After much back and forth, Michael and Mildred successfully found a way to balance the Hit Points and the Mana Pool of a hero.
Through this formula, Level 1 Lina would have 560 HP and 435 MP.
Not only that, but each level would increase her life points by 2.3 and her mana points by 1.5.
Suffice it to say that it was due to the A.I.'s calculation power that they were able to come up with these formulas, while Michael just stood there and pretended to understand what the complex arithmetic rockets continuously flying above his head meant.
"Good job! We'll be using this formula going forward, so please make sure you apply it to all other 123 heroes."
[Understood, sir. Shall we proceed with the hero skills next?](Mildred)
"Yes, but not now. I think it's almost time for dinner. I'll take a break and then return. Also, remind me to infuse some more Intent before I go to sleep tonight. I have already wasted the day more or less, so it's best to make use of the stored Qi Strands. As for where to infuse it in... let's further improve the island first."
[I have made a note, sir. I wish you a pleasant meal with your family.](Mildred)
"Thank you, Mildred."
Taking off the headset, Michael stretched his somewhat stiff body and sat on the carpet near the bed in a meditative pose.
If there was one thing to be grateful for after the last month of excruciatingly hard work, it was the progress he made toward his cultivation.
[ Host: Michael Lewis
Age: 19
Lifespan: 120.9 years (92.3 original lifespan + 28.6 added lifespan through cultivation)
Cultivation: 4th Level of Qi Gathering (30%)
Spiritual Roots: Inferior
Assets: 1 Spiritual Pouch (1 cubic meter) ]
It wasn't much, but his progress increased to 30%. Considering that five months had only amounted to 5% previously, but the final month ramped up his progress by 2%, he figured out that his repetitive action of filling and emptying the 'tank' might've opened a way forward for him.
'Still... doesn't this mean I need to torture myself for almost three full years before I reach the 5th level of Qi Gathering?'
Shivering while imagining such a heart-rending scenario, Michael immediately shook his head and decided to invest a portion of the sect's 'investment' in him into cultivation resources.
'If I get some Marrow-Cleansing Tier 3 pills, I should be able to reduce the time needed for me to breakthrough by at least 50%. There are also higher-grade pills that can only be used once, such as the Tier 4 Heavens' Breath, but the cost is rather terrifying.'
Unlike the Marrow-Cleansing pills, which served to remove a small amount of impurities, the Heaven's Breath was a liquid naturally formed in the wilderness close to medium or high-tier spiritual veins. After being processed and ingested, someone with an Inferior-grade spiritual root like Michael could have it advance to Normal-grade, improving his cultivation speed at least threefold.
Such fate-defying medicine wasn't cheap, though. After searching online, he found that the last time such a thing was auctioned, it ended up selling for 15,000 spirit stones.
An Elder of a great sect bought it for his grandson.
'*Sigh* Whether in this world or the previous one, money is still the best superpower. Especially when this superpower can grant you even more superpowers.'
His failed meditation was brought to a stop by a knock on his door. Seeing it was his younger brother, Michael smiled and went downstairs with him.
Since the dinner lasted for two hours after the conversation extended to what Michael was doing and his plans for the future, he helplessly returned to his room, infused the entirety of his Qi Strands in his project, and then went to sleep.
Waking up properly rested the following day, he meditated from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., sufficient to replenish his Qi reserves, after which he directly dived into work.
He had already asked Mother Silvia for some Fasting Pills, planning to finish Lina's skills Concept today.
[Welcome back, sir.](Mildred)
"Thank you, and good morning to you too, Mildred. Let's get straight to it. The plan is to create the Concept for Lina's skills today and then have you generate the skills, values, and the actual 'animation' by yourself. I'll come and correct and modify whatever doesn't fit with my mental image of them."
[Understood, sir. Bringing up Lina's skill interface.](Mildred)
Seeing the A.I. open the hero panel, Michael thanked his lucky stars for transmigration into such a technologically advanced world.
In a way, Mildred was more of a 'golden finger' than his shitty system was.
With her help, more than 90% of the actual workload was taken off his shoulders, allowing him to sit back and watch as the A.I. tilled the fields in his place.
To make matters even better, the feedback she constantly provided made him able to stay afloat in this complex work field where he was a newbie.
[ Skills:
1. Dragon Slave: Lina channels the breath of a dragon, sending out a wave of fire that scorches every enemy in its path.
2. Light Strike Array: Summons a column of flames that damages and stuns enemies.
3. Fiery Soul (passive): Grants bonus attack and movement speed each time Lina hits an enemy with a spell.
4. Laguna Blade (ultimate): Fires off a bolt of lightning at a single enemy unit, dealing massive damage. ]
Checking the skills, he tried hard to remember every tiny detail from his past life and then adapt it to his 'Secret Realm.'
His eyes shone for a brief moment and then immediately reminded the A.I. to make a note.
"Mildred, note this down. Lina's first three abilities will have four total upgrades, while the ultimate will have three. At Level 1, the player receives a single free skill point they can assign to whichever of the first three skills they want. Then, after each level-up, on top of the attribute, HP, and MP increase, they would also gain one extra skill point to use however they wish.
In the case of the ultimate, we'll lock that down until... hmm... Level 10, maybe? Help me run some simulations, please."
[Registering the changes for the game mechanics. Please advise on the context of the simulations, sir.](Mildred)
"Hmm... well, with each upgrade, the skill becomes increasingly powerful. For example, between the first level of the skill and the second one, there must be an 80 to 100% increase in damage in order to account for the enemies and creeps increase in Hit Points as the game progresses.
In that case, we also need to avoid breaking the game balance by having the player max out one of the skills first and causing ridiculous amounts of damage at Level 4."
Pausing to get his ideas in order, he decided to avoid getting the hero's ultimate skill at Level 6 and instead sparse it out based on the Qi Gathering, Foundation, and Golden Core-level strength he was planning to showcase.
"Since there are 25 levels, it means there are 25 skill points. The plan is to add level restrictions on how the skill points can be assigned. For example, each skill can only get one skill point in the Qi Gathering realm. Then, in the Foundation realm, another skill point can be added to each one. The problem is that Level 25 is equivalent to 1st-level Golden Core, but it also means that only one skill point would still be awarded, so there's a problem with this arrangement. Any suggestions?"
[Based on your input, there are only 15 of the 25 skill points that can be assigned to either of the four abilities. What would happen with the other 10, sir?](Mildred)
"They can be exchanged as a +2 to all attributes per skill point."
[In that case, I suggest using 2 points for each of the first three skills during the equivalent to the Qi Gathering realm. There should also be one point in the ultimate since it's the highest damage-dealing skill available to the player. That means that between Levels 1 and 12, the user has to spend seven skill points on skill, while the other five on attributes.
Then, between Levels 13 and 24, another 2 points in each of the first three skills and one point in the ultimate. The remaining points will also be spent on improving the attributes.
Finally, since Level 25 signifies the player ascending to the Golden Core realm, the final skill point should be assigned to the ultimate.](Mildred)
Pondering for a moment, Michael finally nodded, showing his approval. While the gamer in him who played DOTA 2 for over 12 years was screeching in indignation, he couldn't help it since this was a world of cultivation.
He had to somewhat equivalate the concept of the game from Earth and the Secret Realm in the Green Sanctuary.
"In that case, draw up a plan and show me how you plan to add the level restrictions for the skills."
[Understood... processing...](Mildred)
Four minutes later, an answer was shown.
[I suggest adding the skill point restrictions in the following manner:
At Level 1, the user playing as Lina can add one skill point to either Dragon Slave or Light Strike Array. This must be done in order to avoid having the newbies select Fiery Soul, a skill that only works while having other active skills damage the enemy.
Also, the option of adding the first skill point into attributes is also up for debate, and I will temporarily leave that decision to you, sir.](Mildred)
"Understandable. Continue."
[Then, at Levels 2 and 3, the only option available would be to add the gained two skill points to attributes, increasing the user's physique with a +4.
Reaching Level 4, they can add another point to either of the remaining two skills, opening the path to more diverse combat tactics they can use.
Levels 5 and 6 similarly can only add skill points to attributes.
Level 7 allows the user to select the final third skill.
Level 8 unlocks the possibility of adding a skill point to the first ability selected by the user.
Level 9 unlocks the possibility of adding a skill point to the second ability selected by the user.
Level 10 unlocks the possibility of adding a skill point to the third ability selected by the user.
Level 11 can only add the skill point to attributes.
Finally, Level 12 can unlock the ultimate.](Mildred)
"Hmm..."
Pondering for a couple of minutes, Michael put himself in the shoes of the young cultivators buying his game.
Starting the game as a Level 1 newb playing as Lina, you only have your ranged fireballs attack dealing meager damage, and your first skill barely deals an amount 50 to 60% higher.
Then, you keep murdering the poor creeps in your lane and suddenly level up. You gain an extra two attribute points for Strength, Agility, and Intelligence.
Your body moves faster; you have higher HP, MP, and attack damage.
You continue, and at Level 4, your second ability unlocks. Irrelevant of your choice, you can now either use two active abilities or, by activating your passive skill, the attack speed for your regular ranged hits increases considerably.
After plenty of deaths in the laning phase, trying to jungle but getting chased by the creeps, and powerless farming of the pitiful creeps, you reach Level 12 and unlock your ultimate. Unlike the currently upgraded skills, dealing around twice your damage, the ultimate directly deals fivefold the amount.
"It sounds great! Let's go with that. Actually... I was thinking. Since the difference between realms is that big, should we have the heroes gain a bigger boost of attribute points after reaching Levels 13 and 25? Something like a +10 points for reaching the equivalent of 1st-level Foundation and a +25 for reaching the 1st-level Golden Core. Or would that break the game balance?"
[Simulating... Calculating variables...](Mildred)
It took a full ten minutes for the A.I. to come up with a conclusion.
[Sir, it is indeed possible. In that case, instead of 'levels,' we can simply have the users start as 1st-level Qi Gathering cultivators and advance their cultivation base by gaining Qi by killing enemy heroes, creeps, or neutrals.
Likewise, to better simulate reality, the heroes must return to base after reaching Levels 13 and 25, where they can 'breakthrough' by buying a pill from the shop. Afterward, they can be rewarded with extra skill points.
They can also choose not to breakthrough temporarily, but the experience gained will be temporarily halted.
One crucial point to be mentioned is that not only do a cultivator's 'attributes' increase after they reach a higher realm, but also the damage of their spells.
Therefore, in order to better mimic reality, after reaching Levels 13 and 25, returning to the base, buying the breakthrough pill, and achieving their goal, not only would the users gain the attribute points boost, but their four skills should also be improved.](Mildred)
Holding his head in his hands, Michael felt like cursing.
It felt that things were getting increasingly complicated, moving further and further away from the initial form of the game.