[Ogre Essence penetrates your soul].

[Strength +140]

[Magic Resistance +80]

[Physical Resistance +40]

[Resistance to everything +10].

[Natural Regeneration -40].

[Cognitive abilities -20].

As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked my watch. Fortunately, not much time has passed. Just in case, I hedged my bets and went out in a hurry.

—…

After watching my sleeping colleagues for a while, I took out a knife. Then, as if sawing, he ran it along the back of his hand.

*Cut, cut*

After I, with great effort, passed it back and forth about 10 times, one drop of blood flowed out. Watching the wound not heal, I realized that my concept of the character really changed in an instant.

*Compression*.

I clenched my fist. The changes in my body were palpable, but not as dramatic as when I took the essence of the Orc Hero.

It wasn't that I couldn't understand. The Vampire Essence had disappeared, but the Keeper of Balance was still active.

I will be able to feel exactly how much my strength has increased only after I go outside.

For a while, I counted the gains and losses, watching the torchlighted passage from the other side.

An ogre, huh?

The ogre was a rank 3 monster with stats and skills that a tank would be delighted with. However, its essence was not included in my planned final combination for practical reasons rather than incompatibility. A rank 3 monster was already quite difficult to defeat. In addition, out of the seven active skills, I needed to make sure that the color I wanted would appear. Not only was the acquisition difficulty too high, but in terms of defense, there was a rank 4 monster called the Steel Giant, which was more effective than this.

But the Iron Giant also has a disadvantage - he cannot use weapons.

After all, it's a matter of taste. Did you want to deal more damage or just focus on tanking?

The difference in stats between the two essences was negligible, so most of the time in the game I chose an extreme tank. I decided that it would be wiser to cultivate a damage dealer than to spend effort searching for the Ogre essence. And indeed, the decision turned out to be correct. As a result, I was able to unlock the original version of [The Door to the Abyss] that no one had ever reached.

Best Game Consoles

 

But...

To be honest, Ogres are a bit better.

Flexible change in the growth method was the beauty of this game, and that was also the skill of the player.

In any case, the final combination was not strictly defined. Apart from the basic essences, the rest were not decisive. I decided on three or four candidates with similar characteristics for each main role (essence), took the first one that fell out, and moved on to the next one. I wanted to beat the game, not make a perfect character.

A bit disappointing that it's not a yellow essence, but it won't change the whole growth method.

It was hard to believe. I exchanged the Vampire Essence, hoping to get the Iron Giant at best, but needless to say, the result was beyond that?

What are the conditions? If you offer the Guardian Vampire Essence specifically, you can get the 2nd rank?

It was an innocent question. As a gamer, curiosity gripped me, but I forced myself to suppress it.

Now it should be about 30%. No, maybe 40%?

Having revised the survival rate in accordance with the new situation, I drew a new, detailed battle scheme in my head. What can be done at the moment to increase the probability a little more?

... It is better to take off the armor. He will never wait for us to prepare.

Like a swordsman sharpening a sword the night before a decisive battle, I refined plans and looked for the best options.

The cognitive decline was not as severe as I thought. If the balance of power is so good, then I won't be set back in terms of brute force.

The pieces of the plan were put together one by one into a single figure. However, the more I planned, the faster my heart was beating.

*Tudum!*

The future was like broken glass. No one could predict the outcome perfectly. No matter how perfect the plan was, countless variables appeared in it. From that moment on, I had to improvise, as if I had summoned Lord Floor.

*Tudum!*

Maybe there is something else I could prepare? Is there an error in my reasoning? Like in an exam where my life was at stake, I thought uncompromisingly over and over again.

A long time passed, Rothmiller woke up and quietly called to me.

"Bjorn." Something is coming.

This meant that the time had come. I hurriedly woke up my teammates and looked at my watch.

[9:47]

About 4 hours have passed since the break. In other words, there were about 38 hours left before the maze closed.

"It's faster than we expected. They must have a way of tracking us.

I let Rothmiller's words pass from one ear to the other. It was something I already knew, and if there was one piece of information I needed to put into my head right now, it wasn't this.

So, the journey from there to here took 4 hours.

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

For now...

*Top*

… All that remained was to roll the dice.

***

*Top! Top!*

At regular intervals, footsteps were heard from the darkness. They approached us as if they wanted to strangle us, slowly, slowly.

*Top*

Soon Vagos came into view. His companion was an unfortunate cripple. He, apparently, made another sacrifice, because blood dripped from his squinted eye.

"It's too cruel!"

"Why did he do this to his comrade...?"

Everyone frowned at this strange sight, but I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He left the priest at the portal. If they came together, we wouldn't stand a chance.

*Top*

While I was thinking about this, Vagos stopped at a sufficient distance.

A heavy silence fell.

"What, is everyone alive?"

He chuckled lightly. This was far from the reaction I expected. It wouldn't have seemed strange to me if he had started pricking my stomach first.

What is it about?

"I thought someone had died, because I suddenly regained my strength.

These words removed all anxiety.

No wonder he is strangely calm.

He hadn't noticed yet. He thought that "Pent-Up Desire" was still in my belly. After listening to him, it became clear why he thought so.

Until he continued:

"Oh, yes. I suppose you ate the essence of Vaikundus?"

Even against the background of all this, the guy presented a new opportunity.

I couldn't help laughing.

I didn't expect him to be so narrow-minded.

Even if the eight of us had to split the stats because of the [Keeper of Balance], the increase was not commensurate with Vaikundus. This guy must have sensed it too. However, he had already decided what answer he needed and was looking for evidence.

How could he come to the right answer?

Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.

I mentally added one more point about him.

Surprisingly, this guy was an optimist. But perhaps my laughter seemed ominous to him.

He wiped away his relaxation and asked me:

— ... Barbarian, you kept your oath, didn't you?

I stared at him without answering, with an expression on my face that said:

"Do I need to explain at all?"

It seemed that even this was not enough for him.

"Object, where is the object?" He asked again. This time, there was irritation in his voice.

Although he tried to deny it, saying that it had cost him dearly, he himself was slowly beginning to realize that he might have been fooled.

Finally, he asked:

—... You've already used it, right?

I answered:

"Oh, it wasn't on purpose.

— ... A what?

"I'm sorry. I was just bored and messed with it, but it accidentally broke.

Despite my sincere apologies, he trembled like an aspen tree. He was slow to accept the truth.

He was fooled by the fact that barbarians, who had only honor, which they defended and considered as valuable as their lives - the oath of a warrior.

"I see you didn't intend to keep your oath from the beginning.

A searing killing energy touched my skin. As befits a barbarian, I confidently straightened my shoulders.

"So you don't care that I'm sorry...?"

"Die."

When I heard this voice, the sword was already visible at close range. At that moment, he had shortened the distance by that much. I managed to react in time, because I followed his every move, provoking him.

*Whoosh!*

I raised my shield. Not to block it...

*Klang!*

I struck the sword from the side with all my strength. It was a countermeasure that I came up with, replaying the simulation of the fight in my head in the remaining time. The sword was arched. Blocking it could only get a hole in the shield.

"Dvalki!"

As soon as I pushed him away with overwhelming force and screamed, the magic that I had instructed him about in advance worked.

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast a 7th rank spell [Ice Storm]].

Fortunately, it looks like he finished the spell while I was talking and was buying time.

*Shh!*

Sharp shards of ice swirled around and filled the passage. It was so cold that goosebumps ran down my skin, sticking even to the walls in the distance. Oddly enough, at the end of the snowstorm, I felt a strange warmth. Even without seeing him, it was clear what it was.

[Regal Vagos used [Furnace]].

This was one of the abilities of the Lava Giant's rank 4 monster, a buff skill that, when activated, made the user immune to cold and fire damage and greatly increased their Constitution stats. I was worried that it was information from ten years ago, but he still had it.

*Tearing Paper!*

I tore up the scroll without regret. It was obtained after defeating one of the intermediate bosses, Argos, and was supposed to be used to defeat the Minotaur.

[Flames of Greed has detected a fire-type skill in the area of effect].

[Objective Definition Complete].

[The Lava Giant Essence possessed by Regal Vagos will be sealed for 48 hours].

The heat on the other side of the passage stopped at the same time as the scroll burned. So, one rank 4 essence was sorted out.

I wonder how this bastard is doing now?

*Shaaaa!*

Soon the blizzard that had frozen the entire passage dissipated. The guy stood completely unharmed, without any injuries, behind a translucent black curtain that resembled a window.

"Is that all you can do?"

The bastard looked at us and smiled mischievously.

If he thought it was a surprise attack, a decisive killing blow, then it made sense.

I didn't think it would work.

The skill he had just used was [Dark Veil], which wasn't on the list of essences Rothmiller told me about. In other words, one of the variables that worried me had been identified.

There were only one or two unidentified essences left.

Of course, he could have other numbered items, so I had to keep an eye on him-

*Boom!*

Before I had time to collect my thoughts, he was next to me again. As before, I tried to deflect the sword with my shield, but he wasn't a fool either, and I learned from my mistakes.

*Woom!*

The shield flew through the air. When I realized this, I felt a slight pain and a feeling of a foreign body in the shoulder area.

*Colic!*

Upon checking, it turned out that the arch sword, which cut the lithinum shield like butter, pierced my hand by about 3 cm.

—…?

—…?

As soon as our eyes met, an expression of bewilderment appeared on his face. He was going to cut off my hand, but he only punched it that deep. The reason was simple.

Do you know what my Physical Resistance is right now?

The Ogre's passive skill was [Iron Skin]. A skill with insane stats that doubled Physical Resistance and doubled it for slashing attacks. If we had similar stats because of the [Keeper of Balance], then it was only natural that I would be able to resist even a long sword from the arch.

Hmm... I didn't want to show it to him so early.

Until the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to block the sword with a shield and hide it for as long as possible. However, a person of his level could guess what essence this ability was coming from.

Looking at its scorched crown, I decided to use the Ogre Red Essence Active Skill, the first real offensive skill I had gained since the evil [Flesh Explosion].

[You used [Swing]. The destructive power of blunt weapons has increased significantly in proportion to your Strength].

I didn't know why the guy with the nickname Tyrant of the Forest had this skill name.

Well, as long as the effects are good.

*Woom!*

I swung my mace with all my might.