Asher reclined on his bed in the lobby, fixated on the system prompt showcasing the items he had acquired during the trial. His eyes remained locked on the mesmerizing array before him, refusing to divert his attention. The system had granted him a precious 8-hour respite, a welcome break following his consecutive participation in the first three trials. Asher deeply appreciated this opportunity to unwind and rejuvenate, having pushed himself relentlessly. During this well-deserved pause, he took his time carefully scrutinizing the descriptions of his rewards, pondering how best to allocate them.
"Let's not touch those points just yet; I don't want to accidentally buy a bad combination item or skill. I'll first figure out what these acquired items can actually do and then invest in things that won't turn my adventure into a circus act!"
"Alright, let's kick things off with the main reward of the trial: the Woodland Bear's body armor. I hope it doesn't make me or my summon look like a bear-sized fashion disaster!"
https://i.imgur.com/k4SL0Xi.png [https://i.imgur.com/k4SL0Xi.png]
"This is pretty decent, not too flashy but better than nothing. Hmm... I think the best candidate for rocking this Woodland Bear's body armor would be my Animate Guardian. After all, he's currently on the close-combat focused role."
Asher was meticulous in his approach to equipment and skill allocation. Despite being "naked" in a broad sense, he made the strategic choice of outfitting his guardian. The rationale behind this decision lay in the fact that, at the moment, he faced no immediate threats from the rear. Moreover, his Animate Guardian already possessed a set of items and skills that harmonized well together, and Asher was keen on preserving his guardian's strength rather than risking its demise losing all the progress he had made up to this point. Thus, he opted to bolster its defenses early on, recognizing that a good defense would eventually become the best offense.
You'd expect that the trial's main reward would be the juiciest item in the loot bag, but oh no, not in this case. What had Asher truly mesmerized and intrigued were these two peculiar, gemstone-like items he had looted from the lifeless corpses of the hobgoblin and woodland bear. Every time he read their descriptions, he couldn't help but feel as unyielding as a rock in, well, let's just say a rather private place...
"What a beaty! The real treasure of this trial"
https://i.imgur.com/Pot3ZUT.png [https://i.imgur.com/Pot3ZUT.png]
Asher's excitement reached such dizzying heights that it bordered on the creepy side of enthusiasm. He practically vibrated with glee, his eyes wide and unblinking, a grin stretching so wide it could've circled the Earth twice. it was the kind of excitement that made you question whether he'd just won the lottery... which he did!
"Neither the hobgoblin and the woodland bear showed any flashy active skills. Which probably means I'm in for a round of back to back passive skills. "
Are you certain about trading your Crystallized Hearts? Bear in mind that the skills book granted are random, drawn from the monster's skill pool. (YES/NO)?
"Hell Yes!"
You have traded 'Crystalized Hearts: Hobgoblin's, Savage Woodland Bear's'! You have acquired 'Goblin's Rejuvenator (Passive)' & 'Beartheart Fortitude (Passive)' Skill Books!
Reading the prompt sent Asher's excitement skyrocketing to new heights, and impatiently, he promptly tore open each skill book to devour the information inside without a moment's delay.
https://i.imgur.com/EgzT1RJ.png [https://i.imgur.com/EgzT1RJ.png]
"..."
Asher stood in stunned silence, incapable of uttering a single word as he absorbed the astonishing contents of the skill books. Both abilities were nothing short of extraordinary. Not only did they harmonize seamlessly with each other, but they also bestowed formidable defensive capabilities, benefiting both himself and his trusty Animate Guardian.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Given the intertwined relationship between his health and mana, choosing to bestow the Bearheart Fortitude upon himself wasn't merely a personal gain but also a boon for his guardian. This choice would bolster not only his health points by 50 but also those of his animate guardian. In contrast, allocating this skill to his guardian would be counterproductive. While the guardian would enjoy the benefits, Asher himself would be left without, making it a clear choice to master the skill personally and extend its advantages to all parties involved. Admittedly, he would gain an additional physical damage reduction that his guardian wouldn't, making this decision still appealing to him.
Would you like to learn 'Bearheart Fortitude(Passive)' or teach it to your 'Animate Guardian'?
"Teach it to me!"
Your have learned 'Bearheart Fortitude (Passive)'!
HP: 100 -> 150
"As for the other one..."
Goblin's Rejuvenator was undeniably an intriguing skill, yet Asher recognized that it was a perfect fit for his guardian. As the leading force of his team, his guardian often bore the brunt of enemy attacks, making it a wise choice to equip him with means of regenerating his life.
Would you like to learn 'Goblin's Rejuvenator (Passive)' or teach it to your 'Animate Guardian'?
"Teach it to my Animate Guardian!"
Your 'Animate Guardian' has learned 'Goblin's Rejuvenator (Passive)'!
This single trial had significantly bolstered his abilities, yet Asher found himself with a plethora of options left to explore. Among them were the allocation of his 10 attribute points and the tempting pool of 715 currency to spend on new skills or equipment from the system's store tab.
"Time to beef up our attributes! Now, which one should I choose?"
As Asher contemplated which attribute to invest in, he methodically crossed out the ones that held no appeal. First to go was Strength, as it offered a mere 1% increase in physical damage per point, hardly a match for his preferred role, which was not in the front lines as an attacker.
"Yeah, Strength's out of the picture! And as for Dexterity..."
Dexterity met the same fate, as it was an offensive attribute that didn't align with his strategy. You might assume Asher could make use of offensive spells, but the pesky downside of his 'Animate Guardian' skill squashed that idea. It explicitly stated that while the guardian was active, Asher couldn't utilize offensive skills, rendering increases to critical chance and damage rather pointless as long as this drawback remained in play.
"Now that only leaves us with Vitality and Intelligence..."
Vitality emerged as the most enticing choice from the lineup. The boost in health was an undeniable asset, enhancing the overall survivability of both himself and his guardian.
As for mana, while the increase in magic damage was of no use, the expanded mana capacity was invaluable. Asher recognized that although he didn't currently require the extra mana, it would become a necessity as he acquired more and more skills over time. Ensuring he had sufficient mana reserves for casting a growing arsenal of active skills would be paramount, especially if he found himself wielding numerous active skills in the future.
"For the time being... I'll go with increasing my Vitality. With no active skills in my possession, boosting my intelligence is pointless. It would only jeopardize my advancement into the deeper floors."
You have allocated 10 points into Vitality!
HP: 150 -> 250
As Asher gazed at his current status window and his guardian's, a surge of accomplishment washed over him. It seemed like he was steering his build in the right direction. The final piece of the puzzle to fully maximize this upgrade was deciding what to buy from the store.
"Now... What should be on my shopping list?"
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https://i.imgur.com/97JyVeN.png [https://i.imgur.com/97JyVeN.png]https://i.imgur.com/jbUzLbr.png [https://i.imgur.com/jbUzLbr.png]