would say something like that, Emily. So you're saying I should have let the people who attacked me first go?». Despite my efforts, my tone was a little nervous.
Amelia shook her head in surprise. «I didn't mean that. It's that...»
«Only?»
«...No, it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything», Amelia murmured and took a step back, and I didn't ask any more questions.
Of course it wasn't because I wasn't curious. What else did he have to say after those cryptic words? Since I didn't ask, I had no way of finding out.
«Haven't you thought about it? Killing people if they get in our way, killing them if they are suspicious, wondering if every person we meet is going to hurt us or not. Human life... seems like a game. We're crazy».
A conversation I once had with Baekho crossed my mind. It was a feeling he had been able to sympathize with at the time, but his weight was different now, especially the part where human life seemed like a character in a game. A hammer blow could kill a person. Of course, the target was always someone I classified as worthy of death by my standards, but...
«I was wrong! Please!»
That had been the man who made me get blood on my hands for the first time. The person I was when I met Hans A was not who I was now. At that moment, I felt psychological resistance and had to continually convince myself that it had to be done while raising the gun. For a while afterwards, the sensation persisted. The hesitation disappeared, but a discomfort dominated my entire body each time. I couldn't get rid of it even after returning to the city. His eyes and expressions ran through my mind, and he had to spray me with cold water and intentionally empty my thoughts. Yes, I was certainly like that once. And now?
The captain of the ship... What did he look like?
Now, I couldn't even remember the face of a guy I killed not long ago. The only thing that came to mind when I thought about him was his equipment and his expensive valuables, and the powerful joy he felt when he got them. Had I gotten used to living like this? Or had I slowly become the person I was now?
«Sir, what are you thinking so much about?»
«It's nothing. We're going to rest for thirty minutes before we get going again. You should rest too».
I lay down on the bare, muddy ground and looked up. The darkness of the labyrinth stretched endlessly from the point where the light around us ended. It was something so strange.
Now there were only four floors above me. If he overcame those obstacles, he could pass through the Gate of the Abyss and return to the modern world. But, although physically I was much higher than I had been when I was fighting on the first and second floors, that world seemed even further away than ever.
***
After resting for about thirty minutes and replenishing PM, we continued clearing the island with the same method as before. Simply put, I went ahead and finished off the monsters, while the others followed me and collected mana stones.
If I count all the suburban monsters I'm going to kill later, our mana stone income will be considerable.
Even as I thought this, it was kind of funny. Even though we were winning a decent amount here, it was nothing compared to the battle we had before. Although they were damaged, we now had three boats and ten high-quality equipment. It was the kind of money you could never make just by killing monsters.
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage taken back to the enemy].
When a Critical Hit sounded, the last monster chasing me disappeared in a burst of light.
I'm already in the boss room.
Before long, he had reached the center of Atlante: a vast wasteland with dozens of building-sized pillars surrounding it. In the center of those pillars was a huge blue egg, three or four times bigger than me even when I used gigantization.
It is exactly the same as the game egg.
I was about to laugh at that thought when...
[You've set your eyes on part of a legend].
My heart was pounding and I felt a strange sense of fullness, as if I was being filled with something.
[Achievement unlocked]
[Condition: Mythical Discovery (1/5)]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +10.]
But what...? Did my PM just increase? If that's true, it means that the game's achievement system also applies here... I must have already achieved a few achievements based on Soul Power.
He wasn't sure about it, since the Soul Power statistics weren't very noticeable, but it seemed like he would also have to start looking for achievements in the future. There were some useful achievements from the seventh floor onwards.
Wait, then maybe I should have brought the others with me too.
The idea came to mind, but I decided to bring them next time. Anyway, the chance of us getting a scent on the first try was low, so we could try it next month. I wasn't sure if the locals could achieve it the first time.
¡Shaaaaaa!
As I entered the radius of the pillars, a giant vortex enveloped them and blocked my retreat. In my opinion, this didn't make sense. Due to the Challenging state effect, my body would not let me flee, even if I wanted to.
Step.
As I headed towards the egg in the center, the vortex outside the pillars began to vibrate more strongly, as if the sea itself was enraged by my presence.
¡Bum! ¡Bum! ¡Bum!
The booms thundered through space at regular intervals and the ground shook. The loud reverberations became closer and closer.
¡Bum!
As soon as the ground stopped shaking, I looked up. Two blue eyes looked at me from the depths of darkness: the rank three monster, the Giant of the Deep Seas. Apart from Atlante, this monster could only be found on the ninth floor. Of course, up there, the son of a bitch traveled in packs, like garbage mafias did, which allowed him to cover his weaknesses with numbers and made him much harder to hunt.
«Serkima Dio Merder». Just like in the game, my enemy looked at me and growled an unintelligible phrase. He hadn't been able to tell it apart just by reading the text, but in real life, his voice was filled with contempt.
«Behel-ahhh!» I shouted the name of my ancestral god for the first time in a long time and ignited gigantization. There was no one else anyway, right?
Run.
Of course, the place he was running towards with a war cry was the center of the pillars where the egg was. It was the key to taking down the bastard.
¡Pum!
The egg kicked as if it were alive. Or, more than an egg, it would be more accurate to call it an egg-shaped heart.
¡Bang!
As soon as I knocked down the Demon Crusher, the giant let out a roar and threw his palm towards me, and I quickly retreated to avoid the attack. Risk Responsibility only reflected abilities that used resources such as mana or Soul Power. There was no reason to take a normal hit that couldn't even be reflected.
[The Giant of Depths has launched Torrent of Blades].
As soon as I dodged his blow, the giant activated an ability. Hundreds of jets of water flew towards me in a straight line, tracing sharp trajectories like bullets fired underwater.
I should let this one hit...
[Your Powerful Luck reflects 150% of the damage taken back to the enemy].
What, Critical Success from the beginning?
«Gahhhcha!» As soon as I protected only my vital parts and let the attack hit the rest of me, I heard the excited scream of a skeleton behind me.
¡Chwaaa!
The blast that the skeleton directed at the Sea Giant drew a much thicker line through the water than the ones it fired at me.
«Gaaaaaah!» It seemed like the damage had come because the monster staggered despite its size. He stumbled and lashed out with another normal attack. Normally I would avoid such a blow at all costs.
¡Kwa claim!
But was it because I had arrived here after having covered myself with rank three essences?
This is lockable.
He wasn't strong enough that he couldn't resist it with a shield. The blow shook my bones, but luckily the damage was immediately healed with Origin.
[The Giant of Depths has released Origin of Life.]
To recover from the damage suffered, the giant turned to the life force stored in his heart. This was one of his main skills. The Deep Giants that you could find on the ninth floor did not have their hearts exposed like this. They could boast an incredible healing factor and the imposing power of a rank three monster, but down here that didn't mean much. There was a reason I normally chose this guy as my first rank three essence.
Hit.
The heart shook weakly, smaller than before.
¡Bang! ¡Pum! ¡Bang!
Since there was no reason to avoid normal attacks, I hit my heart and hit it repeatedly with the hammer. The monster tried to use various abilities to stop me, and these were reflected in him, dealing damage to his main body.
[The Giant of Depths has released Source of Life].
The vicious circle repeated itself once again. The heart transferred energy to the main body, and the heart's defenses decreased thanks to this transfer. This process continued several more times.
Hit.
I hit my hammer on the heart, which was now several times smaller than it was when I first found it. The moment I did, I found good news and bad news.
¡Crack!
[You have defeated a Giant from the Depths. EXP +7]
The first good news was that he had managed to hunt a rank three monster more easily than ever. The second?
¡Shaaaaa!
An essence had appeared on my first attempt. But that led me to the bad news.
Damn sea.
An essence had appeared, but unfortunately, it was not the color I wanted. But that was not a problem in this situation. I looked beyond the vortex, which disappeared as soon as the Giant of Depths was killed.
He was wearing such a casual outfit that it was hard to believe he was inside the maze at the time. Her white skin and slim build gave off a refined air, and she wore platinum blonde hair up.
«Wow, did you really kill that yourself?».
An unexpected meeting awaited me.