Post-Battle Reflection

Chapter 39: Post-Battle Reflection

Magic Missile, under the manipulation of force fields, bypasses all concealment and defenses, guaranteeing a hit on any target.

It immediately circumvented the iron shield the skeleton held, striking the skeleton warrior's body directly.

At this moment, the skeleton warrior's scimitar arrived, cleaving down towards Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu, having just finished casting, was already preparing to dodge.

However, the residual impact of the energy-condensed Magic Missile was still present. The skeleton warrior's body immediately became sluggish, and then it vanished on the spot.

The arena fell silent once more. Summoned creatures in Arthur were merely projections; upon death, they dispersed into energy without leaving a trace.

Zhao Xu wiped away a bead of cold sweat, sighing in relief.

At this point, he could see the information on his character card panel.

[Player casts 1st-level Arcane spell "Magic Missile"]
[Magic Missile hits Skeleton Warrior, dealing 1D4+1 = 4+1 = 5 damage.]
[Skeleton Warrior's current HP is less than 0, defeated.]

If it weren't for the fact that this summoned skeleton warrior's HP was lower than average, and that he had coincidentally dealt the maximum damage of 5 with Magic Missile.

Otherwise, whether he would have been hit in that instant was still uncertain.

At this moment, footsteps approached from behind Zhao Xu. It was Antinoa walking over.

She looked at Zhao Xu and asked, "Are you satisfied with your outcome?"

Zhao Xu simply shook his head.

"It's not that you didn't do well. Let's summarize first. Tell me your thoughts?" Antinoa said.

Zhao Xu then began recounting the information about the skeleton soldier, estimating its HP and general attribute values, getting most of it right.

"Very good. The first step in a Mage's combat is intelligence gathering," Antinoa replied.

"Generally, before we Mages engage in combat, we need to know our enemy's information to prepare accordingly. New Mages won't have many divination spells for reconnaissance in the early stages. But that doesn't mean you can neglect this work. Arthur has many places for reconnaissance, and they aren't even shielded by a Mage's spells. You were able to utilize your player advantage, which is excellent."

Zhao Xu chuckled. Currently, there was no data on skeleton soldiers on the forums; it was all from his memories of his past life.

Fortunately, Antinoa couldn't access their player forums right now, or she would definitely have exposed him.

"The second point, after understanding enemy intelligence, is self-preparation. A prepared Mage ambushing an unprepared Mage, if they are the same level, will have at least a seventy-thirty chance of winning."

As she spoke, Antinoa looked directly into Zhao Xu's eyes.

"Tell me about the effect of Mage Armor?"

Zhao Xu answered without even needing to open his character card panel.

"It provides 4 points of AC bonus for defense."

"And the duration?" Antinoa asked.

Zhao Xu blinked, "1 hour per caster level."

He immediately took a deep breath, "After I was teleported here, I should have cast this spell beforehand."

The duration of this spell was too long compared to other spells.

The 4 AC bonus could reduce his chance of being hit by 20%.

"Yes, so next time you must remember, as long as you can confirm that combat is about to begin, seize every moment to buff yourself with spells."

"Then, continue telling me about the considerations you made when you saw the skeleton warrior charging at you?" Antinoa continued to guide him.

Zhao Xu had mostly regained his composure by now. He slowly said, "My first consideration was naturally to cast 'Mage Armor,' which would reduce its chance of hitting me from 60% to 40%."

Although the actual combat environment was complex, the offense and defense still followed the hit point rules strictly.

Attack power plus a roll of 1D20 (representing a 1-20 proficiency level). If it was greater than or equal to the defense class, it could penetrate the defense and deal damage to hit points.

The skeleton soldier's attack power was only 1 point, plus 1D20, it would only be 2-21 points.

To penetrate his defense, there was only a 60% chance.

"However, even if I did that, there would still be a chance I would be hit by the skeleton soldier's blade, and its damage could potentially kill me instantly. So I abandoned defensive spells and decided to kill it directly."

Zhao Xu's HP was only 6, pitifully low.

The skeleton soldier's attack dealt 1D6+1 (2-7 damage). If the D6 roll was 5-6, it was enough to deal the damage that would knock him out instantly.

"My second consideration at the time was the 'Protection from Evil' spell. It would grant me a +2 deflection bonus against attacks from evil creatures and prevent me from taking damage from summoned creatures' natural weapons. However, the skeleton soldier's scimitar was ineffective against it, so the benefit of casting this spell was less than 'Mage Armor,' and I abandoned it as well."

"My third consideration was 'Prismatic Spray.' Unfortunately, due to its undead nature, the skeleton warrior was completely immune to its special effects, so I had to abandon it too. As for Dimension Door, Mentor, you definitely wouldn't agree to swap places with me, so I didn't consider it. Ray of Weakness also offered less benefit than Mage Armor."

Prismatic Spray, in fact, was a very formidable spell among low-level spells.

If the target failed its Will save, a creature with 2 HD or less would be stunned, blinded, and dazed for 2d4 rounds, then blinded and dazed for 1d4 rounds, and finally dazed for 1 round.

By the time the duration ran out, most creatures would be falling apart.

The skeleton soldier had 1D12 HP, with 1 HD, its hit dice did not exceed 2 HD.

However, its undead nature made it immune to effects like stunning and dazing.

Zhao Xu was extremely embarrassed.

After hearing Zhao Xu's explanation, Antinoa nodded and said, "For zero-level spells, Inflict Undead deals 1D6 damage. Why don't you use it?"

Zhao Xu shook his head. "That spell requires a ranged touch attack, and it has to overcome their defense class first. The chance to hit is only 35%. Not to mention, the expected damage of Magic Missile is 3.5, which is actually the same as the expected damage of Inflict Undead. So I would definitely prefer to use Magic Missile, which has a 100% hit rate."

"Hmm, at least you're not brain-dead and thinking of just using that garbage spell, Inflict Undead, because the opponent is an undead creature," Antinoa said with satisfaction.

"It's acceptable that you could react to all this in the blink of an eye. Today's lesson is to show you where the practical differences lie."

"In the future, you'll still need to be wary of undead, oozes, constructs, elementals, and plants early on. First, think about how you'll counter them when you encounter them. Elementals are relatively manageable, but the other four are basically destitute poor devils, lacking everything."

Zhao Xu nodded. Although undead had less hit points due to lacking Constitution, their vast immunities could indeed give any mage a headache.

"Then, let's begin the second test. You'll receive a reward as long as you can hit me with a spell," Antinoa said with a smile.