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Chapter 248 Ilea Spears
🕑 Added 2019-07-13 08:11:44 +0000 UTCAuthor's note July 23rd: Hey guys. New chapters up. Some family stuff came up and I'm unable to give an ETA for the next post atm. I'll keep you posted and apologize for the possible delay. Be well.
Author's note July 13th: Hey guys, new chapters up. Let me know what you think :).
Chapter 248 Ilea Spears
Black wings slowly disintegrated as Ilea landed in the cathedral. Hey, guess whos favorite human is back?
The elf looked at her for a whole three seconds before focusing back on his book. Your favorite human. She added and walked to the dungeon entrance, summoning her notebook as her ashen limbs pushed open the heavy double doors.
The gate closed behind her, a notification popping up in her mind regarding the Tremor dungeon as she flipped to the map she had started. Plenty of buildings were on it already, few holding anything more interesting than dust and old furniture. Plenty of rotting and dusty items indicated the people had fled the city, somewhat orderly at least as it wasnt littered by skeletons. Still, she had hoped to find a little more things, especially since she theorized the top part of the city had been the wealthier one. Seeing how the log book spoke of a king and queen she assumed the dilapidated mansions had been owned by the aristocracy.
Several sections of the district were already marked as cleared. From time to time she did encounter a knight patrolling into what she had considered safe territory but it was rare. Soon she would be at the height of the palace, the buildings spreading over the broad slope on each side, the massive monument to power remaining in its middle. Today she would take care of the last knight she had marked near one of the bigger cathedrals. She had made it a habit to search areas only once no enemies remained, able to fully focus her skills on searching instead of expecting an ambush of sorts.
The density of undead patrols were unclear to her, some areas holding groups of up to four, others lacking even single knights. Her tactics didnt change. Lure a single knight with ashen projectiles or tendrils until she would fight them on the big square in the noble district. There was ample space, nothing to annoy them and the sunlight would remain there far longer than further in. Rushing through the buildings, she soon reached a roof from which she could see the cathedral in question. Definitely the building that stood out the most in the area.
Looking left, she saw the palace in the distance. A place she planned to avoid for now. Checking her map one last time, she closed the notebook and stored it. Ilea jumped down from the roof and walked towards the big building, knowing a single knight remained inside, the two previously patrolling around the building had already been taken care of.
The door creaked open, Ilea waving at the knight who noticed her immediately. Her casual demeanor didnt seem to either imitate nor irritate the warrior as he brandished his sword, shield at the ready. She waited at the door as he started to run, quickly choosing a side street before she rushed off. The knight was on her tail, his steel boots resounding on the dry and cobbled stone. Fifteen minutes the two would run through the dead city, Ilea avoiding certain areas she knew to be unsafe still, not cleared out because the cathedral seemed more enticing at the moment.
Looking back, the knight was on her tail. Speed unwavering, a killing machine ready for an endless hunt. It didnt scare her anymore. They were predictable and with her skills she could easily escape. Ilea could however imagine how most more conventional adventurers would treat such an enemy. Now everybody was as fast or mobile in a party as she was, perhaps the rogue and one of the mages but otherwise they would have to face the thing down. Even her, with all the defenses, all her skills, healing and Vitality rather avoided blinking away when it did attack. If it had any ability in discerning a healer in a group and didnt blindly focus on a tank class with a big shield, she could see it being quite a difficult undertaking. Even fighting a single one of them.
Finally reaching the square, she checked if not a stray knight somehow made it there but it was empty. The early sunlight seeped through the small opening high above as Ilea turned and skidded to a stop, met a single second later with a sword rushing past her dodging form. The air howled as it was pushed apart by the strong and true strike, Ilea taking a step past the knights arm and shield before her left fist hit. Destruction activated and her mana seeped into the undead, no visible mana being deflected.
A big smile on her face, Ilea blinked away and prepared for the next attack, meditation already active. Her perception of mana was incredibly limited considering her lack of a related skill but she had previously felt how their armor blocked her intrusion. Now, it had felt like she was hitting a plain old Drake. The new third tier didnt say it ignored mana intrusion measures completely so she assumed at least a part of the attack was deflected but it definitely made a difference. Now it was simply a matter of following the steps of a dance she had damn near perfected weeks ago.
A battle of attrition, the skill of the warriors matching in their respective fields as they focused solely on destroying one another. Sword scratching against steel, fist hitting armor, the two entranced as each movement flowed into the next, the warrior in black appearing thirty meters away quickly followed by the running swordsman, sunlight reflected off his silver shell. A hunt that continued for hours, ending in neither spectacle nor grand finale.
Sweat dropped from her brow, rolling past her eyes and down her cheek. She prepared for the next attack that didnt come, recovering her lost resources as the knight broke down, as if its strings were cut. Steel shattered on the stone floor, sword and shield falling to his side, each clattering a couple times before silence returned to the square. Ilea sunk to one knee, her veil vanishing from around her armor, helmet stored in her necklace. Silver steel reflected the light on the new scratches and cuts she had sustained, most used simply to deflect his blade or shield, to allow an angle just favorable for an attack to land.
Three of the cuts were a little deeper, feints she had failed to predict.
ding You have defeated [Knight of the Rose lvl 318] For defeating an enemy seventy or more levels above your own, bonus experience is granted.
Three eighteen , Just a little bit faster than most of them were, just a little more cunning. Even with them being undead, unfeeling and brain dead, still they had retained some individuality. It was what kept her on her toes, in addition to the fact that a single true strike could seriously injure her. The fight had taken shy of three hours, a massive improvement. More than she had dreamed for an enemy at that level.
ding Inheritor of Eternal Ash has reached lvl 234 5 stat points awarded
A fitting reward. The last two knights had not given her a level but she hadnt expected another one from this one. Because he was over three hundred. She assumed, cracking her neck before she started unhooking his armor, storing each piece in her necklace before the corpse itself lay before her. Wearing an old and rotting garb, any symbols, stitching or colors long gone with time. He had been strong once, muscles now cold but prominent as they pushed through his clothing. A scar showed on his neck, beheaded by a beast or perhaps executed for one reason or the other. To become a knight of this kingdom, now falling to an invader so long after his true death.
His eyes were black, as was his hair. She crouched down and closed his eyelids before storing the corpse in her necklace, the corpse to be burned at a later time. Perhaps Indra would like the corpse but it felt wrong to her. Both to carry around so many bodies but also to hold on to them or gift them to another necromancer. Whatever worth it held, she would make sure nobody would use their body again. Even if they didnt care anymore.
To her they each held potential to grow, to level up and to get more experienced with her skills. Each a challenge to overcome, a worthy opponent to face and defeat. Worthy of at least being burnt after their death. The cathedral held nothing but dust, a whole library of books once holding more knowledge than a human could learn in a lifetime. None of the enchantments had held through the ages, empty mana crystals found in compartments of the likely once expensive shelves.
The day continued, Ilea facing two more knights before night fell. Her training continued out in the wild lands of the north, again looking for the smallest pool of mist where the stalkers twirling in its midst quickly focused on her and started draining both her life and mana. Ilea meditated with eyes open, taking in the movements in the sky, on the land far away. The rare hunters in this barren place, interspersed by the dancing forms of an uncountable army of miststalkers.
A quick meeting with Terok the next morning supplied her with a new set of nine finished armors, the dwarf stumbling towards his bed once he had handed over the finished products. Five of the armor sets she placed in the cathedral, in another corner of the hall than the one with old sets taken off the dead knights. The elf didnt deign to give her any attention, Ilea stepping back into the dungeon. After a night of careful meditation, health drain and recovery, she was itching for another battle. She didnt check her status, excited simply to meet the next foe in battle. The next barrier as she honed her skills, incorporating whatever new abilities she gained on the road.
Ilea slept every third day, for a couple hours at most. She had chosen one of the houses overlooking her fighting square as her new home, placing her bed inside as well as a shelf from the cathedral that still looked somewhat in shape. It was made of stone, having allowed for it to mostly weather through the ages. Books she had from back in Salia and the selection she had taken from her home adorned it. The lack of windows didnt bother her, the climate cold and mostly dry. Nothing that disturbed her resistant body, even the cold winds near Ravenhall irrelevant to her.
The roof was used to eat a meal every other day, Keylas cooking a highlight whenever it caressed her very soul, whenever the suns started rising and bathed at least a part of the sprawling city in light. Before she would go out again to fight, an enemy long forgotten, occupying a city the intelligent races of this world did not know existed. For the sole goal of her enjoyment, with the added benefit of increasing her personal power. Ever so slightly.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. A life Ilea had never thought possible, sustainable or even enjoyable. Yet here she was, living a solitary life of battle and meditation. Each passing week made her more calm, more sure of every step she took. Partially because she gained more and more stat points, levels in her classes promising better skills and eventual evolutions but mostly because she felt truly free, her whole being dedicated to every strike, every blink and dodge. The only deadline she had were her armors, every strike scratching into it, every messed up dodge or unseen feint creating another dent she could not repair on her own.
She could of course fight in clothes only, or even simply shrouded in ash. There was nobody to see after all, not that it would matter in a battle for life or death. Her skin was strong, her bones durable but not quite enough to shrug off the knights blades. Ilea would survive a fight, likely even win but the mana she would have to invest into healing as well as fleeing when her injuries inhibited her too much would stack up, would slow her down so much compared to the benefit of armor. Perhaps one day, when she had reached suitable strength, the added weight and metal shell of crafted gear became unnecessary but it proved such a benefit she questioned the reality of such a dream. A dream not to fight nakedly but to be able to block a sword with her skin alone, her natural defenses outclassing what her enemies could produce to harm her or those she cared about.
She had no desire to hear any snarky comments from the elf about the armors she ripped off each knight she defeated, the process lengthy but to her like a gesture of gratitude. For the fight they had given her, the experience she had taken. For the duty they had served long after it had ceased to be a necessity. As if to free their souls from the shell that kept them trapped in this cursed dungeon, deep within the northern lands and their treacherous mountains. Whenever ten or twenty of the knights had been killed, Ilea would build a pyre, turning them into ash that would find its way into the earth. The elf had been so gracious as to lend his fire cube to her indefinitely, mentioning that he will be exploring on his own for a while, still working on deciphering the log book but too bored to remain in the cathedral at all times.
While many questions remained unanswered or unasked, Ilea felt no rush to please the elf or squeeze every last bit of information out of him. She was here for her own sake after all. He would be back, knowing she would progress. If he survived that is. Ilea had a feeling he wasnt quite as powerful as she wouldve expected from an older elf. When she had reached her last set of suitable armor, three months had passed, give or take a week or two. The only indication to the time she spent there were the number of knights she killed, writing everything down in her notebook.
Sitting atop her roof, she looked over the city that has become as close to home as any place she had lived in through her life. These months more intense and vivid than any period of time she had experienced so far, barring perhaps her adventures in the first Taleen dungeon or the initial stage of discovery and survival in the forest around the Azarinth temple. A place that still meant a lot to her, having equipped her with the tools to survive in this ruthless land. It might have been drab to someone else, to stay in a medieval looking city all this time but lacking any residents other than the silent undead, the place felt more serene to her.
As if the stones making up the once occupied buildings, each and every one having a purpose in a bustling society were now reduced to something more natural, as if the city itself was as much part of the environment as the mists and storms above and the black abyss lurking below. Urban perhaps but wild, retaken bit by bit by time. The only place she knew held life was the palace still piercing high into the distant horizon. Secrets buried underneath, hidden behind locked doors and guarded by insurmountable warriors that even after all this time would shred her like a Drake would shred a wild deer running in the woods near Karth.
Her map had grown, the area around the palace still empty but in some areas she had gone deeper still, most of the city lying higher than the palace cleaned out and marked as safe. She smiled as her notebook was lifted by ash, the element swirling around the book while keeping it steady and freeing her hand. A thought, not even that. It was as if alive, not even a thought, her explicit will needed to make it appear. The black mist not created or controlled by her but a steady companion, by her side, thoughts and emotions enough for it to respond.
Ilea had reached level 240 in her second class, the third tier skill point spent on Ash Creation. Her efficiency in fighting the knights had remained similar, Wave of Ember still unable to send most of its destructive mana into the protected enemies. Yet the skill had changed. She had become more confident, the limbs of ash moving around shields and avoiding strikes of swords as if sand swirling around fingers running running through. More of her attacks hit and less of the enemy strikes landed, deflected by an emerging part of her Veil or quickly forming ash dense enough to soften the glancing blows just enough to protect her armor from heavier damage.
The skill was the main reason she had been able to stay for so long. Eight of her nine armors damaged beyond usability in the weeks before she had gotten its third tier. Checking through the notifications before preparing to leave, she quickly double checked the defeated undead knights.
ding You have defeated [Knight of the Rose lvl 264]
ding You have defeated [Knight of the Rose lvl 281]
ding You have defeated [Knight of the Rose lvl 259]
145, she wrote in her notebook. Each and every single one of them a fight worthy of mention, the memories blurring together like a sea of blades and punches.
ding Azarinth First Hunter has reached lvl 241 5 stat points awarded
ding Azarinth First Hunter has reached lvl 255 5 stat points awarded
ding Inheritor of Eternal Ash has reached lvl 235 5 stat points awarded
ding Inheritor of Eternal Ash has reached lvl 248 5 stat points awarded
ding Destruction reaches 3rd lvl 2
ding Hunters Sight reaches 2nd lvl 14
ding Hunters Sight reaches 2nd lvl 15
ding Embered Body Heat reaches 2nd lvl 10
ding Embered Body Heat reaches 2nd lvl 11
ding Embered Body Heat reaches 2nd lvl 12
ding Embered Body Heat reaches 2nd lvl 13
ding Wave of Ember reaches 2nd lvl 20
ding Ashen Wings reaches 2nd lvl 18
ding Ash Creation reaches 3rd lvl 1
Active: Ash Creation 3rd lvl 1
Create ash in a certain radius around you. It can be used as a surge to blind or as a shroud to hide.
2nd stage: You can control the density of the ash to an extent.
3rd stage: You have proven your dedication. Ash swirls to aid and destroy at your whims.
Category: Ashen Magic
Comments
Straven
Thank you for the chapter.
Robert Rosenthal
i mentioned this in the thread above but shouldn't she be looking to get a bigger storage device or even just a second one, i mean she picks up a lot of stuff but she is delving alone and has a ton of valuable stuff she can't carry, how much hammer steal for another spatial storage device (i would think a village of adventurers would have some for sale or trade)
Now everybody was as fast -> Not everybody was as fast
I doubt she can accomplish that feat anytime soon, at least she needs to be around lv.350+ to achieve that. Considering how much time she spent from lv.230-255 hunting knight all the time, She probably needs to spend another 2-3 years full-time hunting, that also while she had to find a good hunting spot.
Keira Wulfe
Would be great if control reached a state that the ash WAS her new armor instead of constantly having to repair steel armor. I mean purify the ashe enough/enough control condense it, then the embers to heat it and create a diamond coating..... sounds like a good use of her skill or a good future skill.
Hylleberg DK
Wow. I really hope for that to happend!
ArturScott
I personaly want her to fight misttalkers and lvl up Inheritor of Eternal Ash to 250 want it to upgrade some how )))
J H
Guys I just thought of something. Tremor had a dungeon that was apparently being overrun by something powerful enough that even the kingsguard could not beat it. The elf can't crack the rest of the journal yet, and Ilea just cleared out the regular patrolling knights. What if in the journal that is not yet translated it says that they cannot defeat the soul ripper and so as a last defense for humanity they are turning their knights undead so they can patrol and keep the dungeon beasts contained, because the undead don't have a soul that the soul rippers can attack? Now Ilea has gotten rid of them and is trying to get rid of their champions, the kingsguard. She might find out that those knights were all that was containing the soul rippers and she just let them loose. She doesn't have high resistance to dark magic if that's what they use, and they were apparently strong enough to beat even the kingsguard, so she might be in trouble. Even the beasts of the north outside the dungeon might not be able to beat something that could wreck those kingsguard. THE PLOT THICKENS! By the way I think the most interesting thing from the new chapters is the description of the dungeon below Hallowfort so I hope we get to go on adventures down there before she challenges the kingsguards and potentially unleashes a lovecraftian horror.
J H
She has been which is slightly annoying, but to be fair she's not being stupid about it. She can only hold so much stuff in her storage necklace despite it's large size, and the metal takes up a lot of space, although less as ingots. The question is, what would be the benefit of her carrying around ingots right now? She only needs her armor sets, which she already has 9 of now. I'd say the only other thing she could get is her blade gauntlets upgraded to stonehammer steel. For the rest, she doesn't need it. She doesn't really need gold either. Instead, she made her smith very happy and willing to indulge her on whatever she wants, and she did the same with her erstwhile enchanter. For the enchanter, not only does her owe her and give her free enchantments, she also likes him and is helping keep him alive for something that doesn't have much value to her (even though it's objectively quite valuable for both metals). Also all the metal that the smith has I'm sure he will be willing to use to make her something else if she wanted. I'd say she should at least take a few ingots home with her when she leaves for Balduur, but she could always let him melt down one of her 9 armor sets for that if need be. So given all that, what else could she really get for it? She could potentially trade it for services from others in Hallowfort but we don't yet know of anyone or anything that would be useful to her, and she still has her healing/tanking/trap disarming/scouting services to trade whenever needed without carrying anything. The only things I could think she might want to trade for which would be very valuable would be another storage item, or another enchanted item that provides a skill or enchantment that shores up a weakness of hers, but I can't think of anything offhand. Maybe something that increases one's camouflage/stealth somehow? Or something that lets her see mana again since she lost that skill? The latter might be possible to get as a general skill. But yeah, my point is that I don't think she's being stupid or really wasteful and has been getting the things she wants and needs for her rare metal.
Morog T Tiny
I will note she is being profligate with the resources. I assume the metal she is giving away is worth at least its weight in gold due to its rarity. She might want to look at what she is holding and get rid of some of the non essentials for several ingots of the stuff.
J H
The Tungsten Key. I'd like to find out more about it but she has rightly been very very careful about avoiding mentioning it or letting people see it. I think it's so valuable that leaving any hints or clues that she knows anything about it is extremely dangerous and likely to get her and anyone she talked to killed.
J H
That would be awesome, but even just a really general mapping skill that lets her remember and draw maps better would be nice and make her life easier. I also hope for more general skills, but the biggest difference would be made by more utility skills like the aforementioned mapping.
J H
Why DEX though? DEX doesn't stack with any of her big multipliers, and at this point her stats are high enough that a few points aren't going to make a difference. She would need a lot of points from several level ups which are getting harder and harder to get. It makes more sense to go into INT or STR in my opinion, as part of a good defense is offence. DEX I guess could get her some more speed which is valuable, but that's not her main problem. If she hits harder she can end her fights faster, reducing the number of times she is hit and how long she has to drain her endurance. If you're concerned about healing, increasing VIT would be better probably.
Strange Loop Sleuth
Ilea should ask Smith about the pyramid she found in the Taleen Dungeon
Ilea used her second skill point on ash manipulation, now she used the third skill point on ash creation.
Thaabit Rivertree
How come nobody has pointed out the fact that Ilea has already upgraded her Ash Creation to tier 3? That was the second skill she upgraded after Veil of Ash. I remember she was so amazed because it was a far greater improvement than her veil had experienced. Author, while the story is good you really need to sit down and plan how she is going to upgrade things, seems you can't keep it straight? I don't have the time to check now but I don't think I'm remembering incorrectly
ArturScott
gauntlets give just physical damage but her mana infusion give opponents most damage, ountlets was good against demons, but against knights it will not work.
ChrisW
I wonder why she isnt using her gauntlets anymore. Too slow to swing the heavy gauntlets?
Mr. Bigglesworth
She wouldn't be returning it, she'd be trading it for information.
Call0013
I hope she gets some more General skills like Veteran, Like mabye an Explorer General skill that gives her something like a auto-updateing map in her mind, it would go well with her Azarinth Hunter Sphere skill if it auto maped all that came within her Sphere. Really when all her Class skills are max out apart from her Current and future Tier 3 skills I would hope she experiments more in getting/makeing more General skills.
ikorack
Mr biggles you're conflating her very limited altruism to levels that just are not evident. There is no reason she would feel an urgent need to return a map especially when she's in the middle of an escapist adventure. It would in fact be majorly out of character
Mr Crowley
She can only have one targeted location with the third level of bink (I think), so if she went back she'd have to take the long way back and risk getting caught back up in human politics.
Mr. Bigglesworth
Does she have an endgame grinding, or something she is aiming for or is it just 'getting stronger' with no definite path planned. Also, is there a reason she doesn't bother to learn any 'support' skills? Lastly, is there a reason she doesn't pop back with her 3rd Tier Blink skill to civilization, update their maps and info, and then pop back to the Smith's town? Since her 3rd Tier didn't seem to have any limit on range when escaping the Tal's place she was teleported too.
Morog T Tiny
I would like to request a char sheet with the next chapter and for my 2 cents say that her healing ability and dex is what she needs to increase. She has focused on damage and needs to put a little more into repair in my opinion.
most likely simply not telling us the amount that she has been fighting in detail since it was said that the cube was given to her while elfie was out and about since presumedly she has been killing so many that it has been a pain in the arse to dig it out everytime she comes back with a bunch of bodies and she has had a lot of armor created for her
J H
My assumption which can obviously be wrong is that after you get to that point all your remaining non tier 3 skills will have to be leveled to the end of 2nd lvl 20 and then you will just need class levels each 20 levels. Needing maxed out 3rd tier skills would be way too hard. Leveling after 200 is really fucking hard and only gets harder the higher you get. I think 20 class levels after 300 is enough to earn a new 3rd tier skill.
J H
Me too! Even with 6 chapters a week I need more!
Atlas Dwarf
Thanks for the chapter. I wonder what'll happen when she reaches 300 and 340. 300 cause a possible Class evolution. 340 cause she'll technically only have 4 out of 5 skills at 2nd level 20 that is needed for 3rd tier evolutions. Hopefully for Ilea it doesn't cap at 6 3rd tiers or starts counting 3rd level 20 for the 5 skill counter.
Atlas Dwarf
Hopefully she found a spot with only one or two Miststalkers, mainly cause they've tended to group up every time she aggros one and her Mist Resistance is rather low. On the other hand her Mana Drain and Health Drain Resistances should be a lot higher, although they seem to be missing from her levels atm (unless she dropped it to speed up clearing Tremor). She could always try one of the Kingsguard, the poison dungeon entrance, or the dungeon under the city. Although all three of those could very well be riskier than a few Miststalkers.
searchnresqtoo
Why doesn't she increase her DEX? I keep thinking that if she leveled her DEX she would be able to fight a KingsGuard. Thus allowing her to level her skills. Similiar to how she fought the Taleen Centurion the first time. She couldn't kill it and had to retreat. But she gained a crap-ton amount of skill levels. If she could do that again but with the KingsGuard; hopefully getting her tier 3 skills to really level. That way when she hits level 300, her selectable classes would be better. Similiar to how she was able to get First Hunter because she had so many high leveled class skills.
Conan Whalen-mckain
Thanks for the chapter.
Erriballon
Noooooooo one chapter please
Jonathan
I think it's time for Miststalker hunting. If the Knights were good anti-Ilea builds, she may have just made herself into an anti-miststalker build, or at least anti-mist, which may result in the same thing. The biggest enemy of mist is heat, and she now has a confluence of three skills that should prove very bad for the monsters. At level twelve when Ilea first got it with her Inheritor evolution, Embered Body Heat sizzled the cave floor, and the second tier let her extend it to her ash. With Ash and Ember Manipulation's third tier making ash under her control as part of her body and the third of Ash Creation making it respond to her mere will and whim, she should be able to wade into the mist in a cloud of superheated ash, (Gaining the skill Pyroclastic Flow! Wait this isn't Monsoon's The New World, nevermind.)
Matthew D
Would like to see her current stats as of end of chapter. I’m looking forwards to her exploring different dungeons soon
Corwin Amber
thanks for the chapters
mallix
MONTAGE !!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrMLRQIT_k
J H
Yeah I love these arcs the best, fighting monsters, leveling and getting stronger, finding treasure, helping some people out with the same, learning more about the world. So much more fun than politics and dealing with shitty people. I suspect the head of the Golden Lily is very powerful though, near level 300 and with many members in the mid to high 200s which are still very dangerous to Ilea, especially if she's outnumbered or faces a bad matchup. By the way, the guy that killed Eve, Michael seems like he's a gold mage. I'm not sure what it's from, but from what I remember gold mages become more powerful physically the more gold they own and how long they keep it. That guy might even be a gold creator which would make him immensely powerful. Ilea might have a hard fighting him and his minions even when she reaches 300.
ArturScott
Am i right that Llia gain 1 lvl at Azarinth First Hunter for each 10.35 Knights? And later she get 1 lvl for 3 knights? so or it's gonna be much harder moving forvard or it's just miscalcilating.
J H
I don't think it's likely for a class evolution to occur at 250 for the ash class. So far it was at 100 and 200 so it makes sense for it to happen at either 300 or 400 next. What is more likely is a new skill becoming available. Someone once mentioned sometimes people get skills immediately in the second class, so I'd expect if she got a new skill she'd get rid of embered body heat and get the new skill at 2nd lvl 1 at least. We haven't seen it outside of class evolutions but maybe there's even such a thing as skill evolutions/upgrades and maybe that can happen.
Arcanes
Actually a pretty good power up to the time she had spend fighting in the north so far. Five months or so until now? And plenty of opportunities near her to grow more still. Level 260 not so far away now. From what we have seen so far in the humans part of the world, I don’t think if she comes back level 280(yeah still far away), her hunting the golden lily or even some of the strong monsters will be too difficult. The only question really is if she comes back really strong or god like. The north arc going strong. I would actually prefer the story this way with less human to human interaction. Ilea seems more comfortable with the weird people/monsters.
Cyryl Chołodowski
This chapter said she cleared everything except for the palace.
Jonathan
Evolutions were at 100 and 200, so I'm not expecting another for quite some time. She'll need to find those 350+ enemies to keep advancing, even at this pace, seeing as she's maybe running out of Knights. I had trouble telling just how much other than the palace she has yet to clear. You know, as long as people stay clear of Kingsguard territory, she could bring people to live in this city again most likely, as long as the dungeon doesn't randomly regenerate undead.
ArturScott
I think it doesn't make sence to go for Praetorians when she has so much to exploer at the north, by the way if i remember correctly Praetorians is about lvl 500, she is still to weak for them.
Arkeus
If she gets a class evolution at 250 there will be a big jump yeah. There was a huge difference between the requirements for First Hunter and Inheritor of Eternal Ash, though Ilea hasn't yet taken advantage of the changes to her class from First Hunter (she is focusing on non- first hunter skills so far). Given how Inheritor had a strong focus on having resistances/skills, and that class evolution overall have a strong focus on "achievements", there is a significant chance that she could get a much stronger class if she does something really hard before that level 250. Like killing a Kingsguard.
j0ntsa
Ilea the mistress of ash, or just huntress
Dodok Sabrefrenzies
Just started binge reading this story 5 days ago, and I've loved every line of it! Now that Ilea has a bypass for defence against Mana Intrusion, do you think she might go back and have another crack at those Praetorians? She's a lot stronger and faster, and her Curse resistance is pretty damned high, could be a good chance for her to test her newfound power against her old nemesis :) (Ignoring the Forkspears still trying to hunt her, but would they even stand much of a chance at this point if they still think she's sub lvl100?)
Baba Vader
Thanks for the chapters!
oh boy ..... can't wait for Inheritor of Eternal Ash to hit that sweet level 250, from what I see IoEA is not the same tier with AFH considering how far apart they are in terms of evolution requirements. I expecting quite a big jump in Ilea's combat potential, maybe she only need 1 hour on average to finish off each knight after her class evolution.
Zachary Smith
Love it! Excited to see her next move also eager to see how she’ll fit in at raven hall after this power jump!
Jonathan Walker
I have come to find myself constantly thinking about this book and constantly biting my nails waiting for it too
Han Pol
I would guess the knights don't really help with residence training. Maybe she kind find some mages o the rose or so at one point or enter the other dungeons.
Keifru
Undead Stabbing Resistance - Level 16 Undead Shield Bash Resistance - Level 12
Håvard
Did you forget to show resistance levels or are they coming next chapter? I liked the chapters they are what I where hoping for :)
Call0013
Cool chapter , I wonder what she is going to do when her class evolves again Will she have to lose some of her 2nd lvl 20 skills to make room or will some of her skills merge to make room like would Veil of Ash,Ash Creation,Ash and Ember Manipulation,ect merge to become a single Ash embodiment skill? and make her into something like a Logia Devil Fruit user from one Piece? or will she go more the way of the phoenix.
Keifru
She went from 4 sets of armor ruined in a month to 8 sets of armor over 3 months, and I believe more of that first month was exploring/mapping versus the three months of combat grinding. I feel like T3.Ash_Creation is going to be an Azarinth Fighting-type multiplier in that, the more she learns to go with her instincts and intuition, the more powerful and useful it will be. Couple that with the fact its an element of destruction and death, and that she has T3.Ash_Manipulation to go with it, I feel its the singgle biggest power jump across the board she's had since she took T3.State_of_Azarinth
Keifru
Oooooh that T3.Ash_Creation is looking like its exactly what I was hoping. Octo!Ilea is going to be a *beast* to read about fighting
Hoo boy~ that was a great read. No comments on grammar since I ain't that nazi about it! Or have a great mastery over English! Anyways, I enjoy this time skip chapter. It's not drab that tells Ilea's advancements with the flow of each sentence, of each paragraph, that I feel a slight disheartened sensation that I've reached the end. The title of the chapter left me a question, 'why name it like that?' , and I wasn't disappointed. This one retells once more who is Ilea Spears through her advancements. I love each callback made here as well about the Drakes. Keep up the good work and I hate (read 'love') you for leaving me dry here!!!!!
Benjamin
Slightly exponential*
Benjamin
I like the progression but I feel like these new third tier skills could have a bit more weight to them. I mean how much stronger is she at LVL 220-240 than 200-220. Is it linear or sluf
Arkeus
Mmmh, a bit surprised she hasn't gotten anything in blink/veil of ash, but I guess 3rd tier skills really really take a long time. Also, Ashen Wings slowly but surely levelling up :D
