The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family-Chapter 384: A City Like a Corpse (1)

He'd picked every perk that didn't rely on direct combat, focusing on survival rather than raw power. Hardened Resilience gave him two percent more health per point, which meant that with five points invested, he gained ten percent extra—three thousand health added to his pool.

Endless Endurance did the same for stamina, while stealthy Presence reduced detection range by three percent per point.

Eight points meant twenty-four percent, which meant he would be harder to spot. Instead, environmental Adaptation cut environmental damage by four percent per invested perk point.

Seven points—the ones he invested—meant twenty-eight percent less damage from the volcanic zones.

Production Efficiency gave him a five percent chance per point to craft an extra item, which meant that with six points invested, he had a thirty percent chance—roughly three out of ten crafts would yield a bonus item. Resource Purity increased the chance of finding rare materials while gathering, and he'd maxed it at ten points for a forty percent boost.

Blueprint Genius had jumped from one out of nine to seven out of nine, with each point reducing material costs by five percent, which meant that seven points gave him thirty-five percent fewer materials needed—a massive advantage that allowed him to use his already limited resources further. Item Durability, meanwhile, made his gear less prone to damage, which was dangerous here.

He'd chosen all of it for one simple reason: the Ignis were the weakest things here.

During his travels, his Sky-Hunters had scouted far ahead compared to Reidar's position. They'd seen other things moving in the deep canyons and across the scorched plains. Things his interface reported at levels 600, 650, and even over 700.

He even saw one such monster from a distance at some point. It was a massive, worm-like thing that burrowed through solid rock like it was water, and its level was 723.

<Scary.>

He couldn't fight that. Not directly. Even with his new levels and gear, a monster a hundred levels higher would kill him before he could give an order. His summons might last a few seconds, but that was it.

So he didn't build for damage. He did build to survive a single hit, to stay hidden, and to run away when needed. He chose everything to endure this place long enough to find Mara and stop her.

His professions had also leveled up significantly. Tailoring went from 270 to 307. Woodworking increased from 235 to 320. Enchanting had the largest gain, jumping from 293 to 401.

There was another thing that helped him survive. Since he used so many skills during these two weeks, all his proficiencies got past 51%, which meant he could share them again through his trait.

The Ignis were manageable now since he was around their level, but he couldn't handle too large groups. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

That made it possible for him to summon his creatures at their normal numbers again, which swelled his forces back to what they should be. That extra firepower was the main reason he had survived this long.

His summons were lower tier compared to the Ignis, which limited his options and forced him to be more cautious in his approach to combat.

That was why he made the choice to focus on survivability above all else, why he invested in the new defensive and utility perks, and why he made the choice to dump all of his available attribute points into S.H.I.E.L.D.

<Even though I've reached level 480, facing a level 700 monster is a completely different game. Putting everything into S.H.I.E.L.D. was the only logical choice. If I get hit, I need to survive that first blow.>

Reidar closed the status screen.

The city lay ahead. If he wanted to explore it while there was still light, he needed to move quickly.

<I am as prepared as I can…>

Reidar summoned his Apex Menagerie.

The pull of mana drained from his body as the creatures flared to life in front of him. He chose to summon the wolves this time. The Ignis were close, and he needed speed and coordination; plus, the wolves were far harder to spot than most of his other summons, at least in this environment.

Summoning the ravens might be dangerous since Reidar had seen many flying monsters circling the skies around this area during his previous scouting expeditions. The sky was contested territory, and drawing attention from above could lead to a fight he wasn't prepared for, and neither was he going to be. So, the best thing would be to lie low and avoid anything that might make his presence more obvious to the predators patrolling overhead.

Within moments, a pack of eight wolves stood before him.

<Good. That should be enough.>

Reidar turned toward the city, knowing he needed a better understanding of where he was going and what was going on inside there. However, he wasn't going to rush in blindly, which was why he had already summoned thousands of Vorathid Sky-Hunters, shrunk them to the size of wasps, and sent them scouting inside.

It would be faster and safer this way for him, because the summons would map the place and search in his stead. Of course, he would still need to go inside in person if he wanted to properly investigate.

<Let's hope I really found her this time…>

The ruined city sprawled ahead like a corpse left to rot. Ash blanketed everything—thick drifts piled against crumbling walls, powder-fine layers coating broken stone. However, here the ashes were far less than in the other cities, and that was because Reidar was now far from the volcanic area.

But the badlands stretched beyond it and even inside, to the point that the wasteland of cracked earth and jagged rock formations consumed a large part of the city, with giant rocks having crushed the buildings.

Countless buildings had crumbled into ruin. Charred skeletons stood in place of what were once towering structures, leaning at impossible angles. Fragments of glass littered the ground where streets had liquefied from heat and hardened into warped, unrecognizable forms.

There was no movement, no sound except the wind scraping ash across stone. The city had died, and what remained was a catastrophe that had scorched this place and thrown it into silence.

<Let's go; we have no time to lose…>

His mount stepped forward.