Darius could only sigh. A typical fellow might question why his servants had better stats than their master, but he was glad.
After all, he had more than one way to guarantee his life, but Gunner and Xela would die for good unless he was around to resurrect them with Lunar Dew.
Even then, it was only possible as long as they avoided ending up like Bloodivore. No amount of Lunar Dew would bring them back if they got instantly vaporized.
Their entire existences would have been wasted investments, not to mention that ever since he had given them the 'Stone' surname, he had truly regarded them as his family.
Their deaths would not be tolerated.
Darius didn't feel like he had to worry about physical might being able to destroy them to the point that he could not bring them back. Magical power on the other end...
Fortunately, given their high Willpower, one would need hundreds of points of Intellect and thousands of percentile value on their spells to even inconvenience them. This was not even taking into account their Resistance from various equipment they possessed.
Nor was it taking into account the various spells they had that reduced magical damage. In this regard, Darius smiled.
He knew for a fact that he would soon surpass Gunner and Xela in terms of Willpower, and with ease. The reason he had so little was because in the eyes of his current bloodline, he was merely a fledgling.
Looking at the super-magical nature of Dragons, Darius estimated that he could easily reach tens of thousands of points in Willpower if he upped his bloodline further.
Just something to look forward to.
Whatever the case, he took Xela's remaining SP and upgraded what skills of hers he could.
[Holy Divine Blessing - Level 41 Spell
Grade: Advanced
Cost: 100 (50) MP per target
Description: With the power of the Divine Light combined with the Divine Life, grant any allies 41% (40%) increased Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration as well as a 11% (10%) increase in magical damage and resistance. Targets also gain a 1% increase to physical damage and defense.]
[Holy Divine Ward - Level 41 Spell
Grade: Advanced
Cost: 200 (100) MP per target
Description: With the power of the Divine Light, encase yourself in a shield that resists 41% (40%) physical and magical damage. It also has a damage threshold of 41,000 (40,000) points, in which it would only disappear once this is reached. A sub shield is born that recharges the HP of the main shield by 1% every minute.]
[Deep Purge - Level 41 Spell
Grade: Advanced
Cost: 150 (100) MP
Description: Expel all filth and dust from the surface of any living or non-living target and refresh them internally. This also increases their health slightly, strengthens libido, and slakes thirst. It also removes any hidden defects in the body that are embedded into the flesh. The maximum amount of targets per cast are 41 (40).]
[Contain Evil - Level 41 Spell
Grade: Advanced
Cost: 200 (100) MP
Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked. Up to 6 (5) wards can be created.]
[Mega Cure - Level 41 Spell
Grade: Advanced
Cost: 100 (40) MP
Description: Channel the Divine Light into the body of a target, curing them of any infection, ailment, or poison. Complete restoration is assured, and there is a 41% (40%) chance that the target will have their resistance to said ailment increased permanently. It also grants a 5% chance for a target to gain a positive evolutionary trait hidden in their genes.]
[Ultra Heal - Level 41 Spell
Cost: 500 (200) MP
Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 100% of a target's total HP and permanently increases their HP by 11% (10%). It also permanently raises Endurance by 5% for the first time each month.
Note: Does not work on those affiliated with the Supreme System.]
Darius was satisfied with the growth of her abilities. While they were not as crazy as his or Gunner's, it was largely because most of Xela's skills had come pre-learned when she had been contracted.
Luckily, these skills had been granted to her by the Divine Light and Divine Life, making them exclusive and quite powerful in their own right with the Supreme System enhancing them.
It was only skills like Purify that the Elven Princess had learned traditionally when she awoke as a mage. That was why Darius had never bothered to upgrade it much, and unfortunately, once learned, a skill could not be removed.
That was why his choice for his next Branded Servant would be very careful. He had Gunner as raw forward muscle for defense and offense and Xela for healing and various support skills.
His next Branded Servant would be groomed to take a darker path, to be a shadow. One that could strike in the dark while the rest of them remained in the light.
That would naturally be sorted out once he returned to Safemoon and began his warmongering. Right now, there were some loose ends to tie up on the continents of Pokterr and Ludo before he could move onto the next stage of his plan.
With that in mind, Darius closed the various screens and used Mass Teleport to send the group back up to the surface. The upgraded spell now sucked away quite a bit of MP, but Darius had a few skills and equipment that reduced this cost greatly, so he could still afford to ignore the drain.
The increase in distance made it so that he only needed less than a quarter of the total amounts of jumps he needed previously. This more than anything, told him that he had really and truly ascended, as the power of his various abilities had exponentially spiked.
This was what made those bloody Quests worth it!
When he reached the surface, Darius interfaced with Miranda immediately. The AI appeared in her usual life-sized form as he gazed up at her father while holding a pristine white teddy bear in her arms, her twin-tails swinging left and right.
