Chapter Sixty-Five
As the group explored the second floor of the Winter Catacombs, they came across multiple groups of velociraptors. Most of the groups only consisted of two dinosaurs, though the largest pack Edward's party found contained four of them.
By the time Brandon finally led them to a treasure chest, they had explored half of the floor and killed a total of 34 creatures, letting Edward and the rest reach halfway through level thirteen. In those two levels, each of them had allocated their necessary stats and chosen new skills. As Edward appraised the new stats, he simplified the information and displayed it before him.
︽
The Winged Legion
HP: 400
MP: 500
SP: 160
—
P: 23
A: 32
E: 80
W: 100
L: 12
New Skills: [Minor Dragon Scales] and [Dragon Dragon Sight]. Three skills have been combined to create [Minor Dragon Echo]
︾
Edward had chosen to increase his Wisdom as much as possible, but he also put some points into his Endurance stat to keep him alive. Nothing else had grown, unfortunately. When it came to his skills, Edward prioritized learning the necessary skills for [Minor Dragon Echo], which was ultimately an active skill that increased his stats by 25% while he was using it. Of course, that only applied to the part of his body that the skill was applied to. At the moment, though, that was limited to only his right arm.
︽
Ikarus
HP: 325
MP: 500
SP: 356
—
P: 10
A: 73
E: 65
W: 100
L: 2
︾
After Ikarus's death, Edward directed his dragon to increase his Endurance as much as possible. Most of his stats, other than the ten that went to Wisdom, were used to give Ikarus more defense and more health.
︽
The Forgotten Flame
HP: 300
MP: 600
SP: 235
—
P: 10
A: 47
E: 60
W: 120
L: 10
New Skills: [Minor Dragon Tame] into [Basic Dragon Tame]
︾
A few levels ago, Leila had been offered the Dragon Tame skill, but only at the Minor level. Unlike Edward, she would have to work to max it out, so she began by using a skill point to increase it to the Basic level after reaching level twelve. Edward's current progress with the skill was at the Master level, which was the highest he would have to have for the foreseeable future, but he made sure to make a mental note to max it out eventually.
After Leila settled her new skills, she put most of her points into Wisdom and a few into Endurance.
︽
Markus Davenport
HP: 250
MP: 70
SP: 80
—
P: 44
A: 16
E: 50
W: 14
L: 1
New Skills: [Minor Ground Smash] upgraded to [Basic Ground Smash], gained [Minor Regeneration]
︾
Ground Smash was a skill that allowed Markus to screw with the balance of everybody in the vicinity. Its Minor level didn't differentiate friend from foe, but Edward was glad to find that its Basic mastery could target only enemies. Minor Regeneration was a passive effect that allowed Markus to gain health even during combat.
︽
Leapt into Luck
HP: 200
MP: 10
SP: 95
—
P: 4
A: 19
E: 40
W: 2
L: 120
New Skills: [Minor Lucky Dodge] and [Minor Predictability]
︾
Most of Brandon's points were put into his Luck stat, his greatest strength, but he also put a few into Endurance. Over the last few fights, Brandon had been injured more than anybody else in the group despite playing a role usually located far away from the enemies. Edward wasn't sure if his luck wasn't high enough to prevent his injuries from happening or if his luck stat simply didn't care about a few lost limbs.
As Edward closed the various status screens hovering in front of him, he turned his attention back to the current situation. Before the group laid a large stone room. In the center of the room was a wooden chest with a bronze lock surrounded by four large velociraptors. Each of them was a tad bit larger than the usual enemies on the second floor, so Edward already knew they were plenty strong.
As soon as Edward noticed them, he motioned for the group to freeze. Once they were all hiding around the corner, Edward appraised the enemies before him.
︽
Frozen Skeleton Velociraptor
Lvl 16
HP: 375 | DMG: 69 | DEF: 91
︾
︽
Frozen Skeleton Velociraptor
Lvl 16
HP: 400 | DMG: 64 | DEF: 96
︾
︽
Frozen Skeleton Velociraptor
Lvl 16
HP: 425 | DMG: 69 | DEF: 101
︾
︽
Frozen Skeleton Velociraptor
Lvl 16
HP: 400 | DMG: 69 | DEF: 96
︾
"Wow," Edward whispered. He relayed his findings to his companions, who couldn't see the velociraptors from where they stood. As soon as he finished speaking, Markus looked at him with worry.
"I can only defend myself against one of them," Markus said, "With how fast velociraptors are, I wouldn't be surprised if they could move faster than all of us, Ikarus included. What do we do?"
"I don't think we can take them ordinarily," Edward told him, "There are too many of them, so a drawn-out battle won't go in our favor. Luckily, they don't do that much damage."
"What are you getting at?" Brandon asked.
"If we attack only one of them at a time, bulldoze it, so to speak, we might be able to bring their numbers to a manageable level. By then, we'd be able to fight normally," Edward told them, "We'd have to risk lowering our defenses to play so aggressively, but we have enough health, anyways."
"I like it," Leila nodded. She took a moment to do some math in her mind before she looked back at Edward, "Even if only I attack, I can finish the weakest one in three or so attacks. With all of us combined, we might be able to kill one or two of them before they can react."
"Don't forget, Leila. They're fast," Edward reminded her, "We might be able to retain the element of surprise for a second or two, but they'll react fast enough that it eventually won't matter. We should expect them to fight back immediately, if not after a few seconds."
"Got it. So we should expect all hell to break loose when we begin the attack?" Brandon smiled, "If I don't have to worry about defense, I don't have to worry about anything. I'll let my luck do the fighting for me."
Edward chuckled, then shook his head.
"Your damage isn't high enough. Neither is yours, Markus," Edward told him, "Instead, stay within range so your skills can buff us. Everybody clear on what to do?"
Everybody nodded, each with anticipation in their expressions.
"Alright, let's go."