Chapter 419 - 216: Promotion to Level 10 Mage, Excellent Level Skill: Taunt

Chapter 419: Chapter 216: Promotion to Level 10 Mage, Excellent Level Skill: Taunt

Lin Mo speculated that after an Epic skill reached Level 3 and granted its first attribute points, the next time it would do so would be at Level 6.

The Skill Level required to upgrade Epic skills was double that of Excellent Level skills and below. Therefore, leveling from Level Three to Level Six was no easy feat. Paradoxically, this meant he had even less to worry about and could continue using the skill without restraint.

Lin Mo could have used his older, maxed-out skills—like Blizzard, the prerequisite for Frost Storm—to kill the monsters, but he wouldn’t have gained any Skill Level that way, which would have been a complete waste.

Suppressing his Level was important, but throwing away easily obtainable Skill Level would be a shame.

Therefore, the best choice was to be meticulous: gain the Skill Level without waste, while also keeping his own Level in check.

After Frost Storm reached Level 3, it once again unlocked a choice for its Evolutionary Direction.

Evolutionary Path 1: Frozen Stream II: Enemies within the area of effect take increased damage with each hit, stacking up to a maximum of 45%!

Evolutionary Path 2: Bone-Chilling Cold I: The "Frost" effect will now also reduce the enemy’s Qi and Blood and Magic Power circulation speed by 10%!

The last time he had to choose an Evolutionary Path, Lin Mo had picked Evolutionary Path 1, which boosted the numbers. He had hesitated slightly back then because Evolutionary Path 2’s "Bone-Chilling Cold" effect offered strong utility. Now, with the second evolution, "Frozen Stream" only added an extra 15% to the stacking limit, so this time, he naturally chose the special effect from "Bone-Chilling Cold."

[Frost Storm]!

After reaching Level 10, Lin Mo’s Magic Power had increased, and the skill’s power and range had clearly grown as well.

Meanwhile, Flora had also begun her attack.

A thunderous explosion erupted, launching countless Goblins into the air.

’As expected. When it comes to sheer destructive power and spectacle, Fire Element Magic is still stronger.’

’Among all Elemental Magic, the only thing that can compare is the much rarer and harder-to-learn Thunder Element.’

Lin Mo spared it only a glance before returning to his own work.

[Taunt]

[Frost Storm]!

[Taunt]

[Frost Storm]!

...

He had to admit, while Epic Skills were undeniably powerful and had a massive range, their consumption was also incredibly high.

The Magic Power required to cast a single Epic skill was roughly equivalent to sixty or seventy Ordinary Level spells.

But its effect on the battlefield far surpassed that of the weaker spells.

With just these few consecutive spells, Lin Mo had killed at least two thousand Goblins.

The [Frost Storm] skill gained another hundred-plus points of Skill Level, rising to Level 4.

"Skill [Frost Storm] Lv3 (80/80) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Frost Storm] Lv4 (79/200)"

As for the [Taunt] skill, being an Excellent Level skill, even though its area of effect wasn’t as large, the Skill Level it gained didn’t diminish. As a result, it had already reached Full Level.

"Skill [Taunt] Lv5 (180/180) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Taunt] Lv6 (Max)"

"Gained attribute points: Constitution +3!"

An Excellent Level skill had reached Full Level, and 3 points of Physique Attribute were credited. Immediately following this was the skill’s evolution.

"Automatically evolved into New Skill—Taunt!"

"Skill Comprehension [Taunt]! Gained attribute points: Constitution +3!"

[Taunt]: A strengthened version of "Taunt." Provokes an enemy, drawing their attention and having a chance to force them to treat you as their primary target. The success rate and duration are dependent on the Level difference between both parties and the enemy’s Spiritual Attribute. When used on a single target, the effect is enhanced by an additional 50%, and damage dealt to you by that target is reduced by 7%.

’Now this is powerful.’

’Although the first part of the description is similar to the original Taunt skill, it explicitly states this is a strengthened version. Without a doubt, both its effect and its area of effect would be improved.’

’It also gained a special effect for use against single targets.’

’Not only is the skill’s own effect enhanced by an additional 50%, making it easier to draw aggro, but it also provides a damage reduction effect against the taunted target. This is incredibly useful.’

’Of course, the damage reduction is conditional on successfully taunting the opponent. If the opponent’s Level is high enough and their Spiritual Attribute is strong enough that the Taunt fails even with the single-target enhancement, then the damage reduction effect naturally won’t apply.’

’Regardless, this was undoubtedly an extremely powerful skill.’

And he still had to choose its Evolutionary Direction:

Please choose an Evolutionary Path—

Evolutionary Path 1: Strong Taunt I: Increases Taunt duration by 20%

Evolutionary Path 2: Damage Reduction I: The damage reduction effect gained when used on a single target is increased by an additional 3%

’How should I put this... The Evolutionary Paths for this skill are pretty mediocre...’

’Increasing the Taunt’s duration isn’t particularly significant on its own.’

’It might be useful for an ordinary Knight Professional, but Lin Mo’s own Spiritual Attribute was so high that his Taunt already lasted a long time. For any target he could successfully taunt, the duration was already more than enough to finish the kill. There was no need to extend it.’

’The second option, the damage reduction effect, was slightly more useful, but the numbers weren’t very generous—only an additional 3%.’

’It was better than nothing, I guess...’

Lin Mo chose Evolutionary Path 2 anyway.

After casting several Frost Storms in a row, Lin Mo’s Magic Power was no longer abundant. He needed to conserve what was left for emergencies. After all, the enemies they had faced so far were just cannon-fodder Goblins.