Twelve skills were more than what I was expecting. I quickly went through the ones that I regularly upgraded, namely the proficiency with polearms and similar weapons, and light and heavy armor. They were useful--essential actually--to become stronger but they weren't as interesting as the rest of my skills.
I started with the skill I used the most often, the one that increased my damage on critical hits by a ridiculous amount.
* * *
Name: Vandalier
Level: 12
Type: Aura
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 11
Power: 0
Range: Self
Precondition: None
Description: This offensive stance continuously funnels mana, making the user more vicious in their attacks, especially those on the vital organs of their enemies. Critical Damage is increased by 349 and MP is consumed continuously while this skill is in use.
* * *
The critical damage had increased by forty-three points. This didn't seem like a lot but it had proved to be exceptionally useful while XPing. Since our XP tactics included big trains of enemies and attacking them all at once, raising the critical damage I could dish out made even more sense.
One swipe from my spear might count as only one hit for me but the chance to land a critical hit was bound to each enemy hit rather than each of my strikes. Thus, even if my chances for a critical hit were something low like ten percent, I could strike ten monsters with each swipe and land at least one critical hit on average.
The next skill was one of my favorite buffs, mainly because percentile change buffs were so much more effective than those that gave a numeric boost. And above a certain level, this was even more true.
* * *
Name: Roar of War
Level: 4
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 27
Power: 0
Range: Self
Precondition: None
Description: The user is filled with the uncontrollable urge to jump into battle, without any regard for their personal well-being. The roar temporarily unlocks mana channels in the user's body to boost their toughness and regeneration. Maximum HP is raised by 25% and the user instantly recovers 25% of the new maximum HP value.
* * *
Entering the battle with an additional quarter of my total HP was something that couldn't be replaced and every time I was serious about getting into a fight, I would use this skill. Coupled with Aphrodite's additional HP-boosting buff, the feeling of invincibility and eternal life was even more present in both my body and my morale during fights.
Right after that was one of the useful skills that I usually didn't pay much attention to until it was resting time between battles or XP waves.
* * *
Name: Enhanced Body Regeneration
Level: 6
Type: Passive
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 0
Power: 0
Range: Self
Precondition: None
Description: Constant training of the body has proved to be essential to increasing one's metabolism. HP Regeneration Rate is increased by 2.7.
* * *
Each increase in the level of this skill meant that I would have to spend less time resting and could spend more time actually fighting. Or, in the case of being hard-pressed by enemies, the few moments of respite I did get might make all the difference.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Eager to see what offense-oriented skill I had ready for upgrade, I pulled up the next notification.
* * *
Name: Final Strand of Hope
Level: 6
Type: Passive
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 0
Power: 0
Range: Self
Precondition: None
Description: When getting close to death, one might experience a sudden surge of extreme power in a primal effort to remain alive. Through continuous training and bringing oneself so close to death, or even beyond it multiple times, it is possible to control such primal reserves at will. Physical Attack is increased by 72.7 when HP is lower than 30%.
* * *
This skill was absolutely fantastic since I didn't have to do anything to activate it. I could just continue fighting and, especially in the case of a duel, my enemy would get a supremely unpleasant surprise right when they thought they were getting close to beating me. The fact that it was a passive skill also meant that it would trigger whenever I fell below that threshold without me needing to spend more mana to activate it again.
Speaking of duels, my next skill was designed specifically for use in that type of situation.
* * *
Name: Single Point of Focus
Level: 3
Type: Aura
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 27
Power: 0
Range: Self
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: Using a polearm type of weapon usually enables attacks on multiple enemies with a single swipe. By focusing one's attention and mana on a single target, a polearm user can make their strikes more powerful even when the option of striking multiple enemies is not available anymore. Increases Physical Accuracy by 3 and Physical Critical Damage by 5, but multi-target attacking is not available.
* * *
This skill was pretty much useless to me while XPing but I used it whenever I fought a single powerful enemy. It leveling up was a going to be a great boon when the time for the showdown with my father was upon me. It seemed that all of my actions and progress pointed toward that. I could only do my best to prepare myself and my allies for the battle.
I had one more skill that wasn't an active offensive attack but was also perfect for fighting with single powerful opponents.
* * *
Name: Intimidating Howl
Level: 5
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 40
Power: 0
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: None
Description: The mana empowered howl of the user sends chills down the spines of their enemies. While this skill is not enough to cause the enemies to flee in terror, it rattles their resolve to such an extent that their attacks are half-hearted at best. Reduces the Physical Attack of nearby enemies by 23% for 30 seconds.
* * *
The only change that I could see in the description of the skill was that the MP cost for casting it had increased by two. This wasn't an issue as my MP pool was large, but it was a clear indicator that there were certain aspects of the skills that weren't always revealed to us by the Dark Energy.
If this skill had leveled up and its duration and effect didn't increase but its MP cost did, it could only mean one thing. There was a hidden stat somewhere that determined the percentage chance of it landing successfully and affecting its target. This figure would probably have to go up against that creature's Magic Defense stat but an upgrade would mean that my chances of successfully using it on my father had just increased.
Happy to have another skill that would come in handy in my battle against him, I pulled up the last three skills which were upgrades of my most used attacks.
* * *
Name: Maelstrom of Steel
Level: 21
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 58
Power: 1568
Range: Melee
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: A swinging attack that can strike multiple enemies at once. Mana envelops the spear in the wielder's hands, making it spin extremely fast around its axis. The combination of magical spinning and the 360-degree rotation by the wielder delivers a devastating attack on up to five enemies, ignoring shield defense bonuses.
* * *
A sixty-six point increase in the power of the skill was no small thing and since we would probably need to do quite a bit more work to reach level sixty one, a skill that would help us bring down multiple enemies faster was more than welcome. As was the next skill, which was also aimed at crowd control--or rather monster control.
* * *
Name: Spear of the Thunder God
Level: 21
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 84
Power: 1192
Range: Melee
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: The magnificence of the thunder god materializes as a shining orb of electricity around the weapon's blade. Upon contact with an enemy the electric field envelops them before crushing their bodies with terrible force and frying their insides. Affected creatures may become stunned for 7 seconds and the attack ignores shield defense bonuses.
* * *
Both skills had reached level twenty-one which came with a significantly higher increase in their power than on previous levels. A skill as powerful as this coupled with its stun effect chance was perhaps the single best one I had, and a cornerstone of our whole XPing strategy. Good runs were differentiated from bad runs according to how many critical hits I would be able to land, but most importantly how many creatures would be affected by this stun attack of mine.
On those few perfect runs, we would be able to fight without taking breaks because I was lucky enough with this skill and all the monsters were stunned every time I used it. This meant that Aphrodite wouldn't have to spend too much MP healing me and subsequently that we could continue with the next wave of monsters without needing to rest.
The last prompt, as usual, showed me that my most powerful non-divine skill had been upgraded as well.
* * *
Name: Mana Stunning Pierce
Level: 5
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 92
Power: 1788
Range: 300 inches
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: An incredibly powerful melee attack that charges the tip of the spear with an immense amount of concentrated mana. Upon contact, the mana is released at the target, knocking them back and stunning them for 5 seconds. Should the user wish it, this attack can be triggered from a distance, ignoring shield defense bonuses.
* * *
That was an incredible two hundred and ninety-one point increase in the power of this skill, which--even though it could only target a single creature--was also able to stun enemies. The fact that I could use it from a distance, albeit not very far, was an additional benefit.
Immensely satisfied with the fruits of my labor, I dismissed all the system prompts and watched the rest of my party members who were still going over their own skill upgrades. Judging by the expressions on their faces, they each must have received significant upgrades themselves.