«Sir!»
Just as I finished confirming the essence, I saw Erwen in the distance. He was leading the rest of the group. She seemed worried because it was taking me so long.
Tsk, I told that girl to stay still until I came back.
«You're done? Does something hurt?» Erwen caught up with me quickly and inspected me from top to bottom with concern. Amelia consciously stopped at a distance with the wizard and the sailor so that they would not listen to our conversation.
I guess he really wants to save him.
For some reason, that was the feeling Amelia's actions gave me. I guess sometimes ignorance is a blessing. The more he learned about us, the less chance the sailor would have of returning home alive, so he was being careful not to let him find out anything. He probably would have realized too that that's why I had them follow me at a distance.
Anyway, judging by everyone's expressions, it seems like they had no idea that Baekho and Fallen Scholar were here.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like they had disobeyed my instructions to wait, which were made with a possible encounter with an opponent in mind. Or should I say that I was glad that they had at least waited to break the rules until this particular moment? If a fight had broken out, the side with one more person would have had a better chance of winning. Due to the Challenge field effect, it would have been impossible for me to flee if a battle started. Erwen and Amelia no longer needed unconditional protection like my former teammates. They were powers capable of carrying their own weight in any situation.
«But... I felt manna on the way here. What was that?» erwen asked, detecting the remains of the mass teleportation spell.
I thought about it for a while before ending up dodging the question. «I don't know».
«Really? Well... I have heard of special waves of mana that occur periodically in the Cracks and other places like it». As expected, Erwen accepted my answer without much suspicion. He probably thought that perhaps he was just capturing a natural phenomenon, considering that this was a special area with little known information. Or he believed with all his heart that I had no reason to lie. Maybe that's why I felt a little guilty.
It's better this way.
Fallen Scholar was the bastard who had killed Daria, Erwen's older sister. Unlike Clown, he was directly involved in her death. If he talked about Baekho, he would inevitably have to talk about the encounter with Fallen Scholar. There was no reason to stir up his emotional state when he was finally beginning to normalize.
And there's no reason to talk about Baekho if I'm going to leave Fallen Scholar aside.
After exchanging a few more words with Erwen, Amelia led the wizard and the navigator. Then he asked a question. «Schuitz, did you get what you wanted?».
«Yes, luckily». I left it like this. I'd tell him about the deal later.
Once the conversation was over, we explored again. We hadn't been able to stop anywhere else since we traveled in a straight line on the way here. The other regions would be plagued by monsters. Among them were monsters that he had not yet defeated, and also others with essences that were sold at a very high price.
Step.
I took the first step. «Then I'll go first. Follow me behind».
Our hunting strategy was the same as before. I would clear the way and destroy the monsters, and they would follow me and collect mana stones.
This time, you should experiment.
Now that he had a new essence, he planned to perform a performance test on the fly this time. My body had not yet adapted to the increased statistics.
Being rank 3, I notice a big difference.
The Giant of Depths essence came with a unique stat that made the distinction even more notable.
[Giant of the deep sea]
[Strength +55
Physical resistance: +35
Natural Regeneration: +35
Mana resistance: +35
Darkness resistance: +55
Resistance: +40
Adaptability +70]
Physical statistics were averages for rank three essences and most were of high value, but it would be difficult to call this essence rare. All of these stats were very good, but they were also stats that could be easily found in most essences except Adaptability, which was at the bottom of the list.
The only thing he did in the game was reduce the effect of a handicap in proportion to its duration.
In reality, it was something different. Of course, the aforementioned information was definitely applicable.
Step step.
The Adaptability stat seemed to have been activated and I felt more comfortable walking through the water. Not that my movements were restricted in the first place, but now if I didn't focus on the sensation, it didn't even seem like I was in the water. Well, if I had dove into the ocean instead of coming to this place, which allowed people to maneuver without being affected by the water, the effects probably wouldn't be as strong.
Should I check passive ability now?
To use the passive that I hadn't been able to test yet, I activated gigantization. This was because the Profound Giant's passive ability only reacted with transformation-type abilities.
[You have launched Gigantization. Your threat level and physical attributes increase in proportion to your size increase].
With gigantization, the physique is multiplied by 1.77, which increases the threat level and attracts monsters.
[You have used a transformation skill. Due to the Evolutionary Shell effect, the amount of Soul Power consumed by the ability is reduced by half, and your highest stat increases by 1.5 times].
Additionally, Evolutionary Shell has received an upgrade.
[By the authority of the transcendental body, the Evolutionary Shell effect has increased 1.5 times. Your Strength has increased 2.25 times].
This was the key difference from the Barbarian Shield build I used regularly. Since the ogre essence took the place normally occupied by the steel giant (rank four), strength was my highest stat, even higher than physical stamina.
Wow, that would make it difficult to reach the third phase of the Evolutionary Shell.
Of course, that was only for now. It would not be a problem in the final phase of my cultivation. Once I got my hands on the essence of Bellarios, I would only have to focus on Physical Endurance when I increased my stats.
[Your physique will increase in proportion to your strength.]
Meanwhile, I changed Transcendence from passive mode to active mode and tried using Gigantization.
Slip.
When I looked down to check it, I could see beneath me the roof of the historic ruins I had had to look at before.
It must have measured more than six meters.
I would have to take exact measurements later to know for sure, but that was the height I got by eye. And considering that the essence of the Gachabone made me shrink, it was safe to say that it was much larger than before. However, although my physique had grown so much, my strength values were similar to those before activating Transcendence. This was because the multiplier applied to the Force had decreased by 2.25 to 1.15 times.
Still, it looks like the other values have increased accordingly, so it's not a loss.
The main drawback of using Transcendence as an active ability was the reduction of Soul Power, not statistics. There was a big difference between burning 75% and burning 50%.
Well, with my current PM, I can maintain gigantization indefinitely even with Transcendence disabled.
In Dungeon and Stone, the time it took for your MP to regenerate was proportional to the total amount of MP you had. I was level seven and had gotten some MP stats here and there, so my total MP amount was similar to most mages.
I'm finally on the right track.
In order to adapt to my advantageous, much higher position, I left Transcendence activated. Although we were underwater, the air six meters away had a taste that made a man's heart beat.
...I wonder how big I will become if I erase the essence of Gachabone...
It was still too early to fantasize, but I imagined myself using gigantization with my base height increased from two meters to two and a half meters. I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling that I would have no problem fighting Riakis, the Lord of the Third Floor, with my bare hands in that state.
¡Aplastar, monkey, monkey!
Imagining that future in my head, I continued brandishing my hammer. That was because Transcendence only applied to one skill at a time. In my current state, killing monsters using Risk Responsibility reflex damage and using direct damage took the same amount of time.
[You have launched Balancing.]
Even if they hit me, I healed right away, so I didn't worry about defense and focused solely on playing punching.
[You have defeated a Riu Moby Dick. EXP +6]
The monsters went crazy when I threw my huge Demon Crusher at them with my increased strength and they disappeared in bursts of light. But with how much I used Swing, I noticed that my PM decreased in real time.
[You have launched Soul Immersion.]
So I used my new active ability. Of the seven possible active abilities that the deep-sea giants had - including Blade Torrent, Life Source, and Giant Blood - this was the one that corresponded to the green essence, and it was something unusual. While active, it did not consume PM. Or, rather, should I say it was just the opposite?
Inspired.
As I took a deep breath, I felt the emptiness inside me begin to fill again.
[Your Soul Power will regenerate at a rate proportional to the amount of Soul Power you have consumed].
It was a PM recovery skill that did not need to consume PM. Instead, the ability had a cooldown, which in the game was about thirty minutes. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was a very good skill. You could use it when you were in a hurry and significantly reduce the number of breaks you needed to take in the middle of the hunt to regain your PM.
And more importantly, he can counter that son of a bitch...
The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos, had a Dragon Speech called Silence of the Soul. With this ability, he could counter it. Even in a state of Soul Exhaustion, I would be able to recover to my original condition by using it once.
So I have prepared more than enough.
Hitting the heads of the monsters coming towards me from all sides, I smiled as I remembered a promise I once engraved in my heart.
«Can you... win?»
The day I suffered my first defeat since waking up in the cold body of a warrior, I swallowed my helplessness and made a promise. I would survive, no matter what the cost. And someday, when I no longer needed something resembling a coincidence to win, I would go look for him.
«We will meet again, dragon man».
¡Smash!
That day had finally arrived.
***
On the fifth day of exploring Burrow Island, I finished hunting down the monsters whose EXP could only be acquired here. Even after that, we continued hunting on the island. There were tons of islands that he still had to clear outside, but the mana stone gains here were substantial. After all, this was a special level, right? In exchange for their high difficulty, most special levels offered good wins. Also, hunting here had been much easier for me than hunting on the fifth floor.
Still, I don't plan to waste time searching for the Red Rock Islands just to come back here.
Anyway, as I continued my hunting speedrun, I found quite a few essences. As a result of my slight greed, I was able to store a rank four essence in one of the two test tubes.
It would have been better if there had been a Giant of Depths essence...
A rank four essence was enough, but it was still a bit disappointing. There was more than one Giant from the Depths on Burrow Island. If you walked far enough, you had little chance of encountering one, but none of them spit out essences. That made sense. Unlike the one I found in the vortex-covered underwater temple, the drop rate modifications did not apply to normal monsters in the area.
«Schuitz». As I reviewed the events of the previous days, Amelia came and sat next to me. It was clear he had something to say, and I was sure he hadn't come to ask me for a longer break. «The labyrinth closes tomorrow».
Oh, so I was coming to talk about it.
It was the kind of short statement I expected from Amelia, but it wasn't difficult to understand the hidden meaning behind it. He even looked at the sleeping sailor and the wizard as he spoke.
I guess my silence and my lack of immediate response frustrated her, because when she opened her mouth again, it was much more direct. «What are you going to do?», he asked.
«We will kill the magician». That decision was too easy, since he had never planned to leave him alive to begin with. After all, magicians were not idiots. They were haughty and arrogant and did not easily forget grudges. «As long as the Magic Tower is there, it will be difficult to control it when it is in the city».
«I see. I see. AND?» Amelia looked at the navigator again and I got up immediately.
¡They!
Standing next to the magician's head, I raised my hammer high. It was a family situation I had already been in once. Hans A, my night companion, had stood on top of me like this while I was dozing. Of course that guy and I were different, in the sense that I didn't fail.
¡Smash!
The wizard's body loosened as he slept. It didn't even make a single sound.
«H-Heek!» The navigator must have woken up when he heard the commotion, because he immediately jumped to his feet. «I'll stay silent for the rest of my life! I'll stop venturing too». The man fell face down in a bow. Considering he was above him holding a bloody hammer, this was a bold move.
...It would definitely be a waste to kill him.
I looked at Amelia. He remained silent in a way that told me he would agree with any decision I made, but I saw a longing in the back of his eyes.
«Emily.»
«Speak.»
«Can you keep an eye on him so he doesn't get involved in strange matters in the city?».
«You don't have to worry about that.»
«Your reasoning?»
«I have already mixed poison into his food and have only given him antidote for one day». Her response was carefree, but that only made her seem more trustworthy to me.
On the other hand, realizing now that his life was under our complete control, the navigator's shoulders jumped. «Eek...!»
Seeing it, I thought about it one last time and soon made a decision. «Nguyen Rockrobe, right?»
«...Yes»
«Do what she says from now on. Understood?»
«Yes! Of course!»
So we added an experienced sailor to our group, without pay.