[You have obtained: 6★ Rare Blueprint—"Potential Training Facility"]
Logan’s triumphant smile died instantly. His face froze as he stared at the golden text hovering in the air.
"A... a blueprint?" he stuttered. His mind completely staggered at the absurdity he was looking at.
Logan’s vast knowledge of the world’s rule instantly told him how broken this was. High-tier building blueprints can only be acquired through late-game dungeons and events. In most cases, high-tier blueprints can change the paths a bastion can take. At the same time, he couldn’t fathom how such an item appeared so early in the game.
With a trembling finger, he tapped the glowing text to read its description.
[6★ Rare Blueprint – "Potential Training Facility"]
Construction Cost:
- Cost: 12,000 Gold
- Duration: 3 Days
Description: An advanced training facility designed to break down limits and optimize heroes’ potential.
Passive Effect: Increase experience gained by 10%
"This is even better than I expected!" Logan jumps in excitement.
A training facility that removes the limiter for any units is like a cheat code by itself. Although their basic stats, growth, and skills will not be as powerful as the 3- and 4-star heroes. But with proper training and guidance, they will definitely not lag too far behind.
On top of that, the 10% experience multiplier didn’t look like much to a novice, but to any experienced players, it was a terrifyingly broken passive. In a game where the monster scaling curve outpaced the player’s resource generation, a permanent base-wide experience boost was an absolute game-changer.
But before Logan could get too happy, the construction cost was like a slap to the face.
[Construction Cost: 12,000 Gold]
[Current Funds: 10,000 Gold]
"Wait..." Logan blinked, tapping the screen as if it would refresh. "Twelve thousand? Are you kidding me?"
He rubbed his temples; if he sat back and relied on the bastion’s automated resource generation, it would take days to accumulate the deficit—and the blueprint demanded 3 full days to finish construction.
With the countdown timer for Wave 2 looming over Evergarden, he didn’t have the luxury of time.
"I guess I have to take a gamble..." Logan ran his finger to the tab that most players avoid in the early game due to the extremely high mortality rate.
[MIssion: Active]
Logan tapped the text. A clean blue window popped up across his eyes.
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[Exploration Mission, Forest of Mourning]
──────────────────────────────
- Type: Expedition
- Availability: Preparation Phase Only (Locks upon Wave 5 Arrival)
- Condition: High-Risk Region Outside the Bastion Walls
- Completion Reward: 5,000 Gold / ???
- WARNING: Scouting Tower Missing. Monster variants are UNKNOWN.
──────────────────────────────
"An expedition-type mission," Logan whispered.
Between major defensive waves, a temporary mission would unlock in the surrounding wilderness. It was designed specifically for players who wanted to gamble their high-tier heroes for a massive injection of gold and materials.
Missions are unpredictable, but with the right preparation and teams, they can become crucial assets that bring important resources to the fortress.
Standard players wouldn’t dare risk their heavy vanguards on a blind run. But Logan wasn’t a standard player, and more importantly, without the high-tier training facility, there’s a very high chance his next wave will be his last.
He closed the quest window and pulled up his command tab. If he were going into an unmapped danger zone with the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel units, he couldn’t rely on raw power alone.
Twenty minutes later, Logan stood in the drafty courtyard of the barracks. In front of him stood five men and women.
At the front of the line stood Captain Iron. Despite his grandiose name, he was a 1-star tank dressed in heavily dented, mismatched iron plating. He was by far the most outstanding hero Evergarden had to offer up until this point. Although his base stats were nothing noteworthy, the main focus was his unique skill.
[Unyielding Stand], which allowed him to briefly lock his guard and mitigate a flat portion of incoming frontal physical damage.
Behind him stood four commoners Logan had meticulously filtered out.
There was Giles, a scrawny, terrified recruit whose active skill was [Accidental Trip]. It was a skill that standard players mocked because it forced Giles into a 2-second self-stun, but it carried a hidden property: a guaranteed 100% chance to apply a ’Stumble’ status to whatever monster was directly in front of him.
Stumble: Reduce the agility stats of the creature by half.
Next to him was Maeve, a hunter’s apprentice. Maeve had terrible strength and base range, but Logan noticed her active skill: [Desperate Volley]. When activated, she fired five arrows at once in a massive, sweeping spread that can take down multiple targets at once.
Then there was Kiran, an alley thief. When Logan pulled up Kiran’s stat sheet, he actually winced. Kiran’s agility stat was an absolute joke, a disaster that made him move as slowly and clumsily as a turtle.
However, he possessed a high-tier passive skill: [Blindspot Striker]. If Kiran managed to strike a target directly from behind while they were focused on an ally, his attack completely ignored the enemy’s physical armor and damage reduction.
Finally, standing at the rear, holding a heavy, oversized wooden shield, was Althea, a village baker.
She wasn’t a warrior, but her active skill was [Dough Wall Bastion]. When activated, she slammed her massive shield into the ground, reducing her own movement speed to zero for ten seconds but generating a physical barrier that blocked all low-tier projectile attacks.
They weren’t a legendary party, but currently they are the best that Evergarden could produce.
"Listen up!" Logan said, his voice dropping to a low, authoritative tone that slices through the air itself. The five instantly stiffened, staring at him with wide, anxious eyes.
"We are going to leave the walls to secure resources needed to build a structure integral to the future of our bastion."
"C-Commander." Giles stuttered, his hand trembling against his rusty sword. "I d-don’t have that much experience. I’m afraid I might end up holding you all back."
Logan walks up and approaches Giles, who is trembling at the presence of his commander.
"Giles, do you know why I selected you out of dozens of others?" Logan asked, stopping right in front of the shaking recruit.
"No, sir," Giles replied quickly, almost struggling to hold himself together.
"I selected you all not because of your experience,"
Well, it’s also because no one here is nearly qualified to be considered "experienced" other than the old man.
"I selected you all not because of your talent."
You don’t really have any talents anyway; the only talented one died in the first wave to a random goblin.
Giles and the 3 new recruits look visibly saddened; their faces show a sense of disappointment they hold towards themselves.
. . .
"I selected you all because of your potential." Logan looks up, his eyes scanning the room to read everyone’s emotions.
"I selected you all because of your unwavering spirits."
"I selected you all because I know you have what it takes to bring prosperity to Evergarden."
Logan turns his back, striking a confident pose as he stares into the distance. Secretly he was hiding his cringed expression, not wanting to ruin their image of him.
The five started to tear up, not expecting that their commander cared so much for them. They quickly fell into a formation behind him, their boots clicking against the wet cobblestones.
They reached the heavy outer threshold of Evergarden. Two massive, towering iron gates blocked the path to the unknown.
Logan raised his hand, gesturing to the automated fort mechanisms.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
A rush of cold, misty air surged inward, carrying the faint scent of blood and mud. Outside the sky was a dark, unnatural violet. Westward from the fortress entrance is a dense dark forest.
Logan stepped forward, crossing the threshold, taking his first definitive step out into the danger.