abcnovels
Chapter 115: Domination Level 15 (Bronze-Max)!
Chapter 115: Domination Level 15 (Bronze-Max)!
[Do you want to use 5 Skill Points to upgrade Domination to Level 15 (MAX)?]
[Y/N]
Without hesitation, Stark clicked on the Y option.
~DING, DING, DING, DING, DING~
And after five notifications…
[You have upgraded 'Domination' to level 15 (Bronze-Tier Max)!]
But of course, reached a new milestone also meant… a new perk!
…
[Skill: Domination lv15]
[New Perk: Dominated Status]
[Description:] This new perk doesn't serve much purpose under normal circumstances, but if during a battle, the user somehow manages to turn the tides against an enemy stronger than they are, and their aura increases by that, there is a chance that the enemy will receive the 'Dominated' status.
The 'Dominated' status reduces defense and movements, and gives the user a 10% stat boost against the dominated enemy.
[Note:] When entering a battle against an enemy weaker than you are, or if the enemy in itself fears your aura, there is also a chance they receive the 'Dominated' status, further reducing their chances of victory against the person they feared =)
…
'Holy…' Stark scratched his chin, his eyes burning with excitement.
If he had gotten this perk before, then he was confident his anger against Sierra would have guaranteed for her to get the 'Dominated' status.
In the end, the basis of this perk worked if, and only if the enemy before Stark suddenly became more wary/scared of him, otherwise it was useless.
With that in mind, Stark moved on to the three other skill points he had.
[You have upgraded 'Double Assault' to level 5!]
[You have upgraded 'Aura Smash' to level 8!]
With this… he had everything he needed, but the fact 'Double Assault' reached level 5 also meant a new perk on it as well…
…
[Skill: Double Assault lv5]
[New Perk: Double Impact]
[Description: When using 'Double Assault', there is a very small chance that each attack will count as two hits (deadly), causing double the damage, but also double the status effect or knock back on your opponent.]
[Note: a crimson replica of yourself (much like the clones) will temporarily appear to deal the second attack, then will disappear right afterward]
…
'I don't know the chance, but it must be very low,' Stark mumbled as he closed all the panels and began heading toward the cave.
He heard rustling in the leaves while passing the dozens of giant trees scattered throughout the clearing, but none of the monsters jumped out for some reason.
He would have seriously enjoyed checking out that 'Dominated' status on the monsters, but oh well, he will see later.
[Alchemy Inventory: x20 Potion of Strength, x19 Potion of Speed, x38 Potion of Regeneration]
He hadn't used his potions much since it was difficult in the heat of such situations, but maybe he should begin to drink them before the battle?
Thinking of that, and while still heading toward the cave, Stark pulled out four potions: 2 of strength, and 2 of speed, holding them with his hands.
He was confident no monster would attempt to attack him, so he didn't even bother to free his hands.
And so just like that, he managed to reach the entrance of the rock/crystal cave.
The walls were made out of gray solid rock, but all around these very same walls were hundreds upon hundreds of white crystals, glinting in the darkness.
They were [Crystals of Sierra], and they were used to make those arrows, Stark guessed that's why Sierra was called the 'Crystal Archer' in her boss name.
The cave seemed to go down into a very long and dark tunnel, and so before heading inside of the final area of this rift…
Stark opened up all four bottles in his hands, then began gulping down all their contents.
He had wondered if drinking two potions of the same type at the same time would mean an increase in stat boosts.
But…
[+10% strength for 10 minutes]
[+10% speed for 10 minutes]
It would be too op, so instead stacking up potions meant that the effect time you had would go up.
He had drunk 2 potions of strength, and each was supposed to give him 5 minutes of strength boost, so drinking two meant 10 minutes, if he drank 5 it would have been 25 minutes, etc…
'Interesting… but I need to find new recipes or buy them…' he mumbled as he finally entered the cave.
[Level 75 Area: 'The Crystal Cave']
The darkness within the cave was almost suffocating, but the faint, silvery-white light that came from the crystals illuminated his path slightly.
He went down, and now before him was a giant tunnel that seemed to endlessly stretch forward.
No monsters in sight, nothing.
Stark carefully moved along the tunnel, his senses heightened and his eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of movement.
But of course, it wouldn't be this easy, it couldn't be.
No matter what…
~FWISH~
In the distance, Stark saw a flash of light rush at him at intense speed, like a bolt of lightning.
'…' Without hesitation, he prepared to defend himself.
And so using [Focus] and his boost in speed, Stark grabbed the [Arrow of Sierra] that had been sent to him as it was centimeters away from his face.
'She doesn't give up, does she…' he sighed, and noticed that the many more flashes of lightning were coming, 'Is she struggling because she knows she is about to die? Or does she really believe she can hit me and win?'
With a swift movement, Stark dodged an arrow, then another, and a third one.
"ARROW BARRAGE!" from the safety of her boss chamber, Sierra used her archer eyes to keep sending dozens upon dozens of arrows at him.
In such a case, the human was totally overwhelmed, and even though there seemed to be no monsters, the sole fact that the boss was targeting was already enough.
A Nightmare-Level rift wasn't only described as such because of its high difficulty, or because there were strong monsters there, but many other factors played a huge part in it: its size, its category, the unfairness and how likely someone was to clear it were also factors.
And in this case… it was because a single arrow could send you to your death that it was this hard, and why so many people failed before.
Basically… it was really unfair.
But…
'How is it gonna work on me if i'm faster,' Stark's eyes glew with a blue aura as the speed potion took effect, increasing Stark's speed, and allowing him to easily avoid all the attacks that were sent at him.
"Just you wait Sierra…" he grinned as he ran through the tunnel.