Upon entering the Golden Soul Depot, I knew for sure why the other races could not exercise their power against the king. I guess you could say I felt its potential capacity. Rank 3 gemstones filled half of the vast treasure, and it wasn't even just one of each.
There are seven or eight of each of the essences that are easy to obtain and rarely used.
Most had spare parts. Even essences that were only obtained in cracks with high difficulty of acquisition had at least one of each color.
Shit, even the essence of Nibaroque?
It was the essence of a rare monster that only appeared in the cracks, although it was not really an option for a barbarian warrior. Still, in terms of acquisition difficulty, it was better than a rank 2 essence.
How did they achieve all this?
The more I looked around, the more I thought about this. If a single royal family was preserved for thousands of years, perhaps it was possible?
I thought in the game you could choose whatever you wanted because it was just a game.
I got rid of the thought that the palace could be torn down by Noark. How could you think about losing after seeing this? There were thousands of rank 3 essences. He didn't know what his immediate troops were like, but that meant the palace could produce a mad-level army if it wanted to.
If you feed five rank 3 essences to a knight who can use an aura...
It was crazy to even think about it, and it didn't end with rank 3. In the higher rank repository, he was sure that they also had rank 2 essences.
...Maybe even rank 1.
The scariest thing was that it didn't end with the essences. There were also numbered objects.
Since the Golden Soul Depot has triple numbers, the previous one would have doubles and then singles.
Although they had less priority than an essence, they were the easiest ways to raise your stats when your growth reached a limit.
I have something I want, but not so much as an essence. Should I keep looking?
Since there was time left, I looked with interest at the objects inside the Golden Soul Depot. I already knew all their options and quickly lost interest.
«Um, touch is...»
«It won't wear out, what's the concern?!»
It was quite funny to see how the magician who came as a guide turned white as a sheet every time he touched an object.
Enough spinning around.
It was time to make a decision, so I did one last check. I had already decided which essence to take, but just in case.
Very good, starting with this one.
Bellarios was an oriental dragon, a monster reminiscent of an Imoogi and which was actually an ascending version of the Manticore. His basic stats focused on mana resistance and even the Ring of Circulation, which was an unusual passive that allowed stats to be accumulated.
Well, the passive will be almost impossible to accumulate stats with in my current state.
Ring of Circulation was only effective once you reached a level where you could hunt at least one rank 3 monster. It was thanks to its asset that it became a basic essence in the first place. When used, Greed Scales temporarily grew scales on the skin and Magic Resistance increased in proportion to mana resistance. For reference, when mana resistance exceeded 1,500, you received magic immunity customization, allowing you to kill magicians as worms. This made the Barbarian Dragon Mode possible.
Originally, the essence wouldn't be worth eating now.
If it weren't for Fallen Scholar, I wouldn't have even made the priority list. Just to explore, Manticore was enough. If I ever had to eat it, the growth rate would depend on which one I ate first.
Anyway, let's move on to the second option.
Vol-Herchan was a supermega monster whose entire body was covered by a shell. As could be deduced only from his external appearance, he carried a specialized defense skill. The passive created synergy with Iron Skin and the active created a body capable of even resisting an aura. Simply put, it was an essence to use in preparing an aura. It was an essence with a configuration that it did not yet have. If I had this, my arm would have remained intact against the aura-wearing Noark scout.
Amelia, that woman also wore an aura...
Since the clown said he would send a murderer, this essence took on a higher priority. To be honest, she was the scariest assassin I knew.
Also, I will fight more people in the future.
That didn't mean it was useless against monsters. Being able to counter an aura was just an added bonus. More importantly, he had very high strength stats, which gave him the best balance between attack and defense between the candidates.
Lastly, there was Bayon, the only monster classified as small in rank 3, where large monsters predominated. He was also one of the few humanoid monsters and, at the same time, not dead. In other words, he was immortal. According to the game, they were ancient heroes who died and came back to life, and perhaps that is why they had such a unique setting. These monsters fought with essences like explorers. The combination of essences was different for each body, but here something common was added, the ability of the essence that this type spit out: Transcendence.
The unusual thing was that if you ate its essence, you only gained this ability. The passive and the active were practically shared. However, the basic stat boost came with a super rare additional soul power stat, so the advantage was that you didn't have to worry about PMs.
So what was I to choose?
Each essence had to be consumed at some point. It was just a matter of choosing first. Thinking about it one last time, I made a decision.
Yes, yes I can only eat one, it should be this one.
I was looking forward to the day of the ceremony.
***
«Hmm, do you mean this essence?» When I chose my essence, the magician put on a strange expression. «It is a good essence. I will then report it to the Prime Minister».
«Oh, can you add a numbered object? It looks like they were collecting dust...»
«Can't.»
Geez, so direct. I was half joking. After an additional body search and returning to the reception room, I was able to see my teammates, who had arrived before me.
«I guess the Golden Soul Depot took longer». Mr. Bear greeted me with a smile.
«What essence did you choose?» asked.
«I chose what you told me. I didn't think it was a bad option and you said it was a Secret History, right?».
Secret History, simply put, was a guaranteed combination of essences like a historical hero or great explorer had. Of course, the combinations of those people were well known, but they were mostly made up of high-ranking essences, so it was difficult to apply them unless you were a high-ranking explorer. Smaller sweet combinations were publicly known. For example, Hikurod knew how to use Emergency Restore to reset the cooldown of his numbered item. It must have been a secret that circulated among the dwarves.
«I should sign up for training camp as soon as I get back». Mr. Bear chose an essence with my recommendation and was filled with desire to quickly leave the palace and use his newly acquired skills. I figured it was the same for everyone.
«Bjorn, let's go home! The strength of a warrior dominates my body! I have to let her out quickly!»
All three of them got rank 5 essences, unlike me, but I was jealous. After all, I had to wait until the day of my inauguration.
«Ugh, be patient, will you? Erwen hasn't come yet».
«Tell that fairy to come alone!»
«Hey, what did I say about talking like that?» Missha scolded Ainar and defended Erwen.
«It was a lapse. No more carrot soup, please...»
It was definitely reassuring when the older sister had your back. After waiting a bit, Erwen also returned from her selection.
«You're late. Any problem?» asked.
«No. I chose the one you chose for me. But I couldn't adapt to it, so I had to rest a little...».
Hmm, that made sense. A high-ranking essence usually came with a big change in the body.
«I'm sorry. Did you wait long?»
«Don't feel it, as long as there is no problem. Now, let's go back».
Afterwards, we took the carriage prepared by the palace and returned to District 7, which now felt like home. We headed straight to the training ground, the only place in the city where the use of special abilities was allowed.
«So let me go first». Mr. Bear summoned Iron Bear Iradun, and then placed a pig he had purchased at the entrance to the training ground on target. «I can't force myself to do it. Missha, can you help me?»
«I? Eh... okay». Missha used her sword to make a cut on Bear and the preparations were over.
[Abman Urikfried has released Hungry Claw.]
Soon, his arrow began to emit a red light. Mr. Bear stuck it in the bow and aimed it at the pig's thigh.
Plunk! Screech!
The pig let out a braying screech and went crazy. However, that energy soon diminished.
Collapse.
Without even hitting his vital organs, the pig soon collapsed and stopped moving. No blood came out, because the embedded arrow was absorbing it.
Shaaaaa!
Even at this moment, the arrow stuck in the pig was extracting vitality and delivering it to Mr. Bear.
Here comes the synergy of the combination.
[Abman Urikfried's Vitality is currently at its maximum. The remaining Vitality is transferred to the target to which your soul is connected].
The absorbed Vitality passed through Mr. Bear and back to Bear.
«Woom?» Bear's wound healed in a flash.
«He was skeptical, but he actually healed the Spiritual Beast».
«The book says you are the first priority if you get hurt, so keep that in mind». Even if he said that, Mr. Bear was unlikely to get hurt as a long ranger, so it was safe to say that the tank line had strengthened. The benefits did not end there. About three minutes after shooting the arrow, the pig's carcass dried up like a mummy.
Not bad for sustained damage.
Mr. Bear also had Hook Arrow, so a stuck arrow would not be easily torn off. That meant that once nailed, it continued to damage and absorb blood.
Once you get Altruism later, you can treat our wounds with that too.
Of course, that was how accumulation worked. I didn't plan to make Mr. Bear a healer. That was because every essence space was precious. Healings were best left to a professional healer.
It was time to find a priest, too...
Anyway, next was Ainar.
[Ainar Fenelin has launched Control of Savagery.]
A rank 5 essence couldn't be used as a graduation essence anyway, so I chose something with the best immediate effect and that could be used for a long time.
[All conditional trigger effects of the next attack are converted to Slash Force].
The effects of Explosive Scars, which created an explosion when hitting the same point twice, and Vitality Absorption, which increased regeneration when hitting, turned into Cutting Force with Wildness Control as well.
Cut!
Although it was a Great Sword of Adamantium, the steel bar was cut without resistance.
«Can I try another sword?»
«Why not? Do the best you can.»
Unlike the pig, the steel bars were free. These could be restored with magic.
«Then...» Skeptical, Ainar tried it again with a cheap steel sword provided by the training ground. The result was the same.
Cut!
The steel blade was cut in one fell swoop.
Great, this gives us more options.
She fought by applying blast and blood absorption against multiple enemies and raising Cutting Force against a single strong enemy. Simply put, she was no longer a one-tool barbarian smurf.
«So, now it's my turn?». After that, Missha also tasted her newly obtained essence, followed by Erwen. Both showed expressions of satisfaction at the synergy that exceeded their expectations.
...Leaving me like a sad barbarian.
Why was I the only one without a new essence?
***
Two days later, I visited the palace again. To be honest, I wasn't as nervous as the first time. How many times had it been this month alone? Of course, today's visit was a little different from the previous one.
«Since you're so tall, could you bend down a little?».
The attendees were not satisfied with the banquet clothes Kyle gave me and gathered to dress me to the fullest. Also, my team wasn't around. That was because I was the only guest today. Not even a renowned figure could attend a conference unless he was from the nobility, as a long-standing palace tradition.
That side is already noisy.
I was inside the Palace of Glory, where I had already been once. Musical instruments could be heard in the interior room. It seemed that the banquet had already begun. It would probably climax when we entered.
«Oh, you look so much better in those clothes». While I was waiting all dressed, Count Ferdehilt came to see me with his youngest daughter at the time.
«I'm Arabella Ferdehilt». The daughter still looked scared and couldn't make eye contact with me.
I assumed that the count was not going to bother me with talks about arranged marriages on a day like today, because he left after a simple talk. Well, should I say it was a warning?
«There are a total of three people, including you, who are receiving degrees today. One is a viscount and the other is a marquis.»
I found out about this. Unlike me, it would be more correct to call them successions rather than bestowals.
«I don't care about the Viscount, but the future Marquis of the Kudou family is famous for his petulance and strong competitiveness».
«In a word, he is immature.»
«...That is an accurate expression. So be careful. This day doesn't come twice. They might think you stole their spotlight. Ah, but if they come to provoke you, be patient. Now that you have joined this side, you cannot act as you please. It is not like that?»
«I will remember your advice».
«Yes, that should be enough. Then I'll stop bothering you. See you later».
The count took his daughter and left coldly. It seemed like his only purpose was to become friends with me.
Politics, huh?
It reminded me of the events in Doppelganger Forest and made me laugh. Would barbaric-style politics work in an aristocratic society? As time passed with foolish delusions, the day fell rapidly.
Wow, was I really in this little waiting room for over ten hours?
When I walked out into a red-carpeted hallway, two men dressed in trendy clothes were waiting for me for the day of the ceremony.
That must be the viscount over there.
I looked at the other man, who had a pretty good physique for a human being. Judging by those sharp eyes, it was obviously the marquis.
«Nice to meet you. Have I heard that they are going to grant him the title of Baron? Congratulations. Having a hero like you as part of our society, the palace will be blessed».
The future viscount spoke several rhetorical words despite not wanting to say them, but the future marquis said nothing of that. He sneered as if he didn't even want to talk to a wild commoner like me.
Well, that's more comfortable for me.
I wasn't interested either. I had no intention of wasting time on politics. What I wanted was a rank 3 essence and a convenient noble title.
«The protagonists of the day enter!»
Soon happy music played and the door opened.
Come to think of it, this is the second time I've walked through this door this month.
With nothing to get nervous about, I stepped on the carpet naturally. The arrangement was: the future marquis in the center, me on the left and the future viscount on the right.
Step step.
We walked forward, receiving cheers from other nobles, and stopped in front of the throne. The prime minister was standing on the empty throne. He threw us some ceremonial lines and we knelt as promised. That was the moment.
Hey?
As I was about to squat, the future bastard marquis leaned towards me.
What the hell? Lost your balance?
At first I thought I should help him up, but I soon realized that wasn't the case. My subconscious caught a dark emotion in that movement, malice. It was really ridiculous. It seemed like he was trying to push me by «accident» and make me roll on the ground.
Is crazy?
Leaving aside the fact that he was committing such an indecent act before countless eyes of the nobility, and even the prime minister who was second in command of the palace, did he think that was going to work?
The best defense was attack. Without realizing it I tensed my body and we collided at the same time.
A slap!
The results according to the laws of physics were predetermined.
«Aaagh!»
The future marquis was thrown forward with a loud sound and rolled in a complete circle on the carpet. Her stiff suit wrinkled like a cousin. The music stopped before that chilling indecency and there was silence. Suddenly, the count's advice came to mind.
Oh sure. He told me to be patient.