Chapter 857: A Choice of Three (7)
How long has it been since I last consumed an Essence? (Hanho)
I don’t know the exact date, but the sensation of an Essence being absorbed feels particularly unfamiliar. (Hanho)
It’s as if something hot is being injected into my heart through my veins. (Hanho)
Ah, is it just different because it’s a Floor Lord Essence? (Hanho)
Thump-
My heart is still pounding. (Hanho)
But since I’ve already done it, I shouldn’t have any regrets. (Hanho)
Let’s focus on the positives. (Hanho)
Right, even with the Corpse Golem, after I ate it, I found it quite useful, didn’t I? (Hanho)
「Highest ability stat has been changed.」
「Character's Natural Regeneration has increased by 1.5 times.」
Thanks to my Natural Regeneration, which must have far surpassed my Strength and Physical Resistance stats, my near-death condition is recovering in real-time, as if several Priests were working on me. (Hanho)
And the look on that bastard’s face, as if he’d just eaten shit, is a bonus. (Hanho)
“You had… an empty… Essence slot…?” (Lee Baekho)
Lee Baekho, who had been dazed, finally came to his senses and started muttering something.
From the sound of it, one of the reasons he was so careless was that he naturally assumed I had no empty slots. (Hanho)
Well, at our level, it’s common to store a desired Essence in a vial and absorb it in the city. (Hanho)
To increase our combat power even slightly, we enter the Labyrinth with our Essence slots completely full. (Hanho)
But… (Hanho)
“Burp.” (Hanho)
Ooh, is it because my organs have healed? (Hanho)
I keep burping. (Hanho)
“Ah, thanks, Baekho. I enjoyed the meal. You can buy next time.” (Hanho)
“…Huh?” (Lee Baekho)
Before Lee Baekho’s dumbfounded expression could turn to anger, I quickly stood up. (Hanho)
Join Discord
And then… (Hanho)
“Ah, right. There are a lot of new faces here.” (Hanho)
I glanced over Lee Baekho’s companions, the ones I had seen on the island when I used the Spirit Gate, making brief eye contact with them. (Hanho)
“I don’t know what kind of bastards you are, but choose your friends more carefully. Huh? What is this, really. You couldn’t find anyone better to stick with than this good-for-nothing punk, tsk.” (Hanho)
“If I see you with this bastard next time, you’ll be in real trouble, so think carefully! Got it?” (Hanho)
After saying my piece, I stretched my arms out wide. (Hanho)
One of Lee Baekho’s companions muttered. (Hanho)
It was the Dwarf from Orculis.
“Next time…?” (Dwarf)
“Yeah, next time, you punk.” (Hanho)
“Don’t tell me you think you can escape from here alive.” (Dwarf)
“Do I look like I’m trying to run away to you?” (Hanho)
“Then… do you intend to fight all of us…?” (Dwarf)
The Dwarf took a defensive stance, seemingly intimidated by my presence even as he thought it was absurd.
The timing was perfect. (Hanho)
‘Okay, now that the warm-up is over…’ (Hanho)
I spread my arms wide to find my balance. (Hanho)
Tap. (Hanho)
And just like that, I jumped. (Hanho)
Whoooosh~!
As my view tilted towards the ceiling, I saw Lee Baekho’s face as he rushed to the edge of the cliff. (Hanho)
However, there were no third-rate lines like ‘Just you wait.’ (Hanho)
He just stood there, silently looking down at my falling figure. (Hanho)
Feeling somewhat awkward, I simply raised my middle finger as a signal to him. (Hanho)
And… (Hanho)
“You said you weren’t running away…!!” (Dwarf)
From far away, I heard the Dwarf’s shout.
‘What is he talking about.’ (Hanho)
I’m not running away right now. (Hanho)
It’s just that I ate a new Essence. (Hanho)
‘I have to test its performance.’ (Hanho)
Yes, that’s all. (Hanho)
—
The heavy body of a Barbarian, clad even in heavy armor, chased the source of gravity. (Hanho)
Ah, to put it simply. (Hanho)
Whoooooooosh~!
I am falling at a terrifying speed. (Hanho)
By now, I should have hit or gotten caught on something, but there’s nothing of the sort, just… (Hanho)
My body accelerates endlessly. (Hanho)
This is another characteristic of the Fifth Floor, the Great Demon Realm. (Hanho)
「The character has deviated from the designated path for a certain period.」
In a normal environment, there’s a terminal velocity when falling. (Hanho)
Due to air resistance, the maximum speed cannot increase any further, but… (Hanho)
「The darkness of the Great Demon Realm pulls you in.」
There’s no such thing on this floor. (Hanho)
When you fall, your acceleration increases endlessly in proportion to the time spent falling, and during this time, you can’t use floating Magic or Spatial Magic. (Hanho)
It’s a very fucked up consideration from the Labyrinth’s designer. (Hanho)
If not for this, I could have skipped the Fifth Floor in an instant with floating Magic or something similar. (Hanho)
‘The Fifth Floor is the only place where you can’t even use a [Flying Ship].’ (Hanho)
In any case, because of this characteristic, explorers passing through the Great Demon Realm are most wary of falling to their death. (Hanho)
After all, if you fall in the wrong place, it’s just game over. (Hanho)
‘But how long am I going to keep falling?’ (Hanho)
It feels like a good thirty seconds have already passed. (Hanho)
It makes me think that the first person to escape this way was truly amazing. (Hanho)
To take all these risks and succeed in a random jump. (Hanho)
“…Or am I just unlucky?” (Hanho)
I don’t know, but I decided not to worry about it. (Hanho)
For the previous Shield Barbarian, this random jump would have been a life-or-death gamble, but… (Hanho)
Not anymore. (Hanho)
Anyway, since I don’t feel a great sense of crisis while falling, other thoughts keep popping up. (Hanho)
‘The Essence of Tears…’ (Hanho)
Sigh… I don’t know whether to call this a good thing. (Hanho)
It was satisfying to screw Lee Baekho over, but I’m a little worried about what comes next. (Hanho)
It would be one thing if it were any other Essence, but this is a Floor Lord Essence. (Hanho)
Once you eat it, you can’t remove it. (Hanho)
‘And it’s an Essence with a very strong personality…’ (Hanho)
First of all, the Essence of Tears is optimized for melee warriors. (Hanho)
Its raw stats prove it. (Hanho)
Natural Regeneration +1,500
Pain Resistance -150.
Mental Power -150.
HP +150.
Hmm… setting aside Mental Power and Pain Resistance. (Hanho)
The Natural Regeneration stat is insane. (Hanho)
It’s practically impossible to find a similar stat on a single Essence. (Hanho)
Thanks to this, the stability of melee combat increases drastically, and the high HP stat turns you into an immortal-like body that doesn’t get tired easily. (Hanho)
And is that all? (Hanho)
It can become a damage dealer’s core Essence by linking it with [Blood Fiend] or [Crimson Sword], which scale with Natural Regeneration. (Hanho)
It can also turn you into a healer through skills like [Solidarity], which shares a portion of your stats with bonded companions. (Hanho)
‘In fact, anyone can use it as long as they build the combination well.’ (Hanho)
Ah, of course, excluding tanks. (Hanho)
In the first place, I fed this Essence most often when raising a ranged damage dealer. (Hanho)
Through [Body Abandonment], I converted the highest physical stat… that is, Natural Regeneration, into the highest Supernatural Ability stat with a 300% bonus to massively boost damage. (Hanho)
After figuring out how to use the Essence of Chaos, I always fed that to my Fairy Archers, but anyway. (Hanho)
‘The stats are fine, but the skills are the problem…’ (Hanho)
Surprisingly, the skills of this Essence are far more unique than its stats. (Hanho)
However, it seems this free fall is about to come to an end. (Hanho)
I’ll try out the active skills later. (Hanho)
‘First, let’s start with the passives—.’ (Hanho)
My thoughts did not continue any further. (Hanho)
It was for a very physical reason. (Hanho)
「The noble guardian has determined the wearer’s life is in danger.」
「For 10 seconds, all of the character's resistance stats will increase tenfold.」
The Aegis Dragon Armor activated and all that. (Hanho)
Crack!! (Hanho)
Because my head exploded. (Hanho)
—
「The character's HP has reached 0%.」
「Commencing countdown.」
「The condition for [Disapproval] has been met.」
「During the countdown, Natural Regeneration will greatly increase in proportion to the Mental Power stat.」
「The character's Natural Regeneration stat is 5,000 or higher…」
「…….」
「…….」
—
Deep underground. (Hanho)
The very bottom of the Great Demon Realm. (Hanho)
“Ugh…” (Hanho)
When I came to my senses, I was covered in blood. (Hanho)
The equipment that didn’t have the Indestructible property was so shattered that I was worried about the repair costs. (Hanho)
And more than I had expected. (Hanho)
“It hurts more, damn it…” (Hanho)
Perhaps because of my lowered Pain Resistance, it hurt so much that it was difficult to move. (Hanho)
You know how it is. (Hanho)
When a bone in your rib or collarbone is shattered, it feels like you’ll die from just a cough. (Hanho)
That pain was blooming all over my body. (Hanho)
‘So I have to go through this every time from now on…?’ (Hanho)
I’m already sighing, but what can I do. (Hanho)
Let’s try to look at the bright side. (Hanho)
For example. (Hanho)
“Ack! Aaaargh…” (Hanho)
As long as I can endure the pain, I can move. (Hanho)
My broken bones had already mended, and my entire body had recovered enough to function normally. (Hanho)
But… (Hanho)
「Consumes 3 Mental Power per second. (555/657)」
The countdown is probably still going on. (Hanho)
[Disapproval] is a skill that causes your regeneration to skyrocket when your HP reaches 0%, but the countdown only ends when your HP reaches 10%. (Hanho)
「Consumes 3 Mental Power per second. (552/657)」
Ah, for reference, I found all this out through experimentation. (Hanho)
In the game, it just ends with a single sentence. (Hanho)
(P) Disapproval – You have not yet been permitted.
There might be more to it that I don’t know. (Hanho)
But assuming there was definitely an easter egg, I conducted numerous experiments, and the above was all I found. (Hanho)
「Consumes 3 Mental Power per second. (449/657)」
In that sense, the second passive is a bit better. (Hanho)
At least its effect is clear. (Hanho)
Hmm… (Hanho)
Hmm… as a Shield Barbarian, I’m not sure if I can even call this an effect. (Hanho)
Anyway. (Hanho)
(P) Absolute Pain – Converts 50% of damage dealt and damage received into fixed damage.
My damage is 50% stronger. (Hanho)
My tanking is 50% weaker. (Hanho)
In a way, it looks like a very reasonable trade, but from a Shield Barbarian’s perspective, it’s just a fucking loss. (Hanho)
Just because the ratio is the same doesn’t mean it’s equal. (Hanho)
If you add 5 to 10 and take away 500 from 1,000, how is that a fair trade? (Hanho)
‘Well, since they gave a lot of Natural Regeneration in the raw stats, that handicap is somewhat offset, but…’ (Hanho)
Now, extreme pain is pretty much guaranteed in every battle. (Hanho)
A path of hardship has truly opened up before me. (Hanho)
At least until I find and eat that one Essence to compensate. (Hanho)
「The character's HP has reached 10%.」
「Countdown terminated.」
Phew, I’ve recovered this much, so the countdown should be over by now… (Hanho)
Sssk. (Hanho)
I, who had been frozen in a crouch, endured the pain and slowly pushed my body up. (Hanho)
Looking down at the still-wet pools of blood, a sense of despair washed over me again. (Hanho)
‘Ha… I’d rather have gotten [Twisted Patience].’ (Hanho)
If so, this Essence might have been included in the final build for the Shield Barbarian. (Hanho)
It hurts like hell, but its performance is killer, isn’t it? (Hanho)
And I wouldn’t be the only one in pain. (Hanho)
‘It’s a characteristic of Floor Lord Essences, so I can’t help it…?’ (Hanho)
Floor Lord Essences are different from normal Essences. (Hanho)
Just as [Chaos Circuit] and [Unification] were, with a few exceptions, they come with completely different, bizarre skills that are nothing like what you’d normally use… (Hanho)
“Phew… I feel a bit more alive now.” (Hanho)
Still, is it because my regeneration has increased so much? (Hanho)
I don’t feel any particular pain when moving now. (Hanho)
Which means my body has almost fully recovered. (Hanho)
So, it’s time to find the next thing to do. (Hanho)
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” (Hanho)
The roar I let out with all my might echoes through the canyon. (Hanho)
But no matter how much time passed, no response came, so it seems there’s no one around. (Hanho)
‘Well, there’s no way Ainar and the others would be nearby.’ (Hanho)
I had just arrived at the end of the Fifth Floor, a journey that takes days, in a single moment through a free fall route. (Hanho)
The ones who escaped first are probably much further ahead. (Hanho)
‘Let’s just rest…’ (Hanho)
I thought about wandering around to search the area, but I quickly changed my mind. (Hanho)
Honestly, I was at my limit. (Hanho)
Thud! (Hanho)
So, I found a spot a little away from the bloodstains, lay down spread-eagled, and closed my eyes. (Hanho)
How much time passed? (Hanho)
Zzzzzzzzt!
An unpleasant noise that pierced my ears woke me up, and I saw cracks spreading across the world. (Hanho)
Phew, it really felt like I had just closed my eyes for a moment. (Hanho)
Flash!
The stabilization period was over. (Hanho)
—
Atop the canyon, filled with the stark traces of battle. (Hanho)
“…” (Survivor)
“…” (Survivor)
A dozen or so men and women gathered on a narrow slope were maintaining an awkward silence, watching one person’s mood. (Hanho)
But perhaps they didn’t like the atmosphere. (Hanho)
A warrior approached the man who was looking down at the chasm below and asked cautiously. (Hanho)
“Um… Sir Baekho? Are you alright…?” (Warrior)
No answer came, and the warrior said nothing more. (Hanho)
How long did that silence last? (Hanho)
Suddenly, the man stared down at the cliff and muttered blankly. (Hanho)
“Wow, this is seriously creepy.” (Lee Baekho)
“…Don’t blame yourself. In life, you experience all sorts of things, don’t you?” (Warrior)
Although the warrior himself was disappointed, he offered words of comfort. (Hanho)
Unfortunately, the man, who seemed completely absorbed in one thing, didn’t seem to hear him. (Hanho)
“Everything happened exactly as that old man said, didn’t it?” (Lee Baekho)
“…Huh?” (Warrior)
The warrior tilted his head at the completely disconnected conversation, but only for a moment. (Hanho)
The man, as if snapping out of it, tore his gaze away from the chasm. (Hanho)
“…Ah, so what did you just say? I was lost in thought.” (Lee Baekho)
“Um… I was trying to comfort you in my own way… Ahem! It’s nothing. But what did you mean by that just now? ‘As the old man said’… Didn’t you say a few days ago that you had a separate use for the Essence of Tears?” (Warrior)
“So, I just used it for that purpose.” (Lee Baekho)
It took the warrior a moment to understand the man’s words. (Hanho)
“…You mean you gave that Essence to him on purpose?” (Warrior)
“Then what? You think I’m an idiot who’d just hand it over in a vial?” (Lee Baekho)
“…” (Warrior)
“Look at this bastard. You really thought I was an idiot, didn’t you?” (Lee Baekho)
“Ahem, ahem…!” (Warrior)
The warrior let out an embarrassed cough, but perhaps he felt he still needed to clear up his remaining questions. (Hanho)
“But I don’t understand. Why would you give such a precious thing to him of all people? Wasn’t he Sir Baekho’s enemy?” (Warrior)
“Well, that hyung thinks so.” (Lee Baekho)
“Um… from what you usually say, it seems Sir Baekho thinks the same…” (Warrior)
At the warrior’s words, the man just smirked without giving any answer. (Hanho)
But perhaps he wanted to say this much? (Hanho)
“Hey, so you shouldn’t be too disappointed either. We’ll get something much more important than that damn Essence from this. Okay?” (Lee Baekho)
“Well… okay, I guess… but whatever it is, isn’t it important to you, Sir Baekho, not me…?” (Warrior)
“We’re a team, you bastard. If it’s important to me, it’s important to you too. Right?” (Lee Baekho)
“Th-That’s true! Hahaha!!” (Warrior)
The warrior’s awkward laughter filled the canyon. (Hanho)
