[Current Talent fusion available.]
[Available formula:]
[Any three blue Talents plus 2000 Bloodstars equals one purple Talent.]
Joren stared at the pale blue notification, one eyebrow rising higher and higher.
Evolving [Spider Sense] into the purple Talent [Worldheart Awareness] had cost him ten thousand Bloodstars.
Now the system was offering a purple Talent for three blue ones and a mere two thousand point processing fee.
After all the killing and plundering he had done, his Talent pool had become somewhat bloated.
Some abilities had been useful in the beginning. But as his strength surged, especially after awakening a numerical monster like [Divine Mammoth Might], many of those elaborate utility Talents had started to feel unnecessary.
His gaze moved across the panel.
First, [Frostgrave Path].
Its slowing effect and area damage had once been valuable, but against high rank enemies, the frostbite no longer mattered much.
Besides, [Heaven’s Sin] already carried crushing gravity. Another slowing effect was redundant.
Into the furnace.
Reflecting damage sounded useful, but the appearance was hard to forgive.
Once activated, it covered his entire body in stone spikes.
Strength might matter for a battle.
Looking good lasted a lifetime.
And with [Divine Mammoth Might] reinforcing his body, his flesh was already his strongest armor. Adding a shell of rock on top felt excessive.
Into the furnace.
Last was [Marionette Threads].
Corpse control had its uses, but Joren had always preferred cutting enemies apart himself. He had no interest in playing puppeteer with dead bodies.
The restriction requiring a recently deceased corpse also made it far less practical in battle.
Into the furnace as well.
"Three blue Talents."
"Perfect."
"System, begin fusion."
[Ding!]
[Blue Talents detected: Frostgrave Path, Spiked Stonehide, Marionette Threads.]
[Bloodstar cost: 2000.]
[Talent Fusion Furnace activated.]
The system panel began to tremble.
Three spheres of blue light were pulled into a vast vortex.
Ice blue frost, earthen stone patterns, and translucent strands collided at its center, breaking apart and reforming again and again.
Joren held his breath and watched the progress bar.
The system guaranteed a purple Talent, but purple Talents were not all equal.
It was like opening a mystery box.
You knew there would be a collectible inside.
You still feared getting the ugliest hidden model imaginable.
[Ding! Fusion successful.]
[Congratulations. A new purple Talent has been acquired.]
Deep violet light burst across Joren’s vision.
A new entry appeared.
[Talent: Glacial Boneplate]
[Grade: Purple]
[Description: The law of extreme cold has been carved into your marrow, while the endurance of the earth has been forged into armor. You are winter given form, an untouchable throne of thorns. Those who touch you will be pierced by bitter cold. Wherever your gaze falls becomes a frozen prison.]
[Effects]
[Absolute Zero Field: Passive. An invisible layer of frost power covers your body. Any attack that makes contact loses 50 percent of its kinetic and thermal energy. The attacker also suffers Cold Recoil, instantly reducing movement speed and attack speed by 40 percent. This effect can stack.]
[Glacial Bone Spikes: When activated, your bones rapidly grow and harden, piercing through the skin to form a savage yet elegant suit of crystalline bone armor. Defense increases by 500 percent. Every bone spike carries a guaranteed counterattack effect.]
[Winter’s Burial: Detonate all ice energy within the surrounding one hundred meters and instantly seal every living creature inside an unbreakable glacial coffin. The vital functions of those trapped within are forcibly suspended until you release the seal or the coffin is destroyed.]
Joren read through the long list of effects, and the smile on his face slowly became unsettling.
This was ridiculous.
If [Divine Mammoth Might] represented absolute offense, then [Glacial Boneplate] represented absolute defense and control.
The slowing effect of [Frostgrave Path] had not only survived the fusion, it had evolved into the far more oppressive Cold Recoil.
The reflected damage of [Spiked Stonehide] had become ice bone counterattacks that automatically struck their target.
And then there was [Winter’s Burial].
Invulnerability.
Control.
Survival.
All packed into one ability.
"Two thousand Bloodstars."
"What a bargain."
Satisfied, Joren closed the panel.
He raised one hand and moved his thoughts.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The air filled with the faint sound of ice forming.
A crystalline layer of bone armor appeared across his right arm, shining like diamond.
It was nothing like a bulky shell of rock.
The armor followed smooth, elegant lines, almost like a work of art.
Every spike gleamed with a cold light that drew the eye.
Joren gave his arm a casual sweep.
Whoosh!
The thick concrete wall beside him split open as though it were made of tofu.
A perfectly smooth cut appeared across its surface, and thick frost spread over the exposed edge in an instant.
"Not bad."
Joren dismissed the armor and brushed off his hands.
If he faced that Ironspike Dragon again, he would not even need to draw his blade.
He could simply stand there with the counter armor active and let the beast bite him.
Its teeth would probably shatter first.
"Frontier Marshal!"
Alar’s loud voice came from the distance.
Joren turned.
Alar was running toward him with a backpack in one hand and excitement all over his face. Dax followed behind, breathing hard.
"What is it?"
Alar dropped the pack onto the ground and pulled open the zipper.
Colorful crystal cores filled the inside, along with the most valuable materials taken from the two Voidbeasts.
"These came from the two large ones."
Alar rubbed his hands together and grinned.
"We may love money, but we still know the rules."
"You killed them, so the largest share belongs to you."
"We stripped everything worth taking. Have a look."
Joren glanced inside.
Two excellent Rank Four crystal cores.
On the black market, they would sell for tens of millions.
That amount no longer tempted him.
There was also the poison sac of the Demonface Spider, the reverse scale of the Ironspike Dragon, and several other rare materials.
The soldiers had worked quickly.
More like professional butchers than combat troops.
"Keep it."
Joren waved the backpack away.
"Sell everything after we return."
"Use the money and resources to improve the meals."
"Buy better equipment too. Stop charging people with broken shields."
Alar and Dax both froze.
This was a fortune.
Tens of millions, and he was simply giving it away?
"Frontier Marshal, this..."
Dax hesitated.
"Is that not against the rules?"
"In my unit, I am the rules."