STGB Episode 546

Ghost 4

The day after visiting the community.

I woke up feeling very tired and started my day as usual.

“Come on, everyone! Food’s ready!”

Things had changed from before, when our three groups used to move together without any plan. Now, even outside of combat, everyone had clearly defined roles.

For example, four people were in charge of cooking our meals each day.

Oh, by the way, Misha is in charge of the cooking team.

“How is it? Does it suit your taste? I made it a bit lighter than usual since it’s breakfast.”

“It’s fine, except there’s not enough meat.”

“Ah… meat……”

“Just kidding. We should save the meat. Just in case.”

After the meal, I went to Versil, who manages our supplies, to check how much food we had left.

“We have about 61 days’ worth left for 38 people. If we reduce the rations from now, we could stretch it for about four more days.”

“Forget it. If we cut back any more, how are we supposed to fight?”

Currently, we have about two months of food left.

Honestly, this was only possible because Armin Expedition Team had brought enough supplies.

Meanwhile, the Hex Clan, who had lost their ship and were stranded, had already run out of food, while our Anabada Clan had only prepared enough to feed seven people for four months.

‘Day 86…’

If we were on the 7th floor, it would have closed over ten days ago. But we’re still trapped in the labryinth.

And the problem is…

At this rate, we might not escape even by the 200th day.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m overly worried about food.

New explorers will be joining us soon anyway, and if things get bad, we can always hunt monsters and use distortion magic – just like we did in Icerock when food was scarce.

“Anyway, got it. If anyone needs anything, give it to them without hesitation—except for food.”

“I’ve already been doing that. Ah, also…”

“Also?”

“……Never mind. I’ll tell you later when I’m more certain.”

Somehow, I knew what she was going to say.

That there’s a spy from the Ghostbusters hiding in our expedition. But revealing that would mean exposing that she’s also an evil spirit, so she hesitated.

“Alright? Then I’ll get going.”

“Yes.”

After checking the supplies, I went to Amelia to ask if anything unusual had happened last night.

She’s the leader of the security squad, after all.

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

She always said that, but her job was imporant.

Inside a labyrinth, enemies can pop up anytime—and the inside isn’t necessarily safe, either.

You never know what variables will appear.

“Like now:

“However, the warrior Vilcus of the Hex Clan seems to be under extreme stress. He’s been having a lot of sleepless nights lately.”

The security squad is basically acting as a patrol unit. They stand night watch and report anything unusual to me every morning.

There are six of them, including a former Royal Investigation Bureau veteran who serves as Amelia’s right-hand man.”

“Got it. I’ll talk to him later.”

“In that case, I don’t need to worry about him.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re like an idol to the warriors, and he seems to respect you in particular. Seeing you should help calm him down.”

After a morning chat with Amelia, I headed for the trio of mages from the Armin team.

“Emily says you were up researching all night again. Any results?”

These three serve as the research team of our expedition.

Monster corpses, essences, summoning books from the library, summoning altars, stone gates where monsters emerge—everything we’ve seen and discovered in this labyrinth.

Their role is to research all of it, but…

“Uh… I wouldn’t call it a result yet…”

“We did find some unusual readings in the blood sample from the hippogryph…”

“If you could just give us a little more time and resources…”

For some reason, whenever I ask about results, they tremble and nervously watch my reaction.

I’ve repeatedly told them not to feel pressured, but nothing has changed.

Maybe it’s a habit from their time as Magic Tower researchers?

“Heh, you’re in charge here, Baron.”

“Even if you tell us to relax… it’s hard for us.”

“Exactly. And being too carefree can delay the results.”

Well, if that’s the case, I don’t have anything to say.

Anyway, with the research team’s report done, my morning routine was complete.

“Alright, if everyone’s digested, return to your posts!”

Now it’s time to get to work.

We’ve eaten well and digested properly, right?

“From now on, we’ll be summoning monsters!”

Time to get back to work.

***

The routine after the morning tasks is simple.

After stacking up the books we gathered the night before, it’s time for endless hunting.

Whoooooosh—!

Magic stones pour out, and when essence appears, we pause, identify it, then continue.

And we don’t need eyewitness accounts like amateurs: a crystal recorder above us records the entire hunt.

“It’s a Katanda essence.”

“A green Katanda essence means ‘Omen of Malice,’ right, Baron?”

“We don’t need it.”

“Understood. Does anyone else here need it?”

After the essence is checked, I’m given the first choice, and if I refuse, they look for the next in line.

And if there’s no next in line, it’s dumped.

“Isn’t this amazing? A Level 4 essence, and no one’s taking it.”

“Level 3 essences get discarded sometimes too, so this isn’t surprising.”

“If we wait a bit longer, we might find a more suitable essence. No need to rush.”

“Hoho, seeing essence right in front of you and still thinking about the future… If we talk about this outside, no one would believe it.”

“Not even putting it in a test tube… what a waste. Do you know how much it’s worth?”

“The Baron said to save the test tubes. I think that’s a wise decision.”

Oddly enough, the explorers enjoy seeing essences being tossed. Because the hunt stops until the essence naturally disappears. Not that it means they get to sit around and rest.

“What are you looking at? Go get more books while it’s disappearing!”

I even use that free time efficiently. I send everyone to the bookshelves to gather summoning books, and once we have enough, we start our feast again.

And after all that relentless grinding…

Ten days, huh …”

It took ten days since arriving at the library to get a real result.

“…Baron?”

“We’re keeping this one.”

After discarding dozens of essences, our clan finally got an essence worth keeping:

“Speardeeper.”

A Level 3 monster that appears at an absurdly low chance when diving deep in a certain zone of the sixth‑floor ocean.

Of course, I had already decided on its owner.

“Aynar.”

“Oh! I knew it!!”

The moment I called her name, Aynar—who’d been sneaking glances at me—rushed over.

“Aynar.”

“Oh! I knew it!!”

The moment I called his name, Ainar, who had been lurking nearby, quickly ran over.

Since she’s a spear user, it seemed she’d been secretly hoping for this.

But it’s no fun to just give it away.

“Wait.”

“Huh…! No, why wait? You were going to give it to me anyway—”

“Hm?.”

She snapped her mouth shut.

“…”

That’s better.

“Consume it.”

“Wooohooo!”

Once I gave permission, Aynar lunged at the essence.

No fighting spirit but still greedy, huh?

[The [Speardipper’s Essence] permeates the soul of Aynar Pheneline]

As the essence’s light merged into Aynar’s body, she closed her eyes, savoring the sensation, then suddenly screamed like an addict.

“What is this?! This is insane! I haven’t felt this strong in a while…!”

Well, of course.

This guy’s base stats were mostly focused on physical abilities – but it was the skills that really made this essence stand out.

(P) Discriminate – Attacks against the same species deal damage proportional to the duration of the battle. If the target is of the same species, the damage is reduced instead.

(A) Trident – When attacking with a spear, deal equal damage to two nearby enemies.

An active skill with no cooldown and low MP cost.

Of course, the skill isn’t overwhelmingly powerful…

Of course, it’s not an overpowered skill… But if you fill your slots with overpowered skills, you’ll collapse like a house of cards.

[Trident] will replace [Repeated Strikes] as Aynar’s new default attack.

‘Okay, so Aynar’s done for now…’

She still has plenty of essences that need replacing, but since all her slots are full, we can put it off until we’re back in the city.

So what’s left is…

‘One for me, one for Erwin, and two for Amelia…’

That’s all we can use for now—but considering how many test tubes we still had, the number of essences we could gather for our clan would go up. And It’d be great if we could swap out Aynar’s essences for the new ones as soon as we get back to the city.

‘…I should also try to gather engraving materials if possible.

The materials required for the 8th stage of Immortal Engraving are dropped by three different types of Level 3 monsters.

Of course, there are other materials too, but…

‘We can just buy those in the city with money.’

Unlike low-Level materials, the level 3 monster materials aren’t something you can just buy even if you have the money.

Even the Wraith’s Soul I needed for the seventh stage of engraving was in that same category.

It is dropped by a Level 4 monster Lich, but only one was listed in the central exchange.

So I spent all my money to buy it, not knowing when I’d get another chance…

「Aynar Pheneline has activated[Trident].」

While Aynar was testing her new essence and adapting to her stronger body…

“Captain!!”

The only non-combatant among us—navigator Auyen Roklov—rushed over to me, clutching a large summoning book.

“F-found it…! Finally!”

“Found what? Calm down and—”

“It’s the book that summons Bellarios!”

Hearing the news, I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply.

“Hoo…”

Yeah, it’s finally here.

***

Bellarios.

A Level 3 monster resembling an Eastern-style dragon.

Its habitat is the Dragon Mountain Range in the heart of the Dark Continent.

But since that area became a battlefield, we haven’t been able to secure its essence.

“Versil, gather everyone, including those at the bookshelves”

Having waited for this moment since arriving at the library, I quickly assembled everyone and briefed them on Bellarios.

But someone seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“Um…”

“What is it, Aynar? Hungry again?”

“It’s just… I haven’t fully adjusted to my new essence yet …”

“And?”

I honestly couldn’t tell what he wanted.

“Where will you find better practice than real combat?”

Every barbarian warrior would agree with that.

But

“I-I mean… I prefer just training over fighting… It’s more efficient, you know?”

Ah, right.

That damn fighting spirit.

“Can’t I just train here while you guys fight?”

She’ll avoid fighting at any cost if given the chance.

But my answer was already decided.

“No. You’re joining this fight.”

“……Understood.”

Her pitiful expression made me feel like the bad guy, but I forced myself to stay firm.

Erwin approached me and whispered quietly.

“Mister… I know they’re Level 3, but there are only two of them. Don’t you think the rest of us can handle it?”

I wasn’t sure when they got close enough for her to speak up like this for Aynar, but she wasn’t wrong.

Aynar skipping this fight?

It wouldn’t make much difference.

But…

‘The problem is others seeing it.’

Even if they’re from the same clan, showing favoritism like this would inevitably breed resentment.

Even if it’s not visible on the surface.

So…

“The decision’s already made. No more arguments.”

“……Yes. Sorry.”

After shutting down Erwin’s persuasion, I continued the briefing. Once I was confident everyone had fully grasped the enemy’s details…

I placed the summoning book on the altar.

And then…

Rumble—

The stone gate, which had opened and closed over a hundred times today, opened once more, revealing two monsters.

An axe-wielding goat-headed creature stepped through, carrying a pouch filled with lava-like red liquid on its back.

‘Hellsmith.’

Our previous tribe chief, known as the Flame Warrior, had this guy’s essence.

And…

‘Bellarios.’

As I looked at its sleek, glimmering scales, I unconsciously licked my lips.

「Bellarios has cast[Scales of Greed].」

「Bellarios gains immunity to all magic damage.」
Give me that.

 

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com