The first thing Count Alminus did before even filing the lawsuit was to start a battle of public opinion. Why, one may wonder, did he do that? He was guaranteed a certain share of the loot as long as he filed the lawsuit and went to court, so what was the point of trying to influence public opinion? After thinking about it, I came to the only probable conclusion.
Count Alminus does not want this to go to court.
If my hypothesis was correct, then there was a high probability that this whole lawsuit was just a formality. Perhaps the most appropriate term for this would be intimidation or a scare tactic. I was turning the difference of our seasons into a point of contention, warning myself to align or else things would only get worse for me.
Count Alminus doesn't need the money.
It must be about saving appearances. Although he had not been a baron for long, he understood how much reputation mattered to nobles. In this world, there were only winners and losers, and letting me steal something of his would inevitably make him the loser. That had to be why he was trying to influence public opinion in his favor. And how was he doing it?
For starters, it's spreading rumors that I don't have the skills necessary to take on a Soil Lord with my clan.
Strictly speaking, I wasn't wrong. By laying the groundwork and claiming that I was not strong enough to defeat a Floor Lord without the help of the Sawtooth Clan, I could begin to pour gasoline on the fire.
Bjorn Yandel ruthlessly stole the Ground Lord's loot from the Sawtooth Clan, even after they tried their best to defeat the beast. Is that what a hero would do?
The count must have realized immediately that the source of the power of my new house was my reputation.
«Um, so you requested to assault a Soil Lord without discussing it with us first?».
«...¡Sí!»
When I went home and told them my plans for our next expedition, Amelia glared at me. However, the ice in his gaze melted faster than usual. He sighed and his gaze transformed into that of a father whose son just made a mess, and then he went into problem-solving mode. «Don't you know how many clans of five people have been decimated while trying to defeat a Soil Lord?».
«I know. I also know how dangerous a raid with only five people is, which is why most people go in groups of twenty or thirty...» And those twenty or thirty people used to be adventurers skilled enough to reach the sixth or seventh floor. «But do not worry. I have a plan».
In the game, the Lord of Terror was originally designed to be defeated by five people. Only then could the full reward for killing him be unlocked. Apparently some were aware of this, so clans of only five people had attempted the raid before. However, the groups that were willing to risk their lives in that bet were rare. There had been perhaps two or three attempts in the last hundred years.
But it's actually easier to clear it with five people than thirty, as long as you know the proper attack strategy.
That was the reason why I chose the Lord of Terror as our next target. Defeating that particular boss with five people would be an even greater feat than defeating Riakis. Once we achieved this, any doubts about my abilities would be dispelled.
Auyen, who had been listening to our meeting in silence, began to move in his seat, looking uncomfortable. I had been wondering for a while why I was present in this conversation, but I didn't bother to ask.
Yeah, I guess he's one of ours now, given what happened to us.
«Rockrock».
«Yes, Baron Yandel. What do you need?»
I told him exactly what I expected to hear. «You don't have to join us this time, so don't worry.»
«Ah... I see...» He let out a deep sigh of relief.
«So who will be the last member?». After sending Auyen to her room, we began discussing our strategy, starting with who would fill our vacancy. After a long discussion, we finally reached an agreement.
«Yandel». Amelia surprised me as I headed to my room to rest. «I think you're making too many enemies lately... Shouldn't we slow down for now?».
In other words, he was going around attracting too much attention and too soon.
«Take the account. We would have been much better off if we had avoided provoking him in the first place, or even if we had paid him the share he wants.»
Amelia's concerns were totally valid. The count, and many of the other powerful nobles who watched over us, had a long history of dominion over this land. Seeing me, a non-human, rise to the position of baron and chief of the barbarians in quick succession must have been disturbing to them. But...
«Amelia», I said in an unbreakable tone, «even if you are afraid of being hunted, the moment you run away with your tail stuck between your legs, that's when they shoot you».
It was a belief I had had for a long time.
Amelia just looked at me like I had gone crazy.
***
The next day, Erwen and I went out alone for the first time in a long time. We were heading to Raven's laboratory in the Magic Tower.
«Oh, are you here?»
«It's been a while, Raven.»
«I heard that you officially became a baron. I congratulate you. I tried to visit you, but you never seemed to be home».
«I've been very busy lately.»
It had been a long time since he had last visited his laboratory. However, unlike last time, it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
«...My lab is pretty dirty, right? I've been stuck with my unit in the capital, so I haven't been able to come back here for a while.»
«Thanks for helping. I didn't expect you to interrupt your rest time for us».
«Of course. This is an opportunity to study an essence of a Soil Lord. Any self-respecting magician would take advantage of the opportunity».
Well, she wasn't wrong, but there was no magician as trustworthy as her. I also tried asking Versyl Gowland, but I didn't trust her to help, since she specialized in magical tools and not essences.
«After you contacted me, I did a little more research on the essence of Riakis. It's quite fascinating».
«That makes sense».
«Well, then, shall we begin...?»
When Raven stepped forward with a disturbing smile on her face, Erwen took a step back. Although she had been quiet and obedient all this time, she finally opened her mouth to ask: «...Lord. Can't we try it without it? As before?»
Erwen may not have been excited about being treated like a science experiment, but she couldn't do anything. «I told you, we need the help of a magician to fully understand your new powers. You can do it, right?»
My persuasion must have worked because Erwen nodded. «Yes...»
Witnessing this exchange, Raven burst into laughter. «Miss Erwen, you are the same as always».
«I don't see why that's your business».
«Well, it seems fair to me. Then come here».
The tension here was so dense that I could barely breathe. They used to call each other and get along so well. I wanted everyone's relationships to go back to the way they were before, like the old days, before I disappeared.
When I was going to add Erwen to our team, I took her with us everywhere. And I thought she and Raven were slowly getting closer...
I didn't know what had happened to make that change, but I figured it was up to them to fix things. Instead of focusing on their relationship, I focused on the experiment.
«Here, put your hands on these bracelets».
They were the same bracelets I had to wear when Raven was experimenting with the essence of the Corpse Golem. How can you call those things bracelets?
«…Ugh.»
As soon as Erwen sat in that scary chair, the bracelets (?) they slammed off the chair, blocking his arms.
«Don't worry. I'm just going to slowly insert a magic conductor into your blood vessels to monitor your vital signs. We start?»
Raven proceeded to go through the initial stages of the experiment and, once finished, asked Erwen to use her new abilities.
«I know it's your first time and you may find it difficult, but try to visualize it as clearly as possible. Maybe it will help you to think of the name the Great Sage gave to the ability when...»
«I know how to do it, so please shut up. Let me concentrate».
«Very good then. I'm just a magician, so I'm sure you're much more expert than me at these things».
Within seconds of Erwen closing her eyes, something began to change. Outwardly, there was no noticeable difference.
Beep. Beeeep. ¡Beeeep!
However, the graphic of the magical device connected to Erwen began to fluctuate wildly. He had successfully activated the active essence skill.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has launched Fusion].
Fusion was a transformation ability similar to Transcendence, although it worked a little differently.
[All of his passive abilities have merged.]
While Transcendence affected active abilities, Fusion only affected passive ones.
I wonder how this will end.
I thought about each and every passive ability Erwen possessed.
[Chaos energy engulfs Attribute Strengthening].
Evan's rank five essence had a passive ability that enhanced each of the four great attributes: water, fire, wind, and earth.
[The energy of Chaos engulfs Absolute Focus].
The rank 4 Ritcanon essence passive ability he received from the palace doubled the damage dealt by all throwing abilities.
[The energy of Chaos surrounds Harmony.]
Rank Five Scout's passive Ertes essence ability converted Soul Power into Natural Power.
[The energy of Chaos engulfs Half Blessing.]
Kalban's essence passive ability, rank 5 wolf monster, gave you upgrades at regular intervals.
[The energy of Chaos engulfs the Eye of the Pursuer.]
Metcrow's rank 4 passive ability tripled all sight-related stats and adjusted ranged attacks accordingly.
[The energy of Chaos engulfs the Food Chain.]
Finally, the passive ability linked to the essence of the rank three Heaven Adjudicator monster - which he obtained with the help of the elves after the dissolution of our team - increased all damage dealt to the monsters in proportion to the target level. Although it was not as destructive as the active Breakup ability, it was a very valuable ability, especially considering that it was passive.
Since the Soil Lord essence is not included in Fusion, that should be it.
I had no idea what exactly a fusion of those abilities would look like. With the amount of essences there were in Dungeon and Stone, it would have been physically impossible for me to experiment with all the combinations one by one, even more so because I didn't play the jailbroken version of the game.
...Although I'm pretty sure I tried every possible combination of high-ranking essences.
I found quite a few powerful combinations that way, but getting any of them was more of a long-term goal than something achievable in the near future. The only thing we could do now was see what his current combination of passive abilities would create.
[The energy of Chaos fills the body of Erwen Fornacci di Tersia].
That's why it was essential to have the help of a magician. It wasn't like I could read the system log to see what was going on.
«How do you feel? Do you feel anything different?»
«I'm not sure».
«Really? Then we'll have to go over the checklist». Raven continued experimenting on Erwen, just as she had on me. Of course, the experiment could not be completed in a single day. «I've taken the whole month off, so please come here every day from now on».
With that, Erwen's calendar for the month was filled.
***
[The energy of Chaos fills the body of Erwen Fornacci di Tersia.]
[His Soul Power and Natural Power increase significantly in proportion to his level.]
[By dealing damage to monsters of rank four or lower, additional Chaos-type damage will be dealt].
[As long as it is active, all damage it takes will be avoided by consuming Soul Power].
***
Even after crossing the visit to the Magic Tower off my list, I still had a busy schedule ahead of me.
«A lot of people have been saying strange things about you lately. Of course I will help. I will do everything I can to put an end to those rumors».
I met with the lower-ranking adventurers I helped in the maze, and they quickly assured me that they would give their testimony if necessary.
«A fierce battle took place at the top of the Dragon Mountains and apparently even one of the Mighty Seven died. Oh, and there's something else you should know...».
I also visited Versyl Gowland to catch up on war-related information and anything else I might have missed.
«Bjorn! Let's go to holy land! They need you there!»
At some point, something happened to the tribe, so I needed to visit the holy land as well.
«...It hasn't even been a month yet! What do you know about being a blacksmith? To properly melt Mystium, I first need to prepare the right equipment... Huh? Weren't you trying to hurry me up? Don't lie!»
On top of that, I stopped by the dwarf's blacksmith shop to check on how the loot removal and metal casting I had given him was going. Even in the game, you had to make sure you click on each indicator frequently so that they would complete as soon as possible.
...Has half a month already passed?
I was starting to get more and more tired as the days went by. That night I came home late, collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn't time to rest yet. I had one job left to do before I could sleep.
[Your soul has resonated and is being drawn to a different world.]
...Very good, let's see.