Oh. Chrono Sledge. Chrono as in time. And it slows opponents on crits. A bit on the nose, but it makes sense.
The handle looked to be made out of some kind of metal, but it’d been roughened to provide a better grip. Wires ran along the hammer’s length, seeming to flow from the little ornate hourglasses and up to the heavy metal head.
“Mean-looking thing,” Thorne said, admiring it as well.
“Hate to break up the party, y’all, but we’re running out of time,” Ellenton said through comms. “Get back here. It’s time to skedaddle.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Back to Kyraxis, then, Kaiden thought, leaning against one of the Veritas II’s man-sized windows and watching the digital stars of Nova pass beyond. Back to Kyraxis, but this time, we’re prepared.
Nothing gave him more confidence in that than his new level. Fifty, now. Grinding out ten levels might’ve taken a special – and life-threatening – trip to the Grinder, but after that, earning two more was a cakewalk. They’d stopped off at a turen station where they’d sold the loot they weren’t keeping, then picked up missions that kept them moving in the general direction of Kyraxis. From there, all there was to do was knock the missions out one after the other – a feat made all the easier thanks to Titus’ new-found drive.
The big man had been more focused than ever since the Grinder, studying his new abilities and putting them to use in just about every way he could. Partly because the whole Maximus tournament plan was his, probably, but there was more to it than that; a score to settle, and Titus had been preparing for it like a boxer ready to fight for the title.
Level fifty, Kaiden thought, then chuckled. He couldn’t deny it felt good. He felt powerful. Felt strong. Felt like the Party had better watch its ass, because he was coming for them.
It helped that he and the rest of the team had so many new abilities backing them up. Kaiden pulled up the screenshots to go over them one more time. Titus had been studying virtually non-stop and, being honest, Kaiden figured he could take a note from the big man’s playbook.
The screenshots of the new abilities appeared in his vision, but Kaiden disregarded them for a moment to open his character sheet. Better to start with the changes there. And a lot had changed, mainly his stats.
Character
Name:
Kaiden
Race:
Human
Level:
50
Class:
Enhanced Warden
Attributes
Strength:
65 (+2)
Intelligence:
59
Endurance:
65
Perception:
59
Dexterity:
164 (+2)
Unassigned:
0
Abilities
Kickback
Shield Bash
Hammer Toss
Shackle
Lightspeed
Improved Enhanced Senses
Improved Riposte
Flash Bang
Improved Blur
Onslaught
Enfeebling Strike
Slayer
Hamstring
Matter Shift
Distortion Field
Intangible Defense
Lethal Precision
Perks
Turen Tinkering
Everything in there’s shot through the roof. Each of his attributes had risen by nineteen points since level thirty-eight, except for dexterity. Thanks to the level-ups and the three unassigned points that came with each level – which he always put into dex – the stat had jumped all the way to one hundred sixty-four.
The implications of this weren’t lost on Kaiden. Many of his abilities relied on dexterity. All of them would be more effective now. It’d seem like a big jump, but that was just because he’d jumped up to fifty so quickly.
The other thing that caught his eye about his new and improved character sheet was the addition of two new abilities. He’d seen Distortion Field when he’d earned it in the Grinder. The others, though, he hadn’t looked closely enough at.
Time to change that.
He focused on the ability he’d gotten for level forty-four.
Ability: Intangible Defense (passive)
Charge pours into your body, causing you to vibrate at such speeds that you become semi-intangible. When combat begins, the first damage you take is reduced by 100%, after which this ability deactivates. If no damage is taken during the following 3 minutes, this ability reactivates.
Now this one is something special. This can be a total game changer. Basically, I get to blank the first attack that hits me every time I go into combat. Then, if I can avoid taking damage for three minutes, I can blank another attack. Three minutes is a long time, but relying on dexterity means I’m hard to hit, and I have my shield to block attacks. So, three minutes will be tough, no doubt. But it can be done. Just gotta be smart.
The downside to being a warden was that one needed to block attacks on their shield to build charge and use abilities. It was a fine line, though, blocking attacks versus taking damage from them. A line Kaiden was all too familiar with walking, though. And all the same, increased survivability was a plus. He didn’t have the defenses of Titus or the ranged prowess of Zelda, which meant staying alive in combat was more of a challenge. With Intangible Defense, though, things had just gotten that much – well, not easier, but at least interesting.
Last up was the ability he’d received for level forty-eight.
Ability: Lethal Precision
Your knowledge of the enemy increases the chance of you and your allies landing critical attacks. For a duration of 15 seconds, all attacks from you or your allies (within 50 feet) gain a +20% chance of becoming critical attacks. Improved Enhanced Senses must be active
Cost: 80 charge.
Cooldown: 5 minutes.
So, it’s like giving my allies a bit of my ability to dish out critical hits. They won’t get the same bonuses from them that I do, but a critical hit, at the least, deals more damage than a regular one.
Increased Enhanced Senses needed to be active first, but that only cost ten charge to activate. Really, this ability costs ninety charge, then. But still, if timed correctly before Zelda unleashes a flurry of attacks, or Thorne charges in all buffed up, this could change the tone of an entire fight.
Two new abilities, then, and both of them good. It seemed like at these higher levels the game was directing him to be less of a solo player and focus more on helping the group. Instead of abilities improving what he could do,
