Chapter 156: Day 335 – Rematch, Skill Power, and Processing Speed
Acid Shot. I watched carefully as the bulb struggled in the air. The vines were fast, but not fast enough to reach me. There it was. Light began to gather. “Air Burst!” I darted to the side. No wardrobe malfunction this time or hiding in a ditch.
The beam of light cut across the landscape. Getting to see it from a short distance, the attack was impressive. It was tempting to switch it in as an attack skill. The main issue was how unwieldly it was. Acid Shot x2. The monster collapsed dead after a couple of seconds of being soaked in acid. I frowned a bit. It had certainly been faster than the first time I had fought this thing, but it wasn’t a one hit kill.
My skill took a short time to work. While level 2 monsters weren’t a huge issue, level 3 monsters managed to resist for a short time before succumbing. I would say that level 2 monsters were able to last a second to five seconds. Level 3 monsters were able to last three seconds to fifteen seconds. But I had mostly experimented on level 3 boss monsters.
Was it more powerful since it was a boss monster that left a skill crystal? Maybe, it was hard to say. I thought about the other level 3 monsters I had seen and faced. Would an invisible force wall really be balanced against something like a Radiant Beam? It was hard to say.
I noted the group making their way over with Naran in the lead. Regardless, there would be a full-time person with this skill in the guard. It would be a powerful weapon against anyone attacking Purgatory in the future. If we had two people with the skill at each gate, then the Ritualist would never have broken into Purgatory.
The other person was in the Union and wasn’t on defense duty. Still, it was a powerful skill useful against a single powerful opponent, or a large group of clumped enemies. Another reason I wanted to test myself was to see how dangerous and easy to dodge the skill actually was. It was the only skill I had seen with a clear charge up time period of about two to three seconds.
Another reason why I didn’t like it for the type of combat I engaged in. I wanted something spamable. Acid Shot met all my requirements except not being powerful enough to kill every level 3 monster in a single attack. That was the biggest problem in my mind.
Even with getting the power upgrade twice, it seemed only to be doing so much. It was both frustrating and disappointing. It also was a clear reminder that I wouldn’t be able to easily kill any level 4 monsters instantly. I guess it was a strong attack, but it took time to work.
Well, my test was complete. I thought back to how I was afraid of every little thing. Now I had confidence to conduct tests with level 2 and level 3 monsters. That lack of fear was what gave me confidence in my decision to let someone get this skill. The first time I had been desperate for points.
Now, it was charity and improving my standing army. I watched as the person chose the skill. I said my goodbyes and my small group set off. Myself, Naran, and Aahan.
“South, I see,” Naran said.
“Hmm, yes. No one is knowing my travel plans but me. Too much of a risk.”
“No arguments from me. I will keep things quiet when we get back,” Naran said. I glanced at Aahan.
“Yes,” was all he said. I looked at Naran who gave me a slight nod.
Naran had been supervising Aahan and when I asked about him, Naran had explained a couple key things about the man. He had basically given up on his life but couldn’t commit suicide or was afraid of death. Naran wasn’t sure which. It might even be a religious thing as far as he knew.
Still, there were a lot of questions about upgrades. I knew Clarissa and Laura were on top of keeping track of people, their skills, and what upgrades would do. It made me wonder what equipment, from enchanted gear to system alchemy would look like?
My mind went back to the remaining stats. The main one after Body and Mind was Regeneration in my opinion even though the order was Body, Mind, Spirit, Perceptions, Aura, Regeneration, Endurance, and Absorption. Regeneration translated directly into how fast I could grind. It was tempting to just keep dumping points into that stat, to grind more. But that would be a mistake. No matter how much I hated it, I was the one poking dangerous areas.
I needed to be able to adapt and survive whatever the Systemic Lands threw at me. Still, it hurt thinking how strong, fast, and unrelenting I could be if I dumped everything into Body or how fast I could grind if I dumped everything into Regeneration.
“Michael, you thinking about expanding our group?” Naran asked me out of the blue.
“Yes. Maybe. Not sure. Right now, everything nearby has been mapped out. I would like to map things out more, and clear higher-level dungeons, grind up stats. Still, a summoner would be useful. Why do you ask?”
“Think about what our team composition should be and what skills people should focus on.” I shook my head slightly at that.
“It is less about the skills and team composition than being able to trust people and grinding efficiency. We can worry about skill synergy much later. Soon, you will be able to grind level 3 monsters.”
“My skills aren’t good for one shot killing like yours are. I will have to invest a lot into Body and some other stats, so I can take the monsters in melee.” That was risky. I could see his grind speed being slower compared to mine over a longer period of time.
“Maybe switch skills?” I asked.
“No. I like the skills I have. Just thinking long term.” Apparently, someone else was using their brain just like me.
“Well, if you find someone you think will be a good fit, I will interview them. Our current team composition is quite good. I am hesitant to push for a larger group.” I wanted to avoid drama. Drama would kill me more quickly than a monster would. Also monster density would be an issue and having enough easy monsters to kill in an area.
“Don’t worry. I will make sure to vet whoever I propose carefully. But we need to form up a team if we are going to poke high level areas.”
“Perhaps, perhaps. Honestly, I want to focus on grinding. I want to get my stats up a lot more. A total of 10,000 stat points.”
“That is a lot. The cost?” I winced at the question.
“A bit less than 250 million. At my current grind speed that would be about 4,000 days. Hoping to cut that down to 1,000, with more Regeneration.”
“Well, that is a lot of grinding.” Why thank you Naran, for that insightful comment.
