CHAPTER 144: GRINDING THE WEAK BASTARDS (2)

Lena wiped her blades clean on a dead spider’s carapace. The ichor came off in thick streaks. She sheathed both daggers and turned to Reidar.

"Did you level up?"

Reidar nodded. "Just hit ninety-six; I’ve got three attribute points."

"Yeah."

Reidar stared at the numbers shown by his status.

—\[«STATUS»\]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 96

Health: 770

Mana: 5703.74

C.L.A.S.P.: 252315 / 264800

Available Attribute points: 3,00

Skills: Summon Primal Pack, Summon Guardian Shade, Summon Bone Militia, Mending Touch, Group Rally, Root Grasp, Circle of Renewal, Void Javelin, Elemental Storm, Summon Razor-Gill School, Summon Spectral Knights, Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium, Wind Barrage, Granite Shard, Aqua Cannon, Fire Bolt, Summon Murk-Fin School, Stone Skin, Chitinous Carapace, Hive Mind Echo, Formic Acid Barrier, Corrosive Demise, Summon Vorathid Foragers

Equipment: Shepherd’s Crook of the Wild, Summoner’s Cowl, Summoner’s Mantle, Summoner’s Leggings, Summoner’s Handwraps, Summoner’s Treads, Summoner’s Bracers, Summoner’s Cloak, Summoner’s Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring, Stone Sprite Ring

Proficiencies: Basic Combat (100%), Velia’s Regional Map (35%), Velia’s Monster Compendium (39%), Fundamental Spellcraft (66%), Combat Instinct (55%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 7,7), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 37,8), (F.L.A.I.R. : 6,5), (F.L.I.P.: 8,7)

Minions: Primal Pack

Survival Points: 2,100,669

Trait: Skill Sharing Perks: Efficient Scavenger (6/6), Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Mana Font (6/6), Focused Mind (5/5), Rapid Learning (5/5), Arcane Resilience (4/4), Empowered Effects (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5), Inspired Creation (2/8)

Perk Points: 3

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the Innocents, Adept Learner, Abyssal Caller

Profession: Tailoring (LVL23), Woodworking (LVL34), Enchanting (LVL19)

—\[«END»\]—

"I was thinking of putting them into A.C.U.M.E.N.," Reidar said. "The monsters we’re facing are strong. I need more mana to regenerate the summons."

Lena crossed her arms. "Put them into F.L.A.I.R. instead."

Reidar blinked. "F.L.A.I.R.? But I’m a mage."

"Exactly. A summoner mage." Lena gestured at the surrounding corpses. "You think raw numbers are your problem? It’s not. Your real problem is control."

Reidar frowned but said nothing. He waited for her to continue.

"F.L.A.I.R. improves instincts and reflexes," Lena said. "That means better battlefield awareness. You’ll be able to coordinate your summons faster and react to threats before they become critical. Right now you’re directing them well, but if your reflexes were sharper, you could manage them more like extensions of your own body rather than an external army."

She counted points on her fingers. "First, better control means fewer wasted movements from your creatures. They will respond faster to your following commands. Second, you’ll track fast-moving targets better. Those spiders move quick when they want to. If you can see them clearly, you can direct your summons to intercept before they reach you or put you into disadvantageous situations."

Reidar remembered the many spiders that tried to flee and how he always had to use more of his mana to prevent them from doing so.

"Third," she said, "improved reflexes mean you’ll dodge better when something gets past your line of defense. You’re squishy, Reidar. One hit from something at our level and you’re done since you didn’t invest in S.H.I.E.L.D. and refuse to change your armor. F.L.A.I.R. will keep you alive."

Reidar sighed. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to change his armor, it was that he was not getting anything better for his summons. The armor he got worked well for general mages, people focusing melee or on ranged fights, but nothing summon specific, and his armor made his summoned creatures 25% stronger overal.

"Fourth."

"Another?!"

She nodded. "Your instincts will sharpen. You’ll feel when something’s wrong before you consciously process it. That’s the difference between life and death in chaotic fights."

Lena tilted her head. "Fifth."

"Stop it, please..."

She gave him a bad look. "Precision. When you cast spells directly—Void Javelin, Elemental Storm, whatever—better F.L.A.I.R. means better aim. Your area-of-effect spells will be more effective too, because you’ll position it better."

She paused. "And sixth, stamina efficiency. Higher F.L.A.I.R. means your body moves more efficiently. It means you will waste less energy. That matters when fights drag on."

"All right, all right... Jeez... I felt you could keep talking forever."

"If you don’t like my suggestions, then don’t talk to me about choices."

"I was joking..."

Reidar knew she was right. F.L.A.I.R. was his weakest attribute by far—worse than even F.L.I.P. It wasn’t that he didn’t see value in it. It was that he rarely went to the front lines. He just avoided danger so well that he rarely needed it. Most of the time, he played things safe, keeping his summons between him and trouble. Why risk getting hit if he didn’t have to?

F.L.A.I.R. had other benefits too, but Reidar had always prioritized mana. It just made sense for a summoner. More mana meant stronger spells, longer summon durations, bigger creatures. What was the point of dodging one attack if he couldn’t keep his summons up? He’d rather outlast than outmaneuver the enemy. At least, that’s what he told himself.

A.C.U.M.E.N. boosted awareness, cognition, understanding, and memory and increased the chances of getting enlightenment among all, which meant, in simple terms, that Reidar would get smarter.

But those changes were often so subtle, it was difficult to perceive them directly. The human mind wasn’t built to recognize gradual shifts in its own patterns. It was nearly impossible to measure how these cognitive enhancements had altered his thinking compared to others.

Reidar had always prioritized A.C.U.M.E.N. for the battlefield clarity it granted. In the middle of chaotic fights, that cognitive boost allowed him to maintain a complex mental map of every summon’s position, track mana flows, and predict enemy movements with chilling accuracy.

It was the difference between a scattered horde and a coordinated army; his mind could process dozens of tactical inputs at once, directing spells and minions with precision.

This awareness had saved him countless times, letting him counter ambushes and exploit openings faster than any foe could react. It was the foundation of his control, the reason he could command so many creatures without losing himself in the chaos.