Chosen Evolution: I can load the protagonist template

Chapter 233 This is the real magic turret
Aside from Ghost Rider, whose template strength was previously uncertain, the Zuster template that Cheng Tian loaded is the first reinforced template to appear so far.

That is, while retaining the original strength, the original body's weaknesses are eliminated, and certain abilities are added to enhance them.

The enhancements for this Belmont family cultural figure are reflected in the additional template equipment.

The Vampire Slayer's whip is inherited, so it has basically no difference in attributes from the whip used by his grandfather, Simon. It still deals extra holy damage when attacking evil dark creatures, and doubles the damage when attacking vampires while reducing the target's self-healing ability by 50%.

However, the spellbook is quite special; it is a collection of spoils that Zuster acquired in Dracula's Castle.

[Zuster's Spellbook: Off-hand, Spellbook, Template Armament. Equipment Requirements: Vampire Magic Hunter/Belmont Family Bloodline. Durability: -/-.]

It is the product of the fusion of five different magic books that Zuster found during his exploration of the Demon Castle. It can switch the magic attributes required by the user at any time.

Zuster's spellbook has five attributes: ice, fire, wind, lightning, and summoning. You can only activate one attribute at a time. You can switch spellbook attributes at any time, but it will cost an additional 5 MP in combat.

Zuster's spellbook can be used alone, consuming MP to cast small spells of the corresponding attribute, or it can be combined with throwable secondary weapons/consumables to form larger-scale spell abilities under the effect of 'combined casting'.

Each attribute of the spellbook will provide the player with a corresponding effect bonus.

Ice, Ice-attribute spell damage +10%, Mana regeneration rate +5 (+5 MP per minute).

Fire: Fire spell damage increased by 20%, and fire spells will more easily inflict the "burn" effect on targets.

Wind: Increases wind-attribute spell damage by 15%, and reduces ice, fire, and lightning spell damage by 10 points.

Lightning: Lightning spell damage increased by 25%. Lightning spells will temporarily reduce the target's lightning resistance by 25% for 5 seconds.

Summon. The summoned unit's health is increased by 50%, and the summoned unit will receive a health and mana regeneration bonus equal to the caster's current health regeneration rate (+2.7, mana regeneration rate +4).

In the normal gameplay of Concerto Nocturne, the player-controlled Zuster needs to search through the entire Castlevania, searching for each magic book with a single attribute. However, the template loaded by Cheng Tian enhances the magic book aspect, turning the magic book that could only be randomly held into a five-in-one magic book, and even giving each attribute a corresponding effect.

The giant Merlin phantom summoned by Cheng Tian was a large-scale, wide-area spell developed from the combination of the Red Vibration Orb and the Summoning Magic Book, based on the spellcasting characteristics of the Vibration Orb.

This ability did not come from the magic book, but from the cultured man himself, Zuster.

[Combined Spellcasting: Template Skill, Composite Skill. As one of the few intellectuals in the predominantly martial arts-oriented Belmont family, Zuster possesses exceptionally strong magical talent. He has the ability to combine magic with his secondary weapon to unleash even more powerful spells. When you possess spell skills of the five attributes—ice, fire, wind, lightning, and summoning—and wield a throwable secondary weapon or consumable, you can combine a spell skill of a single attribute with your secondary weapon to unleash an enhanced spell that combines the characteristics of both attributes. The greater the spell's power, the longer its cooldown.]

When you possess Zuster's spellbook, you can still perform combo spellcasting even without the relevant attribute spell abilities.

When wielding Zuster's spellbook and simultaneously possessing one of six secondary weapons—a dagger, a throwing axe, holy water, a holy fist, a holy book, or a cross—the "Zuster's Exclusive Enhancement Spell" effect will be triggered. Zuster's exclusive enhancement spell will have no casting animation and can be cast in any state, with no cooldown.

[Additional comment: There are hidden treasures in books... and even summoned beasts!]

Under the influence of this skill, the basic effect of the Red Shock Orb remains, still capable of instantly killing ordinary template units and converting them into valuable items. However, thanks to Merlin's phantom, the casting radius has increased from the original 10 meters to 35 meters, adding a value equivalent to half of Cheng Tian's base spirit attribute. In other words, the total casting area has increased by a factor of 12.

However, this action directly caused Cheng's mana bar to drop by nearly a third, deducting 120 points. This startled Cheng, who quickly switched his spellbook to ice attribute to accelerate his mana regeneration.

Cheng Tian currently has 40 points in his Spirit attribute. With the bonus from the Ice Magic Book, his mana regeneration rate has reached 9 points per minute. Theoretically, he only needs to rest for 44.5 minutes to return to full mana.

However, Cheng Tian quickly summarized and figured out the spellcasting rules. He realized that he didn't actually need to use innocent souls to condense the Vibration Orb, because the combined spellcasting did not consume the secondary weapon itself. Instead, it used the secondary weapon as a basis to create an additional spell structure, and then consumed mana to release it.

In other words, Cheng Tianda can redirect the energy consumed by his magic to the souls of the innocent.

Originally, condensing a single orb required 100 souls, but using an orb as material to release a combined spell only required 60 souls, and the casting area would increase by more than 12 times. This is not just a matter of the meter turning upside down; it's an overflow of energy!

This is a special act that even Zuster himself could not do.

The template originally included "Soul Salvation" as one of its skills, but Cheng Tian himself possessed it, and its origin was Simon, Zuster's grandfather, with a higher priority effect. Therefore, the skill in Zuster's template was overwritten.

If it is Zuster's soul that saves, then the souls of the innocent can only be used for throwing secondary weapons, rather than Simon's mana source that can be used as a time-stop pocket watch for casting spells. Therefore, Cheng Tian's mana consumption transfer behavior cannot be achieved.

Your grandfather is still your grandfather.jpg
Originally, Cheng Tian might have needed to control the number of monsters he attracted and calculate the number of innocent souls dropped, but now, he doesn't need to at all. The Ghost Cicada and the Primal Wyvern frantically attract monsters, and huge Merlin phantoms appear on Cheng Tian's side from time to time. The mana consumption is also completely transferred to the innocent souls.

While the "Summoning Scroll + Red Shock Orb = Merlin Shock" combo is on cooldown, Cheng Tian will immediately condense a magic orb to continue the explosion.
This has led to Ghost Town, which was originally bustling with monsters and constantly spawning in waves, enough to deplete the supplies of well-prepared player teams, now being so badly bombed by Cheng Tian that monsters have stopped spawning altogether...

(End of this chapter)