[Quest completed!]
[Reward: 5,000 XP, 500 gold]
[You leveled up!]
[Level 4→ 9]
[Remaining Stat Points: 15]
[Remaining Skill Points: 2]
[Remaining Skill Development Points: 2]
[Shield]
[Evolution Points Remaining: 1]
[You can Evolve your Class]
"I gained a total of 5 levels! There are so many notifications. I wonder what 'Evolve your class' means? Since I don't know about that one, I'll look at it last. Let me check out the new abilities first."
He browsed through the new abilities for a while but couldn't find anything he liked. There wasn't even a damage-dealing ability. He decided to choose the most logical one.
[Redirect Resistance]
Type: Active
Mana: 10
Physical Damage Resistance: 10
Cooldown: 40 seconds
Duration: 5 seconds
Range: 12 meter
Description:
While Redirect Resistance active, you transfer your Physical Damage Reduction to an ally. During this time, you have no Damage Reduction.
"This ability could be useful. None of the other abilities are any good for me."
He started reviewing the newly unlocked abilities to spend his other Skill Point.
[Thorns]
Type: Passive – Reactive Damage
Trigger Condition: When hit by melee physical attacks
Damage: Endurance × 0.5 + SAP
Description:
The user's body has adapted to punishment, turning pain into retribution. When struck by a melee physical attack, the user automatically reflects a portion of the blow back to the attacker. The damage dealt back is calculated based on the user's Endurance stat and is returned as direct physical damage.
The effect activates whenever a hit connects, regardless of whether the attack was blocked or partially absorbed. The reflected damage won't interrupt the attacker's moves.
The incoming damage is calculated after being reduced by Physical Damage Reduction or other effects.
Damage reflected from this ability is reduced by 50% against Elite, Boss or in PVP arenas.
"Thorn... This ability is interesting," Boran thought. "It's exactly the kind of ability I was looking for. As someone fighting on the front lines and being targeted by enemies, being able to reflect every hit back to the enemy sounds pretty good."
Dealing damage equal to half of his Endurance wasn't bad either. He was already planning to keep his Endurance high. With this ability, besides being a tank, he could also deal passive damage. Enemies would hurt themselves by attacking him. It could be especially effective against weak but numerous enemies.
Another good thing about the ability was that it was passive. It didn't consume mana, had no cooldown, and stayed active constantly. All he had to do was let enemies hit him, which was his job as a tank anyway.
Boran smiled. This ability was exactly what he was looking for. Now enemies would pay the price when they targeted him.
"I'm definitely taking Thorn," he said to himself and spent his last skill point to unlock the ability. "Now it's time for ability development. I'll definitely develop the Thorn ability."
[Hardened Thorns]
Type: Passive – Reactive Damage
Trigger Condition: When hit by melee physical attacks
Damage: Endurance × 0.5 + SAP
Additional Effect:
If the attacker uses a non-magical weapon, the reflected damage increases by 10.
"I won't say no to an extra 10 damage. I'll develop Thorn one more time."
[⭐Hardened Thorns]
Type: Passive – Reactive Damage
Trigger Condition: When hit by melee attacks
Damage: Endurance × 0.5 + SAP
Additional Effect:
If the attacker uses a non-magical weapon, the reflected damage increases by 10.
If the same enemy hits the user three times within 3 seconds, the third hit triggers a spike backlash, dealing 100% of Endurance + SAP as reflected damage (instead of the usual 0.5× Endurance scaling).
"Now it's time for stat points. Focusing on Endurance makes the most sense, because both my defense ability and new Thorn ability scale entirely with this value. Plus, Endurance is vital for my tank role. By investing all points here, I'll become both more durable and significantly increase the amount of damage I reflect." After distributing the points, he smiled contentedly and said, "Next up is my shield evolution, let's see what options it offers."
When he pressed the "Evolve" button, a holographic window appeared before him. Hundreds of small points emanating from the large central point connected to form a complex network. He pressed the only open point in the center.
[Spiked Wooden Shield]
Bonuses:
Endurance +20
Maximum HP +30
SAP 20
"It's disappointing there aren't other options. I guess it will fully unlock after a few evolutions. Well, what's this Class Evolve thing?" he said and pressed the button.
[Your class is being evolved. Please wait.]
"For me? Let me evolve it myself! Don't do anything for me!" he said and tried to press the cancel button, but it wasn't working.
[Tank Subclass: The Wall]
Description:
A specialized defender who has mastered the art of becoming an unyielding barrier between enemies and allies. The Wall excels at absorbing massive amounts of damage and turning enemy aggression against them.
Base Bonuses:
Base Physical Damage Reduction increased by 25
Thorn damage reflection increased by 20
Base Maximum HP increased by 50
Special Ability: Break Point
When you block enemy attacks with your shield at the right moment, a yellow "Breaking Point" bar appears above them. The bar fills up based on the damage you successfully block. When completely filled, the enemy enters a "Broken" state—becoming stunned for 5 seconds and taking 5× damage from the next attack.
The Breaking Point system rewards defensive play and precise timing, turning your shield into both a defensive and offensive tool. Each enemy type has a different Breaking Point threshold, requiring you to adapt your strategy accordingly.
After thinking for a while, a slight smile appeared on Boran's face. The Break Point system wasn't bad at all. It even felt familiar from somewhere. Some challenging action RPGs he had played before had similar mechanics — you could break enemies' balance and land critical hits.
This mechanic would require him to play active defense rather than being just a regular tank. Instead of randomly blocking enemy attacks, he would need to counter them at the perfect moment to weaken them. This would make his playstyle more dynamic and fun.
"Actually, this is quite good," he murmured. "I'm both defending and turning it into an offensive tool. Interesting combinations could emerge. Plus, the extra bonuses it gives are nice."
Sitting on a cold stone in the cave, while turning over the possibilities and potential strategies offered by his new abilities in his mind, Boney Stark silently crouched beside him, curiously watching his thoughtful state.