For the next two days all of us will be trying to increase our effectiveness with our skills as well as other things. I will be mostly focused on creating magic spells while Gary is trying to figure out how to do voiceless casting since his chants he has to use currently are a bit too long to be used effectively. He knows it is possible since I am able to do that but I am unsure whether that is because I am a magus or some other talen I have yet to find. Same will be working on crafting items which is why I gave him the [Mana Orb] in order to use it to create more expensive materials. Claire said something about understanding her innate ability. I actually forgot to ask her about that since we both are descendants of Arthur I would have assumed we would have the same ability but it appears I am wrong.
Sitting down in the back room Clyde activated [Eyes of the Magus] and the world once again took on a bluish tint. Activating [Meditation lv2] which since he levelled it up last time the percentage increase went from 5 to 6. With this logic he would need to get it to level 95 in order for it to have any effect though it also says novice so it might get better with a higher tier. Anyways back to concentrating.
I start to see the ambient mana flow into my body albeit very slowly. Seeing this I couldn’t help but figure that if I could just absorb more into me then I would recharge my mana faster. Trying it out I start by just willing the mana to absorb into me faster but that didn’t seem to work, looks like it’s a little more complicated than that or my willpower just isn't high enough yet.
I then recall all of that lore about regular magic casters in the game I used to play. Being a blood mage is very different mechanics wise than a regular mage so I never bothered with the lore. Anyways, they always had to have a way to store the mana as well as an effective way to draw it in.
Pondering about that I remember this old meditation technique I used to use for anger management. I try it. I turn off [Eyes of the Magus] and still keep meditation on. I then close my eyes and sit with my legs crossed over one another. Then I push my willpower and create a picture inside my head. For every time I breath in I picture a ton of mana entering my body through my nose and down my nasal cavity until it reaches my lungs then it disperses into my mana pool. Then I picture that every time I breathe out it is only air and all the mana I just pulled stays within my body until it gets absorbed.
When I actually try it I am astonished to find that it does feel like it works and in fact the system thinks it has as well.
[Meditation has levelled up to level 10.]
[congratulations! Your Meditation is now in the Apprentice rank!]
Interesting, this means that comprehensive breakthroughs seem to be more useful than just grinding the skill. This also makes sense why my [Eyes of the Magus] skill hasn’t levelled up yet. It appears there’s more to it than just being able to see the mana around me.
I also seems that skills follow ranks with Novice being the first rank and Apprentice being the second. Hopefully there is only ten levels to it like last time but something tells me that it won’t be as easy.
Next is my [Fireball]. I summon one slowly while having [Eyes of the Magus] on. I notice that there are what appear to be lines running parallel to my veins. They are purple in nature but light up neon blue when I start to feel the mana being moved to my hand. These must be my meridians or something similar. To think the Chinese already knew about magic.
I mean they called it Chi but pretty much the same thing, especially since now I am convinced they knew about magic ever since “God” said that mana has been around the planet for a long time. Oops went off on a tangent, anyways I can feel how my willpower is used to compress the mana packet.
I then will it to become denser so instead of it being a water balloon it is more like a ball of dirt. This does make the fireball smaller when I ignite it but it instead of the regular reddish yellow flame that once appeared it now takes on a shade of pale blue. I know from my chemical engineering degree that I also seemed to have made the fire burn hotter than normal. Usually the difference between colors of flames is not because of heat but actually what is being burnt, for instance reddish yellow is from sodium being burnt while oxygen or carbon makes the flame turn blue. Though since my source that’s burning is actually just mana that means the change to clue is actually because it is hotter. The system also agrees with me seeing as how I just levelled the thing to Apprentice.
[Due to user having a very deep knowledge of the chemical makeup of fire, Fireball has been updated.]
[Fireball-Apprentince-Lvl1]
[Description- A ball of fire that has been recreated to become more effective than its previous form, without changing the amount of mana used. By compressing the mana beyond normal, the resulting damage is increased as well as the range. Range- 0-75 Meters]
[Cost- 40 Mana]
[ Effects- 15 points of fire damage]
Wait…
...All I did was apply my real world knowledge to how my mana was interacting with the world and the result was my attack being even more powerful. Huh, it looks like even magic has to follow some rules.
Since all I did to make the [Fireball] better was take my mana, compress it and ignite it, could I shape it into something different? How about instead of condensing my mana into a ball then firing it, I instead create a spear shaped mana form then ignite it? Will that work? Before trying I call Gary to spot for me, if I end up blowing myself up I will need him to heal me.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Activating [Eyes of the Magus] again I start to draw mana in the air. To do so I am actually using both of my hands to roll the mana. To Gary this probably looks like I am just rolling my wrists near each other very slowly while staring at an empty space in between but to me, it seems that these small hand movements are exactly the type of device my brain needs in order to envision how the mana should form. Eventually I get the mana to condense into a spear length that is at least one meter long with a cone end to it. I then will the mana to ignite and promptly get a message from the system.
[Due to user manipulating mana, user has discovered a new spell.]
[Flame Spear]
[Description- A spear constructed by mana and ignited, this has more penetrating power than a regular fireball and can also travel a farther distance but at the cost at most of its explosive power. Range 0-100 Meters]
[Effects-20 points of fire damage and 10 points of penetration damage]
[Cost- 60 Mana]
That is...actually not a bad mana drain in consideration of the fire power I get out of it. Hehe see what I did there? Anyway, what if I added some spin to it as well?
I create another spear and before I ignite it I command it to spin. It starts to move after a full minute of concentrating and since [Eyes of the Magus] is too much of a drain when doing it I started to go off of just feeling. I could feel the spear slowly start to rotate until after a minute it gathers speed and continues to do so until the spear reminded me of one of those industrial drill.
[Congratulations! Flame Spear has been upgraded to Spinning Flame Spear!]
[Spinning Flame Spear]
[Description- A spear constructed by mana and ignited, this has more penetrating power than a regular fireball and can also travel a farther distance but at the cost at most of its explosive power. By rotating the spear at a high velocity, even more piercing power has been added. Range 0-150 Meters]
[Effects-20 points of fire damage and 20 points of penetration damage]
[Cost- 60 Mana]
So it seems better versions of a spell will override the previous version. Well those are now my two attack spells but the problem with both of them is their explosive power. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue since it is outdoors and I usually use my magic before they come close to my team but down in the dungeon I will be practically useless since we will be in such tight spaces. So because of that, I need some non-fire spells that won’t accidentally kill my teammates.
I start by picturing the first spell that anyone who wants to become a mage in the game uses to get the basics of using a spell. I start by taking my mana and just creating a simple bolt, around half a meter long. This bolt I won’t be igniting but instead just compressing the form until it begins to be naked to the visible eye as Gary starts to see it. It seems that it is purple in Bluish Purple in nature which makes sense seeing as how mana is usually considered blue in most games. Once I think the bolt is thick enough I go about to start spinning it very rapidly.
[Congratulations! User has discovered Mana Bolt!]
[Mana Bolt has been upgraded to Spinning Mana Bolt]
[Spinning Mana Bolt-Apprentice-Lv1]
[Description- A bolt made of pure magic, while this is element neutral, by compressing and spinning it, the damage is dramatically increased. Damage scales with Intelligence. Range 0-75 Meters]
[Effects- 2.5X damage Int. 10 Penetration Damage]
[Cost-20 Mana]
This seems highly more powerful than any of my fire attacks. Doing some quick math I find out I can create about 10 of these crazy powerful bolts while dealing a staggering 450 damage before I need to recharge. This is much more powerful than either of my two skills since I could only cast 3 of either [Spinning Flame Spear] or [Fireball] and deal only 60 damage plus the penetration damage which I looked and only applies to armour.
Actually, now that I think about it my High Mana Affinity probably has something to do with the ridiculously low cost and also might be how I can use mana so easily. This only proves that if you have an affinity with one element, then you should really gear yourself with those spells.
In that case I asked Gary to use his [Smite] skill on a random 2x4. Turns out a target for a spell can be anything. While he was casting it he had to use a chant since he says it helps him focus on how his mana should be converted properly.
“Oh Divine being, please allow me to use a fraction of your strength to strike down these infidels. [Smite]!” Gary said with a various looks of dedication.
Looking at him with [Eyes of the Magus] while he casted the spell showed me something very weird. The mana he uses looks similar to mine, except like when I use a fire spell the mana changes to something else. I try to get him to explain to me how he is converting it but ll he says is that the system makes him feel good when he does convert it.
With him being no help I have no idea how to replicate his spell. I also noted that he has the light affinity unlocked but I seem to have the holy one. I suspect that light has to do with healing while holy does more damage to the undead and those with a dark affinity but that will have to come later as I seem to not be able to learn a holy or light spell. It would seem easiest if I just buy a basic spell for all of my affinities from the shop and then make spells off of the way the system forces my mana to take shape and form. The only way I could create a mana bolt is because it is purely just shaping my mana and not changing the way it interacts with the world.
***********************************************************************************************************
Over the next few hours I develop a couple of spells I think I could use while in the dungeon.
[Mana Shield-Novice lv1]
[Description- Using pure mana, the user forms a translucent hexagonal shield covering their front half. The shield lasts for one hour before it needs to be recast]
[Effect- 1 points of shield for every 1 mana used]
[Adventurers Orb-Novice-Lv1]
[Description- A very common spell for those adventuring to use if there is a mage in the party. Once cast lasts for four hours.]
[cost-1 mana]
[Flame Slash- Novice- Lv1]
[Description- A magic attack where the user coats his blade with mana and ignites it as soon as he slashes at something, causing a phantom blade of fire to attack the opponent.]
[Effect- 10 points of fire damage, 120% of sword damage]
[Cost- 40 Mana]
The mana shield is essential since in most games metal armour interrupts from casting and can reduce damage inflicted or increase casting time. That is why I decided that cloth and leather armour will be the way to go. The torch is good since we then don’t have to use an actual torch. Testing it though it seems to be an orb of light that gives off moderate heat. I can will the light to dim or even allow the others to control. It is kind of a weird spell seeing as it can do that but I assume it is just the systems doing.
The [Flame Slash] seems to be a good skill if I need to use my sword in close combat. It would also slightly boost my attack if I need to use [Ethereal Shift] to assassinate anyone. Although it is currently too much of a flashy technique if I need to use it for that since the flame gives off a large amount of light and heat as well. Getting up I decide to see how everyone else's progress has been so far.