Enjoying the afterglow of a full belly, Nick lowered himself back onto the mat, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes once more. For a long while, he merely focused on his breath, drawing his awareness away from the outside world and into his body.
The gentle rise and fall of his lungs were deeply soothing, something so simple compared to the chaos that had broken over his life like an endless, raging storm. The chaos that would inevitably follow when the deluge engulfed him once more.
But not yet. Not today. Right now, only the air passing through his nose and the beating of Nick’s heart intruded on his consciousness. It was a rare moment of calm, free of stress and fear. A genuine instant of serenity, without a trace of adrenaline surging through his bloodstream.
The lack of external pressure made the minutes seem to stretch on forever, like a song without end. The exercise was so uncomplicated that its purity was almost painful, contrasted against everything that had come before.
Eventually, his instincts told him that he was ready to move on. Keeping his breathing slow and steady, Nick encouraged his awareness to permeate his body, reaching ever deeper while seeking the core of energy two inches below his heart.
Eventually, he became aware of a pulsating point of concentrated magic. The font and receptacle for his mana that he had first felt when the System jumpstarted his energetic channels. That he could perceive to a lesser extent each time he spent a free point to increase his magic attribute.
Nick was still a novice in this pursuit. Still working through the initial stages of being able to perceive his core unaided, failing far more often than he succeeded. But he didn’t let his inexperience discourage him. He just kept on breathing slow and steady, guiding his awareness ever deeper, seeking that warm point of power within his chest.
He could sense that his efforts were close to bearing fruit, but he couldn’t quite lock his perceptions upon his core. It felt like he was looking in the right direction, but he didn’t understand exactly what he was looking for.
Once he was certain that he was as close as he was going to get, without breaking his concentration, Nick gathered his will and signaled his intention to activate his first spell, mana dart. Two seconds later, a silvery missile winked into existence, flickering like a candle’s flame before locking into a stable configuration and rising to circle his head. Still focusing on the space below his heart, he opened his eyes, grinning from ear to ear as he took in the appearance of his spell.
Not only had he felt something subtle move when the spell coalesced, his mana dart looked so much cooler than before. Badass, he laughed as he ran his eyes across his upgraded spell. His mana dart had been enhanced from placing several free points into magic, but even more so by the amplification provided by his new trait, Force Adept.
The pulsating dart had grown to twice the size it had been when Nick first cast the spell, back on that lonely stretch of beach on the Searing Isle. The dart was brighter now too, enough to light his path in a pinch, although he was loath to burn mana for such a mundane purpose. But even more impressive than its new size and luminosity were the changes to the spell’s shape.
No longer a wedge-shaped needle of silver light, the dart now featured a crisp geometry. The body had become a steep pyramid with a perfectly flat base, tapering to form a wickedly sharp point. As usual, Nick felt a vague sense of connection with the magical missile. An impression of its position as the dart continued circling his head like a miniature satellite.
He walked over to the display to check the time, then sat down in his chair, letting everything else fade away except for the feeling of the spell soaring above his head. He came back to himself when his connection began to weaken. The dart’s silvery light had started to dim, and he could sense that it would expire sometime within the next few seconds.
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Before the spell died out, he visualized a trajectory and sent the dart streaking across the room. The silver wedge made it a little over halfway before popping out of existence with a faint musical ping.
Nick checked the time, surprised at what he saw on the screen. I was able to hold it for nine minutes. That’s a significant improvement in duration. He grinned in response to the surge of satisfaction he felt on witnessing the growth of his ability. Its range is longer than before too. At least a ten-foot gain at a rough estimate.
Let’s assume that the damage the spell inflicts scales at roughly the same rate. It feels like the bigger dart costs more mana, but with the improved efficiency granted by Force Adept, I’ll have to run some tests to see how many darts I can cast per day and how quickly my core refills.
Now it’s time to find out what my new spell can do. Piercing ray, pleased to meet you. I have a feeling that we’re going to be the best of friends.
Nick chuckled at his own whimsy, then gathered his will once more. He sent his concentration into the rudimentary pathways that had been implanted when the System granted him the spell after changing his class. He couldn’t deny that he was incredibly excited. Not only to have increased his offensive options, but on a deeper, fundamental level.
After all, being able to wield magic and cast spells was the realization of his childhood dream. Feeling the magic coalesce was an act that would never grow old, even though it was gradually becoming a regular part of his existence. He shifted his weight onto the front of his seat, eager to discover what shape piercing ray would take.
For the ghost of a moment, Nick felt something stir. Something tugging at his core, just a bit below his heart. He had a brief sensation of magic starting to form, drawing in far more mana than the dart he had just cast, before the feeling cut off completely, like the growing mass of magic had been nipped in the bud. He learned the reason why two seconds later, when a System message appeared in front of his eyes.
Piercing ray may not be cast within a safe area.
He waited until the words faded into nothingness before deciding how to proceed. There was no further explanation, but Nick took this development to be a promising sign. If the System wouldn’t let him cast piercing ray inside the safe room, then it stood to reason that the spell must be dangerous. Hopefully in a “only to my enemies” kind of way.
He wasn’t discouraged in the least. It just meant that he would have to save the test run of piercing ray until he was out on the bog. There was still plenty of training that he could do with mana dart here and now.
After returning his attention to his energetic core, Nick gathered his will once more, conjuring three mana darts back-to-back within the span of ten seconds. They went whirling around his head, throwing soft and shifting shadows across the room. Somehow, he felt certain that this was the limit on the number of darts he could maintain at once. Fortunately, he couldn’t imagine too many circumstances where he would benefit from preparing a bigger batch of mana darts in advance.
Now that he had examined the spell up close, tested its duration and distance, and found the limit on the number of darts he could sustain simultaneously, there were a few things left that he wanted to try. The first was to see if he could guide the flight of multiple missiles at once.
Accompanied by the trio of orbiting darts, Nick walked over to where he had piled up various objects to train his throwing skill and selected three large pots. He set them across the room at different heights and distances, including one behind the chair where he would have to curve the spell’s trajectory to strike his target.
He moved over to the window and focused his will. Strengthening his connection to each spell while visualizing the path he wanted it to take. He traced a straight path for two of the missiles, while imagining the third curving up before arcing down to land in the pot behind the couch. Holding three trajectories in his mind at once took considerable effort, even with the recent improvements to his creativity and mind. Eventually, he was able to see all three flight paths that he wanted his spells to follow. Before his concentration broke, Nick signaled his intention, willing all three darts to fire at once.
To his delight, the trio of missiles leapt into motion, each streaking toward their intended target, leaving trails of silver light in their wake like chromatic tails. Both of the straight shots hit their pot, although neither landed perfectly in the middle. The third wound up clipping the top of the couch instead of bending around the piece of furniture, dissipating before it came out the other side.