For himself and Gunner, Darius had allocated all their points straightforwardly.
All 30 of his AP had gone straight into his Intellect, bringing them from 50 to 80 points. Since he had accepted Xela, he was planning on focusing on his role as a ranged damage dealer.
As for his SP, 14 points had gone into Group Teleportation, bringing it to level 15. This had increased the 100 meters range to 1500 meters, with the MP cost rising to 40 from 10.
4 points had gone into Analyze to bring it to level 10. He wanted to put more, but decided to do so later. With the skill now at level 10, the multiplier had gone from 'Intellect x1.6' to 'Intellect x2.0'.
The majority of 19 points into Combine. This skill had a crucial use for him now that he completed the Event, so he had not hesitated to upgrade it to level 20 to see if it would be able to achieve his goals. Naturally, he was pleased to find that his investment was worth it.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAt level 20, Combine had three main changes. The first requirement for the items to be of the same grade had shifted to be within one grade of each other. I.e instead of two Grandmaster items, one Master and one Grandmaster item could now be merged.
The second requirement for the items to be of the exact same type had now shifted to items of a similar type. This was a big change, for the previous specification meant that the items had to be in the same category. I.e the AI chip and the tablet were both technological devices, so could be combined.
The current one meant that any two items that shared even one similarity could be merged. I.e the AI Chip and anything possessing the same size, weight, function, composition, etc.
If the AI Chip was made with a copper plating, for example, it could now be merged with a copper sword. The underlying similarity was they both had copper.
Of course, this was all dependent on the third change in the skill, which was the effectiveness. It was currently Intellect x1.9! The higher this was, the higher the chance of success and the better the quality of the two combined items.
Darius had shared the remaining 13 points into Spell Mastery, Spell Enhancement, Spirit Barrier, and Mageward Barrier. Spell Mastery got 4 points, Spell Enhancement got 4 points and Spirit Barrier got 4 points, bringing them all to level 5.
Mageward Barrier swallowed only 1 point, unfortunately.
Spell Mastery now reduced MP cost by 5%, Spell Enhancement increased spell power by 5% and Spirit Barrier reduced incoming Soul Attack Damage by 5%. Mageward Barrier now reduced incoming spell damage by 10%.
As for Gunner, Darius placed 25 of his 30 AP into Strength, bringing it from 25 to 50. Now Gunner's Strength was at the Adept-stage without needing to use Earth's Guardian continuously. The remaining 5 points were put into Endurance, bringing it to 29 from 24 points.
His Skill Points were invested into his key skills. First and foremost was the Mageward Barrier which received 35 points. This sent the skill from level 15 to level 50, which wasn't its maximum limit. Now, Gunner resisted 50% of all spell damage, making that Anti-Mage subclass even more relevant.
Even Darius felt like fighting Gunner using spells alone would NOT be a fun experience. If Gunner gained a skill that could disrupt spell casting remotely, he would be a literal mage killer. Darius found a skill like that, but it was Adept-level unfortunately.
The rest of Gunner's SP was invested into Earth's Guardian, Engage, and Spirit Barrier. Earth's Guardian finally went beyond level 20 and hit level 30. Now, Earth's Guardian boosted damage, defense, Strength, and Endurance by 160%!
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWith Gunner's current stats of Strength at 50 and Endurance at 29, this meant that with the skill active, Strength would become 130 points and his Endurance 75 points!
In terms of Strength alone, Gunner would be on par with some Master-stage experts of the human race!
This was an incredible feat that once again provided that bloodline skills were something else. Darius wondered what this skill would be like if he had transmuted a skill book for it…
However, that was pointless to wish for. He could only make things that existed in Faust, and there was naturally no way a bloodline skill would have a skill book. Otherwise, he would have transmuted many Draconic skills over the five years.
As for Spirit Barrier, Darius raised it for both himself and Gunner after the ordeal they went through escaping the Plains of Death. He would never joke about defending his Spirit and Soul from harm ever again. Engage though, only received one point which sent it to level 5.
As for Xela…. Well, the elf had retained all her stats though she had been sent back to level 1. Darius had directly increased her Intellect from 26 points to 50, spending 24 points in the interim. 3 Points were put into Agility to bring it to 20 points from 17, 2 points into Strength to bring it to 15 from 13, and 1 point into Charisma to bring it to 25 from 24.
As for her Skill Points, Darius had yet to allocate a single one. He wanted to go through all her Divine Maiden skills and see their potency compared to each other. The best skills would swallow them up while the rest would be ignored.
Also, Darius wanted to take a few days to transmute new skillbooks and spellbooks for her to learn that would cover any holes that her class skills created. Besides, the learning of all the weapons and various battle style skillbooks was compulsory, as it would broaden her combat knowledge.
Despite being a backline healer, nothing stopped her from using her staff to beat down foes like a skillful master. Or her archery which could be further improved since she had great tools to that end.
For now though, Darius opened her various skills and studied them one by one.