Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Seclusion (4)

Manticore.

It was indeed an essence I had planned to eventually remove.

That's why I had debated between removing Corpse Golem and Manticore when I bought the new essence.

But…

“Um, Amelia… if I remove this, my Magic Resistance will decrease, and I’ll be vulnerable to magic…”

At first, I was hesitant about losing [Leap], my only movement skill, but the real problem wasn’t that.

It was the lack of Magic Resistance.

The balance of my tanking abilities would be severely disrupted until I could obtain Bellarios’s essence.

‘And I can’t remove Stormgush either.’

Stormgush was a 3rd-grade essence.

Well, I would have to remove it eventually…

But at least I had to clear the Submerged Island event first. That essence practically guaranteed an easy win.

Ah, for reference, I could obtain my second core essence after [Gigantification] from that event.

‘…Damn it, what should I do?’

I was lost in thought.

It seemed like giving up on disguising my identity was an option, even if it meant giving up on an essence.

There were some suspicious aspects to the royal family’s actions, but it might not be that difficult to clear my name.

They wouldn’t execute me just because I’m an ev—

“Ah, and I didn’t tell you this because I thought you knew, but even if you’re proven to not be an evil spirit, the royal family won’t be happy about it.”

“…Huh?”

“Why are you looking at me like that? It would mean that the royal family’s announcement was flawed.”

Ugh… this is making it harder.

I couldn’t make a decision, so I asked Erwen and Amelia for their opinions.

“What do you guys think?”

“I… think it’s better to hide as much as possible.”

Erwen was in favor of absorbing the essence.

“Why?”

“…Intuition.”

Right, she was talking about her sixth sense.

And then Amelia also gave me her opinion as I looked at her.

“I agree with Tersia.”

“Why?”

“There’s no real benefit to clearing your name anyway.”

What do you mean no benefit?

I wouldn’t have to remove an essence.

I was about to say that when Amelia continued,

“You’re not expecting your former companions to come back to you after two years, are you?”

Erwen also agreed.

“You’re right, maybe Ainar, but it would be difficult for Arrua Raven to return, even if she heard that you’re alive. She’s in the royal army.”

Presumably, it would be similar for Avman.

He joined a clan, so it would be difficult for him to leave.

And I didn’t have much information about Misha, except for the fact that she had become Lee Baekho’s companion.

‘So they’re not wrong.’

I paused the conversation and weighed the pros and cons of both options.

It didn’t take that long.

‘Based on the information I got from the Round Table, the royal family is going to issue a conscription order to all nobles soon.’

Most of them would just send their private armies, but I, as an explorer, wouldn’t have that option.

I would have to participate in the war myself and follow the orders of my superiors.

I made a decision.

“I’ll… remove the essence.”

My jump key…

_____________________

Now that the plan was set, it was time to move on to the next agenda item.

Which essence should I absorb?

As we discussed it, I realized that these two had something in common.

“I think Imp essence would be good. It gives a bit of Magic Resistance.”

“But it’s a 7th-grade essence, so it’s hard to find on the exchange. Dwarf Fighter essence would be better. It increases Bone Density like Ainar, so it suits you well.”

“Do you have enough money to buy a 4th-grade essence? Altsmolar would be better. It’s 5th-grade.”

“Ah, Altsmolar? We can’t use that. It has a fatal side effect…”

“Side effect?”

Erwen glanced at me and then whispered to Amelia.

I couldn’t hear them, but Amelia glanced at me and said, “That’s possible,” and didn’t say anything more.

‘Why are they both so interested in my essences?’

I chuckled and cut them off.

“Enough. I’ve already made up my mind.”

I had chosen the essence with the best stats and skills among those that could shrink my body size, and I had two backups.

“Erwen, you go to the bank tomorrow and check how much we can borrow using the house as collateral. Amelia, you check the exchange for the essence I told you about.”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s eat. I’m starving.”

We ended the conversation and ate the food Erwen brought.

And…

“…You’re staying here from tonight?”

“There are plenty of empty rooms, is there a problem?”

“I prefer to separate work and personal life.”

“Sigh, both of you, stop it. I’m tired, so let’s just go to sleep. Amelia, you can use any of the empty rooms.”

There was a bit of a commotion when Amelia showed up in the middle of the night with her luggage, but it didn’t escalate into a big problem.

And so, another difficult day came to an end.

“Mister! I’ll be back later!”

Erwen and Amelia left for their respective tasks the next morning, and I spent my days in seclusion in the dark house.

In other words, I slept.

Fortunately, we were able to secure a loan after three days, and we used it to retrieve Kraul’s Demon Crusher from the bank.

“…Heh, you like it that much?”

Of course I do.

This is my number one treasure from now on.

「Character has equipped No. 87 Kraul's Demon Crusher.」

「Total item level increased by +4,800.」

Anyway, that wasn’t the only good news.

The essence I was looking for appeared on the exchange.

Well, it wasn’t my first choice, but my second…

But it wasn’t a significant difference, and I wasn’t planning to keep it for long anyway.

‘And the price is reasonable.’

I bought the essence with most of the money I had left after retrieving the Demon Crusher.

I had already placed an order for a shield through Erwen, and I was planning to get the rest of my equipment cheaply with 1st-tier materials, so I didn’t think I would need much money in the future.

…Well, there was one more thing.

‘Please, don’t let anyone recognize me.’

I went to the church the next day, now that I had bought the essence.

It was the Tovera Church, one of the Three Gods Church.

I was a bit uneasy about going to the Leathlas Church since I had been there so many times.

“It would be even more conspicuous if we went together.”

“Have a safe trip…”

“Don’t attract attention by making a mistake.”

It wasn’t a large church that was easily accessible, but a small one on the outskirts of the city, frequented by ordinary people.

But I still had to remove my helmet to remove the essence, so I was a bit worried…

“Haha, you have a good build for a human. You would have been a great knight.”

…but fortunately, the old priest in charge of essence removal didn’t recognize me.

「[Manticore Essence] removed from character's soul.」

「Some of the stats gained from [Inheritance] have been permanently acquired.」

The essence removal went smoothly.

I paid double the usual fee and hurriedly left the church and returned home.

And then I opened the test tube I had bought.

「[Gachabon Essence] absorbed into character's soul.」

It was the 6th-grade undead Gachabon’s essence.

The base stats were simple.

「Sixth Sense +40.」

「Physical Resistance +15.」

「Darkness Resistance +30.」

「Accuracy +45.」

Stats that were a bit ambiguous for certain classes.

And…

「Bone Density +110.」

…the Bone Density stat that would turn me into a human.

And lastly, the penalties.

「Luck -50.」

「Control -30.」

Luck was a stat that increased the probability of random events, like critical hits. And Control gave you resistance to mental magic and status effects like ‘Fear’.

Well, it would have the opposite effect now that it was decreased.

“Oh.”

“Wow…”

Erwen and Amelia exclaimed as I finished absorbing the essence.

Honestly, I was the most surprised.

Our heights were almost the same now.

Amelia was about 170 centimeters tall, so my height must have decreased to about 185 centimeters.

Erwen looked away as I was lost in thought.

“…Is it that weird?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…”

“Then what?”

“It, it’s better if you… just see for yourself…”

Erwen pointed at the mirror, and I walked towards it, holding my loose pants.

But the sturdy barbarian warrior was no longer there.

Only a handsome human man remained.

“…This is me?”

Now I understood why Ainar was so depressed.

I looked so weak.

Like I would break a bone if I got hit.

_____________________

‘Should I… remove this essence?’

My reflection in the mirror was pitiful. Well, that’s probably why Erwen was avoiding eye contact and stuttering.

“Um… mister, what’s wrong? You look so sad…”

Erwen asked why I was depressed, and I answered honestly.

How can I go outside looking like this?

Even Erwen couldn’t look at me properly—

“Wha, what? It, it’s a misunderstanding! I wasn’t avoiding eye contact because of that!”

“Huh? You’re saying it wasn’t because you were trying to hold back your laughter at my pitiful appearance?”

“No way!!”

“Then why?”

Erwen answered in a small, embarrassed voice,

“Be, because you’re handsome…”

“What?”

She also has a very common taste.

Was she obsessed with me back then because she saw me as a guardian, not because she was romantically interested?

I asked Amelia to get a sample.

“Do you think so too?”

“Well…”

Amelia stared at me and then chuckled, turning her head away.

“At least I don’t have to crane my neck to look at you.”

Surprisingly, none of them seemed to have a negative opinion about my current appearance.

Had I become too accustomed to being a barbarian?

‘…Come to think of it, I do look handsome by modern standards.’

But I still didn’t want to stay like this.

[Gigantification] was based on my base physique.

This small body wasn’t efficient.

“Anyway, I’m going to test my abilities, can you help me?”

I couldn’t just stay depressed about my appearance, so I decided to focus on what I could do.

First, practice my skills.

‘It’s a bit awkward to go out to the garden in broad daylight, so I guess I’ll just do it in the living room.’

“Okay, I’ll help. What should I do?”

“Just hit me. With your spirits or abilities.”

“…What?”

Uh… doesn’t she know about this essence’s passive?

It seemed like she didn’t, so I briefly explained it to her.

(P) Retaliation — When receiving damage that consumes resources, there’s a chance to ignore and reflect the damage.

It was a passive skill that activated whenever the enemy used a skill that consumed resources, whether it was magic, divine power, or spirit power.

This skill was the biggest reason why I chose this essence.

Although it wouldn’t be enough to make up for my decreased Magic Resistance, it was the only essence that offered this kind of performance at this price.

My first choice was also another color of this essence.

‘Anyway, the probability was about 10%…’

For reference, this number included the Luck penalty.

Well, there might be a slight difference depending on my base Luck stat, but it wouldn’t be significant.

“Um… then I’ll go ahead?”

Erwen started attacking me with her spirits after I finished explaining.

And…

「Character received frost damage.」

「Character received frost damage.」

「Character received frost da… 」

「… 」

Huh?

“Erwen, try a different element.”

“Okay!”

「Character received fire damage.」

「Character received fire damage.」

「Character received fire da… 」

「… 」

What the…

“Wa, wait! Amelia, you try.”

“If you want. You’re the perfect height for this.”

「Character has been hit by [Asura’s Fury].」

「Character has been hit by [Asura’s Fury].」

「Character has been hit by [Asura’s Fur… 」

No, what the… What is going on?

“Aak!! St, stop!!”

Why isn’t it activating?