NOVEL NEXT B2 Chapter 21 (Attributes, Abilities)
Advancing from level 37 to 54, Angar had gained and allocated four Stat Points, four Attribute Points, and one Ability Upgrade.
He had also gained, but held unspent, three Feat Options, three Ability Upgrades, one Ability Option, and one Class Option.
Fighting on his own, without a company to divvy XP with, facing higher Tier foes, Angar was blowing through the second Tier.
That explosive growth would slow once he reached the third Tier, but the speed was enough to make him worry about his core, and if it'd have time to settle and firm up, laying a solid foundation before he cleared the Tier, ready to ascend.
He, of course, allocated the four Attribute points to Body, increasing it to 36, boosting his Physique by 4 to 49. He then spent his four Stat points on Physique, raising it to 53, which in turn raised Body to 37, further increasing Physique to 54.
Thanks to his unique Capstone, this effectively counted as nine Stat Point increases to both Resilience and Power Level.
As a result, Mind and Spirit rose by 2 points, and all three Stats under them also increased by 2 each, leading to a total gain of 11 points for both Resilience and Power Level.
As of right now, his Capstone had granted exactly 100 additional Stat Points, 50 to Resilience and 50 to Power Level. This translated to 12 extra points each for the Mind and Spirit Attribute, and all their associated Stats. At 52, it'd be 13 extra points each.
Attribute and Stat-wise, Angar was leaps and bounds ahead of others at his Rank and Tier. Spirit had truly paved the way for his success.
Thinking of the blessed Mother stirred a pang in his heart, causing it to grow heavy. He pushed it aside and refocused.
He'd grown in size enough that he needed Kong to recalibrate his cybernetic leg. It was a straightforward tweak, thanks to built-in controls for adjusting and extending both the thigh and shin sections.
He invested one Ability Upgrade in Ground Current's Enduring 2, extending the Ability's range by about 50%.
The current distance he could travel went from 76 to 112.5 meters, a significant improvement.
If he had this Upgrade when he entered the Void Reaper station, he would've been able to reach one of the turrets immediately.
He considered purchasing Ground Current's Mighty Upgrade but decided against it, as the damage increase would be negligible.
He also considered using his three remaining Ability Upgrades on Lightning Strike but decided against this too. It could do worthy damage, but he'd nearly need to fill out the Upgrades, tripling its Energy Cost at a point when he was trying to conserve on Energy expenditure.
He used the Ability for its damage shield, one that hardly cost energy. The damage it currently did was a nice bonus, and that was it.
He knew the same wasn't true for others, especially for those not Holy Knights, but it seemed Charges would never be an issue for him, especially with his Capstone.
Ultimately, Angar chose to save his remaining Ability Upgrades. He'd gain a new Ability Option at level 58 and a Class Option at level 67, at which point he planned on selecting another high-damage Ability and unlock all its needed Upgrades and Sacred Upgrades immediately.
He also decided to prioritize saving Glory Points, especially since his Capstone already provided plenty enough Attribute and Stat boosts.
The Saint Tiers, the second Realm, loomed ahead, and he needed to plan for it. That Realm worked very differently, with a new leveling scheme and options, and he wouldn't receive more Class Options and the like.
As things stood, he could end up sitting on an unused Class and Ability Option when he hit level 100, something he couldn't allow. Strategic planning now was essential.
As the old Lay saying went, 'Measure twice, cut once.' Without the Spirit's guidance, he couldn't afford to make mistakes.
He'd work it out, but he'd love to just bank Glory Points until he had 300, enough for another Adroitness increase, as nothing helped in battle like more speed.
He had eight Skill Points to spend. Psychic related Skills could require most of them, but he wouldn't know until he manifested a power and knew which track he'd walk. Anyway, even before that, he had had a gut instinct telling him to save some in reserve.
While still on Albion, just after the Viscount was publicly executed, Saint Hidetada purchased the two scared rites he owed Angar, as his Knight had proven himself worthy twice, both in the station and in the cage.
Flesh of Hiranyaksha: Imbues the body with the Daitya's golden resilience, hardening flesh to endure mountain-shattering blows, as though forged in the cosmic ocean's depths.
Abjuration of Yusuf: A solemn rite that bestows radiant integrity, shielding the heart from seduction and deceit, as steadfast as Yusef's stand in the house of temptation.
He had another coming once he hit the third Tier. Hidetada could also buy him extras if he performed well, and Angar could purchase them himself if he acquired enough credits.
The Blessing of Hiranyaksha increased Angar's Toughness by 5, but, as with many items, Feats, and sacred rites, its full effect wasn't reflected in the Annals' numerical record, as it provided resistances and fortifications beyond what was captured by the Stat.
Likewise, the Blessing of Yusuf changed nothing at all within his Annals.
A lot went into resisting corruption or temptation that wasn't fully explained or reflected by the Resilience Stat.
Tier had a great effect. A seventh-Tier Crusader with a Resilience of 10 could fend off a demon's possession far more easily than a first-Tier Crusader with a Resilience of 100.
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Angar's Righteous Rebuker Feat, extremely coveted for this very reason, though hardly offered, had likely saved him countless times, bolstering his defenses against infernal influence.
And the full extent of someone's willpower could never be captured with one number, though Resilience reflected some of it, enforcing and enhancing certain aspects.
For instance, some men, captivated by a beautiful young girl passing by, succumbed to lust with reckless abandon, squandering their lives and livelihoods on such foolish pursuits. That same man could stand steadfast against an archdemon's possession with ironclad will.
Others, known to be stubborn and unyielding as a rock in all aspects of life, crumbled quickly before the dark whispers of Hell.
As with all numbers shown in the Annals, more was always better, and most agreed Resilience was the most important Stat, especially for Psychics and those dedicating their lives to Holy War and fighting the forces of the Underworld.
ANNALS OF SIR ANGAR MECIA (SAINT KRAKUS, ERIM, ZANAYA, EENGURRA)
Age: 16
Social: Holy Knight, Private, Lay Rank - Minor Gentry (surviving heir and heir apparent of devastated lands controlled the former city-state of Mecia located on the planet Sulfuron 9 with few inhabitants or subjects, and no income or apparent imperial value).
Chapter: The Smallest Spark
Tier: 2
Rank: Knight
Level: 54
XP: 12%
Glory Points: 80
Voluvicas Credits: 11
ATTRIBUTES, STATS, AND ADROITNESS
(Each Attribute Point increases all Stats governed by that Attribute by 1. Applying 4 Stat Points to the same Stat will increase the governing Attribute by 1. Numbers in (parentheses) include increases from items.)
BODY (Physical Attributes): With 14 AP applied – 37 (46)
Physique (Size/Strength): With 14 SP applied – 54 (63)
Endurance (Stamina/Health): 41 (50)
Toughness (Physical Durability/Resistance): 54 (132)
MIND (Non-Physical Attributes): 27
Competence (Skills/Insight): 29
Cognizance (Awareness/Perception): 36 (41)
Resilience (Non-Physical Durability/Resistance): With 50 SP applied – 88 (96)
SPIRIT (Metaphysical Attributes): 20 (22)
Power Level (PL) (Ability Damage and Effectiveness): With 50 SP applied – 71 (73)
Energy (Resource for Powers shown as Energy Points equal to 3 + (Energy Stat x 3)): 20 (22)
Charges (Increases the number of times certain Abilities can be used per combat): 20 (22)
ADROITNESS (Finesse/Reaction/Speed): 5 (6)
RESOURCES
Current/Maximum Energy Points: 67/69
Current/Maximum Charges: 21/22
ABILITIES
(Selected Upgrades Bolded. Cooldown and cost reflect selected Upgrades in parentheticals. Ability description does not reflect selected Upgrades.)
From Divine Storm:
1 – GROUND CURRENT:
Transform into charged particles, allowing near-instantaneous travel through the ground up to 3 + (0.5 x PL) meters. You are mostly immune to damage and effects during this travel.
Cooldown: 30 seconds (15 seconds)
Cost: 2 Energy (1 Energy)
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Increase travel distance to 3 + PL meters.
Enduring 2: Increase travel distance to 3 + (1.5 x PL) meters.
Fervor: Gain immunity to most attacks and control effects for 1 second after exiting the ground.
Merciless 1: Stun all targets within 1.5 meters of your exit point for 0.5 seconds.
Merciless 2: Stun all targets within 3 meters of your exit point for 1 second.
Mighty: Add 0.1 x PL lightning damage to your close weapon attacks for 3 seconds post-exit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halve Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 1: Strike all targets within 1.5 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing PL damage, suppressing any permanent regeneration effect targets may have for 1 second.
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 2: Strike all targets within 3 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing 2 x PL damage, suppressing regeneration for 2 seconds.
(C) Geomagnetic Phenomena 3: Lightning damage from Geomagnetic Phenomena 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage. Additionally, for 2 seconds after use, allows an additional use of Ground Current at no energy cost if a target moves more than 4 meters away, but the cooldown is reset and only Enduring 1 and 2 apply to this use.
2 – TEMPEST:
Hold your hands together or your close weapon with both hands and spin rapidly for 3 seconds, dealing an extra PL physical damage per hit to all targets in range. You can move while spinning.
Cooldown: 1 minute (30 Seconds)
Cost: 4 Energy, 1 Charge
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Spin duration increases to 4.5 seconds.
Enduring 2: Spin duration increases to 6 seconds.
Fervor: No Charge required, but cooldown increases to 4 minutes.
Merciless: Hit targets are slowed by 50% and your speed is boosted by 50% for 2 seconds. Does not stack.
Mighty 1: Deal 1.5 x PL damage per hit.
Mighty 2: Deal 2 x PL damage per hit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halves Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Thunderstorm 1: Lightning extends 3 meters from the tip of your weapon, dealing 0.5 x PL damage every second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase damage to 0.75 x PL and PL respectively.
(A) Thunderstorm 2: Thunderstorm now starts at 0.33 x PL damage, but lightning damage increases by 0.33 x PL each second and range is extended by 1 meter per second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase initial damage to 0.5 x PL and .66 x PL respectively.
(C) Thunderstorm 3: Mitigate 90% of incoming damage and resist 90% of negative effects while spinning. Additionally, lightning damage from Thunderstorm 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage.
3 – LIGHTNING STRIKE:
Empower your hand or close weapon with lightning, causing your next strike to inflict PL damage.
Cooldown: 12 seconds (6 seconds)
Cost: 1 Energy
Upgrades:
Enduring: Requires a Charge to use but empowers your next 3 strikes.
Fervor 1: Lightning forks to 1 additional target within 1.5 meters, but Energy cost increases to 2.
Fervor 2: Lightning forks to 2 additional targets within 2 meters, but Energy cost increases to 3.
Merciless: For every point of Energy spent, increase damage by 0.33 x PL.
Mighty 1: Deal 1.5 x PL damage.
Mighty 2: Deal 2 x PL damage.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: If Lightning Strike only damages armor, its damage is doubled.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Eye of the Storm 1: A shield envelops your body, absorbing 0.33 x PL damage for 1 second or until removed by incoming damage.
(A) Eye of the Storm 2: A shield envelops your body, absorbing 0.66 x PL damage for 2 seconds or until removed by incoming damage.
(C) Eye of the Storm 3: A shield envelops your body, absorbing PL damage for 3 seconds or until removed by incoming damage. Upon shield expiration, gain damage mitigation equal to PL percentage for 3 seconds (soft cap at 50%).