From Grade 1 to Grade 9.
Thanks to the characteristic called 'Persistence,' all kinds of monsters appear on the island. The chief literally spent an almost eternal amount of time on this island.
In simple terms, it meant infinite farming was possible.
However…
"Not all of them can be high-grade essences."
What kind of game is [Dungeon and Stone]?
It's a game where you have to steadily gather lower-grade essences first to grow and only then can you farm high-grade essences.
There must be low-grade essences mixed in each range. There isn't a priest on this island who erases essences either.
The problem is…
"The highest grade being Grade 1 is just too high."
From here on, it all depends on the chief's capability.
If he carelessly ate the early essences and just piled up high-grade essences later, he'd just become a trash character with clear limits…
"His weaknesses would be obvious too."
Of course, the opposite is also possible.
If he filled his lower essences with ones that are low grade but still usable late game, like my [Giant Form],
"Hm, but it probably wouldn't be that different?"
It would only make it slightly harder to find weaknesses.
No matter how much I think about it, that's all there is.
There's no invincible character in [Dungeon and Stone].
"Well, except for my shield barbarian."
Anyway, which side is the chief on?
I meticulously observe all his actions and effects for exploration purposes.
So far, what's confirmed is the 'Tol-Lafupa' [Cosmic Protection].
And…
"Looks like he has just one mobility skill."
At the moment they faced each other, weapons drawn, the chief's body split into two and moved.
Like a game lagging and frames overlapping.
Ta-dat!
But since I was deliberately observing, I could quickly synthesize the information seen with my own eyes.
Steam rising from footsteps.
A body wrapped in electric currents.
And…
Pew—
A yellow wavelength blossoming at the arrival point.
"That's [Lightning God Step]."
The skill is Grade 2.
Though it's hard to classify it strictly as a pure mobility skill. It's characterized by a quick dash like a blink…
Zzzzt-!
Upon arrival, it spreads a wide-area attack with paralysis effect.
Whoooosh-!
Greatly increased movement speed.
And…
"Ugh…!"
"Ma, block… huh?"
It also temporarily grants damage immunity bonus.
Just like this.
Whooosh-!
A nearby melee dealer flailed his weapon in panic, but it passed through the chief's body.
"Is he going after Elwen?"
Ugh, disgusting chief bastard.
He really just wants to keep us stuck in this village no matter what.
Of course, I had no intention to leave him be.
"The invincibility of [Lightning God Step] has two conditions to break."
The first is to land the first hit.
Probably why the chief ignores all other explorers and rushes straight toward Elwen.
The second is…
"Three seconds."
You have to wait for the 3-second duration.
Of course, 3 seconds seems enough time to plunge a knife into Elwen's neck.
"Well, it wouldn't matter anyway."
Though the chief charged at Elwen with fire in his eyes, my mind was calm.
That's because Elwen is in 'Focus' state right now.
"During Focus, all damage received is absorbed using soul power."
Elwen in that state is invincible.
But…
"We are currently investigating your weaknesses."
Since this is a key ability that might be used as a trump card someday, there's no reason to show this trick now.
Therefore…
"The character has cast [Eye of the Storm]."
"By the power of the transcendent form, the inherent abilities of this skill are unlocked."
I cast [Eye of the Storm] linked with [Transcendence].
Coincidentally, this can counter that skill.
Because…
"It grants damage immunity, not CC immunity."
For reference, [Eye of the Storm] does no damage.
It's not even a projectile.
Swaaaaaaash-!
A gust of wind blew toward me as the chief, running at Elwen, flew toward me in that pose.
And simultaneously.
Zzzt-!
As the 3 seconds neared the end, electric waves containing current spread around the chief.
Meaning the damage immunity ended.
Since I just used [Transcendence], I used [Swing] again.
"The attack range is tripled."
The hammer, extending like Yeouibong, crashed into the chief's body.
However, the chief's body defied physical laws.
Instead of being blown away, it stuck to the hammer due to the gust blowing toward me.
"This combo hasn't happened in a while."
I smoothly twisted the hammer's trajectory.
Then, like riding a ride, I spun the chief once around on the hammer.
Kraaaang-!
And slammed him down on the opposite ground.
Not only was he grabbed, but he also ended up much farther away…
"…!"
The chief slammed into the ground coughed up blood like he was vomiting.
Though his high regeneration would let him recover quickly.
For now, the shock seemed big and his getting up was a bit slow.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Oh, did you hear it from someone? I don't remember telling you."
"…"
The chief didn't answer.
He just glanced once at Elwen far away after passing me.
Tch, looks like he still can't let go.
"Wake up from your dream."
"…"
"You will never get there."
"Until I defeat you?"
"Tha—!"
I was about to say 'Yes' when the chief's form disappeared from my sight.
With my lacking agility stat, I searched for the chief's body again, only to see he had already taken a stance to swing a sword at close range.
Kraaaang-!
The sword strike hit the shield I barely raised in time.
From fighting with a shield every day, I knew immediately.
The damage to the shield was much greater.
Before, it was just some scratches.
"This almost feels like a dent."
Of course, I didn't question this phenomenon.
It wasn't that the chief used a new skill, but that I had just gotten weaker.
"[Transcendence] will have a cooldown of 1 minute before it reactivates."
The passive [Evolved Exterior] grants 50% sword resistance.
Using [Iron Fortress] raises it to 75%.
If the passive effects increase 1.5 times due to [Transcendence], it's almost immunity…
But sadly, sword resistance has a limit.
The maximum sword resistance any character can have is 85%.
Simply put, for the next minute, 85% was reduced to 75%.
"In other words, damage that was coming in at 15% is now coming in at 25%."
Though it's a simple 10% difference, the actual perceived damage increase is nearly double.
Kraaaang-!
As I blocked the chief's fierce sword swings, reinforcements arrived from behind.
"From now on, I'll help too."
"Ah! Ah! Me too…!"
"…Me too! Me too!"
Our clan's melee trio consisting of Amelia, Misha, and Ainard.
"Be careful. He's not an easy opponent."
I was a bit worried but we didn't retreat and kept fighting together.
Because there are things you can't figure out by just taking hits.
"Amelia Rainwails cast [Abyssal Power]."
"Misha Kalstein cast [Glacial Soul]."
"Ainard Fnelin cast [Wild Control]."
I was the main tank, and the melee trio used me as a wall, swinging weapons carefully like walking a tightrope.
During this, we discovered a new essence of the chief.
Kuruuruung-!
Dark mist spread around the chief, releasing electric currents.
[Thundercloud]
A Grade 2 skill that deals wide-range lightning damage around the caster and reduces skill cooldown proportionally to the number of hits.
"…Ugh, ugh!"
Still, only four of us, including me, were hit by the lightning, so the cooldown probably didn't reduce much.
But…
"The cooldown on [Lightning God Step] must have fully reset."
"Everyone get as far away as possible!"
As soon as the decision was made, I hurriedly pulled the melee trio back.
Sure enough.
Ta-dat-!
The chief's body dashed forward, wrapped in electric current, and entered damage immunity state.
And the chief's target this time was…
"Ainard!!"
Since the distance was close, using a grab was impossible.
But…
"Ainard Fnelin cast [Crouch]."
"All resistance stats increase 20 times for 3 minutes."
"Natural regeneration increases 20 times for 3 minutes."
Right, that was it.
"All resistance stats increase 20 times for 3 minutes."
A shining sword slashed Ainard's torso, carving deep enough to show bone.
Still, it's not a problem unless it's instant death.
"Natural regeneration increases 20 times for 3 minutes."
The real strength of [Crouch] is in regeneration.
"Still, one of us is out…"
Ainard was down early after only a few seconds of fighting.
But we gained something.
"Now I roughly understand the concept."
The chief is a lightning swordman.
Even if [Lightning God Step] is obvious, the just-used [Thundercloud] confirmed it. [Thundercloud] can be used publicly, but its attached passive is not.
[Conductor].
A passive skill that stacks when using lightning-type skills and grants additional bonuses to all lightning skills.
Anyway, finding this out was pretty important.
If the chief is a lightning swordsman, I could reasonably guess about the shining sword.
"Surely it's [Extreme Charge]."
A weapon enchant-type transformation ability, classified like [Abyssal Power].
Uniquely, it receives synergy from lightning but deals physical damage.
One thing leads to another.
More new information was added.
"If he has [Extreme Charge], he must have that passive too…"
It was like discovering four essences already.
"Why are all four above Grade 2 already?"
Is there a way to erase essences?
The average grade level is much higher than I expected.
But summing up to give a rough score:
"Five points."
Oh, of course, out of ten.
Even if the lightning concept is decent, the synergy doesn't look good.
"Well, just with [Thundercloud] alone, there are so many skills you could chain and cheat with."
Still, thanks to high-grade essences, the overall value is very high. But I wished the remaining essences were also high grade.
A character with broken balance also has many weaknesses.
"Okay, then let's call it a day for today…"
One.
As I silently counted the last seconds alone,
Whoooooosh-!
The whole world was dyed in light with a roar.
At the same time, Versil in the rear announced the good news to everyone.
"…It's, it's open! The entrance really opened!"
It was time to leave this cursed village.
The burning village and the shattered village entrance.
And the empty square in front of it where the explorers swarmed away.
Behind the chief watching over it, the village warriors appeared.
"Chief, all fires attached to the village have been extinguished."
The warriors reported on the damage scale and number of casualties, but the chief's expression showed no change.
It was natural.
It didn't matter if a few monsters died.
Only one thing mattered to the chief right now.
"I still don't understand how they figured it out."
Bjorn Yandel.
The most famous explorer of this era, chief of the Barbarian tribe — one of the six major races.
And a baron of the kingdom.
"…If only there was a little more time."
Like a mountain slowly worn ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) down by the wind, a ripple arose in his dulled emotions battered by time.
It was regret.
But he quickly shook off this rare human feeling.
"Chief, we'll form a pursuit team."
"Enough."
"…What? But…"
"Right now, we must fix the village first. That will… be safe, right?"
"Yes. As you confirmed earlier, it's safe."
Good, then that's settled.
Nothing has changed yet.
Though things got a little complicated, that was still the only thing.
The chief closed his eyes and recalled the fierce barbarian he had just fought.
"Bjorn Yandel, huh…"
In many ways, he was a beast.
In some aspects, more so than the monsters in this village.
"When we meet again, you'll be stronger."
But in the chief's quietly muttered gaze, a faint emotion surfaced.
It was joy.
-x-X-x-
It was the fifth day since the rainy season began.
We escaped the village on our own and made it back to the mainland.
[GROOOOAAAR!]
[SCREEEEE!]
[…Cough! Bark! Cough!]
As expected, the upper area was beyond chaotic.
Monsters swarmed around, fighting each other, splattering blood and flesh everywhere.
But there was a clear difference compared to the first day of the rainy season.
Crash!
Monsters still fell from the sky, as always.
"…But their number has drastically decreased."
Actually, saying they decreased doesn't fully capture it.
Compared to the first day, it was nearly none.
Like rainfall dropping from about 100mm to 1mm.
"Damn chief bastard."
There's no way he didn't know this.
He surely knew but just didn't tell me.
'The rainy season has to be dangerous so we keep relying on the village and stay stuck there longer.'
I thought he was a shady bastard again, but I pushed those thoughts aside for now, glad we got out of the village in time.
As someone responsible for dozens of lives, there were other things to focus on.
'Luckily… the chief didn't follow.'
Whatever schemes he hid, there was less to worry about for now.
Therefore…
"Form up in travel formation!"
I gave the order quickly.
"From now on, we leave this island!"
I clearly presented the goal to the group and moved ahead as the lead.
Then…
"Behel—laaaaaa!"
I blocked monster teeth with my shield, smashed jaws with my hammer, and cleared a path.
At the same time.
"Mages, gather as many magic stones as you can!"
Another order given.
It would be a waste not to, right?
Magic stones were everywhere, and leaving them behind wouldn't be fitting for explorers. Sure, before we had to watch the chief's mood, but now…
'No need to care about that anymore.'
I realized again that hammering things really helps in social life.
Especially because it clearly changes things in any relationship.
Swaaaaaaash-!
Mages kept casting looting spells, gathering piles of magic stones. Their contribution to combat was reduced, but it wasn't a big problem.
Thanks to the greatly reduced number of monsters falling from the sky, we had much more breathing room.
'At this rate… maybe no one will die.'
I was very glad, having prepared for the worst.
After that, I kept wrestling the most dangerous monsters at the very front, breaking through the path.
About ten minutes later…
[Defeated Steel Spirit. EXP +6]
[Defeated Baphomet.]
[Defeated Ainicorne. EXP +6]
[Defeated Mud Golem.]
[Defeated Celestial Tree. EXP +5]
[Defeated Tachyon…]
"…"
While slaying various indiscriminately spawning monsters, good news came from Ainard.
"Ooooh!! My soul! My soul! It's filling up!!"
Ainard finally leveled up, just when I thought the time might be coming.
"Now I have grown stronger once more!!"
Though 'stronger' just meant his soul power increased for now…
Still, it was significant news.
With the essence of Hiphramagent absorbed, he gained an extra essence slot.
'I think the Hext clan and Armin expedition are leveling up in real time too.'
Overall, essence slots rose from +1 to +2.
I took exceptional measures.
"Um… Baron! A Grade 4 essence dropped…"
"From now on, anyone can take any essence! I won't care about anything below Grade 3!"
Though the set distribution ratios were a waste, in truth there was no harm.
We didn't even have time to put them in test tubes.
Any bit of increased strength was welcome.
"Waaaaaaah!!"
This measure greatly boosted the morale of the explorers.
Like how opinions split when seeing a half-empty glass.
They began to see this situation of pushing through the pouring monsters not as a crisis but as an opportunity…
'Not bad.'
The overall atmosphere could be seen as positive.
But atmosphere alone can't overcome all adversity.
[KkiyoOOOOO-!]
From afar, a giant bird blocked our path, roaring loudly.
Well, calling it a bird?
Boom!
Ah, no wonder things were going smoothly.
'…They're not going to let us pass easily.'
I took a deep breath and blinked.
Unfortunately, nothing had changed from before.
I wished I had misjudged it.
Pure white feathers and fully spread wings.
A body resembling a drake, with a long neck like a giraffe.
And at the tip of that neck,
A face with human-like features.
Being a famous monster, the grotesque shape caused fear before disgust.
"This is… an Inmyeonjo…!"
Grade 2 flying species, the Inmyeonjo.
Our first major obstacle during the island escape.
It flew from the sky and landed on the ground.
With an expressionless face, it slowly scanned us, its eyes oddly elongated at the corners.
[Kkihihihihihi.]
Why are there so many horrifyingly ugly monsters in [Dungeon and Stone]?
Unlike corpse golems, this had a totally different kind of repulsiveness.
If you hadn't actually fought and built resistance against monsters, you'd have shivered at that face alone.
Without even giving orders, I shouted.
"Mages! Cast protective barriers!"
Explorers who had fought monsters Grade 2 or higher were rare even in this city.
But I had killed countless such monsters.
Even if it was just in the game.
So I was experienced enough to judge on sight.
Whoooosh-!
The moment mages spread translucent shields like umbrellas over their heads,
The whites of the Inmyeonjo's eyes turned black.
And…
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Song of Doom]."
Bright yellow pillars of light fell from the sky.
Countless in number.
Kabang! Kabangkkaang! Kbaaaang-!
Like the sky's wrath raining down judgment, pillars of light struck for about ten seconds, devastating the surroundings.
Though the damage wasn't very high compared to the effect, it couldn't break through the barrier.
But…
[Kkihihihihi-!]
From where the light pillars fell, baby Inmyeonjos stood up.
They were token-type summoned monsters…
"What are you doing! Kill those first!"
From now on it was a race against time.
Those baby Inmyeonjos fully grow in one minute and start using skills.
In theory, they could multiply infinitely?
Once those babies start using [Song of Doom], there'd really be no answer—
"Yandel, give the orders!"
Ah, yes, now's no time to think alone.
"Elwen…"
I instinctively tried to call Elwen first, but stopped myself.
Because she was in a retire state.
Having used all her MP escaping the village, she couldn't intervene in battle now.
But…
'…Since when have I relied only on Elwen?'
The barbarian spirit is to bite with the jawbone if there are no gums.
"Emily, Misha! You two follow me! Ainard, guard the main force… Versil! You handle all rear support, judge and act as you see fit!"
I dashed forward as Amelia and Misha closely followed behind.
Amelia was on the right, Misha on the left.
'Uh, wait a minute.'
This position is…?
"Yandel, let me warn you in advance."
"…Hm?"
"If you try that again… I will definitely kill you."
Tch, no luck again.
"…That won't happen."
"I'm… fine with it…"
Regardless of Misha's permission, I couldn't forcibly merge if one side was shaking like that.
Besides, she wasn't huge like Hiphramagent, so no good excuse.
Boom!
Using [Transcendence] combined with [Giant Form], my size was just about the same height as hers.
Judging by how she stared at me like love at first sight, I seemed to have the aggro well.
"Behel—laaaaaa!"
I charged in and slammed a shield charge.
[Kyaaak!]
The Inmyeonjo staggered from the heavy body ram.
Seizing the chance, Misha and Amelia spread wide and started attacking mainly the lower body.
And simultaneously.
Flash!
Light burst from the Inmyeonjo's darkened eyes.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Mark of Destruction]."
I knew it would target me.
Flame burst!
A wave of burning pain surged from its core.
"The character's health decreases by 1% per second."
So, theoretically, I'd die after 100 seconds?
'Still, what a messed-up skill.'
[Mark of Destruction].
A single-target curse skill that cannot be evaded or blocked.
But it has no duration limit.
Simply put, once hit, the curse lasts until either the monster or I die.
The strategy is simple.
"Uaaaaaah!!"
With natural regeneration and priest care, just endure it.
"Yandel! Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me, just swing your sword!"
The Inmyeonjo itself was designed to be unbeatable in a long fight.
So I tried to take aggro and create an environment where dealers could just attack.
Soon, not only the melee line but also ranged dealers joined to focus fire.
[Kkihihihi…]
As the battle dragged on, the Inmyeonjo used other skills one after another.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Disguise]."
The giant face on its massive body instantly changed into another person's face.
Though much bigger than the original, it was easy to recognize.
"Oh! It's Emily! The monster turned into Emily!"
[Disguise].
A skill that randomly casts one skill of a character within its range.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Self-Replication]."
Damn…
'Of all ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) skills, it had to take that one.'
"Oh! There are two Emilys… no, three!!!"
Suddenly the boss mob multiplied.
Meanwhile, the clone used a skill anew.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Song of Doom]."
Another pillar of light fell.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Mark of Destruction]."
"The character's health decreases by 2% per second."
Phew, that's double stack already.
Will the priest manage?
A pointless worry.
'Why does bad news always come in a row?'
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Song of Doom]."
One of the fully grown baby Inmyeonjos cast a skill.
And then.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Mark of Destruction]."
"The character's health decreases by 3% per second."
Triple stack now.
Ha… at this rate, the priest can't cover everything.
The situation was getting worse, but once cursed by [Mark of Destruction], escape was impossible.
There was only one answer.
"Die already, damn it!!"
Proud as a K-Barbarian, I charged desperately, taking after General Yi Sun-sin's spirit.
"The character's health is below 50%."
"Due to the passive skill [Hero's Path], all resistances and defenses are increased."
With little time left, I fought even harder.
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Guide]."
"The Inmyeonjo cast [Guardian Spirit]."
As the battle intensified, the Inmyeonjo raged wildly.
And after some time…
"The character's health is below 20%."
"Due to the passive skill [Hero's Path], resistance and defense bonuses reach maximum."
I instinctively felt the fight would end soon, whichever side won.
Boom!
Four pieces of news were added.
To sum up, there were two good and two bad news…
First, the good news, very simple.
"Defeated Inmyeonjo +EXP 8"
First, the Inmyeonjo was finally dead.
And…
"No.9999 Beginner's Luck has activated."
Second, an essence dropped.
The essence was white in color.
'That's [Disguise].'
Unlike [Song of Doom], it can't be strengthened as a core essence, but it has great versatility, so it was a decent essence.
But here came the bad news…
"W-What?!"
"A spear…? Why a spear all of a sudden…"
Was it bad that we didn't get the last hit on the Inmyeonjo?
Boom!
Something emerged from the darkness, pierced the Inmyeonjo's head, and grabbed a giant spear stuck in the ground.
It wasn't hard to recognize.
A small(?) figure about 3 meters tall.
A humanoid shape with smooth, statue-like rock-colored skin.
"Titanus…! It's Titanus!"
Another Grade 2 monster appeared.
That was the first bad news.
And the second…
'Damn it.'
A red spear held by Titanus.
No.7 Mirayel's Verdant Spear.
'I can't believe that bastard is holding it…'
I couldn't understand it, but still accepted the fact calmly.
"The heavenly spear bearer Mirayel, guardian of the rift, is greatly angered."
A Rift Guardian.
-x-X-x-
The City of Light, Kalheum, one of the eighth floor's cracks.
And there, the Rift Guardian who appears in the final boss room.
The Heavenly Spear Bearer, Mirayel.
I don't know why this guy showed up in a normal field.
But to summarize about him:
The biggest feature is that, despite being a monster, he uses Numbers items.
And…
"The drop rate for the Verdant Spear is less than 3%."
He drops other Numbers items too, but among single Numbers, the 'Verdant Spear' drops with the highest chance.
I remember farming him a lot when raising a spear barbarian since the Verdant Spear is the graduation weapon for spear users in most cases.
Separately, the essence itself was also very good.
"But anyway, putting aside why he's here for now."
As I said before, if we can kill him, the rewards will be great.
Essences dropping would be huge, and weapon drops would be too.
However, the problem is our current condition.
"We can't kill him."
I quickly made that judgment.
He's not impossible for our power to handle.
But the situation is really bad.
"First, the priest basically can't do her job anymore…"
The main dealer, Elwen, is also groaning.
Not just that.
Fortunately, no one's died yet, but everyone is already quite exhausted…
[Cough! Bark! Bark!]
[GROOOOAAAR!]
Monsters still swarm around us.
Realistically, survival is more important than rewards now.
"Yandel, what are we going to do?"
Amelia said in a grim voice.
There was no need to decide.
"We rush toward the coast from now on."
"The coast…? Ah, you mean to escape—"
"I mean we rush toward the coast."
"…"
There was no other choice for us.
But…
"Before that, we have to do what we have to do."
Even if we run, we must decide quickly first.
Because we can't just leave behind Grade 2 essences on the ground.
"Putting them in test tubes is impossible."
It's greedy, but too risky to even try.
It takes quite some time to put essences in test tubes.
And during that time, accidents are very likely.
So in the end, we have to put them inside someone's body before running…
"But who do we feed them to?"
I pondered but quickly made a decision.
Then…
Kwaaang-!
Mirayel dashed, and I blocked his thrusting spear with my shield while shouting.
"Muul Armin!"
The leader of the Armin Expedition, Muul Armin.
A peculiar explorer who is both a clan leader and a necromancer specialized in curses.
Honestly, it stung a bit to hand over such a valuable thing to this stranger…
"Take the Inmyeonjo essence."
No matter how I think about it, he's the perfect choice.
He seems to have leveled up recently and gained an essence slot.
"…What?"
"Didn't you hear me? Hurry! There's no time!"
The guy who looked dazed finally snapped out of it and ran forward, while Amelia protected him to get safely to the essence.
"Are you really sure? I'm not even the baron's companion…"
What the hell is he saying?
I'm already busy enough with this spear bastard.
"It doesn't matter, hurry!"
"Yes, sir!"
After urging him, Muul Armin absorbed the essence with a reach of his hand.
Okay, now we've got everything we can…
Glancing sideways to confirm the essence absorption finished, I pushed Mirayel away with all my strength to create distance.
Then quickly gave new orders.
"What are you waiting for? Form up in travel formation!"
"…"
"From now, full power dash toward the coast!"
"…Yes…?"
Why do they all seem so slow to understand?
"We're running!"
"Ah, yes…! Everyone form travel formation! From now on, full power retreat!"
Tch, the barbarian baron's dignity is all gone.
"Hoo, hoo…"
I exhaled hot breath as I ran forward.
Of course, this time I wasn't in the lead but at the very back of the main force.
Because when something's chasing you, the rear is the most dangerous.
[You shall not escape, mortal.]
That line, always spoken before battles in-game, was uttered properly in real life too.
The problem was it repeated the same phrase like a parrot.
'Ugh, how many times is that now?'
I tried talking to it a few times while running away experimentally, but never got a proper answer. Honestly, I'm not even sure it's truly intelligent anymore.
'The chief's village monsters definitely seemed intelligent though.'
I realized again that the chief's village was unusual.
Because most monsters felt like this.
Even Cambormier the Vampire Duke of the Blood Fortress.
And the Doom Knights from the White Temple also spoke but couldn't communicate—
"The Heavenly Spear Bearer Mirayel cast [Return]."
Damn, I was thinking.
Whiiish-!
The threatening sound of a pierce came from behind, and I turned, raising my shield to cover my upper body.
Kwaaaaang-!
Ugh, that damn spear.
I could feel my shield breaking a little each time I blocked in real time.
Since it's a single Numbers weapon with skills applied, it's just torture.
"Well, at least it only uses one skill, so it's not too bad."
For reference, this happens because Mirayel has the 'Guardian' trait.
Rift Guardians have fixed patterns.
They repeat the same actions unless you cross certain checkpoints, like losing HP or activating nearby devices.
"If it was just a regular 'Titanus,' it wouldn't even be able to escape like this."
Still, that doesn't mean he's an easy opponent.
The skill he uses in the first phase is not something to underestimate.
"The Heavenly Spear Bearer Mirayel cast [Return]."
[Return].
A very simple throwing skill with no evade check and increased damage.
But it has a very annoying property.
"The Heavenly Spear Bearer Mirayel retrieved the Verdant Spear."
No matter the distance after throwing, after a certain time the weapon returns to the thrower's hand.
And…
"Until the battle ends, [Return]'s power slightly increases."
It's kind of a stacking skill.
The more this pattern repeats, the stronger it gets.
Because of that…
Kwaaaaaaang-!
Holes were piercing the shield that had blocked the chief's sword too.
Hah, it's hard to repair the shield here.
I sighed looking at the battered shield, then quickly checked the situation ahead.
Though I was at the very back, thanks to [Giant Form] I had a vantage point looking down and could easily watch the front.
"Surprisingly, things are going well."
I didn't want the formation to collapse or the path-breaking to fail just because I dropped out of the lead.
No, I actually expected this kind of scene.
Yet why did I feel a bit empty?
"Whatever… I'll just do my part."
Whether anyone notices or not, it's a warrior's duty to silently do their job.
After following behind the main force, taking charge of marking Mirayel's spear attacks, how much time passed?
"The sea!"
Among the dense giant trees, a cliff appeared, and when I jumped down, the coast I saw when first arriving at this island appeared—
"The Heavenly Spear Bearer Mirayel cast [Return]."
Ah, seriously, doesn't he ever get tired?
As soon as the spear that pierced my shield disappeared in a flash of light, another flew in.
Thunk-!
But for some reason, this time pain surged from my shoulder.
I thought I blocked it on time with my shield…
"Ah."
The holes in the shield allowed it to pass through.
"Bjorn!"
"Yandel! Are you okay?"
Misha and Amelia, who were at the front, rushed to me in surprise.
Also, Versil hastily took out a potion to replace the priest who was out of holy power.
But I rejected all their concerns.
"Later. First, we get the ship afloat."
"Ah…"
Since there was still quite some time before the spear returned, I rushed through the crowd to the coast.
"Uh…"
"Uh huh…"
"Is that… okay?"
The explorers busy breaking through the path looked shocked when they saw me.
Well, it's strange not to be shocked with a giant barbarian running around with a spear that big stuck in his shoulder.
Shuaaaaah-!
Quickly summoning the ship, I grabbed explorers with my hands while in [Giant Form] and placed them on deck.
After everyone boarded, I returned to original size, got on the ship, and poured magic stones into the magitech propulsion device, setting off.
Just as we started to breathe a little easier with the ship quickly moving away from the island—
"The Heavenly Spear Bearer Mirayel cast [Return]."
Once more, a spear flew and pierced my abdomen.
"Hey, Yandel…!"
"Baron!!"
Ugh, damn…
Clutching my aching belly and bending over, I glared at the figure standing on the coast.
Yeah, I clearly remembered his face…
"See you next time."
Barbarians never forget their enemies.
Swaaaaaaah-!
The ship sailed through silver waves.
With this many people on board, the deck was cramped, but no one complained.
After all, there was somewhere to sit and rest.
Everyone relaxed contentedly with the current situation. Of course, some explorers had dark shadows on their faces.
"One death…"
During the island escape, one warrior of the Hext clan died.
Phew… it's always the warrior who dies in moments like this.
As a fellow warrior, I can't help but feel bitter whenever I hear such news.
"I hate to say it, but it's a miracle only one died."
"Yeah, I guess so. What was the name of the dead?"
"Shellianne Emertown."
As soon as I heard the name, her face came to mind.
Though I hadn't talked much with her socially, she was a rare female warrior in this field, so she stood out.
She always had a loud cheerful smile.
"The body?"
"We recovered and brought it back."
"Thank goodness…"
After that conversation, I gathered the explorers and said we should hold a funeral for the deceased.
Everyone was tired and worn out, but no one opposed.
Fwaaaarrrk-!
Of course, funerals held inside a labyrinth, especially on a ship, were simple.
We laid a fireproof cloth, burned the corpse, and put the ashes into an urn.
Kuuuung-! Crash! Crash!
Even while holding the funeral, monsters occasionally fell from the sky.
But the barriers set on the ship stopped them, so they fell into the sea.
Drip drip.
Like raindrops on a window, blood on the barrier formed droplets and ran down.
"Rest in peace."
"Haha, don't be too upset. We don't know when we'll follow."
"Tsk, don't you know your words can come true?"
Like explorers close to death, light jokes came even in the solemn atmosphere.
But no one reprimanded the jokes.
Everyone knew.
Everyone has their own way to endure.
"It's ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) over. Rest now. And good work, everyone."
After the funeral, everyone freely rested again.
Mages had to maintain the barriers so they couldn't rest fully, but it was still better than when we cast barriers on the island.
As soon as the ship reached open sea, we dismantled the magitech propulsion device, modified it, and connected it to a mana circuit.
'With enough magic stones and fewer monsters falling than expected, we should be able to hold out until the rainy season ends if nothing big happens…'
Could we finally breathe easy?
Leaning against the wall, my mind was complicated.
So I rummaged through the pocket dimension and pulled out a temporary shield.
Naturally, it was a Grade 3 shield, much worse than what I used before.
Back then, I had little funds and really didn't think I'd need it.
'But the day really came.'
Wearing a bitter smile, someone approached me.
"Baron."
It was Muul, leader of the Armin Expedition.
"What is it? Not resting?"
"Sorry to bother you while you rest, but… I have something to ask."
"Go ahead."
Though I gave permission, Muul hesitated for a while before speaking.
"Why…?"
"What do you mean?"
"The… Inmyeonjo essence. Why did you give it to me?"
Ah, so that's why he came.
The answer is simple.
First, Ainard, Amelia, Elwen, and Misha weren't even candidates.
They all had fixed essences to eat.
Versil, as a mage, couldn't consume essences.
'If I had to pick a candidate, it'd be Auyen…'
But honestly, it's not a good fit for Auyen.
He might contribute in battle by mimicking monsters' skills using [Disguise], but that's all.
He'd basically give up the core passive of the Inmyeonjo essence.
So ultimately, I chose Muul.
"You were the best suited to utilize that essence."
"Is that… all?"
To be honest, no.
The Armin Expedition holds exploration shares.
We pre-paid for Grade 2 essences in advance, so they wouldn't be able to raise objections later when we collect.
But…
'No need to say that awkwardly.'
So I just shrugged.
"Yes, that's all."
"But! We are still members—"
"Members? We're already comrades."
"Co…rades…?"
"Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
Muul Armin didn't reply to my casual answer and silence fell.
"Baron…"
He tried to say something in a muffled voice but shook his head.
"No. I'll leave now. Rest well."
I couldn't tell why, but he looked like he had made a big decision.
The sixth day since the rainy season began.
The voyage after escaping the island was calm.
We fought off monsters climbing onto the ship at all times, and monsters still fell from the sky intermittently.
But it wasn't anything like the chaos we faced escaping the island.
Anyway, having this calm time gave me space to organize my thoughts and review plans…
"Alright, I've decided."
I took out a pendant I had carefully kept in the pocket dimension, and Misha's eyes sparkled.
"Uh, Bjorn? That's…"
"…"
"Are you… planning to give it to me…?"
What is she saying?
If you want to desire, desire properly.
Seeing greed in her eyes, I hurriedly put the pendant back into the pocket dimension.
No.7777 Necklace of Garphas.
It's time to try this now.
-x-X-x-
The Necklace of Garphas.
A Numbers item obtained as a prize along with the title "Knight Crusher" at the first noble family banquet I attended.
However, since I acquired it so early, I hadn't dared to use it even after several years.
Wearing this necklace requires solid financial backing.
'But judging by how many magic stones we're gathering now…'
I think we can collect the targeted amount within a month or two.
Besides, thinking about it, there's nothing on the first basement floor that can definitely upgrade specs better than this.
In some ways, it can enable growth even more intense than essences.
'So for a while, magic stones will be the key…'
Even right now, I could see magic stones piling all over Chief's Island. If we pick them all up after the rainy season ends, it might drastically shorten the time…
But that'd be too risky, right?
'…Wait a minute.'
That thought suddenly struck me.
"White Hext, come here."
"…Yes?"
"Nothing special, just a few questions. You said you arrived at Giant Island on the first day of the rainy season, right?"
"Yes, it was the first day of the rainy season."
"I remember that too. Anyway, were there many monsters on Giant Island then?"
"…Yes, but?"
Hext, looking unsure of the intent behind my question, recounted how he witnessed scenes of 'monsters that leave corpses' and 'regular monsters' fiercely biting each other.
I listened carefully and said,
"Isn't that strange?"
"Yes…?"
"If the monsters were fighting so fiercely, shouldn't there have been plenty of magic stones on the island?"
When we arrived on Giant Island, we only saw monster corpses and no magic stones.
Pointing this out, Hext showed a realization.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. I hadn't thought about it then… There should have been magic stones left like on the island with the village."
"When did you first come out of that cave after entering?"
"About ten days after the rainy season ended. At that time, we didn't even know when it would end."
"I see."
My doubts grew.
Where on earth did all those magic stones go?
No, if this system was true, the sea floor should be full of magic stones too.
Crash!
Monsters were still falling into the sea and disappearing as light even at this moment.
So the sea should have piled up mountains of magic stones over such a long time.
But…
'There wasn't much under the sea back then.'
Hmm, maybe I should check the sea myself sometime?
Though the thought came suddenly, before acting I sought the mages' advice.
"Certainly… I also had many questions about that."
"Let's go down to the sea immediately to check!"
"But there are so many monsters down there…"
"Does that matter now? We might discover hidden laws of this world."
"Wait! There's a way to check without diving in!"
"…Hm?"
The excited mages, who looked like they'd jump into the sea at once, stopped at Versil's words.
"Let's check with the magic stones we have."
Saying this, Versil took out a magic stone, tied it with string, lowered it under the ship, and observed changes using various spells.
Thanks to that, we learned one thing.
Why we didn't know this earlier, I don't know.
"…They're disappearing?"
"They're only shrinking."
Magic stones immersed in the sea vanish.
After the experiment, many hypotheses and questions were raised.
"Could the silver color of the sea be because magic stones are absorbed?"
"Well, there isn't enough evidence yet to confirm a correlation."
"Yes. If magic stones were absorbed, mana should be detected in the seawater, but this seawater doesn't have that."
"Hmm… but if magic stones dissolve only in seawater, what happened to those on land?"
I used to enjoy intellectual debates like this.
But maybe living as a barbarian lowered my immunity?
"Um… Baron, what do you think about what we just said?"
"Ugh… my head…"
The more I listened, the more a headache came, so I excused myself and left.
Well, the mages will handle research.
After that, I avoided the mages and spent time chatting with comrades.
Some time passed.
Crash!
On the seventh day of the rainy season, the number of monsters falling from the sky sharply decreased.
And…
[23:59]
After 11:50 PM, no monsters fell at all.
'Hmm… maybe the clock is off by ten minutes?'
That thought crossed my mind, but I decided to lift the barrier as scheduled. If a monster fell on deck, the ship would be damaged.
Better safe than sorry.
Tick tock, tick tock.
The second hand moved.
Focusing on it, I noticed the surroundings quieted.
Looking around, everyone had taken out their watches and was watching them.
Like right before New Year's.
Tick tock, tick tock.
No one can stop time from passing, and the moment everyone silently awaited arrived.
[00:00]
The end of the dreadful rainy season.
"It's twelve o'clock!"
"So it's really over?"
The explorers clustered on deck murmured, and I hurriedly gave new orders.
"Lift the barrier!"
As the mages removed the umbrella-like barrier over the ship, a sense of openness filled the air.
Only then did I feel like my sight was clearing.
During the voyage, the barrier was covered in blood from monsters dying on it…
"Hey, mister!"
Just as I headed to the bow to enjoy the breeze, Elwen on the lookout called to me urgently.
"Look! Look over there!"
What?
I looked up toward the lookout and saw Elwen pointing somewhere.
Slowly, I moved my head in the direction she pointed and froze.
No, not just me—everyone who heard and looked was the same.
Beyond the wide silver horizon…
"…A rainbow?"
There was a rainbow.
As if blessing the day after the rainy season.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
A colorful spectrum that cheers the spirit just by looking at it.
Maybe because we saw it on a ship covered in monster blood, the contrast of those vivid colors felt even stronger.
But we couldn't just stare blankly.
We are explorers.
Rainbow or hellscape from another world—whatever looks suspicious, we run over to see if there's money to be made.
"Auyen! Record the direction of the rainbow properly!"
"Yes? Ah… yes!"
First, we checked the spot where the rainbow appeared.
The timing was suspicious after all.
'An anomaly only visible if you're out at sea when the rainy season ends.'
Is this just a natural phenomenon?
Moreover, the rainbow we saw now was different in shape from a usual one.
A normal rainbow forms an arc or curve…
Swaaaaaaah-!
This one rose straight up like a cylinder.
Like a game effect signaling a hidden secret.
"Current position is 21 degrees. From Rock Island, 34 degrees! Distance… unknown!"
Auyen quickly regained focus and started saying technical terms I didn't quite catch.
What I understood was that at least the direction was correctly measured.
'But distance is unknown…'
That made me hesitate.
Should I turn the bow now and head toward the rainbow, or continue to the original destination?
While I pondered this…
"Huh? The rainbow's disappearing!"
The rainbow far away slowly faded and soon was no longer visible.
It took about five minutes.
'It can be observed only for five minutes after the rainy season ends…'
I thought we'd found something significant.
Still, I didn't turn the bow.
"Hey? Bjorn? Aren't you going to chase the rainbow?"
Ainard seemed doubtful of my decision, but it was the right one as a leader.
We hadn't yet properly explored Giant Island, Tree Island, or the Library.
First priority was to level up.
Having checked the direction, we could sail at any time.
"Auyen, how far to Giant Island?"
"About three hours left!"
Maintaining course for about three hours.
When we finally arrived at Giant Island, the first thing we did was stare in awe.
Phew, no wonder I wanted to come straight here.
"…Magic stones."
Thousands of magic stones were scattered along the coast.
The reason for returning to Giant Island was simple.
It was the only island among others where a portal stele had been found.
That gigantic giant we saw last still bothered me, but I figured there'd be more secrets uncovered exploring here.
However…
Thump!
Whatever secrets were hidden on the island, my heart started pounding when I saw the magic stones spread along the coast.
Of course, compared to Chief's Island, the density of stones was lower.
But Giant Island was several times bigger than Chief's Island.
If we could gather all the magic stones fallen across this island?
"Insane…"
That alone might fill our target amount.
So we hurriedly got off the ship and started literally scooping up unowned magic stones.
Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Just after the rainy season, the island was full of monsters…
'Since they survived the rainy season, all of them are tricky.'
At least Grade 4.
And there were new entities armed with strange essence combinations, making battles extremely difficult.
But we were also steadily growing.
The prime example was Muul Armin.
"Muul Armin cast [Hypersensitive Skin]."
"The target's damage taken increases by 30%."
"Muul Armin cast [Eternal Weakness]."
"The target's physical stats decrease by 30%, and all curse effects increase by 1.5 times."
His class was curse-specialized necromancer.
His active skills were curses, and his summons specialized in that field.
"Muul Armin summoned [Spirit Parasite]."
It did almost no damage but sucked MP with a chance each time it struck.
"Muul Armin summoned [Corrosive Hound]."
A summon that lowers enemy resistances with each bite.
"Muul Armin summoned [Vengeful Suicide Bomber]."
Summons that fly and explode, applying all kinds of curses.
That's also why I gave him the Inmyeonjo essence.
Its passive skill [Mother Bird] is exclusive to necromancers.
"Summons within range have been dismissed."
"Recover 80% of consumed soul power."
"Reduce cooldown of that summon skill by 80%."
This essence is essential for necromancer builds.
Because of this one essence, Muul Armin became at least five times stronger than before.
Grade 2 core essences have that kind [N O V E L I G H T] of power.
"Muul Armin summoned [Vengeful Suicide Bomber]."
"Muul Armin summoned [Vengeful Suicide Bomber]."
"Muul Armin summoned [Vengeful Suicide Bomber]."
"Muul Armin summoned [Vengeful Suicide Bomber]…"
Using restored MP and reduced cooldowns, he madly summoned suicide bombers.
Boom!
Since they had no damage setups, the damage was minimal, but repeated explosions stacked curses nonstop.
'Having a well-grown debuffer makes hunting much easier.'
Muul Armin fit perfectly in this situation.
His class shines more fighting a strong single enemy than many weak ones.
"Good job, Muul."
"Good job? That's undeserved praise."
Lately, he seemed to have more trouble dealing with me.
Always using utmost respect, calling me 'Baron.'
'Is he already drawing boundaries because he thinks he owes me?'
If so, I might be a little disappointed, but I decided to observe more to be sure.
And time passed like that.
One day, two days, three days…
Busy days filled with gathering magic stones across the island and fighting monsters nonstop.
[00:00]
On the third day after the rainy season ended, bad news came while we happily gathered magic stones.
"Magic stones… are disappearing."
Unowned magic stones scattered across the island started decomposing one by one.
Like food buried underground rotting away.
"It's strange… mana is definitely decomposing, but we can't trace where it's going."
Whatever the reason, it was truly unfortunate for us.
But luckily, there was good news too.
"Versil, how many magic stones have we gathered so far?"
"Well? Based on exchanging at the checkpoint… it seems like about 1 billion stones."
Enough ammo for the necklace gacha.
-x-X-x-
Day 3 after the second rainy season ended.
By the dungeon entry count, this was day 74.
'About 1 billion stones gathered from the island, and about 600 million stones saved so far…'
A total of 1.6 billion stones.
Of course, this money was gathered by dozens of people together, and after distribution, my share would be much smaller…
Fortunately, this issue was already agreed upon by all members.
So, only one thing remained.
"Everyone, relax! We won't do anything today!"
After sweeping the Giant Island for magic stones, I led the team back to the cave.
By cave, I meant the one where the Hext Clan, who had been stranded, found the portal stele.
'Thinking back, I realize how lucky we were.'
Mapping of Giant Island was almost finished.
There were caves, of course.
But only one cave was this deep inside the island, and for some reason, monsters did not approach it.
It was practically the safest place…
And we found it right in that urgent situation.
'I wish some of that luck would rub off on me.'
Because what I'm about to do depends heavily on 'luck,' the psychological pressure was immense.
By all appearances, my luck was not good.
Or rather,
'My luck is average.'
This is a recent realization.
Since childhood, after enduring all sorts of misfortunes, I thought my fate was cursed from birth.
But looking back, my luck wasn't really bad.
After all, I survived all those ordeals.
More importantly…
"It seems to be starting."
"Bjorn! I don't know much, but hang in there!"
Meeting good people like these was itself unbelievable luck.
Elwen, my night companion on the first expedition.
Ainard, a trusted comrade and fellow warrior.
Raven and Hikurod, comrades from the Crimson Fortress where mutants appeared.
Team Banpun's Misha, Rotmiller, and even Dwalke.
When I had nothing at all,
Meeting them was nothing short of magical luck.
Therefore…
'Don't rely on luck.'
I abandoned the weak will to leave responsibility to lucky comrades like Ainard or Misha.
And…
'I am a lucky person.'
I repeated this silently over and over.
What I needed now was not doubt but firm conviction.
'I am.'
A lucky person.
At that moment of repetition,
"I am…"
A sudden insight struck my mind.
My tense jaw muscles relaxed, and the faint tremor in my hands disappeared.
It was a kind of enlightenment.
The half-full cup of water.
Whether the cup was happy or unhappy was not for others to decide.
Only oneself could decide.
"You're lucky."
"…Huh?"
"What did you say? We haven't done anything yet…"
Done nothing?
Everything in this world depends on the mind.
Just like the prophecy carved on the monument is certain to come true.
That is, the moment I decide, the future is already set.
It's the truth of the world, an unchangeable law.
"Hoho…"
But since fools wouldn't understand, I just smiled and kept quiet.
"The wind is cool today."
A feeling like the power of the universe warmly embracing me beyond nature.
"The sunlight is gentle."
In my chest was only conviction, and nothing else.
"Why are you talking about the wind inside a cave…?"
"Maybe he just wanted to say it's cool?"
"Well, saying the sunlight is gentle is a bit…"
"Sir… are you feeling unwell?"
Ignoring the ignorant questions of mortals, I picked up a magic stone scattered on the ground.
Then slowly brought it to the necklace.
No rush at all.
'Water is water, wind is wind.'
For me, that was obvious.
Swaaah-!
The future was already decided.
[The power of the great alchemist Garphas detects the power of creation.]
[Creating stone bread.]
Let's go.
No.7777 Necklace of Garphas.
The necklace's effect is simple.
When a magic stone is brought close, it melts and disappears, randomly spitting out items like bread, water, metal, and so forth.
Like this.
[Creating stone bread.]
Each time a magic stone is put in, the displayed item inside the necklace's jewel changes.
If you see something you want, you can take it out.
Naturally, there was no reason to take stone bread, so I kept spinning.
But…
'Why doesn't the item change?'
What is this?
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone brea…]
Six stone breads in a row from the start?
These aren't even 9th-grade stones, only 5th grade and above?
'The chance to get stone bread with 5th grade or higher stones is about 4%.'
And the chance to get six in a row is…
"…Cough!"
Calculating that almost broke my barbarian calm, but I controlled myself with practiced mind control.
After all, early gacha is just stacking.
"Bjorn! Are you okay? You're coughing!"
"Step aside. I'm fine."
…Doubt is poison.
It eats away the mind and makes life miserable, a very nasty poison.
So…
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone bread.]
I abandoned my humanity and mechanically stuffed magic stones into the necklace repeatedly.
Nine stone breads in a row?
What does it matter?
The result was already decided.
[Creating steel ingot.]
Yeah, probability is just probability.
What's meant to come, will come.
What I needed was only faith.
"Oh! Bjorn's expression changed…!"
"I've heard that if the Baron makes such a face, he's seriously ready!"
Whatever comes out, I kept my composure and continued feeding stones.
Some time passed.
'I think it's about time…'
Just as that thought started to creep in…
[Creating iron longsword.]
Finally, a proper piece of equipment appeared in the necklace, which until then had spat out junk like bread, metal scraps, and bricks.
It wasn't surprising.
There's a hidden rule in Garphas's necklace.
'7,777 stones for 9th-grade stones.'
Converted to cash, about 1.55 million stones worth.
When that amount is inserted, it guarantees a "usable item" randomly.
And…
[Creating Laitinum chestplate.]
This repeats every time about 1.55 million stones are put in.
Wow, so putting in 3.1 million stones got me a Laitinum chestplate?
'Not bad for a start.'
Though that's just how I felt.
It meant nothing to me.
I had no intention of stopping here.
"Oh? Bjorn! Why're you passing it by? It's a waste not to get stone bread!"
If I stopped, I'd have to start stacking from the beginning again.
I almost answered because I felt they'd keep pestering me, but fortunately Amelia took care of it in time.
"Pnellin, stay put. Don't disturb."
"Ah, I just wanted to know why…"
"Hmph."
"Okay… I won't disturb…"
Is that why hierarchy is important?
Since the brutal beating in the cabin, Ainard especially seemed powerless against Amelia.
Anyway, that's not important.
[Creating Redwood longbow.]
A longbow made from second-tier wood.
[Creating iron shield.]
A common shield with much lower value.
Then I pulled out nine usable pieces of equipment.
Just before the tenth turn…
Or rather…
At about 15.55 million stones worth,
Exactly 777,777 stones of 9th grade were stuffed into the necklace.
[Creating No.9981 Survivor's Vitality Ring.]
The first Numbers item appeared.
Of course, it wasn't more profitable than before.
Not all Numbers items are expensive.
'That one was about 2 million stones?'
It was even less valuable than the Laitinum chestplate from earlier.
But that didn't matter much.
[Creating Cloud Candy.]
[Creating Training Mana Staff.]
[Creating High-Density Mana Herb.]
[Creating Wyvern Leather Armor.]
[Creating Permanent Magic Enchantment (Light Orb) Scroll…]
Potions, equipment, enhancement materials, and so on.
I was skimming over these while dumping magic stones into the bottomless pit.
"…Hm?"
My body stiffened.
A very simple reason.
[Creating Mistium ingot.]
What the hell, a 6th-grade metal appears here?
Since a scroll just appeared, it seemed like a normal gacha probability.
"Mistium!"
"That ingot alone is worth hundreds of millions, isn't it?"
Even if I stopped halfway here, I'd profit tens of millions stones.
But…
'Damn it.'
I had to build my misfortune stack, why's it so good early on?
I sighed inside but pushed doubt aside.
And kept inserting stones.
"…Ah!"
"…Huh!"
I heard lamentations nearby.
Gacha players shouldn't be cursed.
'How could a lowly one understand the heart of a giant?'
How many times did I repeat going alone like a lone horned beast?
Swaaah-!
At about 155 million stones inserted,
Exactly 7,777,777 stones of 9th grade stuffed into the necklace.
For the first time, a red glow burst from the necklace.
[Due to excessive mana condensation, Garphas's power is severely damaged.]
Simply put, after this gacha is over, it will be impossible to spin again.
"Bjorn… are you okay? It looks like a crack appeared on the necklace…"
No way I was okay.
I never considered retreating.
And in that sense…
'Let's take a look.'
I checked inside the jewel where the red light faded.
Starting here, single Numbers items can be pulled.
If something good appeared, I was willing to quit then and there—
[Creating No.535 Polar Shield.]
Named as such in-game, it was the shield I used while raising the shield barbarian until I got the graduation shield.
'Damn.'
The shield wasn't bad, but triple Numbers?
'Who am I supposed to give this to?'
I quickly passed and moved on.
Among all items so far, this had the highest value, but surprisingly no one around seemed disappointed.
They probably just didn't recognize it.
There aren't many maniacs who memorize all Numbers items.
'Next.'
Put in stones again.
Then glanced over the item briefly.
'Next.'
Repeatedly refreshing the item.
As the number of tries increased drastically, high-value items appeared repeatedly.
Among the impressive ones were:
[Creating No.2998 Mark of the Guardian Corps.]
The earring I'm wearing.
[Creating Staff imbued with the power of the World Tree.]
The staff made from the 6th-grade material that Versil coveted.
[Creating 5 Arc ingots.]
The maximum number of 6th-grade Arc ingots.
[Creating Holy Altar.]
A holy potion occasionally obtained from 9th-floor cracks.
[Creating No.7777 Necklace of Garphas.]
The necklace I have no idea what to do with.
Like a matryoshka doll?
Anyway, many other items appeared and I passed them all.
And as a result…
[Creating stone bread.]
Finally, I was near the goal.
I had no exact data because of the huge amount of magic stones used, but
I had a feeling.
'About ten more.'
About ten more magic stones inserted and the goal would be reached.
[Creating stone bread.]
About 1.55 billion stones in cash.
[Creating stone bread.]
Exactly 77,777,777 stones of 9th grade.
[Creating stone bread.]
Hmm…
[Creating stone bread.]
Huh?
[Creating stone bread.]
Wait…
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone bread.]
[Creating stone brea…]
Nine stone breads in a row at the end?
Of course, whether it's stone bread or steel ingots, it doesn't matter…
Gulp.
My hands involuntarily stopped.
Cold sweat soaked my palms.
A revelation.
This phenomenon I was experiencing felt like a revelation.
A cosmic revelation about the future I'm going to face.
'…No.'
But I shook my head and kept my mental balance.
A phenomenon is just a phenomenon. Assigning meaning is foolish.
Also…
'This might be a good thing.'
In some ways, it seemed like a positive sign.
I don't believe in superstition much, but sometimes when gaming I'd break useless equipment while upgrading and then upgrade the real gear successfully.
Yeah, so…
Swish.
I put faith in it and fed stones again.
Swaaah-!
The stones shattered finely, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» and the necklace shone brightly.
A dazzling brilliance.
[The absorbed magic stones have reached maximum capacity.]
[Warning. The necklace may be destroyed at any time from now.]
From now on, it's truly a game of luck.
77,777,777 stones.
The Necklace of Garphas, having absorbed this amount, becomes a guaranteed gacha.
There's kind of a ceiling?
From No.1 to No.35.
From now on, this necklace will surely produce the highest Numbers item with a number between these.
So, what about the first big attempt?
'Hmph.'
Yeah, it doesn't go easy.
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
Of course, Abyss Claw was a very good item.
A claw-type weapon given as a set, with diverse effects.
Amelia would probably make great use of it.
But…
'Spent 1.5 billion and got number 35?'
No matter how you think about it, it's not worth it.
So…
'One more time.'
I put more stones into the already maxed-out necklace—
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
Huh?
Why didn't it change?
The stones definitely went in…
'…Seriously?'
Though my mind questioned it, my brain calmly accepted the fact.
Abyss Claw had come out again.
Thump thump thump thump—
Blood rushed to my head, my vision narrowed.
For some reason, a chill ran down my spine and my lips dried.
Swish.
I slowly grabbed one more magic stone.
[Warning. The necklace may be destroyed at any time from now.]
Although this warning existed, I wasn't too scared yet.
I knew it would never break up to three times.
…Don't worry.
It's all stacks.
My future is a bright rainbow—
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
"One more time."
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
"Damn, are you kidding me."
Eventually, I couldn't hold back and cursed.
Outwardly calm, but I couldn't take it anymore.
My mind was flooded with all sorts of distracting thoughts.
Everything that happened today felt meaningful.
Including the consecutive stone breads.
'Garphas's Necklace.'
And that item from earlier when I re-rolled.
Maybe that was a revelation?
Since I'm screwed today, take this and try again later.
"…Yandel, are you okay?"
"Ah… yeah, I'm fine."
"You look pale…"
"No way. I'm lucky."
I raised my discouraged spirit again.
'Four Abyss Claws in a row?'
That's just another hurdle.
Sweet fruits are always hidden beyond trials.
'Believe in me.'
Recalling my earlier enlightenment, I confidently grabbed a magic stone again.
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
Still okay.
It didn't break, right?
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
Yeah, since it hasn't broken, maybe it's just the universe's way of testing me—
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
…Is it broken?
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
…I think it's dangerous now.
Thump thump thump thump—
My heart raced wildly.
[Creating No.35 Abyss Claw.]
Eventually, I raised the white flag.
"…Ah, Ainard?"
Ainard Pnellin.
If you look closely, she's a warrior who always has good luck and things tend to go well.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Ainard, who had lost interest and was eating jerky far away, looked at me curiously.
I politely called her over.
"Um…"
"Yeah?"
"Would you… come here and try putting some magic stones in?"
"Oh! Really? I've actually wanted to try!"
Fortunately, Ainard happily accepted and ran over.
Then…
[Creating No.3 Aegis Barrier.]
That day, I gained a new realization.
"Oh? A shield, is it any good?"
"…"
From now on, let's always make her do this.
-x-X-x-
No.7777 Garfas's Necklace.
In truth, it's not an efficient item.
You can reliably get a number above 35, but to even reach that point, you have to dump 1.5 billion stones into it.
"You only profit if a single number drops."
If the 'ten numbers' come out from 10 to 19, you mostly break even.
Above 20, it's generally a loss.
But there's also the risk that the necklace could break during rerolling, and then you literally suffer a catastrophic loss.
In other words, it's a high-risk gambling-type item…
"Bjorn…? Why are you so quiet?"
Startled by Ainard's worried tone, I snapped back to reality.
"Is something wrong?"
No way.
It's the opposite.
"Well done, Ainard. You're the only one."
I expressed my love sincerely, but Ainard didn't even react.
"Oh! Since you say that, it must be a good item! So, what's this shield?"
Ah, that.
Ainard's reaction was a bit disappointing, but a minor issue.
Yeah, I nearly ended up getting wrecked by a pitiless fall.
Honestly, I'd be willing to take three punches in the face with a smile for no reason.
And in that sense…
"Let's just pull it quickly."
Before any other variables could occur, I quickly took out the item contained in the necklace.
Swaaaaaah—!
As soon as I pressed the confirm button, a burst of multicolored light flared up.
The shimmering cluster of light hovered in the air, then coalesced like clay into a proper shape.
「The designated item has been generated.」
No.3 The Wall of Aegis.
In-game notation: The wall of Aegis.
The legendary shield of the shield Barbarian's graduation.
"Now I only have to use one shield, so is this my graduation from shields…?"
Honestly, I was expecting something else.
Or rather, realistically, those were the things I'd stop at if they appeared.
My graduation armor in the tens series.
The second graduation shield, No.21 shield.
The single numbers, key for the Frost Dual Swordsman.
If a 'Rift Generator' appeared that helped farming, I'd choose it with future planning in mind, or even if a graduation weapon for Elwen or Amelia showed up, I was willing to stop there.
But…
"To think I'd actually get this."
I still can't tell if this is a dream or reality.
「Due to excessive mana condensation, the power of Garfas imbued in the necklace has suffered permanent damage.」
One of the Numbers items had turned into an ordinary necklace, but it was no big deal.
I carefully lifted the gray shield.
「Character has equipped No.3 The Wall of Aegis.」
「Overall item level increased by +18,600.」
With this, I became stronger.
A lot stronger.
The shield itself isn't flashy at all.
Its color is gray, and it doesn't have jewel-like decorations.
So what?
A shield just needs to be sturdy.
"This shield… is a single number?"
"Wait a moment… If it's number 3, that means only two are above it… This is an incredible treasure!"
"The Wall of Aegis! To think I'd actually see the legendary item I'd only heard stories about!"
The companions murmured upon learning the shield's identity.
Surprisingly, Amelia was the most excited.
"Oh! Seeing you all like that, it must be a really great treasure?"
"Tsk, it's more than that. The Wall of Aegis hasn't appeared even once in 120 years since an explorer died in the labyrinth."
Well, honestly, that's not surprising anymore.
She really loves stuff like this.
A complete labyrinth fanatic, you could say.
"At this point, except for one piece the royal family holds, Yandel, that guy, is the last. According to records, that shield is indestructible…"
Amelia wanted to show off her knowledge, explaining the equipment's options on my behalf.
Her explanation was professional enough, but…
"The information in this world always lacks exact numbers."
As a hardcore gamer, I couldn't accept that.
So let me put it properly.
'Top-tier indestructibility.'
'Immune to all damage when guarding with the shield.'
'Reduces all magic damage taken by the wearer and allies within 10 meters by 30%, and grants immunity to magic of grade 5 or below.'
'Increases all defense-related stats of the wearer by 20%.'
'When using aura skills, doubles the radius and effect.'
'If threat value is 500 or more, all monsters prioritize attacking the wearer.'
And finally…
'Has one active effect.'
Yeah, that's graduation equipment for you.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
I wanted to go out and fight with this right now.
My body was already itching, but unfortunately, I'd firmly declared today a day off, so I held back.
Yeah, I needed time to adapt anyway.
'It feels pretty light.'
Maybe because what I used before was insanely heavy?
It's definitely heavier than an ordinary steel shield, but comparatively feels much lighter.
'Then how about the hammer?'
In my other hand, I held the Demon Crusher to check the weight balance.
This isn't just a game world.
Even a slight mismatch in feel and weight could cause big trouble.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
While I was swinging my weapon alone in the cave, adapting to the changed weight, a thought occurred.
'How come I finished graduation on weapons first?'
No.87 Demon Crusher and No.3 The Wall of Aegis.
Honestly, with just these two, there's nothing more to see in the weapon department.
The Demon Crusher has room for upgrades, but considering the difficulty in obtaining it and the low returns, it's practically graduation with the Demon Crusher.
'Left are armor, boots, and belt.'
If we focus only on core items important for growth, that's it.
The Barbarian tribe's primordial treasure is also a core item, but it's now impossible to get.
That's a shame.
The reason shield Barbarians are overpowered includes that primordial treasure.
'Anyway, I think I'm getting used to this…'
After getting accustomed to the new gear, I did some testing.
I tried using the active effects, checked the magic immunity aura on the shield.
And…
'A 10-meter radius…'
I definitely memorized that distance.
I judged it would be important.
After those processes, I rested during the leftover time and the leadership gathered to discuss future exploration plans.
Well, it was more like an announcement than a discussion.
"Baron, so we're resuming exploration of the Giant Island from tomorrow?"
"No, that island is on hold for now."
"Eh?"
"After all that searching, we haven't found anything."
I know there's some secret hidden on the Giant Island.
But to uncover it, we'd have to kill that gigantic giant we saw.
The problem is…
'Since then, it hasn't appeared, and even if we find it, I'm not confident we can win.'
"Then… where do we go?"
"Our next destination is Library Island."
"Library Island? Ah… you mean that island you told us about?"
"Yeah."
The plan is to go there and level up.
Back then, with only seven people, we hunted up to grade 3 monsters, but now it's a different story.
I'm also curious what happens over time.
'We cleared almost all the lower books then, I wonder if they've respawned?'
Well, we'll find out when we get there.
Just as the meeting was ending, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Amelia asked me a question.
"Yandel, are we giving up on Hiphramagent?"
"Not giving up, just putting it on hold."
"Why? I thought you were after its core essence."
That's true.
But I don't have confidence in beating the triple probability for distortion magic success, essence drop, and [Gigantism].
More importantly, even if I get through that, the return isn't good now.
'I just don't think the skill will stack twice.'
Hiphramagent is a substitute essence, a superior version of the Orc Hero essence.
And I have only two essence slots left.
Filling those with other essences is more effective for power.
I can't just delete Orc Hero essence to put in Hiphramagent's.
But…
"Hmm, understood."
That's just a secondary reason, not the main one.
'Elwen and Ainard are mostly taken care of…'
Other teammates need leveling up too.
Everyone has at least one essence slot left.
We'll fill them carefully while farming at the library.
Oh, and Amelia too.
'She's been stagnant too long.'
"…What's with that look?"
"Nothing."
Just thinking.
I don't know when we can escape here.
When that time comes…
'It'll be fun.'
I wonder how strong we'll be then.
After sharing the exploration plan, I spent the remaining time thinking about my future growth alone.
What I need to do to become a bigger, stronger shield Barbarian.
I prioritized and organized the steps.
There was only one thing I could do immediately on basement level 1.
Get essence from the library.
The goal was exactly one.
Bellarios, a grade 3 monster.
If I get only that, my next growth will only be possible after a successful escape.
Swap Orc Hero essence for Hiphramagent essence.
Reach level 9 in Spirit Engraving.
Farm grade 2 guardian essences and Numbers items by running rifts on floor 8.
Then erase Stormgush essence and farm hierarchy essences.
Everything possible at level 8 can only be tried after returning to the city.
So, the day off ended.
Day 75.
As soon as the day began, I left the cave.
Then I headed to the shore to move to Library Island.
Just as I was about to summon a boat at a suitable spot—
Whooooosh—!
Suddenly something flew swiftly out of the sea.
「Defense successful.」
「The Wall of Aegis absorbs all damage.」
Luckily, I instinctively raised the shield to block.
What's this now?
"It's an ambush…!"
Ignoring the stunned members behind me, I looked down.
On the sand swept by silver waves lay a crimson spear, limp and discarded.
'Shinrokgeochang…?'
What the hell?
Why is this here?
That fleeting question didn't last long.
「Heavenly Spear Wielder Milayel cast [Return].」
Far away, walking slowly up through the silver waves, something appeared.
And…
「Heavenly Spear Wielder Milayel has recovered Shinrokgeochang.」
「While battle continues, the power of [Return] slightly increases.」
Picking up the spear from the ground, he said to me:
[You will not escape, mortal.]
I'd heard this line countless times when I ran away last time, but this time it felt different.
'…Is he crazy?'
Did this guy really cross the sea to follow me here?
Heavenly Spear Wielder Milayel.
A Rift guardian appearing in the City of Light, Calheum.
The first feeling when meeting him again in an unexpected place was surprise.
After calming down, another feeling came.
Gladness.
And…
"Well, this is good."
I thought I'd never see him again.
[You will not escape, mortal.]
Seeing Milayel say the same phrase tirelessly, I smiled.
'Whatever, I'm not running away anymore.'
Back then, Elwen was incapacitated.
Also, the surroundings were filled with monsters.
It wouldn't have been strange if a grade 2 or higher monster appeared anytime.
So we had to rush at full power toward the shore.
But now it's different.
I don't know if this idiot realizes that.
The stubbornness ended a long time ago.
And just in time, I got a new shield.
Yeah, so…
'Not a bad way to measure combat strength.'
I shouted with all my might to the members, waiting for orders.
"Prepare for battle! We'll kill him here!"
Yeah, it's not polite to kick a pumpkin that rolled in.