Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

Tier 3 skills

Before heading for the lair of the hybrid, Aaron and Zach decided to learn some new skills and buy a few more consumables from the mystic shop. A battle against a Zone Guardian was all about being well prepared. Since they were playing as a duo and not as a full party of 4, this boss fight was going to be a lot harder.

Defeating the raptors had boosted Aaron to level 23. He now had access to some of the most powerful tier 3 skills in the pyromaniac’s arsenal. All this time, he had been saving his skill points so that he could use them to learn some of his signature moves.

The tier 3 skills consumed more EP than the lower tier skills and were highly effective in boss battles. However, to unlock any tier 3 skill, whether it was offensive, defensive or exploration, the player had to use 5 skill points at once. Currently, Aaron had 10 skill points in his inventory. Instead of using them to learn several low level skills, he decided to use them to unlock two tier 3 skills.

Aaron now had access to a wide selection of skills, each suited for specific purposes. There were skills which dealt huge AOE damage as well as ones which inflicted multiple status debuffs on the enemy. For the upcoming battle against the Zone Guardians, he needed a skill which could deal massive single target damage. However, he also had to protect himself from its attacks. All this time, he had been relying on Zach for support, but the previous encounter with the Orc Warlord had taught him a valuable lesson. Building a character which focused purely on raw damage would leave him vulnerable against stronger opponents. Thus, this time Aaron opened up the Defensive skills section and spent 5 skill points on a team-based defensive skill.

[*Skill Unlocked!*]

[Defensive 1: Radiant Protection: When cast, the skill conjures a solar shield around each party member which absorbs 5000 damage. The skill consumes 200EP for each party member.]

Next on Aaron’s checklist was the single target attack skill. There were a total of 4 tier 3 skills which were highly effective against a single enemy, each with its own unique effects. Aaron read all their descriptions carefully and finally chose a skill which would allow him to maintain a safe distance from the enemy.

“Unlock Skill: Immolating Spear!”

His Z-band immediately confirmed the selection and showed him a brief tutorial animation for the skill usage.

[*Skill Unlocked!*]

[Offensive 1: Immolating Spear: Conjures a blazing red spear from the underworld. The weapon can only be wielded by a Pyromancer. It penetrates all armor and deals 5000 damage to a single target. Any enemy hit with this spear is immediately set on fire and takes an additional 50 fire damage per second for 100 seconds.]

While Aaron had reached level 23, Zach was on level 18. He had just gained access to the tier 2 skills in the Aquamancer’s arsenal. He had 5 unused skill points at his disposal and all the choice in the world. Since Zach had decided to play support, it had greatly limited his damage potential, making him pretty useless in solo fights. Now with 5 skill points in his inventory, he had the chance to rectify that mistake.

Accessing the skills section, Zach opened up the Offensive Skills section. Right now, he only had a beginner level, Aqua Punch, as his sole attacking option. To add a few more offensive capabilities, he immediately unlocked 3 skills in the 2nd tier.

The first skill which he learned was an AOE damaging skill named Hydro Ball. This skill had relatively low EP consumption and could be used to target groups of smaller enemies. It was an effective way to deal with any foe vulnerable to water damage.

The next skill which he learned was the Aqua Blast skill. Unlike the Hydro Ball, the Aqua Blast only focused on a single enemy and inflicted the wet status effect as well as a sufficient amount of knock back. While it wasn’t as damaging as a Pyromancer’s attacking skills, it certainly was a viable offensive tool against charging foes.

The last skill which Zach picked up from the Offensive section was the Rapid Conversion skill, which allowed an Aquamancer to transform any body of water into either solid or gaseous form.

Having picked up the essential attacking skills, Zach switched to the Exploration tab and learned the Greater Detection skill. The last skill on his list was Soothing Circle—an intermediate level restoration skill which was perfect for team support.

When all the preparations were complete, Zach and Aaron took their leave from Kawasha and were escorted to the village gate by Mawanko. The young tribal chief wanted to lend them his aid, but Aaron refused to put his life in danger yet again. This was their fight and Aaron knew it was going to be a difficult battle.

Before leaving the human settlement, Aaron remembered that he still had one unused DNA sequence in his inventory—the one he had acquired from the defeated Orc Warlord. He thought it would be another group buff, but instead the adaptation he acquired was something else.

[*DNA Sequence Absorbed!*]

[1 new adaptation acquired!]

[1. Beast Tamer: Allows the player to tame any land-dwelling herbivore on Solaris and use it as a mount. The trainable animals can be chosen from the mount selection screen. Exceptions: Enchanted mounts cannot be tamed and need to be acquired from shrines or temples.]

This was just the thing Aaron needed. Travelling across the entire island on foot was an arduous and dangerous task. Having a mount would not only reduce travel time, but also help them in combat. Now all he had to do was open up the selection screen and choose from the list of mounts at his disposal.

“Open mount selection shop!”

As soon as Aaron spoke those words, a holographic display popped up before him, containing a wide selection of animals to choose from. There were over 50 available creatures, ranging from common herbivores to pre-historic giants. Aaron could choose any one of them, with the only restriction being his budget. Just like the items in the mystic shop, the mounts too required Sky Gems to purchase. Aaron had to make his selection very carefully, since each mount was unique and could be acquired only once. The tier 1 mounts were cheap and good for travelling long distances, while the tier 2 mounts were sturdier. Aaron however, had his eyes fixed on the tier 3 mounts—the rare pre-historic beasts which included some of the largest dinosaurs in the game.

There were a total of 5 dinos he could choose from, each with its own unique adaptations and stats. Some were more agile, some were aggressive damage dealers, while the others had greater offensive options. Aaron went over each of their 3 stats: Offense, Defence and Agility and finally brought them all up side by side for comparison.

[1. Ankylosaurus: Agility: 60, Offense: 70, Defence: 70.]

[2.Aptosaururs: Agility: 40, Offense: 60, Defence: 80.]

[3. Brachiosaurus: Agility: 30, Offense: 40, Defence: 80.]

[4. Diplodocus: Agility: 20, Offense: 20, Defence: 90.]

[5. Minmi: Agility: 80, Offense: 50, Defence: 50.]

After going through their detailed descriptions, Aaron clicked on the one which he thought was going to be the best choice and spent 40000 Sky Gems all in one go.

[*Selection complete!*]

[New mount acquired: Ankylosaurus!]