Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

“Where are the Crossing Rings?” Pestilence asked.

“We know the Bamboo Viper Clan was involved,” Plague added.

Ruwen triggered Last Breath to give himself time to think.

The last time Ruwen had fought these five Aspects he had access to his Spirit and all the enhanced spells and abilities that brought. Now, he only had Mana. The fight would be far different this time. He needed to use every advantage he could think of to survive this and save his friends.

Ruwen started with a list of priorities to frame his response. Protect Sift. Get back to the beach as fast as possible. Protect everyone while they retreated.

Overlord?

I’m here. This isn’t good.

I know.

This is our fault, Overlord whispered.

I know, Ruwen replied. For multiple reasons.

Tell me what you’re thinking.

We practiced with Spirit strengthened spells. These Mana ones will be far more fragile. Worse, the spell Fallen Heroes has a thirty-minute cool down. I’m going to add two spell points to bring the level from three to five. So, when I channel that spell, we’ll get five of them, but that’s it. I think you should send four toward the beach immediately and use one here.

No problem.

I’m going to push your ability to multitask. I want to use Stone Carver Valora’s Dark Portal, but I can’t control two Void Bands at the same time. I’ll control mine, and do you think you can manage hers?

I’ve managed tens of thousands of Minions at the same time. I can handle five Fallen Heroes and a Void Band.

Okay. It’s just this one can kill us. We need to be mindful of any type of Energy drain.

Understood.

I took all the good stuff out of that Dark Portal. I think it has a lot of square stones from her tunneling and some mud and water. Why don’t you focus on defense. That will free me up for offense.

Good idea.

When I fought the Founders, did you feel that Harmony?

I did, and I can replicate it. That ability came from understanding not a skill. We’ll be fine for anything that gets close, but area of effect spells are going to give everyone issues.

I know, Ruwen said. Thankfully the two Aspects specializing in area damage are here, not heading toward my friends.

I hope you’re right. If I remember, Analyze listed it as Massive Area of Effect-Damage. Don’t discount their ability to still reach the other Masters.

Good point. Are you ready?

Yeah, but I want to say one thing first. As much for myself as you. There will be time for guilt and blame later. It’s important we stay focused on what we can do right now.

Thanks. I’m going to distribute some points.

Ruwen opened his Profile and added two spell Points to Fallen Heroes. Fifty-nine spell points and thirty-six ability points waited for distribution. He had wanted to save these for the advanced spells and abilities available now that his level had surged to fifty-eight. Knowing how dire the situation had become, he applied them to his current choices instead, bringing every spell or ability he focused on to its max of five.

Hoping to slow the Aspects, Ruwen added the level twelve Collector Spell Net. Jump doubled his jumping distance now, and Sick Day helped his Resistances by fifty percent. Sixth Sense now stretched five thousand feet in every direction. That gave him the capability to see things in an almost a two-mile circle.

When Ruwen maxed Campfire a new advanced option appeared, like what had happened with Hey You. The advanced spell, called Bonfire, allowed him to create three massive fires that tripled Regen rates for allies within two hundred fifty feet. The best part is they could be attached to people or things and could move.

Chaff now increased Ruwen’s Haste by one hundred twenty-five percent. Melt’s description wasn’t very specific, but Harden had been so useful, he guessed Melt would as well. Hoping to stall the Aspects with conversation after reaching the Masters, he increased Calm, adding ten to Charisma and making his Persuasion one hundred fifty percent more effective.

Dig was another utility spell with a vague description that had come in handy and Ruwen advanced it. Dash doubled his top speed, and Scrub would now do more damage with less Energy. If he maxed the channeled Energy at twenty now, the damage he inflicted on anything he touched became catastrophic.

That left Ruwen with eight emergency Spell points. He moved over to his Abilities and decided how to divide his thirty-six points. Nine Abilities seemed appropriate, and he pushed them all to five, using all the available points.

Ruwen increased Glow because he planned on weaponizing the mining set Bliz had given him. Brawl doubled his damage now, and Store would let him bank another fifty percent of his Mana, Health, and Energy.

Stone Echo now reached two thousand five hundred feet, and Sunburn converted one hundred percent of any Energy directed at him into his own Energy. Shell increased his Armor Class by fifty percent and Honed upped his damage by the same.

Iron Stomach doubled all his Resistances and Weak Link would now allow his attacks to ignore twenty-five percent of an enemy’s armor.

Ruwen accepted all the changes. He hated using all the points as it limited his options, but locking in these capabilities vastly increased his survivability and he didn’t regret it.

Ruwen checked his stats so he knew how his choices had affected him in real numbers.

Pools

Health: 3,623/3,623

Mana: 3,005/3,005

Energy: 5,490/5,490

Ratings

Armor Class: 10,685

Regeneration

Health Regeneration per second: 42

Mana Regeneration per second: 44

Energy Regeneration per second: 400

Ruwen’s Health had gained a thousand, his Mana eight hundred, and his Energy fourteen hundred. The increased pools had pushed his Regen rates up as well. His Resistances now sat around two hundred forty-nine, except for his Mind Resistance, which had reached eight hundred two percent.

Armor Class had passed ten thousand and Ruwen wasn’t wearing his best gear. More incredible than his AC, was the damage his fist caused buffed like this. A normal strike, without using his Diamond Strength would do eight hundred sixty damage. A critical strike on a stunned opponent would amplify that to two thousand five hundred seventy-nine.

Ruwen’s current stats were the exact reason the deities didn’t want a combination of Ascendancy and Cultivation. It gave one person too much power for their level. Power he hoped would be enough to save everyone.

Here we go, Ruwen told Overlord.

Ruwen released Last Breath.