STGB Episode 556
First Clear(1)
Bellarios.
A Level 3 monster that specializes in defending against magic damage, my only weakness.
Its base stats are as follows:
Magic Resistance +200.
An exceptionally high level of resistance, unmatched by any other monster.
And…
All Attribute Sensitivity +30.
Water, fire, wind, earth—no matter the element, this heightened sensitivity increases the effectiveness of any attribute based skill.
And that’s it—These are the only two stats attached to Bellarios.
Honestly, if there were anything more, the balance would be completely broken.
‘Tch.’
I’ve always wondered: what if that second stat were resistance instead of sensitivity?
Of course, sensitivity itself is incredibly valuable and one of the most important stats in the game, but…
Unless I were raising a Flame Barbarian or an Earth Barbarian, it’s practically useless for my shield barbarian character.
‘Right now, the only skill it affects is Stormgush.’
[Eye of the Storm] was a wind-type skill, and [Origin] was water-type. They both increased with attribute sensitivity, so now that I had some, they’d perform better. But since I’d be replacing them eventually, it didn’t matter much.
…What matters are Bellarios’s skills.
It’s a shame that I didn’t get resistance for both Stas, but considering the Bellarios’ skills, it’s not a big loss.
(P) Ring of Circulation-When a Level 3 or higher monster dies within a certain radius, there’s a a certain probability that your stats will increase.
A passive that literally increases stats.
In a way, it’s similar to the Manticore’s [Inheritance], which boosts stats when consuming mana stones, but with one critical difference:
[Ring of Circulation] has no limit.
Well, the activation rate decreases as stats rise, making it almost impossible to increase beyond a total of 400 points, but still.
Anyway.
(A) Scales of Greed — When activated, it grants Magic Resistance proportional to your base Magic Resistance.
Ultimately, the core of this essence lies in its active skill.
I got +35 from the Abyss Giant, +20 from Bayon, +80 from Ogre, +200 from Bellarios…, +40 from removing inheritance.
‘Total: 383.’
But it doesn’t end there.
Adding 30% from the Earth Dragon’s blessing to 383…
‘497.9.’
Unfortunately, a bit short of 500.
But there was a reason why [Gigantification] was my core skill.
After all, Earth Dragon’s Blessing didn’t exist in my original Shield Barbarian Build.
[The character has cast [Gigantification]
[The character’s physique increases, and physical stats increase proportionally to size.」
Even without combining [Transcendence] with [Gigantification] or stacking it with [Wild Burst], my magic resistance would be over 500 from this alone.
「The character has cast[Scales of Greed]」
The moment I activated the skill, blue scales sprouted over my thick Barbarian skin.
“Whoa! Bjorn is evolving into a Lizardman!”
Hey, calling me a lizardman is a bit much.
I looked down at my newly transformed body and smirked.
「Character’s Magic Resistance exceeds 500.」
「All incoming magic damage is reduced by 50%.」
「Physical resistance increases in proportion to magic damage absorbed.」
At last — I’ve entered the Barbarian Dragon Mode.
***
My joy after consuming the essence and testing the skills was short-lived.
“I sincerely congratulate you on your achievement, Baron. But for now, I’d like us to resume our mission.”
With Jerome’s mood-killing remark, I stomped back to the hunting grounds.
Ugh, an work obsessed idiot.
It was mildly irritating, but efficiency-wise, it wasn’t a bad thing.
[You have killed a Bantao]
[You have killed an Elder Wyvern]
[You have killed a Fleetwinder—]
At this point, the more Level 3 monsters we kill, the better.
Whoooooosh—!
Around the seventh kill, a halo-like effect formed above my head, drawing in the dissipating light from the monsters I killed.
The visual cue for [Ring of Cycle] activating.
Having seen it trigger for Auyen a few times, it wasn’t anything new, but…
「Magic Resistance has permanently increased by +1.」
「Natural Regeneration has permanently increased by +1.」
Without system messages, I can’t tell which stat increased, so I’ll need to visit the Mage Tower regularly to check and find out which stats went up.
Most likely, it was a physical stat, but…
‘That was a close call. From now on, Let’s stick closer.’
[Ring of Cycle] has activation mechanics.
If a defeated monster is within a 1-meter radius, there’s a high chance your physical stats will increase. Within 5 meters, the stat increase is completely random.
And if the distance is greater than 10 meters, research suggests it’s more likely to enhance ability-related stats.
Oh, I did the research, of course.
“Stand down! Squad 3 and Squad 4 will swap missions with Squads 1 and 2!”
And after some time had passed.
Soon, the commander post ordered a rotation.
The knights, who had been slacking off, brightened at the order, but not me.
Ah… I just want to keep stacking stats here…
When else would I get the chance to farm Level 3 monsters in bulk like this?
I wanted to milk this expedition for all it was worth.
But…
“You may not be familiar with leading troops, Baron, but discipline is discipline. It must be upheld.”
Commander Jerome shut down my request without hesitation.
Yeah, if he starts making exceptions, others might step up to challenge his authority.
Arguing further wouldn’t change anything. So I reluctantly stepped back.
Boom! Crash—! Fzzzt—!
As I stepped away from the stone gate and started pulling books from the top shelves, I could clearly see the battles unfolding below.
Whoooosh—!
The knights unleashed multicolored auras.
Swoooosh—!
Shaaah!
Priests covered them with wide area heals, letting them swing fearlessly.
And in the midst of it all:
“Ihiliat Bendai Tiulon!”
Dozens of mages unleashed a combined spell of overwhelming firepower.
Honestly, they’re the reason I used my fountain pen early to get the Bellarios essence, even though I’d planned to wait.
I had to prepare for the worst.
‘There are way too many mages.’
If they turned against me, I wouldn’t be able to handle them in my current state.
‘Right now… I could at least mount a minimal counterattack.’
Hah, speaking of which, I should feed Amelia an essence too.
But using my last fountain pen charge feels wasteful.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and find another one?
“Mister, what are you thinking about so hard?”
“Why are you always so curious about my thoughts?”
“Ahaha… Good question. Why is that…?”
“It’s nothing…”
As I continued hauling books while lost in thought, the rotation time came again. By the time we swapped once more, the day was over.
And so, after several more days of repetition…
Day 114 in the Labyrinth.
4:00 PM.
Only 8 hours left until the rainy season.
“…Commander, we’ve reached the final bookshelf.”
The library raid was nearing its end.
***
Honestly, it’s a little surprising.
I never thought they’d reach the endgame content of the library in just a week.
Compared to us, who hunted for over a month and only reached Level 3 and 2, their speed is incomparable.
But I have an excuse: they’re here to clear the place, not farm.
While we killed as many Level 3s as possible, the expedition force summoned just one per shelf and climbed steadily.
“Until further orders, all squads are to rest freely and remain on standby!”
The Royal Army, which had never stopped summoning even late into the night, issued their first break order to all troops.
Well, except for the leadership.
“Let us begin the meeting.”
As everyone else rested and recovered MP, the command group, including me, gathered for a strategy session.
All wore grim expressions.
I already knew from Hamsiki that the final books contained Level 1 monsters, but they didn’t.
“We had our suspicions, but it’s confirmed—the final bookshelf do have level 1 monsters .”
The deputy commander’s voice trembled faintly with tension.
Of course, that didn’t change what had to be done.
“Let me make this clear upfront: the commander has decided to proceed with the mission even if the opponent is a Level 1 monster.”
I’d anticipated it but the other leaders murmured anxiously.
“A Level 1 monster? The casualties will be extreme-”
“Is it worth it?”
I understood their concerns.
After all, there have already been sacrifices to get this far.
“Commander, seven have already died in battle!”
Seven had died during combat.
Six were knights from the expedition, and one was a warrior from the Armin’s team.
No amount of healers can save someone from instant death.
‘Losing limbs has become routine these days.’
Just the previous summoning book alone had spawned two Level 2 and four Level 3 monsters, forcing everyone to join the fight instead of splitting into squads.
Even then, over twenty limbs were lost.
(The healers reattached them afterward, but still.)
If that’s the situation now, what happens when a Level 1 monster appears?
“If we take more losses here, even the royal family will consider this a major—”
One knight voiced his concerns, but Commander Jerome cut him off immediately.
“Enough.”
“……”
“The royal family has entrusted us with this sacred mission. Therefore, we must carry it out. No matter the cost.”
True to military hierarchy, the knight fell silent after Jerome’s firm response.
The vice commander, sensing the mood, resumed the meeting.
“Whether to proceed is not up for debate in this meeting.”
The only reason Jerome had gathered all the leaders for this meeting was to decide one thing:
“Among the seven confirmed monsters, which one should we summon? Everyone, voice your opinions freely.”
Which choice would be the most rational?
As the meeting progressed, various opinions were raised, and I quietly assessed each one.
“I believe Leviathan is the best choice. This isn’t the ocean, is it? Given its terrain-dependent strengths, the difficulty should be relatively lower.”
Leviathan is the wrong choice.
The reasoning sounds plausible, but we don’t have the team composition to beat it.
“What about Tol-Rapupa? As a defense-specialized monster, if we invest enough time, we could defeat it with minimal casualties.”
Also a no.
There may be many knights, but the expedition’s core damage dealers are the mages.
We can’t break through its shell.
“I think Kashan would be the right—”
“Hmm, I believe Ridger would be a much better opponent than—”
The leaders continued debating, sometimes rebutting or supporting each other’s arguments.
From my perspective, it was all pointless.
Level 1 monsters are practically legendary, and since most people haven’t fought one, their reasoning didn’t seem realistic.
‘Looks like I will have to step in.’
Even if it was just in the game, I’ve killed countless level 1 monsters.
To me, this meeting was meaningless.
From that experience, I could already tell:
This discussion is meaningless.
Everyone’s talking about minimizing damage.
No one’s planning for failure.
They genuinely believe that they can summon any of the seven monsters and beat them..
“Come to think of it, Baron, you’ve been awfully quiet.”
“…You mean me?”
“Do you have an opinion, Baron?”
Ah, that.
I was just waiting for the right time to speak — looks like they’ve set the stage for me.
“I do.”
My response drew the full attention of the room.
“If we summon one… it should be Kashan.”
My blunt statement made their eyes gleam.
“You mean the prophetic wolf?”
Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com