Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 624

Essence deletion.

It’s a necessary ability for any priest above the rank of bishop, but essence deletion comes with one condition.

It can only be done within a ‘temple’…

The reason why there are so many ruined characters among the Noark bastards who ate the wrong essences is because of this.

Erasing an essence once is a life-threatening endeavor.

Especially if your face is widely known.

“Hoo….”

I slightly staggered and returned the blue dagger I received from the priest.

I always feel it, but the emptiness I feel every time I erase an essence is considerable. It wasn’t just a phenomenon caused by the decrease in stats.

It’s hard to explain in words, but…

‘It feels like a part of my soul is falling away.’

If I had to put it into words, it would be something like that.

I think I understand why MP [Mana Points] is called soul power in this world.

Swish.

I quickly took out a test tube from my subspace, hoping that filling the empty space with something else would make me feel a little better.

Arbeth and Uumdal.

And a custom-made essence that combined the Orc Hero’s [Gigantification].

I was a little curious as I opened the cap and poured it into my mouth like a potion.

If this were a game, I wonder.

How would such a synthesized monster be displayed?

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

Well, I guess it wouldn’t just end with a lazy question mark, right?

I don’t know, but I stopped thinking about it and focused on the changes in my body.

There’s a hidden term among explorers called ‘taming’.

When you consume an essence, the more you focus on the changes in your body, the easier it is to adapt to the new ability?

「Strength increases by +100.」

A vitality that feels like I can lift anything settles into my body.

Of course, in terms of strength alone, it’s nothing compared to an ogre, but…

「Leaping power increases by +120.」

The muscles in my thighs tighten.

「Physical resistance increases by +80.」

My already tough skin has become even tougher.

「Hearing increases by +60.」

The sounds scattered in the air have become clearer.

No matter how much I focus, these are the only major changes I can feel right now.

Well, that doesn’t mean it’s the end, though.

「Darkness resistance increases by +40.」

「Soul power increases by +50.」

「Natural regeneration increases by +80.」

「Stamina increases by +60.」

「Bone strength increases by +60.」

「Absorption increases by +60.」

Ogres also have very high base stats, but Arbeth’s combined stats are unmatched.

Of course, Arbeth’s skills are a trap instead…

This doesn’t apply to me, who used the level 1 underground system to put only stats into the essence.

“Hoo….”

I finished adapting to the stat changes and carefully opened my subspace.

For reference, I had put all the Numbers items I was wearing into my subspace because of Uumdal’s passive skill.

[Soul Link] – The first equipment acquired is bound and gains additional abilities.

The first equipment acquired.

That’s how it’s written in the game, but the equipment that actually activates the passive is limited to ‘Numbers items’.

Also…

‘If you link it wrong, there’s no going back.’

The link itself can only be done once, so I always had to be careful when handling Uumdal’s essence.

If you eat it while wearing full gear, one of them will be randomly bound…

Swish.

I put my hand into the subspace and specifically imagined the item I wanted to take out, and a large, hard ‘thing’ was grasped in my hand.

‘No.87 Crawl’s Demon Smasher.’

…Of course, it wasn’t.

Of course, the Demon Smasher is also a high-performance weapon, so I could become strong enough if I chose it.

But…

‘It’s definitely not worth using a passive slot for.’

There are countless passive skills that suit a shield barbarian. And originally, I would have put one of them in.

If I didn’t have this in my possession at the time.

「The character has equipped No.3 Aegis’s Barrier.」

「Total item level increases by +18,600.」

The strongest shield that I would have only been able to obtain much later.

「Soul’s Guidance.」

「No.3 Aegis’s Barrier is permanently bound to the character.」

「Bound equipment is never destroyed.」

「All effects of the bound equipment are increased by 10%.」

「When a monster is defeated, the bound equipment gains individual experience, and when it reaches a certain level, it gains the equipment’s unique effect.」

This shield is now a growth type.

***

[Soul Link].

A skill that was essential when raising a shield dwarf, which synergized with Numbers items.

Of course, I had done a lot of research, and I knew most of the unique effects of the top-tier equipment.

‘The unique effect was granted at level 9, right?’

Of course, it was a good enough skill even without unlocking the unique effect.

Because the equipment’s performance increases by 10% per level.

‘Still, it’s a bit of a waste that the indestructible option is redundant….’

Well, most of the top-tier Numbers have an indestructible option, so it’s not a big deal to feel bad about it.

The binding option… I have no intention of selling it anyway, so it can’t be considered a disadvantage.

‘Gigantification.’

After confirming that the active skill was working well, I looked around.

It seemed like everything was done around here.

It wasn’t just me who needed to reorganize.

「The [???? Essence] permeates the soul of Amelia Rainwales.」

「The [???? Essence] permeates the soul of Misha Kalstein.」

「The [???? Essence] permeates the soul of Erwen Fornachi di Tersia.」

The three dealer sisters(?) each had a custom-made essence added.

And…

「The [???? Essence] permeates the soul of Ainar Fnellin.」

「The [???? Essence] permeates the soul of Ainar Fnellin.」

Ainar, who was able to erase the essences of ‘Smug’ from [Mendle Oil] and ‘Beetlan’ from [Wildness Control], and put two custom-made essences into his slots.

The change was immediate.

‘The combined fighting spirit of the two essences was 100, right?’

In theory, it was a number that could perfectly cover the fighting spirit reduced by the Hipramant essence.

It wasn’t difficult to see that Ainar had returned to normal.

“Behel—raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!”

Yes, that’s a battle cry, and that’s a barbarian.

I felt proud watching Ainar roar so powerfully that the whole hall shook, but Amelia approached me.

“How is the new essence? Do you like it?”

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, we need to move on to the next stage before we waste any more time.”

Well, if you ate a new essence, you should show a little more excitement and joy.

“……Okay.”

“Ha… you like it. Stop making that sulky face.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Anyway, Amelia’s words that there was no time for this were also valid, so I quickly moved on to the next plan.

“Everyone, pay attention!!”

Before raiding other prisons with them, there was a task that needed to be done first.

“It’s a historic moment!”

As if sensing the sign that a speech was about to begin, everyone shut their mouths and looked at me.

No one seemed bored.

Rather, many of them had slightly excited eyes.

“Currently, Lapdonia is in crisis. The dirty rats that lived underground are trying to take over our city.”

I learned this while living as a barbarian, but I had a talent for speeches.

Amelia said I was just born with it?

“And! We were very lucky to be living here!”

“Lucky…?”

“Out of all the cities, our district was the one that was attacked. Isn’t that incredibly unlucky?”

The crowd’s eyes were filled with question marks at my speech.

They were all valid questions.

But that’s why…

‘Now.’

As soon as the atmosphere was right.

“No! We are all lucky! At least we got a chance! A chance to save the city in crisis and achieve a ‘great feat’ that no one can ever surpass!”

I continued my speech.

Long words were not needed here.

After all, they were all explorers.

There was no one who knew what they wanted better than I did.

“Also, I promise you here and now.”

“When everything is over, I, Bjorn, son of Yandel, will dare to say in front of the royal family!”

“That it wasn’t something I did alone.”

“That saving this city was all thanks to the blood and sweat you shed!!”

As I raised my fist with force at the end of my speech, a shout erupted as if they had been waiting for it.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Is it because my reputation has increased?

Or is it because I’ve gotten used to this?

I don’t know, but it feels like it’s getting easier to induce such shouts as the days go by.

‘Anyway, with this level of performance, no one will doubt my sincerity later….’

Unlike my passionate speech, I looked at the crowd with cold eyes and raised my voice again.

“But!”

As if they thought the speech was starting again, the explorers shut their mouths and listened attentively.

“The enemies are strong! The rats have grown by stealing from our storerooms, and we will have to shed blood to drive them out!”

“We don’t care!!”

“We’ll kill them all!!”

Even with my words emphasizing the danger, the explorers, who saw the crisis as an opportunity, didn’t listen.

Well, it’s not that it’s a bad thing, but…

It’s about time for me to get to the point.

“Ahem! I understand your courage and spirit. But! As a nobleman of Lapdonia, a warrior, an explorer, and someone who loves this city more than anyone else, I hope that as little blood as possible will be shed. I want you to return to your families alive.”

In the first place, the speech was just a setup for now.

“So, I, Bjorn, son of Yandel, have decided.”

“……?”

“From now on, I will share essences with you all!!”

There’s a famous saying that the more you share, the more it grows.

This was exactly the case.

***

“……Huh?”

The explorers’ expressions turned strange at the words that I would be giving away essences for free.

Well, I guess they wouldn’t understand.

They’d probably think, why is that barbarian saying such crazy things when he was doing so well?

Even my companions’ reactions weren’t much different.

“If you’re going to share essences….”

“You must be talking about the ones you got from the first underground floor?”

“Why would you give away such precious things….”

Only Amelia maintained her composure.

That’s because Amelia knows.

That this free sharing will ultimately bring me great benefits.

It goes without saying that it’s not just beneficial in that it reduces the spoils going to the royal family, who are potential enemies.

Think about it.

‘If I just release the essences here, how would they know how many essences are left?’

In short, by releasing the bad essences to the explorers, it’s possible to secretly take the valuable essences for myself.

There’s no way for the royal family to find out that only small fry were released.

It sounds a bit trashy to say this, but…

‘Sacrifices are inevitable during war.’

How would they even investigate?

Whether a dead guy ate a small fry or an expensive eel.

Moreover, the cause is also clean.

If I say it was an investment to save the city, who would say anything?

‘Yeah, things just disappear during war.’

The technical term is ‘skimming’.

It’s strange that it’s said to have originated from Japanese?

Anyway, that’s not important…

“Alright, everyone, come here! Don’t push! There are still plenty of essences!”

I began to share them in earnest.