The second Alan set his eyes upon the notifications, his new Skills [Heat Resistance] and [Pain Resistance] began to take effect. Instantly reducing the pain from his steam burns, and cutting his (Burn) Debuff duration by thirty percent. A quick look at his Status tab revealed his Health pool was down to 216 Hp, and steadily dropping further every second.
Drawing a deep, painful breath, he tried to cast [Healing fog]. His Mana started to gather, but a suppressive pressure enveloped his body, sinking into his chest and restricting his connection to his Mana pool. It felt as if an invisible fist had gripped Alan's soul, and was beginning to squeeze. As if the intense pressure wasn't enough, a wave of violent nausea began to overpower him.
WARNING! You have been afflicted with the (Mana Backlash) Debuff. You are unable to cast spells for the duration of Debuff. Duration: 2 minutes.
Alan attempted to fight the nausea, but piled on top of the savage pain from his recently mangled face, his efforts were short lived. Dropping to his knees, Alan noisily vomited up the contents of his stomach. Flopping onto his side, he lay there in the sand, groaning and praying for a quick recovery.
Thankfully system healing was fast, and his deep burns swiftly recovered, leaving behind no trace of his seeping wounds. Unfortunately the mental scarring wasn't nearly as easy to repair. Although physically Alan appeared fully healed, he wasn't able to keep from remembering the sudden, intense pain. He still felt the sheer panic of being helpless to do anything but watch the steam bomb detonate in his face. He could still feel his skin peeling off, exposing the tender flesh once hidden beneath. The sensation of clear pus running freely from ruptured blisters.
Checking his Status tab again to get his mind to stop reliving his recent disfigurement, Alan was surprised to see that his single attempt at dual-casting cost him 40 Mp. The loss was unexpected, at double what was necessary.
Casting two Spells at once as it turns out wasn't only costly on his Mana pool, but isn't nearly as easy as he'd assumed it would be. Currently when Alan casts a single spell, he almost does it instinctively. He pretty much just thinks the Spell into existence, while trading a bit of Mana in the process.
The information left behind by the Spell book and Spell scrolls were now so deeply ingrained in his mind it'd become almost second nature. He had a sneaking suspicion that the System was somehow still assisting in the process.
When attempting to cast two Spells however, not only was that feeling of assistance nowhere to be found, but the excessive Mana drain, combined with frightening headache almost made Alan want to give up on his magical experimentation entirely. The only thing stopping him from calling it quits was that unexpected notification.
WARNING! [Fireball] and [Water Jet] Failed to merge.
It doesn't say anything about dual-casting, Alan thought, it says failed to MERGE. You're telling me I can merge spells together?! Will that make them more powerful than before? Maybe add additional effects? Will it be a one time effect, or will merging spells create a completely new spell? Guess there's only one way to find out...
Finally the timer hit zero on his Mana backlash Debuff, restoring access to his Mana pool. Although physically Alan was ready to put his theory to the test, he did not yet feel mentally prepared to suffer the backlash of another failed spell. Instead, he allowed his Mana to slowly regenerate.
Which Spells should I attempt to merge first? He wondered, Not [Fireball] that's for sure. I've had my fill of explosions for now. There's got to be a less risky combination. [Water jet] and [Lightning Strike] seem like they would merge fairly easily, with water conducting electricity. What about [Water Jet] and [Wind Blade]? That seems like a fairly stable combination. I'm not really sure what the results would be though. [Stone Skin] seems like it would be a safe option, at least with anything but [Fireball]. A flaming skin Spell just sounds awful. I should probably start off with casting [Healing Fog] just to be safe. I'll probably try to merge [Stone Skin], but what am I going to combine it with?
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Enhanced Cognition] has grown to Level 2!
Pulling his canteen along with some jerky from inventory, Alan rapidly forced his overly salty meal down, each bite drowned in copious amounts of water. Storing his canteen, he finished off lunch with a handful of trail mix.
Standing up and stretching, Alan decided to pull a Health potion from storage, placing it under his belt just in case. Backup plan now situated, Alan was almost prepared to begin his testing. However, before starting, he gave himself a moment to simply breathe.
Allowing a bit of time to clear his mind, and gather his concentration. He now understood that the slightest miscalculation, or slip of focus could very well cause a dangerous Mana backlash, resulting in a premature Spell detonation, and a temporary loss of access to his Mana pool.
Forcing the steam bomb to the back of his mind, Alan started off by casting [Healing Fog]. As he was embraced within the soothing mist, Alan braced himself for the potential backlash, and cast [Lightning Strike] and [Water jet]. Because [Water Jet] automatically formed three feet from his chest, he was forced to call [Lightning strike] down almost on top of himself. Swift as thought, his chest began radiating warmth as his Mana pool became active and released a flood of energy from within his body. A wispy cloud formed above a swirling globe of water. As the Spells made contact, they started to slowly revolve around one another, as if competing for dominance.
Both Spells attempted to form in the same place at the exact same time, noticeably swelling in the process. A high voltage jolt released from the tiny cloud was the final straw. The twisted orb of water tried desperately to absorb the energy, but quickly surpassed its capacity. The orb surpassed the failing point and shattered, angrily spraying electrified water out in all directions. "Oh Sh..." Alan's voice was cut off mid thought by a paralyzing wave of electricity.
Splashing across his exposed skin, the energized water sent a shocking amount of electricity coursing throughout his frame. The energy surged within his very bones, locking muscles into place and leaving the exposed flesh charred and smoking. His eyeballs began to boil in their sockets forcing his consciousness to fade out, leaving Alan blind, incapacitated, and unable to so much as utter a sound. [Healing Fog] immediately started repairing the damage, but not before the rubber soles of Alan's boots melted, becoming fused with the soles of his feet.
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Several minutes later, Alan awakened face down in the sand, fully healed yet struggling to remember what happened. The sudden burst of electricity not only left his leather armor smelling fried, but apparently zapped away portions of his short-term memory as well. He clearly remembered casting [Healing Fog] in preparation of attempting to merge spells. After that... Things were fuzzy. Peering at his PSA Screen Alan realized that while he was out, several notifications had popped up.
[Lightning Strike] and [Water Jet] failed to merge.
WARNING! You have been afflicted with the (Paralysis) Debuff. You are unable to move for the duration of Debuff.
Duration: 30 seconds
Remarkable! Your Skill (C) [Enhanced Cognition] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Pain Resistance] has grown to Level 2!
Remarkable! Due to your questionable decision to use your body as a lightning rod you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Shock Resistance]!
(C)[Shock resistance] Lvl 1- This passive Skill provides a minor reduction to damage received from electricity and a minor chance to resist Paralysis Debuffs and/or reduce paralysis Debuff times.
Reduction to damage, chances to resist paralysis Debuffs and/or reduce paralysis Debuff times increase with skill level.
Paralysis debuff? I hit myself with a [Lightning Strike]?
He couldn't determine exactly what went wrong, because he wasn't even able to remember what happened. Alan attempted to stand, but stopped when his bare feet sank into the grainy sand floor. Peering questioningly at where he remembered leaving his boots, he found the upper portions where they were supposed to be, but all that remained of the soles were bits of charred rubber strewn about the sand around his legs.
Untying the laces, Alan tugged his feet from the remnants of his boots and set them on the floor. A sudden decrease in his Health pool alerted him that he lost his equipments Set bonus upon removal of the boots
"Of course my socks got fried too!" Alan mumbled to himself, removing the charred remains of his socks and placing them in a pile with his soleless boots. Pulling his Wasteland tortoise boots from storage, Alan quickly strapped them on his now stockless feet, and was greeted with a small Stat bonus for the new equipment. Unfortunately he no longer had a complete set of armor, so he'd lost the Set bonus received from his tutorial gear.
Judging by my crispy socks and boots, it's probably a good thing I don't remember what happened. I imagine it wasn't very pleasant though. Obviously the Spell merger failed, but it would be nice to know why, or how the failure occured. I honestly just don't know enough about casting Spells.. I should probably just stop now... But am I just going to quit every time things get rough? If I want to survive this Dungeon, I honestly NEED to get more familiar with my Spells. Maybe now that I have [Tenacious Concentration] I'll be able to notice something new?
Activation of his [Tenacious Concentration] skill was awkward at best, as it induced tunnel-vision like effects. Boosting his concentration levels, while radically reducing his situational awareness. Alan knew he felt uncomfortable with how vulnerable to attack the Skill left him, but without any better options, he kept it activated and cast [Fireball].
One after another he called up each of his Spells under the effects of [Tenacious Concentration], watching intently, studying the casting, formation, and eventual release of each spell. After cycling through all of his Spells, yet gaining no new insights or information, Alan started the process over once more.
Because the cooldown on [Healing Fog] happened to be substantially longer than the rest of his Spells, Alan was short one Spell for this test group, but nevertheless tried again.
Leaving [Tenacious Concentration] activated, he cast and released a [Fireball] for the second time under the effects of the Skill. Releasing the [Fireball] allowed the sphere of swirling flames to rocket off. Before the Spell even made it halfway to its destination, Alan sensed something in his mind Click into place, rewarding him with a new Skill and Skill Level!
Remarkable! Your Skill (U)[Tenacious Concentration] has grown to Level 2!
Remarkable! Due to your diligent investigation into the fundamentals of converting internal Mana into Spells you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Mana Perception]!
(C)[Mana Perception] Lvl 1- Upon activation, this Skill provides the ability to interact with Mana at a very basic level.
Interaction increases with Skill level.
Activating [Mana Perception] introduced Alan to a previously unseen world. Not only could he See Mana floating in the air all around him in the form of a brilliant iridescent haze, but Alan was now able to Smell the Mana. A strange but not entirely unfamiliar scent, it reminded him of petrichor and freshly cut grass.
Reaching out his hand, and clenching a fist, Alan noticed he could Feel the mana within his grasp, almost like elastic and ultra-fine cotton, it steadily emitted nearly undetectable pulses of energy.
Grasping the Mana with both hands, Alan gently pulled and twisted the malleable energy, testing its properties. Pulling on the fistfuls of energy, he felt a slight resistance as it stretched out, as if tugging on a rubber band.
If stretched too far, the Mana dispersed once more into the surrounding atmosphere. Twisting the Mana allowed an iridescent helix to form. Twisting too far, or when releasing his grasp, the twisted Mana would unfurl, and again, simply disperse.
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Mana Perception] has grown to Level 2!
"Damn! That was fast" Alan exclaimed.
Curious of the limitations of his new Skill, Alan activated [Mana Perception] followed by calling up a [Fireball] and watched intently as the spell began forming.
As warmth enveloped his torso, he was witness to a tendril of iridescent energy protruding from his chest, resembling a shimmering opal tentacle the thickness of a finger.
The thin stream of opalescent power swiftly extended out three feet and grew a small bubble-like growth at the very tip. Expanding like a rapidly inflated balloon, the bubble expanded to the size of Alan's head and then silently popped, leaving behind a softball sized ball of fire, slowly rotating in place.
The Mana forms a thin stream as it leaves my body, and that stream quickly 'grows' into the desired Spell. So if I'm going to combine spells, Alan realized, I'll probably have to somehow merge the Spells together as the Mana leaves my body, and finish before the Mana actually becomes a Spell? Maybe that way they will already be joined into a single Spell by the time it begins taking shape.
Ready to put his assumptions on the line, but unwilling to face any unnecessary risk, Alan decided to try to create a new defensive Spell. Activating both [Tenacious Concentration] and [Mana Perception] he sucked in a deep breath and cast both [Stone Skin] and [Water Jet] at the same time. Two shimmering tentacles of Mana flowed out from his chest, one slightly larger than the other. Alan had to assume the fatter tendril came from [Stone Skin] as it was a more intensive and costly Spell.
This time however, he made no attempt to force the Spells to stay separate, or even under control. Instead choosing to give free rein to the steady outpouring of his Mana.
As energy drained rapidly from his Mana pool, Alan studied the casting process intently, unwilling to miss a single detail. As his focus intensified, he sensed his recently Leveled Skill [Tenacious Concentration] take effect, and he quickly fell into a trance-like state.