In the world of the League, two figures struck fear into the hearts of all Valoran through their mastery of crows, Swain, the Noxian Grand General, and Fiddlesticks, the Harbinger of Doom.
To obtain the power of the former, Allen had nearly squeezed, no, completely emptied, his entire savings.
There were certainly cheaper heroes with more variety, but after careful consideration, Allen chose the most expensive one: Swain. His decision stemmed from an observation he made after acquiring his first two heroes, more expensive heroes seemed to grant stronger legacy powers.
It made sense. As the saying goes, "There are no weak heroes, only weak summoners." But then why such huge differences in price if all heroes were supposedly powerful?
That question was answered the moment Allen received Swain's power.
One word: capitalism.
Okay, maybe more than one, the system was a greedy rip-off!
To put it into perspective: the first hero he purchased, Miss Fortune, came with a basic kit, like a level 3 version weakened by low-magic world standards. She had a few skills unlocked and could grow stronger slowly through practice. Fiddlesticks, on the other hand, was more like a level 6 version, Allen could use his ultimate almost right away.
But Swain? That 4800-gold monster felt like a level 11 powerhouse.
Whether level 18 was the true cap, Allen wasn't sure. After all, the League was originally designed to limit the power of its champions. He found it hard to believe beings this strong had an upper ceiling at all.
Just as Allen had expected, the powers of these two crow-themed heroes complemented each other perfectly.
He could now even use wild crows to enhance his skills, though setting that up took significant preparation.
Thanks to his boosted stats, Valor, the crow formed from his merged hero powers, had no trouble shaking off the giant bear. But that wasn't the goal. No, the objective was to lure it into a trap.
A deadly one.
In fact, if they weren't in this particular location, Allen would have needed at least two full legendary items to even attempt such a powerful move.
The recent beast wave had drawn countless magical creatures to the area, and magical crows were no exception. At this very moment, flocks of crows from within a ten-mile radius had all gathered in a single, sunken basin.
Anyone who had seen that iconic League cinematic, the one with Twisted Fate and Fiddlesticks, would never forget the overwhelming dread when the sky darkened beneath a sea of crows.
Now, Allen was recreating that exact scene.
Just as the Newt Giant Bear sensed something was off and tried to retreat, Valor made his move. A wave of pure soul-crushing fear slammed into the bear, freezing it in place.
And then, in a swift, winged flash, Valor swept overhead.
From the ground, dark claws, shaped like those of a crow, burst forth and bound the bear tightly. This was Swain's skill: Nevermove.
Then came the swarm.
A dark tempest of crows, black as a moonless night, descended at Allen's command. The immobilized bear could only roar in fury and flail as the murder of crows tore into it. The air was filled with screeches and the wet thud of impact. Feathers exploded into the sky as the bear managed to swat down a few of its attackers.
But keeping such a fearsome spell active took a massive toll.
Allen's face had gone pale. Even with the cool, blue gemstone pendant around his neck constantly feeding him trickles of mana, the supply was barely a drop in the ocean.
After all, his [Frost Queen's Claim] was a support item, not a true mana battery. It gave him a sliver of regen, but not enough to sustain a spell of this scale.
As the crow storm neared its end, Allen made a judgment call: release control. Any longer, and he'd collapse before the bear did.
As the crows dispersed, the battered body of the giant bear was finally revealed.
One eye was blinded. Its fur was torn and bloodied. Wounds crisscrossed its body, leaking blood. Some of it was its own, some from the crows it had killed.
Allen's first reaction was shock, not at how mangled the bear looked, but at how little actual damage it had taken!
Seriously!?
That apocalyptic crow assault had only left it wounded?
It was absurd.
He had spent so much time luring the bear, gathering crows, and setting the stage. The terrain was perfect, the timing ideal. How could the result be so underwhelming?
There was no time to dwell on it. He had to run.
With [Ghost] activated and boosted speed, Allen was confident he could outrun the wounded beast. Not to mention, he'd been sitting on Fiddlesticks' passive for a while now, just waiting for a chance like this.
Still, he was unwilling to give up after all that effort. Was it really going to end like this?
Then, at the very last second before fleeing, Allen noticed something that changed his mind, a few broken pieces of stone near the bear.
They looked ordinary, but their former presence radiated a pressure even a dragon might hesitate to challenge.
That's when it clicked: Stone Armor. The Newt Giant Bear's innate defense skill.
Without a doubt, the bear had instinctively activated it in its death throes, and that's what had allowed it to survive the impossible onslaught. Allen almost fled in panic because of it.
But now? The armor was gone.
If that stone armor was the true source of its resilience, then now the bear was just a big punching bag.
He and Valor could finish it.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
Fifteen minutes later, Allen collapsed to the ground, completely spent. Valor, barely standing, let out a croak that sounded more like a wheeze than a cry.
It had been a brutal battle.
The bear's final struggles were far more savage than he'd imagined. Allen had cast spells non-stop, while Valor hit it with waves of fear and agony. Bit by bit, they wore it down, until it finally stopped moving.
Allen had even used [Drain], a spell he never wanted to touch. The bear had landed a devastating counterattack that nearly knocked him unconscious. If not for the healing from [Drain], he might've ended up in the academy infirmary, or worse.
But in the end, they won.
He and Valor had claimed victory, even if Allen's mana reserves were now bone dry.
After catching his breath and letting his support item trickle back a bit of mana, Allen trudged toward the giant bear's corpse.
Mine! All mine!
He nearly shouted it out loud in triumph, but thought better of it. Best not to draw attention. If someone else saw the body disappear into the system, how the hell was he supposed to explain that?
He placed a hand on the bear's body.
[Ding! Hero Shard Collection Complete. Synthesize Hero?]
At last.
He could cry. If the system had given him 97.4% completion and told him to try again next time, he'd have lost his mind.
Luckily, he'd finished it in one go. Taking down a monster like this again, outside this perfect terrain, was almost unthinkable.
Now the only question was... which hero would awaken next?
Taliyah? Malphite? Or maybe the big dog himself, Volibear?
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