NoveLight ™
Chapter 69 – Barbarian Hero (Part 2)
"He must be in a dilemma, because there is no one to clear the way. Give me the essence of the Orc Hero. I will clear the way in the vanguard.
Misha's brother looked at me with cold eyes.
"Now that I see it, you're just crazy. Is there no one to clear the road? What are you talking about? Don't you see the mages over there?
At that moment, I realized something - talking to this guy was a waste of time. He was just a low-ranking member who didn't have the knowledge to make his own judgments, and he wasn't fully aware of the current situation. The same was true for the other members who were watching the situation from afar.
"Half-, come here." I don't want to bear the shame of leaving my little sister in danger.
— B-Bjorn...?
I needed someone I could communicate with. For example, the one who led the battle with Riakis.
If that's him, then he has at least some common sense. But I don't think he'll bring his boss to me if I ask him to...
"Ahem," I cleared my throat first. As befits a barbarian, I shouted with all my might. "Invest in me if you don't want to die." I'll clear the way!
Anyone with hearing couldn't help but hear this cry.
A moment later, a man stepped forward.
"You!" What's your name?
"Bjorn, son of Yandel."
— Iraj McGrane. For now, I'm the deputy commander of the Zarvi clan.
The performances were over in an instant, and he went straight to the point.
"Tell me, Bjorn Yandel. Who told you that we subjugated the Orc Hero?
Is this where you want to start?
"I guessed.
"Have you guessed...?"
— Yes.
Of course, at first I didn't understand anything either. Why would such a large clan go down to control something like an Orc colony? After carefully combining all the clues, I came to a conclusion.
"If you really went down just to catch the Mighty Orc Warrior, you wouldn't have brought all these strategic supplies with you.
Because you're a big clan? Because you always carry so many consumables with you? No way. Maybe to some extent, but this was far from the case.
"Unless you had another purpose."
Rank 5 Monster Orc Hero: A kind of hidden boss summoned after donating 777 mana gems of the Mighty Orc Warriors to the altar in the center of the colony. That had to be their goal. The Orc Lord, who appeared with a very rare chance, couldn't be caught no matter what they did.
That was the amount of supplies there would be in case the Orc Lord did show up.
"But I don't think the Orc Lord has appeared?"
"Ha. Do you know that too? McGrane let out a strange exclamation, but there were no more questions. "Okay, then explain to us why we need you?"
His proposal omitted many questions and curiosities that should have remained. There was no more time to waste here.
Since this man smelled eccentric, I got straight to the point.
"I have [Imprint of Immortality] and Vampiric essence. By the way, this is the essence of the Rift Keeper.
"That means you can use all three abilities.
It would have been the first time to hear that the Vampire had become the Rift Keeper, but McGrane just nodded and walked on.
"And?"
"I have the essence of the Corpse Golem. It's not very well known, but it has Pain Resistance...
— There is no need to explain in detail. Does that mean you can fight while drinking potions?
— ... Faithfully.
"Is that all?"
When I nodded honestly, McGrane closed his eyes, as if collecting his thoughts. As someone who is suspected of being obsessed with efficiency, this time has been short-lived.
— Of course, this is not bad. No, compared to the two of them, it's much better.
When he said this, his reaction was completely different from that of Misha's brother, who looked at me like I was crazy.
He was even quicker to draw conclusions.
"Okay, I'll invest in you.
Thelon spat something out next to him.
"Deputy Chief!" The essence was ordered by a noble family!
"Enough!" All we have to do is say that the essence hasn't appeared. If one essence can save a few more people, isn't it worth investing in it?
McGrane immediately ignored his counterargument and continued to talk to me.
— Of course, there is a condition. If we get out of this alive, join our clan.
Hell, no wonder he agreed so easily. It was not even worth thinking about.
"I refuse.
Once you joined a clan, it was difficult to leave it. It's not that you can't be reversed, but you'd be branded a traitor. There was even a case where I was sent on a raid into a maze after I didn't pay to get out.
But it was reality, not a game.
"Why?" This should be a good offer for you.
"I don't intend to work under anyone yet.
Unless I created my own clan in the future, there was no need to go to the unit and limit my actions. If my life was at stake, I wouldn't have any other options, but they didn't have a choice either. It was a kind of tag game, where the winner was already determined. I only had my life at stake, but this guy carried the lives of 23 people on his shoulders.
"What a pity," McGrane said at last.
"So, what's your decision?"
"Alright, I'll give you the essence."
Did he really think that even arguing was a waste of time? McGrane expressed regret and ordered someone to bring me the box.
Strangely.
I tried to calm down and slowly opened the box.
*Click*
There were three Orc Heroes summoned with mana stones. Each of them had a unique name. In other words, they gave out rather problematic essences, being high-ranking mutants. Therefore, even though they were rank 5 monsters, it was necessary to attack them in raids.
Denish? Belta? Tarugas? Which of the three of them spat out the essence?
I used to refer to these guys as the three orc brothers, and each of them dropped an essence of a certain color. Denish had a red essence containing the [Scream of Madness]. Belta had a blue essence containing the [Battle Flag]. Tarugas had a green essence containing a skill that was also the basis of my shield barbarian growth method. Which of the three fell out?
"Phew...
Immediately after opening the box, I checked the color of the transparent test tube.
"It's green.
Luck was on my side, and it made me worry.
***
[Orc Hero Essence penetrates the character's soul]
Strength +70
Agility +35
Боевой Дух +40
Physical Resistance +20
Bone Durability +30.
***
The changes were dramatic and instantaneous. There were no external changes like Einar's, but as with the physical essence, I was overwhelmed with power.
*Clenches his fist!*
Not to mention the improvement in muscle strength, my weight seemed to decrease with the increase in agility. From that moment on, I was able to move more nimble than before in everything.
Is it because of the Martial Spirit?
In addition, unlike usual, I had a desire to master this power as quickly as possible.
"Take off your gear first.
I suppressed this excitement and took off my equipment as ordered.
While I was doing this, someone spoke to me from the other side.
"How did you even know?" That we were assigned to such a mission.
"I didn't know.
— ... Didn't know? But why did you ask so confidently about the essence?
Well, they probably didn't know which of the three essences would come out either. I expected the participant who would take the essence to decide after placing it in the test tube because the cost of the test tube was not a big burden for them. I explained it as follows.
"Hmm, come to think of it, it makes sense.
"Is that the end of your questions?"
— For now. There is no time.
As soon as I packed my gear into my backpack and handed it to Mike, McGrane handed me a bundle of scrolls. I didn't bother to ask what it was. I just grabbed it all in my hand and immediately tore it aside.
[You used the Advanced Physical Protection Scroll. Physical Resistance is temporarily +10].
[You used the Advanced Scroll Enhanced Stamina. Stamina reduction temporarily decreased.]
[You have used the Advanced Scroll of Energy Regeneration. Stamina regeneration has been temporarily greatly increased].
A multi-colored aura glowed softly on my skin under the influence of the various scrolls.
"Then drink that too."
Next to the scrolls were various potions.
[You have taken the Elixir of Strength Enhancement. Strength is temporary +10].
[You have drunk Spirit Tears. All elemental resistance stats are temporarily +15].
[You have taken Basilisk Flask. Pain Resistance is temporary +15].
Damn, is this really the real power?
"To be honest, I can't even get used to it.
"We're not even done yet," my companion replied.
— ... Faithfully.
The real doping has not even begun yet. When McGrane gave the signal, the support researchers put their powers to work.
[Aaron Deflane cast the spell [Blessing of Spirits]. Magic Resistance greatly increased]
[Aaron Deflane cast the spell [Flame of Regeneration]. Physical regeneration greatly increased].
[Tarrotes Fian cast the spell [Coffin of Sacrifice].
Every time a new kind of force entered my body, I felt an incomprehensible excitement.
It seemed to me that I had become an emperor. But this was still not enough. In order to break through this darkness full of Riakis clones, I had to become a monster superior to the emperor.
"Okay, now it's your turn.
When McGrane made a gesture, Mike's older brother came up to me. He could not say anything in the presence of the deputy commander, but I could tell that he was dissatisfied. In fact, it was mutual.
"Whatever power you absorb, it will be the most useful.
- I see.
In order to make a rational decision, it was necessary to discard personal feelings. And so, I bit Misha's brother on the neck.
"Ugh!"
The bite was strong enough to taste the fishy taste of blood.
[You've cast [Blood Master]].
The effect of the Vampire's active skill, [Master of Blood], was simple.
[You have temporarily absorbed Taylon Karlštejn's [Undead] Passive].
When the blood was sucked directly through the mouth, it was possible to absorb one target skill at random.
"Judging by the color of your eyes, it looks like you've adopted this skill.
"You don't need to explain.
[Evil Spirits] was a passive skill that increased the effectiveness of all active skills by 1.5 times, while decreasing the maximum essence value by 1.
"You're lucky.
I completely agreed, but I wanted him not to say such things. There was a feeling that something shitty would happen later.
"Then why don't we start?" McGrane asked.
I nodded, and slowly visualizing the skill I had gained through the Orc Hero essence, I activated it.
[You have applied [Gigantization]].
In an instant, the earth went into the distance, and the people on it became smaller.
[Your threat level and physical characteristics increase in proportion to your size].
This was also known as Barbarian Hero Mode. All eyes gathered on my magnificent figure.
"Oh, God...
"This... This is a monster.
In reverence, McGrane took off his cloak and the lieutenant's cloak and handed them to me.
—... You'd better cover it for now.
I also agreed, so I quickly took them and put them around my waist. At this point, all preparations were completed.
"Now we only have about 30 minutes left. Can you do it? McGrane asked.
Will I be able to?
Barely holding back the power seething inside me, I screamed,
'Behellaaa
Nothing was impossible for me now.
***
[Bjorn Jandel]
Level: 3
Constitution: 310 (Nov. +155)
Дух: 104 (нов. +12)
Special Abilities: 115
Item Level: 683
Total Combat Power: 695.75 (Nov. +167)
Acquired essences: