[You have entered the Witch's Hut].
This was the first time I had returned to the Witch's Hut since the ordeal Missha and I had together. However, there were many differences between then and now.
Shaaaaaa...
For starters, we weren't in a grassy field full of flowers and leafy trees.
«...¿Nieve?»
Instead, those things were replaced by a white, snowy field. Through the bare, ice-covered branches of the trees, we could see the cabin in the distance.
«Wow! It's snow! How cold it is!» Ainar showed childish excitement when he saw the snow on the ground. Well, it wasn't snowing in Rafdonia. Apart from the Ice Rock, some islands on the sixth floor and some crevices, it was difficult to find snow. Even the Frost Canyon on the fifth floor was more of an ice field than anything else.
«Rockrock, come here!»
«...It's not Rockrock. Her name is Auyen Rockrobe», Amelia tried to correct.
«Hey, why are you so tense? Aren't we all friends now?» Ainar gestured for Amelia to leave, jumped towards Auyen and dragged him away to start a snowball fight. «Anyway, come here!»
«…H-Huh? ¡Ack! ¡Eso duele! Sra. Raines…»
«Yandel, what do you plan to do with her?». Amelia asked, scolding her, but in my opinion, it was natural for a barbarian to want to have a snowball fight.
«I don't know. I was thinking of going to help Erwen evaluate her new essence right now».
«Yeah. I figured you wouldn't bother doing anything».
«No, that's not what I was saying...»
«Does not matter. Go check the essence. I'll stay here and keep an eye on them».
«... Not coming?»
«I was going to have to discipline Ainar one of these days anyway».
With that ominous statement, Amelia trotted towards Auyen and Ainar.
«Oh! You join us?»
«Sí».
After activating Self-Replication, he quickly began bombarding Ainar with snowballs.
«Hahaha! Ha ha ha! Take this!»
At first, Ainar was happy to be playing with his new friends, but the joy soon disappeared.
«...Oh, owww! W-what are you...?!»
Amelia lunged forward and pinned Ainar to the ground, holding his arms. He then pushed her face down, plunging her into the snow.
«¡Urgh!»
«This is the snow you like so much».
«It-this is not what I had heard was a snowball fight!»
«If it's a fight, why would there be rules?»
«Aaagh! I'm not going to sit here and put up with this!» Ainar gathered all his brute strength and stumbled to his feet.
Amelia counterattacked by wrapping her legs around Ainar's arms. «What can you do without arms?».
Taking advantage of Ainar's inability to protect himself, Amelia's clone continued to throw snowballs directly at Ainar's face.
¡Splat! ¡Splat! ¡Splat!
She looked like a professional baseball pitcher, each snowball hitting the target.
«...Sir?»
«...Yes, let's go.»
«Okay.»
After watching them for a while, we finally left the three of them alone and headed towards the back of the cabin. The Witch's Cabin was the best place to train. Not only was it a private space, but you didn't have to worry about breaking something and having to pay for it like in the city's training camps.
«Erwen, have you started to get used to it?»
«Sí.»
«How do you feel?»
«I'm not sure. I feel like I've become more powerful overall, but I can't point to any areas where I feel a particular impulse...»
«Is that it?»
«... I've also had a headache for a while.»
I didn't have a headache. He only had a hard time containing himself. Well, considering how it used to be, I had gotten a lot better at not letting it show.
«It is because of the essence. Don't worry too much».
«That? For the essence...?» Erwen's eyes lit up with curiosity. I slowly began to explain his new ability to him.
With Chaos, his negative stats doubled, and all of his positive stats increased proportionally to the negative ones. In the game, all they showed you were your character's basic stats, so, as always, it was my turn as a player to figure out the exact details and calculations of each essence and ability.
«Negative statistics... Do you mean my weakened statistics?».
Oh, I guess I'll have to explain that first.
«That's part of it, but there's also something else».
In Dungeon and Stone, each stat had a corresponding coefficient, and your Physique, Spirit, or Special Ability statistics increased based on that coefficient. For example, the coefficient of the Dexterity stat was 0.5, which meant that every time that stat increased by +1, the Special Skill stat increased by 0.5 in the same proportion.
High-value statistics can even have a coefficient of three.
But that wasn't the important thing. Most statistics had coefficients greater than zero. However, some were negative. These were known as «negative statistics».
«For example, among your statistics, you have Impulse and Distrust».
Basically, when you got a plus to a negative coefficient stat, they had a negative effect on your Physique, Spirit, and Special Skills stats. Conversely, when you got a minus sign attached to a statistic with a positive coefficient, they were what was known as «weakened statistics», like what Erwen mentioned. This was the case with the essence that Ruptura gave him, which gave Control a -30.
«Ah...»
After giving you a basic summary of the two types of negative statistics, I began to quickly calculate what Erwen's might be.
Firstly, his Evan essence decreased his Physical Stamina by -80. Ritcanon, which was the essence he had received as a reward from the royal family and the one I had recommended to him, had a Soul Power Regeneration of -40. Breakout had a Control stat of -30. Lastly, Kalban had an Impulse of +30 and a Distrust of +30.
There was no need to calculate the Possessiveness statistic that came with the Metcrow essence because the coefficient of that is zero. He also cleared his +40 Craving stat before entering the maze to make room...
After multiplying their statistics according to their respective coefficients and taking into account the 0.2 coefficient of the Essence of Chaos, I finished my calculations.
That is, 53.8.
That was the increase in statistics that Erwen had received from the Essence of Chaos. Not that each of his stats had increased, of course. Innate statistics such as Luck and Bone Density were not affected.
...Still, the pace at which it is developing is no joke.
I was surprised. He may have recommended that he obtain the essence of Ritcanon all those years ago, but all the other incredible essences he had were things he had obtained on his own.
I think the negative impact on your mental state is a bit dangerous...
But she seemed fine. Although each of those statistics was now higher than before, it still acted the same.
Still, I can't help but worry. I should hurry up and change one of his other essences.
To begin with, spirit statistics had low coefficients, so they were not as effective when you used them in conjunction with Chaos Essence. Control wasn't that bad, but Distrust only had a coefficient of 0.6. Replacing it with a statistic that had a higher coefficient value would be better in the long run. For example, if you gave him something with a Mana Resistance of -50, then all of his stats would increase by +30.
In any case, thanks to its effect, Chaos Essence was great for any major DPS. On the other hand, there weren't many good essences for tanks, as most only increased their defense in exchange for less damage dealt.
«I see... You once told me that it is better to specialize in what you are good at...».
Um? Had I told you that? I didn't remember it, but it didn't matter. We were no longer in that old, dilapidated inn.
«Now, try using your new skills!»
It was time to reap the benefits of his new essence.
***
The essence of Chaos came with two abilities and only two abilities, one passive and one active. That might not seem like much when compared to the essence of a Guardian, who could have up to five different active abilities. However, it was much better to have one incredible skill than a hundred poor quality ones.
[Circuit of Chaos: All resources available to the user are combined into one. Once all resources are consumed, the user can use the power of Chaos].
The passive ability was quite unique. Simply put, he gathered all the resources (such as mana, natural power, soul power, divine power, etc.) into a single meter. On its own, it was an incredible skill. After all, it was incredibly difficult to increase Natural Power, which was essential for elemental abilities.
Maybe that's why Erwen took the Ertes essence. He could use his passive ability to convert his Soul Power into Natural Power.
But since he no longer needed her, it would be best to get rid of her. The active Elemental Synthesis skill wasn't bad, but it wasn't something he needed in the final game.
«What skill should I use?
«Try using Concentrated Fire. The goal is to use up all the energy you have. Oh, you should summon a spirit while you do it».
«...If that's the goal, should I summon Dicloe? Doing so will consume my energy much faster».
Ah, good observation. I patted her on the back to cheer her up as Erwen trembled, concentrating on summoning Dicloe.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned Dicloe, the Elemental Ruler of Darkness].
A black spot appeared, taking the vague shape of a person as it tore reality itself. Erwen then ordered Dicloe to shoot countless dark spheres in the opposite direction at the cabin.
¡Bang! ¡Bum! ¡Chocad!
The dark spheres crashed into the barrier in the distance. As expected, they didn't leave a single scratch on it.
[All resources have been exhausted.]
After about thirty seconds of going all out, he had completely exhausted all his energy. In the past, its limit had been five seconds.
Maybe it's because he has more mana now, but he is able to maintain that level of power for much longer.
Of course, that wasn't what mattered now.
[A mysterious energy is revealed after the depletion of all resources.]
Within seconds of exhausting all its energy, the Chaos Circuit sprang into action and activated what I liked to call Infinite Power Mode.
[For one minute, Erwen Fornacci di Tersia will not consume any resources].
«...Doesn't my invocation really dissipate?». Erwen marveled as Dicloe continued shooting dark spheres at full power. Although I already knew how this skill worked, I myself was quite surprised.
For one minute and thirty seconds, she can continuously wield this level of firepower...
And that was not all. His MP in this mode was essentially infinite. She could let the Elemental Rulers do their work while she used her own abilities.
«Erwen, try shooting Concentrated Fire now».
Erwen quickly raised her bow without saying a word.
¡Whooosh!
A white light shone on the tip of his arrow. This ability had played an essential role in our fight against Riakis, and had a fairly simple effect.
¡Whoooooosh!
Although PMs were consumed quickly in proportion to the time you spent charging it, the damage it dealt increased exponentially in return. Normally, Erwen couldn't charge it for more than fifteen seconds. More time and MP consumption would not compensate for the increased damage. Instead, it was best to rest for the sixty-second cooldown and shoot again afterwards.
But with infinite PM, things change.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds... As time passed, the density of the energy accumulated at the arrowhead continued to increase.
«Now.»
Erwen finally released the bowstring. A bright light crossed the air, cutting through the sky in a bright arc. In the end, the attack would leave no mark on the barrier. But...
Yeah! Is this.
I realized it just by looking at it.
¡Booooom!
His firepower far exceeded Dicloe's.
***
[The mysterious energy within Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has been drained.]
[All statistics are temporarily reduced by 70%.]
***
Erwen collapsed into my arms, completely exhausted. Suddenly, I began to hear urgent screams in the distance.
«B-Bjorn! Where are you?! Bjorn!» They came from Ainar, who had been playing with Amelia. «W-What was that?! Is it a dimensional collapse?! Shouldn't we run away?!
It acted like a wild animal in the face of a natural disaster. I smiled at his innocent reaction. «Don't worry. It is not a dimensional collapse».
«Really?! That really surprised me! Suddenly, a bright light flashed and the ground shook!».
«Yes I know. But now you can calm down. Everything is fine».
While I was calming Ainar down, Amelia approached me and asked: «A moment ago... Was it Tersia's thing?».
«Sí.»
«...Impressive. So that is the power of a Soil Essence».
«Don't worry. I'll make sure you get one later too».
As I kindly calmed her down, she turned around and scolded me for trying to placate her like a barbarian. From his expression, it seemed like he was looking forward to it.
«So, are you done yet?».
«Oh yeah. We're done.» He hadn't tested his active ability yet, but we couldn't check it here anyway. We'd have to experiment with it later in town. It was a rather unusual ability, after all.
«Erwen, can you walk?»
«No... I don't think I can.»
Since Erwen was exhausted, I decided to charge her. However, before he could lift it, someone ran over. «Ah! Then I'll take you!» It was Ainar, who had been an expert at acting as a steed in the old days. «Get on! Any day now».
«...Okay. Gr-thank you...»
With Ainar carrying Erwen on his back, we headed to the cabin. Unlike the new winter landscape outside, the interior of the cabin was the same as before, from the bookshelf to the dining room table, the rug, and even the small bed my feet hung from when I lay on it.
Crepit.
Last of all was the lit fireplace.
«Yandel, what do we have to do now?»
«We just have to get into the fire».
This way we would get our reward. Afterwards, the Witch's Hut would close, and we would be moved back to the forest.
«...Bjorn.» Suddenly, Ainar turned to me, his expression unusually serious. «I don't think it's a good idea to go into those flames».
What was he talking about now? There was no point in answering him, so I squatted down and got into the fire first.
¡Fwoosh!
The flames were hot, but they did not burn.
[Your Spiritual Resistance has permanently increased by +50.]
Well, there's the increase in statistics...
I closed my eyes as a comforting warmth enveloped me.
«¿Eh…?»
However, when I opened them, I froze. He was no longer in the Witch's Hut. I was in a place I had never been.
«Who are you?»
And there was a girl with the complexion of a ghost staring at me.