Vol. 8 - Chapter 403 - Attributes (1)
Having such well-defined roles for everyone allowed Allen to craft more detailed strategies, letting the army move and act much more efficiently.
On top of that, after the Five Continents\' Alliance ended, Helmios used a magic device to contact Allen directly, asking for directions when building the Hero\'s Army. Giamut was serious about it, throwing a lot of resources and manpower to the idea.
It was hard to tell in what shape Allen\'s Army would continue to grow, but Allen was willing to help out the Hero\'s Army with anything he felt they lacked.
While Giamut\'s raised the Hero\'s Army to fix its broken dignity, Allen checked for anything his own army might still need. He was already considering a future where his army and the Hero\'s Army fought together.
When Helmios first spoke to Allen about it, Allen\'s first thought was the memory of fighting Gushara in the temple of Heavy User Island, which had nearly been the end of him. Remembering that dire situation, Allen felt like it was best to nurture Helmios\' side too, and make sure they had plenty of Attribute-Supports.
Attribute-Supports would specialize in changing attributes, as well as buffs and debuffs. The Talents with such abilities had different names depending on their number of Stars. -1 Star, Attribute Magician -2 Stars, Attribute Mage -3 Stars. Attribute Sorcerer -4 Stars, Attribute Sorcerer King
Helmios was the one leading the Hero\'s Army though. He agreed with Allen\'s suggestions, so 300 out of the inital 1000 members were selected as Attribute-Supports, with a few 4 Star Talent ones, and many 3 Star Talent ones after their Talent Changes.
"The right Golem\'s Endurance should have a Wind attribute now."
Lochmet, the leader of the Attribute-Supports, announced one of the two Iron Golems charging at them had an attribute changed.
"Good, Dogora and Kurena go right then. I\'ll restrain the left one."
"Sure, got it!"
"Alright, good luck with the other one!"
Dogora\'s equipment, full body armor and two axes, weighed multiple hundred kilograms. He moved like it was nothing though, charging at the Iron Golem with its attribute changed.
"Tam-Tam Descend, Mode Elephant!!"
Merle struck a pose with one arm hanging from her nose, dubbed the \'Manly Elephant Pose\', and changed Tam-Tam\'s Special Stone Slab to the [Elephant] one.
\'...\'
CRAAASHHH!!
There was a loud metallic noise as Tam-Tam and the Iron Golem collided, stopping the charging Iron Golem in its tracks.
"Uryaaaaaaahhh!!"
According to Allen\'s analysis, the Iron Golems\' stats totaled around 22000. Merle had already maxed out her Skill Levels, so her Tam-Tam overpowered the Iron Golems.
[Name] Tam-Tam [Pilot] Merle [Rank] Hihiirokane [Strength] 25000 + 12400 [Mana] 25000 + 2400 [Attack] 25000 + 12400 [Endurance] 25000 + 7400 [Agility] 25000 [Intelligence] 25000 + 2400 [Luck] 25000
After her Talent reached Level 6, there was an increase of 2400 to Strength, Mana, Attack, Endurance, and Intelligence.
Then Merle also equipped Strengthening Stone Slabs that enhanced stats by 5000, two for Strength, two for Attack, and one for Endurance. The [Elephant] Special Stone Slab used up five slots.
Even though it used up so much space, the [Elephant] Special Stone Slab had plenty of features. Allen felt like the Special Stone Slabs for Hihiirokane Golems offered a lot more mobility compared to those for a Mythril Golem.
Though Mobility Stone Slabs offered things like being able to fly, run on sand, or float on sea. But in terms of general mobility, the Special Stone Slabs offered more than enough stats.
BABABABANGG!!
Tam-Tam\'s Attack exceeded the Iron Golem\'s Endurance, leading to each strike shattering pieces of the Iron Golem\'s chest. Eventually it was sent flying backwards, but it could still stand back up, so Tam-Tam lifted its elephant-trunk-like nose and sprayed copious amounts of mud on it.
The mud covered the Iron Golem,which stuck to it and made its movements even more clumsy. The mud was hardening at a swift speed.
As even more mud piled up on top of it, the Iron Golem\'s movements ceased, its fist struck forward and no longer moving.
The [Elephant] Special Stone Slab Focused was usually used to build walls and forts, so spitting out mud like that was its main feature. Spitting mud consumed a large amount of mana, but once the mud hardened it became as resilient as the golem that spit it. The Iron Golem\'s Attack could do nothing to break or even crack Tam-Tam\'s mud, which had 32400 Endurance.
The Iron Golem could not move an inch, its body held still by the mud.
"Wait, did Merle actually immobilize one Iron Golem by herself?"
"Yes. It\'s just like we discussed."
Rosetta slowly understood the situation, though she was still shocked. When Kiel explained the plan to her, she could not really imagine it. But now that Helmios repeated what they discussed in the morning, she finally understood.
"True Wicked Blow!!"
While that happened, Dogora activated his devastating Skill onto the other Iron Golem.
"T-that enormous golem is falling back."
Dogora\'s attack pulverized the Iron Golem\'s leg, making it fall back and make the ground tremble. After that Dogora and Kurena relentlessly continued attacking it.
"Ohhh, those two are taking down that huge golem too."
Lochmet exclaimed in awe. An Iron Golem that size was usually an S Rank monster.
But just the two of them were overwhelming it. There were many soldiers from the Hero\'s Army that looked at Helmios timidly. If what they were witnessing was truly real, then they were powerful enough to leave their names in history.
"Dogora, so this is how powerful you actually were."
Doberg\'s remaining eye stared sharply at Dogora. He recalled Dogora looking somewhat impatient when they conquered the S Rank Dungeon for the first time, but he could no longer sense that this morning.
He seemed to finally understand why that change happened, and he closed his eye in thought.
Doberg had lost his eye fighting the Demon King\'s Army, and it could not be healed even with one of Allen\'s Heaven\'s Blessings, or after a Talent Change. It seemed like the Demon King\'s Army had cast some curse on him, though he did not fully understand it himself.
"Attention please, we\'re about to defeat the first one. Could the front lines throw their spears at the golem? And the Attribute-Supports can cast their spells too."
Kiel gave order after order to the Hero\'s Army. He knew very well how long it took to defeat an Iron Golem.
They had to make sure that the Hero\'s Army\'s soldiers also got their cut of the experience. "Understood" came the reply as multiple spears flew at the golem, while the Attribute-Supports targeted the remaining Iron Golem. The healers also carefully used their healing magic, even though Dogora and Kurena had barely suffered any injuries.
Merle also joined the fight, beating down the unrestrained Golem with Kurena and Dogora.
"C-can a person…truly get so strong…"
"Two of them should be enough for all of you to overcome all your God\'s Trials. Try to use your Skills as much as possible too."
"O-okay."
The soldiers from the Hero\'s Party that came along were those with most promise out of the 1000 members, who would eventually become generals and take important roles.
They had all been fighting the Demon King\'s Army in the front lines for more than a decade too, so they were all seasoned fighters.
Defeating the Iron Golems, which were essentially S Rank monsters, was the best way for them to Level Up in a matter of hours.
At first they were doubtful, but now they had no choice but to believe their eyes.
"So, should we bring Hero\'s Army members along for the monring, noon and night shifts then?"
"Yes please."
Leaving Dogora and Merle to finish the fight, Kiel spoke to Helmios, discussing their plans. They were here today with Helmios to show the training Allen\'s Army would offer the Hero\'s Army, where their soldiers could join every day.
The Iron Golem hunt happened each morning at 8 for three hours, then at 12 for another three hours, and in the evening at 4 for another three hours, each by different teams. Originally they were all from Allen\'s Army, but now some members from the Hero\'s Army would join.
The gathering of medals in the second, third, and fourth floor was done by both Armies as well.
"Still, that was some impressive power."
"Yes, thanks to the Attribute Change things were much easier."
They already overpowered Iron Golems without issue, but today was even more impressive.
"I wonder if I can get an Attribute-Support in my party too."
Helmios assumed that Dogora had looked so strong because the Divine Artifact Kagutsuchi was a fire element weapon, and the Iron Golem\'s attribute had been changed to Wind, making it extremely effective. Now Helmios was considering adding an Attribute-Support to his party as well.
"According to Allen, a lot of Intelligence is needed for an Attribute Change. Sometimes even a Talent Change isn\'t enough to cover for it, so equipment can go a long way too."
Kiel told Helmios some of Allen\'s thoughts.
"I see. So there\'s a chance this could work on a Demon General or S Rank Monster too."
"Of course. It can also be a valuable resource when defending a fort from an A Rank dragon."
"That could change our defense tactics greatly."
Attribute Changes were very effective, at least with the monsters that it worked on.
There were many monsters with high Intelligence, so to be on the safer side, around 10000 Intelligence points were necessary for it to work on A Rank monsters. B Rank monsters could be easily defeated without needing an Attribute Change though. Thanks to all the other well-developed methods of way, only some edge cases benefitted.
But the Demon King\'s Army would often carry A Rank monsters, so being able to defeat them faster and with less casualties was something incredibly useful.
As long as it worked, it could enhance one\'s power greatly. A lot of restructuring and rethinking of tactics would be necessary, but that was only a matter of time.
While they discussed that, more Iron Golems spawned and were defeated, so everyone there reached their maximum levels.
This fight was indispensable to raise their stats after a Talent Change, and also the best way to obtain the valuable loot offered by the S Rank Dungeon.
"I never imagined just one more dungeon could change the world so greatly."
"Doberg, you\'re getting a bit carried away with your emotions."
"Yes, you\'re right. It\'s still a bit too early to rejoice."
Doberg quickly readjusted his posture after hearing Helmios\' reprimand. He had been too enthralled watching Dogora, Kurena, and Merle fight.