Chapter 148 — The Broodmother (2)

If that worked, Jake could simply increase it, and Reidar would be able to flood the city, but unfortunately, the kid shook his head.

"My trait only a-affects me. I can increase anything I want if I'm the direct or indirect target, but I c-can't do anything for R-Reidar."

She nodded. "That will do." Lena then turned to look at the theater. "The webbing will burn fast. It's organic and flammable. Once the fire starts, the entire theater will become an inferno. The Broodmother would have to emerge or cook alive inside."

"The debris will help too," Reidar said while nodding. "If we collapse the structure while it burns, the falling stone will crush her. More damage before we even engage."

Lena nodded. "Exactly."

She turned to face him. "But we don't fight her directly. Not at first. Your summons handles it. We stay hidden, out of sight. We've never tried to kill something so many levels above us. Being on the battlefield would be suicide."

A level 140 monster could kill them with a single hit, and it would not be hard for her to bypass his summoned creatures and reach them, even if injured.

One bite from those mandibles, one strike from those massive legs, and it was over. They were too weak, too fragile.

This was not a fight they could win through personal skill, but Reidar was going to need to use arcane leech if he wanted to make sure the creature died, because there was no doubt his summoned creatures were going to be slaughtered.

Reidar turned to Jake.

"Jake," Reidar said. "I'm going to share another skill with you aside from Summon Spectral Knights."

Jake straightened.

"Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium," Reidar said. "Same as before, augment the number of creatures it summons. As high as you can push it. Don't hold back. Use every drop of mana you have."

Jake's eyes widened. "Every drop?"

"Every drop," Reidar confirmed. "We won't get another chance like this. If we fail here, the Broodmother escapes, and we lose our shot. So give it everything."

Jake nodded. His hands clenched into fists. This was his chance to avenge his parents. The Gloom-Web Arachnids had killed them, torn them apart in the chaos when the system arrived. Jake had survived by running, by hiding, and by being too weak to fight back.

But now he was stronger. Now he had help. Now he had a chance.

"I'll do it," Jake said.

"Focus on summoning the Spectral Knights," Reidar said. "They would need to keep the Dread-Spinners from my contubernium, but since they are faster and stronger than your summons, the only way for you to injure them would be to use the Contuberniums. I will focus fire on them too, but if you also summon ranged fighters, at least you won't end up losing all your creatures, and you will be able to fight more and level up."

Jake nodded.

Reidar placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "We'll kill her. Don't worry."

Lena stood. "We need to find a place where we can summon without being spotted. Somewhere far enough from the theater that they won't see the army forming."

Reidar agreed. They could not summon here—the Dread-Spinners would notice, would alert the Broodmother, and would force a fight before they were ready.

They needed distance.

"There," Lena said, pointing east. A collapsed office building three blocks away, its upper floors caved in but its ground level intact. "We can use that."

The place would hide them from sight, and it was close enough to strike fast once they were ready.

Reidar checked the route in his mind. The Vorathid Foragers had mapped this area during their scouting. The path was clear; no monsters were between here and there.

"Let's go," he said.

They moved through the ruins in silence. The wolves padded across the broken pavement, their paws making no sound.

Reidar kept his awareness spread wide, monitoring the Rift-Sprites still battling in the distant plaza; the web of information flowing through his Hive Mind Echo gave him a vague understanding of what was going on.

The notifications kept pouring in.

\\[Level 97 Monster Chitinous Ravager defeated.\\]

\\[Level 102 Monster Glimmerfang defeated.\\]

…

\\[Level 101 Monster Grimfang defeated.\\]

\\[Level 106 Monster Glimmerfang defeated.\\]

\\[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 110.\\]

\\[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.\\]

…

\\[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 114.\\]

The battle was still raging.

All those kills closed the gap between him and the monsters he was about to face. The problem was that the Dread-Spinners were all around level 130, which was basically the difference there was between him and a boss monster.

The broodmother was even stronger.

They reached the office building. Lena dismounted, checking the interior. It was safe.

Reidar stepped inside. The windows faced away from the theater, so the light from the summoning would not be visible to the sentries.

<Perfect.>

He turned to Lena and Jake. "This is it. Once we start, there's no going back."

Lena drew one of her daggers, testing the edge with her thumb. "Then let's make sure it works."

He then opened his status. He just leveled up, so he had quite a lot of attribute and perk points to spend. He would not do this unprepared, and by placing everything into A.C.U.M.E.N., he would be able to summon more creatures.

First, Reidar had to put all his attribute points into A.C.U.M.E.N. to increase his mana and the number of creatures he could summon. Then he had to invest his 12 perk points.

But when Reidar opened his status, he was in for a surprise.

—\\[«STATUS»\\]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 114

Health: 770

Mana: 5703.74

C.L.A.S.P.: 220915 / 354800

Available Attribute points: 19.00

Skills: Summon Primal Pack, Summon Guardian Shade, Summon Bone Militia, Mending Touch, Group Rally, Root Grasp, Circle of Renewal, Void Javelin, Elemental Storm, Summon Razor-Gill School, Summon Spectral Knights, Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium, Wind Barrage, Granite Shard, Aqua Cannon, Fire Bolt, Summon Murk-Fin School, Stone Skin, Chitinous Carapace, Hive Mind Echo, Formic Acid Barrier, Corrosive Demise, Summon Vorathid Foragers

Equipment: Shepherd's Crook of the Wild, Summoner's Cowl, Summoner's Mantle, Summoner's Leggings, Summoner's Handwraps, Summoner's Treads, Summoner's Bracers, Summoner's Cloak, Summoner's Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring, Stone Sprite Ring

Proficiencies: Basic Combat (100%), Velia's Regional Map (35%), Velia's Monster Compendium (39%), Fundamental Spellcraft (66%), Combat Instinct (55%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 7,7), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 37,8), (F.L.A.I.R. : 9,5), (F.L.I.P.: 8,7)

Minions: Rift-Sprite Contubernium, Primal Pack

Survival Points: 3,750.669

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Efficient Scavenger (6/6), Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Mana Font (6/6), Focused Mind (5/5), Rapid Learning (5/5), Arcane Resilience (4/4), Empowered Effects (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5), Inspired Creation (2/8)

Perk Points: 22

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the Innocents, Adept Learner, Abyssal Caller

Profession: Tailoring (LVL23), Woodworking (LVL34), Enchanting (LVL19)

—\\[«END»\\]—

\\[You have reached level 100. New perk points have been created based on the path of might you chose. Next unlocks at level 200.\\]

\\[LEGENDARY ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Apex Survivor\\]

\\[Reward: Title—"The Apex," +10 Perk Points, +10 Attribute points\\]

\\[Achievement Reward Applied: Title Gained—"The Apex"\\]

—\\[The Apex\\]—

Description: Title awarded to the first survivor to get to level 100.

Passive Effect: grants a permanent +10% bonus to all C.L.A.S.P. Points gained

Rarity: Legendary

Additional Effect: None.

—\\[END\\]—

Reidar didn't notice these notifications earlier. He was receiving too many of them to be able, but apparently they were important enough for him to receive them again. Based on what he was reading, it was just logical.

First, he reached level 100, but that he knew. However, what he didn't know was that reaching level 100 would unlock new perks, and based on what the notification said, those were highly attuned to his so-called path of might.

But it wasn't just that; apparently, he was the first to reach level 100 among those having the system, and it rewarded Reidar with an achievement that granted him 10 perk points, 10 attribute points, and a new title called The Apex, which gave him a 10% increase in C.L.A.S.P. points earned.

With this he would level up faster. Reidar didn't tell this to Lena or Jake. His titles were a secret, one he could actually keep since they had no apparent outside effect, contrary to his trait.

He immediately went to check his perks, and… Jeez… There were a ton of them. At least 60 based on the number of voices that were there. He immediately went to check the magic-related ones.

—\\[«PERKS»\\]—

Dispel Potency: Your spells that remove magical effects are more likely to succeed against powerful magic. (+5% success chance per point)

Focused Channeling: You become immune to being pushed or knocked back while channeling a spell. (+10% damage resistance while channeling per point)

…

Ethereal Tether: Your summons no longer have a timed duration and will persist until they are defeated or dismissed. The creatures would get a mana upkeep equivalent to the skill casting cost every minute. The more points are spent on this perk, and the the greater the reduction of the mana upkeep. (Mana upkeep cost reduced by 5% per point)

Soul Link: You can sacrifice a portion of your health to instantly heal one of your summons. (+10% healing effectiveness per point)

…

Undying Loyalty: When a summon receives a fatal blow, it instead becomes invulnerable for a short duration. This effect has a cooldown. (+0.5 seconds of invulnerability per point)

Pack Tactics: Your summons gain a bonus to their damage and critical strike chance when attacking the same target. (+3% bonus damage per point)

—\\[«END»\\]—

More than 20 perks were for summoning alone… and they were…

There were perks that made his summons last forever at the cost of mana upkeep, and there were perks that increased the skill tier of his summoned creatures' skills by one tier for each perk point invested.

There were even perks that made it so that the damage taken by him would be redirected to nearby summons, and even some that refunded the mana cost of the creatures he summoned once they got destroyed.

Then there were the specific ones. Perks that made undead stronger, perks that made mechanical or golems stronger, and perks that increased the elemental damage done.

There were even some that increased the number of summoned creatures per type. For example, he had one that increased the number of summoned undead creatures across all his skills. That meant that if he invested 20 points in this perk, his Bone Militia would summon 30 undead.

All those perks, though, created a problem.

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Comments on this chapter

Chapter 148 — The Broodmother (2)

If that worked, Jake could simply increase it, and Reidar would be able to flood the city, but unfortunately, the kid shook his head.

"My trait only a-affects me. I can increase anything I want if I'm the direct or indirect target, but I c-can't do anything for R-Reidar."

She nodded. "That will do." Lena then turned to look at the theater. "The webbing will burn fast. It's organic and flammable. Once the fire starts, the entire theater will become an inferno. The Broodmother would have to emerge or cook alive inside."

"The debris will help too," Reidar said while nodding. "If we collapse the structure while it burns, the falling stone will crush her. More damage before we even engage."

Lena nodded. "Exactly."

She turned to face him. "But we don't fight her directly. Not at first. Your summons handles it. We stay hidden, out of sight. We've never tried to kill something so many levels above us. Being on the battlefield would be suicide."

A level 140 monster could kill them with a single hit, and it would not be hard for her to bypass his summoned creatures and reach them, even if injured.

One bite from those mandibles, one strike from those massive legs, and it was over. They were too weak, too fragile.

This was not a fight they could win through personal skill, but Reidar was going to need to use arcane leech if he wanted to make sure the creature died, because there was no doubt his summoned creatures were going to be slaughtered.

Reidar turned to Jake.

"Jake," Reidar said. "I'm going to share another skill with you aside from Summon Spectral Knights."

Jake straightened.

"Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium," Reidar said. "Same as before, augment the number of creatures it summons. As high as you can push it. Don't hold back. Use every drop of mana you have."

Jake's eyes widened. "Every drop?"

"Every drop," Reidar confirmed. "We won't get another chance like this. If we fail here, the Broodmother escapes, and we lose our shot. So give it everything."

Jake nodded. His hands clenched into fists. This was his chance to avenge his parents. The Gloom-Web Arachnids had killed them, torn them apart in the chaos when the system arrived. Jake had survived by running, by hiding, and by being too weak to fight back.

But now he was stronger. Now he had help. Now he had a chance.

"I'll do it," Jake said.

"Focus on summoning the Spectral Knights," Reidar said. "They would need to keep the Dread-Spinners from my contubernium, but since they are faster and stronger than your summons, the only way for you to injure them would be to use the Contuberniums. I will focus fire on them too, but if you also summon ranged fighters, at least you won't end up losing all your creatures, and you will be able to fight more and level up."

Jake nodded.

Reidar placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "We'll kill her. Don't worry."

Lena stood. "We need to find a place where we can summon without being spotted. Somewhere far enough from the theater that they won't see the army forming."

Reidar agreed. They could not summon here—the Dread-Spinners would notice, would alert the Broodmother, and would force a fight before they were ready.

They needed distance.

"There," Lena said, pointing east. A collapsed office building three blocks away, its upper floors caved in but its ground level intact. "We can use that."

The place would hide them from sight, and it was close enough to strike fast once they were ready.

Reidar checked the route in his mind. The Vorathid Foragers had mapped this area during their scouting. The path was clear; no monsters were between here and there.

"Let's go," he said.

They moved through the ruins in silence. The wolves padded across the broken pavement, their paws making no sound.

Reidar kept his awareness spread wide, monitoring the Rift-Sprites still battling in the distant plaza; the web of information flowing through his Hive Mind Echo gave him a vague understanding of what was going on.

The notifications kept pouring in.

\\[Level 97 Monster Chitinous Ravager defeated.\\]

\\[Level 102 Monster Glimmerfang defeated.\\]

…

\\[Level 101 Monster Grimfang defeated.\\]

\\[Level 106 Monster Glimmerfang defeated.\\]

\\[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 110.\\]

\\[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.\\]

…

\\[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 114.\\]

The battle was still raging.

All those kills closed the gap between him and the monsters he was about to face. The problem was that the Dread-Spinners were all around level 130, which was basically the difference there was between him and a boss monster.

The broodmother was even stronger.

They reached the office building. Lena dismounted, checking the interior. It was safe.

Reidar stepped inside. The windows faced away from the theater, so the light from the summoning would not be visible to the sentries.

<Perfect.>

He turned to Lena and Jake. "This is it. Once we start, there's no going back."

Lena drew one of her daggers, testing the edge with her thumb. "Then let's make sure it works."

He then opened his status. He just leveled up, so he had quite a lot of attribute and perk points to spend. He would not do this unprepared, and by placing everything into A.C.U.M.E.N., he would be able to summon more creatures.

First, Reidar had to put all his attribute points into A.C.U.M.E.N. to increase his mana and the number of creatures he could summon. Then he had to invest his 12 perk points.

But when Reidar opened his status, he was in for a surprise.

—\\[«STATUS»\\]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 114

Health: 770

Mana: 5703.74

C.L.A.S.P.: 220915 / 354800

Available Attribute points: 19.00

Skills: Summon Primal Pack, Summon Guardian Shade, Summon Bone Militia, Mending Touch, Group Rally, Root Grasp, Circle of Renewal, Void Javelin, Elemental Storm, Summon Razor-Gill School, Summon Spectral Knights, Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium, Wind Barrage, Granite Shard, Aqua Cannon, Fire Bolt, Summon Murk-Fin School, Stone Skin, Chitinous Carapace, Hive Mind Echo, Formic Acid Barrier, Corrosive Demise, Summon Vorathid Foragers

Equipment: Shepherd's Crook of the Wild, Summoner's Cowl, Summoner's Mantle, Summoner's Leggings, Summoner's Handwraps, Summoner's Treads, Summoner's Bracers, Summoner's Cloak, Summoner's Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring, Stone Sprite Ring

Proficiencies: Basic Combat (100%), Velia's Regional Map (35%), Velia's Monster Compendium (39%), Fundamental Spellcraft (66%), Combat Instinct (55%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 7,7), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 37,8), (F.L.A.I.R. : 9,5), (F.L.I.P.: 8,7)

Minions: Rift-Sprite Contubernium, Primal Pack

Survival Points: 3,750.669

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Efficient Scavenger (6/6), Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Mana Font (6/6), Focused Mind (5/5), Rapid Learning (5/5), Arcane Resilience (4/4), Empowered Effects (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5), Inspired Creation (2/8)

Perk Points: 22

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the Innocents, Adept Learner, Abyssal Caller

Profession: Tailoring (LVL23), Woodworking (LVL34), Enchanting (LVL19)

—\\[«END»\\]—

\\[You have reached level 100. New perk points have been created based on the path of might you chose. Next unlocks at level 200.\\]

\\[LEGENDARY ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Apex Survivor\\]

\\[Reward: Title—"The Apex," +10 Perk Points, +10 Attribute points\\]

\\[Achievement Reward Applied: Title Gained—"The Apex"\\]

—\\[The Apex\\]—

Description: Title awarded to the first survivor to get to level 100.

Passive Effect: grants a permanent +10% bonus to all C.L.A.S.P. Points gained

Rarity: Legendary

Additional Effect: None.

—\\[END\\]—

Reidar didn't notice these notifications earlier. He was receiving too many of them to be able, but apparently they were important enough for him to receive them again. Based on what he was reading, it was just logical.

First, he reached level 100, but that he knew. However, what he didn't know was that reaching level 100 would unlock new perks, and based on what the notification said, those were highly attuned to his so-called path of might.

But it wasn't just that; apparently, he was the first to reach level 100 among those having the system, and it rewarded Reidar with an achievement that granted him 10 perk points, 10 attribute points, and a new title called The Apex, which gave him a 10% increase in C.L.A.S.P. points earned.

With this he would level up faster. Reidar didn't tell this to Lena or Jake. His titles were a secret, one he could actually keep since they had no apparent outside effect, contrary to his trait.

He immediately went to check his perks, and… Jeez… There were a ton of them. At least 60 based on the number of voices that were there. He immediately went to check the magic-related ones.

—\\[«PERKS»\\]—

Dispel Potency: Your spells that remove magical effects are more likely to succeed against powerful magic. (+5% success chance per point)

Focused Channeling: You become immune to being pushed or knocked back while channeling a spell. (+10% damage resistance while channeling per point)

…

Ethereal Tether: Your summons no longer have a timed duration and will persist until they are defeated or dismissed. The creatures would get a mana upkeep equivalent to the skill casting cost every minute. The more points are spent on this perk, and the the greater the reduction of the mana upkeep. (Mana upkeep cost reduced by 5% per point)

Soul Link: You can sacrifice a portion of your health to instantly heal one of your summons. (+10% healing effectiveness per point)

…

Undying Loyalty: When a summon receives a fatal blow, it instead becomes invulnerable for a short duration. This effect has a cooldown. (+0.5 seconds of invulnerability per point)

Pack Tactics: Your summons gain a bonus to their damage and critical strike chance when attacking the same target. (+3% bonus damage per point)

—\\[«END»\\]—

More than 20 perks were for summoning alone… and they were…

There were perks that made his summons last forever at the cost of mana upkeep, and there were perks that increased the skill tier of his summoned creatures' skills by one tier for each perk point invested.

There were even perks that made it so that the damage taken by him would be redirected to nearby summons, and even some that refunded the mana cost of the creatures he summoned once they got destroyed.

Then there were the specific ones. Perks that made undead stronger, perks that made mechanical or golems stronger, and perks that increased the elemental damage done.

There were even some that increased the number of summoned creatures per type. For example, he had one that increased the number of summoned undead creatures across all his skills. That meant that if he invested 20 points in this perk, his Bone Militia would summon 30 undead.

All those perks, though, created a problem.

← Chapter 147

Chapter 149 →