Monster Kill Count: 70005 Reward Obtained: 5th Ring Necromancy Spell—Energy Drain.
Thanks to the diligent work of the Red Dragon Group members, the kill count in Gauss's Monster Codex quickly broke through seventy thousand. The moment it did, he was rewarded with a new 5th Ring Spell: Energy Drain.
Energy Drain's effects resembled an enhanced version of Vampiric Touch.
It could likewise use extended magical tentacles to attack targets within the spell's range, dealing massive dark erosion damage while draining Life Energy from the target creatures and returning it to its caster.
Deep within his consciousness, Gauss examined the newly formed spell model of Energy Drain.
Compared to Vampiric Touch, Energy Drain consumed more mana to create and launch its tentacles, but it reached farther, could attack more targets at once, and drained Life Energy more efficiently.
Combined with Gauss's class specialty [Triune Source], it was like his engine had received another upgrade. Like a pump, he could continuously draw Life Energy from other Demonic Beasts at an even faster rate, converting it into stamina and mana.
So Gauss was quite pleased to have acquired this spell.
Vampiric Touch was, after all, only a 3rd Ring Spell. Even though Ascending Circle Spellcasting could enhance its effects, it was ultimately not as simple and brutal as a higher-level spell.
Of course, that did not mean Vampiric Touch, as the lower-tier alternative, had completely lost its place.
It still had its uses. Vampiric Touch's advantage was its lower mana consumption. In small-scale, low-intensity fights, when he could not be bothered making a mountain out of a molehill, it could still come in handy.
And even if it truly never had another chance to be used, Gauss would not deliberately choose to forget it and clear its spell model