“How does the magic system work?” he asked, hoping for more details before choosing his spells. He didn’t want to pick three and then never be able to change it, like the valenders, or if that’s how it worked, he at least wanted to know that first.
Info: Llurien Magic System.
Summary: Even if untrained or unskilled, anyone who can perform magic is a magician, but trained and skilled practitioners are called magic-users (and to call one a magician is an insult). The two main types are wizards and sorcerers.
Wizards perform spells according to the directions. An error causes spell failure (nothing happens and gathered energy is safely released). Failure sometimes causes lost mana but does not produce unintended side-effects. On reaching a level, a wizard gains access to all spells at that level. A set number of spells can be swapped out on your hotlist at any time except during combat. To cast, the player must have any needed materials. Only mana points (MP), which the player’s mana regeneration rate influences, determine how many spells can be cast.
Sorcerers manipulate magic by willpower, not spells, and are unaffected by deity associations (see “Deity Supplement Option” once you’ve reached level 5). They can achieve whatever they imagine if they have enough mana and skill. But this often requires knowledge they may not possess. Materials can aid them but may not be required. They may not safely release gathered magic energy when failing in their objective, and magic can still happen with unintended side-effects and results, rather than being aborted altogether. Intentionally or not, they are among the most dangerous people alive.
Mana Regeneration in combat is reduced by two-thirds.
Max said to himself, “Now I know how to insult wizards and sorcerers.”
The combat Mana Regeneration reduction was steep, but it depended on how much spells cost and their cooldown. Time to find out.
He switched to the Spells tab of the Magic Menu and clicked Level 1, the other eight levels being greyed out. Over thirty spells appeared. Before he could get too excited that he’d have so many options, he sensed he wouldn’t have materials for any of them, and that even once he started playing, that might often limit his options. He would have to be perpetually on the lookout for materials or buy them en masse in settlements if possible.
Some of the spells would make life easier, like Bottomless Container or Repair. In town, Acquire Culture, Speak Language, and Read Person could all be invaluable. Charm Person and Listen could help him be influential. But since he expected trouble before long, he really wanted offensive and defensive spells ready. Sleep was a classic, but he didn’t have the feathers needed. Frost Armor could both protect him and cause 5 HP damage to anyone who attacked, but he needed ice. That didn’t sound very useful out in the field due the unlikelihood of ice not melting. Detect Magic was so valuable that he looked up the full entry.
Spell: Detect Magic.
Level 1 Divination.
Description: Detects any active spells within a ten-foot radius but does not identify them.
Magic items are identified if active, but ones that can be inactive are not.
Components: Verbal – “By Tarerra’s eye, all spells be shown.”
Cast time: Instant.
Duration: 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Sphere, Deity and Boost: Green, Tarerra (Goddess of Truth), Superior Detection.
MP: 2.
He selected this as one of his three hotlist spells and pulled up the next one of interest.
Spell: Heal.
Level 1 Evocation.
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Description: Heals one person within a five-foot range, restoring 1-4 HP.
Components: Verbal – “Mother Llurien, mend your child.”
Cast time: Instant.
Duration: Instant.
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Sphere, Deity and Boost: Yellow, Kojen (Goddess of Rejuvenation), +1 HP.
MP: 2.
This might be enough to save his life in the beginning of this game. Healers probably had a far more powerful version of this, but at least he wouldn’t need to rely exclusively on potions or someone else to recover. This was definitely staying in his hotlist.
Next up was the first one that had caught his attention, mostly due to its name. The rock guitarist in him loved it, and when he saw what it did, he immediately chose it.
Spell: Orb of Doom.
Level 1 Evocation.
Description: In the caster’s hand, creates a fist-sized ball of energy that can be hurled at a target up to 100 feet away, inflicting 5-25 HP of damage. The orb is not affected by gravity. Dexterity and Agility affect accuracy. The energy is one of the four elements: air, fire, earth, or ice. The element determines the nature of the damage.
Components: Verbal – “Gather [Element].” Gesture – Throwing motion toward target. Material – The element.
Cast time: Instant.
Duration: Orb must be thrown within five seconds and will last until striking a target.
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Sphere, Deity and Boost: Green, Tarrera (Goddess of Truth), +10% Damage.
MP: 2.
At Higher Levels: 5-10 additional HP damage per level.
That was the only real level 1 attack spell. Or at least, the only one he had. A wizard probably had more than a bard, but he’d never know unless getting a peek at someone’s options or seeing them cast what he couldn’t and knowing their level.
With these chosen, he dismissed the Spell Menu and found nothing had changed about his environment during his menu time. Was that because this was a starter area or did time stop while he was looking at a menu? He’d test that when it didn’t matter, like outside of combat.
Only now did Max wonder which way he should go down the dirt path – behind or forward? Too bad he didn’t have a map. At the thought, one appeared hovering before him. It showed was a green, pine forest to the north, south, and west, the words Haigan Forest overlaid on it. More trees among the foothills stood east, too, but they stopped at a mountain range running north to south, the words Bier Peaks over them. He hadn’t noticed the white-capped mountains through the trees behind him but now peeked through the foliage to see them looming overhead. That explained the rolling hills, the rocks in the path, and a few boulders amid the underbrush.
The path led parallel to the mountains, and he couldn’t zoom out any further to see what might be there. He suspected that like many games, he’d have to explore to see more on his map. He dropped a pin on it now, hoping to orient himself to his starting location as he went. Then he started north, in the direction he’d been facing on appearing in the game. That seemed to be a hint which way to go. That no guide was here surprised him, since lots of games had that.
Before getting himself into a dangerous situation, he wanted to try the valenders and spells, especially the offensive ones. Facing an enemy and not being sure how to cast something wasn’t a smooth move. Hand of the Grave probably needed a living target. Looking around and listening to the forest, he tried to approach some of the birds he’d been hearing. Within fifty yards, a bend in the path revealed a bird with a pale abdomen and green and yellow streaks on its back. It sat on a tree branch close to the way. He pulled up the Spell Menu again to refresh his memory before dismissing it and focusing on the bird. To his surprise, a sign popped up above it.
Antarian Sparrow. A common bird on the continent Antaria, the Antarian Sparrow is invasive enough that some people try to repel them from (rather than attract them to) settlements and homes.
HP: 1/1.
Max smirked as he prepared to do more than repel it.
“Feel the touch of Krairon,” he said, holding out his open hand toward the bird. He felt a cold sensation down his arm before a ghostly copy of his hand floated out from his own. It moved across the distance separating them. Climbing steadily, since the target was above him by several feet, it headed straight for the bird, which flew away at the last moment, leaving the hand with nothing to grasp. The spell wouldn’t last much longer, but Max saw nothing else alive to grasp except vegetation. He closed his hand to make the spectral one do so around the tree branch, but he missed and tried again before it worked. Dropping his arm, he walked up to look at the branch just as the spell ended. The tree’s bark had white frost around it with a noticeable handprint, but it didn’t seem damaged. His mana had dropped by one but regenerated to full in just seconds.
Looking around, Max went searching for another bird, trying to move quietly. After a minute of stepping around leaves, fallen branches, and avoiding rocks, he received a notification.
You gained a skill!
Stealth.
Proficiency Type: Active.
Level: 1.
You gained 25 XP!
That surprised him. He had been able to choose a few proficiencies at character creation and figured he’d gain them on leveling up, but now he gained one from attempting to do something. Would he still gain proficiency points to distribute with a new level?
Having found another bird like the first, he focused on the task. This time, the bird didn’t move as the hand closed around its body, which stiffened and trembled, the bird letting out a small squawk before falling to the ground and taking the spectral hand with it.