Ch.242242. SSS+ Ability Selection Voucher X3

I still haven’t fully allocated all the rewards from the Ore Vein Mountains.

I received quite a lot, and since I’m not just spending it all on myself but also distributing it to the farm employees, there’s been a bit of a delay in getting myself a gift.

The distraction of Farming Day also played a part.

Now that the farm has some outer walls built and construction on the manor house has begun, and I’ve distributed enough abilities for the employees’ welfare—though not all of them—it seemed like a good time to settle the remaining rewards and enjoy some time for myself.

While I don’t need to be overly formal about it, I am using three SSS+ ability selection vouchers.

Since I can’t just pick up anything randomly, I wanted to take my time comparing different options and making a leisurely selection.

This isn’t just a matter of preference.

It’s about determining my future direction.

“Hmm. What abilities should I choose for these three?”

With my current specs, I’ve confirmed I can clear level 5 biomes with dense chaotic energy.

That means I could probably handle level 6 biomes with regular chaotic energy to some extent, and with three additional SSS+ abilities, I might even be able to challenge level 7 biomes.

But I need to consider that this isn’t the whole picture.

It’s not just about climbing step by step—a little increase in specs for the next level, then another small increase for the level after that.

That might work at first, but at some point, the difficulty curve starts rising exponentially rather than linearly, so I need to set my standards higher.

In other words, while I might think I can tackle level 6 biomes with my current state, it could actually be much harder in reality.

So I need to be careful.

There’s always a reason why Farming World gives such generous rewards.

If I waste them carelessly, no matter how well I’ve chosen and progressed so far, I could lose all my advantages in an instant and suddenly find the difficulty becoming overwhelming or insufficient at what should be an appropriate level.

Perhaps Lulu’s previous owner collapsed around this point.

In the initial build-up process, it’s easy to choose extremely efficient and safe abilities like I did, since that information is widely available.

Even if you choose abilities you’re confident in, you might struggle at first but could achieve greater efficiency than your initial choices if you persevere.

But from the mid-game onward, you need to make choices and configurations that suit each specific situation, which isn’t easy.

Even I’m struggling with how to structure my ability growth path, which is honestly part of why I’ve been using “taking my time” as an excuse not to choose immediately.

“Close Combat Weapons. Holy Magic. Spirit Summoning. Tough Skin.”

These are my four SSS+ abilities.

Since I’ve already filled my defensive capability with Tough Skin, I wasn’t planning to add more in that area.

I can increase physical damage resistance by learning passive skills for Tough Skin, and if I were to choose another defensive ability, it would be better to add something that can defend against magical damage or status effect attacks rather than physical damage.

“One will definitely be in the magic category.”

I was definitely planning to add one magic ability.

Long-distance teleportation can be quite useful even in areas without base teleportation portals, and various magic abilities combine well with close combat weapons.

I was also considering a buff-type ability.

My current stats average around SS grade, ranging from SS- to SSS-. Until now, I’ve achieved SS grade simply from the stat boosts received when learning SSS+ abilities, but going forward, additional abilities won’t increase my stats as much.

Using farming points to raise stats would mean losing points that could be invested elsewhere, so the most efficient way to boost stats would be through buffs that temporarily enhance them during combat.

Magic. Buff.

I had almost certainly decided on my first and second priorities, but the last slot was still troubling me.

“To be honest, status effects aren’t that scary since I have purification.”

Balance-wise, choosing another defensive ability wouldn’t be bad.

But trying to pick something that doesn’t overlap with Tough Skin, nothing really comes to mind.

I’m also considering choosing something defensive from the magic category.

Originally, I rarely chose defensive abilities in Farming World, so I’m a bit weak in this area of selection.

No matter how long I’ve been obsessed with games, I haven’t tried all abilities during that time.

In cases like this, I decided to simply give up and do some research.

By referring to communities with diverse information and the abilities of hunters in the real world, I could get a better idea of what might be good.

Going out to Earth and searching, I discovered quite a variety of abilities.

“There are many hunters with defensive abilities too.”

Naturally, hunters with offensive abilities tend to stand out more, and truly famous tanks usually become known just by joining famous parties and showing their skills once or twice, so it’s not easy for them to become well-known to the public. But there are various abilities that exist in the world.

Since people can’t change their abilities, they live diligently with what they have and try to leave their mark by showing their presence in various ways.

Among them, I found a quite interesting ability.

“Oh ho.”

This was a fairly famous hunter.

Though the ability itself was only S- grade, this hunter had attracted YouTube subscribers with their unique ability.

The ability was called Crevice Creation.

As the name suggests, it was the ability to create and utilize crevices.

At first glance, you might wonder what kind of ability that is, but watching videos of it in action made me say “wow” out loud.

This hunter served in a tank position, not as the main tank who takes monster attacks from the front, but as a sub-tank protecting the main dealers from behind while clearing dungeons.

They absorb incoming ranged attacks by creating crevices in their trajectory.

The crevices aren’t large, just enough to cleanly absorb the incoming attacks without posing any danger to the main dealers.

Watching the video, I wondered where the absorbed attacks go—probably disposed of somewhere within the crevice.

And that’s not all. Beyond blocking ranged attacks, this crevice ability hunter shines when direct threats to the main dealers emerge from all directions.

Rather than trying to draw aggro from approaching monsters and divert their attention, they open a crevice and enter it with the main dealer, instantly escaping the monsters’ aggro.

And they don’t just hide in the crevice.

By connecting one crevice to another, they move the main dealer to a safe location not far away, eliminating DPS loss and allowing immediate attacks against the rushing monsters. It seemed like an incredibly versatile ability that could be used as both a tank and utility.

“That’s pretty good?”

It really was good.

If I had known about this ability earlier, I would have learned it already.

But with so many abilities out there, it’s impossible to try them all one by one.

I’m glad I discovered it now, at least.

“Should I learn this instead of magic? Or along with magic?”

Actually, since I already have Leap Slash as a movement skill, the crevice’s space-traversing utility might be a bit redundant for just myself.

But this crevice movement can be used not only by me but also by party members simultaneously, and it seems to cover quite a distance, so it could be quite useful to have.

Above all, I liked the simplicity of having one ability to create crevices that could be utilized in various ways.

“I’ll go with Crevice and Buff, and save one.”

That’s what I decided in the end.

The reasons I wanted to choose magic were mostly covered by choosing Buff and Crevice, so there was no need to specifically choose magic anymore.

My mana would increase a bit, but that alone wasn’t worth using an SSS+ ability selection voucher.

I decided to save it for when I go to level 6 or level 7 biomes, and use it then if necessary.

[Raising Crevice Gap to SSS+ grade.]

[Raising Ability Enhancement to SSS+ grade.]

Two SSS+ grade abilities were added.

Since both are mana-based abilities, my mana stat increased from SS+ grade to SSS- grade.

As my mana grade increased, my maximum mana also increased, and along with it, all related options were boosted. Just by learning two SSS+ abilities, my effective stats increased tremendously.

“This game is godly—just raise mana and you’re set.”

I also checked the newly learned passive skills.