SGB: Episode 171
Episode 171: Burning (3)
After it was revealed that [Wings of Greed] was the chosen skill…
…Raven started controlling Ainar like a puppet and testing its performance.
The most important thing first.
“I, I can’t fly…!!”
Flight using the wings is impossible.
And since the wings are made of light, they can’t be used for attack or defense, and she can’t even move them at will.
They just move according to her mood.
Flap, flap!
Oh, it seems like she’s not in a good mood.
But they have to consider balance, right?
It would be OP if she could fly with just this.
“…But they do look good on you.”
“Yeah, yeah, she looks really strong.”
“Really?!”
The wings start flapping again at the single compliment.
Flap!
Hmm, this clearly means she’s happy.
Well, even I think the wings look cool.
And the effect of absorbing the surrounding air every time she recovers is quite flashy.
“If I had known, it would have been fine for Mr. Yandel to have it too, don’t you think? Aren’t you disappointed?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have any health regeneration abilities now that the Vampire essence is gone.”
Ah, so that’s what she meant.
But it’s not a suitable essence for me.
First of all, the passive doesn’t suit a tank.
And besides, I can get a decent amount of regeneration just from stats, and there are much better essences out there.
‘And most importantly, it synergizes well with Ainar.’
The effect of [Mark of Explosion] is simple.
It explodes when you hit the same spot twice.
In the game, it was similar to a critical hit.
It had a slightly higher chance of activating against slow monsters or when you increased your accuracy.
But with [Double Slash], it’s a different story.
“Then let’s keep moving.”
Soon after resuming exploration, a group of monsters appears, and everyone can see Ainar’s growth with their own eyes.
Kwaaang!
An explosion occurs as soon as she uses [Double Slash].
The head of a 7th-grade monster explodes instantly and disappears into light.
It’s a power that even Raven is surprised by.
“…Don’t tell me you gave Miss Ainar the essence because you thought of this? Just because of my guess that it explodes when you hit the same spot?”
Hmm, it wasn’t a guess for me.
Of course, I can’t say that, so I just make an excuse.
“You’re the mage of our team. Of course, I trust your judgment.”
“Uh… thank you…”
Raven shuts her mouth, unable to say anything. Meanwhile, Ainar is rampaging among the monsters, unable to contain her excitement.
“Behel—laaaaaaaa!!!!”
Explosions occur with every swing of her sword.
Kwaaang! Kwaang!
Thanks to the double stats (Strength and Agility) from Veritas’s essence, her movements are much smoother and more powerful than before.
Of course, she’s constantly getting injured since I’m not drawing aggro in the front…
“Wings!!!”
…but her injuries heal quickly as she casts [Life Absorption] and [Wings of Greed] together.
‘I guess her character concept is set.’
The Berserker Barbarian.
I watch Ainar’s battle, unable to hide my satisfaction.
I’m a bit envious too.
I also used to build my characters like that before I learned about the Shield Barbarian.
A refreshing battle is a man’s romance.
‘…It wouldn’t be bad to increase her Strength stat further and have her use dual greatswords.’
I briefly consider it.
A barbarian warrior wielding giant greatswords in both hands, spinning like a whirlwind and dominating the battlefield.
And with light wings as a skin on top of that?
Oh shit.
‘That’s badass.’
Maybe I can live vicariously through her.
“Bjo, Bjorn!”
“Alright, I’ll help.”
However, her character build isn’t complete enough to overcome the numerical disadvantage yet, so I also join the battle and finish it.
But was even that impressive?
“Wow, I can’t believe you can get that much stronger just from one essence…”
Misha looks a bit envious.
Well, she doesn’t have any essences above 5th grade yet.
It would be understandable for her to feel deprived, seeing Ainar who absorbed a 4th-grade essence on top of a 5th-grade one.
And she’s also a 0-year explorer like me.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get stronger too.”
“Uh-huh…”
Although Misha looks dejected, there’s nothing else I can say to her right now.
I’m planning to go after that essence after we’ve obtained everything we can from the Hellfire Canyon.
Will it take about six months?
And it will take years to obtain that sword, the core of the Freezing Dual Swordsman build.
‘Now that we’re on the 5th floor, there’s so much to do.’
We collect the magic stones and continue exploring.
A vast forest where the trees are burning, emanating a desolate beauty.
As we defeat monsters and move on, time flies by, and Day 30 finally dawns.
[08:10]
Only 16 hours left until the labyrinth closes.
‘We finally made it. It was a close call.’
A giant stele appears among the trees.
“Everyone, stop!”
“Uh, is it a trap?”
“I don’t know. But it’s possible.”
Raven is wary of the artificial structure as soon as she sees it.
It’s a commendable attitude, but…
‘It’s just a stele.’
In the game, this stele didn’t have any function.
For reference, there’s an identical stele in the fields in the other directions, and it acts as a kind of landmark.
It’s like a signpost that tells you this is the central area.
Well, there might be a hidden element that I didn’t discover…
‘But that’s unlikely.’
Even I tried everything, but nothing happened.
“Then what should we do?”
“First, get ready for battle. Something might be summoned when we enter its radius.”
“Alright.”
It wouldn’t look good if I ignored the mage’s opinion in this situation, so I follow her instructions.
Fortunately, Raven is cautious but not the type to waste time unnecessarily.
“I don’t sense any mana. But just in case, I’ll approach it slowly.”
She gradually closes the distance and stands in front of the stele.
Of course, no monster appears.
“Mr. Yandel, can you touch the stele?”
Right, this kind of thing is always my job, isn’t it?
I just touch it since I know it’s safe.
As expected, there’s no reaction from the stele.
“Can I stay here for a while and check a few things?”
“If you want to.”
I just tell her to go ahead, even at Raven’s request.
It’s the real-life version, after all, so we might be able to find clues that we couldn’t in the game.
30 minutes pass.
“Raven, let’s go.”
“Ah, no! An artificial structure in a forest like this? There must be a story behind it!”
It seems like she’s also fallen into the same trap as me.
How many months did I waste because of that thought?
“Ugh, I feel like I’m almost there…”
Almost there my ass.
“We don’t have much time. If you’re that curious, look for records about it after we get out.”
Raven reluctantly gives up and follows my lead as I draw a clear line. She’s the type who hates to inconvenience others.
In short, she’s easy to handle.
“Alright, let’s go.”
We then search the area around the stele, just in case there's something nearby. After all, we can't go far in the remaining day anyway, so everyone agrees without complaint.
'Something should appear if we've searched this much...'
That's when, after about two hours of searching...
"Bjorn! Look over there!"
Misha shouted, pointing to one spot.
"...A house?"
In the middle of the forest, where everything is burning and monsters are rampant...
...there's a two-story brick house.
'Phew, we don't have to come back next time.'
It's the place I was looking for.
After it was revealed that [Wings of Greed] was the chosen skill…
…Raven started controlling Ainar like a puppet and testing its performance.
The most important thing first.
“I, I can’t fly…!!”
Flight using the wings is impossible.
And since the wings are made of light, they can’t be used for attack or defense, and she can’t even move them at will.
They just move according to her mood.
Flap, flap!
Oh, it seems like she’s not in a good mood.
But they have to consider balance, right?
It would be OP if she could fly with just this.
“…But they do look good on you.”
“Yeah, yeah, she looks really strong.”
“Really?!”
The wings start flapping again at the single compliment.
Flap!
Hmm, this clearly means she’s happy.
Well, even I think the wings look cool.
And the effect of absorbing the surrounding air every time she recovers is quite flashy.
“If I had known, it would have been fine for Mr. Yandel to have it too, don’t you think? Aren’t you disappointed?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have any health regeneration abilities now that the Vampire essence is gone.”
Ah, so that’s what she meant.
But it’s not a suitable essence for me.
First of all, the passive doesn’t suit a tank.
And besides, I can get a decent amount of regeneration just from stats, and there are much better essences out there.
‘And most importantly, it synergizes well with Ainar.’
The effect of [Mark of Explosion] is simple.
It explodes when you hit the same spot twice.
In the game, it was similar to a critical hit.
It had a slightly higher chance of activating against slow monsters or when you increased your accuracy.
But with [Double Slash], it’s a different story.
“Then let’s keep moving.”
Soon after resuming exploration, a group of monsters appears, and everyone can see Ainar’s growth with their own eyes.
Kwaaang!
An explosion occurs as soon as she uses [Double Slash].
The head of a 7th-grade monster explodes instantly and disappears into light.
It’s a power that even Raven is surprised by.
“…Don’t tell me you gave Miss Ainar the essence because you thought of this? Just because of my guess that it explodes when you hit the same spot?”
Hmm, it wasn’t a guess for me.
Of course, I can’t say that, so I just make an excuse.
“You’re the mage of our team. Of course, I trust your judgment.”
“Uh… thank you…”
Raven shuts her mouth, unable to say anything. Meanwhile, Ainar is rampaging among the monsters, unable to contain her excitement.
“Behel—laaaaaaaa!!!!”
Explosions occur with every swing of her sword.
Kwaaang! Kwaang!
Thanks to the double stats (Strength and Agility) from Veritas’s essence, her movements are much smoother and more powerful than before.
Of course, she’s constantly getting injured since I’m not drawing aggro in the front…
“Wings!!!”
…but her injuries heal quickly as she casts [Life Absorption] and [Wings of Greed] together.
‘I guess her character concept is set.’
The Berserker Barbarian.
I watch Ainar’s battle, unable to hide my satisfaction.
I’m a bit envious too.
I also used to build my characters like that before I learned about the Shield Barbarian.
A refreshing battle is a man’s romance.
‘…It wouldn’t be bad to increase her Strength stat further and have her use dual greatswords.’
I briefly consider it.
A barbarian warrior wielding giant greatswords in both hands, spinning like a whirlwind and dominating the battlefield.
And with light wings as a skin on top of that?
Oh shit.
‘That’s badass.’
Maybe I can live vicariously through her.
“Bjo, Bjorn!”
“Alright, I’ll help.”
However, her character build isn’t complete enough to overcome the numerical disadvantage yet, so I also join the battle and finish it.
But was even that impressive?
“Wow, I can’t believe you can get that much stronger just from one essence…”
Misha looks a bit envious.
Well, she doesn’t have any essences above 5th grade yet.
It would be understandable for her to feel deprived, seeing Ainar who absorbed a 4th-grade essence on top of a 5th-grade one.
And she’s also a 0-year explorer like me.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get stronger too.”
“Uh-huh…”
Although Misha looks dejected, there’s nothing else I can say to her right now.
I’m planning to go after that essence after we’ve obtained everything we can from the Hellfire Canyon.
Will it take about six months?
And it will take years to obtain that sword, the core of the Freezing Dual Swordsman build.
‘Now that we’re on the 5th floor, there’s so much to do.’
We collect the magic stones and continue exploring.
A vast forest where the trees are burning, emanating a desolate beauty.
As we defeat monsters and move on, time flies by, and Day 30 finally dawns.
[08:10]
Only 16 hours left until the labyrinth closes.
‘We finally made it. It was a close call.’
A giant stele appears among the trees.
“Everyone, stop!”
“Uh, is it a trap?”
“I don’t know. But it’s possible.”
Raven is wary of the artificial structure as soon as she sees it.
It’s a commendable attitude, but…
‘It’s just a stele.’
In the game, this stele didn’t have any function.
For reference, there’s an identical stele in the fields in the other directions, and it acts as a kind of landmark.
It’s like a signpost that tells you this is the central area.
Well, there might be a hidden element that I didn’t discover…
‘But that’s unlikely.’
Even I tried everything, but nothing happened.
“Then what should we do?”
“First, get ready for battle. Something might be summoned when we enter its radius.”
“Alright.”
It wouldn’t look good if I ignored the mage’s opinion in this situation, so I follow her instructions.
Fortunately, Raven is cautious but not the type to waste time unnecessarily.
“I don’t sense any mana. But just in case, I’ll approach it slowly.”
She gradually closes the distance and stands in front of the stele.
Of course, no monster appears.
“Mr. Yandel, can you touch the stele?”
Right, this kind of thing is always my job, isn’t it?
I just touch it since I know it’s safe.
As expected, there’s no reaction from the stele.
“Can I stay here for a while and check a few things?”
“If you want to.”
I just tell her to go ahead, even at Raven’s request.
It’s the real-life version, after all, so we might be able to find clues that we couldn’t in the game.
30 minutes pass.
“Raven, let’s go.”
“Ah, no! An artificial structure in a forest like this? There must be a story behind it!”
It seems like she’s also fallen into the same trap as me.
How many months did I waste because of that thought?
“Ugh, I feel like I’m almost there…”
Almost there my ass.
“We don’t have much time. If you’re that curious, look for records about it after we get out.”
Raven reluctantly gives up and follows my lead as I draw a clear line. She’s the type who hates to inconvenience others.
In short, she’s easy to handle.
“Alright, let’s go.”
We then search the area around the stele, just in case there's something nearby. After all, we can't go far in the remaining day anyway, so everyone agrees without complaint.
'Something should appear if we've searched this much...'
That's when, after about two hours of searching...
"Bjorn! Look over there!"
Misha shouted, pointing to one spot.
"...A house?"
In the middle of the forest, where everything is burning and monsters are rampant...
...there's a two-story brick house.
'Phew, we don't have to come back next time.'
It's the place I was looking for.
____________________
The charred wooden door opens weakly.
Creak.
Geez, that sound.
It bothers me, so I just rip it off and throw it on the ground.
"Um, could you please not destroy everything?"
"...Nagging."
"No, it's not nagging—"
"Alright, I'll be careful."
She's making a fuss over just one door.
"...It's kind of creepy."
The interior of the building is practically a ruin.
Although we confirmed that there are no monsters using magic, we carefully search inside in case there are traps.
But it doesn't take long.
The sofa, the walls, everything is burned down, leaving only the frame.
We quickly finish searching the 1st floor and go up to the 2nd floor.
And we find a book in a room that seems to have been a bedroom.
"Raven! It's a book you'll like!"
It's a relatively intact book, perhaps because it was inside a drawer.
Although the cover is completely charred, there are some pages inside that are still legible.
'...Was there something like this?'
It's an item I couldn't find in the game.
Raven's eyes sparkle as she receives the book from Ainar and carefully opens it.
"It's written in the ancient language."
"Can you read it?"
"Yes. This is my specialty. Anyway, it seems like a diary."
Raven then starts reading the contents of the book out loud, as if showing off her knowledge.
It's quite interesting.
[Day 192, the rescue team didn't come again today. There are only three of us left. Tarvian suggested building a house, and I agreed. The demon meat tasted awful again today.]
[Day 271, we finished building a decent house. The three of us drank the wine we saved. How long has it been since we laughed and talked like this? Damn it, if only Zephyros hadn't said those things while drunk, I would still be in a great mood.]
[What's the point of living when the world is ending?]
[There's still hope even if everything burns and disappears.]
[As proof, we're still alive.]
[Day 467, Tarvian is pregnant. Whose child is it? Neither Zephyros nor I asked. Ah, Tarvian. A woman who's both wise and pitiful. I crave alcohol today.]
[Day 672. No, is it 673? I don't know, but something terrible happened. The Orb of Fire is starting to lose its power. The outer walls are already getting scorched. The only one who can fix it is Tarvian, the mage. But even if she extends its duration by sacrificing her life, what's the point?]
[Day 711, Zephyros and I finally agreed for the first time in a long time.]
[We're dying today.]
[If the world wasn't destroyed by the Witch's hand, and if someone finds this place someday, please use the item in the basement to save the world.]
It's a diary where the writer's name doesn't even appear.
And there are only four intact pages.
But Raven is shocked as she reads the last sentence.
"Witch..."
"Why are you so surprised?"
"I thought it might be the case because it's written in the ancient language... The person who wrote this diary is from our dimension!"
"Huh?"
Misha looks at her as if saying, 'So what?'
But Raven doesn't have the mental capacity to explain kindly.
"What? Ah, is it because this is a different dimension? So the records from that time still remain? No, but then how did these people get here?"
Raven mutters to herself as if organizing her thoughts.
But it doesn't last long.
"Basement! Let's go to the basement first! If this is true, there must be something down there."
"Good idea."
We go back to the 1st floor and clear away the collapsed furniture, revealing a path leading to the basement.
It's quite dark, so I use the light orb spell.
Thud, thud.
We go down and find a small space, about 3 square meters in size.
It seems like it was used as a storage room for food and supplies...
...but there's a box that looks valuable at first glance.
"I'll open it."
"Ah, you want to?"
Right, the fact that I've been doing this kind of thing finally pays off.
'It must have seemed natural, right?'
I have that thought and open the box.
There's a single orb inside.
I reach out before Raven can say anything.
「Character registered as the user of the Orb of Fire.」
This is a bound item.
The charred wooden door opens weakly.
Creak.
Geez, that sound.
It bothers me, so I just rip it off and throw it on the ground.
"Um, could you please not destroy everything?"
"...Nagging."
"No, it's not nagging—"
"Alright, I'll be careful."
She's making a fuss over just one door.
"...It's kind of creepy."
The interior of the building is practically a ruin.
Although we confirmed that there are no monsters using magic, we carefully search inside in case there are traps.
But it doesn't take long.
The sofa, the walls, everything is burned down, leaving only the frame.
We quickly finish searching the 1st floor and go up to the 2nd floor.
And we find a book in a room that seems to have been a bedroom.
"Raven! It's a book you'll like!"
It's a relatively intact book, perhaps because it was inside a drawer.
Although the cover is completely charred, there are some pages inside that are still legible.
'...Was there something like this?'
It's an item I couldn't find in the game.
Raven's eyes sparkle as she receives the book from Ainar and carefully opens it.
"It's written in the ancient language."
"Can you read it?"
"Yes. This is my specialty. Anyway, it seems like a diary."
Raven then starts reading the contents of the book out loud, as if showing off her knowledge.
It's quite interesting.
[Day 192, the rescue team didn't come again today. There are only three of us left. Tarvian suggested building a house, and I agreed. The demon meat tasted awful again today.]
[Day 271, we finished building a decent house. The three of us drank the wine we saved. How long has it been since we laughed and talked like this? Damn it, if only Zephyros hadn't said those things while drunk, I would still be in a great mood.]
[What's the point of living when the world is ending?]
[There's still hope even if everything burns and disappears.]
[As proof, we're still alive.]
[Day 467, Tarvian is pregnant. Whose child is it? Neither Zephyros nor I asked. Ah, Tarvian. A woman who's both wise and pitiful. I crave alcohol today.]
[Day 672. No, is it 673? I don't know, but something terrible happened. The Orb of Fire is starting to lose its power. The outer walls are already getting scorched. The only one who can fix it is Tarvian, the mage. But even if she extends its duration by sacrificing her life, what's the point?]
[Day 711, Zephyros and I finally agreed for the first time in a long time.]
[We're dying today.]
[If the world wasn't destroyed by the Witch's hand, and if someone finds this place someday, please use the item in the basement to save the world.]
It's a diary where the writer's name doesn't even appear.
And there are only four intact pages.
But Raven is shocked as she reads the last sentence.
"Witch..."
"Why are you so surprised?"
"I thought it might be the case because it's written in the ancient language... The person who wrote this diary is from our dimension!"
"Huh?"
Misha looks at her as if saying, 'So what?'
But Raven doesn't have the mental capacity to explain kindly.
"What? Ah, is it because this is a different dimension? So the records from that time still remain? No, but then how did these people get here?"
Raven mutters to herself as if organizing her thoughts.
But it doesn't last long.
"Basement! Let's go to the basement first! If this is true, there must be something down there."
"Good idea."
We go back to the 1st floor and clear away the collapsed furniture, revealing a path leading to the basement.
It's quite dark, so I use the light orb spell.
Thud, thud.
We go down and find a small space, about 3 square meters in size.
It seems like it was used as a storage room for food and supplies...
...but there's a box that looks valuable at first glance.
"I'll open it."
"Ah, you want to?"
Right, the fact that I've been doing this kind of thing finally pays off.
'It must have seemed natural, right?'
I have that thought and open the box.
There's a single orb inside.
I reach out before Raven can say anything.
「Character registered as the user of the Orb of Fire.」
This is a bound item.
Clever, clever
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