A guardian essence had two characteristics. The stats it granted were 1.5 times higher than what you would get from a normal monster, and it allowed you to use all the active abilities that a normal version of that monster could use.
However, in the Light Gap, one of the cracks on the fifth floor, the essence of the Infernal Giant Guardian Herja was a little different from the others.
«Alright, Emily... If you've gotten enough rest, try using it».
Under normal circumstances, she should be able to use the three active abilities of the rank 4 monster Cyclops. However, Herja's essence only had one active ability, and it was not even an ability that a normal Cyclops had.
[Amelia Rainwales has launched Conexión de Onda].
A faint line connected his body to mine as soon as he used the ability. It was a connecting line that was only visible to those affected by the ability.
Its effect was simple.
[Amelia Rainwales has released the Power of the Abyss.]
Connected individuals could share skills.
A black veil of light appeared around my hammer.
I have done a lot of research into this essence.
It may seem like an extreme cheating skill, but I learned the truth after researching it for a while. It wasn't a trap at all.
Well, except in some situations.
¡Vwoosh!
The black light gathering around my hammer scattered. Amelia had disabled her ability.
«...Use too much Soul Power.»
«How much?»
«I won't be able to maintain its strongest state even for a minute.»
He had a penalty similar to that of Self-Replication: his MP usage was immense.
«So you can use it another way this time?»
When I told her to proceed, Amelia closed her eyes and took a moment to meditate.
There were three different ways to use Wave Connection.
The first was to share skills with an ally, as she had just done. It was a support movement.
And the second way... is to use it like the boss does.
It was an offensive tactic, in which you connected to an enemy and used it against them. Even the Infernal Giant we just fought had a pattern where I connected to myself before using destructive area of effect attacks several times in a row while giving up the disadvantage.
Well, since there was no one else around us and we attacked his eyes as soon as he tried to do so, we were able to dodge him without much trouble.
Anyway, amazing.
Since Amelia had no self-destruct or hard area effects, that method didn't apply to her at all.
Finally, the last method remained.
[Amelia Rainwales has launched Self-Replication.]
[Amelia Rainwales has launched Wave Connection.]
Using the ability utilitarianly to boost your summons.
Honestly, this was the correct way to use Wave Connection. It was a huge advantage to be able to deliver a handicap to an enemy and use an ability from their position, but that method only worked for monsters that had an absurd amount of MP. Instead, the Wave Connection really shone when used in this way.
«Really... soul consumption has returned to normal. What is this combination?»
This came naturally to me as a player. A magician would have talked about connecting mental waves or side waves or some other strange hypothesis, but I only knew the results I obtained after countless hours of research and experimentation. By using Wave Connection in a summon, it counteracted the increase in MP. Oh, and naturally, a clone was also considered a summon.
«With this... many more strategies open up to me». Amelia, a combat veteran, quickly realized the usefulness of her new ability. «But about passive ability... the so-called passive ability in your world. I haven't heard anything about it yet».
«Oh, don't you know anything about the Cyclops?».
«It is not a monster that is seen often... You are the strange one for knowing the characteristics of all these creatures». Amelia seemed embarrassed by his insufficient knowledge, pushing her uncomfortable feelings towards me.
«Here, put this on. You will know what the passive ability is when you do it». I smiled satisfied and took out the object I could barely afford before coming here.
Amelia looked at him, a little confused. «This...»
An eye patch, the kind pirates are known to wear.
***
[Eye activated. Your dynamic visual acuity increases by +200. Now you can see the invisible]. Now you can see the invisible].
***
When my duet foray with Amelia ended, I kept going around the different cracks as I changed my group members. The tank could do its job in any scenario, but that didn't necessarily apply to damage dealers. The core of Dungeon and Stone was compatibility. Some enemies were impossible to defeat if you were not compatible with them, and on the other hand, some enemies were very easy if you got a favorable match against them.
Not using everyone here would also be a waste.
Since the expedition group was made up of the palace elites, he could find among them all the individuals he needed. When I needed a priest, I could take an archiepiscopal level priest to command as I pleased, and if I needed rank two fire magic, there was always at least one mage who could play that role.
Now I understand why there was no entry limit.
This maze had cracks for one or two people, but it also didn't look like it was built in a way that two people could overcome them all. It seemed to have been built in such a way that it encouraged hundreds of people to enter at once and for the cracks to be cleared by the fittest.
But it's still a shame. Even defeating the fifth floor Guardians like this, I'm wasting a lot of essences.
In cases where I could take a magician with me, we could store them in a magic vial, but in the rest I needed to abandon them.
Even the cheapest essence here would be worth a few billion stones...
Of course, what I regretted most was Ainar. Although it was not his graduation essence, here was an essence that would be perfect for a spearman to use.
Unfortunately, the boss was not easy enough for me to lead the raid alone, so I had to give up taking it with me.
Still, I was satisfied with this expedition, as I was able to get Amelia the essence she needed and which would have been difficult to obtain in the royal crevice.
Since it's practically a graduation essence for a clone thief, I won't need to make her eat the alternative...
I felt again how absurd Basement Plant 1 was. It worked on a completely different axis compared to the rest of the maze. He had seen countless new things after coming here, and the profits he had made were difficult to quantify. What was this place?
After meeting the old vampire, thoughts constantly filled my mind whenever I didn't stay active. A silver ocean, the rainy season, the dimensional collapse, the village chief, Hamsick... I would repeat the things I remembered in my mind so as not to forget them and constantly go over them to see if I had missed anything.
Why think about them so much?
But it always ended with frustration.
I got up, leaving my mind-clearing session there.
«Even if you say that, the fourth floor is forbidden to you. It's too dangerous».
In front of the Guardian Kalpion statue in the fourth floor crevice, I could see Raven trying to dissuade an adventurer.
Its number...
Which was?
Everyone called him Big Hammer.
Anyway, he was a fairly famous rank 3 adventurer in the city.
«Can you reconsider one more time? It is an essence that I need.»
I immediately realized that it wasn't the experience or getting a fast race record that I wanted. I really just needed the essence like I had said.
«No, even if you say that...»
«This may sound presumptuous, but I say that you do not know my true capabilities, Miss Golden Magician».
«Are you saying my assessment is wrong?»
«Haha... Not at all... I'm just asking for a way to prove myself. To see if I really have the qualifications or not».
Even though Raven tried severely to stop him, the man's will did not seem to bend, and she let out a sigh at the predicament she found herself in.
After observing the scene like a stranger, I stepped forward. Technically, I was the one who passed this annoying job on to her in the first place.
«If you want to take a test, I'll give you a hand», I offered.
«Baron Yandel...?»
The man seemed caught off guard for a second when I joined the conversation, but then he nodded, seeming to conclude that this was better. «Then I will be in your care». He looked at me aggressively as he raised his Great Hammer.
I didn't even say what the test would be.
However, it was not completely unexpected. At this point it was common sense for adventurers to all be feverish. Plus, this was easier for me too.
«Um... Mr. Yandel? You don't need to waste your strength just for me...»
What was he talking about? «I'm not wasting my strength.»
«...Sorry?»
«I'm stopping time from being wasted». I activated gigantization and looked at him. «Tiny.»
With that one word, our mourning began.
However, the guy nicknamed Big Hammer was more robust than I expected, and this lengthened the sparring for a while to about fifteen minutes.
«I miss it...»
He wasn't able to do me any harm, but after being thrown back with every blow of my hammer, he finally accepted defeat.
«It seems like he was being too greedy», he acknowledged. «It's a shame, but I'll give up trying the fourth floor».
Although he had tried to put so much pressure on Raven, he was quite elegant in his defeat. It might be a strange look, but sexists always accepted the results of pure force.
«¡Whoaaaa!»
«Your Honor won!»
Once our sparring came to an end, the spectators who had gathered around us cheered, but I was not flattered.
I really don't hurt anymore.
Such was the pity of the tank that lately he felt more and more often. After eating the essence of Bellarios and also obtaining the Aegis Wall, I had become several times stronger than before, but my damage was still-.
«Mr. Yandel», Raven called, "can I talk to you for a moment?".
«Oh ho ho, you don't need to thank-»
«Oh, thank you for wasting fifteen minutes on something that could have been solved with five minutes of conversation?».
«Uh...» My mind went blank for a second.
Raven smiled to indicate that she was joking. «Okay, so follow me. I had something to tell you». After walking with her for a moment, he used voice control magic.
My expression became serious. «Is it a secret that needs to be kept?»
«Hey? No, it's nothing like that... but I don't know. I think you better decide, Mr. Yandel».
«Continue», I said, leaning down to match her small stature so I could listen to her carefully.
Raven began to speak slowly. «As you know, ever since I acted like something resembling an examiner, I had many opportunities to hear what was going on inside. So I got to learn this...».
To the wheat.
Before he could say it, Raven summarized: «Duke Cambormere no longer says anything».
«Doesn't he say anything?» Wasn't that how it used to be?
«No, I'm saying it doesn't really say anything», he clarified just as he was about to ask that question. «Nothing about his bloodlust or anything».
«Ah...»
«Now when someone walks in, he just carries them with red eyes... but it's strange no matter how you think about it. At least after you came out of the crack, Mr. Yandel, at least you said something».
My hand that had been wandering approached and rested on my chin as my mind wandered into deep thoughts. «Truly...»
That was a little suspicious. I also found it a little strange how the old man who seemed normal at first ended up consumed by madness so suddenly. He had remained sane for more than three hours with me.
Raven said something like a wizard as she looked at me. «No change occurs in the world without a cause».
«So what is the reason why the duke suddenly changed?»
It was something a barbarian could never answer, even after thinking about it for a hundred days. For one player, however, it was another story. I could think of a possible reason almost immediately after hearing what he said, honestly.
«Truly... my old lack of mind is starting to return».
If the fact that the old vampire had a healthy mind was considered a mistake from the perspective of the maze...
A hotfix...
That bug could have been patched in real time by someone controlling the maze.
***
There were twenty-seven Guardians from the cracks on the first to fifth floors along with fourteen unconfirmed Guardians of the same category as Duke Cambormere. That made a total of forty-one Guardians. Although at first it seemed like a tough boss race, after diligently fighting them, we finally reached the last one.
Only one was missing...
Only one Guardian statue remained from the fifth floor crevice.
By the way, since the crack this guy appeared in was unique, I wasn't compatible with it. That's why I had also left it for last.
Dozens of lights had already been turned on, but as the stone door still showed no signs of moving, I let out a sigh.
It seems like we have to eliminate them all for something to happen... which means we have to defeat this one too. Still, since two people can enter at the same time, I think it's doable...
He had even thought about the option of not trying, but there was no suitable substitute. Since it was a boss fight, a tank was crucial, but there was no one who could take my place. Well, I could probably find someone if I searched around...
But none of them are trustworthy compared to me.
In that case, it would be better for me to come in, which meant I now had to think about who to take with me.
Erwen this time too?
It was an easy choice. She was practically a cheater, and to tell the truth, after Raven, Erwen was the one with whom she had assaulted the most statues.
I took the mage to the easy cracks to get the essence, and the hard cracks were mostly with Erwen, not counting some specific exceptions.
…No.
I shook my head. The boss we were trying to defeat in this rift would not be defeated with pure power alone.
And what about Amelia? It's not a bad choice either...
However, Ainar seemed more suitable than Amelia for this case. He had lost a bit of presence due to the decrease in his Aggressiveness, yes, but he couldn't ignore his characteristic luck.
Grifo.
However, if I wanted luck, there was an even better person here in front of me.
«Get ready. You're going to enter the crack».
As soon as I gave him the order, he looked at me surprised.
«Hey? I? Why...?»
He was the paladin of the Church of Reatlas, Sven Parav.