Reidar slumped against a cracked concrete wall. The surface was cool enough for him to get some relief, especially after he had run around so much. He was sweating, and today was a hot day.
His Guardian Shade hovered nearby, siphoning mana while his Bone Militia stood guard.
It meant he would need to recast the skill soon.
The Sprites were in a similar situation. Not a lot of time remained before he had to recast the skill.
Reidar pulled up his status screen, the holographic display visible only to him.
C.L.A.S.P.: 1785 / 5500
Available Attribute points: 3,00
Skills: Summon Rift-Sprite Squad, Fireball, Aqua Pistol, Stone Bullet, Wind Blade, Summon Guardian Shade, Summon Bone Militia, Mending Touch
Equipment: Rift-Sprite Conductor, Ember Sprite Bracers, Stone Sprite Gauntlets, Aqua Sprite Circlet, Wind Sprite Boots, Rift-Touched Cloak, Rift-Woven Leggings, Sprite-Touched Armguards, Wind Sprite Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring
Proficiencies: Basic Combat
Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1,8), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 7,3), (F.L.A.I.R. : 1,6), (F.L.I.P.: 2,1)
Survival Points: 42169
Perks: Arcane Potency (1/6), Arcane Leech (5/5)
Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator
Three things actually caught his eye. The first was that he leveled up again, and five times at that. He had been so focused on keeping the others alive that he didn’t even notice. The C.L.A.S.P. points he got from the monsters were quite a few, but the number of sprites he killed that day was astronomical.
He’d taken them out in small groups, not all at once—and honestly, he hadn’t even gotten most of them. Reidar just softened most of them up enough for the others to finish them.
This meant that the actual number of Rift-Sprites they killed that day as a group easily surpassed the thousands, and that was not good at all.
The second thing Reidar noticed was that he had 3 attribute points to spend. He refrained from using the 0.5 he got at level 14 in case he might have needed it, but there was no point in keeping 3, especially in this situation and with the quest’s current conditions.
He could boost his A.C.U.M.E.N. again and get even more mana than he already had.
That would also increase the damage done by his skills, and that would, in turn, increase the amount he gained from arcane leech.
[A.C.U.M.E.N. increased by 3.]
[Base A.C.U.M.E.N. is now at 9.]
[Mana increased by 300 points.]
[Total mana: 1030 points.]
He turned to look around, wondering how the others spent their attribute points. Kate likely increased S.H.I.E.L.D. enough for her to draw her bow easily, but then she must have increased her F.L.I.P. more since it regulated agility and reflexes.
Most of the others likely increased their S.H.I.E.L.D. alone, since it regulated Health and strength, among other things, and made people generally more durable.
The problem was that S.H.I.E.L.D. also regulated his stamina and his endurance, so he would need to increase them a little eventually, because that would make traveling not only easier but also faster, as he would need to get less rest than he was currently doing. Original content can be found at ɴovelfire.net
Reidar didn’t feel the need to do that until now because, thanks to his summon, he could easily fight the monsters he encountered, and he would not even break a sweat, which meant using less stamina and tiring less.
The summons would then keep an eye on the surroundings while he rested, so he actually never found himself in the need to have more stamina.
"Water?" Linda held out a bottle, snapping Reidar back to the present.
He took it with a nod; the liquid soothed his parched throat, but it was actually too warm for his taste.
Then there was the last thing Reidar noticed.
He wanted to spend them right at that moment, but he knew he might not have the time he needed to reason enough about the choice.
Though, the most logical thing was to bring his Arcane Potency to 4, since that would increase the damage he did with a spell at cost parity. It was a great boon, because that would mean he didn’t have to spend more mana to make a stronger spell.
He massaged his temples. His lips quirked at the absurdity of the situation he was living. The memory of his leather-bound planner and polished conference tables felt like someone else’s life. His lips quirked, a dry chuckle escaping. A month ago he’d been closing business deals, not leading monster hunts.
Now, instead, instead of the smartphone he always carried, there was the Rift-Sprite Conductor.
Then, in the distance, everyone saw them. The 50 strong men and women of the group were here.
Reidar turned to the other side. The school was there, far, but not so far that it would take much for them to reach the place.