Ats made his way to the training ground, his excitement barely tained. Before him stood the Seraining Mannequin, ready to spare with him to test the new skills he had just acquired.

  He spun his spear in a smooth arc, feeling the swift and fluid movement as though it were aension of his own body. With each motion, a surge of energy coursed through him, leaving him invigorated.

  Taking a defeance, a faint aura of water and lightning enveloped his body, harmonizing with the natural energy from his spear. The bined effect was breathtaking—a fusion of Oic Blessing and his newly unlocked skill: Tempest Guard.

  [Elite - Tempest Guard (ditional Passive Skill) Lv. 8]

  [A defeanhanced by water and lightning energy. The passive effect grants a sistent defensive buff, while the active poriggers a ter-shockwave when parrying.

  Passive Effect:

  Increases defense by 15% for 7 seds after entering the stance.

  Triggered on Successful Parry:

  Releases a shockwave that deals 100% AoE damage to enemies within 3 meters.

  Restores a small amount of stamina per successful parry.]

  This skill was nothing short of extraordinary. Every time Ats adopted a defeance, his defense was automatically boosted by 15%. On top of that, whenever he successfully parried an attack, a burst of AoE damage radiated outwards, and he gaiamina regeion!

  “Seriously?! This skill is ridiculously overpowered!”

  He could already imagihe potential Tempest Guard would bring to his battles, not only exceptional defe also the ability to turn every bloto an opportunity for a terattack.

  Ats dashed forward, spear in hand, ready to test his new skills. The Training Mannequin responded in kind, wielding a spear of its own.

  They exged quick strikes, sidestepping and dodging, until their ons cshed with a resounding impact. A shockwave of energy erupted from the collision, sending the Training Mannequin skidding backward.

  Ats felt a surge of energy pulse through his chest, as though his heart had beerified.

  Seizing the moment, he lunged forward with blinding speed, delivering an overhead strike! The Training Mannequin, however, mao parry the attack, f Ats to recover quickly.

  The csh tinued, each move fluid and precise, until Ats executed another parry. This time, however, the expected shockwave didn’t follow.

  He stepped back, allowing some distaween him and the Training Mannequin, which also moved into a ral, standby position.

  “It seems the skill has a cooldown,” Ats murmured. He realized that mastering his new abilities would require uanding their limitations and timing.

  Still, Tempest Guard assive-triggered skill. As long as he adapted his battle style to take full advantage of it, the potential fger impacts in bat was immense.

  Ats turned his focus to analyzing his sed skill.

  [Elite - Thunderpierce Thrust (Active Skill) Lv. 7]

  [A precise, lightning-ihrust aimed at a siarget, desigo pierce armor and disrupt enemies.

  Deals 230% damage in a single powerful strike.

  Ignores 25% of the target’s defense.

  15% ce to paralyze the target for 1.5 seds.]

  When Ats reviewed the details of the Tempest Warden css, he found information about four primary skills he would eventually unlock. However, none of them were explicitly designed for siarget bat.

  This was why Kurogasa had pointed out that the css’s siarget potential was weaker when pared to its formidable AoE capabilities.

  However, with the addition of his newly unlocked skill, Thunderpierce Thrust, alongside Flurry of Spears, Oic Blessing from the Wavebreaker Spear, and his Elemental Spear Mastery talent, the equation ged signifitly.

  Elemental Spear Mastery, his S-rated talent, signifitly enhanced his ability to el elemental powers into his spear teiques. It boosted both his offensive and defensive capabilities, making his strikes more precise aating while allowing his defeo adapt fluidly to different situations.

  Oic Blessing, a passive ability of the Wavebreaker Spear, reduced ining damage, pierced through enemy defenses, and occasionally summoned an oic spear to deal extra damage. Each strike from this blessing also slowed the target’s attack speed, adding a crippling effect that turned siarget es in his favor.

  By bining these four abilities, Ats realized he had drastically elevated his siarget damage potential. With precise execution and proper timing, his siarget bat was no longer a weakness—in fact, it had reached a level he could fidently rate as 5 stars!

  However, Kurogasa’s remained valid. While Ats’s siarget damage potential had been signifitly boosted, it could reach eveer heights with a on whose skill set was entirely focused on siarget bat.

  The ability to switch between two specialized ons during battle would allow him to deliver a more devastating impact, adapting to different sarios with precision.

  He sidered asking Baldric to craft such a spear for him. Yet, a doubt lingered in his mind—could Baldri his current state, fe a on capable of rivaling the Legendary-grade Wavebreaker Spear?

  Ats sighed thoughtfully.

  It’s not about doubting Baldric’s skills—it’s the resources and time it would take to create something of that caliber.

  Still, the idea of a spear crafted specifically for siarget bat was entig, and it might be worth expl once Baldric had the means to work at his peak potential.

  From the defensive perspective, the bination of Lifebound Shield, Tempest Guard, and the damage redu provided by Oic Blessing es also has a 5 stars defeing. Here's why:

  Lifebound Shield and Tempest Guard: These provide robust defensive capabilities. Lifebound Shield adds a durable yer of prote, while Tempest Guard enhances defense by 15% in a defeance, retaliates with AoE damage upon a successful parry, and regees stamina.

  Oic Blessing: The passive effect from the Wavebreaker Spear reduces ining damage while debuffing enemies, slowing their attack speed, and providing overall bat.

  Alright! The final skill:

  [Elite - Tempest Arc (Active Skill) Lv. 4]

  [A wide, sweeping spear attack that creates a wave of water and lightning to strike multiple enemies in front.

  Deals 160% damage to all enemies within a 6-meter e.

  Reduces affected enemies’ movement speed by 32% for 3 seds.

  Reduces affected enemies’ stamina regeion by 14% for 5 seds.]

  Tempest Arc is undoubtedly a powerful new AoE skill that further enhances his already overpowered arsenal from the Wavebreaker Spear.

  Not only does it deliver devastating AoE damage, but it also provides crowd trol by disrupting enemy formations and movements. Additionally, it applies debuffs tets, making them more vulnerable or limiting their capabilities during bat.

  A perfect addition to his skillset, solidifying his dominan AoE damage and battlefield trol.

  Ats resumed his practice against the Training Mannequin, this time fog entirely ohree new skills he had unlocked. He aimed to familiarize himself with their meid ie them seamlessly into his bat style.

  [Elite - Tempest Guard (ditional Passive Skill) Lv. 8]

  The first skill focused on deferiggered by perf a parry. It not only boosted his defensive capabilities but alseed stamina, making it a critical tool for maintaining his endurance during prolonged battles.

  [Elite - Thunderpierce Thrust (Active Skill) Lv. 7]

  The sed skill owerful siarget strike, desigo deliver precise aating damage to key enemies. Its speed and pierg force made it an excellent choice for eliminating high-priority targets.

  [Elite - Tempest Arc (Active Skill) Lv. 4]

  The third skill excelled in AoE damage. It unleashed wide-raacks capable of hitting multiple enemies while also crowd trol, disrupting enemy formations and giving him a signifit advantage in group battles.

  Through repeated practice, Ats began to see the synergy between the skills, eaplementing the other to create a well-rounded and formidable bat style.

  Ats spent the rest of the day honing his new set of skills, practig tirelessly against the Training Mannequin.

  He also began iing the Shadow element into his bat style, knowing that mastery over this synergy would take time. His goal was clear: to make every movement and bination seamless, enhang his versatility in battle.

  As night fell, Ats gathered with Edrik and the others to discuss strategies for pleting the quests tied to the Tempest Warden css. Unlog more skills would be essential to realizing the full potential of his new role.

  The first quest on the list was titled: “The Crushing Tide.”