Chapter 58: Hierarchy System
[The Hierarchy feature will allow the user to teach his subordinates how to act in the middle of a battle, and give them different roles and duties that they will always follow, thereby allowing them to lead their own army of subordinates into battle and reducing the load on the user.]
Jason frowned as he read this and he quickly turned to read the other tabs that opened beside him. The entire situation seemed very complicated, but Jason was able to understand it easily enough. It was simply saying that he was going to be gaining more lieutenants who could command the privates when he was absent.
This was likely going to save him a lot of trouble with his army. Jason’s stamina was gradually improving, but it was still not high enough for him to command every single subordinate by himself. At this rate, Jason was more and more likely to run out of stamina in the middle of an important battle.
But with there being other commanders that were giving their own commands to the army, Jason wouldn’t have to worry about controlling every little thing and he could just focus on the major players while leaving the others to his commanders.
——
[In the Hierarchy system, Queens > Knights > Bishop > Rook > Pawn, each piece will have to answer to the piece higher than it on the hierarchy, and the user’s job will be to keep the pieces directly under him in line and make sure they guide their own subordinates properly.]
[Each subordinate type will possess a boost granted to every subordinate under its command.]
——
Jason’s brow rose. So he could give some of his pieces to the Rook and that would boost their stats even more? Jason asked the system what sort of boosts he would get for the pieces and the system brought up another tab.
——
[Hierarchy Based Boosts]
[Rook Commanders]
-> All subordinates under the Rook will gain a 100%/200%/300% boost in their durability based on the hierarchy level of their commanding Rook.
-> All subordinates under the Rook will gain the unique skill [Stonewall]
[Bishop Commanders]
-> ???
-> ???
[To unlock this, please acquire your first Bishop Class subordinate.]
[Knight Commanders]
-> ???
-> ???
[To unlock this, please acquire your first Knight Class subordinate.]
[Queen Commanders]
-> ???
-> ???
[To unlock this, please acquire your first Queen Class subordinate.]
——
[Stonewall: This grants all subordinates under a Rook-type commander a 50% reduction in damage from ranged attacks.]
——
Jason read through everything from the system rather quickly before he finally turned up to look at the tab above his ant’s head.
——
[Adamantine Ant Soldier]
[Rook Rank I]
[Hierarchy Level: 1 [0.00%]]
[Subordinate Count: 0/10]
[Upgrade Points: 0/50]
[Upgrade Limit: Bishop Rank I]
[MP: 4000]
——
[In order to upgrade this subordinate, the user must ensure its Hierarchy level reaches 100% from experience on the battlefield, and the user must then supply a sufficient amount of upgrade points.]
——
’So the number on its side wasn’t because it was my first Rook-class subordinate. It’s the Hierarchy level.’
Jason turned to look at the number that was printed on the side of the ant. The (1) there meant that the ant was a level one commander in his army and it would only be able to control ten subordinates until Jason raised its level.
Jason hummed and scratched his chin as he read this. It was a little disappointing that he wouldn’t be able to just upgrade his subordinates anymore after getting enough points.
The fact that Jason needed five thousand kill points just to raise the ant from Rook Rank I to Rook Rank II didn’t really surprise Jason that much. It just made Jason’s anticipation grow since he knew that the payoff would be worth the effort to get the points.
The system was basically telling him that the only way he could upgrade his subordinates was by putting them in as many battles as possible to make sure that they increased their hierarchy level percentage. And then when they get to a hundred percent, he would be able to give them the upgrade points that they needed to level up to the next hierarchy level.
’That means I’ll have twelve hierarchy levels. The Rook Rank I will be the first and the Queen Rank III should be the twelfth level. I wonder how many subordinates it’ll be able to command.’
Jason suddenly turned when one of the Adamantine Ant Scouts under his control warned him that there was a scout coming from the horizon. Jason quickly told three of the scouts to go and apprehend it, and three of them flew off quickly to attack the ant scout!
Jason then told the other ants to block the entrance of the tunnel on this side. Jason’s plan was to go around and block all the entrances while killing as many of the ants as possible. That way, when he finally goes inside the hill, Jason wouldn’t have to worry about any ants escaping through the exits.
The ants started to gather large rocks and tree trunks with their large mandibles to follow Jason’s orders, and the wolves helped in moving any rock that was too large for them to carry alone.
Jason didn’t bother paying much attention to them since he was sure that they would be able to handle the scout, so he just turned to his system to look through the improvements to his stats from the upgrade.
Now that the ant was a Rook, he was gaining 30% of its stats and that allowed his mana to shoot all the way up to three thousand.
——
Mana Points: 2550/3628
——
Jason also gained a boost in his other stats and his durability was very close to breaking into the S Rank.
——
Rank: A [73%]
——
STATISTICS
Strength: A [31.5%]
Stamina: A [36.9%]
Agility: S [5.1%]
Durability: A [82.1%]
——
Jason was sure that only a few more kills would allow him to break into the S Rank in Durability and then it was a race between Stamina and Strength to see which one would get to a hundred percent faster.
Jason wasn’t putting much faith in Strength since Jason knew that these ants were more durable than they were strong, so it was more likely that his stamina would get to a hundred before his strength.
——
[The user has killed [1] Adamantine Ant Scout]
+70 Kill Points
——
Jason got the message of his kill just a few seconds before he felt the ants telling him that they had finished off the scout. Jason told them to bring the corpse to him and it wasn’t long before they dropped it in front of him and he resurrected it like the others.
——
The user has gained [1] Pawn Rank II subordinate
+30 MP
——
With that done, Jason finally decided that it was time for them to start moving towards the other entrances and finish them off as well. Jason had already spent the better part of two hours in this Gate and at this rate, he was likely to be here for at least six hours before he could get back.
But the good thing about his ability was the fact that Jason didn’t have to worry about a battle being prolonged. Jason was at an advantage against stubborn enemies and the longer a battle dragged on the stronger he became and the more likely he was to win.
Jason only needed to continue gathering as many subordinates as possible and at the end of the battle, an entire army would be beside him when he faced off against the final boss.
Jason turned to the side and called on three Pawn Rank III Pawns - two Adamantine ants and one Moonlight wolf - before he then called on three Pawn Rank II Moonlight wolves and four Pawn Rank I Adamantine Ant Workers.
’They’ll be the subordinates of the Rook from now on. Since the system says the Rook will only grow its hierarchy from having experience commanding others on the battlefield, I think this should be enough for it to work. Make sure you look after them, do you understand?’
Jason looked the large Rook Ant in the eye as he thought this and the Ant screeched while moving its mandibles to tell Jason that it understood.