The malicious grin on Orrin’s face would have sent shivers down Daniel’s spine if they’d been in the same room still. With his first big purchase out of the way, Orrin decided to let loose. He’d spent his captivity scared to make more purchases, worried that Anabella would find out he had points to spare and make him into a guinea pig for System knowledge. While he hadn’t bought any spells or skills in Odrana, he had planned for the moment he escaped, bidding his time.
This was his moment.
Orrin’s offensive capabilities were finally coming along. Between his ability to combine [Gust] with his summoned swords and [Way of the Water], he’d taken down monsters in the Odrana dungeon by himself. He suspected that [Way of the Water] might have a surprise or two in store for him if only he spent the time to complete another few percentage points with Styx. He knew his powers were growing and felt that he could give Daniel a run for his money without using his debuff spells at this point.
Speaking of which, there were no more buffs or debuffs to buy. He’d upgraded [Decrease Dexterity] already. [Decrease Strength] was so close to level two that he could taste it.
I’d cast it on myself but with my high will stat, there is a chance I knock myself out. Orrin shook his head at the thought of Daniel finding him choking on his own tongue.
His [Increase Strength] and [Increase Dexterity] skills were likewise close to the ten thousand experience mark and he cast them both a few times as he looked through the rest of his Status screen. He should be able to hit ten thousand in each within a few days.
[Heal Small Wounds] was available to upgrade. The elven healer, Lyra, had told him not to take [Heal Moderate Wounds] if he planned on taking other healing type spells. The upgrade to his base healing spell would supposedly lock out other spells and healing paths. Anabella told him that wasn’t true but Orrin trusted the person who hadn’t set him up, enslaved him, and tried to murder him.
Orrin sorted the spells in the Store by type. Healing magic gave a few options.
[Calm] – Calms the target. 5 MP. -2 AP
[Excise] – Remove corrupted area. 5 MP. -5 AP
[Numb] – Remove sensation from a localized area. 5 MP. -5 AP
[Heal Moderate Wounds] – heal up to 100 HP. 40 MP. (Upgrade)- 12 AP
“Is [Calm] a weaker version of [Calm Mind]?” Orrin asked the empty room. “I could spend my points on something better but I want to see what else is available. I could help Amir figure out the best way to create different healing classes.”
He imagined what Silas’s face would do when he announced he was opening a free clinic. He purchased [Calm], [Excise], and [Numb]. Another twelve points down.
Orrin cracked his knuckles when he saw the low experience cost to upgrade each one of the new spells.
“I can do a hundred points of mana into each of you.”
He cast [Calm] on himself. The experience tracker moved up but he felt no change.
“Maybe I need to cast it on someone else?” He tried [Numb] next, pointing toward his arm.
Orrin immediately lost feeling from his wrist to his elbow. “That feels weird. Now to heal it.”
Orrin cast [Heal Small Wounds] and frowned. “Shit.”
His arm remained numb. He wasn’t about to [Excise] himself either after that failure.
“I’ll come back to healing later,” Orrin muttered, looking at another spell blinking with an exclamation point. “I thought you didn’t have an upgrade?”
[Remetabolize] – change the toxicity and structure of a toxin. 50 MP (1,000/1,000)!
Requirement met: [Create Poison] ability.
Would you like to upgrade [Remetabolize] for 8 AP?
Orrin read the box twice. “I guess I should have taken [Create Poison] first? What a joke. I’m not going to poison anyone.”
Orrin’s attempts at making acid had failed to get him out of the slave collar. He had no need for an enhanced version of [Remetabolize].
There were other spell modifiers that might help in battle. [Increase Durational Spell] might double the time of his buffs. If he went up and down the line of defenders, he could make an army of juggernauts for more than the twenty minute timer he currently had available. [Far] would let him target enemies before they got close with debuffs.
Maybe I can split a debuff and hit an entire line of demons with [Decrease Strength] before they get near the Pass?
It took ten minutes for his arm to regain feeling. In that time, Orrin spent another eight ability points on the two spell modifiers
[Increase Durational Spell]—(Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to increase duration. 5 MP. –4 AP
[Far]—(Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to target double normal distance. 5 MP. –4 AP
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
He smiled and reordered his Status a bit to combine the new spells and skills. His eyes narrowed at two of his skills: [Analyze] and [Identify]. [Analyze] was used predominantly for inanimate objects. The more he knew about something, the more information he’d receive about it. He could spend time learning about the object with more use of the skill.
[Identify] was a System reward for saving Daniel’s life. Since his early days on Asmea, he’d found there was an inferior version that most people had; whereas, Orrin’s [Identify] was upgraded to let him see a person’s spells, skills, and general stats. It came in handy on more than one occasion.
Orrin had tried to [Merge] the two once before but no options came up. Instead, Orrin wanted to try something different. He’d once used [Mind Bastion] and [Analyze] to give himself data on his own injuries. It was essentially what [Diagnosis] allowed him to do. If [Mind Bastion] enhanced one spell, then there was a chance it could do the same for the others.
Orrin turned [Mind Bastion] on, letting the cool relief flow. He felt more awake and remembered a half dozen things he’d forgotten to do. He quickly wrote down the list of people to visit and things to check up on before moving on to the main event.
I’ve never used [Merge] with [Mind Bastion]. I bet it would give me amazing skills. Logical analysis or the ability to control spells with my mind. Why have I never tried this before? Orrin felt the thoughts surface with a sense of de-ja-vu. He hadn’t tried this before… had he?
Merge: [Analyze] and ______?
[Mind Bastion], Orrin thought, trying to select the skill. For the first time, [Merge] failed to accept the selection, and the window timed out. What the hell?
Orrin tried again but [Mind Bastion] could not be used in [Merge]. That’s weird. I should write this down on my list of things to check up on.
He left the skill running and tried using [Analyze]. A book on the shelf that he’d never picked up gave a quick and detailed reading. More than Orrin would have gotten on his own.
A shadow from the window stole his attention. He checked and saw a guard walk by on the terrace below. [Identify] gave the normal breakdown status of the woman’s every skill but something more tickled at the edge of his mind.
Yes. This is what I want. I know her spells. I know the math. Make a subskill that can calculate how much mana I need to spend to defend or attack against her spells. Orrin’s glee snuck through [Mind Bastion] for a moment. Come on, Orrin. You can do it!
The guard finished her loop and moved out of sight. [Identify] dropped her stats.
“Damn,” Orrin said with a smile. He knew it was possible. He could feel the subskill just out of reach. He dropped [Mind Bastion]. “I can do it on my own, I don’t need to combine…”
Orrin trailed off and frowned. He grabbed his list and smacked his head. “I need to ask Madi about those spell glass things. I almost forgot about that.”
He left the room to search for her. When Orrin first saw Professor Wren use one of her glass orbs to cast a silencing spell around her office, he thought it was one of her abilities. The longer he spent with her, the more he realized the spell was outside of her spell set. He’d asked Madi to look into the spell-holding glass balls because he’d had an idea that might protect the people of Dey and give him something meaningful to do. It would also keep him safe and away from the front lines, which was the last place he or Daniel should be.
We have an army. Let’s use it.
If the ability to store spells within the spell glass was something he could replicate, Orrin could cast buffs into the spells. The guards and volunteers of Dey, the elves, and anyone from Odrana or Veskar who showed up to fight could increase their will for a stronger first spell assault or their dexterity to run away in a last ditch attempt at survival. All of his planning in that direction hinged on being able to use the spell glass. If he had to, Orrin would be upfront with Daniel fighting the demons.
“Someone needs to keep him from going crazy,” Orrin kept talking to himself as he walked down the hall toward Madi’s room. “Daniel went feral and chased the demons the last time they came within miles of Dey.”
“Orrin? I thought I heard your voice.”
Brandt was climbing the stairs and waved.
“Hey Brandt,” Orrin raised a hand in a quick, lazy wave back. “What are you up to? I’m going to ask Madi about something.”
“Perfect timing,” Brandt nodded at Orrin. He held an ornate wooden box in his hands. “I’ve just finished running an errand for her. You can go first. I can wait.”
Orrin shook his head. “It’s not urgent. I’ll wait outside. What do you got there?”
Brandt tucked the box into one arm and opened the lid a few inches. “The errand. Madi wanted me to get spell glass. Nobody uses them within the city but having a stored healing spell for accidents or water spell for fires is a requirement in the smaller towns and settlements. I bought the few blanks that I could find.”
Orrin lit up. “That’s what I was going to ask her about. I’m the one who asked her to look into them. How many did you get?”
Brandt stood straight and smiled. “I found nine. I thought I wouldn’t be able to find five in the city but I have a friend in the Guild who deals with rare items. He brought me to a… less reputable shop I didn’t know of. The store owner charged an extra silver each since they’re rare around here.”
Orrin’s smile died.
“They weren’t too expensive,” Brandt hurried to say, interpreting Orrin’s stoic look as disappointment in the price. “Madi said not to spend over five gold and they only cost three to four silver each. If they’re too expensive for you, I’m sure Lord Catanzano can requisition some gold. You more than deserve it.”
Orrin put his hand on Brandt’s shoulder. “I was hoping to find a lot for an idea I had. If we had a lot, we could let everyone boost their strength or will before the demons attack. Sorry you wasted your time. Unless we can find someone who can make more, it’s a dead end.”
Brandt was practically dancing as he shifted from side to side. “The store owner made them. She charged me more because she made them in front of me. Complained that it was a waste of mana.”
Orrin felt his hope rekindle. “Lead the way!”
Orrin
Utility Warder Level 31 (15,918/23,000)
Ability Points: 107
Admin Points: 23
HP: 300/300
MP: 500/500
Strength: 9
Con: 30
Dex: 11
Will: 40
Intelligence: 11
Abilities:
[Analyze]
[Blood Mana]
[Create Poison]
[Create Corrosive]
[Diagnose]
[Dimension Hole]
[Identify]
[Mana Pool]
[Map]-[Party View]; [Monster View]; [Trap View]; [Zoom]
[Meditate]
[Merge]
[Mind Bastion]
[Obscure]
[Side Steps] Level Three (84/300)
[Through the Ages]
[Way of the Water]
Healing Spells:
[Calm] (20/100)
[Calm Mind]
[Excise] (0/100)
[Heal Small Wounds] Level Three (10,000/10,000)
[Numb] (5/100)
[Purify]
Spell Modifiers:
[Boost] — (Spell Modifier)
[Far]—(Spell Modifier)
[Increase Durational Spell]—(Spell Modifier)
[Split Spell] — (Spell Modifier)
Ward Spells:
[Ward]
[Utility Ward]
[Camouflage Ward]
[Earth Ward]
[Fire Ward]
[Ice Ward]
[Light Ward]
[Plant Ward]
[Poison Ward]
[Space Ward]
[Time Ward]
[Water Ward]
[Wind Ward]
Buff/Debuff Spells:
[Increase Strength] Level Three (9,260/10,000)
[Increase Dexterity] Level Three (9,205/10,000)
[Increase Will] Level Three (10,000/10,000)
[Increase Intelligence] Level Three (10,000/10,000)
[Decrease Strength] Level One (985/1,000)
[Decrease Dexterity] Level Two (400/5,000)
[Decrease Will] Level One (740/1,000)
[Decrease Intelligence] Level One (740/1,000)
Other Spells:
[Camouflage] Level Two (7,980/10,000)
[Fire Sword]
[Gust]
[Ice Sword]
[Inverse]
[Lightstrike]
[Lightstrikes]
[Remetabolize] (1,000/1,000)
[Teleport] Level Two (2,325/10,000)
[Tilth]
[Toxic Touch]
[Water Reservoir]