New Ability! Cuby cried as I leapt up onto the tallest building I could find, then jumped off and began to glide toward the cliffs at the edge of town. We were almost there.
I blinked, then glanced down at my system messages:
For killing a player in defense of Oromar’s Bastion, you have received 12 Virtue Points.
Congratulations! You’ve reached Pure Virtue Rank 3.
You have been awarded a new ability: Gift of Empyreal Might
Your Ability has gained another use: Gift of Mercy
Then I opened up my ever-growing abilities sheet to look at it:
Ability – Gift of Empyreal Might
Use Time: Instantaneous
Effect: 9 Damage Throughput
This gift wreathes your target in an aura of empyreal might, adding a separate divine component to all their attacks which is not affected by, and does not alter, their Elemental Affinity. This component affects effects as well as damage, and is resisted exclusively by Divine Resistance.
You may have this ability active on only one target at a time.
Look at that, Alatar! Cuby said excitedly.
I see it.
Remember what I said about throughput stuff?
Yeah, Cuby.
Throughput stuff is great on light weapons even after the damage adjustment! Remember that?
I remember, Cuby.
We landed at the edge of the cliffside looking down onto the beacon. The orange rune that had glowed in the air above it before was now a deep, angry red—a sign that it had been captured by the enemy, no doubt. What was more, there were people below—two attackers, fighting an almost-dead defender.
Hey look, said Cuby. Experience points!
I dove first and she dove after me. I hadn’t refreshed my Mana Shield or my Elemental Aegis—I couldn’t cast either while running—and my HP was only at about four-fifths, but there were only two of them, and the fact that they were currently fighting suggested to me that they weren’t full of fresh cooldowns.
Their target, however, was down to 30%–a gnome woman in scale armor wielding a shield and hammer. I landed, threw an Implosive Missile at the lowest-health attacker, then watched Cuby land and hit the other with a Blinding Strike as I cast a Mana Shield on the last defender.
It was short work from there. Cuby cut down my target, a human woman, and then the three of us turned to focus on the remaining attacker, a dwarf. Like other attackers before him, he was finished as soon as I cast a Supercharged Hex of Chains.
As he died, a familiar message played:
Congratulations, you are now a level 7 Mage/Psychic!
You have a new Iconic Spell slot. Open your Abilities pane to choose a new Passive.
You have a new Mage slot. Open your Abilities pane to choose a new Ability.
You have a new Iconic Spell slot. Open your Abilities pane to choose a new Passive.
Your Hit Points have increased by 70 and your Energy has increased by 130.
Human Adaptability increases each of your Strength, Agility, Focus, and Spirit by 2. You gain 2 stat points to distribute.
And I watched Cuby’s HP zoom to full as well.
“Say!” Cuby said. “Simultaneous levels!”
I ignored her, materializing a Healing Potion. “Here,” I said, passing it to the gnome.
“Thank you,” she said, her face pale. “Just… thank you.”
I was reminded of Oderian earlier in the night, thanking me because I’d saved his life. I didn’t feel awkward this time.
“I retreated from the initial onslaught,” she said, casting her gaze around her what were no doubt the bodies of some of her comrades. “There were seven of them. When I saw that the other beacons were falling, when I saw there was only one left… I had to try something. But they’d left two behind when they went to reinforce… there will be more of them soon, won’t there?”
I looked up at the rune glowing in the air above us—it was orange now. Then I looked at the part of my ui that tracked the battle.
Beacon of Safety – 2/4
“Yeah,” I said, recasting my spells. “There will probably be more—unless the last gate holds. My companion and I are going to backtrack, try and head them off when they come to take this beacon again, and if they don’t, reinforce the gates.”
“I….” the gnome sounded hesitant, but seemed to think about this and then nod. “All right. Go.”
I took a quick glance at the ground around me before we left. There were more than a half-dozen dead who looked like they might be defenders, some I recognized and some I didn’t. I spotted Miradel, the mage, and Oderion—perhaps they’d come to reinforce the fresh guard, but either too late or not fast enough for it to matter.
It didn’t surprise me. A group of players with the element of surprise, especially seven players, could have easily ripped through the defenses I’d seen here earlier. Doubtless the town had many, many more NPCs who could defend—but if they were all level 4s and 5s, it was a wonder that one of the gates had held so long.
Stolen story; please report.
“Let’s go,” I said to Cuby. “We can try leveling on the way.”
We both took the stairs, the cliffs too steep for us to get over with just grappling guns and Mighty Leap.
Head for the church? I asked.
There’s probably a pack going from the one gate to the other, said Cuby. That little tower there is probably a good enough vantage to spot them.
Right, I said. Good idea.
We reached the top of the steps, and I paused to Haste Cuby as she grappled onto a nearby roof, then grappled onto it myself, sprang upward with Mighty Leap, and began to Charm of Gliding toward our target while Cuby hopped roofs below me, fast enough to pull out ahead.
As I glided, I opened up my Ability Selection, skimming through the six different options that presented themselves before I’d have to choose.
Ability Selection
Choose a new iconic spell to learn. You may replace this spell with any other spell you are eligible to learn by consuming its Spell Card or using a Spell Book.
Iconic Spell – Mana Bomb
Cost: 42 - 84 Mana
Cast Time: 4 to 8 Seconds
Range: 20 Meters
Damage: 79 - 158 Damage
This spell funnels mana into an orb which explodes in a 5 Meter radius sphere for massive damage. The longer you charge the mana bomb, the more damage the spell deals and the more mana it costs.
Iconic Spell – Devour Magic
Cost: 8 Mana
Cast Time: 2.4 Seconds
Range: 15 Meters
Effect: 29 Levels of Spells Devoured, 127 max absorb gained
Devour magic eats hostile spell effects, spell projectiles, and magical constructs within a 4 meter radius of the point or creature you target, moving from the center outward and choosing the weakest effects first.
You then add absorption to your Mana Shield based on the power of the spells devoured, or gain a Mana Shield with reduced absorption if you don’t already have one.
Okay, I thought, reading these over. That… was a hard decision. The former was an obvious target for my Fragmented Supercharged Spell combo… but the later was a vicious PvP spell, and I had to acknowledge a truth about the coming moments:
I was almost certainly going to fight Haroshi, another chosen, to the death.
I looked at my other new option from level 7 mage, the first extra slot that I’d gotten from the class passive:
Spell Augment – Free Spell
Spellcraft: No Change
Cost: Special.
Uses: 1
Recharge: 60 Seconds
The modified spell costs no mana to cast. This does not affect upkeep, and only halves the mana cost of spells which continuously drain mana as they are cast, such as Condemn.
Spell – Hardlight Construct
Cost: 12 Mana
Cast Time: 2.8 Seconds
Range: 5 Meters
Effect: 212
You conjured a 1.2 cubic meter volume of hardlight, divided into shapes that you choose within range, though each must be anchored to a physical surface and none may measure fewer than 2 cm along any dimension. The Hit Points this spell generates are distributed across these shapes in a manner proportional to their volume, and each continuous volume breaks only when its volume is depleted.
To be perfectly honest, I completely skimmed Hardlight Construct because I already knew I was going to take it. Free Spell seemed like a great combo for a Supercharged Mana Bomb in PvE, but then most mages weren’t gaining 120 energy a level from their classes and stats. Most mages, as it happened, couldn’t just cast as many Supercharged buffs on themselves and their ally as they wanted and never end up worrying about mana.
I grappled the roof of the tower that Cuby and I had picked, coming up onto it just after her. You look, I said in thought speech. I’m still leveling.
How are you—oh, she said, peering out over the edge. Chosen. Makes sense.
I started refreshing my spells, beginning with the Elemental Aegis. Then I opened my psychic iconics:
Iconic Spell – Psychic Parasite
Cost: 6 Mana
Cast Time: 2.4 Seconds
Duration: 12 Seconds
Effect: 4 Precision and Defense Rating
This spell afflicts your target with a psychic parasite, granting you insight into their status as well as the decisions they make. Without mental effort, you are instantaneously aware of their Hit Point percentage, Resource percentages, and their buffs and debuffs.
Each moment, you gain insight into their general emotional state and the decisions they are making, granting you a bonus to your Precision and Defense Rating against them.
Iconic Spell – Invert Hostility
Cost: 8 Mana
Cast Time: 2.7 Seconds
Effect: Invert Hostility
This spell causes your target to see their friends as enemies and you and your friends as allies. Their judgment is otherwise unaffected. Creatures gain a resistance bonus to this spell for each time you have cast it on them in a given day.
If the target is already questioning the loyalty of their allies when you cast this spell, its effect is greatly increased.
You may need to hurry, said Cuby.
Sorry, I said. The psychic abilities had a lot of text, and unlike the others, the choice was actually difficult. Invert Hostility, thrown at Haroshi as a Supercharged, Fragmented spell, might turn the tide of battle all by itself… but the parasite felt like a PvP godsend.
I chose Psychic Parasite, then Hardlight Construct, then Devour Magic. Two of them, at least, were clearly useful to the task at hand—not a bad level, but then iconics were supposed to be powerful.
Okay, I asked, What’s up?
The south gate is pinned by an enemy force that’s attacking them from inside town, said Cuby. The attackers are holding back for now and the defenders aren’t trying to push through them—I think they’re both hoping for reinforcements. A group split off them before we got here—when they saw the dead by the mine-lift, they went in there, probably to check the beacon. There were only three.
You think Haroshi?
Maybe. Another three came around the mountain from the east gate—they probably left when it fell.
Who do you think we go after first?
The ones from the east, she said. We don’t know how long the mine group will take. Ready?
“Let’s go,” I said, jumping off the tower and using my glide.
Either we were about to face three unchosen players, or Haroshi and his two picks for allies.
Which meant that we’d be at an advantage—or a serious disadvantage.
But there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than 2-on-3. So down we went.