John's skills seamlessly intertwined, leaving them no time to catch their breath.
One after another, his abilities relentlessly assailed them, preventing any chance of retaliation.
The two gargoyles could only emit impotent roars in response.
Just when they realized the terrifying barrage of skills had suddenly ceased, it seemed their opponent had paused his actions.
Seizing the moment, they excitedly flapped their wings and soared into the air, their crimson eyes fixated on John, determined to make this detestable human pay.
However, their moment of triumph was short-lived.
The gargoyles witnessed the detestable human's staff once again emitting a glow.
John stood erect, the blue and icy-blue luminescence from his staff illuminating his serene visage.
The blue and icy-blue spell lights gradually converged, intertwining slowly.
Finally, they began to merge, undergoing a transformation.
Wisps of vapor and chill condensed in front of John, starting with a single ice crystal materializing out of thin air.
Then, the ice crystal rapidly expanded in mid-air, growing larger and larger.
Under Seraphina's astonished gaze, a gigantic ice sphere with a diameter of ten meters, emanating a bone-chilling cold, materialized in the main hall of the cathedral.
Seraphina's mouth dropped open in shock at the sight of the meteor-like ice sphere, her mind reeling from the impact.
This man had actually fused two skills together, and successfully at that!
The fusion of two skills not only requires an awakener to control two compatible elemental abilities but also demands an extraordinarily high level of skill mastery.
This is because, during the fusion process, even the slightest mishap could lead to a failed fusion, potentially causing an elemental conflict and endangering the awakener's life.
In the Federation, there are numerous top-tier awakeners who possess dual elements.
Yet, those capable of successfully fusing two elemental skills are exceedingly rare.
Although the skills John fused were merely basic, the fact that he had mastered them to such an extent merely two days after his awakening was nothing short of miraculous.
This adaptability was even more astonishing than his class talent.
At this moment, John was oblivious to Seraphina's amazement, his focus entirely on the colossal ice sphere.
The fusion of the skills had gone smoother than he anticipated, yielding significant success on his first attempt.
This success was inextricably linked to his max-level skills and, equally important, his formidable mind power, which played a crucial role in perfectly controlling and fusing the two elements.
Now, John was eager to witness the extent of damage his creation could inflict.
With a mere thought, the ice sphere transformed into a blue meteor, hurtling towards the two gargoyles with devastating speed.
A fearsome howl filled the air as the massive ice sphere descended, casting a gigantic shadow over the terrified gargoyles, their crimson eyes filled with dread.
With a thunderous crash that echoed deafeningly through the cathedral, wood splinters flew and stones shattered, as if the entire building trembled.
When the dust settled, a deep crater, over a dozen meters in diameter, was revealed in the main hall, with the chilling ice sphere deeply embedded, leaving the gargoyles with no chance of resistance, crushed into a pulp.
"-10784!"
"-10439!"
The sight of the damage numbers left Seraphina in a daze.
Just two days after awakening, his damage output had already surpassed ten thousand!
Seraphina, who considered herself well-versed in the realm of talent, had never encountered a monster as fearsome as John.
John gazed at the enormous crater in the main hall with a look of satisfaction.
The effort spent in fusing the two skills was well worth it, yielding impressive results.
["You have slain 'Gargoyle Lv10 (Elite)', gaining 7250 experience points!"]
["You have slain 'Gargoyle Lv10 (Elite)', gaining 7400 experience points!"]
...
[Current Level: Lv9]
[Experience: 20,000/150,000]
...
Two transparent notification boxes appeared before John and Seraphina.
Due to being in a party, the experience gained from the slain gargoyles was split between them.
However, with the double experience bonus from the boss territory, each still earned approximately 15,000 experience points.
After the two gargoyles were defeated, the remaining gargoyles perched on the pillars on either side of the main hall began to stir.
It didn't take long for another four gargoyles to descend from the pillars.
Learning from the previous encounter, John didn't give them the chance to use their skills, swiftly taking them down with Thunder Arrows, then methodically controlling and connecting his attacks.
The four gargoyles hardly had a chance to scream before they were ensnared in a controlled demise.
Waiting for his skills to cool down, John unleashed another massive ice sphere, killing them on the spot.
Along with gaining 30,000 experience points, John also looted a bronze-tier piece of equipment.
[Equipment]: Gargoyle Ring
[Type]: Ring
[Level]: Lv10
[Tier]: Bronze-Tier
[Quality]: Exquisite
[Attributes]: Spirit +15, Cooldown Reduction -5%
[Skill]: Petrification
[Description]: Your skills have a 5% chance to petrify the opponent for 3 seconds.
...
The [Gargoyle Ring] not only reduced the cooldown time of skills but was also a rare piece of equipment capable of afflicting opponents with a petrification status.
John was quite pleased with this acquisition.
Meanwhile, the next wave of monsters was fast approaching.
Six gargoyles took flight from atop the pillars, their movements akin to those of giant bats, as they soared through the cathedral's nave.
Some emitted piercing screams, others began to unleash their abilities, and some charged directly at John and his companion.
John had initially wanted to attempt a fusion of Pyrokinesis and Thunder Arrow.
Unfortunately, the gargoyles' immediate assault left him no opportunity, postponing his experiment for later.
Swinging his staff, a purple lightning aura illuminated behind him.
Arrows formed of condensed electricity materialized, then shot towards the five gargoyles.
"Whiz, whiz, whiz, whiz, whiz!"
The purple streaks flashed by, the arrows slicing through the air with a series of whooshes.
Three gargoyles were struck, convulsing as if struck by lightning, plummeting from the sky.
Although the other two Thunder Arrows hit their targets, they failed to induce paralysis. But John was well-prepared.
"Baptism of Fire!"
A fiery serpent, several meters in length and engulfed in roaring flames, appeared from nowhere, tracing a fiery arc through the air as it rapidly bore down on the two skill-casting gargoyles.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion ensued, the gargoyles engulfed in flames, their bodies emitting the smell of char as they wailed and fell from the sky.
Seizing the moment, John's hands glowed with a green light.
"Thorn Spike!"
Before the five gargoyles could rise, a green thorny vine, serpent-like, burst from the ground, piercing through two of them and entangling the others.
As they struggled to free themselves and charge forward, a massive ice sphere had already materialized before them.
"Boom!" The tremendous force of the ice sphere crushed the five gargoyles, rendering them powerless and embedding them into the ground.
The cathedral trembled, the floor of the main hall was once again marred by a vast crater, as a series of damage numbers sprang up instantly!
"-10319!"
"-10592!"
"-10300!"
...
The final gargoyle barely made it to John's front.
John cast Zephyr Shield and, with a powerful push from his legs, easily dodged the opponent's pounce.
Meanwhile, his staff lit up once again.
A fearsome fire serpent rapidly took shape, charging straight at the last gargoyle.
"-5289!"
The ferocious fire serpent exploded upon contact with the gargoyle, blasting it away.
John didn't stop there; he launched two more skills in quick succession.
["You have slain 'Gargoyle Lv10 (Elite)', gaining 7400 experience points!"] Thus, all twelve elite-tier gargoyles were vanquished by John!
After slaying all the gargoyles, John's Exp reached 93,000.
He was less than 40,000 experience points away from reaching Lv10.
Meanwhile, Seraphina had also advanced to Lv8.
In Seraphina's initial plan, advancing from Lv5 to Lv8 would have taken at least two days.
Yet, in less than two hours of teaming up with John, she had already achieved this level.
Seraphina remained silent, her eyes burning with an even stronger will to fight.
...