Having decided on the three innate skills I'll give to my Flesh Golem, Trample, Scorching Body, and Bloodlust, it's time to choose the rest of the skills.

…or it would, if I knew what I wanted. So instead, I'll start modifying the AI.

"This shouldn't take long, right? Hahaha!"

Wrong.

Unless you're lucky, everything related to programming can always take way, way, waaaaaaaay longer than expected. Longer, as in ten times, even a hundred times longer; and you'll never be sure it works as intended until you test it.

But… I'll have to do it anyway, so I won't think too much about it and just do it.

The changes I make aren't many. I just changed its targeting so it prioritizes enemies that are closer to death as well as those who are further away, so it can trample over the invaders in its path.

Then, I make it so it doesn't switch to another target once it's set to create the 'I'm going to smash you into tiny bits' feeling.

Of course, I don't force it. So if the target becomes unavailable due to invisibility or invulnerability, the golem will choose another one. I also set up a timer to change targets, to make sure it doesn't fight against the same tanky opponent all the time.

Now that I've finished the AI, I have a better idea of what I want to do with the skills. I'll start with the active ones.

Smash (Active skill) Cost: 60 EP After one second of charging, deal (30 + 3 * STR) physical damage to a single target. The target is stunned for 2 seconds. This skill has a 5-second cooldown.

Although it doesn't look like it, Smash is a high-risk, high-reward skill. The one-second charging time puts you in a vulnerable position, and any decent player should have enough time to escape your range.

But the same doesn't apply to support mobs controlled by AI, hahaha!

Furthermore, when it does land, Shash is extremely efficient and dangerous. Its high damage, paired with the low cost and long stun, is enough to turn a fight around. It's unusual to see Smash work in player vs player matches, but when it does… Oh, man, when it does! When Smash works, it almost always spells doom for the player hit by it.

As for the skill's cooldown… It's here mostly to avoid chain-stunning the enemy for all eternity. Which makes sense, if you ask me.

Although chaining it with other skills is still possible, and recommended by all players using Smash, I believe no skill should be able to single-handedly put an enemy into a position of no return. It's great that the game developers considered this and added the short cooldown to prevent it.

There are two other active skills I want to give to the Flesh Golem.

The first one will make use of the MP, so it isn't wasted during fights, and complement the Scorching Body innate, because both deal fire damage. It's a skill you already know: Ignite.

Ignite, being the only ranged skill I'll give to the Flesh Golem, will be a good way to harass the invaders.

I'm following Ricard's advice for this one. He was the one who insisted that if I ever wanted to make a really dangerous melee monster, it should have at least one ranged skill available; otherwise, the players can easily come up with countermeasures that'll render my monster useless.

…Let's hope I won't regret following his advice any time soon.

For the last active skill, I've chosen Shrug It Off.

Shrug It Off (Active skill) Cost: 50 EP, 50 MP Remove all debuffs and negative status effects on you, and prevent status effects and debuffs from being applied to you for the next 5 seconds. This skill has a 5-minute cooldown.

Shrug It Off is perfect for the 'unstoppable killing machine' image I want for my Flesh Golem. After all, how can it be 'unstoppable' if it can be immobilized or stunned at will?

"Oh, right. I must change the AI for this…!"

I make a quick change to the AI for Shrug It Off. I make it so the golem won't activate the skill until it suffers a severe and long status effect, like a ten-second blind, or a longer than five-second immobilization, or, in the case of poison and damage-over-time effects, stacking too much and posing a problem.

After all, the Flesh Golem is a large and resilient target. It isn't unusual for players to rely on damage-over-time skills to deal with that kind of monster, especially when aiming isn't a problem.

For the triggered skills, I've decided on three skills. Two will make my Flesh Golem even more menacing, while the other will make it a lot trickier to deal with.

The first is Vengeance, the same skill the Demonic Swarmers have, which increases the damage after every nearby ally's death. Perfect because of the weaker and annoying Rotlings that will always be near the Flesh Golem.

The other two are Brutal Killer and Putrid Blood.

Vengeance (Triggered skill) Receive a buff that increases all damage you deal by 5% every time an enemy kills an allied unit within 5 meters. This skill can stack, and the buff lasts until combat ends.

Brutal Killer (Triggered skill) After killing another unit, heal for 10% of your Max HP and gain a buff that increases all damage dealt by 20% for 10 seconds. This skill can only trigger when unarmed, and only with melee skills and attacks.

Putrid Blood (Triggered skill) When you take damage from a unit within 2 meters of you, that unit is soaked in your blood and takes (2 + 0,1 * CON) poison damage per second for 5 seconds.

Brutal Killer is a niche but very strong skill that requires unarmed strikes to work. Magic doesn't work either. This skill will add some survivability and extra danger to my golem.

For this one, though, I have to make yet another adjustment to the AI. And that change is none other than…

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

…to kill the Rotlings! Aren't I evil? Hahaha!

No, seriously. Now, if a Rotling happens to be within melee range and it's almost dead, the golem will kill it instead of waiting for the enemies to do it. It won't trigger Vengeance, as it only triggers when an enemy does the killing, but healing by 10% and obtaining a temporary 20% damage boost is very well worth it.

Oh, and just in case you think Brutal Killer is a skill you should give to all non-humanoid monsters, because they can't use weapons anyway, let me tell you a little secret: You can't.

Brutal Killer is a skill exclusive to humanoids, and this means that to use this skill, you can't wield any kind of weapon. This means losing the range, any weapon-related skill, and, even more important, being unable to look cool with your weapon.

In my opinion, it's not worth it unless you're going with the brawler idea from the start.

"Brawlers are so lame… Almost all players who play a brawler Champion have as much muscle in their bodies as they have inside their heads..." I shake my head. "Stupid Musclebrains! Sigh…"

Where was I…? Ah, yes. Putrid Blood. I don't think this one needs much explanation. You attack the golem, you take damage. Simple, right? Hahaha! Simple, but extremely annoying. And dangerous, given the Flesh Golem's natural resilience.

"Well, well, well… we're almost at the end now. As always, the best goes last, fufufu…"

If until now, the skills I chose, both innate and normal, defined my Flesh Golem, the passive skills are what will break it. Or at least, that's what I hope.

You see… The biggest problem with a monster that focuses all its attacks on a single opponent is that it's easy to control its aggro.

But what if? What if that isn't really a valid option? What if the one who intentionally gets its aggro is in so much danger that it doesn't matter if it's intentional?

That's what the next two skills I've chosen will achieve.

Combo (Passive skill) Your basic attacks deal an extra 2,5% damage for each previous hit against the same target. Failing to deal damage with an attack or switching targets resets this bonus.

Exploit Weakness (Passive skill) Your basic attacks have a 1% chance to deal 10 times the normal damage.

There's no need to explain Combo, is there?

Although a successful dodge can break the damage growth, most tanks are good at taking hits, not avoiding them. With this skill, my golem will be able to eventually break down even the most resilient of invaders.

The really dangerous skill is Exploit Weakness, though. One in every hundred attacks on average, but that one, deals ten times the damage.

"I can already imagine the panic of the invaders when they expect to take about fifty damage, and take five hundred instead… By the time they realize, it'll be too late! By then, they will be part of the meat mountain! Fufufu! Hahaha!"

Although most skills I could choose would make the golem deal more damage on average, I like it better this way. This is a perfect skill to instill terror upon the invaders, and make sure they're never willing to take the Flesh Golem's aggro.

"The random aspect is like playing the lottery. A lottery that you're guaranteed to lose… eventually, huhu…"

And finally, the last skill I choose is Regenerative Tissues.

Regenerative Tissues (Passive skill) Store 30% of any damage taken in a 'regeneration pool'. You recover HP equal to that amount over the next 20 seconds.

Do you remember Eternal Pain, the innate skill every Chimera automatically gets? If you do, good for you.

Regenerative Tissues is the weaker copy of the innate skill Regeneration. It only heals for a percentage of the damage received, and works very similarly to Eternal Pain, but unlike Regeneration and Eternal Pain, I can give it to any unit I wish to.

The important keyword here is 'I', because it's a faction-exclusive skill.

By the way, the reason I didn't use Regenerative Tissues yet is that I didn't unlock it until now. Well, that, and because I forgot I could unlock it, but the real reason is the former.

'Don't lie to yourself, Andreu! How many times have you told yourself 'I will unlock it', huh?'

'Shut up! I don't need a conscience to talk common sense into me! Wait a moment... I thought I killed you long ago…'

'Haha! You'll never get rid of me!'

'Yeah!? Want to test it!?'

"Khm…! Focus, Andreu, focus."

Although Regenerative Tissues is the weaker and less powerful version of Regeneration, it still has its uses. Against high burst damage, Regenerative Tissues can even perform better!

…although it only does for a short while, and the best way to deal with burst damage is to prevent or avoid it in the first place…

Uhh… Well, it at least costs no EP to maintain. So… that's something?

You know what? I'm tired of explaining everything, so here's the Flesh Golem's final stats. You go and learn the rest on your own.

Ravager (Lv 9) HP 1.710 (950) STA 162 (90) SOU 126 (70) EP 1.440 (800) MP 1.080 (600) STR 109 (61) CON 26 (70) AGI 86 (48) SPI 82 (46) WIL 19 (65) DEX 27 (15) SPD 5 INT 4 COM 1 Skills Active: Ignite, Shrug It Off, Smash. Triggered: Bloodlust (Innate), Scorching Body (Innate), Trample (Innate), Brutal Killer, Putrid Blood, Vengeance. Passive: Combo, Exploit Weakness, Regenerative Tissues.

After all the meat is processed and the Templates are saved, I start the creation of the Rotlings and Ravager. Taking into account the total cp of bodies consumed, I can create one Flesh Golem and nine Rotlings, so I do it.

Finally, I assign the templates to the recently created Waste Disposal Unit, right in the meat mountain, and save all the changes. From now on, every invader will have the option to come here.

Now, if you excuse me, I have a busy schedule and must leave.

As I disconnect from the game, I start rubbing my hands together. "It's time to watch some invaders suffer… Fufufu! Hahaha!"

Umm… why do I have the feeling I'm forgetting something? It's like my brain is trying to warn me that I should go to bed as soon as possible because tomorrow I have to wake up early. But we're in the middle of summer, so it's weird…

"Nah, that can't be," I shake my head in denial. "I must be wrong. Invaders, wait for me! I want to be the first to see your reactions! Hahaha!"

"Why should you ever give your opponent the chance to strike back? That's utter foolishness.

In a player-versus-player fight, you should work to incapacitate your opponents when the chance arises. And then, never give them a chance to recover. Stuns, slows, immobilization, blinds, displacements… Anything and everything. If you do it properly, the victory is guaranteed. How are they going to win if the only thing they can do is cry, watching their HP bar slowly dwindling?"

- Excerpt of an interview with a high-ranking DMA player.

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