They didn’t get the chance to appreciate the view of the mega frog boss and the beautiful canopy.
The nearest pond erupted, water sheeting off two shapes that came up fast and low, already closing the distance before anyone had finished turning.
```
[ Level 10 Voltfin Ambusher (Tier-1/Epic) ]
```
Skin like wet stone, fins running down both arms crackling faintly with stored current, they hit the ground already lunging.
Juggernaut caught the first on a shoulder cannon, and instantly fired a shot, close enough that the recoil rocked him back on his heels. The second one got past him and raked lightning stab from the fins down Solveig’s arm before the greatsword answered.
But Aegis of Light activated to recover his wounds and give everyone a defence boost while his golden greatsword cut the monster into two.
```
[ 2x Level 10 Voltfin Ambusher (Tier-1/Epic) killed. ]
```
They didn’t get long to catch their breath.
Two more ponds erupted, then two more after that, water and lightning-scaled bodies breaking the surface in pairs like the whole swamp had decided to empty itself out at once.
"They’re not stopping," Vex called out, already cutting down a third pair with Black Flame Claws.
"Then neither do we," Logan said, and meant it.
An hour of that followed.
Pairs kept coming, never more than a few seconds between waves, never fewer than two at a time.
Logan found the rhythm of it fast.
Encouragement went on whoever was taking the front of a wave. Restore fired the instant anyone’s HP dipped low enough to worry him.
When the group needed a real breather, he pulled everyone back behind Safe Haven and let the barrier hold while their MP ticked back up.
Juggernaut had big damage, but he was also a good tank due to his passive skills.
When the pace got too thick to fight through clean, he reached for Tinkerbell’s inventions instead.
A Frost Burst Bomb thrown into a knot of six Ambushers locked half of them solid before they’d finished climbing out of the water, easy pickings after that.
A Concussive Sound Bomb scattered a wave that had them boxed in on two sides, buying Stonewing enough of an opening to clean up the stragglers.
The Cement Bomb turned one whole pond into a solid gray block mid-ambush, trapping three Ambushers half-submerged and helpless. And when a wave came in tighter than the rest, the Storm Cloud Bomb dropped a crackling black cloud right on top of them, arcing lightning between bodies until none of them were standing anymore.
Stitchgrin ate whatever got close enough, growing steadily rounder as the fight went on and clearly enjoying every second of it.
Whatever he devoured was going to become a toy that would be useful anyway.
By the time the ponds finally stopped producing anything new, the sun had shifted noticeably in the sky.
```
[ 28x Level 10 Voltfin Ambusher (Tier-1/Epic) killed. +9800 Tower Points ]
```
```
[ Every summon present has reached level 10. ]
[ You have reached level 10. ]
[ Your class has reached level 5. ]
```
Logan sat down right where he was standing and let it all wash over him.
He worked through his own five points first, same logic as always: Arcane and Constitution, fuel and toughness.
[ Status ]
Name: Logan Wolf
Class: Caretaker Lv. 5 (Normal)
Talent: Boundless Genesis
Level: 10 | Tier: 1
--stats--
HP: 1720/1720
MP: 2100/2100
Attack: 10
Speed: 10
Constitution: 17.2
Arcane: 21
And he spent the skill points on Restore, making it reach level 6. It now restored 40% of the target’s max HP and MP at the cost of 100 Mana.
Good enough for now. But it wasn’t level six he actually cared about.
’Skills gain a new effect at level ten. If that holds for Restore too...’
He looked down at the stump where his right hand used to be.
’Maybe it grows back.’
He didn’t know that for certain. He didn’t know much of anything for certain when it came to a talent, or a skill. But it was the first real hope he’d had about the hand since the Mimic took it, and he let himself hold onto it a while longer than he probably should have.
He then distributed the stat points of Legendaries.
Solveig’s passive skill, Radiant Wings, gives him a movement/flight speed boost of 100%, making him crazy fast. On the other hand, Sovereign’s Presence is a debuff/buff passive that lowers the stats of enemies by 10% if they are within 10 meters of him, and boosts all of his stats by the stats he reduced. Pairing that with his basic attacks using the greatsword already makes him lethal, not to mention the Dawnbreaker Slash skill, which is like a one-shot skill given that it has 50% defence penetration and serious damage on top of that.
’Hmm, Aegis of Light is a solid defensive skill that can protect him and recover his wounds, and grant all allies within the 20-meter radius a 30% Defense Buff for 1 minute. Starfall Descent is not bad, but it is upgradable, so it’d have to do that first, or it’s a waste of MP.’
[Solareign Vorpal Knight]
Name: Solveig
Level: 10 | Tier-1
Rank: Legendary
—Stats—
HP: 2500/2500
MP: 3000/3000
Attack: 35
Speed: 35
Constitution: 25
Arcane: 30
[ Active Skills ]
> Dawnbreaker Slash (Legendary)
> Aegis of Light (Legendary)
> Starfall Descent (Epic+)
[ Passive Skills ]
> Sovereign’s Presence (Legendary+)
> Radiant Wings (Legendary)
’Good. Now, about Stitchgrin. This guy is a bit special. If he successfully devours a Monster with his Devour skill, he can use the Unravel and Restitch skill to create a toy version of the devoured monster with 100% stats of the original, who also has their original skills.’
Stitchgrin can keep ten toys at a time, and right now, all ten toy slots were filled up by level 10 Voltfin Ambusher (Tier-1/Epic), which he could summon anytime.
Moreover, this Unravel and Restitch skill was Legendary+, meaning it could evolve to Mythic-rank.
Stitchgrin can also use Stuffing Swarm (Epic) to release a swarm of mini dolls that can explode. The damage was dark-attributed, and it wasn’t much compared to other Epic-rank skills, but this applied a 50% slow debuff to all caught up in the AOE explosion for 10 seconds. This slow was quite powerful.
As for Stitchgrin’s passive skills, Button-Eyed Ward (Legendary) was a useful skill that healed him equal to 50% of the damage dealt by his toys. So as long as his toys dealt damage, he would be healed.
Loose Thread (Epic+) was a solid passive skill that enhanced his toys’ survival. Whenever one of his toys reduced its HP by 10%, it would recover 5% of its HP instantly, and then recover 1% HP per second for 10 seconds. This would trigger at every 10% HP loss. Moreover, if Stitchgrin’s HP was reduced by 10%, the stats of his Toys would increase 10%, up to 50%.
So with this kind of skill set, Logan decided to make Gravestitch a Support-tank. Gravestitch had no high-damage skill. He had only one direct damage-dealing skill, Stuffing Swarm (Epic), and it was more of a debuff skill, so there was no point in putting points in Attack.
His Toys had their own stats and skills, so their damage was determined by their stats, not Grinstitch’s.
’Alright, this is it.’
[Gravestitch Ghost Toymaker]
Name: Stitchgrin
Level: 10 | Tier-1
Rank: Legendary
—Stats—
HP: 3000/3000
MP: 3500/3500
Attack: 20
Speed: 40
Constitution: 30
Arcane: 35
[ Active Skills ]
> Unravel and Restitch (Legendary+)
> Devour (Legendary)
> Stuffing Swarm (Epic)
[ Passive Skills ]
> Button-Eyed Ward (Legendary)
> Loose Thread (Epic+)
’Perfect. Now, the Juggernaut. This one is easy.’
Siege Cannon Barrage (Legendary) could aim and target enemies near and far, dealing devastating AOE damage with 12 exploding shells generated per skill cast. It also deals 200% extra damage to structures. The downside was that while using this skill, Juggernaut couldn’t move.
Overdrive Surge (Legendary) was a simple skill. At the cost of 1000 Mana, increase all stats by 50% for 1 minute, and the next skill cast after using this is free of cost.
Crush Charge (Epic) was good for breaking defence and stuns. Juggernaut would change his form a bit and roll forward at high speed. Upon impact, the target would usually die, but if they survived, their defence would be reduced by 30% for 10 seconds, and they would be stunned for 3 seconds.
The passive skills of this big guy were also simple, but gave him what he needed.
Iron Hide Plating (Epic+) straight up gave him 20% damage reduction.
As for the highlight among his skills, Living Engine Core (Legendary+), this one was powerful. It granted him multiple benefits.
—Continuously regenerates 2% Max MP and 2% Max HP every second.
—When HP drops below 50%, recovers 50% MP.
—This skill cannot be disabled.
’With this kind of skill set, It’s easy to distribute points.’
[Metalforged War Colossus]
Name: Juggernaut
Level: 10 | Tier-1
Rank: Legendary
—Stats—
HP: 4000/4000
MP: 3500/3500
Attack: 40
Speed: 20
Constitution: 40
Arcane: 35
[ Active Skills ]
> Siege Cannon Barrage (Legendary)
> Overdrive Surge (Legendary)
> Crush Charge (Epic)
[ Passive Skills ]
> Living Engine Core (Legendary+)
> Iron Hide Plating (Epic+)
’Good. Now I am ready to whoop Elite Field Boss’s ass.’
But for now, everyone needed some rest.
Around him, the group settled in without needing to be told. Vex curled up in what shade the ponds still offered. Juggernaut planted himself like a boulder and didn’t move again. Solveig stayed upright but still more statue than knight for the moment.
The Elite Field Boss sat exactly where it had been the whole time, patient in a way that should have been unsettling and mostly just felt like borrowed time.
Logan closed his eyes and let his people rest. They’d earned it. So had he.
The frog wasn’t going anywhere.