As the black shadow collided with the white light, a bright flash exploded forth.
“Bang!”
Rhode stumbled backward. The white blade trembled as it vibrates with a low hum. The impact traveled through his hands and numbed his entire upper body.
A level 15 gargoyle was certainly not easy to deal with. Especially when facing two. The only upside is that these monsters have a bit of intelligence. Normally, this would mean it’s harder to deal with; however, this extra wisdom actually made them less threatening. This particular gargoyle, after being hit, retreated while warily glaring at Rhode’s glowing sword. The other gargoyle carefully remained at an untouchable distance. Allowing Rhode some rare and much needed breathing space.
But this is only temporary.
His hand gripped Star Stream tighter as he focused on the two gargoyles floating in the sky. Perhaps they won’t attack recklessly, but they certainly won’t let him go easily. Although it was a stalemate, this situation is bound to be short-lived. After he ascended to level 8, he used his skill points to raise Moonlight Sword to 4/4 of proficiency D. Thereby increasing the efficiency and lowering the mana costs of using Broken Blade. But regardless, repeated usage is still something to be cautious of. What’s more, this is not the final battle. He cannot overly exert himself or else the group can be eradicated by any following emergencies. Being the only combat-capable member, if all his power is gone, it would be a disaster.
By now, the gargoyles had begun to cautiously test the waters. Strafing back and forth, their dives became an unrelenting wave of short skirmishes. This type of fighting was quite demanding physically. However, it posed no issue for the alchemy-created gargoyles.
But Rhode was not made of stone and magic.
Sweat gradually emerged from his forehead. His position slowly turned defensive as his body grew tired. But he didn't allow himself to step back. Truthfully, he never had any expectation of defeating these two. His hope remained on Leiya to find the command console as soon as possible. There shouldn’t be anything worthy of danger in the church, but…
Did I forget to warn them about the protective formation?
But after thinking briefly, Rhode shrugged his shoulders and refocused on the gargoyles front of him.
It’s not like they’ll die.
“Ah!!”
A mournful scream squealed out as Metz fell to the ground. His body twitching and trembling uncontrollably.
“I’m dying! Help me! Help!”
“It’s just a shock! You’re not going to die Mr. Metz.”
Leiya showed a somewhat exasperated look before turning back to the surroundings. The control tablet was likely well-hidden and surrounded by other objects. These eroded items, decayed tables, and dense cobwebs really made it troublesome.
A typical mage will cast at least some protective formation to guard their secrets. But considering that this was a run-down church and that much time has passed, the power of the spell weakened to a fraction of its power. Essentially posing no lethal threat, even to civilians.
And as a half-angel, Leiya’s innate magic resistance is much better than humans. So these weakened spells posed no issue. Any triggered flames or shocks of lightning would dissipate the moment it touched her body. Metz had no such luck. After his initial confidence was blasted away, stopped carelessly touching anything.
“This, this ghostly place is really annoying…”
Metz patted the dust off as he slowly crawled up.
In the gloomy church, only the radiance of divine power lightened the darkness. But with this light, Metz saw scenes that he hardly had the courage to see. On the dark floor laid a set of bones. That alone was enough to make Metz’s legs turn soft. Not to mention the bloodstains on the walls. A sudden urge to immediately scramble outside pervaded him. If not for Leiya’s composure or the two dangers outside, the fat merchant would have long escaped.
He mustered his courage and slowly walked forward. The two of them were tasked to find this so-called “control tablet”.
“This ghostly place so messy. Where would we find that weird thing?”
Metz murmured in a low voice. His clothes were soon coated in another layer of thin dust and cobwebs began to cling to him. Patting angrily, he stopped once he saw Leiya’s serious expression.
At the same time, Rhode was not having very much fun with the gargoyles.
“—!”
A gargoyle screaming and flutter backwards. Rhode did a mid-air spin as he deftly evaded another attack from the side. But unexpectedly, this time the gargoyle did not immediately attack. Within another blink, a stout tail was flying towards Rhode from his back.
Not good!
Rhode’s heart sank as he felt the vortex of wind behind him. He hurriedly twisted around. At the same time, he locked his sword in place to block the strike.
Such a forced action was rapid but the gargoyle’s attack is not slow either. Just as he turned around, he felt a huge impact pass through the blade. A powerful force reverberated through his body and numbed his hands. The white blade flexed slightly as it attempted to absorb some of the force. But even then, Rhode was sent tumbling back.
“Pah!”
Rhode’s instincts told him to get up. But once he did, his body felt dizzy, uncoordinated, and a strangely numbing sensation. He could hardly keep grip of the sword in his hand. He would have shaken his head to restore some sense of intelligence, but a slight sound came from right behind him. A great sense of nervousness rose up in him.
“uhmm…”
A voiceless mutter and a cold breath emerged from behind Rhode. Even without his full awareness, he instinctively rolled on the ground. Just as he avoided the attack, he looked up to see three ghosts approaching him slowly.
Although the gargoyles did not really wound Rhode, they pushed him outside of the church’s protective perimeter. The ghosts were unable to get close to the church due to this enchantment, but they did not disperse. Instead, their instincts told them to wander around the invisible barriers and wait for a chance.
Now, the opportunity has finally arrived,
Rhode, of course, had no intention of staying to become nourishment for the ghosts. As the enemies caught up, he fiercely gritted his teeth and gave up the idea of holding back. Suddenly a sharp white light burst out from his sword.
A white blade of light shot out of his sword. Travelling through the air, it intersected one of the ghosts. Tearing it apart immediately. He did not hesitate to leave. Numerous other sword beams pierced through the sky and cut down the remaining ghosts. As the remaining ghost that blocked his path turned to mist, Rhode passed through its body and returned into the protective barrier.
What should I do next?
As Rhode considered the issue, a line of text reminded him.
[Experience points 4000/1800
Upgradeable, Open Talent Tree. Currently Level 8]
Hm? Did I already reach level 10? Why is this here?
He was stunned for a moment, only to recall that he did get a system notification. However, he was busy being besieged by the gargoyles that he didn’t pay attention. It seems that now, by killing all of these ghosts, he could rise another level. In hindsight, this wasn’t surprising. As a five-person mission, almost all of the experience was taken by Rhode. Plus, his level was already low. To reach level 10 is normal.
But instead of being mindful of these minor matters, Rhode quickly opened his properties and prepared to make a choice. Perhaps it would be his only chance to gain an advantage.
[Experience points 4000/1800
Upgradeable, Open Talent Tree. Currently Level 8]
[Experience points 2200/2000
Upgradeable, Open Talent Tree. Skill Points: 1, Currently Level 9]
[Experience points 200/2500
Upgradeable, Can Open Talent Tree. Skill Points: 2, Currently Level 10]
[Open Talent Tree?]
“Open!”
Without any hesitation, Rhodes responded. In less than a second, three different options appeared before him.
In Dragon Soul Continent, each class after level 10 will have three talent tree options. Each will have their own special abilities and skills. All of these unique skills can be unlocked by skill points. This system can be very confusing for players in the beginning. Because usually, a character can only gain one skill point for each level. Not to mention that aside from the talent tree skills, sword skills and magic spells also require a lot of skill points.
Luckily, once the player steps into the mid-level range, they have the possibility of gaining extra skill points. This is usually through completing some difficult tasks and missions.
The Summoner Swordsman will have three routes. The “Summoning Master”, the “Soul Speaker”, and the “Hell Lord”.
Summoning Master increases the number of summons that can be called simultaneously. “Soul Speaker” strengthens the mana of the summoner and provides buffs to the summons. The special power Hell Lord is its ability to conquer spirits. After killing a non-human monster, there has a certain chance of converting it into a summoning spirit.
Each of the routes have their own advantages and advantages. A Summoning Master relies on the summoner’s level to determine its benefits. Soul Speaker focuses on improving the quality of the summons but it also doesn’t address the difficulty of obtaining a spirit nucleus in the first place. Hell Lord, on the other hand, is specifically designed to combat that point. It doesn't even need the player to find or buy a spirit nucleus. Simply defeating a monster will provide a small chance of getting a summon.
If it was an average player, perhaps they would spend a long time hesitantly choosing. But Rhode already held this class for seven years. All of the ideas, techniques, and advice he’s devised over the years have already become textbook classics for players. Even in the game, almost two-thirds of players with the Summoner Swordsman class followed their character progression to his guidelines. As to the talent tree, he’s thought about this for years.