Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 620

It’s foolish to have high expectations, really. There are a total of twenty-one chances. The probability of an essence dropping within that is extremely low, and even then, it has to break through the one-third chance of being green. But… ‘If it just comes out, I won’t need to find a Hypramagent essence separately.’ I don’t know Hypramagent’s stats or passive yet. However, whatever it is, I don’t think it’ll be better than this combination. Arbet’s raw stats are comparable to a 2nd grade, and it also has special stats that are very suitable for a tank. The same goes for Uumdal’s passive. ‘Yeah, this combination is much better than most 2nd grade essence combinations.’ But maybe it’s because I’m clearly aware of that fact in my head. Thump-! My heart starts beating rapidly. Even though I tried not to have high expectations, I couldn’t help but think, ‘What if…’ Flash-! The device activated, and a synthetic monster was created in the very center, and the first try began immediately. “Behel—raaaaaaaaah!!” Maybe it’s because the dealers finished their casting and the battle started in an encirclement? The battle itself wasn’t that difficult. Well, that doesn’t mean it was easy either. ‘Anyway, the first try is a bust.’ The battle took about 15 minutes. Since I was the main tank, there were no casualties. ‘Ugh, my shoulders are stiff.’ Somehow, I managed to hold on by using skills, equipment, the priest’s heals, and various buffs, but it was definitely not an easy enemy. ‘If a synthetic monster made by mixing 4th, 3rd, and 5th grades is this strong… it’ll be incredibly difficult if I raise the grades a bit more.’ It seems I need to be careful not to exceed an average of 3rd grade when creating synthetic monster combinations in the future. Well, that’s not what’s important right now. Flash-! The second time. Flash-! The third, fourth, and fifth times. Flash-! I continued straight through to the sixth attempt without a single break, but unfortunately, no essence came out. And… ‘Please!’ After the seventh attempt failed, I stopped the raid. It was a gamer’s intuition. Now is not the time. As they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. This world operates on the law of equivalent exchange. But I haven’t offered any sacrifice yet. Right, so… “Let’s put this one on hold for a bit and do other things first.” “What? You’re suddenly stopping here? Everyone’s just getting used to the battle.” “What can I do if you don’t understand? It’s the commander’s order.” “No, why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem! You’re the commander, Yandel!” Geez, you’re unnecessarily sharp. I brushed off Raven’s comment with a barbarian-like laugh and headed to the place where I had organized the magic stones. Thousands upon thousands of magic stones, labeled and sorted over the past few months. ‘Let’s start with Ainar’s.’ After looking through the magic stones, I returned with three containers full of them. “Bjorn! Can I put them in this time?” “Ainar, you’re going to put them in?” “It looks fun when they roll around after being put in!” I wonder what part of that is fun, but I let him do it. After all, this combination is for Ainar. “…Huh? It’s for me?” “Yeah, so put them in carefully. If an essence comes out, I’ll put it in a test tube and feed it to you right away when we go out.” For reference, the essence combinations I made for Ainar were a total of three, more than any other member of the exploration team. That’s because he changed his class to a lancer. There were a lot of things to overhaul from the bottom up… ‘It’s unlikely that all three combinations will come out, but it would be nice if at least one did. That way, he’ll get back to normal.’ The passive and active skills were configured to suit a lancer, but in the stats section, I focused on those with a strong fighting spirit, even if it meant sacrificing a little. “Then I’ll do it!” With the formation reorganized, Ainar enthusiastically put the magic stones into the device. Clunk. In the first device, which handles stats, he put in a 3rd grade monster with fighting spirit and combat-related stats. Clunk. In the second device, which determines the passive, he put in the 4th grade combat support skill [War Machine]. Clunk. For the active, he aimed for a balance between the 4th grade combat buffs [Unyielding Spirit] and [Nerve Stimulation], completing the first combination. “Oh! Give me the essence!” Maybe it’s because it’s his own essence, but instead of rushing in with his spear, Ainar is cheering from afar. The first battle took about 25 minutes. ‘It got much harder with just a 0.6 increase in average grade.’ For reference, there were casualties during the battle, and some of the surrounding machines were broken, so it seemed we would have to wait for the drones to come and fix them. But what on earth is going on? “Oh! It’s an essence! An essence!” The essence dropped on the first try. Even the color was blue, which is the first priority, meaning [Unyielding Spirit]. ‘It just came out on the first try…?’ I was dumbfounded as I watched. At the same time, I felt a little bit of a sting. ‘…Should I have just stubbornly kept going with mine?’ If I had continued, wouldn’t my essence have come out at this timing? That thought kept popping into my head. “…Then, should I collect it?” After that, Raven approached and put the essence in a test tube, completing the first combination. Then, we waited for the drones to repair the machines before starting the second combination. Clunk. Since we had some to spare thanks to the first try, we put the same one back in the device that handles stats. Clunk. For the passive, we put in the 4th grade defense essence [Endurance], which can maximize the efficiency of [Crouch]. Clunk. For the active, we put in [Focus Fire], a 5th grade core skill for spear barbarians, similar to the shield barbarian’s [Giantification]. “It, it came out!” Perhaps because three large monsters were mixed, the synthetic monster looked very powerful. But in reality, maybe it was because the average grade had decreased a bit? The battle itself was much easier than before, and we quickly used up the remaining attempts. One, two, three, four… It was during the fifteenth try. “T-there’s an essence!!” The essence dropped, but unfortunately, the color didn’t match, so it was just put in a test tube. ‘Hah… well, this is normal.’ Well, I really wanted this essence to come out since it’s a core skill… Should I go and offer another sacrifice now? I had such thoughts, but it wouldn’t be good for my reputation as a commander to suddenly switch to something else. ‘Well, it’s all about probability anyway.’ So, I continued to use up the remaining attempts. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen… The remaining chances were quickly dwindling, and soon, there were only three left before they were all used up. “…Oh! Bjooooorn! It’s an essence! An essence! The yellow one you were talking about!!” …What is he, really? *** Ainar acquired two essences in an instant. Still, it seems heaven had some conscience, as the essence for the third combination didn’t drop. ‘Hah, the first two came out so well, I even re-planned the combination to make it the best possible.’ Well, it’s already absurd that three essences came out after catching less than 100 monsters. ‘He… is going to become a monster when he goes back?’ With the Verdant Spear, Hypramagent, and two custom-made essences to go with the 3rd grade essence, Spear Dipper. Even just by going to the temple and swapping out the essences, Ainar will become incredibly strong. “So, are we going to catch that thing we were catching earlier again?” “No, let’s do something else first…” I didn’t have the courage to go back to grinding for my essence combination after such unbelievable luck, so I summoned other synthetic monsters for a long time afterward. Amelia, Misha, Erwen… Even if it wasn’t the combination I had made for these three, there were still many combinations to summon. The exploration team members also asked for their own desired combinations, and there was also a request from the vice-commander. After that, they needed essences to present to the royal family? Looking at the combinations, most of them were essence combinations suitable for knights. ‘…If I hadn’t used the magitech thrusters, I could have tried many more times.’ Looking back now, I regret using the magic stones so carelessly. Of course, most of the magic stones I put into the thrusters were 6th grade or lower, but… It’s not like I didn’t use any higher-grade magic stones at all. It’s a relief that I collected a lot of high-grade magic stones on the Library Island, and the magic stones I brought from the royal family were mostly high-grade. One day, two days, three days, four days… The raid continued day and night, and through this, I realized one thing. ‘The drop rate… it actually seems higher than outside?’ When I tested with lower-grade monsters before, it didn’t drop much, so I thought the probability was extremely low. But it seems that was just a particularly unlucky period. Well, that’s probably why Ainar got two essences as a sacrifice. “It’s already been 20 days.” 20 days since the factory raid started. If we do a mid-term check, Amelia, Erwen, and Misha each got one essence, and Müll Armin, who received an essence combination recommendation from me, also got one. In addition, other exploration team members obtained a total of eleven essences with leftover magic stones, and we also filled seven essences for the royal family, but… “What, it didn’t come out again?” “How many times is this now?” Surprisingly, that record has been maintained for three days. “It feels like we’ve caught thousands, something’s strange. Is the device broken?” Even the team members who have been raiding with me for three days are saying something about this strange phenomenon. ‘Now is the time.’ I had a strong feeling that it was the optimal time, so I stopped the raid. And after quickly taking out the magic stones for my combination. “Ainar.” “…Huh?” I called Ainar, who was relaxing and chewing on jerky. “You put in the magic stones.” “Oh? Sure, no problem.” Ainar agreed without asking why, and I, a little worried, explained for a long time which magic stone should go into which device and even checked it. ‘Okay, even if it’s him, he shouldn’t put them in wrong.’ Indeed, Ainar put the magic stones into the correct devices without a single mistake. But… Eight times, nine times, ten times… Just because he puts them in correctly doesn’t mean an essence will come out. Eleven times, twelve times, thirteen times… As the number of attempts continued, my heart rate gradually increased. Fourteen times, fifteen times, sixteen times. Like the saying goes, you don’t realize your clothes are wet in a drizzle, and that’s exactly how I was. Before I knew it, there were only five attempts left. Maybe it’s because the blood rushed to my head, but even ideas that I wouldn’t normally have flashed through my mind. ‘Goblin.’ Right, I should use Sven Parav’s sixth sense. From what I can see, it seems to be an ability that activates when misfortune is imminent. ‘I’ll tie him up somewhere and threaten to smash his head if an essence doesn’t come out this time.’ Yeah, then I might be able to figure out the timing when it comes out. It sounded like a ridiculous idea, but surprisingly, it seemed like a worthwhile attempt. So, I glanced at the goblin. ‘What, why is he acting like that again?’ The goblin, who was a little distance away, was looking at me. Like someone who really needed to take a dump. Looking at him fidgeting, I wondered if it was because of the thought I had just had. But… “Commander, can I, can I talk to you for a moment?” The words he said after calling me aside were a completely different kind of story. “…I, I have a feeling that we need to leave here quickly, a, a feeling like that.” The goblin’s intuition had activated. “Stronger than ever before.”