Chapter 56 – The Power of Talent (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Favorites)

Chapter 56 – The Power of Talent (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Favorites)

In terms of basic attributes, compared to before his class change, Cheng Yang’s attack power had increased by one point, while his magic defense and physical defense had each increased by two points.

This was the strength of the Frost Mage. The reason for the two-point increase in defense was due to the Ice Armor skill. This was a unique ability of the Frost Mage and the most distinctive feature that set it apart from other classes.

Of course, there was another significant change – his talent. Originally, Cheng Yang’s magic attack boost was 3%, but after becoming a Frost Mage, it had increased by another 1%.

This elevated Cheng Yang’s talent by an entire tier, something that had never happened in his previous life.

In his past life, there were people who successfully changed to special classes, but none of them had S-grade aptitude. After all, S-grade individuals were extremely rare, and special classes were even rarer. The chance of someone having both was astronomically low.

But now Cheng Yang was puzzled. In his previous life, the strongest known talent was S-grade, with a maximum single attribute boost of 3%. How did he suddenly get 4%? Was this some kind of bug?

There were also some minor changes to Cheng Yang’s abilities. Magic Missile and Wind Bind had been completely transformed. While the changes didn’t seem significant, they had turned two previously non-elemental spells into ice-based magic.

There were benefits, of course. Magic Missile now had a chance to slow enemies, though the activation rate was only 30%. Still, this could be crucial when facing powerful opponents. Additionally, Frost Nova was now much stronger than the original Wind Bind. As long as the enemy’s attack power wasn’t twice his own, the skill would take effect.

However, perhaps because the skill was too powerful, a casting time restriction had been added. Cheng Yang understood this mechanic well – any skill with a casting time required the caster to remain stationary during the cast.

Undoubtedly, this limitation reduced Frost Nova’s practicality, but it was still far superior to Wind Bind.

These changes were just the beginning for a Frost Mage. What truly made the class powerful were other factors. Once someone changed to a special class, they gained access to a unique skill learning system.

Curious about what skills a Frost Mage could learn, Cheng Yang opened his class panel. To his surprise and delight, he found a skill available for learning.

Regardless of how practical the skill was, having an extra ability in the early stages was always beneficial.

Cheng Yang’s eyes widened – an area-of-effect spell!

He never expected to gain access to an AoE spell so quickly. In his previous life, the warrior who obtained the Frost Spirit had also learned this spell, but not until reaching the initial Warrior rank. Everyone had assumed it was a Warrior-rank skill, so no one paid much attention to it.

Now Cheng Yang realized this powerful AoE spell could be learned at the Apprentice level. The difference was staggering.

How big was a 3-meter radius? In areas with dense monster populations, this could encompass seven or eight demonic beasts. In places like the Death Valley with its skeleton soldiers, over a dozen could fit within that range. With Ice Spikes, Cheng Yang could clear an entire area in just two casts – far more efficient than using Magic Missile to pick off enemies one by one.

Cheng Yang immediately spent 200 Spirit Points to learn Ice Spikes. After learning it, he discovered that while the skill was indeed powerful, it also consumed a significant amount of mana – 12 points per cast.

After instructing Yu Kai and others to collect the 4,000 Spirit Points he had lent out during the latter half of the night, Cheng Yang left Phoenix Village.

His nightly hunts now took him much further out, about four kilometers from the village walls. The closer areas had already been cleared of large monster groups, and while new monsters constantly spawned there, they no longer met Cheng Yang’s needs. Besides, if he cleared out all the smaller groups, what would the other warriors in the territory fight?

During the night’s hunt, Cheng Yang gathered nearly 2,000 Spirit Points. The expedition had been quite dangerous – he accidentally stumbled into a monster group numbering nearly 600. The intense battle consumed most of his mana potions, forcing him to rely on his own concoctions for the rest of the night.

The night’s success was largely due to the power of Ice Spikes. Whenever monsters clustered together, Cheng Yang would use the skill to clear them out. His efficiency had more than doubled. Of course, his Ice Armor also played a crucial role. Its powerful defense allowed him to tank attacks from ordinary monsters while casting Ice Spikes.

According to the system rules, when defense exceeded attack by 30%, attacks would be completely ineffective. When defense exceeded attack by less than 30%, there was a chance of taking 1 point of damage, with the probability decreasing as defense increased.

With 6 points of defense against demonic beasts that had a maximum of 5 attack, Cheng Yang had a high chance of complete immunity. He could easily withstand attacks from large groups of demonic beasts.

Returning to the territory, Cheng Yang retrieved the 4,000 Spirit Points from Yu Kai and began his daily cultivation.

By dawn, his cultivation progress had reached 13.4%. Just the night before, it had been only 9.9%, meaning he had gained 3.5% in a single night. This efficiency was astonishing.

Suddenly, Cheng Yang frowned. According to data from his previous life, Level 3 Meditation should normally increase cultivation progress by 0.5% per day. Factoring in his sixfold cultivation speed, Level 2 housing, and his talent, the increase should have been around 3.2%. Why was it 3.5%?

Previously, Cheng Yang had noticed daily cultivation increases but hadn’t paid much attention since they were close to his expectations. But this 0.3% difference was significant – it meant his cultivation efficiency had increased by more than 50% on top of the base rate.

Based on his previous life’s experience, the effects of Spirit Points and housing had been verified countless times and couldn’t be wrong. The only variable was his talent.

After careful calculation, Cheng Yang reached an exhilarating conclusion. The cultivation speed bonus from his talent wasn’t additive but multiplicative. If it were additive, his current cultivation efficiency would be 6.29 times normal. But with multiplication, it was closer to 6.8 times.

Don’t underestimate these decimal points. At his current low level, the difference was small, but once he reached higher levels, it could potentially double his cultivation efficiency.

Even more incredible was that this efficiency boost didn’t require additional Spirit Points.

Cheng Yang was getting excited. His talent was simply too powerful. It would play an immeasurable role in boosting the territory’s strength. Given enough time, Phoenix Village would stand at the pinnacle of the world. No, by then it wouldn’t be Phoenix Village anymore – it would be Phoenix City.

After calming himself, Cheng Yang left his house, having completely forgotten about the 720 Spirit Points consumed during the night’s cultivation.

It was now the ninth day since the apocalypse began. Cheng Yang felt a sense of urgency – with each passing day, the survival rate of humans decreased.

Fortunately, most cities had already retaken their main cities from the monsters. Those that hadn’t would likely never be able to do so on their own, spelling doom for their survivors.

Cheng Yang didn’t think too far ahead. He just wanted to rescue more refugees from Xiang City while there was still time, and gather more Spirit Points to strengthen himself and his territory.

Next, Cheng Yang transferred all 10,000 of his Spirit Points to Yu Kai’s team. This wasn’t for Yu Kai to enjoy sixfold cultivation speed, but to select ten team members for fourfold speed cultivation.

According to Cheng Yang’s plan, Phoenix Village’s teams would cultivate in a set rotation. This would maximize Spirit Point efficiency while maintaining team coordination.

Yu Kai’s team was up first, followed by Niu Bing’s team.

After making these arrangements, Cheng Yang entered the Bloody Church dungeon. After a series of battles, his Spirit Points reached about 1,400 again.

Cheng Yang left 1,000 Spirit Points for cultivation and set out with Li Wanshan and others. After a day of class changes and increased Spirit Points, all warrior slots in Phoenix Village were filled, with each team reaching its full capacity of 167 members. There was no longer any need for Li Wanshan to stay in the territory.

However, the territory’s Spirit Points had been completely depleted by the class changes. Fortunately, Cheng Yang had just cleared the Bloody Church dungeon, or he would have had to wait until evening to upgrade the final attribute of the Priest Statue.

The group followed a new route back to Xiang City, encountering many monster groups along the way. But with Cheng Yang’s AoE skills, these monsters were quickly dispatched, serving only to increase his Spirit Points.