The remaining three skills from the Mask of Scorched Fury were all offensive types. So, Broken decided to put them to the test by hunting some nearby monsters.
He quickly donned the helmet, and the moment he put it on, it was as if he was seeing the world through the flames that flickered within it. He touched the mouth and eye areas and found he could move them.
“Hi, I’m Ghost Rider,” he said, testing it out.
Even his voice had changed, becoming deeper and more demonic-though not quite as echoey as the monster’s had been. After putting his Obsidian Shroud back on, he strolled around for a bit. There was no denying it-he felt pretty badass wearing that helmet.
Broken opened his console to check his virtual appearance, and sure enough, he looked incredible. The combination of his black outfit and the demon-headed helmet made for a striking figure.
He wondered if he could get away with wearing it around the demon town-or was it too flashy? Would it attract unwanted attention from other demons?
So far, he hadn’t seen any demons wandering the city with a fiery head like his. It definitely looked more like something out of a raid boss’s arsenal. Could the monster he had slain earlier have been the raid boss that Marlene and the others were hunting?
No, that monster had been too easy to defeat. It couldn’t have been a raid boss.
Broken downed a Mana Potion, feeling his energy quickly replenish. He then summoned Petal Charger, since Polly had vanished after he’d slain the demon.
As he mounted the horse, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The contrast between his demonic head and the petal-covered horse just didn’t quite fit. It lacked the intimidating presence he was aiming for.
What he really needed was a pet with a more fearsome, demonic look-something like Marlene’s demon beast wolf. Now that would be cool.
Or better yet, if he could somehow get a skeletal, fiery horse, he could truly embrace the Ghost Rider vibe. The thought made him chuckle to himself.
[Ember Breath
Effect: The wearer exhales a 5-meter-wide cone of molten embers for 4 seconds, dealing 150% Fire Damage per second to all enemies within the area. Targets hit are ignited, taking 50% Fire Damage over 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Mana Cost: 120 Mana
Duration: Breath lasts 4 seconds, burn effect lasts 5 seconds.]
The second skill he unlocked from the helmet was Ember Breath. It allowed him to shoot fire from his mouth—a truly impressive skill, like having a built-in flamethrower. While its overall damage wasn’t particularly high, the skill required very little Mana, had a short cooldown, and lasted for a full five seconds.
Unfortunately, the skill dealt elemental fire damage, which was tied to magic damage scaling, meaning it relied on the Intelligence stat.
But here’s where the helmet puzzled him. It boosted Strength and Constitution, yet the skill required Magic Damage. It seemed like a mismatch. However, since the helmet also provided Affinity to the Fire element and a 20% damage boost while in Hell, the skill still got some boost from it.
He tested the Ember Breath skill when some monsters approached. Though the flames engulfed them, the damage wasn’t quite enough to cause any serious burning or suffering.
The real strength of the skill, however, was its cool factor. The visual effect was impressive, and he figured it could be a powerful tool for intimidation. That, at least, might give it a far more valuable edge.
[Flame Tornado
Effect: Summon a massive swirling tornado of fire that pulls in enemies within a 10-meter radius. The tornado deals 200% Fire Damage per second for 6 seconds, with a 25% chance to fling enemies outward at the end of the duration, causing additional 50% Fire Damage upon impact.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Mana Cost: 200 Mana
Duration: Tornado lasts 6 seconds.]
The third skill was Flame Tornado, the very same ability the demon had used against him. This skill created a vortex of fire that pulled in nearby enemies, making it a great tool for crowd control. It also dealt significantly higher fire damage than Ember Breath.
One major advantage of this helmet’s skills was the impressively short cooldown time. Considering Flame Tornado was a magic-based ability with minimal Mana cost, a magic user could spam it without much strain on their Mana pool.
Unfortunately, Broken’s Intelligence stat wasn’t particularly strong, limiting the full potential of the skill. Even though the percentage-based damage was decent, the fact that it scaled with Intelligence made it feel less impactful than it could be at least for now.
Still, thanks to its fire elemental attribute and crowd control effect, the skill had impressive utility. Especially against fire-weak enemies, Flame Tornado gave Broken a solid way to exploit those vulnerabilities.
It was becoming clearer to him that he would need to invest in his Intelligence stat in the future to truly maximize items like this helmet. While he had committed to Strength and Agility for his Bow skills, he now realized he’d also have to balance that with Intelligence.
This shift was pushing him into the role of a versatile fighter, skilled in both physical and magic damage. Whether this would be a strength or a hindrance was yet to be seen, as it prevented him from focusing solely on a few key stats.
But then again, he could always weigh his options later and adjust his strategy as needed.
[Ashen Phantasm
Effect: The wearer becomes a ghostly, untargetable form for 5 seconds, increasing Movement Speed by 50%. They leave a burning ash trail that deals 100% Fire Damage per second to enemies in its path.
When the effect ends, the wearer reappears with a fiery explosion, dealing 250% Fire Damage and knocking back enemies within 5 meters.
Mana Cost: 220
Cooldown: 60 seconds freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Duration: 5 seconds]
The fourth and final skill was Ashen Phantasm, and it was pretty straightforward. It transformed him into a ghostly form, making him untargetable for 5 seconds while also
boosting his movement speed by 50%.
Damn, just the first effect alone was incredible. Being untargetable for 5 seconds was no joke. Imagine triggering this during a critical moment!
This skill was insane! Paired with all the defensive abilities from the Invincible Paragon set, Broken could practically dance across the battlefield, shielded from almost everything.
But then, reality set in-untargetable didn’t mean he was immune to area damage or skills that didn’t require a target. Even so, Ashen Phantasm would allow him to quickly reposition himself in the chaos of battle, and the aura damage followed by an explosion at the end of the duration added an extra layer of coolness to an already impressive ability.
Alright, he was done inspecting the skills and testing them out on monsters. Each piece of equipment had its own strengths and utility, and he knew he’d need to adapt depending on the situation.
But then again, this was a Legendary-grade item. He couldn’t help but wonder-if he kept killing the same demon repeatedly, could he eventually gather the full armor set? Maybe even those fiery wings the demon had used? Now that would be something. He chuckled at the
thought.
For now, it was time to meet up with Subaru and the others. He decided to store the helmet away, saving it for just the right moment.