Chương 121

Rudra sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the ruined cave. Beside him, Mumud was staring at his own hands, opening and closing his newly formed, pale fists. Kratos, the half-gold, half-black divine beast, let out a loud yawn.

"Are you making the food now? You promised."

"Give me ten minutes," Rudra said, waving the talking cub away.

"I need to make some skills first." He tapped the air, pulling up his new class menu. Being reset to Level 1 meant all his old active attacks were gone. But his new Legendary class came with something much better: [Staff Technique Creation]. He had three empty slots to build his own moves. To make a skill, the system required him to balance six factors. [Please set the parameters: Targeting, Movement, Resource Consumed, Weight, Speed, and Special Effect.]"Alright, let's see what breaks," Rudra mumbled.

He tried to mix a forward thrust with a spinning movement, keeping the weight light but adding a massive pushing effect. He hit confirm. [Creation Failed. The physical laws of the movement contradict the requested weight and effect.] Rudra sighed.

"Makes sense. Can't poke someone and expect a tornado." Mumud walked over, his bare feet slapping against the stone. The former Lich watched in confusion as his savior tapped thoughtfully at the empty air.

"Lord Rudra," Mumud rasped softly, his voice still hoarse.

"If you are designing a technique, you must calculate the mana flow. You need an intake formula to gather ambient energy, followed by a compression rune to stabilize the core..."

"That's a bit too complicated," Rudra interrupted, shaking his head.

"And honestly, it just doesn't fit my style. I rely on building physical momentum, not casting formulas." Mumud blinked. As a magical genius, he was used to complex spell circles and careful incantations. Watching the man who had just become a Staff Saint build a technique purely around explosive weight was a baffling experience. Mumud realized that absolute physical power simply didn't need complicated formulas. It just needed a direction.

"Let's stick to what works," Rudra said.

"I need a crowd clearer." He selected Crowd Targeting. For Movement, he picked Spin. Resource Consumed was his new pool of Staff Energy. He cranked the Weight to Heavy and set the Special Effect to Pulling. He hit confirm. [Analyzing parameters...] [The foundation is physically sound. A new Staff Technique has been created!] [Please name the technique.]"Typhoon," Rudra said. [Typhoon (Lv. 1)] The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

[Active] [A legendary staff technique created by a new Staff Saint. Spin the staff to create a vacuum, pulling nearby enemies inward. The extreme wind pressure cancels enemy spells. Stopping the spin releases the trapped air in a massive outward shockwave. - Deals 500% of your physical attack power within 100 meters. - For every second maintained, damage increases by 50% and suction radius widens by 10% (Max: 5 seconds). - Enemies hit are Stunned or Knocked Down for 2 seconds. Resource Consumption: 100 Staff Energy to start, +15 Staff Energy per second. Skill Cooldown: 10 minutes.] Rudra stood up and grabbed the Staff of the Fire Lord.

"Let's test it." He planted his boots and spun the heavy bone staff. Instantly, a violent rush of air whipped through the cave. Broken stalagmites, loose dirt, and crushed debris dragged across the floor toward him.

"Whoa!" Kratos yelped. The cub's paws slid across the stone, slowly getting sucked toward the spinning staff. Rudra abruptly stopped the spin. BOOM. The trapped air exploded outward. The shockwave blasted the dirt away and sent Kratos tumbling backward into a pile of broken rocks.

"That is awesome," Rudra grinned.

"Hey!" Kratos complained, shaking dust out of his fur.

"Now for the single-target move," Rudra muttered, sitting back down. He needed a boss killer. Something that built up his endless momentum perfectly. He inputted Single Target and Smash Movement. He set the Speed to Build-up, making it faster with every hit. For the Special Effect, he picked Armor Break. [The foundation is physically sound. A new Staff Technique has been created!]"Avalanche," Rudra confirmed. [Avalanche (Lv. 1)] [Active] [A legendary staff technique created by a new Staff Saint. A nonstop combo designed to flatten a target. Uses the recoil of the previous hit to accelerate the next. It starts fast and grows heavier until the target is crushed. - Successful hits increase your staff's swing speed and attack weight by 50% (Stacks up to 10 times). - Shreds armor durability on block. - If dodged narrowly, compressed air deals 80% of the attack's damage as internal damage. Resource Consumption: 80 Staff Energy to start, +10 Staff Energy per swing. Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.] Rudra clapped his hands together.

"Perfect. A combo that just gets heavier and faster until their armor completely shatters." Mumud stared at him in disbelief.

"You designed a technique that relies entirely on hitting an opponent until their armor breaks? There is no elemental advantage? No magical bypass?"

"Why bypass armor when you can just break it?" Rudra shrugged. He slung his staff over his shoulder and pulled out his cooking knife.

"Alright, work's done. Kratos, get over here. It's sandwich time." The cub scrambled out of the rocks, letting out an excited squeak.

"Finally!" Rudra pulled a thick, perfectly preserved piece of Karkinos's Calamity Tentacle and some sweet river-kelp out of his inventory. He quickly seared the premium calamari, combining the deep ocean flavors with a rich, spicy glaze, and slapped it between two thick slices of bread. A bright purple light flashed from the meal. [You have successfully created 'Spicy Abyssal Calamari Sandwich'!] [Rating: Epic] [An epic-rated dish was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +4 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +80.] He tossed the glowing sandwich to the waiting beast. As he watched Kratos demolish the food, Rudra thought about the dark tunnel leading deeper underground. They had cleared the 13th city, but there were still more vampire cities buried nearby.

"Eat up," Rudra told Kratos. He turned to Mumud.

"How are your lungs holding up?"

"They function," Mumud replied, rubbing his chest.

"But without an artificial mana circuit, they are fragile."

"Good enough," Rudra smiled, wiping his hands on a towel.

"We're going to head into the 14th City next. I need a massive amount of experience points, and you need target practice."