Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 462

「The character enters the witch’s hut.」

This was my first time back at the witch’s hut since being stranded with Misha. It was very different from the last time I was here.

Swish, swish, swish-

The fields of wildflowers and the lush green trees were gone.

“…Snow?”

A pure white snowfield stretched out before us.

The snow-covered trees were withered and thin, and a single hut could be seen in the distance.

“Oh! Is this snow! Whoa, it’s really cold!”

Aynar was as excited as a child, seeing the snow on the ground.

Well, it doesn’t snow in Lapdonia.

It’s rare to see snow except in Ice Rock, a few islands on the 6th floor, and some rifts. The Frost Canyon on the 5th floor is more like a field of ice.

“Rockrock, come here!”

“…It’s not Rockrock, it’s Auyen Rocklov.”

“Hey, don’t be so picky! This is how we become friends! Anyway, come here!”

“…Uh, ugh?”

Amelia pointed out the mistake, but Aynar dragged Auyen away and started playing in the snow.

“Ack! Ah, it hurts! Reinz, sir…!”

“…Yandel, are you just going to watch?”

Amelia questioned me, as if asking why I wasn’t stopping them.

Come on, a barbarian can play in the snow, can’t he?

“Just let them be. I’ll be checking Erwen’s essence for a while anyway.”

“So, you’re saying you have no intention of resolving it.”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

“Whatever, you go check the essence. I’ll stay here.”

“…You’re not coming with me?”

“I was thinking I needed to set an example sometime anyway.”

After saying something incomprehensible, Amelia jumped in front of Auyen.

And then…

“Oh! You’re going to join us!”

“Yeah.”

After activating [Self-Replication], she started throwing snowballs at Aynar.

“Hahaha! Ha! Take this!!”

Aynar was initially happy to have another playmate, but that expression quickly disappeared.

“…Ugh, ugh! Wh, what are you doing—!”

Not only did she grab his arm and flip him onto the snow, but Amelia also rubbed Aynar’s face in the snow.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

“Here, this is the snow you like.”

“Th, the snowball fights I’ve heard of aren’t like th—!”

“Why do we need rules for a fight?”

“Ugh, ughhh! You think I’ll just take it!!”

Aynar soon used his immense strength to get up, but Amelia clung to his back and pinned his arms with her legs.

And then…

“What are you going to do if you don’t get hit?”

Using her clones, she relentlessly pelted his unguarded face with snowballs.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack-!

It was like a skilled pitcher hitting a target.

“…Mister?”

“…Let’s just go.”

“Yes.”

We left the three of them and headed towards the back of the hut. After all, there was no better training ground than the witch’s hut.

It was a private environment, and unlike the training grounds in the city, there was no need to pay for damages.

“Erwen, are you done adjusting?”

“Yes.”

“What changes do you feel?”

“I’m not sure. It feels like all my abilities have increased overall, but I don’t feel like one specific thing has increased dramatically…”

“There must be more?”

“…My head has been hurting a lot since earlier.”

It wasn’t just hurting; it must have been unbearable.

Well, considering her previous state, just not showing it was a huge improvement.

“Don’t worry too much, it’s because of the essence.”

“Yes…? Because of the essence?”

Erwen’s eyes lit up with curiosity, and I slowly began to explain.

First, I had to talk about the stats.

[Chaos]

The negative value you possess is doubled, and all stats increase in proportion to the increased negative value.

In the game, that’s all that was written in the basic stats section. Figuring out the formula was my job as a player, as always.

“If it’s a negative value… are you talking about the debuff value?”

Ah, I need to explain that first.

“That’s included, but it’s not just that.”

In [Dungeon & Stone], each stat has a coefficient, and the values of physical, mental, and supernatural categories increase according to that coefficient.

For example, if the dexterity stat, which has a coefficient of 0.5, increases by +1, the supernatural value increases by 0.5.

‘The magic resistance stat, which is a high-value stat, has a coefficient of 3.’

Anyway, that’s not the important part.

Most stats have a coefficient of 0 or more, but sometimes you can see stats with a negative coefficient.

I called those negative stats.

“For example, among the stats you have, there are impulse and distrust.”

If these stats have a + sign, your abilities decrease.

Conversely, when a stat with a coefficient of 0 or more has a – sign, it’s called a ‘debuff value,’ as Erwen said.

Like the -30 control stat on [Rupture].

“Ah…”

Since the basic concept seemed to be explained, I quickly started calculating.

What was Erwen’s current negative value?

First, the physical resistance from ‘Evan’s’ essence was -80.

The soul regeneration from the royal reward I recommended, ‘Ritcannon’s’ essence, was -40.

The control stat from [Rupture] was -30.

From ‘Calvan,’ impulse was +30 and distrust was +30.

‘The possessiveness attached to the Metcrow essence has a coefficient of 0, so it doesn’t need to be included. The +40 deficiency was also removed before entering the labyrinth this time, so…’

After multiplying the stats by their individual coefficients and adding them up, multiplying by the coefficient of the chaos essence, 0.2, would complete the calculation.

The number came out.

‘53.8.’

The amount of increase in all of Erwen’s abilities due to the chaos essence.

Ah, is it right to say all abilities?

Abilities that she doesn’t possess, like luck or bone density, don’t increase.

‘…How is it already this efficient?’

I was a bit taken aback.

The ‘Ritcannon’ essence was something I recommended, but the rest were things Erwen had acquired on her own.

‘If her mental stats are being reduced this much, it seems a bit dangerous…’

Still, her mental fortitude has become much stronger.

As proof, even though the influence of the stats would be greater than when we first met, she’s staying calm.

‘Still, I’m worried, so I should quickly change it to another essence.’

In the first place, mental stats have low coefficients, making it difficult to properly utilize the chaos essence. Control is somewhat better, but ‘distrust’ has a coefficient of only 0.6.

It’s much more efficient to reduce high-value stats with high coefficients. If you reduce magic resistance by 50, you can increase all stats by 30.

‘…Well, if you calculate the double increase in negative value, it’s a decrease of 100.’

Anyway, this characteristic makes it a good essence for damage dealers.

There aren’t many tank essences that reduce damage and increase tankiness.

“I see… Come to think of it, you told me before that it’s good to specialize in what I’m best at…”

Um, did I say that?

I don’t remember, but it was time to move on to the next step. Although it wasn’t the inn room where she usually showed her supernatural abilities…

“Now, then, use your supernatural abilities!”

Still, we had to do what we had to do.

***

The chaos essence consists of two skills.

One passive and one active.

That’s all.

Considering that you can get more than five active skills from a guardian essence, it’s an extremely lacking composition, but…

Sometimes, one is better than a hundred.

(P) Chaos Circuit — All resources possessed by the character are combined into one. When all resources are consumed, the power of chaos can be used.

First of all, the passive is quite unique.

In simple terms, it’s a skill that integrates resources such as mana, natural power, soul power, and divine power into a single gauge…

This alone is valuable enough.

It’s incredibly difficult to increase the natural power needed to use spirit magic.

‘Maybe that’s why Erwen ate Erthes’ essence. She can use the passive to convert soul power into natural power.’

In that sense, I should get rid of that essence that’s become useless. The active skill [Elemental Synthesis] isn’t bad, but it’s not an essence that we’ll keep until the end.

“Um… if it’s supernatural abilities…”

“Use [Focused Fire]. The goal is to use up all your resources anyway. Ah, summon a spirit too.”

“…If that’s the goal, wouldn’t it be better to summon Dicloe? It would be much faster.”

Oh, that’s true.

I urged her to summon it quickly, and Erwen reluctantly pulled out her ultimate move.

「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia summons [Dark Spirit King Dicloe].」

A black mass in the shape of a person appeared, tearing through space.

At Erwen’s request, Dicloe unleashed dark spheres in the opposite direction of the hut.

Boom, boom! Boooom-!

The barrier began to explode as soon as it touched it in the distance.

As expected, the barrier wasn’t even scratched.

「All accumulated energy has been consumed.」

It was about 30 seconds after she started pouring out her power that all of Erwen’s resources were depleted.

Before, the limit was 5 seconds when using full power.

‘Her mana pool has increased, so the duration has increased a lot.’

Of course, that’s not what’s important right now.

「An unknown energy dwells in the empty vessel.」

The effect of [Chaos Circuit], which is activated when all resources are consumed.

「All resources are not consumed for 1 minute.」

It’s called the infinite power mode.

“…It really doesn’t get unsummoned?”

Erwen was amazed as she watched Dicloe, who was still unleashing explosive firepower.

To be honest, I wasn’t much different.

‘To be able to use this much firepower for 1 minute and 30 seconds…’

Moreover, the firepower she can unleash isn’t all of it.

Her MP is infinite.

Let the spirit king fight, and I should use my skills too.

“Erwen, now use [Focused Fire].”

When I gave the additional order, Erwen silently picked up her bow and drew the string.

Whoosh-!

A pure white light gathered at the tip of the arrow.

This skill, which had greatly contributed in the fight against Liakis, was something I recommended as a royal reward, and its effect was simple.

MP is consumed exponentially in proportion to the casting time, but…

Whoooooosh-!!

The damage increases accordingly.

However, I usually didn’t allow her to charge for more than 15 seconds. After that, the MP consumption would increase dramatically, and the damage increase would decrease.

The cooldown was about 60 seconds, so it was much more advantageous to wait and shoot one more arrow.

But…

‘If MP is infinite, it’s a different story.’

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds…

The density of the energy gathering at the tip of the arrow gradually increased over time.

How much time had passed since then?

“Now.”

Erwen released the hand holding the string.

————!

The light shot out, turning the whole world white.

Again, the barrier wasn’t even scratched.

But…

‘Yes, that’s it.’

I could feel it instinctively.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM-!!!

The instantaneous firepower was more than Dicloe’s.

***

「The unknown energy contained in the vessel is released.」

「All stats are temporarily reduced by 70%.」

***

Erwen collapsed into my arms, exhausted, and was resting for a moment when a desperate cry came from afar.

“B, Bjorn—!! Where are you! Bjorn!!”

It was Aynar, who had been playing with Amelia.

“Wh, what was that just now! W, wasn’t that a dimensional collapse? W, we might have to run away!!”

He was like a wild animal facing a disaster.

In a way, his pure appearance made me chuckle.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a dimensional collapse or anything.”

“R, really!! I was so surprised! Suddenly the world flashed and the whole ground shook!!”

“Yeah, yeah. Calm down. It’s okay now.”

As I was calming Aynar down, Amelia came up beside me and asked.

“Was that… something Tersia did?”

“Yeah.”

“…Amazing. That’s what a tier essence is.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you one later too.”

When I said that to comfort her, Amelia turned her head away, telling me not to treat her like a barbarian, but I could tell she was secretly looking forward to it.

“So, is it all over now?”

“Yeah, it’s all over.”

I hadn’t been able to try the active skill, but I couldn’t check it here anyway.

I’d have to go to the city later and experiment.

It was such a unique skill.

“Erwen, can you walk?”

“No… I can’t walk.”

I was about to carry Erwen, who had fallen into a state of exhaustion, but someone stepped forward faster than me.

“Oh! Then I’ll carry her!”

It was Aynar, who had been performing his role as a mount well since before.

“Come on, get on!”

“…”

“Hurry?”

“…Yes, please…”

With Aynar carrying Erwen, we headed towards the hut. Unlike the winter outside, the inside of the hut was the same as before.

The bookshelves, the dining table, the carpet.

The small bed where my feet had stuck out when I lay down.

And.

Flames, flames, flames.

The fireplace was burning brightly.

“Yandel, what do we do now?”

“You go into the flames, and it’s over.”

Then the reward would come, the witch’s hut would be closed, and the character would be banished to the forest.

“…Bjorn.”

Suddenly, Aynar looked at me and became serious.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to go into the flames.”

What was this feeling of betrayal?

It wasn’t worth responding to, so I just said I was going first and squatted down, walking into the flames.

Flames, flames-!

A warm sensation that could never be called hot.

「Your mental resistance stat permanently increases by +50.」

Okay, so the stats have increased well…

I closed my eyes, feeling a strange sense of comfort, and then opened them.

“Huh…?”

I froze as soon as I opened my eyes.

It wasn’t the witch’s forest, but a place I had never been before.

“Who the hell are you?”

A girl with a pale, ghostly complexion was glaring at me.