The Over-Break System

'We need to plot this out. Wave 13 will bring with it not only an increase in Chimera but an increase in their overall base stats. Although it won't be a significant increase, depending on their general leveling, it could be upward of a rise of 20-50 points, potentially more.' Cynrik thought as he reached 100 in his mental countdown.

'What is the best course of action here? It clearly isn't beneficial to continue on the path we are on right now. I can see a point somewhere between waves 17 and 19 where we end up running out of MP or STAM.'

'At that point, we will become sitting ducks. No, it won't do, ok Cyn; what is the fastest way to slaughter incoming creatures while expending the least resources?'

The raging storm of thoughts in Cynrik's mind churned faster as he simulated hundreds of possible scenarios and outcomes. With each idea thrown out, a clearer picture began taking shape, and it all started with one essential move.

[3,2,1 time's up, Brancie, and we have a change of plans.] Snapping his eyes open, Cynrik jumped to his feet and unsheathed both Kodachi in one fluid motion by reaching over his shoulder with his right hand and across his body with his left.

[What's wrong with the current plan? I thought we were doing well.] Brance grumbled while extricating his two shields from the dirt and mounting them on his forearms.

[It's too inefficient; at the rate we burn our MP, the duration of our breaks will increase consistently after each Wave. As such, we must majorly adjust how we deal with the Chimeras.] Cynrik explained as he walked away from his brother toward the downed and unconscious Chimera.

Upon reaching the creature, he stabbed the longer of his two Kodachi into the ground near its head, after arranging it strategically, and continued walking, only this time toward the Egress Gate.

[The end result will stay the same, just like CoD zombies, keep one crawler alive to prepare for the next Wave, only instead of falling back and letting them come to us, I want to post up on either side of the Egress Gate.] Stopping some 10 meters away and gazing up at the impressive Mana Construct surrounded by Lightning, Cynrik turned and looked over at his brother to examine his reaction.

[And how is this supposed to help us conserve energy? From what I can tell, all you are doing is setting up a meat grinder, and that will end up requiring an entirely different type of resource, MENTAL ENERGY.]

[Cyn, I know you are a bit touched in the head, but this plan is too crazy even for you to pull off. Setting aside the fact that it takes each creature less than a minute…] After his harassing comment, Brance began to talk about the time it takes for the creatures to break free from the gate when Cynrik cut him off.

[33 seconds, it takes each Chimera 33 seconds from the tip of beak to tip of tail to pass through the barrier between worlds, and upon stepping out, they should be roughly Mid to High Tier-4. Upon clearing the gate, they are consumed with a scaling amount of Lightning Sparks; the number of bolts is indicative of how powerful those creatures are inside the gate.]

[The scaling is one Lightning Strike per 2 levels, and Tier determines the strength and size of the bolt. Now I know what you are thinking, Brancie…]

[Why are you explaining the Lightning?]

[Why are you explaining the Lightning?]

The two brothers responded simultaneously, causing Brance to frown and Cynrik to smirk.

[Oh, my dimwitted little brother, what is my Fourth Affinity?]Tilting his head in Brance's direction and watching his brother walk up to the opposite side of the gate from which he was standing, Cynrik asked with a playful tone.

[Lightning….but what does that…oh, no shit, can you even pull that off?] Widening his eyes and looking between Cynrik and the intimidating red Lightning, Brance questioned.

[It's a bit tricky, but from what I can tell, there is practically no difference on an atomic, or well, microparticle level between my Lightning and what is flickering overhead. I haven't had time to test it out, but that's why we're standing here right now and not jumping into the next Wave this instant.]

[Can you please get to the point? The clock is ticking, Cyn.] Tapping his foot, Brance took a deep breath and waited for his brother to act.

[Were you not listening when I said, "it's a bit tricky," Brancie? If we weren't being shown on millions of Tv and Computer screens, I would simply raise my hand and try pulling some of the bolts down.]

[But if I do that, well, not only would the cover be blown on the fact that I have another Affinity, but the surprise would be gone when I DO use it to smoke someone later on down the road.]

[So what you're saying is we have to disguise or hide the fact that you have a Lightning Affinity….while dodging fighting pairs of incoming and potentially way stronger creatures. SURE~, Why not Cyn? What could POSSIBLY Go fucking wrong?] Rolling his eyes and mustering as much sarcasm as possible, Brance slammed his shields together and transformed them into Greatsword mode.

[Momentai Brancie, do you honestly think I would jump headlong into a fight without preparation? I have a perfect distraction, which revolves around the fact that these birdfucks are getting bigger, putting a lot of strain on my Kodachis. Since they are basically short swords, piercing them deep enough to land a kill shot is becoming impossible, so it may be time to use Baby.]

Heaving a sigh, Cynrik started unbuckling his leather coat, separated it in the middle with his right hand, and opened the front of his duster. The sudden opening of his jacket caused the tails to flair out, exposing the black scalemail armor hidden underneath.

[I can't believe you call that abomination, Baby…but I guess it's pretty much on brand for you at this point. However, what you say makes sense, it hasn't gotten too hard for me to penetrate their hide with my greatsword, but the density of their flesh and muscle has increased by a substantial margin.]

Nodding in affirmation, Brance watched his Resource stats slowly finish topping off at 100% before observing Cynrik as he unzipped the sleeves of his jacket, an option meant to allow for a greater range of wrist motion.

[I know it's dumb of me to ask, but are you sure you wanna reveal your "Baby" so early on? I mean, you haven't even shown it to the others yet.]

[Normally, you'd be right, but if we want to be as efficient as possible, then I have no other choice. As it stands, I will only be able to cut up the creatures consistently for one more Wave before I'm not able to dig into them deep enough to cause significant damage. Plus, I need a flashy distraction to pull everyone's eyes away from the movements necessary to manipulate the Lightning Mana.]

Stabbing his remaining Kodachi into the ground, Cynrik shook out his wrists several times before dropping into a deep combat stance with his right arm extended back toward the unconscious Chimera.

[Alright, Tobs, I want you to play the best Metal cover for the song in my head you can find…if you need to use my Skill points to do so, then you have my permission.]

Taking a deep breath in through his nose and exhaling loudly out his mouth, Cynrik channeled a few thousand MP into his right shoulder.

-Sigh, if that's what you want, so be it.-

Tobs said sarcastically while mentally shaking her head at how ridiculous of a showman Cynrik was.

-Now playing….-

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