Rebooting the Arena

Chapter 40: Alex’s Healing Buffs

As the team's healer and support, Alex had always been the lifeline of Phoenix Reborn. His calm under pressure and ability to reverse damage with Astral Order abilities had saved the team countless times. But after their defeat to the Silver Vipers, Alex realized he needed to step up his game. His focus had primarily been on reactive healing—fixing problems after they happened. But in competitive Ancient Arena Online (AAO), Alex knew that to keep Phoenix Reborn alive in the most intense battles, he needed to become more proactive, anticipating damage before it hit and cleansing dangerous effects that could cripple his team.

After weeks of training and leveling up, Alex unlocked a series of new healing buffs that focused on proactive support and status effect cleansing, allowing him to keep the team in fighting shape even when the enemy was throwing everything they had at them.

In the virtual lobby, Alex pulled up his character sheet, ready to show the team how his new talents would reshape the way he played—and more importantly, how he kept Phoenix Reborn alive through even the worst encounters.

Alex: Chronomancer of the Astral Order

New Healing Buffs and Cleansing Abilities Unlocked:

Astral Ward: A proactive healing ability that allowed Alex to place a healing shield on an ally. This shield would absorb damage and provide a small heal-over-time effect. Perfect for preventing burst damage and keeping key players in the fight longer.Cleansing Wave: Alex's new AoE cleanse ability that removed debuffs, stuns, and poison effects from all nearby teammates. It was essential for countering enemy crowd control and keeping the team mobile.Astral Nova (Ultimate Upgrade): His Chrono-Rewind ultimate had evolved into Astral Nova, which now provided a massive healing burst for the entire team, cleansing debuffs, resetting cooldowns, and granting temporary damage reduction to all teammates within its radius. It was a full reset that not only healed but also protected the team from future attacks.

Alex smiled as he displayed his new abilities to the team. "I'm going to make sure none of you go down again. And if they try to debuff or stun us? I'll clear it all before it becomes a problem."

The rest of the team was impressed by Alex's upgrades. Kai saw the strategic potential right away.

"Cleansing stuns and debuffs is going to be huge," Kai said, their voice filled with excitement. "We've been caught by crowd control in key moments before. With Cleansing Wave, we won't be sitting ducks anymore."

Lena, who often needed freedom to cast her powerful AoE spells, nodded in agreement. "And with Astral Ward, you'll keep me up even if they try to focus me down. I'll be able to keep firing off spells without worrying about getting dropped."

Tariq, always the protector, grinned. "If you can cleanse me when they try to stun or debuff, I can stay in the fight longer. We're not going to lose ground with you keeping us up."

Even Nina, the team's quiet assassin, saw the advantage. "With Astral Nova, we can reset if things go bad."

Alex felt a sense of pride hearing the team's reactions. His role had always been to keep everyone alive, but now he could do it proactively, predicting damage and status effects before they hit, ensuring the team had more room to make aggressive plays.

The team queued up for a scrimmage to test out Alex's new abilities. The match was set in The Ruins of Solaria, a crumbling battlefield full of tight corners, open spaces, and dangerous environmental hazards. It was the perfect place to put Alex's new proactive healing and cleansing abilities to the test.

As the match began, Tariq charged forward to take control of the center, with Lena already positioning herself to start zoning the enemy DPS with her newly unlocked Chain Lightning and Lightning Storm abilities. But the enemy team, a well-coordinated mid-tier group, had a different plan.

"They're focusing me," Lena called out as the enemy team's DPS locked onto her, trying to take her down early.

"On it," Alex responded calmly.

Before the enemy could deal lethal damage, Alex activated Astral Ward, surrounding Lena with a healing shield that absorbed the incoming attacks and gave her a steady heal-over-time effect. The shield bought Lena enough time to reposition and retaliate with a devastating Lightning Storm, forcing the enemy team to scatter.

"They can't take me down that easily," Lena said with a grin as her health stabilized, thanks to Alex's proactive healing.

As the fight progressed, the enemy team tried a new strategy—stacking debuffs and stuns on Tariq to take him out of the fight. The enemy DPS launched a series of poison attacks while their support hit him with stuns, trying to break Phoenix Reborn's front line.

"They're locking me down!" Tariq called out, his voice strained as he struggled under the weight of the debuffs.

Alex remained calm. "Not for long."

With a quick cast, Alex activated Cleansing Wave, sending a wave of cleansing energy across the battlefield. The stuns, poison effects, and debuffs on Tariq were instantly removed, freeing him from the enemy's control and allowing him to press forward.

"I'm back in!" Tariq shouted, charging into the enemy team and using Flamebreaker Charge to knock their DPS off balance.

"Nice timing," Kai said, seeing the opening. "Let's finish this."

With Tariq freed from the enemy's crowd control, Phoenix Reborn surged forward. Nina and Kai flanked the enemy healer, taking them down quickly, while Lena unleashed a barrage of lightning spells to finish off the rest of the team.

Victory.

After the match, the team gathered to debrief, and Alex's new abilities were the main topic of discussion.

"Cleansing the debuffs off of Tariq was a game-changer," Kai said, clearly impressed. "They were trying to take him out of the fight, but with Cleansing Wave, they couldn't hold him for more than a few seconds."

Lena nodded, appreciating how Astral Ward had saved her from getting focused early in the match. "The shield kept me alive long enough to reposition and cast Lightning Storm. Without it, I might've gone down before I could deal any damage."

Even Nina, typically quiet, spoke up. "You saved us. When they tried to lock us down, you kept us in the fight."

Alex smiled, feeling the full weight of his new role as the team's proactive healer. "The goal now is to keep you all from taking lethal damage in the first place. With Astral Ward, I can shield you before the burst hits. And if they try to stack debuffs or stuns, Cleansing Wave will clear it before it gets too bad."

The real test of Alex's new abilities came when they faced a more aggressive, high-tier team in another match. This time, the enemy team specialized in crowd control and debuffs, intending to lock down Phoenix Reborn one by one. But with Alex's proactive healing and cleansing, the enemy's strategy fell apart.

Whenever the enemy DPS tried to stack damage-over-time effects on Lena or Tariq, Alex was there with Astral Ward to absorb the brunt of the damage. When the enemy tried to lock down Kai or Nina with stuns, Alex's Cleansing Wave cleared the debuffs, allowing them to re-engage without missing a beat.

And in the final moments of the match, when things started to spiral out of control and Phoenix Reborn's health bars began to dip dangerously low, Alex activated his upgraded ultimate—Astral Nova. The massive healing burst restored everyone to full health, cleared all remaining debuffs, and granted the team a temporary damage reduction, allowing them to turn the fight in their favor.

"Astral Nova saved the game," Kai said after the match, the victory still fresh in their mind. "We were about to get wiped, but you reset the fight and gave us the chance to push forward."

Back in the lobby, Alex reflected on how far he had come as a healer. He wasn't just reacting to damage anymore—he was preventing it, anticipating problems before they became overwhelming. With Astral Ward, he could shield his teammates from lethal bursts. With Cleansing Wave, he could free them from stuns and debuffs. And with Astral Nova, he could reset the entire fight, giving the team a fresh start when things went south.

Alex's new healing buffs and cleansing abilities had transformed him into a stronger, more proactive support player. He was no longer just keeping Phoenix Reborn alive—he was empowering them to fight harder and take more risks, knowing he would always be there to pull them back from the brink. With Alex's newfound strength, Phoenix Reborn was now an even more formidable force on the battlefield.

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