Chapter 139: Chapter 139 Awakening (2)

Awakening (2)

Awakening (2)

「The essence of [Ogre] seeps into the character’s soul.」

「Strength increased by +140.」

「Magic Resistance increased by +80.」

「Physical Resistance increased by +40.」

「All Resistances increased by +10.」

「Natural Regeneration decreased by -40.」

「Perception decreased by -20.」

As soon as I open my eyes, I check the clock.

Fortunately, not much time has passed.

Tsk, I hurriedly finished it and came out…

“…….”

I stare at my sleeping companions for a moment and then take out a knife.

And I drag it across the back of my hand as if sawing.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

After about ten back-and-forth motions with force, a single drop of blood oozes out.

Seeing the wound that isn’t regenerating, I finally realize it.

My character’s concept has completely changed in an instant.

Clench.

I clench my fist in the air.

Although I can clearly sense the change in my body, it’s not as drastic as when I absorbed the Orc Hero’s essence.

It’s understandable.

The Vampire essence is gone, and the ‘Guardian of Balance’ is still active.

‘I’ll be able to fully grasp how much my Strength has increased once we’re outside.’

I take a moment to calculate the gains and losses, keeping an eye on the passage illuminated by the torchlight.

‘Ogre…’

Ogre.

It’s a level 3 monster with stats and skills that any tank would drool over. However, this guy’s essence wasn’t part of my final build.

It’s not because it’s unsuitable, but rather because of practical reasons.

It’s already a difficult level 3 monster to catch…

…and on top of that, to have to wait for the desired color to drop out of seven active skills?

The acquisition difficulty is too high…

‘…and there’s the 4th-grade monster ‘Steel Giant’ which is more efficient in terms of ‘defense’ alone.’

‘But the Steel Giant has the downside of not being able to use weapons.’

In the end, it comes down to preference.

Whether to focus on damage as well, or to focus solely on tanking.

The difference in performance between the two essences is minimal, so I usually chose the extreme tank build in most playthroughs.

I judged that it’s more rational to invest the effort of obtaining the Ogre essence into raising a damage dealer instead.

And that judgment was correct.

As a result, I was able to open the ‘Gate of the Abyss’ in the original version that no one else could reach.

But…

‘Strictly speaking, the Ogre is a bit better.’

The fun of this game is to change your build flexibly, and that’s also where the player’s skill lies.

In the first place, it wasn’t like the final build was set in stone.

Except for the core essences, everything else was a blank slate.

I had three or four candidates with similar performance for each role, and I absorbed whichever one dropped first and then moved on to the next.

Because my goal wasn’t just to clear the game, but to complete multiple characters.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that it’s not a yellow essence, but it’s not enough to change the entire build…’

I’m a bit bewildered.

I was expecting the ‘Steel Giant’ as the best-case scenario and sacrificed the Vampire essence, but I got an even better result.

‘What the hell are the conditions? If it’s a Vampire guardian essence, does it guarantee a guardian essence and a 2-level upgrade?’

It’s a pure question.

My curiosity as a gamer is piqued, but I suppress my thoughts.

‘With this, is it 30%? No, maybe even 40%?’

I recalculate the survival rate based on the changed situation and meticulously plan a new combat strategy in my head.

To increase the chances even a little.

What I can do right now, at this very moment.

‘…It’s better to take off the armor. There’s no way he’ll wait for me to prepare.’

Like a swordsman sharpening his sword the night before a decisive battle…

…I refine my plan and find a better option.

‘The Perception decrease isn’t as much of a penalty as I thought. With this much Strength, I won’t be overpowered.’

The detailed pieces of the plan fall into place, forming a single shape.

But the more that’s the case, the faster my heart beats.

Thump!

The future is like shattered glass.

No one can perfectly predict the outcome.

Just like when the Floor Master was summoned.

But that’s why…

Thump!

…I wonder if there’s anything else I can prepare.

If there’s anything I’ve overlooked.

I contemplate relentlessly, as if facing a test that will determine my life.

How much time has passed?

“Bjorn.”

Rotmiller wakes up and calls my name quietly.

It means it’s time.

I hurriedly wake up my companions and check the clock.

[09:47]

About 4 hours have passed since we rested.

In other words, about 38 hours left until the labyrinth closes.

“He’s faster than I expected. As expected, there must be a way for them to track us.”

I ignore Rotmiller’s comment.

It’s information I already know…

…and it’s not the kind of information I need to engrave in my mind right now.

‘Right, it takes 4 hours to get from there to here.’

All the prerequisites for the new Plan A have been met.

So…

Thud.

…it’s time to roll the dice.

_____________________

Thud, thud.

The sound of footsteps echoing from the darkness at regular intervals.

They’re approaching us, slowly and without haste.

Thud-

Soon, he enters our line of sight.

For reference, he’s accompanied by that poor man.

It seems like he was also offered as a sacrifice while they were looking for us, as blood is trickling down from one of his eyes, which is crusted shut.

“That’s so cruel.”

“Why would he do that to his companion…”

Everyone frowns at the grotesque sight, but I let out a silent sigh of relief.

Phew, so he left the old man at the portal.

If he had come with him, it would have been hopeless.

That’s when…

Thud-

…he stops walking, keeping a moderate distance.

And a heavy silence falls.

“What the, you’re all alive?”

He chuckles and speaks.

It’s far from the reaction I expected.

I thought he would just stab us in the stomach without a word.

What is this?

“I suddenly regained my strength, so I thought one of you must have died.”

At those words, all the dissonance is resolved.

So that’s why.

‘No wonder he was so calm.’

He hasn’t realized it yet.

That I swallowed ‘Tempered Wish’.

Well, now that I think about it, it’s understandable that he would think that way.

Until the next sentence.

“Ah, right. You must have absorbed a Vykuntus essence, right?”

He’s even offering a new possibility.

I can’t help but laugh.

‘I didn’t know this guy would also jump to conclusions.’

Even if we divide the stats among eight people because of the Guardian of Balance, it’s an incomparable increase compared to a measly Vykuntus.

He must have felt it clearly too.

But…

…he’s already decided on the answer he wants and is just looking for evidence to support it, so how could he possibly reach the truth?

‘Dragonslayer, Regal Vagos.’

I add another line to my mental notes about him.

He’s unexpectedly a positive guy.

But did my laughter make him feel uneasy?

“…Barbarian, you kept your oath, right?”

He drops his nonchalant attitude and asks me.

I just stare at him without answering.

It’s an expression that means, ‘why bother saying it?’

But it seems like that’s not enough for him.

“The item, where’s the item?”

He asks me again.

This time, there’s annoyance in his voice.

He’s been trying to deny it because of the sunk cost, but he’s slowly realizing it.

The truth that he might have been tricked.

“…Don’t tell me, you already used it?”

He asks one last time, and I answer,

“Ah, it wasn’t intentional.”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry. I was just fiddling with it out of boredom, and it broke.”

Despite my sincere apology, he trembles like an aspen leaf.

He’s finally accepting the truth.

The warrior’s oath.

Something that barbarians, with only their honor, have protected even at the cost of their lives.

That he was fooled by it.

“You had no intention of keeping your oath from the beginning.”

I feel a chilling killing intent through my skin.

But I puff out my chest, as befits a K-barbarian from Korea.

“Ah, I told you I’m so—”

“Die.”

By the time I hear his voice, I can already see his sword in front of me.

He closed that much distance in that short time.

I was able to react in time because I was observing his every move while provoking him.

Swoosh.

I raise my shield.

But not to block…

Kwaaang!

…but to strike the blade with all my might.

It’s the countermeasure I came up with while simulating the battle with him during my spare time.

It’s an Akro longsword, after all.

If I block it, it will just pierce through my shield.

“Dwarkey!”

The moment I push him back with my overflowing strength and shout…

…the spell that was briefed beforehand is shot.

「Liol Wobu Dwarkey has cast the 7th-grade attack spell [Blizzard].」

It seems like he managed to complete the spell while we were buying time with our conversation.

Swaaaaaaaaa!

Sharp ice shards whirl, filling the passage.

Even though I’m pressed against the wall, out of range, I feel a chill.

However, ironically, I feel a strange heat from the other end of the blizzard.

It’s obvious what it is without even looking.

「Regal Vagos has cast [Blast Furnace].」

[Blast Furnace].

It’s one of the abilities of the 4th-grade monster, Lava Giant.

It’s a buff skill that grants immunity to cold and fire damage and greatly increases physical stats.

I was a bit worried since it’s 10 years old information…

…but as expected, he still has it.

Rip!

I tear the scroll without hesitation.

It’s the item I obtained after defeating ‘Argos’, one of the mid-bosses, and the one that should have been used to defeat the Minotaur.

「Target designated.」

「Regal Vagos’s ‘Lava Giant’s Essence’ is sealed for 48 hours.」

The scroll burns and disappears, and the heat from the other side of the passage also disappears.

Okay, one 4th-grade essence down.

Now, what happened to him?

Swaaa!

The blizzard that froze the entire passage subsides.

He’s still standing.

Unharmed, behind a translucent black barrier like a window.

“Is that all you were counting on?”

He smirks at us.

It’s understandable if he thought this surprise attack was our trump card.

But what a shame.

‘I can’t believe things are going this well.’

The skill he just used is [Dark Veil].

And this skill isn’t on the list of essences that Rotmiller told me about.

In other words, one of the variables we were wary of has been confirmed.

‘There’s only one or two unknown essences left.’

Of course, he might have other Numbered Items, so I still need to be careful—

Whoosh!

His figure lunges towards me again before I can even finish organizing my thoughts.

I try to strike his sword with my shield like before, but he’s also an intelligent being who learns.

Whoosh!

My shield cuts through the air.

By the time I realize it, I feel a slight pain and a foreign sensation in my shoulder.

Slash!

I check, and his Akro longsword, which was slicing through my Laetium shield like tofu, is embedded in my forearm.

About 3 centimeters deep.

“……?”

Our eyes meet for a fleeting moment.

I see bewilderment in his eyes.

He was planning to sever my entire arm, but why did it only go in this far?

The answer is simple.

‘Geez, just how high is my Physical Resistance stat right now?’

The Ogre’s passive skill, [Iron Hide].

It’s a crazy skill that doubles Physical Resistance and then doubles it again for slashing attacks.

‘If our stats are similar because of the ‘Guardian of Balance’, it’s only natural that I can withstand even an Akro longsword.’

But…

‘Tsk, I didn’t want to reveal it this early.’

I wanted to hide it until the perfect opportunity arrived.

Preferably by blocking his sword with my shield.

But someone of his level would be able to deduce what essence ability this is just from this.

‘Head.’

I look at his burn-covered head and make a decision.

It’s the Ogre’s red essence active skill…

…and my first proper attack skill since I only had offensive skills like [Flesh Explosion].

I don’t know why a skill from a guy nicknamed the Tyrant of the Forest has such a lame name…

「Character has cast [Swing].」

「The destructive power of blunt weapons is greatly increased in proportion to Strength.」

…but whatever, as long as the effect is good.

Whoosh!

I swing my mace with all my might.