CHAPTER 294: NEW SKILLS!

[Ding! You have combined the skills Holy Grace (Active), Renewed Blessing (Passive), Blessing Spire (Active) and Blessing of Vital Light (Passive) to create a new skill: Radiant Wellspring.]

Radiant Wellspring (Active, Rank-A, Element-Holy)

Description: Summons a sanctified well of radiant energy at a targeted location for 15 seconds. Allies within range regenerate health rapidly and receive 30% reduced damage from all sources. Undead or unholy beings caught within the radius suffer continuous holy damage and reduced healing effects. Activates minor cleansing on each healing pulse. Cooldown: 90 seconds

Damon was pleasantly surprised at this new development. He had been tinkering around with these four skills for the past several hours, considering the high synergy between them but he didn’t think that he would actually be able to combine them together into an A rank skill at that.

This wasn’t just a spell anymore, it was battlefield control. A hybrid AoE heal plus AoE damage zone with utility tacked on. The kind of skill that, in the hands of a paladin or high-tier cleric, would’ve become the centerpiece of any raid group. But now... it was his. A vampire, wielding radiant holy wells like they were just another tool in his overflowing arsenal.

Grinning, Damon immediately cast the skill on the puppet area. The effect was instant. A circle of brilliant white-gold light bloomed beneath his feet, threads of radiant mist swirling upward like reverse rain. He could feel its purifying pulse seep into his bones and nourishing him.

Damon’s crimson eyes narrowed as the puppet within the radius began to steam and spark, its mana-reactive alloys reacting violently to the searing holy damage. The runes beneath it flickered, struggling to stabilize the readings. And all around him, the radiance danced, gentle to allies, merciless to enemies.

"Beautiful," Damon nodded but he was not satisfied with just this alone. He still had several more hours left and he wanted to work on few other skill combinations he had in mind. If he was able to combine these lesser skills into a high rank skill, then there was so much more he could do.

Damon continued practising his skills once again. Since he was on a roll with holy skills he decided to continue with that. He opened his skill menu again and scanned for the next cluster. One caught his eye immediately.

[Sanctified Barrier] – a minor auto-shield for allies.

[Seraph’s Light] – a passive that slightly increased shield durability and reflected a fraction of damage.

[Aegis Pulse] – a short burst of divine energy that could interrupt projectiles and cleanse one debuff.

[Holy Anchor] – a rarely used ability that rooted the caster in place to boost defenses massively for five seconds.

[Blessing of the Vigilant] – a passive that increased resistance to crowd control effects for all nearby allies.

[Shield of Light] – a weak but persistent aura that applied a small damage-absorbing barrier every 10 seconds to allies within range.

Damon raised an eyebrow. Not flashy on their own, but together? A shield, a reactive trait, a burst interrupt, a defense boost, an anti-CC passive, and a steady regenerating aura. If he could get them to meld right...

His lips curled into a grin. "Let’s make this one a fortress," he muttered and began cycling through the skills slowly, learning and understanding each one of them.

He cast them again and again, adjusting intervals, overlapping durations, watching how they interacted within the training room’s mana-dense air. The puppet, now outfitted with damage protocols, launched magical projectiles and simulated attacks. Shields flickered, pulses flared, and cleansing effects shimmered through the air in defensive waves.

And then, just as he synchronized the final cast, a golden pulse surged outward from his core.

[Ding! You have combined the skills Sanctified Barrier, Seraph’s Light, Aegis Pulse, Holy Anchor, Blessing of the Vigilant, and Shield of Light to create a new skill: Bastion of the Condemned.]

Bastion of the Condemned (Active, Rank-A+, Element: Holy)

Description: Erects a divine bulwark around the caster or designated ally for 10 seconds, creating a zone of radiant protection. Allies inside the zone receive a gradually scaling shield, up to 300% of their max HP. All forms of crowd control are reduced by 50%, and stuns are shortened by 70%. Melee attackers are periodically repelled by light bursts. Ranged projectiles are slowed and lose 30% damage on impact. Reflects 10% of absorbed damage as radiant backlash to attackers. Undead and dark-aligned creatures take holy damage and suffer aura suppression. Cooldown: 150 seconds.

"What the fuck is this skill?!" Damon stared at the ridiculously powerful skill that had popped out. This was completely insane. He was essentially building divine bastions in the middle of enemy territory, sanctuaries that could devastate the unholy while uplifting his own side.

He quickly checked if he could still cast the simple shield skill, and he could. Not that he would be using it anytime soon. Even with the 2-minute cooldown, this skill was pretty powerful, and he could always supplement it with other defensive skills. After all, holy skills were not the only skills in his arsenal.

He quickly wanted to try it out. He immediately cast the skill on himself. With a hum like a bell being struck underwater, a dome of radiant hexagonal light rose around him, flickering slightly with golden waves. Every pulse of the barrier shuddered the air.

The moment the puppet fired a low-powered magic bolt, the dome intercepted it mid-flight, disintegrating it with a gentle burst of particles. And then, something unexpected happened.

[Ding! You have unlocked a new skill boost]

[Ding! While Bastion of the Condemned and Radiant Wellspring are active within 15 meters of each other, both zones can enhance each other. Healing is increased by 25%. Shields absorb an additional 15% damage. Fear, silence, and confusion effects are negated inside the area. Undead and unholy regeneration is halted entirely.]

Damon read the notification and he couldn’t believe it. Casting both the skills together would bring a devastating effect on his opponents. "Ha..." he exhaled slowly. This was completely broken.

***

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