In the end, Reidar invested all his points into A.C.U.M.E.N. as 19 more points would translate into a huge amount of mana.

Like that, Reidar jumped to 8571 mana points, which was a lot more than what he previously had.

As for the perks, he chose something that was situational. Since he had to kill a monster far too many levels above his, he decided to focus on those that would help him kill the creature.

The first was Pack Tactics, which gave a bonus to his summons damage and critical strike chance when attacking the same target. He invested 5 points, which meant his summoned creatures were going to have 25% more damage and critical strike chance if they targeted the same creature.

Reidar didn't know if he would need for all his creatures to focus on it or if all those that were targeting the same one influenced each other, but it didn't matter.

Second, he chose Elemental infusion which gave a bonus elemental attack to his summoned creatures based on the element of the last spell he cast. He used 5 points in this, granting 25% increased damage.

Reidar was also pretty sure that this would stack well with his Rift-Sprites, but having the spectral knights inflict fire, water, or whatever kind of elemental damage was also great.

He was also tempted to choose Ethereal Tether, but the problem was that he would need to supply constant mana to his creatures, but the skill only offered a 25% reduction.

His rift-Sprite contubernium had a fixed mana cost of 320 mana points. This was decreased by 25% thanks to Focused Mind, which meant 240 mana points per minute would be spent, and then another 25% would be added, lowering everything to 160 mana points per minute.

That would be per Summon Rift-Sprite Contubernium, at least, but he had other skills to use, which quickly racked up the mana cost, making it unsustainable.

There was also the question of his summoned creatures getting the same effects from his perk.

If they didn't, then good, because they could keep using the summoning skills as they did until that point without problems.

The problem was if they did, because Reidar doubted they would have his same mana reserves, and even if they did, that mana would have to be spent attacking, not keeping the summons on, especially if those summons all had the same problem.

So, Reidar opted for Mana Siphon, which basically turned all his summons into Guardian shades, as it gave them the ability to siphon mana from the environment.

The point was that it worked for all his summons, and, based on what the perk did, it gave a 0.0001% regeneration rate increase per summoned creature, which meant that with 10,000 creatures, Reidar would get increased mana regeneration of about 10% given he maxed the perk up to 10 points, but the effect stacked with all his creatures, which meant the more mana he would get, and the more creatures, hence the higher regeneration rate.

The problem would be offset by his greater mana pool, but it was still great, nonetheless. The perk was going to become particularly useful now that he was going to spend all his mana to summon the new creatures.

Reidar would basically just need to wait a little for him to get enough mana back to summon something else or to attack.

The last two points Reidar invested into Inspired Creation, which increased his chance of crafting higher-rarity items and in which he had already spent 2 points in the past weeks.

All in all, Reidar felt he had made the right choice, although there were many perks that were going to be useful and that he could not wait to get.

<I can't wait to see what perks I'm going to unlock once I reach level 200… Well, if I get to that point, of course.>

But what Reidar did soon after was compute how many creatures he was now able to summon.

He had eight thousand five hundred seventy point seven mana to work with. That was his entire pool—everything he could spend before the core inside him went dry.

"7,150. 7 divided by 10…" His eyes flickered as he calculated. "That's 715."

"What are you talking about, Reidar?"

"Nothing… sorry… I'm checking something…"

He went back to the numbers, and his lips curved. "That's 8,260 summoned creatures in total."

"8,260 creatures?" Lena was dumbfounded as she heard that. "How many attribute points did you have? Did you invest them all in A.C.U.M.E.N.?"

Reidar nodded. "I had quite a few, and yes, I invested them all in that."

"Shit!" Lena couldn't believe that. "You really are a monster…"

Reidar let out a quiet breath, almost a laugh. He looked down at his hands, imagining the sheer scale of monsters he could summon.

But he didn't know if they would be enough to even the level disparity. Sure, with his new perks, he was bound to do more damage, but the level disparity meant that the broodmother was strong, and it was likely she too had many skills.

Regardless, for now, it was just numbers. Theory, and if he did like Lena suggested, he would not face any danger anyway.

But, God, the theory was beautiful.

At that point, Reidar started summoning the Contuberniums, and Jake did the same. Quickly, the monsters started spilling into the streets, filling them with shrieks that immediately attracted the attention of the nearby Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnids.

The sheer amount of creatures Reidar summoned weren't going to stay silent. Even moving around was bound to make a lot of noise, noise that the Dread-Spinners heard and that they went to investigate.

The more than twenty of them that were in front of the nest came to check for the source of the commotion.

It didn't take much for their crimson eyes to lock on the source.

What they found stopped them cold.

In the middle of streets, plazas, and buildings was a veritable army of small, drooling, and snarling monsters that clicked their mandibles in communication.

And among them stood larger figures—Jake's spectral knights in ethereal armor, with blades pointed at the sky.

The scene looked like the apocalypse itself had manifested in physical form once again, but in a different way. Not that of calamities descending on the world, but instead that of an army ready to bathe the world in blood and ichor.

The Dread-Spinners hesitated as confusion flickered through their many eyes. This was not a normal intrusion. More than that, it was awfully close to their nest, to their mother.

Their instinct to protect the nest grew stronger than their fear. The Broodmother was sacred. These invaders would die.

The spiders charged.

Jake's spectral knights moved forward to intercept. They met the Dread-Spinners head-on, blades raised, formations tight. But the level disparity was massive. The knights were level 70. The spiders were 125 and above.

The first spider leaped, and three knights swung their swords. The blades connected with the spider's carapace but barely scratched it.

More than three knights were dead in seconds.

Dozens more rushed in to fill the gap, but it was as futile as an ant battling an elephant. The spider killed them just as fast.

The other Dread-Spinners joined the slaughter. However, Jake's summoned creatures weren't the only ones there. Reidar's army, despite starting to scale the various buildings, was still there.

The rain of fire began.

More than 8,000 Ember Rift-Sprites opened their mouths. Fireballs erupted from their throats, small but numerous, and carrying the power of level 114 creatures, as they were. The projectiles converged on the Dread-Spinners, engulfing both the arachnid monsters and Jake's summons alike.

The first spider took fifty fireballs onto its carapace. Then a hundred. Then two hundred. The damage mounted. Cracks formed. Its shell began to glow because of the heat.

The spider shrieked and activated a skill. Its exoskeleton hardened, absorbing the next volley. But the fireballs kept coming. Three hundred. Four hundred. Five hundred.

[Level 123 Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnid defeated.]

The other spiders fared no better. They killed knights by the dozens, but the Rift-Sprites overwhelmed them with the sheer volume of their attacks.

The spiders tried to retreat to get out of that rain of death, but there was nowhere to run. The entire street was filled with attackers.

So they shrieked. It was a call for help.

…

…

…

Reidar, Lena, and Jake reached the upper floors of the building. Behind them, the sounds of battle intensified: screeching spiders, dying knights, and the roar of fire consuming everything.

Smoke mounted and trailed above, which made visibility low, and hence why they climbed the building.

Lena reached the last floor first. She turned to Reidar.

"You summoned too many creatures without waiting for them to get into position," she said. "They needed to be on the rooftops before attacking. Now it's a colossal mess!"

Reidar shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Lena. There are so many Rift-Sprites that they'll get into position on their own while keeping the Dread-Spinners at bay. The battle's already started, and there was no guarantee they would not have heard my creatures even if I summoned less than what I did."

Lena opened her mouth to argue, then closed it, because there was no point.

The Rift-Sprites Reidar summoned would spread like a tide, filling every space, while Jake's spectral knights and few Rift-Sprites kept the monsters pinned on the ground.

The noise below grew louder. Not just from the battle they had started, but from something else. A deeper sound. Rhythmic pounding. It was the sound of legs striking pavement.

Lena was feeling the monster's emotions and knew that screech was meant to call for help.

"More monsters are coming," she said. Reidar moved to a shattered window and looked down.

Around two hundred Dread-Spinners poured into the area. The problem was, would the monsters in the distraction battle they created also come too?

<Hopefully not…>

The spiders hit the flanks of Reidar's army. Spectral knights Jake summoned basically got decimated, crushed, and torn apart.

Which forced him to summon another batch. He channeled mana and used his trait and summoned 3000 Spectral Knights, who soon joined the battle.

Reidar gave him a nod.

In the meantime, the spiders used Gloom-Web Barrage, one of their skills, to pin as many creatures as possible.

The strands burned as soon as the rift-Sprites used their fireballs, but not fast enough to avoid death.

But even as they killed, notifications flooded Reidar's vision. More monsters were dying.

[Level 126 Monster Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnid defeated.]

[Level 123 Monster Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnid defeated.]

[Level 128 Monster Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnid defeated.]

[Level 125 Monster Dread-Spinner Gloom-Web Arachnid defeated.]

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