Chapter 442: Getting Even Stronger
Ding!
[I want to remind everyone that the Monster Tide is going to begin today, please be ready for the battle ahead.]
The announcement rang across the Requiem Stronghold, its echo reverberating through the streets and buildings, making everyone even more eager to fight and prove their worth in the coming battle.
Meanwhile, Leon sat on a table, with Violet, Emilia and Celeste before him, Pyra and Alphox playing with one another next to them.
Their playful growls and chirps were providing a brief respite from the tension that hung in the air.
He had given each of the girls the [Eye of Shadow (Epic)] skill book and sold the rest of his accumulated loot, earning him a huge amount of money that would serve him well.
Using that money, he upgraded his Storage Space five times, the first upgrade costing him 25 million and each one after that adding 5 million, which meant he spent 175 million overall on the expansions alone.
Still though, Leon knew it was worth it, as the additional space would allow him to carry more items and resources for the battles ahead.
Ding!
[Your "Storage Space" slots have increased to 380.]
He had made so much money from all this that he still had almost half a billion eternal coins after all this spending, a fortune that would allow him to purchase anything he needed in the future.
In addition to that, he had given the girls a few pieces of equipment he found during his dungeon runs, boosting their strength and making them more capable fighters.
It wasn’t to the level of what he truly wanted to grant them, as they deserved the best he could find, but that was enough for the Monster Tide, at least for now.
In addition to that, the last few days had been spent with Leon doing literally nothing but going through dungeons for the essences, his relentless drive pushing him through one dungeon after another.
He took the girls with him during those times to make it easier to grant them essences and ensure they grew stronger alongside him.
None of them slept during that time, pushing their bodies to the limit, but thanks to that, they had obtained the most amount of essences they ever did in such a short period.
And as a result, mainly thanks to the fact his Combat Power was multiplied and thus meaning that if Leon truly put his mind into it, he could become a force of nature, his Combat Power surpassed 14 million, a staggering number that few could hope to achieve.
Leon glanced at his Combat Power with a satisfied smile.
[Combat Power: 2,442,006 (+11,780,988)]1
His main attributes had increased decently, but more than anything, it was the equipment and multipliers that did the job, amplifying his natural strength to new heights.
With that, Leon felt more ready than ever before to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Whether that was enough to challenge the Requiem Guild and the Monster Tide was another matter, but at least Leon was much stronger than he had been before, and that gave him confidence.
As for the girls, they had also obviously grown much stronger.
Not only thanks to the essences they consumed, but also because since Leon felt that his skills were good enough, he started giving the skill stones to the girls, allowing them to each evolve one of their skills to max.
For Emilia, the skill was [Divine Beam (Elite)] which transformed into [Divine Wrath (Max)] once maxed out.
[Divine Wrath (Max): Call down a devastating beam of pure divine energy from the heavens, capable of incinerating anything in its path, leaving nothing but scorched earth and the echoes of the fallen.]
For Celeste, the skill wasn’t the one Leon would expect, but she had evolved her [Advanced Spearmanship (Rare)] skill into [Masterful Spearmanship (Max)].
[Masterful Spearmanship (Max): The user has achieved mastery over the spear, allowing them to strike with unparalleled precision, detect weaknesses in their opponents’ defenses, and deliver devastating blows that can pierce through even the toughest armor.]
And finally, Violet evolved [Draconic Flames (Epic)] into [Inferno Breath (Max)], a skill that would allow her to unleash the full fury of her draconic heritage.
[Inferno Breath (Max): Unleash a torrent of draconic flames that can melt through steel and stone, capable of consuming entire armies in a single breath, the heat so intense that even the strongest barriers crumble before it.]
Thanks to that, each of the girls felt much more equipped, as their maxed out skills became their ultimate trick in their arsenal, a trump card they could rely on in desperate moments.
In addition to the grinding for items, Leon and the girls spent a significant amount of time training their skills and learning how to coordinate their abilities effectively.
Mostly Celeste and her new spearmanship as it allowed it to detect the weakness of opponents easily and strike them with precision.
Combining it with her [Darkness Embers] that targeted the soul itself, making her a fearsome opponent for any enemy.
As for Violet, due to the S-Level Supreme Ice Affinity sub-talent and the Blood Heart Blessing on her rapier, anywhere she struck froze over instantly.
Meaning that it was possible for Leon and them to make a plan around her abilities.
"You can freeze the battlefield all around you with every strike," Leon smiled, "meaning that we can take advantage of that against the monsters who will arrive, using the ice to slow them down and create choke points."
Violet beamed as she heard the plan, happy that she could be helpful and contribute meaningfully to the group’s strategy.
Violet’s combat power had hit 11 million, a significant milestone, and since Leon fed most of the Spirit-related essences to Emilia, she almost reached 9 million in combat power.
Finally, Celeste was still at around 7 million, but thanks to her new spearmanship and [Darkness Embers] who could target the soul directly, she was a fearsome opponent despite the gap in raw stats.
"I’ll be honest," Leon spoke to Celeste, "Your stats are lacking greatly compared to the rest of us."
"But you have the biggest advantage among all of us: you’re the only one who can use soul attacks.
"This means that even an opponent with three times your combat power can fall if the situation is in your favor."
Hearing that, Celeste felt much better about her position, and she was more ready than ever to prove herself in the coming battle.
The Level 6 Monster Tide would be the biggest challenge they ever faced after all, and if they died there, it simply meant they weren’t strong enough to survive what was coming.
Leon spent the last few hours inside of the Requiem Stronghold, watching the preparations unfold around him.
And as the hours passed, the atmosphere grew more tense until finally, the announcement came.
Ding!
[It is time.]
[Lord Cavin and the members of the Requiem Guild will start the Monster Tide in 30 minutes.]
[If you wish to see it happen, come to the "Requiem Plaza".]
"Here we go," Leon thought as he took a deep breath, "Its now or never."
I will show all his stats soon