Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 348

“Manticore.”

It’s true that I ate that essence thinking I’d erase it someday.

That’s why, when I bought the essence this time, I was debating whether to erase the Corpse Golem or this one.

But…….

“Hey, Amelia… if I remove this, my magic resistance will drop, making me vulnerable to magic attacks…….”

At first, I was reluctant to lose [Leap], my only movement skill, but that’s not the real problem.

The lack of magic resistance is the issue.

Until I get the essence of Bellarios, the balance of my tanking ability will be greatly disrupted.

‘And I can’t erase Storm Gush either.’

Storm Gush is a Rank 3 essence, no less.

Well, I’ll have to erase it eventually, though…….

At least after clearing the Underground Island event. With this essence, I can breeze through it.

Oh, by the way, the second core essence after [Giantification] comes from there.

‘…Hah, so what should I do?’

My worries deepen.

Rather than giving up the essence, giving up the disguise seems like an option.

Looking at the royal family’s actions, there are definitely suspicious parts, but surprisingly, there might not be a big problem in clearing my false accusation of being a demon.

Surely they wouldn’t commit mass murder—

“Ah, and I didn’t say it because I thought you’d know, but if it’s proven that you’re not a demon, the royal family won’t be happy about it.”

“…Huh?”

“Why do you look so surprised? It’s like a blemish on the royal family’s perfection, which has acknowledged the rumors.”

Ugh… this is making me worry.

Since it was difficult to make a decision easily, I asked Erwen and Amelia for their opinions.

“What do you think would be best?”

“I… I think it would be best to hide your appearance as much as possible if you can.”

First of all, Erwen was on the side of eating the essence.

“Why?”

“…Just a feeling.”

Okay, it’s intuition.

And when I turned my gaze to Amelia, she also gave her thoughts.

“I agree with Erwen.”

“Why?”

“It’s not like you’ll gain much even if you get your name back.”

Why not?

I wouldn’t have to erase the essence.

Just as I was about to say that, Amelia continued.

“Surely you don’t think your former colleagues will come back right away, even after more than two years, do you?”

Erwen agreed with that opinion.

“Certainly, even if Ainar hears about your return, it will be difficult for Arua Raven to come back. She’s part of the royal military, after all.”

I expect that Bear Uncle’s situation will be similar.

Since he joined a clan, it would be difficult for him to leave.

And in the meantime, Misha’s situation is unknown except that Baekho became her companion.

‘In that sense, what they’re saying isn’t wrong.’

I paused the conversation for a moment and repeatedly calculated the pros and cons of the two options.

It didn’t take as long as I thought.

‘According to the information I got from the Round Table, the royal family will soon issue a conscription order for the nobles.’

Most of them will send their carefully hoarded private soldiers, but as an explorer, I won’t be spared.

I’ll have to participate in the war right away and follow the orders of my superiors.

Soon, I made a decision.

“I’ll… erase the essence.”

My jump key…….

***

Now that the course of action has been decided, it was time to move on to the next agenda.

If I were to eat an essence, what would be good to eat?

As I talked about this, I realized that these two had one thing in common.

“An Imp’s essence would be good, it has a bit of magic resistance too.”

“But that’s a Rank 7 essence, so it’s actually harder to find on the market. A Dwarf Eater’s essence is better. It increases bone density like Ainar, so it would suit you well.”

“Do you have the money to buy a Rank 4 essence? An Alt Smorer, which is Rank 5, would be better.”

“Ah, Alt Smorer? That’s a no-go. It has fatal side effects…….”

“Side effects?”

Erwen glanced at me and whispered to Amelia in a small voice.

I couldn’t hear the content, but Amelia, after hearing it, glanced at me and said, ‘That could be true,’ and didn’t say anything more.

‘Why are they both so interested in my essence situation?’

I chuckled and cut off their conversation.

“Stop it. I already have something in mind.”

I chose the one that could reduce my size and had the best stats and skills, and I have three candidates.

“Erwen, go to the bank tomorrow and see how much money you can borrow using the house as collateral. Amelia, check the market for the essence I told you about.”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s eat. I’m starving.”

We finished the conversation at this point, and the three of us shared the dinner that Erwen had bought.

And…….

“…You’re going to live here from today?”

“There seem to be many empty rooms, is there a problem?”

“I wish you would separate work and personal life.”

“Hah, stop it. I’m tired, let’s just sleep. Amelia, you can use any of the remaining rooms.”

There was a bit of a commotion when Amelia, who I thought had gone back to the dorm, came back in the middle of the night with her luggage, but it didn’t escalate into a big problem.

That’s how a strangely tiring day ended.

“Uncle! I’m off!”

From the next day, Erwen and Amelia went out for their respective roles, and I spent my time in the dark house in seclusion.

In other words, I kept sleeping.

Fortunately, the collateral loan came through in just three days at a reasonable level, and with that money, I was able to retrieve Crawl’s Demon Crusher, which had been held as collateral by the bank.

“…Heh, are you that happy?”

Of course, I am.

This is going to be my treasure number one from now on.

「The character has equipped No. 87 Crawl’s Demon Crusher.」

「The overall item level increases by +4,800.」

Anyway, the good news didn’t end there.

The essence I was looking for was also put up for sale on the market.

Well, it wasn’t the first choice, but the second choice…….

But the difference between the ranks wasn’t significant, and it wasn’t an essence I’d be using for long anyway.

‘And the price is reasonable.’

I spent almost all the money left after getting the Demon Crusher back to buy the essence.

The shield for the labyrinth was already custom-made through Erwen, and the rest of the equipment would be made cheaply with tier 1 materials, so I figured there wouldn’t be any major expenses in the future.

…Ah, is there one left?

‘Please, let no one recognize me.’

Having bought the essence, I visited the temple the next day.

It was the Tovera Order, one of the Three Gods.

I was worried about visiting the Leatlass Temple too often.

“If we go in together, we’ll stand out even more.”

“Be safe…….”

“Don’t make a mistake and draw attention.”

It wasn’t a large temple with good accessibility, but a small temple built on the outskirts of the city, where 90% of the visitors were ordinary people.

Even so, I had to show my face to erase the essence, so I was quite worried, but…….

“Heh heh, you’re quite a well-built fellow for a human. You would have been a great knight.”

Fortunately, the old priest in charge of removing the essence didn’t recognize me.

「The [Essence of Manticore] that had permeated the character’s soul has been removed.」

「Permanently acquire a portion of the stats gained from the passive skill [Inheritance].」

The essence removal that I was worried about was also completed safely.

I paid exactly twice the cost of the previous removal and hurried out of the temple and back home.

And I opened the cap of the test tube I had bought in advance.

「The [Essence of Gachabon] permeates the character’s soul.」

The essence of a Rank 6 undead Gachabon.

The basic stats attached are simple.

「Sixth Sense increases by +40.」

「Physical Resistance increases by +15.」

「Darkness Resistance increases by +30.」

「Accuracy increases by +45.」

Ambiguous stats for a specific class to use.

And…….

「Bone Density increases by +110.」

The bone density stat that will make me human-shaped.

Finally, there is a penalty attached to this.

「Luck decreases by -50.」

「Control decreases by -30.」

Luck is a stat that increases the probability of random elements such as critical hit chance.

Control is a stat that gives a bonus to prevent mental magic and status ailments like ‘fear’.

Well, since it has decreased, it will now have the opposite effect.

“Oh.”

“Woah…….”

As soon as the essence absorption was over, the two who were watching let out strange exclamations.

Actually, I was the one who felt the strangest.

Now, the eye level is not much different.

Amelia, her height was around 170 in the early days. So, did I shrink to about 180 in the mid-range?

As I was thinking about that, Erwen avoided my gaze.

“…Am I that weird?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that…….”

“Then what is it?”

“I, rather than me saying it… it would be faster to see it yourself…….”

Erwen pointed to the mirror with her index finger, and I moved in front of it, grabbing my loose pants with my hand.

However, there was no longer a sturdy barbarian warrior there.

There was only a handsome human man.

“…Is that me?”

I could understand why Ainar was so depressed back then.

I look so weak.

Like I’d break if I were hit with a hammer.

***

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 6

Physical: 1,230.39(New +290.62) / Mental: 443.3(New -60.19) / Ethereal: 1,706.25(New -469.3)

Item Level: 6,285(New +1,658)

Overall Combat Index: 4,951.19(New +175.63)

Acquired Essences: Orc Hero – Rank 5 / Ogre – Rank 3 / Bayon – Rank 3 / Storm Gush – Rank 3 / Bol-Helchan – Rank 3(New) / Gachabon – Rank 6(New)

***

‘Should I erase this essence again?’

My reflection in the mirror was so terrible that I had such thoughts. I guess that’s why Erwen avoided my gaze and trailed off.

“Um… Uncle, what’s wrong? Why are your shoulders suddenly slumped like that…….”

As I was feeling depressed, Erwen asked me why, and I answered honestly.

How can I go outside looking like this?

Just look at Erwen, she still can’t look at me properly—

“N, no? O, oh, it’s a misunderstanding! It wasn’t like that when I avoided your gaze!”

“Huh? It wasn’t because you were holding back laughter at my pathetic appearance?”

“No! There’s no way!”

“Then why did you do that?”

When I asked back, Erwen answered in a small, somewhat embarrassed voice.

“B, because you’re handsome…….”

“What?”

Her taste is quite common.

Was she so obsessed with me when I was a barbarian not because she saw me as a man, but simply because she saw me as a protector?

I asked Amelia to get a sample.

“Do you think so too?”

“Well…….”

Amelia stared at my face intently, then chuckled and turned her head away.

“Well, it might be nice not to have a sore neck when looking up.”

Surprisingly, none of my companions had a negative opinion of my current appearance.

Have I become too accustomed to being a barbarian?

‘…Looking at it closely, I think I’m considered handsome by modern standards.’

Of course, regardless of that thought, I have no intention of maintaining this appearance.

[Giantification] is based on the basic physique.

I can’t get the efficiency with this small body.

“Okay, I’m going to check my ethereal abilities, can you help me?”

I couldn’t keep being discouraged with my shrunken body, so I decided to get things done.

The first thing to do was to practice my skills.

‘It’s a bit much to go out into the yard in the middle of the day, so I’ll just do it in the living room.’

“Yes, I’ll help you. What should I do?”

“Ah, you can hit me. Use spirits or ethereal abilities.”

“………Yes?”

Uh… does she not know the passive of this essence?

It seemed like she didn’t, so I briefly explained the passive skill.

(P) Probabilistic Retaliation – When taking damage that uses resources, there is a certain chance to ignore the damage and reflect it.

Whether it’s magic, divine power, or spirits, as long as it uses resources, the passive skill applies.

The reason I chose this essence was largely due to the existence of this skill.

Of course, it won’t be enough to make up for the reduced magic resistance, but this was the only essence that had this performance at this price.

In the first place, my first choice was a different color of this essence.

‘Anyway, the probability was about 10%…….’

For reference, this is the value after applying the reduced luck stat.

Well, there will be some slight errors depending on the luck stat I had by default, but it won’t be significant.

“Um… then, I’ll do it?”

After the explanation, Erwen summoned spirits and began to attack me.

And…….

「The character has taken cold damage.」

「The character has taken cold damage.」

「The character has taken cold damage…….」

「…….」

Huh?

“Erwen, change the attribute.”

“Yes!”

「The character has taken fire damage.」

「The character has taken fire damage.」

「The character has taken fire damage…….」

「…….」

What is this?

“W, wait a minute! Amelia, you try it.”

“If you want. The height is just right now.”

「The character has been hit by [Asura Kick].」

「The character has been hit by [Asura Kick].」

「The character has been hit by [Asura Kick]…….」

No, what is this? What is it really?

“Agh!! S, stop!!”

Why isn’t this triggering?