The excitement was killing Joe. Not literally, of course. Joe and everyone else on Earth had learned just how ridiculous that phrase was in the last month. There were plenty of things that actually killed people now. No, the wait to see Diana's new skill was burning through him.
Objectively he knew that she was right to wait until her mana had regenerated and then try it on live opponents. It would have been better to test them in various ways before going into combat, but her mana and their time weren't infinite. At least this way, they would get some good data on the skill's effect on monsters. The real question in his mind was whether they would be the standard blue from the hands or from anywhere. Shooting mana bolts from her eyes sounded awesome and intimidating. Only time would tell, he supposed.
From the description, the skill helped with targeting. Joe sincerely doubted an uncommon skill would have a true point-and-click utility, but any help exploring this strange new world of magic would help. Joe knew in his head that he shouldn't focus on magic with his skewed attribute distribution, but who didn't want to shoot magic projectiles? Technically his Bite skill counted as magic, but it was more of a dark, disturbing horror version. Joe would very much prefer a peppy anime type of magic. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be in the cards.
Diana stood up and dusted herself off. Joe felt she was taking a long time, and when she broke into slow stretches, he actively groaned. Diana's face lit up in a grin, and Joe knew she'd been messing with him. Still, she finished the stretches, albeit at a quicker pace, and they walked back to the second section of the rift. The first meadow was restocked, with it only being cleared a single time before.
They stopped just outside the detection range, and Joe watched Diana focus on one of the gnolls. Killing the crow would have made the fight easier, but these level 2 enemies weren't formidable, regardless. He understood taking the easy target for her first time using the skill. Her breathing slowed, and her hands aimed straight at the gnoll. Nothing happened for a long moment, but Joe continued to watch. Suddenly the pea-sized sphere of mana was there in front of Diana's hands, already fully formed. It buzzed and steadied itself for a moment before it shot forward.
A bright blue line jumped from Diana's hands towards the gnoll in question. It continued past the monsters and burned out in a tree on the far side of the meadow. Joe wasn't watching the endpoint as his attention was fixed on the gnoll that marked the midway point of the spell. A billiard-ball-sized hole was carved straight through the middle, pumping blood and ichor prodigiously. The monster fell over and combusted into loot a moment later. Joe had expected magic to be awesome, but this was above his grandest expectations.
The other monsters were not pleased with their group's introduction to Diana's magic. Joe shook his head clear of distracting thoughts and surged forward to deal with the beasts. A minute later, they were all dead, and Diana came over to join him. She looked a little out of it, and Joe snapped his fingers a few times to grab her attention.
"How are you doing? You didn't get possessed by the spirit of some dead archmage, and now you're plotting to sacrifice all of us in a bid to restore your former power?"
Diana blinked several times and then stared at Joe incredulously.
"What?"
"I figured I'd start with a worst-case scenario and work my way down. So what's going on up there?" Joe pointed up at Diana's head as he spoke.
"It was just a lot. All of the ideas I had on magic got rearranged, and then I shot out an attack as easy as blinking. I'm still trying to sort through all the information."
"Pretty badass attack though," Joe said.
"You're damn right it is," Diana smiled triumphantly. "I'm going to need some practice before I'm comfortable using it in a boss fight. Can you keep running interference in this section?"
"Like you have to ask," Joe scoffed. "I would have killed these evil little bastards for the sheer joy of it."
A moment later, they stood and resumed their trek through the woodland meadows. Diana consistently killed one monster at the start of combat, and Joe ran in to finish the rest. Each time she used the mana bolt spell, it took time to cast, so without a dedicated tank, it was best used at the start of combat. Joe was looking forward to seeing her try it on higher-level enemies. The level 2 monsters put up zero resistance, and the spell even dug into the trees at the edges of the meadows. Joe was sure that it would be a mainstay of Diana's combat for a long time to come. A stray thought flitted through Joe's brain as they sat down to recover before the treant boss.
"Hey, what was the common spell it unlocked? In all the excitement, I forgot to ask."
Raw Mana Spark
Common skill
Mana cost - minor / activation - minor / cooldown - minor
Shoot a damaging mana spark at the caster's target. The range is (SL*2) meters. Damage is (SL*1.1)*Connection before resistances. This is an uncommon variant with no elemental affinity.
"Huhh."
"Yeah, it turns out it was easier to picture it as electricity. Making it solid is a more advanced technique." Diana rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"It looks like the one you got is better. The way it's hitting these monsters, I think it will be useful for a long time."
"It better be," Diana growled. "It was a giant pain in my ass to unlock, and I don't have any open skill slots left."
Joe nodded. The bonus attributes were all he focused on when he first took his uncommon class. They were a huge advantage over the common classes as he leveled up, and that hadn't changed. Now he realized that the extra two skill options might be an even bigger advantage. Joe hadn't had to worry about budgeting skills, letting him grab tanky options without concern over limiting his long-term growth. Without the full combo of his defensive skills, Joe doubted he'd have made it through all the poisonings in this rift. Even the lame poison resistance skill took the edge off when he had multiple poisonings stacked.
The two of them chatted while Diana refilled her mana. She took fifteen minutes to top Joe off as well. The most dangerous fights weren't until the next boss, but there was no reason to go into it without charging up. They hammered out a simple plan of Diana working to line up two monsters when possible to open the fight. Joe would run in and grab everyone's attention, and then they'd kill everything else. Diana would be right behind him after the spell released her from autopilot.
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That was a shock when they'd first figured it out. It was a good thing that they had practiced on the weaker rift monsters first. Raw Mana Bolt was a spell with a long cast, and Diana was locked in for the duration of the projectile's flight. It only lasted a second or two after the cast, but it wasn't zero. Being unable to react to an attack could cost Diana her life versus a strong opponent. It seemed some fantasy tropes would hold in the new world of the System. Mages would be powerful but with weaknesses. Frontline warriors would be needed to keep them safe.
Joe pondered a moment. That wasn't true, or rather only true in rifts. In the real world, a group of mages could lay down devastating barrages from a protected position as long as they had the mana. Warfare was going to change, and magic would be pivotal. Warriors wouldn't be obsolete, thanks to the rifts and skirmishes, but mages would have outsized value: that, and those who could kill mages reliably. Joe frowned at the thought, but it felt true. He blinked and cleared out the stray thoughts. That world was a long way out, but the rift was here now, and distractions could kill.
The fights leading up to the boss were easy. They hadn't been too hard with two people before but taking one or two monsters out before the fight started was tilting things firmly in their favor. The roses were a one-trick pony at this point, making the fights even easier. Joe wasn't complaining at all as he kept his mana reserves high and didn't have to waste resources healing.
They cleared the meadows in record time and soon found themselves facing the bearcoon. Diana had regenerated enough mana for three shots. Joe was ready to stop the monster when it inevitably charged her. He'd been all for waiting until her mana was completely full, but Diana pointed out it was unlikely the fight would go past three shots one way or the other. Currently, she could get six casts of Raw Mana Bolt out of a full mana pool without hitting zero and passing out. Joe still didn't like it, but he acquiesced with only some minor grumbling.
Joe was worried for nothing. Diana's first shot took the boss in the chest. It didn't go all the way through for the first time, but it left a hole that bled copiously. Joe surged forward with a roar, determined to draw the boss's attention. It didn't work. The bearcoons red rage-filled eyes never once left Diana as she worked to get a second cast going. Joe counted in his head, and at four, he dodged to his right and struck out with his glaive. He scored a deep slash to the Bearcoons left arm, crippling its movement on that side. Diana's second bolt wrecked the monster's right shoulder and chest.
The boss faceplanted, its momentum grinding its nose into the dirt as both front limbs gave out. Joe ran over and opened up the monster's throat with a stab before retreating. He walked back to Diana, and they kept their distance until the boss died and converted to an essence crystal.
"That was pretty easy," Joe said.
"Yeah, I was expecting more resistance," Diana admitted. "I'm sure we'll get more soon, but after the last few days, it feels odd. I'm going to rest and recharge."
Joe nodded at that. He'd take the opportunity to rest as well after he checked the pillar. There wasn't anything new at the moment, so he walked away with a shrug. Joe hadn't expected to see anything mind-blowing, but he would always check. If new skills were unlocked, he'd have a better chance of figuring out what triggered it with constantly updated information. The group that figured out how to optimize their classes and skills would gain a substantial early advantage. Joe wasn't looking to build an empire, but he wanted to keep his friends safe.
An hour later, Diana stood up, looking calm and refreshed. She walked over and placed her hand on the pillar. Joe saw the shivers and knew that she'd upgraded Raw Mana Bolt. She looked over at him, and Joe worldlessly threw her the essence crystal they'd just claimed. With fights this easy, they would be able to farm more in the future. Upgrading Diana's magic would be far more beneficial than a hunk of crystal in his pocket. The extra range and damage might save their lives in the next section.
Joe stood and stretched out the kinks as Diana shook off the minor disorientation that came from leveling up a skill. It wasn't nearly as powerful as getting a skill in the first place, but it was enough to affect reaction time. They took their time walking down the path toward where the foxes and squirrels performed their endless dance until there was something to murder.
Diana stopped a little farther back than last time, and Joe gave her space as she lined up her shot. That bolt was no joke, and the last thing either of them needed was a friendly fire incident. He kept his eyes on the monsters as Diana waited for two of them to line up. These smaller monsters were faster, and Joe forced himself to be patient, just as he was sure Diana was as well.
With no warning, a blue dart buzzed past him and cut through both foxes before continuing onward. Joe ran forward, ignoring the critically injured monsters in favor of chasing the squirrels. The monsters had started towards him, intent on seeking out the source of the surprise attack. Their claws scratched up grass as they backpedaled away from the fast and angry human that charged straight for them. One wasn't fast enough, and Joe decapitated it as he followed the other. That monster only got off a single poison loogie before Joe completely bisected it.
Joe absently ate a single berry while he fought off the poison. Between his skills and vitality, a single shot from the squirrels wasn't anything he found concerning. The poison was nasty for his level, but Joe had leveraged his build to combat the stuff. He hadn't had much choice, given that this was the only rift option he had nearby. At the time, facing down constant poisoning had seemed better than trying to go back to Dublin. Joe wasn't sure if he really felt that way or was just avoiding going home and all that it entailed. He shoved that thought down deep for another day. He had monsters to kill.
Five minutes later, Joe was poison-free, and they moved forward toward the next clearing. This one had the foxes and shrooms. Unfortunately, the mushrooms were positioned so there was no angle to get both without stepping into the meadow. After waiting a few minutes, Diana managed to line a fox up with a mushroom and pulled the metaphorical trigger. As before, Joe ran in immediately and put an end to the remaining fox. He was about to charge the mushroom when clarity struck him. That was stupid. The spray of needles was almost impossible to dodge up close. Instead, he pulled back to the edge and motioned for Diana to take over killing duties.
Diana rested in the pathway between meadows as Joe thought over the last fight. That was the only time they'd made it this far without burning through a ton of their berries. Diana's skill was a game-changer, and as such, Joe needed to give combat with her some thought. He didn't need to charge in and secure kills as franticly as possible. Joe simply needed to keep the monsters off Diana until she whittled their numbers down.
"Huh," Joe said to himself. Diana was in full meditative mana recharge mode, so he was left to himself. His mana was even full, thanks to the lack of damage. With nothing else to do, Joe practiced moving his weapon through some basic attacks. It was physically that difficult anymore, but he needed to build up his muscle memory. He needed to find a real combat mentor at some point, but who knows when and where Joe would find that?
They cleared the second room again and moved on to scout out the third. The two foxes chased the two squirrels around the mushroom, being careful never to touch it directly. Diana took her time and waited until she could get a squirrel and the shroom at the same time. Joe had hoped she could get three in one shot with the increased population, but that was probably setting the bar too high for an initial outing.
Ultimately they cleared the meadow twice with only some minor poisoning for Joe. They had barely touched the berries or nuts from this run, and Joe was feeling optimistic about their chances. Then he saw the last meadow before the boss and swore under his breath. Two foxes and two squirrels populated this one, but they wove through a group of three mushrooms. Joe had avoided their poison nettles so far this run, but it looked like his luck was bound to change.
"Can we kite them?" Diana asked.
"We've never tried it before. It's worth a shot. I doubt they are going to let you snipe them from the path without chasing us down."
Diana waited for her shot just like before and ended a squirrel and mushroom with her initial volley. Joe stayed back and waited for her to unlock before they both ran twenty meters back and turned around. The foxes and squirrels were in hot pursuit, but Joe and Diana were still outside of their furthest attack range. The same couldn't be said for Diana's newly upgraded skill. A few seconds later, one of the foxes' heads disappeared. Joe took that as his signal to go to work.
Joe sprinted forward, almost casually cutting the fox as he passed, intent on the squirrel in front of him. It splattered him with poison across his chest, but Joe roared in defiance and cut the damn thing in half. He turned to see Diana finishing the wounded fox. Fire consumed the monsters, but something was missing.
"The loot," Joe whined. "Man, of course, they only drop loot in the meadows—cheap ass poison rift."
"It's fine. We'll still get the stuff in the meadow after I snipe another shroom. Think you can take out the last one so I can save a little mana?"
"You know I got it." Joe was still grumbling but not honestly upset. The loot was excellent, and missing out on it sucked, but the lack of various exotic poisons flowing through his body was a nice change of pace. Joe amended his thought. The loot would eventually be lovely, but only the berries and nuts had been useful so far. He knew it wouldn't always be that way, but he felt like a hoarder with his backpack of fox pelts, snake scales, and poison needles.
Joe smashed the last shroom after Diana sniped another from a safe distance. He simply lept over the spray of needles and brought his glaive down to crush the offender. It let Diana conserve some mana and would cut down their recovery time before they cleared the reset. They did just that, and half an hour later, they destroyed the monsters almost identically. The speed of Diana's spell made missing completely unlikely against these monsters. When you coupled that with its destructive power, even a glancing blow was a significant wound to the smaller monsters.
They took their time recovering and walking the path to the boss. Neither one wanted to face whatever was ahead of them in less-than-ideal conditions. New rift monsters were tough enough, but the bosses always dialed the danger up an extra notch. They approached the edge cautiously and looked into what appeared to be an empty room. There were a few puddles on the ground and some larger trees around the edge, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. Joe didn't believe for a second the room was empty, but for the life of him, he couldn't see the boss anywhere.