Delve
The spell was called [Arrow Point] and It was much more interesting than Janus had initially thought.
The ring of mana generated by the spell could sustain itself after the initial cast. It incurred a constant mana cost, yet the caster could keep generating new projectiles within the array. Regrettably, moving the array proved impossible. Janus had made numerous attempts, but each time, the mana would merely collapse inward.
The projectiles were vicious if they struck an unarmored target. He learned that first hand when he had finally caught Pella with the new trick. He had carefully arranged the arrays so that no matter which way she dodged, she would still be hit. They left a bloody wound and Janus had hurriedly called for a healer.
Thankfully, the healer was able to seal the wound up. And, against her protests, Dario told her to take a few days before sparring again.
The incident was fresh in Janus’ mind. It had made everything feel too real. He hadn’t seen that much blood since the sub-train. It wasn’t as if he knew Pella very well, but he had never hurt someone like that before.
The following morning, his runescribe vibrated on his nightstand, waking him from a deep sleep. It was a message from Fao. The gangster was asking him for help with a small job.
Dario had given him and the others a few days to recover alongside Pella and so Janus had some free time. He eyed the message and debated whether he should respond. His dad would hardly approve of him hanging around the gangs, but Janus wasn’t a child anymore.
After a moment, he penned a message back, agreeing to do the job for Fao. It didn’t sound difficult. He’d just sit around with some of the Jacks and if trouble brewed, they expected him to use his [Strength Enhancement] on them.
Besides, if there really was trouble, Janus wasn’t all that worried. One mana pearl and whoever was causing trouble would probably turn tail and run.
He gathered his things and set out. The Jacks expected to meet him in the plaza around noon, but Janus always preferred to be early.
It was surprising when Fao wasn’t there, but Janus didn’t really mind. A lanky man in a leather jacket introduced himself as Jimmy, and he let Janus know what they were doing.
Apparently, some of the other gangs had been giving the Jacks trouble when they were selling their moving services. It struck Janus as strange. Why would the other gangs interfere in a legitimate business?
Unless the moving service is a cover for something else….
He kept his uncertainty to himself. It hardly mattered anyway.
A few hours passed, and he whiled it away practicing his [Mana Manipulation]. Some of the Jacks attempted to engage him in small talk, but he did his best to shut them down. Jimmy, however, could not be discouraged.
“I’m tellin’ yah, man. The moment I ID’d you, I knew the Talons wouldn’t mess with us. They don’t have an [Enhancer].” Jimmy rubbed his hands together. Janus wondered why the lanky man kept doing that.
He grunted and tried to ignore Jimmy’s rambling. Once the movers were finished, Jimmy handed him a shining silver coin and Janus began making his way back home.
He was almost disappointed that nobody tried to accost the movers while he was there. Almost.
-
“I think it’s about time. We’re going to head out tomorrow for your first dungeon.” Dario said before sipping on his drink.
The group had gathered in the guild, ordered tea, and were now listening to Dario speak.
“I am ready.” Devon stated.
Janus was never really sure how to read the redheaded swordsman. The man had still barely spoken to him, and they had been training together for a little over a month now. Devon’s focus seemed to be only on what Dario could teach him. He barely spared attention for Janus unless they were sparring.
“Well, maybe. I’ll be going with you guys to make sure things don’t go wrong. My presence will hurt your XP gain, but it’s better to be alive than, well, dead.” Dario said.
“What can you tell us about the dungeon?” Asked Pella. “I need to know how I should prepare.”
“Well, truth be told, I don’t know a lot. Almost all the nearby low level dungeons have already been cleared so this one is fresh.” Answered Dario. “The monsters around these parts tend to be spiders, ghosts, and stuff from Native American legend. Maybe we’ll even get to see a wendigo.”
Dario drained his cup and raised his arm. Someone quickly came and refilled his cup with more black tea. He was going to need the caffeine.
“Anyway, You guys have today and a bit of tomorrow to prepare. I’ve asked around and gotten a hold of the weapons you wanted, Pella. And I may even have a little surprise for Janus.” Dario turned and winked at him.
I don’t know if I should be excited or worried.
“Yeah? Uh, thanks. I guess I’ll try to refine my copy of [Arrow Point]. I still struggle to get everything going the right direction.” Janus replied.
Dario looked pleased. “Alright, well, you guys don’t need me right now. If you want to spar, have at it. Otherwise, start getting things ready for tomorrow.”
-
Janus spent nearly the entire day trying to figure out why his array still produced unstable projectiles. In the end he almost wanted to smack himself.
The problem was that [Mana Manipulation] on its own simply wasn’t enough. The array couldn’t craft channels for the mana to flow through. He should have noticed it earlier, but he had been too focused on making the array stable.
It was obvious in hindsight as he watched Atohi cast the spell a final time. He could see where the skill hardened parts of the mana in the array and where the projectiles themselves were hardened to direct mana appropriately.
He was amazed that his copy of the array even functioned at all without using [Mana Reinforcement].
[Your Mana Reinforcement skill has gained 1 level]
It’s almost like the System is mocking me.
In response to the new message, Janus checked his status.
Status Name Janus Alamy Class Enhancer Level 16 Guild None Life 360 Max Life 360 Mana 516 Max Mana 516 Stamina 399 Max Stam 399 Stat Total Base Class Skill Item Strength 32 16 0 16 0 Endurance 25 16 0 9 0 Dexterity 16 16 0 0 0 Intelligence 84 16 32 36 0 Wisdom 64 16 16 32 0 Skill Level Bonus Bravery 2 5 Wis / Lvl Writing 8 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Sprinting 7 1 End / 5 Lvl Mana Manipulation 20 1 Int + 1 Wis / Lvl Str. Enhancement 16 1 Int + 1 Str / Lvl Mana Reinforcement 8 1 End / Lvl Mana Burn 5 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Empty --- --- Empty --- --- Empty --- ---
His mana skills had been slowly climbing as he worked with Atohi. But [Mana Manipulation] had not budged since it reached level 20. He had a feeling that it would be difficult to level it from this point, especially after spending the last week on recreating [Arrow Point] with no progress in the skill to show for it.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
He recorded all of his experiments with mana in a small notebook. One some pages he had drawn small diagrams to help him remember the shape of mana in a specific array, or the directional flow in another. He was running into a problem with labeling, though.
He wasn’t really sure how he should refer to his new ability. It wasn’t a real spell, technically. The System still registered [Arrow Point] as a spell when he said it or thought about it, but he knew intuitively that it was a reference to the spell Atohi used and not Janus’ copy. He could even tweak parts of his replica and produce new effects. That wasn’t something somebody just using [Arrow Point] could do.
Maybe I can call it “Replica Arrow Point” or something.
The station’s lighting runes were already dimming by the time he decided to head home. His mana had nearly bottomed out, but [Mana Burn] guaranteed that he wouldn’t feel a drop of mana exhaustion and his high wisdom stat meant he would have a nearly full mana pool in the morning.
-
Janus waved goodbye to his dad as he walked through his front door. He idly wondered what would happen if something went wrong in the dungeon. Would he ever see his dad again? He squashed the thought, pushing it deep down.
He was thinking about extra ways to prepare and settled on trying to get himself some protection. Thus far he had just been sparring in a t-shirt and pants. That worked fine when your opponents weren’t doing their best to kill you, but now things were different.
Janus caught Atohi at the Delver’s Guild and asked about the man’s robe. It was made of layered cotton and was surprisingly durable. Atohi used a cotton robe because metal occasionally interfered with his spells. Janus understood what he meant, it was a struggle to move mana through metal. He had learned that when trying to strengthen Devon’s sword. It worked, but it took much longer than usual.
Unfortunately, Janus had also learned Atohi wouldn’t be sticking around in Crow Station. The [Magus] and his group were leaving to do some jobs all the way in Owl Station.
After learning about the robes Atohi wore, Janus approached Dario. They still had a few hours before they needed to leave.
“Yeah, I should be able to get you something like that. You’ll have to be fitted, though.” Dario said.
Janus didn’t mind. This was likely the best use of his time before they left.
Dario lead him to a small shop in Crow Station. There, a kindly old man prepared a thick cotton robe. Unlike Atohi’s, this one even had a hood. After around half an hour of fitting, the old man used a skill to reshape the layered cotton.
The robe was a dark blue, and the interior contained several pockets that Janus immediately put to use. He found the hood to be uncomfortably heavy and left it down.
It was a strange feeling to be wearing something like this. It was something that a Delver would wear.
Dario discussed the price and slipped a dozen or more silvery coins to the tailor. Janus’ jaw nearly dropped. His new robe cost more than his father made in a month of work.
As they headed back to the Delver’s Guild, Janus asked about the price.
“The material has been lightly enchanted. The enchantment disperses force over a larger area.” Dario said. “That’s why the price is so high.”
Janus was surprised and activated his [Enhancer] perk. Immediately the world lit up around him. He looked down and could see the enchantment flow through his new robe.
“Well, thank you. I didn’t expect anything like this.” Janus responded.
Dario shrugged, “It’s my job to keep you alive and teach you how to fight. I’ve got a quarterstaff for you back at the guild, along with something else. Don’t get too excited. The quarterstaff isn’t enchanted.”
-
Both Pella and Devon had prepared with new equipment as well. Devon had suited up, his signature piercing stare showing from beneath the lid of a stylized metal helmet. Much of his body was covered in studded leather armor.
Pella had opted for a lighter setup, with a leather harness over layered cotton armor. The armor was not too dissimilar to Janus’ own robes. On her back and through her belt, though, was a menagerie of weapons. Janus counted a short sword, a long sword, half a dozen throwing knives, a small buckler, a short bow, and a quiver full of arrows.
“Here.” Dario said, shoving a quarterstaff into Janus’ hands. “There should be loops on the back of your robe to hold it. I also have something else.”
Dario fished around in the pouch at his waist and pulled out a pear-shaped gem. It was perhaps the size of a crab apple.
“This is a [Focus]. It will help you manage your mana. I’ve already given the others their own items. These things are expensive, so be careful with it.” Dario said, handing the gem to Janus.
“Yeah, of course. Uh, thank you, Dario.” Janus said.
Janus wasn’t great at accepting gifts, but he wasn’t going to complain about it just before heading into the dungeon. He looked at the peculiar gem and identified it. It was nearly translucent, and light subtly reflected off of various facets.
[Focus]
Description: Attuning to this item provides you with increased mana regeneration. In an emergency, it can be ingested to refill up to 500 mana.
Bonus Stats: 5 Wisdom
This was the first time Janus had an opportunity to attune with an item. He wasn’t really sure what to do and decided to use the same method he had used to confirm his class. He willed for the item to attune with him. A notification appeared.
[Attuned with item: Focus]
[2 Attunement Slots Remaining]
Items like the [Focus] were created by high level crafters and mages using the System. He had heard they could provide many effects, but were mostly known for their stat bonuses.
He placed the [Focus] in one of his robes many pockets. The extra mana regeneration was very welcome. It was always frustrating to cut off practice early because his mana couldn’t keep up.
The group found a table and Dario headed to the clerks. He returned with a delver’s writ in his hand.
“Alright, we have full custody of this dungeon,” he said, waving the writ in the air.
“Full custody?” Asked Janus. “What does that mean?”
“It means that we get the first shot at the dungeon’s boss. If we clear the boss out, the dungeon will slowly lose power until it just becomes a place like any other.” Dario responded, “But if we can’t take out the boss, other delvers can start getting writs for the dungeon.”
“So we’re going for the dungeon boss?” Pella’s expression was uncertain.
“Yeah, I don’t see a point in not going for it. Even with me there you guys should gain a few levels from the boss alone,” Dario said, “It goes without saying that this will be very dangerous. The dungeon is already higher level than you guys. Treat this as a life or death situation.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Devon said before Janus could ask another question.
This guy has something wrong with his head. At least he’ll be the one in front.
The group stood and checked their equipment. Everything looked good, so they made their way to the tunnel entrance indicated on the writ.
Dario pointed toward a tunnel near the bottom, and they made their way over. Janus was dismayed to see no metal supports and lighting. He took his [Torchstone] from one of his pockets and prepared himself.
It was time to delve.
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